The Future Is Not Set in Stone!

This was the question she cared about most.

The thoughts Li Qing let slip contained an enormous amount of information, much of it concerning earth-shattering secrets.

If it was all true, then it meant tremendous changes for her, for Spirit Hall, and even for the future of the entire continent.

But if some of it was wrong, or was merely his imaginings and conjectures, how should she treat this information?

Bo Saixi listened quietly to Qian Renxue's questions, showing no surprise.

They were almost exactly the same questions she had had when she first discovered she could hear Li Qing's inner voice.

"You have many questions, and they're all important."

Bo Saixi spoke slowly. Her voice rang especially clearly in the quiet room as she answered, "As for when I first heard him... it was six years ago, on the day of his Martial Soul Awakening. That was when I first heard his inner voice."

"Six years ago? His Martial Soul Awakening?" Qian Renxue's heart stirred. Wasn't that when Li Qing received the Sea God Inheritance?

"Correct."

Bo Saixi understood what Qian Renxue was thinking, so she nodded and confirmed, "That day, his Martial Soul awakened and drew down Sea God's Light, and he received the Sea God Inheritance. As for why, I don't know. I'm not sure why it's only us, either. At any rate, from what I can tell, your grandfather, Qian Daoliu, doesn't seem to have the same experience. I also don't know if there are others."

"As for whether his inner voice can be trusted..."

Bo Saixi's tone grew a little heavier, and a complex light flashed through her blue eyes. "That, I'm afraid, is the hardest thing to determine—and the most... unnerving."

She looked at Qian Renxue, her gaze sharp. "Girl, you heard quite a bit today. About your plan to infiltrate the Heaven Dou Empire, about how you might become the Angel God in the future, and yet might also fail... Have you ever told anyone about these things? Especially the details of your plan?"

Qian Renxue immediately shook her head, her tone firm. "Absolutely not! The Heaven Dou plan is top secret. Aside from Grandfather and a handful of core elders, no one knows the full picture. Even within Spirit Hall, only a few people know that Xue Qinghe is my disguise! As for ascending to godhood in the future... that's a hope I don't even dare to take for granted myself. Why would I tell an outsider?"

"Exactly."

Bo Saixi sighed softly and said helplessly, "The fact that he knows these secrets, which could never have been leaked, is proof enough that his information comes from no ordinary source. At the very least, it couldn't have come through ordinary channels."

"As for foreseeing the future..."

Bo Saixi's gaze grew deeper as she replied, "He told me about Tang Chen, Qian Daoliu, and my past. He mentioned thoughts I had never shared with anyone, and even... spoke of possibilities concerning Sea God Island and my own fate that I hadn't yet fully seen for myself."

She paused, as though weighing her words. "Some things have already happened, and what he said about them was exactly right. Other things haven't happened yet, so we have no way to verify them. But judging from what we do know, the accuracy of his information... is terrifyingly high."

As Bo Saixi spoke, Qian Renxue's heart sank little by little, then rose again.

What sank was her, chilled by the thought of being seen through completely, as if her fate had already been written.

What rose was a hope—that by grasping the key, she might change the course already laid out for her.

"So you mean... at least a large part of his inner voice is worth taking seriously, and might even be... a true prophecy?" Qian Renxue's voice trembled almost imperceptibly.

"That's one way to put it."

Bo Saixi affirmed Qian Renxue's judgment, but immediately changed tack, her tone carrying a note of warning. "But, girl, you must understand this, too: the future isn't set in stone. What he says may be a vision based on some trajectory or possibility. Every choice we make, every action we take, could send the future veering in a different direction. Just as he told you today, he thinks you won't abandon the Heaven Dou plan, but will change your strategy... That itself means your choices and the variables they bring are already being added to the prophecy."

Qian Renxue fell into thought.

Bo Saixi was reminding her to take Li Qing's prophecies seriously without letting them bind her, turning her into a puppet pulled by fate.

Knowing what might happen should help her make wiser choices and create a better future.

"I understand. Thank you for your guidance, senior."

Qian Renxue thanked her solemnly. Then fresh confusion surfaced in her eyes, and she asked, "Senior, there's one more thing... Does Li Qing know that we can hear his inner voice?"

This was one of the most crucial questions.

If Li Qing knew, were those thoughts unguarded and genuine, or were they... some kind of deliberate act or test?

At her question, an odd expression appeared on Bo Saixi's beautiful face, a blend of helplessness, amusement, and a faint hint of indulgence.

"He..."

Bo Saixi shook her head gently, her tone certain. "He doesn't know. At least, as far as I can tell, he has no idea."

Thinking of Li Qing's uninhibited, wildly imaginative inner complaints, which were sometimes infuriating and sometimes hilarious, Bo Saixi was nearly certain they weren't an act.

No actor could be so dedicated, or so true to himself, as to complain so furiously in his own mind that his betrothed was an idiot, while thinking up punishments like spanking her.

"If he knew, he'd probably hold back a lot more, and he wouldn't..." Bo Saixi stopped abruptly. A strangely awkward look passed over her face. She picked up her teacup and took another sip, covering it up.

Qian Renxue was clever enough to immediately think of Li Qing's blush-inducing thoughts about her. Her beautiful face grew warm, too.

She hurriedly lowered her head and drank some tea as well, hiding her embarrassment.

Silence settled over the room again for a brief moment, with only the wisps of tea fragrance curling through the air.

After a while, Qian Renxue looked up again. Her purple eyes gleamed with resolve as she looked at Bo Saixi and asked the last question—the one she most wanted answered:

"Senior, since we can both hear him, and we know how important those prophecies are... should we do something? For example, should we tell Grandfather, or... Lord Sea God and the Angel God?"

This question struck at the heart of the matter.

Should they keep this secret between the two of them and wait to see what happened?

Or should they report this astonishing discovery, one capable of affecting the gods' plans, to beings of a higher order?

Bo Saixi's hand paused slightly around her teacup.

She raised her eyes to Qian Renxue. In her deep blue gaze, a vast sea of stars seemed to turn.

She did not answer at once.

The night grew deeper.

Moonlight passed through the window lattice, casting a tranquil pattern of light and shadow between them.