To some extent, foreseeing the future is by no means a blessing.
The future is not set in stone, yet it is also difficult to change. Sometimes, the more people struggle to escape a tragic ending, the more likely they are to collide headlong with that destined outcome.
It may even be that a tiny deviation only drags the future into an even deeper quagmire.
For example, the battle that established Liu Xiyue's fame as the strongest witch.
In Liu Chengfeng's original prediction, dozens of extraordinarily powerful Extraterritorial Creatures suddenly appeared in a valley. After destroying several nearby cities, Flame Heart arrived just in time to eliminate them.
After learning of the prophecy, the Ability Bureau acted swiftly and deployed in advance.
They intended to station Flame Heart there as a precaution.
However, although the final result was a success, the process was far from ideal.
It seemed that the presence of Flame Heart and numerous Ability Users attracted the creatures within the mystic realm.
Reality diverged drastically from the prediction.
Instead of dozens, hundreds—perhaps even thousands—of Extraterritorial Creatures appeared. Their ferocity far exceeded those described in the prophecy.
In the end, Flame Heart had no choice but to incinerate the surrounding mountain ranges entirely to eradicate the rampaging calamity.
From that incident, they came to understand a cruel truth.
Changing the future does not necessarily lead to a better outcome.
Even if the final result remains the same, the danger and suffering experienced along the way can only be truly understood by those who lived through it.
In that battle, even someone as powerful as Flame Heart had nearly lost her life.
This was something more than just Liu Yunshuang understood.
Liu Xiyue and Liu Chengfeng certainly understood it as well.
And yet now, the two of them had joined forces to keep the truth from her.
There had to be a reason.
Liu Yunshuang arrived at two possible conclusions.
The first possibility was that this future was extremely dangerous, and they feared she might be implicated.
That was why her niece and that old man had chosen to hide it from her.
But this possibility seemed unlikely.
She was not reckless enough to involve herself in matters beyond her capabilities, especially something tied to life and death.
Instead, Liu Yunshuang leaned toward the second possibility.
This future was directly connected to Liu Xiyue.
Perhaps it was so dangerous that it bordered on death itself.
That was why they chose to conceal it.
Because once she knew...
Even if the path ahead was a mountain of blades or a sea of flames, she would intervene without hesitation.
She would never stand by and do nothing.
But for now, this was only speculation.
Even though Liu Yunshuang was almost certain, she did not dare act rashly.
Otherwise, events might spiral into an uncontrollable direction.
And that was exactly her state of mind at this moment.
A pain born from understanding, yet being powerless to act.
"I'm sorry… Auntie."
Liu Xiyue had not left.
She knew her aunt too well.
Unlike herself, Liu Yunshuang was incredibly perceptive. Even without proof, she would inevitably piece together the truth.
"I'm sorry…"
Leaning against the cold office door, Liu Xiyue slowly slid down, her body collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut. Her expression was filled with loneliness.
From within the room, the sound of suppressed sobbing pierced her ears like needles.
Yet she did not dare open the door.
The truth was like a dull blade scraping across her heart.
She feared her aunt would not be able to bear it.
And even more, she feared becoming the final straw that broke her.
More than a month ago, her grandfather had suddenly tried to keep her confined, subtly preventing her from leaving.
Sensing something was wrong, Liu Xiyue pressed him step by step until she uncovered the truth.
Her grandfather's ability had been triggered again.
It revealed a fragment of the future.
A future concerning his own granddaughter.
It was as cruel as a scene from hell, so despairing that even light seemed unable to escape it.
And the one at its center was the person he cherished most.
Liu Chengfeng's ability could actively project these future visions to others.
Knowing his granddaughter's personality, he ultimately had no choice but to reveal everything.
And Liu Xiyue finally learned of her own fate.
In that future, she saw Muyun City.
On a bright afternoon, the sky suddenly tore apart.
A suffocating darkness poured out, blotting out the sun and swallowing the entire city.
From the pitch-black sky, something fell.
It was like rain.
A rain of blood.
Each drop carried a chilling cold as it drenched the entire city.
The streets were filled with severed limbs and shattered bodies, twisted together into a grotesque scene. Dark red liquid seeped through every crack.
The once-thriving city had become a forsaken purgatory.
Amid that future vision, her attention was drawn to a flicker of firelight in the sky.
It was small.
Insignificant.
Yet it burned stubbornly, refusing to go out.
That lone flame hovered in the air, clinging to existence.
Above it, a crimson moon loomed like a bloodshot eye, watching silently.
Fire and moon faced each other.
Light and darkness.
Life and death.
But in the end, that stubborn flame could not withstand the relentless blood rain.
It flickered like a dying lamp, gradually fading.
Until it was completely extinguished.
When the final trace of light disappeared, a shattered figure fell from the sky.
That lifeless body, drained of color and motion, was unmistakable.
It was Flame Heart.
It was Liu Xiyue.
That was her destined end.
For Liu Xiyue, this revelation struck like a thunderbolt.
Her eyes turned bloodshot from the shock.
She did not scream.
She did not cry.
She simply stood there in silence.
She had feared death before.
But what terrified her far more was that blood moon.
Not only her.
Even Liu Chengfeng had been shaken by it.
Even if it was only one possible future, a mere glimpse, recalling it filled them with an overwhelming sense of insignificance and helplessness.
That blood moon was not something anyone in the present could oppose.
Even if Flame Heart and the former Frost Sword Fairy joined forces, it would be like an ant trying to shake a tree.
Or an egg striking against stone.
At one point, Liu Chengfeng had considered forcibly confining Liu Xiyue.
But she refused.
Because both of them understood one thing.
The future is not so easily changed.
If Flame Heart did not confront it, the outcome might become even worse.
That blood moon might spread beyond the city.
It could engulf the entire nation.
Liu Xiyue refused to wait helplessly for death.
She chose instead to go to Muyun City in advance and gather information.
Otherwise, even if she escaped this time, what about the next?
And the time after that?
Eventually, the disaster would claim someone.
It might be her.
It might be her aunt.
It might be her grandfather.
After hearing her resolve, Liu Chengfeng fell silent.
As someone who had long stood in a position of authority, bearing responsibility for the nation, he understood one thing.
No matter how selfish he wished to be, he could no longer stand in the way of his granddaughter's determination.