Looking at Nangong Qianyu, who was staring at her with a look of shock, as if she were a monster, Bu Qingyu shook her head with a smile, not feeling the slightest bit surprised.
After all, what she had foreseen would happen half a month later did sound a bit… unbelievable.
The atmosphere in the hall remained silent for nearly a minute before Nangong Qianyu finally regained her senses.
"Qing… Qingyu, you… you can truly predict… the future!" Nangong Qianyu re-examined the young woman before her, her expression growing serious.
If Bu Qingyu truly possessed the ability to "predict the future," it would be utterly astonishing.
She could barely fathom it.
However, as her thoughts shifted, Nangong Qianyu suddenly recalled the somewhat inexplicable words Fang Junxue had spoken earlier.
She had said, "Bu Qingyu has been afraid deep down."
Looking back now, Nangong Qianyu seemed to understand the meaning of that statement.
If Bu Qingyu possessed such a heaven-defying ability, the consequences of it being discovered by ill-intentioned individuals would be unimaginable.
However, Bu Qingyu's willingness to reveal this to Nangong Qianyu now was enough to prove that she had gained her trust.
"I don't actually know what this ability is," Bu Qingyu said softly. "In the beginning, I even mistook it for coincidence and didn't pay much attention. But…"
But as the occurrences became more frequent, it was clearly no longer plausible to dismiss them as mere "coincidence."
Therefore, Bu Qingyu categorized it as her innate intuition.
This was not an uncommon phenomenon in the ancient martial arts world. Gradually, Bu Qingyu grew accustomed to it.
And just when she thought everything would remain within the scope of "intuition," an unexpected turn of events altered everything.
"You're saying that the first time you truly realized you could foresee the future was due to a sect betrayal?"
Nangong Qianyu had lost count of how many times she had expressed her shock, staring blankly at her best friend.
"Mhm!" Bu Qingyu nodded and continued, "I remember very clearly. At that time, the Heavenly Sword Sect was clashing with another powerful ancient martial arts force. Since our strengths were quite similar, the situation became a stalemate."
"But at that moment, an image suddenly appeared in my mind." Speaking of this, Bu Qingyu still seemed to harbor some fear. "In that image, my father was ambushed from behind by an elder of our Heavenly Sword Sect and ultimately fell in a pool of blood."
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Nangong Qianyu's heart leaped into her throat, and she quickly asked, "Then, then what happened?"
But as soon as she asked, Nangong Qianyu realized she was too impatient.
After all, Bu Qingyu's father had been here before, and the events reflected in that vision had clearly not occurred.
"After I foresaw that image, I was terrified and fearful. It was the first time I had such a clear premonition," Bu Qingyu recalled her state at the time, a cold sweat breaking out. "At that moment, I dared not hesitate. If what was in the vision was real, then my father would be in danger."
"So, I quickly informed my father of my feeling. Naturally, my father was shocked. But with the prior 'coincidences' and 'intuition' I had demonstrated, after much deliberation, he eventually confronted that elder."
Bu Qingyu lowered her gaze, a hint of sorrow in her voice. "The result was as the vision depicted; that elder was indeed a traitor."
The Heavenly Sword Mountain was thus spared from disaster.
But thereafter, Bu Jianqiu also realized the terrifying nature of his daughter's abilities. He knew very well that once this news leaked out, the consequences would be self-evident.
Therefore, to protect Bu Qingyu, her father, Bu Jianqiu, repeatedly emphasized to her that she must never reveal herself and must never show any abnormality.
Even if she had a premonition, unless it concerned a matter of life and death, she should not voice it.
Bu Qingyu deeply understood the logic behind this.
Thus, afterward, she changed her demeanor, content to be a carefree daughter of the sect leader. She buried all her premonitions deep within her heart.
In this way, Bu Qingyu lived through eighteen years in a relatively peaceful rhythm of life.
Until she… sensed a turning point in fate.
An image of an auction appeared in her mind.
The moment she saw that image, she felt as if she were entangled by threads of destiny, and a voice seemed to tell her: by going to that place, she would no longer have to worry about her abilities being exposed, leading to tragedy.
By going to the place in the vision, she could truly be herself.
After much deliberation, she still dared not make a hasty decision. So, she told her father everything.
Ultimately, Bu Jianqiu agreed to let her descend the mountain.
After all, he did not wish for his daughter to live in constant, unknown fear.
"Since that is the case, why didn't you come to us then?"
After hearing this account, Nangong Qianyu asked with some bewilderment.
Logically speaking, Bu Qingyu had already attended that auction, and her perceptive abilities should have helped her find someone who could change her destiny.
However, Bu Qingyu had not appeared before them.
This was not right!
To Nangong Qianyu's surprise, Bu Qingyu's answer was incredibly unexpected.
"Then… At that time, I was scared, very scared!" Bu Qingyu said, her voice trembling.
"Ah?"
Nangong Qianyu's eyes widened. "Scared? Who scared you?"
She recalled carefully. Besides herself, the only person who had accompanied Ye Ming at that time seemed to be Dolisah.
How could she have scared Bu Qingyu?
"What exactly happened?"
Nangong Qianyu was extremely curious.
"After the auction ended, I was preparing to come see you. But who would have thought I would run into those people from the Qi Sect along the way!" Bu Qingyu recounted, "Because my father had sent me and Senior Brother down the mountain, the stated purpose was naturally to acquire treasures at the auction; otherwise, it would be too easy for people to become suspicious."
"Moreover, Senior Brother didn't know the true purpose. So, in the end, we started competing with the Qi Sect for the Dao Heart Jade."
At this point, there seemed to be nothing strange. Such disputes among ancient martial artists should have been something Bu Qingyu, as the daughter of the Heavenly Sword Sect leader, was accustomed to.
She shouldn't have been afraid.
"What happened next made you afraid to come see us?" Nangong Qianyu, even racking her brains, could not fathom the reason.
"Afterward…"
Bu Qingyu merely recalled the scene at the time for a moment.
At that time, it was raining blood and torn flesh from the sky, staining the ground.
Recalling this, Bu Qingyu suppressed a wave of nausea, her face turning pale, and she trembled, "Then a woman appeared. She… she actually crushed a disciple of the Qi Sect to death!"