Chapter 112

Chapter 112: Prying into Heavenly Secrets

Mother Du noticed her old classmate’s reaction and quietly asked: “What is it? Did An An say something wrong?”

The aunt pressed her lips together and said in a hoarse voice: “When Bi Xiao was six, we took her back to our hometown for the ancestral rites. It was summer then, and very hot. Some relatives’ and neighbors’ kids asked her to go play. A whole group of children ran off to the river. Bi Xiao could not swim, but when she saw her friends going into the water to play, she got curious and jumped in too.”

Mother Du was shocked: “Then…”

The aunt patted Mother Du’s hand to comfort her: “Luckily, we found out in time, and there just happened to be someone nearby who knew first aid. That was the only reason nothing worse happened.”

She had not expected to bring this up again after so many years. When she looked at Du An Rao, there was a bit of sadness in her eyes.

Even putting aside the “plot” that Du An Rao kept mentioning, the fact that she had seen this with no hints at all was enough to show the family that she truly had some ability.

But it was also because of that that the couple were even more worried and uneasy, afraid that if they were careless, the future she spoke of would really come true.

The Du family felt the same way. Before this, they had been misled by Du An Rao’s inner voice. They thought everything she said came from the so-called Inner Library in her mind. But was that really the case?

They could ignore the others, but there really was no plot related to Du Bi Xiao.

Even so, she had still read things from Bi Xiao herself that they did not know. Was that really just a coincidence?

For those ten-plus years living in the temple, had she really only picked up a bit of her Master’s skills, like she claimed?

Du An Rao had no idea that just a few words from her had stirred up endless wild thoughts in everyone’s minds.

She lowered her head and carefully studied the lines on Du Bi Xiao’s palm, her expression serious.

“There is another tribulation. If nothing goes wrong, it should fall between the ages of twenty-six and thirty. This tribulation is even more dangerous than the last one.”

Du An Rao pointed at a sharp bend in the middle of the life line and said in a low voice: “Many people think palm lines are fixed from birth and never change for a lifetime. That is not true. Hands are one of the fastest-changing parts of the body. So they reflect a person’s physical and mental state the best and help see their future luck.”

“From this palm line, we can see that after the major tribulation, her life line splits into two. One branch goes upward to here. The other one breaks off at… this spot.”

The aunt’s heart trembled: “What does that mean?”

“It means that if Cousin can get through this tribulation safely, she will live a long life. But if she cannot…”

“Her life will end here?”

“…Yes.”

Even though they had already guessed, hearing a clear answer still made the couple go pale. Their legs almost gave out.

Mother Du could not bear to see her old classmate like this and asked softly: “Is there any way to help your cousin?”

Du An Rao had already made up her mind, but she still gave them a warning first: “I can only try. It might not work.”

The aunt and uncle’s eyes were full of tears, but they did not want to give up this last straw.

“It’s fine. Just try. No matter if it works or not, your uncle and auntie will be grateful to you.”

“That’s right, we all trust you.”

Meeting the couple’s hopeful gaze and Du Bi Xiao’s overly calm eyes, Du An Rao’s heart had already turned over a thousand times.

What she had not said was that, with a mortal body, prying into heavenly secrets could not come without a price.

What happened with Zou Heng before had been an accident. Besides, the World Consciousness had acted first that time. She only got dizzy for a second, which could almost be ignored.

But this time, she was the one choosing to pry into heavenly secrets and scry the future. Du An Rao had no idea if the accumulated merit on her body was enough, or if she would have to pay some other price besides the merit.

Even putting their relative relationship aside, just looking at the accumulated merit on Bi Xiao and at her job, Du An Rao could imagine that whatever might cost her life would definitely not be some petty little matter.

If she could see more information through her, she might be able to save not only Bi Xiao, but many other people as well.

When the Du family heard that there was a mysterious price to pay, their faces changed. They wanted to stop her at once, but Du Bi Xiao was faster.

“Wait, don’t—”

Before she could finish, the few people standing closest suddenly felt that something was wrong.

It was like, in the blink of an eye, all the noise and whispering around them disappeared. Even the chirping of insects and birds outside and the sound of people breathing seemed to stop in that instant. Two or three seconds later, everything went back to normal again, making everyone wonder if they had imagined it.

While they were still stunned, Du An Rao suddenly let go of the hand she was holding and fell backward, as if she had lost consciousness.

“An An!”

Everyone’s face changed. They all reached out without thinking, and in the end several pairs of hands caught Du An Rao before she hit the floor.

“An ambulance, call an ambulance!” Mother Du was so scared her voice was shaking.

Countless waves of regret rushed through her heart. She could not bear to imagine how painful it would be if she lost her hard-won daughter again.

She should not have simply assumed An An would be fine doing this and let her fool around. She should not have softened her heart over someone else’s tragedy and ended up hurting her own child…

While Mother Du was spiraling like this, a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, and a weak voice sounded by her ear: “Don’t… don’t go to the hospital.”

Mother Du shuddered: “An An…”

“I don’t need to go to the hospital. My head is just a bit dizzy. I will be fine after I rest. Just take me upstairs and let me lie down for a while.”

“But…”

“Really, I’m fine. Take me upstairs. Cousin should come too.” Du An Rao held Mother Du’s hand tighter, but her voice was terribly hoarse.

Everyone was very worried, but they could not win against her stubbornness. In the end, they could only do as she asked and bring her upstairs to rest.

Bi Xiao’s family was already worried and guilty. Since Du An Rao had just said she wanted Bi Xiao to go upstairs too, the three of them shared a look, then followed the Du family upstairs with anxious hearts.

They had just gone up, and the banquet downstairs exploded into even louder chatter.

In the hall on the second floor, Mother Du and Du Yu Xi helped Du An Rao onto the sofa and had someone pour her a glass of water.

After she drank it, Du An Rao’s face looked much better. She was no longer as pale as before, which finally let the Du family relax a little.

“Where’s Cousin?”

“I’m here.” Du Bi Xiao hurried forward, grabbed her hand, and said apologetically: “Sorry, I didn’t know…”

Before she could finish, she was cut off: “Cousin, what I’m going to say next might be hard to believe, but I hope you will remember it well, because it may be tied to many people’s lives.”