Second Aunt was shaking her head, but her eyes were fixed on her own finger. Qin Sang thought she was shocked by the disappearance of the rice—after all, Second Aunt was nearly seventy, and her ability to accept something like a spatial space was probably limited.
But then she heard the woman say, “No, Sangsang. Never mind the rice. My jade ring is gone. Did you see it? That ring was a gift from my old man when he was young. He’s gone now, and that ring is all I have left to remember him by.”
The more Second Aunt spoke, the more agitated she became. She stood up and tried to walk out, showing no interest at all in the spatial space. In her heart, the jade ring her late husband had given her was far more important.
“Second Aunt, don’t get worked up. Sit down first. Let me think…”
It was only a few steps from the convenience store to the pharmacy, and on the way, she had been so worried about Second Aunt’s wound that she hadn’t noticed whether she was wearing a ring or not.
Qin Sang glanced at the finger where Second Aunt usually wore the ring. There was a pale white ring mark, quite different from the surrounding skin tone. It was clear the ring had been worn for a long time and fit tightly. So, the possibility of it slipping off her finger could almost be ruled out.
Then…
Qin Sang’s gaze shifted to that same finger, which still had some fresh blood on it. Second Aunt had used that hand to cover her bleeding forehead wound just moments ago.
A surprising but reasonable conclusion came to mind.
If this conclusion was true, then the secret of the spatial spaces might be about to be unlocked.
“Second Aunt, come on. Let’s go find your ring. Boss, my mom will come by later to pay for and pick up the rice that Second Aunt and I ordered.”
The pharmacy owner had watched the whole scene. He didn’t quite understand why Qin Sang was in such a hurry to leave. But he had seen that Second Aunt had a space!
These days, even a seventy-year-old woman had a space. The pharmacy owner couldn’t help but marvel, wondering what the world was coming to.
——
Qin Sang helped the still-anxious Second Aunt outside.
“Sangsang, Sangsang. Aren’t we going to look for the ring? The convenience store is right next door!” Second Aunt was entirely focused on her jade ring.
Not wanting to hide anything from the elderly woman, Qin Sang led her away from the crowd and directly shared her hypothesis.
“Second Aunt, are you absolutely sure you haven’t had any prophetic dreams?”
Second Aunt was both confused and anxious. But she knew Qin Sang was a good kid, so she cooperated fully. “No, I don’t sleep much at my age. I wake up easily. I barely dream at all. I don’t really understand these so-called prophetic dreams you all talk about. I figure they’re probably like gods sending messages in dreams. I’m just an old woman. The gods wouldn’t bother sending me any dreams!”
Second Aunt believed that people who received prophetic dreams were meant to save humanity. She was already halfway to the grave—why would the gods burden her with such a task?
Qin Sang found this interpretation quite novel. Thinking about it, it did make some sense. Otherwise, why would more and more people around the world be having prophetic dreams? Qin Sang silently noted this.
“Alright, then I have a guess.”
Second Aunt immediately pressed, “What guess?”
Qin Sang: “The jade ring you were wearing might have been stained with your blood, then disappeared and turned into your space.”
The explanation was simple. Though Second Aunt didn’t read web novels about spatial powers, she understood immediately.
Qin Sang expected her to be heartbroken. After all, she had worn that jade ring for decades. But instead, the old woman suddenly brightened up.
“It’s fine if it turned into a space. That way, even after I die, I can take things with me underground and tell my old dead husband all about it.”
Qin Sang immediately understood Second Aunt’s implication. Around here, after an elderly person passed away, their valuables were usually taken by their sons. Since Second Aunt had fallen out with her son, she certainly didn’t want to leave him anything.
Second Aunt didn’t care what Qin Sang was thinking. She was already eagerly asking how to use the space.
Qin Sang briefly explained all the information the authorities had released about spatial spaces, while continuing to walk with Second Aunt toward the community.
Yes, this matter was very important. If Qin Sang’s guess was correct, the number of people with spatial abilities might increase dramatically. This would be extremely beneficial for humanity’s survival.
When Second Aunt heard it could impact human survival, she urged Qin Sang to walk faster.
Seeing that the old woman had regained her energy, Qin Sang smiled and followed along.
——
“Sangsang, why didn’t I see you and Second Aunt at the pharmacy?”
As soon as Qin Sang stepped inside, her mother asked.
“Something came up. Mom, let me ask you first—after you got your space, did you check if any of your jewelry was missing?”
The question was so strange that Mom Qin was taken aback. “I’ve been busy with the renovation and organizing supplies. I took off my jade bracelet a while ago! Actually, no—I can’t quite remember. Let me go check my room…”
Dad Qin was in the kitchen making meat-stuffed rice balls. Basically, he was stuffing minced meat into rice balls, making them bite-sized, and wrapping each one in plastic wrap. These rice balls would be the most convenient to eat later when cooking wasn’t possible.
Hearing Qin Sang ask about jewelry as soon as she came in, he said in surprise, “Are we pawning jewelry?”
The family didn’t have much money left, so Dad Qin thought Qin Sang needed more cash for supplies.
Qin Sang shook her head. “Dad, when you had your prophetic dream, you weren’t wearing any jewelry either, right?”
“I have too much work every day to wear jewelry.” As a chef, he definitely couldn’t wear anything on his hands. He used to wear a jade pendant around his neck. But because of the renovation, he had been helping carry bricks. In the summer heat, he worked shirtless. Afraid of breaking the family heirloom jade pendant, he had taken it off and stored it in a drawer in his room.
Just then, her mother ran out of the room. “Oh dear, my jade bracelet really is gone!”
Mom Qin scratched her head in frustration. Too many things had been happening lately, one after another. She really couldn’t remember when the bracelet had disappeared.
Qin Sang now had a clearer picture. She sat her parents down and told them about how Second Aunt had suddenly acquired a space.
“So you’re guessing that my space came from that jade bracelet?” Mom Qin asked, feeling like she was hearing a fantasy.
Seeing that her mother was even less receptive than seventy-year-old Second Aunt, Qin Sang patiently explained everything step by step.
This time, her mother understood. Her father then asked, “So I don’t have a space not because I’m ugly, but because I just happened not to be wearing any jade during the prophetic dream?”
Qin Sang nodded. This was the conclusion she had drawn based on Second Aunt’s situation.
Spaces couldn’t appear out of nowhere. Everyone with a space seemed to have a special kind of energy field around them.
If the prophetic dream was the trigger and jade was the medium, then people who had prophetic dreams while wearing jade gained a space. Those who had prophetic dreams without wearing any jade didn’t.
Of course, the jade itself likely had to meet certain requirements—perhaps it needed to be spiritually charged or of high quality. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many prophetic dreamers without spaces.
As for people who hadn’t had prophetic dreams, there might still be a way to gain a space: finding spiritually charged jade and performing a blood-binding ritual.
Qin Sang had shared this whole theory with the management bureau officials stationed at the community after taking Second Aunt there. Yes, the Natural Disaster Response Management Bureau had set up at the community early that morning.
When Qin Sang brought Second Aunt over, the bureau was just about to start its work.
After hearing Qin Sang’s hypothesis, the bureau chief asked her to keep it confidential. They kept Second Aunt and sent Qin Sang home. Qin Sang understood the reason for the secrecy. If this conclusion was confirmed, the world, already on the verge of chaos, could become even more turbulent.
“Mom, Dad, it’s easy to verify my guess. Get out all the jade items at home, and let Dad try blood-binding them one by one.”
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