Mystery: Becoming a Creator Through the Doorway

Chapter 88 Fingerprints and the Audience

Although they were sitting close together, An Ruowang didn't make any unwanted advances—even though their hands were clasped together.

He picked up Hazel's hand, spread it out on his own palm, examined it for a while, and then said, "I counted, and there are ten circles in the fingerprints on both of your hands."

As he spoke, he gently touched the pad of her index finger with his fingertip.

There was a complete spiral pattern there, circle after circle, layer upon layer, like the ripples created when a stone is thrown into water by a Hajimi catapult.

Heyr suppressed her shyness and tingling sensation, trying her best to make her voice sound normal.

She asked with some curiosity, "What does this mean in palmistry?"

To be honest, she was also very interested in these mystical things.

The "Thief" of Sequence 9 has relatively simple abilities.

After becoming a "thief," Hazel discovered that she only had a few methods at her disposal.

First and foremost is her aptly named "stealing" ability; she can easily take things from other people's pockets without anyone noticing.

Secondly, there's the "nimble hand," which makes her wrists and fingers more stable, flexible, fast, and agile than before.

Finally, there's "Exceptional Observation," which allows her to directly sense valuable items within a 10-meter radius. For example, the man currently standing next to her is perceived as a treasure.

Besides that, she must have gained some physical improvement, and she has become inexplicably adept at using weapons such as daggers and short swords.

An Ruowang looked into her eager eyes and couldn't help but smile.

"Of course."

He spoke slowly, his fingertip lightly tapping the pad of her index finger again: "In ancient Eastern and Western, no, in the divination of spirits, people with many fingerprint circles are considered a symbol of great fortune."

The continental plates of this world underwent dramatic changes during their initial awakening.

The continent they are on now is called the Northern Continent, but in the pre-cataclysmic era, it would have been North America.

Correspondingly, South America is the southern continent.

In the eyes of the people of the Northern Continent, Europe refers to the Eastern Continent, which later became the land abandoned by the gods, and Asia naturally refers to the Western Continent.

However, both the East University and the West University are legends to people from the North and South continents.

Hazel blinked: "Good fortune?"

"Um.

""

An Ruowang nodded: "Ten circles is a full count. This means you are born with good fortune, have benefactors in your life, and can turn bad luck into good."

He paused, matched the idiom with the Rune language in his mind, and translated it in a more colloquial way before continuing, "Moreover, ten circles also mean 'perfect in every way,' so your future life shouldn't be too bad; it should be quite fulfilling."

Hera listened, finding the arguments reasonable and well-founded, and felt inexplicably pleased, but she still pressed on, "Really? This benefactor you're talking about, could it be you?"

Instead of answering her question, An Ruowang countered, "Is that what you want me to be?"

Heirou's high-level offense and paper-like defense made her like France in World War II, who were driven deep into the heart of the country and surrendered immediately when An Ruowang launched an attack.

Her eyes darted around, but she dared not look at him.

After a long pause, she mumbled in a soft, sweet voice, "I don't know anything about divination or fate. You're an astrologer, so it's up to you to say it's true."

An Ruowang didn't answer the question, but gently squeezed her hand reassuringly and changed the subject, saying, "You know what? Actually, the fingerprints on both of my hands add up to ten circles."

Hazel paused, then turned to look at him: "You have ten circles too? Just like me, really?"

An Ruowang raised her chin and gestured towards her, saying, "Here, if you don't believe me, count them yourself."

Hazel lowered her head, looked at the hand she was holding, and began to count carefully in her mind.

Thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger —

Her left hand had five circles, none of them open, and her right hand—also five. That made a total of ten, exactly the same as hers.

It really is!

The two of them are so destined to meet, is it fate that they were meant to meet?

Thinking of this, Hazel's heart suddenly raced.

An Ruowang smiled but remained silent.

Although he can change his features through the "Faceless Man," it would be rather pointless to use this method to deliberately deceive Hazel.

His fingerprints did indeed add up to ten circles, something his mother first told him.

When he was little, his mother held his hands and counted the fingers one by one for him, saying that it was a symbol of good fortune. The little boy was overjoyed.

Similarly, he copied those auspicious words and said them to other girls.

In this respect, An Ruowang really didn't expect that Hazel, like him, also had ten circles.

However, even for other numbers, there are other auspicious sayings associated with them.

For example, nine can be used to say "long-lasting", eight can be used to say "prosperity", and seven can be used to say "a clever and intelligent person"—basically, it's all about associating numbers with something good, which is not difficult at all.

I say this is the "grafting" of the "fool," does anyone understand?

Heyle finished counting the circles, but did not stop what she was doing.

Her gaze shifted from the spiral patterns to the rest of his hand.

She was actually quite curious about the appearance of An Ruowang's hands.

I was so focused on counting the circles that I didn't really look at them properly.

Now, upon closer inspection, she realized that these hands were truly beautiful.

His fingers were long and strong, with fair and delicate skin, like the hands of an elegant pianist, making her want to put them in her mouth, or—

Hazel suddenly blushed.

An Ruowang noticed that she was staring intently at her hands, and a slight smile appeared on her lips. She asked, "Do you know about Extraordinary individuals using the 'Audience' pathway?"

Hazel paused for a moment, then looked up at him: "The audience route?"

Wait a minute, is this a subtle, veiled jab at her?

Before Hazel could speak, An Ruowang continued, "The audience can see the true thoughts of others by observing their expressions, mannerisms, verbal tics, and unseen actions, just like an observer can observe and examine an actor."

However, those who are Sequence 9 extraordinary often do not have abilities that far surpass those of ordinary people, and some exceptionally gifted ordinary people can also do the same things.

In other words, we can also become "a spectator."

Hazel was immediately drawn to his words and ignored his teasing.

"Eye contact, gestures, posture, and changes in movement can all reveal a person's psychological state." An Ruowang's gaze fell on her face, with a faint smile. "To understand a person's thoughts, you must start with body language."

An Ruowang raised his hand and gave an example: "For instance, the hand is a very important tactile sensory organ for humans. You can tell a lot about a person's experiences from the kind of hands they have."

Smokers typically have yellowed nails and fingertips; people who overuse pens often develop calluses on the sides of their right index and middle fingers, and so on.

Upon hearing this, Hazel immediately lowered her head, looking at the two hands clasped together, and began to observe.