Without another word, the woman kowtowed three times loudly to the Immortal.
Once the process was completed again, the woman shrank back a bit and hesitantly said:
"Daoist Master, will my wish come true?"
Ning An smiled naively, and as he grinned, his neat white teeth were revealed. This somewhat cunning smile seemed to have become his trademark:
"Auntie, don't worry. Fate will reveal the answer in time."
"I understand, I... sigh~"
The woman seemed a bit confused, only to sigh wistfully.
The friends in the livestream chat were suddenly at a loss for words.
"Even Auntie understands this, burning incense and making wishes is just for peace of mind. Why throw money at a Daoist Temple when she could see a psychologist?"
"It's the new century, how can there still be people like Marie Antoinette asking why not eat cake... Bro, how many can afford per-minute psychology sessions?"
"On the flip side, thirty bucks for spiritual comfort and a handsome Little Daoist providing personalized comfort is both economical and practical. Beats a psychologist by a mile!"
"Psychologist: You're avoiding reality. Little Daoist: It's fate's fault."
Ning An glanced at the barrage, feeling inexplicably at ease.
Look, now that's the kind of thing people should be saying!
Rumble, rumble!
At that moment, the sky darkened suddenly, with black clouds looming over the city interspersed with flashes of Thunder Dragons.
In no time, rain followed rapidly.
"Ah?"
Seeing the rain in front of him, Ning An was somewhat confused.
Rain?
Ning An had a peculiar expression.
Bear in mind that modern weather forecasts are quite accurate, and he had deliberately checked in the morning. There was simply no chance of rain today!
Moreover, the women in the village were generally knowledgeable about weather patterns; if they anticipated rain, they wouldn't have gone out. It's common sense.
Ning An had mixed feelings and was about to speak.
The woman was already efficiently moving the streaming equipment back indoors. Seeing Ning An still standing in the rain, she anxiously waved her hand:
"Daoist Master, don't get soaked, you'll catch a cold."
When Ning An came to his senses and walked inside, the woman looked at the incense burner and suddenly panicked:
"Daoist Master, the incense... it's going out. Where's the tarp, I'll go cover it."
Seeing the incense gradually being extinguished by the rain, Ning An suddenly panicked as well.
Damn, if the incense goes out, how will he get his reward!
With a whoosh, Ning An rushed into the rain even faster than the woman, swiftly covering the incense burner like lightning.
Returning to the hall, Ning An's clothes were soaked and clinging to his body, leaving him a bit disheveled.
Yet, in the livestream chat, viewers had a clear view of it all.
"Brings a tear to my eye, this Little Daoist is the real deal, totally dependable! Not like those places with bigwigs burning incense, where you'd think it's us begging them to let us burn one."
"Is this what professional spirit is? Makes us feel ashamed. I swear, if Auntie's wish doesn't backfire this time, just for the Daoist's attitude, I'm definitely taking my best friend to burn an incense stick!"
"Wow, that sounds more like an enemy friend."
"If the Daoist Master could combine seven dragon balls, that would be awesome. Burn incense seven times, summon the dragon once, and make a wish come true, how great would that be."
The friends in the livestream laughed and joked, not taking the woman's wish seriously.
The woman wished for peace and quiet for two days, but the root problem was her son.
Surely, he wouldn't transform overnight right after she made the wish?
Thinking of this, the friends' imaginations started running wild again.
"Hey, about how the wish might be granted. Is it possible, if you can't solve the problem, you solve the person causing it?"
"Shut your crow mouth up there! Auntie's son doesn't deserve to die. Just to clarify, this is a scientific society now!"
"Exactly, and besides, Auntie wished for peace and quiet for a few days. Solving her son would give peace and quiet for life."
Everybody talked resolutely, but inwardly they felt a bit uneasy.
What if, though?
...
"Mom, mom, come home for dinner!"
Outside the Daoist Temple, a figure held an umbrella, waving vigorously at the woman inside.
"The kid's here. Daoist Master, I'll head back now."
The woman smiled sheepishly, got up, and lovingly called outside, "Coming, coming, I can come by myself, you don't have to..."
But just at that moment, the woman's expression changed suddenly.
She looked at the kid in the rain and then at the Daoist Master, who was opening his mouth, and everything went black.
"Why can't I hear? I can't hear..."
"Kid, kid..."
The sudden scene caught everyone, online and offline, off guard.
"Holy crap? Is the incense poisoned?"
"Daoist Master: Well thanks a lot, Imagination Hero."
"What's going on? Why is Auntie suddenly so terrified?"
"Don't know, but it looks like things aren't going well."
...
Most netizens were puzzled, only a few med students skipping class had a look of insight as they watched the rain scene in the video.
Ning An had foreseen it; the woman had an ear infection caused by rainwater, leading to acute middle ear infection.
Her son, seeing his mother helplessly calling his name in the rain, rushed over and held her hand, crying and anxiously asking:
"Mom, mom, I'm here, I'm here, what's wrong, where do you feel unwell? The kid will take you to the hospital."
The woman pointed to her ear, crying and murmuring:
"I can't hear, my ear..."
"Can't hear?"
The woman felt like the sky was falling; how could her ear suddenly go deaf?
Seeing the anxious mother and son, Ning An felt somewhat embarrassed.
He stepped forward, helped the woman into the hall with her son, and sat her down.
Then he asked the woman's son for his phone, searched for the cause of acute middle ear infection, and showed it to the woman and her son.
"Acute middle ear infection?"
Seeing these words on the phone screen, the woman's son sighed with relief.
Patiently explaining by typing on the screen.
"Mom, don't worry, this isn't a serious illness, it will get better in two or three days."
The woman took the phone, sobbed while writing:
"Kid, don't lie to mom, is mom not going to make it? On TV, people with terminal illnesses are always comforted like that by their families."
Seeing the woman's son looking for help, Ning An coughed twice, and then started texting:
"You got rainwater in your ear, and there's a lot of dirt in it too, causing the middle ear infection."
"Go back to the village and get some medicine, rest well for a couple of days at home, and you'll be fine."
Hearing Ning An's words, the woman slowly calmed down.
But the livestream audience was left at a loss.
"What kind of weird illness is this?"
"Acute middle ear infection? Judging by the lady's expression, it must be her first time, huh? Didn't it rain here before?"
"Yeah, how come it rains this time and she gets an ear infection? I told you this temple is worshiping an Evil God."
Most of the livestream friends were still joking around, but some attentive viewers started unraveling the mystery.
"Wait, wait, I just checked the weather; it wasn't supposed to rain here today! The rain layer didn't even pass over this place!"
"Dude, weather forecasts aren't that precise, don't take them as gospel."
"Get lost! I'm from the meteorological bureau of the neighboring city. I personally launched a shot this morning to block their city's rain layer. They couldn't even smell the rain, so how could it be raining!"