The Performer

There were too many people; he couldn't squeeze through. Lin Jue simply stepped onto the curb beside the street, stood on tiptoe, and craned his neck to look.

Sure enough, someone was performing tricks.

The crowd had enclosed an open space about two zhang square. A wooden table stood in the middle, and before it sat a man in cloth garments. Three bowls and several peach pits lay before him, which he shifted from bowl to bowl.

He was performing the Three Immortals Return to the Cave trick.

Cheers and guesses often rose from the surrounding spectators, as though they were competing in wits with the performer.

Lin Jue frowned.

He knew a little about such tricks. They generally relied on sleight of hand and guiding the audience's thoughts. The more masterful the technique, the better it was, and the more deeply it understood the viewers' minds.

Looking more carefully, he frowned even harder.

If the open ground had been broad enough, with only one man and one table, surrounded on all sides by people, and this man could still perform the trick with ease, then in this world of Monsters and spells, Lin Jue would have reserved the possibility that this fellow might truly possess something strange. Yet the wooden table had been placed with its back to a wall by the street. There were already few people at the performer's side and behind him, and several companions stood at his back, blocking all the angles from which flaws could most easily be seen.

Lin Jue looked over those directions again.

It truly was easier to see through the trick from the side and rear. Though few stood there, judging by their expressions, some seemed indeed to have caught a glimpse of the clues.

Perhaps they had not seen clearly, or perhaps they felt that attaining such skill was already impressive enough. There was no reason to smash someone else's rice bowl for nothing, so no one stepped forward to expose him.

Many spectators, however, watched with great excitement.

Such liveliness was probably rare in ordinary times, and they seldom saw performances this strange.

Lin Jue said nothing and remained where he was, watching.

After a while, a bearded middle-aged man covered something with a colored scarf and produced a copper basin. With another sweep of the scarf, he produced water from the empty basin, then produced koi fish.

The onlookers cheered without end.

Many people's eyes were wide open, gleaming brightly.

After turning the colored scarf into fish came Empty Box Retrieval.

Besides melons, fruit, vegetables, kittens, and puppies, he could even retrieve things carried by audience members on the spot. Someone jeered and demanded that he retrieve the red bellyband from the widow's house down the street, and he actually did.

Lin Jue was half convinced and half doubtful, his brows tightly furrowed.

He held hope, and he also had patience.

As time slowly passed, it grew later, the sun climbed higher, and the flow of people on the street reached its peak.

In the open space ahead, the performer's apprentice knelt on the ground collecting money, while the older performer walked about and said:

"Many thanks to all you honored viewers for your support. We have come here and earned enough for our travel expenses. Among the performances earlier, there were both genuine Mysterious Skills and techniques honed through bitter practice. I thank you all for your enthusiastic support, and I also thank those discerning people who saw through things but did not say so. This humble one thanks you all."

As he spoke, he cupped his hands and bowed.

The spectators were watching at the height of their excitement, and his words were pleasing to hear. Naturally, another wave of cheers rose up, urging him to perform more impressive acts.

"We had not eaten breakfast, and our stomachs are hungry. We had meant to rest awhile, eat something, and drink some water. But since you viewers wish to see something more impressive, we naturally cannot spoil the interest of all you noble people."

After saying that, he beckoned toward the side.

A Young Man of thirteen or fourteen ran over. In this season of returning spring cold, he wore only a pair of trousers, his upper body bare, so thin that his ribs could be seen.

"Honored viewers! Those with money, please lend us your monetary support; those without, please lend us your presence. May this performance add a little brightness and bustle to everyone's days. This little child has not performed many times, so please do not make him too embarrassed to show his face!"

It was still the older performer speaking with cupped hands.

He had some skill with words.

The Young Man, meanwhile, did not say a word. As soon as he ran out, he circled the open ground twice, then faced the spectators and opened his mouth wide, as if to show it to everyone.

There was nothing inside.

Then he took out a black pill, put it into his mouth with malt sugar, and chewed. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he tilted his head back and spat into the air.

Boom...

A great burst of flame blossomed in the air.

The onlookers jumped in fright. Then this blazing sight immediately drew a great many cries of surprise and claps.

Lin Jue was greatly surprised as well.

He did not know what that black pill was. Yet even if it were some combustible medicine, he had not seen anything used to ignite it.

After thinking it over, Lin Jue hurried down the steps and squeezed forward.

"Don't push, don't push..."

"Why are you shoving?"

"Who's pushing me?"

"You brat..."

"Make way, make way."

More passersby were drawn over by the firelight and cries of surprise. Since he also had to protect his Back Basket and medicinal herbs, Lin Jue spent no small effort before finally squeezing into the very middle.

Boom!!

Another burst of flame exploded in the sky.

The surrounding audience remained excited and boiling over.

What did it mean for things to be in full swing?

This was exactly it.

But the performance had already reached its end.

"Phew..."

The Young Man seemed exhausted. Panting, he stopped and looked at the middle-aged man, then at the spectators around him. Without saying a word, he hurriedly lowered his head and cupped his hands in salute.

At once, a chorus of clinks and clatters rang out.

Many people tossed coins into the center, or threw fruit and vegetables. Some even set eggs on the ground and rolled them forward.

These days, anything counted as a reward.

Yet just then, an untimely voice sounded from the side:

"After watching for so long, I finally saw one piece of Performance Art that could be called genuine skill. But taking such a crude Fire-Repelling Technique to perform at a temple fair is rather fooling people, isn't it?"

The voice was old and carried no lack of contempt.

Everyone followed the sound and saw an old man in cloth garments.

"This honored viewer is..."

The middle-aged performer could not help cupping his hands in a probing gesture.

"One could say I am in the same trade."

The old man smiled as he spoke.

At those words, the middle-aged performer's expression immediately darkened.

The other spectators froze for a moment, then quite a few revealed excited expressions, eager to watch the show.

The atmosphere had already been heated; now it rose another level.

"Though the saying goes that those in the same trade are enemies, we came here after reporting to the local county official, paying the fee, and asking for directions. We have offended no one and stolen no one's business." After thinking for a moment, the middle-aged performer cautiously said to the old man, "Senior, what is this about...?"

"You have done nothing wrong. This old man merely arrived here one step later than you. When I reported to the authorities, the officials said that performers had already registered, paid enough money, and occupied a good spot. I happened to have nothing to do today, so I came for a stroll and happened to run into you." The old man simply stepped forward, smiling warmly. "I had thought to broaden my horizons and see what skills fellow performers from other places possessed. I never expected to see no particularly formidable abilities."

His tone carried a fair amount of helplessness, as though he truly meant no harm.

He even sighed after speaking:

"When a person grows old, he talks too much. Whatever is in his heart, he simply cannot hold it in, and so it comes out."

The middle-aged performer's face shifted between light and dark. After surveying the surrounding spectators, he could only lower his saluting hands and say, "If you say we are not skilled enough, then it seems Senior has something to teach us!"

"Teach? I would not dare. Of what you performed just now, the only thing that caught my eye was that final Fire-Repelling Technique. But this little child has only just entered the gate."

The moment his words fell, the Young Man who had just performed immediately looked around, lowered his head and fidgeted with his hands, utterly at a loss.

"Senior speaks the truth..."

Before the crowd, the middle-aged performer had originally lowered his stance, been exceedingly polite, and played up his hardship, looking every bit the easygoing performer. Yet now, his face could not help darkening.

"But my child is still young. What does a little child know? Senior, please do not shame him. Liu Mou has cultivated this Fire-Repelling Technique for many years. Let Senior examine it and see how much heat it has."

The crowd immediately began to egg them on.

Lin Jue became much more interested as well.

The middle-aged performer likewise opened a Tao jar, took out a black pill, added malt sugar, and chewed it in his mouth, while people behind him beat gongs and drums and clashed cymbals.

Dong-cha!

With a crash of drum and cymbal, the middle-aged performer tilted his head back and suddenly spat along with the sound.

Boom!

It was not a scattered blaze bursting in the sky, but a straight pillar of fire shooting directly upward, at least two or three zhang long.

This pillar of flame was exceptionally conspicuous. From a slightly higher vantage, it could likely be seen several streets away. If it were night, the entire county town would probably see the firelight.

Whether one knew the craft or merely watched the excitement, anyone could see there was real foundation behind it.

Yet the middle-aged performer did not stop and spat fire several more times.

Together with the wind instruments, drums, claps, and beats of the performance troupe providing accompaniment, the atmosphere was built up magnificently, and the emotions of the surrounding spectators rose another step.

Clearly, his skill was indeed deeper than the Young Man's. Not only could he gather the flames and spit fire into a pillar, but one pill let him spit fire not once, but three or five times in succession.

Then the middle-aged man ate another pill and circled the open ground, spitting pillars of fire over every spectator's head so they could feel the scorching heat. He even found some wood, placed it in a brazier, and ignited it with his flame, proving that the fire he spat was no Illusionary Technique, but the real thing.

"Not bad, not bad..."

The old man applauded repeatedly. "Your Fire-Repelling Technique has gained some heat."

"May I ask what guidance Senior has?"

The middle-aged performer felt rather pleased with himself for a moment.

"Guidance is too much, too much. It is only that perhaps you viewers have not heard of this. I wonder whether fellow performers have? The Fire-Repelling Technique has upper and lower grades." The old man smiled. "The lower-grade Fire-Repelling Technique requires things such as Fire Pills and Fire Oil to be put in the mouth before it can be cast. The upper-grade Fire-Repelling Technique does not."

The middle-aged performer was instantly shocked.

The crowd also paused for a moment, then erupted into discussion and shouting.

"What do you mean, upper-grade? Perform it and let us see!"

"Compete!"

"Old man, don't just wag your tongue!"

"You old man have no sense of propriety! If you want to set up a stall and earn money, why not go to the south of town? They have worked hard here all morning; it isn't easy for them!"

The old man initially declined, but amid the crowd's unceasing jeers and cries, he finally stepped out.

Unhurriedly, he took no Fire Pill. He merely walked to the brazier the middle-aged performer had lit earlier, which was filled with firewood and flames. He smiled at the crowd, then suddenly bent down and inhaled.

"Suck..."

At once, the flames curled into a spiral, narrowing from thick to thin. As if alive, they wound upward and drilled into his mouth.

The crowd fell silent without realizing it.

Looking again at the old man, there was nothing unusual about him.

He opened his mouth to show them as well. There was nothing inside.

But then he suddenly opened his mouth and spat:

Boom...

Another pillar of fire soared into the sky.

The sight left the spectators dumbstruck.

Lin Jue's eyes widened too.

Though this pillar of fire was not as long as the middle-aged performer's and was more scattered, he had eaten nothing at all. Adding the spectacle of swallowing fire into his belly and then spitting it out again, the visual impact was far greater.

For a moment, it was simply like Divine Methods.

"Your enthusiasm is difficult to decline, and this old man could not refuse, so I can only come forward and make a fool of myself. But please step back a little as well. I am advanced in years, and my strength does not compare to this strong man and young fellow. If the fierce flames I spit scatter and scorch your hair or faces, I shall bear no responsibility."

Boom...

Like the middle-aged performer earlier, the old man circled the open ground, spraying pillars of fire over people's heads so they could feel the scorching heat. He even singed people's hair to prove the flames were no illusion.

Together with the sounds of gongs and drums, it made everyone even more aghast.

Boom...

A flame swept over Lin Jue's head.

Lin Jue was one of the few who had not stepped back. Even as the flames passed, he only protected the opening of the basket before him and did not shield his head—just as the old man had said, his strength was inferior to that of younger men and his flames were more scattered. Lin Jue immediately felt the fierce, surging power of the scorching fire.

At the same time, a strange feeling rose within him.

Lin Jue suddenly remembered—

Back at the Wang Family Ancestral Hall in Heng Village, when that Monster had blown smoke toward him, he had felt the same thing.

He only did not know whether it was truly as he suspected.

Lost in a daze, Lin Jue raised his hand to touch his head.

Several strands of hair had curled slightly.