The dim bar was filled with the smell of alcohol and cigarettes. The walls were covered with yellowed posters from previous magic conferences, ranging from black and white printing to color inkjet printing, recording the rise and fall of this industry for half a century. Several magicians in strange costumes sat together in twos and threes, drinking and chatting.
Jay·Blackburn was sitting at the bar, shuffling a deck of playing cards with dexterous fingers. His hair was white and sparse, and he was wearing a black suit, with frayed cuffs. His movements were not fast, but they gave people the feeling of flowing water. The playing cards were flying up and down between his fingers as if they were alive, sometimes turning into a silver waterfall, sometimes disappearing in the palm of his hand, and sometimes appearing out of thin air from behind his ears.
"Wow, you are so awesome." The waitress Lily with a ponytail looked at him with bright eyes, holding a glass of freshly mixed blue Hawaiian in her hand.
Jay smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes squeezed together. "Yeah, it's not bad."
"Hey, give us another show." Lily put the wine glass on the bar and leaned forward slightly, "I still don't understand the magic trick of the coin piercing the cup last time."
Jay nodded and took out a 25-cent coin from his pocket. He put the coin in the palm of his left hand, picked up a transparent glass with his right hand, and tipped it upside down on the coin. Then he tapped the bottom of the cup lightly, and when he picked up the cup again, the coin had disappeared.
"Where are the coins?" Lily opened his eyes in surprise.
Jay pointed to her ponytail. "It's on your hair."
Lily reached out and touched it, and sure enough she took out the coin from her ponytail. She exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my god! How did you do that?"
At this moment, Magic rookie Patrick·Vance walked over with a glass of whiskey. He was young and energetic, with meticulously combed hair, wearing an expensive suit, and a Rolex watch on his wrist, with undisguised disdain on his face. He leaned on the bar and looked at Jay condescendingly.
"Drink your drink, Jay. Isn't it just a simple cross-shuffling and coin-hiding technique." Vance sneered and placed the wine glass heavily on the bar, "Change the cards for me."
Lily frowned and ignored Vance: "Oh, it's coming, it's coming--Jay the Amazing."
Jay ignored Vance's provocation and just smiled at Lily, "Okay, young lady, please stop at any time."
His fingers flipped the playing cards quickly, and the cards slipped through his fingers like running water, making a crisp "swishing" sound.
"Stop." Lily shouted.
Jay stopped, pulled out a card from the deck, and handed it to her. "This is your card. Remember it, okay? Don't show it to anyone."
Lily glanced at the card and nodded. "Okay, I remember, Jay."
"Don't be stupid." Vance rolled his eyes and interrupted Jay's next action. He drank down the whiskey in his hand, snatched the cards from Jay's hand and spread them out on the bar, "Okay, now, have you seen your cards?"
Lily was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and looked carefully. "Well, no."
"No, because the card said 'no'." Vance raised his chin proudly and raised his chin towards Jay, "Search his pockets."
"Oh my god, Vance." Lily was a little dissatisfied, "You're going too far."
"Oh, search it! Search his damn pockets!" Vance's voice rose a little, attracting the side glances of several magicians around him.
Jay smiled helplessly and spread his hands, "Then, please take it out..."
Lily hesitated for a moment, then reached into Jay's suit pocket and took out the Queen of Hearts. She looked at Jay in surprise. "When did you put this away?"
Then she turned her head and said to Vance dissatisfied, "Why are you so mean? Can't you let this old man go?"
Vance snorted, said nothing, turned and left with the empty wine glass. After walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and turned back to make a disdainful gesture to Jay. His back was straight, with a kind of arrogance unique to young people.
Jay looked at his back, picked up the beer on the bar and took a sip, his eyes darkened. His fingers unconsciously rubbed the deck of playing cards, and a familiar rough texture came from his fingertips.
I'm old, really old. Even a boy with no hair growing up would dare to sit on my head and shit. In the past, the Amazing Jay could fill all the seats in the Radio City Music Hall and make the whole New York go crazy for me. What about now? Now I can only mix drinks with waiters in bars. What's the point of living?
At this moment, Jay's friends, Charlie Burton and Vernon Haskell, walked in from the door of the bar. Charlie's hair was also full of gray, and he walked a little awkwardly. Vernon was hobbling, holding a cane in his hand; Vernon wore a pair of thick glasses and held a shabby briefcase in his hand, which contained all their magic props. After they saw Jay, they smiled at each other and walked over.
"Hey, old man." Charlie patted Jay on the shoulder, "We're here."
Jay raised his head and forced a smile, "You are too slow. I thought you were lost."
The three clinked their glasses, and beer foam splashed on the bar.
"Let's go, the show will start soon." Vernon looked at his watch, "Jeb·Dirk ster's show, I heard that all the tickets are sold out. There are scalpers at the door who are selling at increased prices."
Jay nodded and put down the glass. The three of them stood up together and walked out of the bar. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on their backs, drawing three long, rickety shadows.
As the sun sets, the golden sunlight shines on the empty road, dyeing it a warm orange-red color. Bai Haorui is driving the Ford pickup truck provided by Bobby. He is driving on the road. "Rice Fragrance" is playing on the car radio. He puts one hand on the car window and the other hand on the steering wheel, feeling rare and relaxed.
I finally broke through the sixth level. The sixth level of "Three Altars Body-Refining True Fire Art" [True Gang Condensation · Refining Qi into Gang], the True Qi in the body finally turned into a tangible True Gang, and the offensive and defensive capabilities have been improved by more than one level. I really want to practice with an angel or a demon quickly to try the power of this new power.
He took a deep breath and felt the purple-gold True Gang rushing through his body. This powerful feeling made him feel extremely at ease.
At this moment, "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" four loud noises were heard at the same time. The four tires of the pickup truck burst instantly, and the car suddenly rushed towards the roadside.
Bai Haorui reacted very quickly, turned the steering wheel sharply, and stepped on the brakes at the same time. The tires made a piercing scream as they rubbed against the ground. The pickup truck slid more than ten meters on the road, and finally hit the guardrail on the roadside with a "clang" and stopped.
Bai Haorui didn't move at all. He immediately unbuckled his seat belt, opened the door and jumped out.
He looked around, and his eyes instantly turned cold. Dozens of demons in black suits appeared before and after the road. They were all expressionless, with pure black light shining in their eyes, and holding various weapons with cold light in their hands - sickles and daggers. heads, chains, and some strange weapons engraved with Hell runes. The leader was a demon commander wearing a long black trench coat. He was tall, with a hideous scar extending from his forehead to his chin, and a cruel smile on his lips.
This demon is one of Alastair's most capable officers. He is famous for his cruelty and bloodthirsty. Hell.
"Bai Haorui, we have been waiting for you for a long time." Lieg u's voice was hoarse and unpleasant, like sandpaper rubbing against a stone.
Bai Haorui curled his lips and laughed, and slowly held the mahogany sword behind his back with his right hand. A ray of purple-gold True Gang slowly circulated, glowing with a strange light in the sunset. "Alastair sent you here?"
"That's right." The leader of the demon licked his lips and looked at Bai Haorui greedily, "You damn oriental heretic has repeatedly ruined Hell's plans. Master Alastair said, whoever can kill you will get his personal reward, and will also gain the right to rule a human city after the arrival of Apocalypse. Kill you and give your soul to Lord Alastair, and he will definitely be very happy."
"Are you bastards like you worthy of taking my life?" Bai Haorui's voice was cold, and the air around him seemed to have solidified.
"Go! Tear him to pieces!" The devil waved his hand violently and roared.
Dozens of demons roared at the same time and rushed towards Bai Haorui. Their speed was extremely fast, leaving black afterimages on the road.
Bai Haorui dodged and escaped the first demon's claw attack. At the same time, he made a fist with his right hand, condensed True Gang into his fist, and hit the second demon's chest hard.
"Bang!"
There was a loud noise, and the purple-gold True Gang exploded instantly. The demon's body exploded into pieces as if it was hit by a cannonball. The black demon's blood and internal organs were scattered in all directions, but three inches away from Bai Haorui's body, the protective True Gang around him evaporated without a trace.
The third demon waved a scythe and slashed at Bai Haorui's neck. Bai Haorui ducked sideways, and at the same time, his left hand turned into a claw and grabbed the demon's wrist. He squeezed hard with his fingers, and with a "click", the demon's wrist was crushed to pieces. The demon's sickle fell to the ground with a loud "clang" sound.
Bai Haorui kicked the devil in the stomach and kicked him away. The devil hit the guardrail on the roadside and vomited black blood.
At the same time, five demons rushed up from different directions at the same time. Bai Haorui's eyes focused and his mind moved. The purple-gold True Gang in his body instantly surged out, forming a thick layer of Gang Qi shield around him.
"Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!"
The demons' attacks landed on the Gang Qi shield, making a crisp metallic collision sound, but leaving no trace on the shield.
Bai Haorui snorted coldly, and waved the mahogany sword with his right hand. The purple-gold True Gang flowed along the sword body, dyeing the entire blade into a purple-gold Gang Qi long sword.
"Ugh!"
He turned his wrist lightly, and the long sword drew a graceful arc. A half-meter-long purple-gold Gang Qi blade shot out of the air, instantly cutting three demons in half. Black demon blood spurted out and sprinkled all over the floor.
The remaining two demons were so frightened that they turned around and wanted to run away. How could Bai Haorui let them go? With a flick of his left hand, two True Gang chains flew out from his palm and instantly wrapped around the ankles of the two demons.
True Gang The chains were suddenly retracted, and the two demons fell to the ground at the same time. Bai Haorui flashed and rushed in front of them. With a wave of his sword, the two demon heads rolled to the ground.
The whole process takes less than ten seconds.
The leader's face changed. He didn't expect Bai Haorui's combat power to be so terrifying. He gritted his teeth and roared at the remaining demons, "Don't be afraid, come all here! Come together! I don't believe he can beat so many of us!"
The remaining demons looked at each other, roared and charged forward again. This time, they no longer fought individually, but formed a battle formation, some attacking from the front, some sneaking from the side, and some from long range.
Bai Haorui's eyes were solemn, and the Gang Qi long sword in his hand danced tightly. Purple-gold sword light flashed around him, and every time he swung the sword, a demon fell.
A demon sneak attacked from behind, and a pair of sharp claws clawed at Bai Haorui's back. Bai Haorui seemed to have eyes on his back, and stamped the ground with his left foot. A gap opened in the ground instantly, and a purple-gold True Gang spewed out from the ground, directly piercing the demon to the core.
Another demon threw a demon dagger tempered with poison, and shot it towards Bai Haorui's eyes. Bai Haorui didn't look back, and pointed backhand with his left hand. A ray of True Gang shot out, accurately hitting the demon dagger. The demon dagger changed direction in the air, and in turn shot towards the demon who threw it.
"Ah!"
With a scream, the demon's dagger hit the demon's forehead. The poison was instantaneous, and the demon's body rotted at a speed visible to the naked eye, and finally turned into a pool of black pus.