NOVEL NEXT 12: The Strange Magician
Ye Lan was familiar with this place.
Wanyu Plaza, the largest entertainment venue in Yunzhang City, was full of technological and mechanical elements, quite futuristic.
She had been here before, but playing alone had no appeal, so she had quickly left.
She never imagined a Star Eclipse would appear here.
According to Night Watcher common knowledge, ordinary people couldn’t perceive the anomalies caused by Star Eclipses. Even if one had occurred near her before, she probably wouldn’t have noticed.
“Danger is not far from oneself.”
This phrase suddenly came to Ye Lan’s mind.
“It feels like entering another world, truly incredible.”
Even though she had become a Night Watcher, she still lacked the necessary resolve.
At most, Ye Lan was attracted by the good benefits Cai Xun and others had mentioned. Suddenly joining seemed to just go with the flow.
Did she really have the courage to face those enemies that sounded so dangerous?
She was kind, but perhaps not brave.
Ye Lan leisurely strolled around the plaza’s edge, head down, kicking at the air as if there were small pebbles in front of her.
At this moment, she saw a group of people gathered around, seemingly observing some scene.
“Huh~?”
Curious, Ye Lan cautiously approached.
Upon closer inspection, she saw a man in his forties wearing a black tailcoat and top hat, politely performing his magic tricks in the open space.
The magician took off his top hat, displayed its interior in a circle, then pointed his magic wand inside.
“Coo coo coo!”
“Coo coo!”
“Coo!”
Several pigeons suddenly flew out of the hat.
Clap clap clap clap clap!
“Bravo! Bravo!”
Thunderous applause suddenly erupted from the audience.
“Heh~”
The magician smiled mysteriously, turned the hat around and placed it on the ground, then pointed his magic wand at it again.
But nothing happened next.
“Oh~”
Ye Lan was captivated, involuntarily widening her eyes.
The magician’s movements paused, seemingly puzzled why nothing had happened.
“Did he make a mistake?” Ye Lan muttered, guessing.
Then the magician leaned his face over the top hat to look, and a spring-loaded boxing glove suddenly popped out, knocking the magician over.
“Hahaha~”
“Hahaha!”
The audience laughed “joyfully”.
The magician stood up, pressed the spring-loaded glove back into the hat, put it back on his head, and bowed to the audience.
Ye Lan finally realized.
“So it wasn’t a mistake earlier? A performance technique? Hmm~ It seems to incorporate elements of magician, comedian, and clown. How impressive~”
Ye Lan was also amused by the performance, feeling quite delighted, and willingly offered her applause.
But her applause blended into the crowd’s, not causing any stir.
Ye Lan didn’t notice that the people around her were in a somewhat strange state, with slightly stiff expressions and unnatural movements.
“This magician’s performance style is quite retro. I didn’t expect to see this kind of performance in such a fast-paced era. It’s so rare, and it seems many people like it. I thought only I enjoyed such joyful performances.”
Ye Lan wasn’t very well-adapted to the fast-paced life and had trouble keeping up with the rhythm of the times, so she felt out of place with others.
Well, perhaps it was because she was too poor and lazy.
Young people nowadays were already accustomed to the current fast-paced life. With the benefits of technology and machinery, entertainment options had exploded, and stage performances like this had long been phased out.
Between simple magic tricks and cool technological machines, which was more attractive?
Obviously the latter.
Anyway, Ye Lan hadn’t expected so many people to come watch this older man’s magic show.
Back to reality.
When the magician stopped performing, the expressions of everyone around quickly returned to normal, the cheering suddenly stopped, and they all left.
“Hm?” Ye Lan looked confused, still not quite understanding the situation.
Now looking at the motionless magician standing in the middle, he seemed a bit like the curtain had fallen.
“Mm…”
It felt too similar to when she was alone in her room, feeling lonely.
After hesitating for a moment, Ye Lan applauded again.
Clap clap clap~
The old magician’s gaze fell on her, his eyes seeming to sparkle.
“Did you find my performance splendid?”
The magician’s voice was magnetic, with a sense of heavy storytelling, and gave a considerable pressure.
Ye Lan was startled by this voice, her whole body tensing, but she still mustered the courage to answer him.
“Yes, I thought it was splendid. I really like your performance style. You must be the kind of performer who brings joy to people, right? Combining elements of magic, comedy, and clowning, it’s really natural. Can I see your performance again?”
Ye Lan didn’t know why she suddenly had the courage to say so much to a stranger. It must have been because she saw the old magician looking a bit lonely, so she wanted to encourage him.
This was the extent of her gentleness and kindness.
The magician’s eyes moved, his whole body beginning to tremble. He covered his face and slowly bent over, a hoarse laugh gradually spilling out.
“Hahaha… Joyful? That’s good. You are the true audience!”
Ye Lan was frightened by his excited appearance and couldn’t help taking half a step back.
“Um… There were many audience members just now…”
The magician stood up straight again, seemingly having stabilized his emotions, and said, “No, those weren’t audience members, just some people playing along. They weren’t even willingly playing along. I couldn’t bring them true joy with my performance, which made me a bit disheartened. But I didn’t expect you to appear. You were voluntarily attracted by my performance, joy arising from the heart! Even your applause and encouragement were so moving! This is exactly what I’ve been looking for, what we’ve been looking for!”
“Ah… this…” Ye Lan was completely puzzled.
She could understand each word the magician said, but couldn’t comprehend them strung together.
The old magician became excited again.
“I have some friendly colleagues, their performances are equally splendid! They also need audience members like you. Could you come back with me? We’ll put on a spectacular show just for you! I believe you’ll definitely come to like them, and you’ll definitely offer the most beautiful applause and cheers!”
“Mm…”
Ye Lan’s expression was troubled. She felt the magician in front of her was a bit strange, but didn’t know exactly why.
“But I’m a bit busy now and can’t get away. How about… next time for sure?”
She finally realized that the magician before her was a bit odd.
If he made any strange moves next, Ye Lan would definitely use her fastest speed to run away.
Wasn’t that what the wished-for speed was for?
However, the magician just sighed with disappointment.
“That’s truly a pity. If that’s the case, let me present a performance just for you, a new magic trick. Please enjoy.”
“That’s fine.”