NOVEL NEXT 16: Encountering the Magician Again
To be frank, letting a cute young girl go out alone requires a great deal of courage.
After all, in this era, there are still many criminals, and they might be even more dangerous.
While advanced technology benefits society, it also enhances the danger posed by lawbreakers, so caution is still necessary.
Especially for someone like Ye Xing, with her beautiful silver hair and innocent appearance, she’s an ideal target for certain individuals.
“What should I eat later? Always eating junk food doesn’t seem good. If this nice figure turns into a ball, my mental state would definitely collapse.”
Ye Xing isn’t worried about her safety, after all, she can run extremely fast.
She’s only concerned about turning into a ball if she continues to be so idle, which is a terrifying thought.
“I guess I should maintain a certain amount of exercise, right?” Ye Xing muttered.
Previously, going to work every day was her only exercise, and she’d just lie down when she got home.
Now, staying at home all the time leaves her with nothing to do.
At least her other body found a decent job, but Ye Xing is still unemployed.
No, she should be considered part of the flexible employment population.
Well, without any identity, she can’t even be flexibly employed.
“Hmm… whatever, what’s wrong with being idle? Being a bit plump might feel better when hugged. Let’s slack off!”
Ye Xing doesn’t know that after becoming a young girl, her body shape has been fixed by mysterious forces, so she won’t gain weight no matter how much she eats.
Her worries are unnecessary.
At this moment, someone suddenly blocked Ye Xing’s path.
Ye Xing looked up and saw an unfamiliar person smiling at her.
“Little sister, where are you going? Can you tell me?”
Ye Xing immediately felt a chill, becoming alert and ready to run.
“Who are you?”
“Don’t worry about who I am. Seeing a child walking alone on the street seems a bit unsafe, so I came to ask. If you’ve lost your parents, why don’t I take you to find them?”
Hearing this, Ye Xing knew she was in trouble.
She had indeed caught the attention of a criminal!
Being too cute is indeed a fault.
“Um, no need, thank you.”
Just as Ye Xing was about to turn and run, she saw several people approaching, blocking her escape route.
From the current situation, it seems to be a group operation?
Although it’s night, they’re being too bold!
“Hmm…”
Ye Xing was gradually forced into a small alley, feeling somewhat scared.
She wasn’t as brave as she imagined; otherwise, she wouldn’t have “wished” for super speed earlier. Wasn’t it just for escaping danger?
She didn’t want to get involved in fighting.
Violence is prohibited.
The leader laughed out loud.
“We’re so lucky tonight, encountering such a rare gem alone. I wonder which family you’re from, daring to wander around late at night. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s your parents for not keeping you in check, hehe~”
Hearing a certain word in this sentence, Ye Xing’s expression visibly darkened for a moment, recalling unpleasant memories.
She had no parents to look after her.
But feeling bad aside, now was the time to escape quickly. She didn’t want to be turned into a plush toy.
There were still some gaps between these people. At worst, she could sprint through at full force, regardless of the consequences.
“You forced me to do this…”
However, at this moment, heavy footsteps sounded from behind, coming from the dark alley.
Ye Xing turned back and saw a tall figure slowly emerging from the shadows, carrying an incredibly oppressive aura.
He wore a top hat on his head and a black tailcoat, as if about to merge with the pitch-black shadows.
He took off the hat on his head and held it out.
“Caw—— Caw——“
A flock of crows perched on the power lines seemed to be summoned, flying one by one into the hat.
The shadowy figure held up the hat for display.
“Behold, exercise your audience etiquette.”
As the deep voice sounded, the hat suddenly burst with black feathers, spraying towards the sky like a jet, fluttering lightly.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on him, very quiet, as if watching his performance.
Little did they know that when the magic show began, their minds were no longer their own.
“Huh?” Except for a certain confused silver-haired young girl.
Ye Xing felt that another strange person had appeared.
Was this some new-age performance art in a dark alley?
It’s just too dark here to see his appearance clearly.
The voice sounds familiar.
These black feathers gradually floated down, with a few landing on the men surrounding Ye Xing, finally merging into their bodies.
Then all the surrounding feathers disappeared like an illusion, dissipating into the darkness like black smoke.
Ye Xing’s eyes widened in shock.
Wow!
“That’s amazing, am I under some illusion?”
The shadow walking in the darkness gradually approached, and Ye Xing saw his full appearance.
“Eh? Mr. Magician? Why is it you?”
“I’ve come to find you, little audience member. Although you’ve changed in some details compared to before, I won’t mistake you.”
Indeed, the one who appeared was the magician with the vintage performance style that Ye Lan had encountered at Wanyu Plaza before.
Although Ye Xing was happy to meet a “familiar face” here, now was not the time for chatting.
“Mr. Magician, there are some bad people here, quickly call the police…”
However, when Ye Xing turned back, she found that the men who had surrounded her earlier had disappeared.
This confused her, and she couldn’t help but scratch her head.
“Huh? Where did they go?”
“You mean those audience members? After my performance ended, they had already dispersed.”
Ye Xing pondered.
She could roughly understand this to mean: those bad people ran away after seeing Mr. Magician’s magic show.
It’s quite funny that they were scared away so easily.
“Little audience member, what did you think of my magic just now?” the magician asked.
“It was great! It had a strong visual impact and was incredibly shocking. How did you do it? So amazing!”
Ye Xing clapped excitedly, with genuine appreciation.
Such simple people are rarely seen.
“Ah, is that so? I’m glad you liked it, that’s wonderful…”
Then the magician extended his hand to Ye Xing, seemingly inviting her.
“Mr. Magician?” Ye Xing looked at his hand with some confusion.
“I remember being a magician, comedian, and clown before. Performing magic is just one of my skills, so the title of magician isn’t absolute. You can call me Troupe Leader. Would you like me to take you to see my theater troupe?”
Ye Xing pondered for a moment, considering whether to go or not.
She believed that the man before her was indeed the leader of a theater troupe, given his impressive performance skills.
But she was hungry now. Should she go eat first? Or should she go with the Troupe Leader to see the theater troupe?
Ye Xing weighed the pros and cons.
Although she had been taught not to go with strangers, the Troupe Leader was also her savior who had scared away the bad guys. It should be fine, right?
Moreover, theater troupes are rare in this era!
It’s already impressive that they haven’t been completely phased out, and she never thought she’d actually see one.
Ye Xing thought she could go take a look.
If she encountered any danger, she could always use her running ability to escape.
“Alright.”