"Hehe, girl, don't be afraid!" Liu Erleng rubbed his hands together, his triangular eyes gleaming with a disgustingly lewd light. "I just want to make friends with you and chat. It's the New Year, so it's going to be lively!"
Jiang Xiuying bit her lower lip hard, stubbornly shaking her head, her heart resolute: "I don't know you! Let me go!"
"Hey! He's pretty stubborn!" A henchman with a pointed face and monkey-like cheeks next to Liu Erleng suddenly slapped the back of the chair in front of him, making a loud "bang" that attracted more attention.
He swaggered at Jiang Xiuying and yelled, "Hey you woman, know your place! It's your good fortune that Brother Leng likes you! Do you know who Brother Leng's brother-in-law is? He's the deputy director of the commune's supply and marketing cooperative! He's in charge of this whole area! If you offend Brother Leng, you'll regret it!"
Jiang Xiuying was trembling with anger. She knew that getting entangled with these scoundrels would only cause more trouble.
She stopped arguing, suddenly turned to the side, trying to squeeze out of Liu Erleng and his henchmen and leave this place of trouble.
"Want to leave? Not so easy!" Liu Erleng reacted quickly, reaching out and grabbing Jiang Xiuying's slender wrist tightly once again. The force was so great that Jiang Xiuying almost cried out in pain.
His smile grew even more sinister: "You're not leaving today unless you have a proper chat with me!"
"Let her go!"
"What are you doing! Bullying this young girl!"
Finally, a few kind-hearted villagers who couldn't bear to watch any longer wanted to step forward and help.
But when they realized it was Liu Erleng and his gang, they hesitated and withdrew their steps.
"It's Liu Erleng..."
"Sigh, his brother-in-law..."
"It's better to avoid trouble..."
Whispers rose from the surroundings, tinged with helplessness and apprehension.
Several villagers looked at Jiang Xiuying, who was being held back by Liu Erleng, with sympathetic expressions, but in the end no one dared to actually step forward to stop her.
Liu Erleng, relying on his brother-in-law's power, was used to running rampant in this area, and no one wanted to get into trouble with him.
Jiang Xiuying's heart sank little by little, and despair enveloped her.
Just as tensions were rising, backstage, the announcer's loud voice rang out: "Next, please enjoy the wonderful magic performance brought to you by Comrade Xu Kuo!" It was Xu Kuo's turn to take the stage.
The staff began carrying the props prepared by Xu Kuo onto the stage one by one. There was an ordinary-looking wooden box, several pieces of silk cloth of different colors, an empty glass, and an old newspaper.
Sheng Xu had been keeping an eye on Zhang Zhihe. Noticing that Zhang Zhihe's expression was off, he asked in a low voice, "Teacher Zhang, what's wrong? Is there a problem with these props?"
"Hmph!" Zhang Zhihe snorted heavily, his spittle almost landing on Sheng Xu's face. "This is a huge problem! What kind of garbage props are these? Did you nail the box yourself? The silk fabric is so cheap it's fading! And that newspaper... I've been performing magic for decades, and I've never seen a proper magician use this stuff on stage! It's shoddy and a disgrace to the art of magic!"
He became more and more agitated as he spoke, as if Xu Kuo was using something dirty, not a prop.
Sheng Xu frowned.
Zhang Zhihe is an insider in the industry, so you can't disbelieve what he says.
Xu Kuo's props were indeed... a bit too "simple".
Is he really just a conman who knows a few tricks?
Those antiques... Sheng Xu's heart sank, and his gaze toward the stage became scrutinizing and suspicious.
He had already made up his mind that if the magic trick went wrong today and he couldn't fool everyone, then the matter of the antiques had to be thoroughly investigated! He absolutely could not allow state property to be lost in an unclear manner!
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Xu Kuo walked onto the stage with a smile and bowed to the audience.
Instead of immediately performing magic tricks like "making a person appear out of thin air" or "taking things out of thin air," he first picked up the pieces of silk and the glass, and skillfully performed several classic magic tricks, such as "water coming out of an empty glass" and "untying a colorful scarf."
The movements were clean and crisp, and the effect was quite good, drawing some applause from the audience.
"Pshaw!" Zhang Zhihe, watching from below the stage, curled his lip and sneered in a low voice at Sheng Xu beside him, "See that? Captain Sheng, these are all beginner-level tricks! They might fool laymen, but in my eyes, they're full of flaws! This is all you dare call magic? I bet you were fooled by his rhetoric before!"
Sheng Xu did not respond, but kept his gaze fixed on Xu Kuo on the stage.
Just then, Xu Kuo put down the silk cloth and cup, and slowly picked up the seemingly ordinary old newspaper.
The audience below the stage were somewhat puzzled, wondering what he was going to do. Performing magic with newspapers? That was certainly novel. Even Zhou Changke, who had been watching closely, showed some curiosity, and Sheng Xu couldn't help but look at Zhang Zhihe again.
Zhang Zhihe's expression was full of contempt, looking down on Xu Kuo. He sneered, "What else can he do? It's an old-fashioned magic trick! He'll probably set the newspaper on fire and then 'bang,' conjure up a dove or a bouquet of flowers from the flames. It's so boring!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Changke shook his head slightly, seemingly finding it somewhat uninteresting as well.
He had indeed seen this type of magic trick many times at various parties and performances, so there was nothing new about it.
However, what happened on stage the next moment left everyone in disbelief.
Xu Kuo then laid the newspaper flat on his palm, showing the audience that it was indeed just an ordinary newspaper, and suddenly let go of it!
Just when everyone, including Zhang Zhihe, Sheng Xu, and Zhou Changke, thought the newspaper would simply float away—
A miracle has happened!
That newspaper, defying all logic, remained suspended in mid-air! Completely still!
It was as if an invisible hand was supporting it!
Whoosh—!!!
After a brief silence, thunderous gasps and applause erupted from the audience!
Everyone stared wide-eyed, craning their necks, watching in shock at this bizarre and magical scene!
Zhang Zhihe's sneer froze instantly, his eyes widened, and his mouth opened slightly.
How...how is this possible?!
Zhou Changke sat up abruptly in surprise, leaning forward to look at the stage, his eyes filled with shock and confusion!
Sheng Xu was also stunned, and subconsciously muttered to himself, "This...this is different from what you said...Teacher Zhang."
The cheers from the audience grew louder and louder, and the atmosphere was instantly ignited!
Zhang Zhihe was a seasoned veteran. After the initial shock, he quickly adjusted his expression. Although his face was still grim, he forced a cold snort and explained with a stiff upper lip.
"Hmph! What's so great about that! It's just a trick! It's probably just a super thin fishing line or a strand of hair hanging down from the light fixture! I can do that kind of trick too!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Changke and Sheng Xu exchanged a glance, both finding the explanation plausible. They nodded in sudden understanding, thinking to themselves, "So that's how it is..."
But just a second after they thought they "understood" the principle—
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
