Chapter 8 Fire Aversion "Brother, you are not burned, right?" "No no……" "Our bodies and hair are given by our parents, and we feel guilty even if we burn a few strands of hair." "It was my own fault." "Just stand further away. Hehehe, let me take another breath." The old man was smiling, as if he was extremely satisfied with everyone's surprised reactions. He walked back to the brazier, lowered his head and took a deep breath. "hiss……" Immediately, a raging fire like smoke entered his mouth and nose. Lin Jue's eyes were dazed for a moment, as if he saw these flames reach his mouth, and then naturally turned into a gas or mist emitting fiery light. After entering his mouth and nose, the luster could still be seen through his skin and flesh.

But this trance lasted only a moment. A moment later, everything was back to normal. Lin Jue couldn't help but raise his hand to rub his eyes, and looked again, but he saw nothing, only a smug old man breathing fire. I couldn't help but feel confused and dazed for a moment. Before long, the two sides were at a stalemate and even agreed to have a competition. They drew a line in the middle of the field. The money on one side belonged to the old man, and the money on the other side belonged to the original magician. Both sides performed their skills, and the onlookers threw money to the side of whoever they liked, and the winner was determined in this way. The juggler is playing fishing tricks. The old man cut off his hand and showed it to the audience, then put it back on. The magician performed the silk-breaking act. The old man borrowed books and silk cloth from everyone, threw them all into the brazier and burned them to ashes. After a while, he took them out from other places intact. It was quite exciting for a while. Some people liked it purely, and thought the old man obviously performed better, so they threw money and other things to the old man; some people thought the middle-aged magician was right, and he spoke very pleasantly, so they had a good impression of him from the beginning. Now that they saw him being bullied and wronged, they couldn't help but feel sympathy for him and felt unfair for him, so they threw more money and other things to the middle-aged magician. There are also those who just join in the fun and lose money on both sides, and those who are stingy and don't give a penny. But Lin Jue gradually found something wrong—— It would have been fine if the group of jugglers were performing their tricks, but the two sides were clearly in opposition, so why were those people also beating drums and gongs to create an atmosphere when the old man was performing? Could it be that the dispute between the two sides is so gentlemanly? This continued until mid-afternoon, when the performers were all exhausted and the audience began to go home one after another. The performers then decided to call it a day and close their stalls. The old man smiled, as if he had won the competition, bent down to pick up his own money, and generously gave the rest of the items to the middle-aged magician, and then walked away leisurely. The middle-aged magician was angry and pretended to be polite, but he still politely asked the audience to leave and agreed to the time and place tomorrow, asking everyone to come back when they are free. Lin Jue couldn't help feeling regretful. No more spells were seen. Although the surgery performed by the old man at the back was miraculous and was the trick that Lin Jue was most sure of, and it could most likely be classified as magic, he did not have that strange feeling. It's just speculation, and we can't be sure of the reason yet.

I don’t know if there is any reflection in ancient books. It was not until this moment that he suddenly realized that he had made an appointment with his cousin to meet on the street behind Luoxian Temple. That cousin is a very honest and straightforward person, he is only sixteen or seventeen years old. He hasn't been waiting for me for such a long time, I wonder if he thinks something has happened to him? "not good!" Lin Jue hurriedly walked in that direction. Walking through the streets and alleys. I wanted to stop several times to take off the backpack, take out the ancient book from my arms and take a look at it, but I forced myself to hold back. Until you reach the designated location. My cousin is not here. Lin Jue didn't know where he had gone, and didn't dare to look for him casually, so he could only stand here and wait. Fortunately, not long after, a black boy came over with a large backpack. From the shaking of the basket, it could be seen that it was empty. Seeing Lin Jue, he hurried over. "How long have you been here?" "I...just arrived." "Just arrived? Did you go shopping? Did you see the magic?" The cousin's eyes widened. "See..." Facing his clear eyes, Lin Jue felt a little guilty. "call……" My cousin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "It's good to just walk around. It's good to just look at it. There are too many people selling bamboo shoots today, and many of them are little kids this tall." The cousin gestured with his hand to a height that was about the same as his chest. "Fortunately, I finally did what you said last time and went to the door of the nobles in the city to ask. When they saw that the bamboo shoots were good, they all bought them." "this?" "I almost made you wait for me for a long time. Fortunately, you are smart." "Ok?" "How do you know I can't sell it?" "I……" "Forget it! Have you eaten? The food is still here with me. After eating, we'll go for a walk and worship at the Luoxian Temple, and then go back before dark." The cousin took out two pieces of takoyaki from his backpack and handed one to him first. "It's better to go back before dark." Lin Jue thought of the ghost shadows he saw in the bamboo forest in the morning. "There's still time. At worst, I can just run a little." "Um……"

Lin Jue had already taken the tart cake and started eating it. Taguo is a thin pancake cooked on a kang. It comes in different sizes. The ones made by the lady are as big as her face. The filling is made of pickled mustard greens or diced bamboo shoots. It is very dry and easy to carry. It is a common dry food for local merchants when they travel around. "Did you buy medicine?" "Bought." “How much cheaper?” "That means it's two thousand dollars less per month than last time." "Let me see……" The two ate while walking and chatted casually. It’s just that Lin Jue was a little absent-minded. After the meal, they paid their respects at the Luoxian Temple and took a walk around. Unfortunately, they did not see any otherworldly scenes. Even though they saw witches and sorcerers on the road, they did not display any special skills in the street. They also saw a disabled Taoist fortune-teller under the bridge, but they could not afford to pay for the fortune-telling. The two of them didn't go out until the sun was setting. When he was about to leave the city and pass through an alley, Lin Jue looked up inadvertently and was stunned. The group of magicians were in the alley ahead. Upon closer inspection, not only was there the original group of magicians led by the middle-aged magician, but there was also the old man, and even several onlookers who had joined in the fun, now gathered together and eating dry food. The old man was still sitting on a wooden box, sitting the highest. He looks like the leader. He turned around and saw Lin Jue, who was also looking at him. He was also surprised, smiled and put down the steamed bun in his hand, and said, "Young Master, you are not here to ask me to compensate for your hair, right?" "Of course not." Lin Jue followed his cousin and walked towards them. "Just passing through?" "Just passing by." "Then we are destined to be together!" "It's fate indeed." Lin Jue nodded, looked around at them, thought for a moment, and asked, "Are you together?" "Hi!" The old man shook his head helplessly, and with a smile, he raised his hands to the sky and said, "It's just a trick to entertain the audience. It's not worth mentioning." "I see……" "It's not worth mentioning. It's not worth mentioning." "Know that you know." I think there were some people at the scene who had seen through or already known about these tricks, but it was just as the old man said, it was just a trick used by the entertainers to entertain the audience and make money, there was really no need to expose it.

Lin Jue had been following his cousin, walking slowly forward. After passing the group of magicians, he was really puzzled, so he stopped and turned back to ask: "Excuse me, sir. Is the fire-repelling technique we performed today a magical power?" "Magic?" The old man was about to take a bite of the biscuit, but stopped again, frowned and said to him, "If it's not magic, it's definitely not an ordinary method. But if it's magic, those masters with real skills will probably laugh at us if they hear it." It means magic. "That……" Lin Jue didn't know how to start for a moment, so he organized his words and asked, "Aren't those who know magic all masters of cultivation? Why is my father-in-law working so hard to earn this hard-earned money?" “Hahaha! What immortal master? He just knows some tricks! If he can’t help us steal or rob, what else is he going to do if not earn this hard-earned money?” The old man couldn’t help but raised his head and laughed, “Besides, we just came from the capital to attend a Taoist meeting at Xuantian Temple in Qiyun Mountain. We just stopped by to take a break and earn some money for the journey.” The middle-aged magician nodded upon hearing this: "It is not shameful to make money by relying on one's own skills, but it is shameful to cheat and deceive people! Besides, this is a serious trick passed down by our ancestors, and it is meant to be performed for people to watch!" "That makes sense." Lin Jue nodded, thinking, and then asked, "Qiyun Mountain Taoist Association?" "Really……" "I wonder what this is?" "You live right here, but you don't know Qiyun Mountain? It's one of the famous Taoist mountains. This year's grand ceremony is being held at Xuantian Temple in Qiyun Mountain, and we're all here to join in the fun." "Famous mountain..." Lin Jue frowned and thought. "It's getting dark, young gentlemen, don't think too much and go home quickly." The old man said with a smile. "Excuse me, when will the Dao meeting be held?" "Young man, you've heard too many stories. Even if you yearn to become an immortal, don't set your mind on this. Go back." The old man looked like he had seen too many young men like them. He smiled and waved his hand. He was quite easy to talk to. "Thank you for your advice then." Lin Jue bowed to them as a sign of respect according to the custom of the people in this world, and then followed his cousin away. But I couldn't help but look back as I walked. The group of magicians were still sitting there, eating bread, drinking water and talking in low voices. But I don’t know what tricks they will play tomorrow. Or maybe some other drama is going on. Lin Jue just quickened his pace following his cousin. Fortunately, I got home before dark. Lin Jue gave all the medicinal herbs to the old lady for storage, and returned to his room without eating. He took out the ancient book and opened it quickly. The book indeed adds a new chapter:

The art of dispelling fire is a kind of theatrical trick. (End of this chapter)