Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 674 Rules of the Road

Chapter 674 Rules of the Road
Amidst the falling petals, Thales stared stiffly at Hilly, who was moving with practiced ease on the street.

and many more.

Wyatt and... Wyana?

What is this?
How could anyone choose such a pseudonym!
"A magician?"

"Wyatt and Wyana? I've never heard of them."

"Could it be one of those scammers from last time? Their methods were so lousy, they were caught red-handed!"

"These two barely grown-out-of-the-beard brats? Sigh, maybe they're a gang of street thieves trying to distract us..."

"Mommy, Mommy, magic! I want to see it! I want to see it!"

More and more passersby gathered around. Some were just passing by and glancing at the flowers casually, while others had brought their families on a special trip. Men, women, and children were all there. They reached out to catch the flower petals while chatting amongst themselves about Hilly and Thales.

"Hey, magic? It's all fake. It's either props, mechanisms, tricks, or superpowers..."

"Or there are shills there to support them!"

"Great! I love watching magic tricks and then exposing their tricks!"

"That won't do. Magic is meant to be appreciated, not for you to sabotage it or show off your cleverness..."

"What's the point of watching magic if you don't sabotage it?"

"Hey, magician, don't just stand there, keep going!"

"I want to see an escape magic show! The kind where they tie you up with ropes and behead you!"

During the Emerald Festival, all sorts of performances and celebrations can be seen on the streets of the city every day. In the Iris District, where theater troupes are concentrated, such scenes are simply normal for the citizens. Before long, this street corner was naturally turned into a stage, and some audience members even began to urge Hilla and Thales.

“Great,” Thales rubbed his hair to make it messier so he wouldn’t be recognized (though the chances were slim), “Now what do we do, Master Magician?”

Hilly didn't say anything, but just turned around and glared at him.

The girl turned around, first smiling as she raised her left hand, then quickly withdrew it, magically pulling a whole red flower from the flattened hat.

The onlookers stirred, some letting out small gasps of amazement, while others booed in dissatisfaction ("I could do that too!").

But Hilla was completely unaffected. Her smile remained unchanged. She first waved her right hand, then crossed her hands, and the little red flower instantly disappeared from her left hand.

The gasps of amazement from the audience grew louder, while the boos gradually subsided ("One more!").

“They want magic,” the eldest daughter of the Kevin Deer family said with a radiant smile, Thales’ tattered hat fluttering between her wrists and arms, red, blue, yellow, and purple flowers appearing and disappearing from her hands in a magical display. “Then I’ll give them to them.”

Well—amidst the growing cheers and applause, Thales raised his eyebrows in exasperation.

From behind Hilly, he could clearly see how the young lady performed her "magic": different flowers were tucked under her elbows, armpits, behind her hands, and even behind her neck and skirt, cleverly hidden in blind spots where the audience couldn't see them. Then, through the concealment of her hat and feints, they would magically appear or disappear in her hands, each time eliciting gasps from the audience.

It's worth mentioning that Hilly's technique is skillful and flexible, her movements are natural and smooth, and her ability to divert attention and exaggerate her startled performances is masterful ("No wonder she's so good at scaring people by pretending to be a ghost." - Thales, who is secretly annoyed). Coupled with the flowers that flash back and forth, it's enough to dazzle the audience.

Ok……

The critical Thales narrowed his eyes—this method of performing magic seemed not much different from the card cheats in the black gold casinos of the capital and the pickpockets on the streets of the lower city.

But he did not forget their goal: at the barbershop across the street, Slimani and the barber were talking in hushed tones while keeping an eye on the growing crowd. The former was bewildered, and the latter was puzzled, both of them clearly beginning to waver in their earlier doubts.

Well, although the idea was terrible, at least it worked.

Thales curled his lip.

After repeating the gesture three times in different poses, Hilly—or rather, "Magician Wyana"—finally tossed five different colored flower branches into the hands of the audience. She smiled, put on her hat, and bowed, receiving much applause and cheers.

Amidst the commotion, Thales kept an eye on what was happening across the street:

Slimani sat back down in the barber's chair, seemingly relieved. His assistant behind him scratched his head sheepishly, gradually dispelling his doubts.

"That trick is so old-fashioned!"

"Let's try something different!"

"Yup!"

"A magical transformation?"

"I'll even saw a person in half alive!"

"Fire-swallowing and fire-breathing abilities? I saw one in Hamburg last year!"

The crowd grew louder and the demands became more stringent, but the experienced "Master Wyana" remained unfazed and immediately began performing other magic tricks:

She took out several thin metal rings, first handed them to the audience in the first row to look at, then took them back and quickly played a trick of tossing and untossing the rings.

Thales, unknowingly relegated to a supporting role, sheepishly held up his robes, repeatedly bowing to the audience for their praise, thinking sourly:
Pshaw, a few rings with tiny gaps mixed in with a perfectly intact ring, anyone can do that—it seems like a long time ago, a craftsman from out of town performed this trick on the streets of Red Town, until the news reached the Blood Bottle Gang, where the clown Kex and his "circus den" came and smashed it all up.

But now, the people at the barbershop won't suspect anything anymore, right?
The next moment, sensing that the audience was getting tired of what she was seeing, Hilly changed her technique. Several rings were put around her forearms, and the girl excitedly raised her hands, started dancing and spinning around, humming the popular South Bank tune "Flowers Under the Sea".

Amid cheers and chorus from the audience, with each circle she danced, one of the rings on her arms would fall off and fit into another, until the rings nested within rings, forming a long chain, which Hillay swung around in one large circle after another.

Well—the demanding magic judge, Thales, raised an eyebrow: the performance combined with dance, not bad.

As the minor key progressed, the long chain lost one link with each rotation, until the rings separated again and neatly looped back onto Hilly's arm.

After completing her final dance, Hillay swung her arms, grasped the rings back into her hands, and then bowed deeply.

Another round of cheers and applause erupted from the crowd.

"The magic trick is old-fashioned, but the dance moves are pretty good. Here, take this!"

Thales tensed up and instinctively reached out to catch a copper coin thrown from the crowd.

"Thank you! Thank you, kind lady!" Thales instinctively smiled, bowing deeply as he remembered, his eyes brimming with gratitude. "You must be sent by the goddess of the setting sun to save us..."

Ok?
Thales, lost in his professional habits, sensed something was wrong and quickly stopped talking, looking at the copper coin in his hand.

Wait, what is this?
The next second, a lot of coins—even a few shop vouchers and an apple—flew towards Thales from the audience, and many people held coins in their hands and waved to him.

Thales, the heir of a magic family, frantically collected the tips, soon filling his hand to the brim. Some even spilled onto the ground, forcing him to pull up the hem of his shirt to catch them. He also had to put on a grateful smile and go around collecting tips from the audience to complement Master Wyana's performance.

"No, so many rings, how did you put them on? This must be fake, right! What props did you use? Can you sell me some?" Someone in the crowd couldn't help but ask curiously.

"I'm sorry," seeing so many supporters, Miss Hilla Magician Wyana smiled even more broadly, "The secrets of magic are: first, do not delve too deeply; second, do not reveal them; third, do not divulge them; and fourth, please enjoy them with your whole heart!"

After saying this, Hillary produced another flower from her hat, which drew cheers from the crowd.

"Girl, one more!"

"Sister, sister, pick me! I want to do magic tricks too!"

"When are you going to saw people in half like that? Like sawing off your brother?"

The audience's reaction made Hilly even more excited, and she performed with increasing enthusiasm. She animatedly changed several street magic tricks, from ring toss to guessing games, from petals turning into whole flowers to pulling out a black cloth and conjuring up an apple (which Thales had given her) out of thin air... She even invited an older woman in the audience to tie her wrist to hers, and the seemingly indestructible rope magically changed back and forth between their wrists, threading and untying the knot (although after the woman left the stage, everyone suspected that she was a plant arranged beforehand, which made Hilly so angry that she cursed loudly in the crowd).

Thales, who was in charge of collecting tips and bowing, felt his clothes become even heavier. He had to exchange a few copper coins with a vendor for a bag and stuff all the coins into it.

Is it really that the citizens of Emerald City are so supportive? Is it really that easy for them to give tips?
Why weren't the citizens of the capital so generous when he was out on the streets?
While watching Slimani sit back down in the barbershop and wait, Thales observed Hilly waving happily amidst the cheers, and fell into deep thought.

It's clear that this girl not only has good technique, but she also has a great talent for acting. She knows how to guide the audience's attention and gradually manipulate their emotions in order to achieve the best performance effect.

If, if she weren't Kevin Deer, if she weren't born into a ducal family, if she weren't Jann's sister...

She would be a great street performer.

Just then, a man pushed through the crowd, came to the front row, and interrupted Hilly's magic show.

"You, young lady, how did you perform magic?"

The man, wearing a work apron and reeking of hair oil, squinted and said, "I'll give you money, and you'll tell me the secret, okay? I want to do this magic trick too."

Oops.

Thales recognized the man and his heart skipped a beat!
He was, he was the barber shop assistant, the one who took a silver coin from Slimani.

They're from the Blood Bottle Gang!

Thales glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that Slimani was still sitting in the shop across the street, wearing a shaving cap, and didn't look in their direction at all.

But he must be watching this side!

Was it because they were suspicious that they came to test the two of them?

Hilly clearly recognized the guy, but she reacted quickly, flashing a formulaic smile:

"Excuse me, sir: the secrets of magic are threefold: first, do not delve too deeply; second, do not reveal them; and third, do not divulge them to outsiders—"

"Tell me, where did you learn your technique?" the barber raised his voice, impatiently interrupting her.

His fierce and menacing appearance caused several disgruntled spectators around him to involuntarily take a few steps back.

Hilly frowned.

"This gentleman!"

Seeing that things were going badly, Thales approached with a fawning expression:
"That's right. As audience members of magic shows, we should have the following qualities: enjoy the performance with peace of mind and fully appreciate the amazing spectacle..."

The boy flipped his hand and cleverly pulled a handful of coins from his pocket, discreetly slipping them into the waiter's hand.

The barber's brow furrowed as he watched Thales's actions.

He instinctively put away the money and glanced in the direction of the shop.

But just seconds later, the guy seemed to realize something, and his expression turned cold again:

"Tell me, which gang are you from?"

Thales' smile froze:
"sorry?"

Amidst the boos from the crowd, the barber gave a cold laugh.

"Stop pretending. I can tell you're one of those street hustlers just by looking at your methods," the guy said. "What, you think there aren't enough police officers here on your master's parade day, so you're trying to make a quick buck?"

That line on the street?
Thales laughed and said, "You've misunderstood, I'm not—"

“A magician? Bah! I’ve seen plenty of people like you,” the barber said. “Tell me, how much have you stolen along the way? Where are you hiding it? Was it her performance while you were stealing sheep? Is your gang in the crowd?”

Thales and Hilly's expressions changed.

The unexpected incident caused the crowd to start whispering and murmuring, but everyone looked at Thales and Hilly differently.

"What, they're thieves?"

"Oh, it was a thief!"

"Can thieves do magic tricks too?"

"Don't just stand there, check if your wallet is missing!" "Damn it! My wallet is gone, they really are—oh, it's in this pocket, I remembered wrong."

"They don't seem like thieves, do they?"

"Hey, you're a complete stranger, why are you taking their side? You're not one of their gang, are you?"

"Huh? No, I didn't... Okay, well, looking at it this way, they do seem a bit suspicious..."

"That's more like it! Let's get back to thinking rationally!"

"But we have no evidence..."

"Flies don't land on eggs without cracks. If he hadn't done something wrong, why would this guy bother them?"

Amidst the growing noise, Hilly put away her props and stepped forward with a stern expression:
“We are not thieves, but honorable magicians. We came to the city on Queen’s Day to witness the Jade Festival and prepare to make a living.”

Perhaps because the magic show had been so successful, after Hilly spoke up, many voices in the crowd began to voice their indignation.

"Yes! Stay away from them!"

"Why are you fighting and killing during the Jade Festival?!"

"Stop causing trouble!"

"Enough, Lagno! He's just performing a magic trick for a living, why are you being so domineering!"

But Lagno—the barber—spit it out.

"Making a living? Hey, let me tell you, you've broken the rules!"

Lagno's finger almost poked Thales' face:
"Who's your boss? Sangare the dog owner? Or someone from Beimen Bridge? Some outsider? A seafarer? Don't you know this is a no-theft zone? Did you even talk to the boss? Did you pay him a share before daring to come here to make a living? Emerald City has rules!"

Upon hearing the words "boss," "Sangare," and "North Gate Bridge," the voices supporting Hillary in the crowd immediately quieted down, and many people seemed to know something and left in twos and threes.

Seeing this, Lagno sneered even more and pointed to the shop behind him:

"Also, you're blocking our way to do business."

Inside the barbershop, their target, Slimani, sat in a chair, seemingly observing them through the reflection in the mirror.

Thales and Hilly exchanged a glance.

Damn.

It seems he wasn't testing me out of suspicion.

It's purely because of these damned "underworld rules".

Thales forced a smile and rubbed his hands together:

“Sir, Mr. Lagno? Firstly, we are certainly not thieves. Secondly, if you don’t like our performance here, we can simply leave! Or, we can compensate you for the damage to your shop…”

"Not a thief? That's good."

Lagno grinned maliciously and suddenly reached out and grabbed Hilly's wrist!

Hilla's expression changed:
"let me go!"

Thales was equally startled; he stepped in front of Hilla to shield him and pressed down on Lagno's arm.

"Let go!"

But Lagno was clearly trained; he gripped Hillay's wrist tightly.
"Come on, I'll grab one of your hands, try performing another magic trick? Magician? Or, come with me to see the guard?"

Hilly cried out in surprise, grabbing her glove and desperately pulling her hand back.

"Damn it! Let go!" Thales gritted his teeth and held back his men, trying to pull Hilly and Lagno's hands apart.

"Ah, these are your gloves, aren't they?"

A conflict erupted, and chaos ensued. Lagno grabbed Hilly's hand and laughed triumphantly, "It must be your gloves! There's a mechanism inside? Tell me, how many 'magic tricks' have you performed with these? How much money have you swindled and stolen?"

Voices of agreement arose from the crowd:

"Exactly! Why is the flower girl wearing gloves like a noble lady? What's with the act? Is she really that delicate?"

The sharp-eyed Thales recognized him as another clerk in the barbershop.

There must be a hidden mechanism in the glove!

"There might even be stolen money!"

"It's definitely a thief!"

“I recognize them! They stole from me last week!”

There were still passersby in the crowd who couldn't stand the scene and were indignant on behalf of Hilla, but with the barbers' repeated echoes of their agreement, even the most righteous people had to hesitate: Could they really be thieves?

"Come here, take him to see the guard!"

"They can't escape this time!"

Several "enthusiastic bystanders" chimed in, coincidentally emerging from the surrounding crowd, rolling up their sleeves to help Ragno drag the man away. One of them even grabbed Thales's hand and dragged him back!

In the chaos, Hilly accidentally fell to the ground and screamed.

Oh no—Tales realized, opening up long-forgotten memories: picking fights, framing, gangs, robbery, scattering... These were the common methods used by human trafficking gangs when they abducted women and children on the streets a long time ago.

Many beggar children came to live in these abandoned houses.

For example, there was Kolia, the youngest girl in their sixth house—she remembered having parents, a nanny, and toys, and that she was taken away by several people during a celebration.

She even remembers hearing "the wet nurse chasing after her, crying as she chased" that day.

Until the crying faded into the distance.

In this lifetime, I will never hear it again.

"enough!"

Thales returned to reality and roared:
"Go away!"

The sin of the Hell River ignited instantly, and memories of the Northern Army's swordsmanship returned to his mind.

boom!
Thales first swung his elbow, knocking the guy behind him to the ground with a groan of pain.

The next second, he stepped forward again to block Lagno's foot, unleashing a sudden surge of power that sent Lagno flying two meters away.

Thales turned around and pointed at the third guy, who was about to throw a punch, but when he saw Thales' angry eyes, he paused and stopped in his tracks.

"That's enough!"

Thales stopped the remaining barbers.

“If Boss Balta knew what you’ve done here,” Thales gritted his teeth, glancing coldly at Lagno, who was rubbing his chest on the ground, “believe me, he’ll melt you all down—if he hasn’t already been melted down by Boss Fogg, and Fogg hasn’t been melted down by someone more terrifying than him.”

Lagno's expression changed upon hearing this: "You, how could you..."

Thales snorted, turned around, grabbed Hilly's arm, and helped her up from the ground.

But in that instant, someone seemed to have noticed something and was the first to shout.

"Did you see that?"

"yes……"

"Oh my God……"

Thales looked up in confusion and found that everyone was looking behind him, and the people around him were in an uproar!
Oh no, has my identity been exposed?
Lagno was helped to his feet by a fellow worker, but he was stunned by what he saw.

Following everyone's gaze, Thales slowly lowered his head, and then froze.

"What the hell is that?"

"How disgusting..."

"This thing really exists..."

Looking at everyone's reactions, Hilly suddenly realized something.

She lowered her head in horror and realized that her left glove had been torn off.

Where everyone's eyes were focused, Hilly's left hand was covered with red and black burn scars, pitted and uneven, from her forearm to her entire palm.

Ugly.

But that's not the most shocking thing.

"what!"

A girl who was standing nearby saw what was happening and gasped in surprise. Her mother quickly covered her eyes.

It is Hilly's left palm.

On that... a new finger suddenly grew out of the outside of the little finger, which already had crimson skin and was ugly.

It was slender and crooked, now awkwardly and irregularly connected to the little finger, hanging outside the palm, twitching.

The crowd was in an uproar.

"What the hell is that...?"

"That hand, does it have six fingers, or seven?"

"There seemed to be more than a dozen of them, all crooked and twisted, it was disgusting!"

"I saw this when I was a kid! Lobster hands!"