Imperial Crown.

Chapter 183 Dark Moon Night
Under the reflection of the colorful clouds in the sky, Lux's face became even more beautiful.

Although she was a little embarrassed, Lux did not refute Raven's words. After sending the children out of the church, she went upstairs to change her clothes.

Raven teased Xiaolan and glanced at the statue of the Lord of Light in the church: "Apollo, I'm taking your people away."

The Lord of Light sat there quietly and did not express any objection.

Not long after, footsteps were heard. Raven turned around and his eyes flashed with joy.

Perhaps for convenience, or perhaps because she didn't want to be recognized, Lux changed into a rather simple outfit and wore a soft, light yellow cloth headscarf on her head. After unbraiding her golden hair, it was slightly curled and hung on her shoulders.

She was wearing a common light brown cloth dress, embellished with flowers and butterflies that were not very exquisitely crafted. But under the fiery red sunset, as she moved her feet and her skirt fluttered, the butterflies seemed to come alive, dancing and flying over the girl's body.

Seeing Raven's eyes, Lux's aqua blue eyes flashed with nervousness: "...What's wrong?"

Raven stepped forward, stretched out his arms and opened his palms. "Beautiful lady, may I have the honor of spending this beautiful evening with you?"

Lux bit her lip lightly and then held out her hand.

With a clap, he high-fived Raven.

Raven stood there in a daze, while Lux had a little more smile in her eyes and walked out of the church with her hands behind her back.

"Wait for me." Raven also smiled and followed.

The arrival of the Dark Side of the Moon Traveling Theater can be said to have added a rare touch of color to the originally somewhat peaceful life in Eagle Town.

Not only Xiongying Town itself, but also people from the nearby Shanjin Town, Xuefeng Territory, and even Tieluling Ridge came here to visit. The total number was no less than tens of thousands, and it could be said that the crowd was surging and shoulder to shoulder.

Although there were torches and braziers on the roadside providing lighting, in the dim light, it was just enough to keep people from walking into the wilderness. At a distance, it was difficult to see the faces of others.

Therefore, even without makeup, few people could recognize Raven and Lux.

At this time, Lux stood in the crowd, with curiosity and a hint of panic in her eyes, like a helpless kitten. She seemed not to be accustomed to such a bustle, and followed Raven closely, not leaving his side.

Just then, a middle-aged man with a child walked quickly past, blocking Lux's sight. When she came to her senses, Raven had disappeared.

Although she was at the second level in strength, the dim environment and the strangers all around made Lux feel a little uneasy. She looked around, trying to find Raven, but all she could see was a constantly moving crowd of people.

She stood there alone, like a rock in the tide, lonely and helpless.

"Lux!"

Raven's voice sounded, and Lux ​​looked in the direction of the voice and immediately caught a glimpse of Raven's figure. Without caring about the crowd around her, she quickly ran up and grabbed Raven's arm, her chest actually rising and falling slightly.

She looked up at Raven. "Where did you go?"

Of course Raven wouldn't tell the truth.

He actually wanted to tease Lux just now, but immediately regretted it, so he showed up immediately. It took less than half a minute from disappearing to reappearing.

"I bought you a glass of juice, want to try it?"

Lux's attention was indeed drawn to it.

Traffic is wealth. Although there is no economic system in this era, businessmen also have simple experience and wisdom.

Stalls selling all kinds of wine, drinks, snacks and small toys lined the roadsides, just like a night market.

These two glasses of juice were bought by Raven from a roadside stall. The ingredients were extremely plump apples, 100% freshly squeezed.

Lux took a sip, and the uneasiness on her face disappeared, revealing a satisfied smile.

Seeing this, Raven also took a sip. He tasted the sourness of the apple at first, followed by the sweetness with a fruity aroma.

The juicing technology of this era was still very rudimentary and primitive. The juice contained crushed pulp and seeds, which provided more of the apple's original flavor and a richer taste.

"Let's go for a walk in front?" Raven asked.

"Yeah!" Lux nodded without letting go of Raven's arm.

This was Lux's first time to come to such a busy place, and she stopped and took a look at almost every stall.

In an age of material scarcity, meat is never wasted. Even things that were later regarded as scraps by the Western world were still utilized in this world.

For example, roasted pig's trotters.

The best pig's trotters are washed clean, the hair is burned off, and boiled in a large pot. When customers want to eat them, the trotters are taken out and grilled over charcoal fire.

When the soup on the surface is dried and turns browned, brush a layer of sauce on it, use a knife to cut it into pieces along the bone seams, then sprinkle with minced garlic and coriander, place it in a small wooden bowl, and add two sharpened wooden sticks to it, and it is done.

A portion of food like this, including the container, costs only nine copper coins in total, which is considered to be good value for money. If you are willing to sit at the stall and finish your meal, the stall owner will give you two copper coins back for the tableware.

Lux was eating pig's trotters happily.

Because of the high amount of collagen, the lips always become sticky. Lux licks her lips from time to time with her tongue, making her look more like a kitten that has eaten fish.

The road was very long, and there were a wide variety of snacks on the roadside. Some people even brought out homemade drinks, which made Lux dazzled. He wanted to eat a piece of this and a bite of that. If there were no takeout bags in this era, Raven's hands would have been full before he had walked half the street.

Even so, it took nearly three hours to finish visiting the "snack street" outside. It was already completely dark, a large part of the bustling crowd had dispersed, and the lights seemed a little dim.

When they arrived outside the fence of the big tent, Raven paid for tickets for the two of them. The sects were divided into three levels.

The lowest level is twenty copper coins, which allows you to play various activities within the fence, but you cannot enter the central tent.

The middle tier costs fifty copper coins and allows you to enter the tent directly, but you cannot get involved in the surrounding projects.

The highest level is sixty copper coins, which allows you to play all events.

The ticket seller also kindly reminded us that there would be some very "exciting" shows in the tent in the second half of the night.

From this we can see the clever marketing tactics of Dark Side of the Moon.

Now that we are here, who wouldn't want to go into the tent and watch the most serious performance? Fifty copper coins, grit your teeth, and spend it.

Since you have spent fifty copper coins, do you still care about the remaining ten?
Of course, Raven bought a "full-price ticket" for sixty copper coins and took Lux into the fence.

Compared to outside, there are much fewer people here.

Come to think of it, few people would stay outside for so long. Those who came in earlier should have experienced quite a few projects, and it’s time to go to the tent to watch the real show.

There are indeed quite a few activities here, including ring-tossing, divination, wrestling, and so on.

Lux was not very interested in these. She pulled Raven inside, and her eyes were attracted by a clown.

Feeling Lux's gaze, the clown immediately showed an exaggerated smile, gesticulating and saying: "Hey, sir and lady, do you want to try our dart roulette?"

"Each of you can shoot three darts for free. If you hit the area on the roulette wheel, you will get the corresponding reward! There will be prizes for everything, and you will not miss out!"

Just behind the clown, there was a table covered with red velvet, on which were many darts. About eight meters away from the table, there stood a wooden disc about one meter tall. Its surface was covered with small holes and was divided into sixteen uneven sectors.

Among them, there are eight special prizes, four third prizes, two second prizes, one first prize and one “surprise gift”!
The bigger the reward, the smaller the area.

Lux walked to the table, picked up a dart, and pointed to the side: "Well... if I want that, what prize is it?"

Lux was pointing at a furry rabbit doll with long ears and two lifelike red eyes. It was holding a half-eaten carrot.

The clown said loudly, "Oh! You have a great eye. This is the mascot of our Dark Side of the Moon Troupe, 'Rabbi Little Darling'. As long as you can hit the first prize, it will go home with you!"

"This is a specially customized doll. Only one of these prizes will be given out each time the game starts!" Raven asked, "Do you need my help?"

"No need." Lux was eager to try. Although she had never played darts before, she had seen it before. Besides, the distance was only about eight meters, so how could she miss the shot?

Just as he was about to throw, he heard the clown say, "Then I'll go get ready."

Lux was stunned for a moment. Prepare? Prepare for what?
Then she saw the clown return to the back of the stall, put his hand on the disc, and with a little force, the disc began to spin and soon turned into a colorful shadow.

This time Lux was a little panicked, she didn't expect the plate to start spinning.

But Lux was not someone who would give up easily. She took a deep breath, grabbed the dart, aimed at the roulette wheel and shot it out.

With a puff, the darts landed on the roulette wheel, but did not stop, apparently waiting until Lux had shot three darts.

Lux did not hesitate and shot the remaining two darts in succession. Only then did the clown slowly stop the roulette wheel.

"Sigh..." Lux felt a little disappointed.

Because of the three darts, two landed on the special prize and one landed on the third prize, and there was no doll she wanted.

"Congratulations! You have a great harvest!" The clown jumped up and took out a few things from the box next to him: "Here are your rewards for this game. The special prize is a piece of rag, and the third prize is a copper coin!"

For ordinary subjects, these three-inch square scraps of cloth are good things. Not only can they be used to mend clothes, but if you collect enough, you can also sew a pair of shoe uppers, or directly sew a piece of clothing.

But Lux wasn't very interested in this: "I want to try again, how much is it?"

"Five coppers, three chances!" said the clown with a smile.

Of course Lux won't give up.

As expected, Lux failed to get the prize she wanted, but ended up with three more pieces of cloth in front of her.

Two more rounds and you can sew a piece of clothing.

The Joker continued to encourage Lux: "The power in your wrist has become more and more precise. I believe that you will get the prize you want today!"

Lux thought about it seriously and shook her head decisively: "...Forget it."

This actually made the clown a little surprised and disappointed. According to his experience, emotionally agitated customers usually would not listen even if others tried to persuade them, and would insist on spending all the money they had.

But this beautiful girl, who obviously had no experience, was able to resist her inner greed under his encouragement. It was really rare.

Raven had already seen through the trick: "If you want it, I can help you get it?"

Lux was reluctant to do so, but after hearing this, she immediately nodded: "Okay!"

The clown was immediately delighted. He had seen too many young people who tried to show off in front of their lovers or sweethearts, but were rejected by him.

Since he is in charge of this business, the clown must have his own unique skills.

With years of experience, he is more familiar with the roulette wheel in his hand than his wife. He has a clear idea in his mind about the speed, the time to turn to, and the overall layout of the roulette wheel.

It seems that his hands are constantly accelerating the roulette wheel, but in fact he is controlling the rotation speed of the roulette wheel. At the same time, he is observing the shooter's movements and predicting where the dart will land. Basically, it can be said that he can make people hit whatever he wants.

Raven certainly saw this too.

He walked to the edge of the stage, picked up the dart, and whispered to Lux, "Come here."

"Hmm?" Lux was stunned for a moment: "Me?"

"Don't you think it's more enjoyable to get a prize through your own efforts?"

Lux's heart was immediately moved: "But, won't this be a burden to you?"

"Don't worry, leave it to me."

Raven's words made Lux feel inexplicably at ease. She walked forward and Raven half-embraced her in his arms, holding her slender and smooth palm, and gently lifted it up while holding the dart.

Feeling the body temperature of Raven behind her and the heat from the back of her hand, Lux's heartbeat suddenly quickened and her body felt a little weak.

Raven's lips curled up into a smile of success. He slowly lifted Lux's arm and whispered, "Watch this."

Lux's voice was soft: "Yeah."

Seeing this scene, the clown's hand movements suddenly changed. The disc seemed to be constantly turning, but in fact it took two steps forward and one step back.

Show your affection in front of me and feel the speed of my hands after being single for 32 years!

"One, two, three... shoot!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Lux threw the dart in her hand, and it landed on the turntable with a thud.

At this point, the clown's expression changed a little, but luckily it was too thick to be seen because of the thick paint.

Although it was unclear where the darts landed exactly, after the first time, Lux's attacks became more steady, and soon the remaining two darts hit the target.

The result left the clown stunned: one first prize and two surprise gifts!
"Great!" Lux jumped up, walked over, grabbed the rabbit doll, held it in her arms, and couldn't let it go.

The Joker also came to his senses after a brief surprise. Although he felt somewhat defeated and lonely, he did not get angry and start scolding Raven and Lux.

After all, the troupe is open for business, not to make enemies.

The clown took out two badges from the box beside him and said sincerely, "I have been working in the troupe for more than 20 years. This is the first time I have seen such good aiming by the two of you. It is also the first time I have seen such a good relationship between a couple."

"These are the prizes for the surprise gift. With them, as long as our troupe is still in Eagle Town, you two can enter the big tent and watch the performance for free!"

"Well, thank you very much." Raven took the badge and said to Lux, "How about we go in and take a look?"

But Lux was still immersed in the joy of getting the doll. She held the rabbit in her arms and had already begun to imagine where to put it in the room.

The moon was at its zenith, and its silver light spread all over the ground, covering Lux as well.

It was already late, the clown had closed his stall, and there weren't many people around, so it seemed a bit quiet.

Under the frosty moonlight, Lux was holding a rabbit doll, which made Raven think of Chang'e in Guanghan Palace.

Raven stepped forward slowly.

Even though he had seen many women, his heartbeat began to quicken uncontrollably.

When the scent of jasmine on Lux's body entered his nostrils, Raven lowered his head and a shadow fell on Lux's arms.

At this moment, Lux, who had sensed something, raised her head, and before she could react, Raven's lips had already kissed hers.

Time seemed to have stopped at this moment, and even the chirping of insects disappeared.

After an unknown amount of time, Raven raised his head and whispered:

"Sweet."

Lux's face suddenly burned with anger. Her misty eyes showed a bit of panic and she took a step back.
"I...I still have evening classes to attend, I'll go back first!"

……

(End of this chapter)