Under One Person: My Inner Realm Connects to All Worlds!

Chapter 72 Trick
When antiquities lose their charm, and spirits lose their anchor, it is actually harmful to both sides.

Han Yun sighed softly, and a wisp of golden inner energy condensed at his fingertips: "Go, give it this energy. Although it's not enough to regenerate the spirit, it can at least keep it going for another hundred years."

The golden lion's eyes lit up, and it darted out the window, carrying the wisp of Qi in its beak.

The old monk was taken aback when he saw the golden lion. Then, a golden light flashed on the iron lion's body, and a faint glow suddenly appeared around it before disappearing in an instant.

Following the direction the golden lion had returned, the old monk saw Han Yun, then looked at the iron lion, lost in thought, and wondered to himself, "Has this iron lion somehow developed a spirit?"

However, everyone has their own destiny. Those who are recognized as masters and know how to give back to their origins are probably not evil people.

He performed a Buddhist salute to Han Yun, and Han Yun nodded in return; everything was understood without words.

"Only by resolving the cause and effect can one truly be at ease."

Han Yun took a sip of tea, glanced at the golden lion that had darted back into his sleeve, and then vanished in a flash.

------

Wuxiang County.

From ninety-nine years old to just learning to walk, everyone in Wuxiang is skilled in acrobatics.

This place is famous for acrobatics and magic tricks, which originated in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, flourished in the Han and Tang dynasties, and spread to the common people in the Song dynasty.

Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Che, entertained foreign envoys with performances mainly consisting of magic tricks, fish and dragon dances, and acrobatics, which were also known as "hundred plays." The fish and dragon dances later became part of the court etiquette.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, court magic tricks and folk magic tricks flourished together; in the Song dynasty, entertainment venues such as theaters and brothels emerged, attracting numerous itinerant performers and giving rise to famous magic troupes.

Jiyun Society emerged during the Southern Song Dynasty, when the division of magic tricks became more refined, forming three major systems: manipulation, sleight of hand, and concealment.

So, don't be fooled by the fact that the Jiyun Society is a school of acrobatics and magicians; it has been passed down for seven or eight hundred years.

Wuxiang acrobatics has developed to the point where it is complete in categories and has a large lineup, with more than 1,100 performance items. There is a saying that "nine out of ten acrobatic troupes come from Wuxiang" and "no acrobatic troupe can be formed without people from Wuxiang".

And their ancestor was none other than Lü Dongbin, the ancestor of the Lü clan!

Legend has it that Ji Xiaotang, a scholar from the Tang Dynasty, went to the capital twice to take the imperial examinations. He passed the examinations but was later dismissed because he refused to accept bribes. In a fit of anger, he traveled alone to the four corners of the world.

On this day, he arrived at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain and met Lü Dongbin, the ancestor of acrobatics. He then became his apprentice and learned 360 sets of magic tricks.

After completing his apprenticeship, he wandered to this place and settled in a Taoist temple, where he took on disciples and passed on his skills. From then on, the teachings were passed down from master to disciple, father to son, everyone learned them, every family practiced them, and the tradition was passed down through generations, growing ever larger.

This place is a melting pot of people, with many traditions and schools of thought, many of which are related to magic tricks and acrobatics.

Such as softening the limbs, even allowing them to stretch and contract freely to a certain extent; swallowing iron balls and iron swords to train the internal organs; and hard qigong and horizontal training such as stepping on steel knives, rolling on a bed of needles, hitting the ribs with an iron plate, and pouring oil hammers onto the head.

And magic tricks, fire-breathing and mist-spitting, climbing into the clouds, dough sculpting, woodworking, and ingenious puppetry, etc.

In other words, they were afraid of being too shocking, and some extraordinary abilities could not be performed in public.

However, in earlier times, hundreds of years ago, there weren't so many concerns.

For example, it lets you watch as a seed grows into a vine and then produces a watermelon.

Finally, the performer will cut the watermelon open and share it with everyone. When someone who doesn't believe it tries to take the watermelon, it will turn into a bloody human head in their hand. In shock, the person will throw the head on the ground, and it will turn back into a smashed watermelon. Finally, the performer will smile and pick up a piece of the smashed watermelon, put it in their mouth, and say regretfully, "What a fine watermelon, and you've ruined it like this."

Tell me, are you scared?
There's also the "Fairy Rope," where an artist leads a child in a performance. The child climbs the rope, claiming to be going to steal peaches from the Queen Mother of the West. Soon after, a peach the size of a bowl falls down.

Then the rope suddenly fell to the ground, and the child's limbs fell to the ground in pieces. The performer picked up the limbs and put them in a box, wailing and saying that the child had been discovered by the gods for stealing peaches and had been killed. He then began to ask the audience for a reward.

After collecting the reward money, the child climbed out of the box intact and thanked the audience one by one.

In fact, these are all techniques from ancient magic tricks. In ancient times, magic tricks were called illusions or dazzling tricks, which meant techniques that deceived the eye and made things look real.

It transforms reality into illusion, deceiving the eyes.

Han Yun's purpose in coming here this time was not for those physical training techniques, but for this magic trick.

In fact, Han Yun's transformation of the interior space is also a kind of deception of the senses. However, when the false is taken for the true, the true becomes false, and when nothing is taken for something, something is taken for nothing. Can you really distinguish between the real and the fake?

The first magician Han Yun was to visit was named Shen Teng, a middle-aged man in his thirties. Despite his youth, he came from a family with a long tradition of magic.

His grandfather, Shen Wankui, was a famous magician in the last century. He killed many Japanese people with his skill in creating illusions that seemed real.

It can be said that at that time, most of the extraordinary people in China had stained their skin with Japanese blood.

Han Yun walked through the bustling streets of Wuxiang County.

The market was full of performers, with children walking on stilts as if on flat ground, and old men breathing fire, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Han Yun glanced at it casually, then walked straight into the depths of the alley.

After passing three screen walls made of green bricks, a small courtyard with mottled red lacquer suddenly appeared. Above the door hung an ebony plaque with the three characters "Huanzhenzhai" written on it, the brushstrokes as ethereal and unpredictable as gossamer threads.

Just as Han Yun was about to knock on the door, it opened a crack on its own, and a person walked out. It wasn't some clever trick; it was simply because... surveillance cameras had been installed.

Shen Teng cupped his hands in greeting and said with a smile, "I am honored by your presence. I just don't know what you need me for. If it's to perform, then it will be next month. My schedule is already full."

Han Yun shook his head: "Master Shen, I'm not here to ask you to perform. I'm interested in your family's magic tricks."

"Oh, you're here to become my apprentice? I'm sorry, but my family doesn't pass on our skills to outsiders."

As he spoke, Shen Teng was about to close the door.

Han Yun raised his hand to block the door: "Master Shen, please wait. I do not intend to learn the Shen family's methods; I simply wish to witness them firsthand."

Shen Teng glanced at Han Yun and asked, "Are you from this circle?"

Han Yun smiled slightly, and a long sword suddenly appeared in his hand: "Exactly!"

Upon seeing this, Shen Teng rubbed his eyes. There was no trace of illusion just now, so how did this knife appear?
Could it be spatial manipulation, or a naturally gifted individual?

Just then, an old man coughed from inside the courtyard and said, "Teng'er, guests are guests. Please come in and have a cup of tea."

Shen Teng quickly sighed and then invited Han Yun inside.

(End of this chapter)