Su Xiaoou opened the booklet where Jiang Shu had casually recorded secret codes used in some commonly practiced magic tricks. Besides the classic group of nine just mentioned, there were also some systems for guessing drawings and making predictions. None of these were difficult, but all required diligent memorization.
Otherwise, as Jiang Shu had just said, if during a performance Su Xiaoou failed to provide information on time or gave the wrong information, it would disrupt the fluid rhythm of the magic show.
Although Jiang Shu was confident in controlling the situation under such circumstances, no magician would like such unexpected events.
"Okay, got it. I’ll make sure to memorize them well," Su Xiaoou said slowly, nodding her head obediently, a stark contrast to her initial rebellious demeanor.
Now, Jiang Shu understood why she constantly changed teachers and why she seemed so rebellious at first—completely different from the other apprentices under the normal circumstances of Lonely City.
In Lonely City’s apprenticeship system, teachers were like the sky to apprentices, who generally respected them deeply. After all, to some extent, teachers held the power of life and death over their students and possessed absolute initiative.
Su Xiaoou was not foolish; on the contrary, having struggled on the streets for over a decade, she understood the social rules of Lonely City better than most. A teacher was like an apprentice’s provider of food and clothing without bearing the responsibility of a parent.
Clearly, her initial stubbornness was her way of trying not to let her own revenge affect her teacher or the theatre. She could only awkwardly play the role of a disobedient, unruly street kid, causing others to dislike and distance themselves from her.
"Alright, let’s check how well you’ve practiced your techniques recently," Jiang Shu said as he picked up a deck of cards from the table. He shuffled them casually, feeling their smoothness, and then commented, "This deck is fine."
A brand-new deck of cards is too smooth and can sometimes lead to mistakes, while those that have been opened and used for a long time can become too rough. Generally, cards that have been used for a while offer the best handling.
"Um, okay." Su Xiaoou took the cards, took a deep breath, and began performing the techniques she had practiced over this period in front of Jiang Shu.
Jiang Shu watched each one, pointing out mistakes on the spot. The tips he casually imparted were also immensely beneficial to Su Xiaoou—that was one of the advantages of having a teacher.
Many techniques, no matter how detailed they are described in teaching materials, often have many details that are executed incorrectly. In such cases, having a reliable person to point out mistakes helps avoid many detours.
At least when Jiang Shu was learning magic, he had desperately wanted a mentor to recognize his stubbornness and teach him hands-on.
"It’s almost ready for performing, but only on the streets," Jiang Shu said, stroking his chin, "If you want to perform close-up magic on stage, you need much more practice to integrate and perfect it."
He added, "Now, I’ve taught you most of the content of Spirit Magic, and I’ve explained the basic principles very clearly. As for other techniques like peeking, switching—these things you should be able to handle yourself. There are no absolute tricks to those, just adapt as needed."
With that, Jiang Shu took out a set of simple Spirit Magic props, like dark writing pens and double-layer envelopes, and laid them in front of Su Xiaoou. He looked at her with a satisfied expression and said, "As for these items, you can figure out how to use them yourself. There’s also some psychology-packed knowledge, like Micro-expression Reading, cold reading, hot reading, Psychological Suggestion, Strong Selection Hypnosis, and so on. I will write some key points for you to read, and then you can find some psychology materials and study them yourself."
"Ah?" Su Xiaoou was somewhat confused by Jiang Shu’s barrage of words. She didn’t quite understand what he meant—this seemed like he was preparing her to complete her training...
Was she enrolled in some kind of crash course? She had only attended three or four official classes!
"This is also one of the most important lessons in magic. Magic should not have a fixed pattern, nor should it have one. Right now, these basic techniques I’m teaching you, albeit rudimentary, are all essentials," Jiang Shu suddenly said seriously, "Next, you should research on your own. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me. Oh, and as for pen reading, well, never mind, you can figure it out on your own. It’s not that hard."
"Eh? This..." Su Xiaoou looked at Jiang Shu with an expression that said, "Are you kidding me?"
Just from Jiang Shu’s words, Su Xiaoou knew she still had much to learn about peeking, switching, pen reading, dark writing devices, Micro-expression Reading, cold and hot reading, Psychological Suggestion, Strong Selection Hypnosis...
So, she was ready to finish her training?
"The things I’ve taught you are enough to construct some small-scale magic tricks, so what you need to do next is use these simple card and Spirit Magic techniques to build magic and then perform," Jiang Shu explained, "I’ve told you before, I won’t teach you magic directly. The magic you perform in the future will all be your own creation."
"But..." Su Xiaoou was still confused, "I still have so much to learn..."
"By now, you should be able to perform some simple magic," Jiang Shu encouraged her, "Magic is a performing art that requires learning while performing."
"Yes, but I have been performing..." Su Xiaoou continued.
"Performing in front of Kirie and Shen Xuwan doesn’t count," Jiang Shu said with a smile, shaking his head, "You need to experience the prowess of real critics and so-called experts; they are not just ordinary critics and experts..."