The tourists who were about to leave stopped once again, the excitement in their eyes even more intense than during Alka’s previous performance.
This sudden conflict made them all stop in their tracks, and more tourists quickly gathered, packing the corner tightly.
Some clever tourists were already wondering if this was a scene deliberately arranged by the two of them.
Looking at this clown in front of me, Alka thought. He really is a bit petty, isn’t he? He seems very jealous of the reward I just received.
However, Alka had watched this clown’s performance yesterday and had some understanding of him.
To be honest, in my opinion, those performances of his could only be called petty tricks, Alka mused. Especially his magic act; it can only be described as crude. A magic performance isn’t just about displaying one’s astonishing skills; it must also engage the audience, making them feel immersed. Otherwise, how can you make them willingly pay money? Besides, the magic I just performed was just a minor trick, easily seen through by any peer. This clown is obviously trying to belittle me, to embarrass me. Is it to stop me from competing with him later? Tsk. Underhanded tactics.
"Mr. Clown," Alka said, "do you have some advice for me?"
A triumphant smile spread across the clown’s face.
"Not really. It’s just that after watching your performance, my hands were itching to try. How about I show you a trick, and you can be my assistant?"
Alka smiled. "Of course, of course, no problem at all."
Upon hearing this, the clown somehow produced a deck of cards and started shuffling them in mid-air. He also took the opportunity to fan them out for the surrounding tourists to see.
After shuffling, he handed them over to Alka. "Check them."
Alka, full of smiles, took the cards and quickly shuffled them. His shuffling was like that of an ordinary card player, without any fancy flourishes.
The clown dramatically covered his eyes. "Don’t let me see it!"
Alka picked a card: the Ace of Hearts. He then showed it to the surrounding tourists before inserting it into the middle of the deck. He then handed the deck back to the clown.
Only then did the clown open his eyes. "You’ve placed it? Alright, I’ll find it for you. Let me see where you hid it."
Saying this, he began to shuffle the cards.
Finally, he drew a card and showed it to everyone. But he shook his head. "It seems this isn’t it."
He drew another card, showed it, and shook his head again. "Oh, it seems this isn’t it either."
"Haha, then it must be this one!" With that, he swiftly pulled a card from the middle of the deck. He showed it to everyone, even turning his back to Alka.
The card he displayed was... the Ace of Clubs.
Seeing the expressions on the crowd’s faces, the clown suddenly felt something was amiss.
At this moment, Alka, who still had his back to the clown, made a ’shushing’ gesture to the surrounding crowd.
When the clown turned around to stare at Alka, the surrounding tourists finally understood why Alka had asked them to be quiet.
A bright Ace of Hearts was stuck to the clown’s back.
The surrounding tourists couldn’t help but smile.
The clown then asked, "Not this one?"
Alka shrugged helplessly and spread his hands. "Of course not. It seems I hid it a little too well."
The clown turned around to look at the tourists. They all smiled and shook their heads in amusement. Several ladies even covered their mouths, giggling.
This made the clown’s face flush red.
Instead, Alka took off his top hat and once again made a gesture signaling the end of his performance.
"Thank you all for watching."
The tourists all laughed, once again tossing their coins generously and without hesitation.
"A perfect performance."
"Will there be another performance tomorrow?"
Alka responded to each of them with a smile.
After the tourists dispersed, Alka smiled, scooped up half the coins he had earned, and offered them to the clown. "Here you go, you performed quite well."
The clown’s face darkened, and he slapped Alka’s hand away. He turned and walked away.
Looking at the clown’s retreating back, and the Ace of Hearts still stuck to it, Alka finally laughed out loud.
"Hahaha... you? Compete with me?"
A gangster in a suit and a flat-top hat looked at Nivek, who had just wiped off his clown makeup, and called out.
Nivek turned around impatiently, his crimson eyes fixed on the gangster. "What’s the matter?"
Seeing Nivek’s foul mood, the gangster instinctively recoiled, his voice laced with fear as he spoke. "M-Master, on your back..."
Upon hearing this, Nivek furrowed his brows. He reached behind him, felt around, and his fingers closed on a card. He forcefully ripped it off and looked at it.
It was that Ace of Hearts.
Looking at this card... remembering the smiles of those tourists... remembering Alka’s actions... Anger visibly contorted Nivek’s face.
He fiercely flung the card.
The gangster who had spoken up screamed. The card embedded itself firmly in his left forearm.
"Damn it, damn it all!"
A dagger appeared in Nivek’s hand, and fueled by his rage, he slammed it fiercely into the nearby wooden table. The entire blade of the dagger sank deep into the wood.
"All of you! Go find that damned Magician! Right now! Immediately!"
The already tense gangsters immediately nodded. Even the one who had just screamed, now sweating profusely, nodded vigorously.
Then, they scrambled to get out.
A bald figure was seated in the shadows on a sofa not far away.
"Haha, who managed to make you suffer such a big loss, eh?" His voice dripped with amusement and schadenfreude.
Nivek didn’t look at him, but his voice had become chillingly calm. "He will pay the price."
"Hahaha..." Laughter echoed from the shadows.
After a delightful dinner, Alka returned to his villa, carrying a top hat full of coins. He poured the money from the hat onto the table. He listened to the delightful CLINKING and CLATTERING of the coins. The expression on his face grew increasingly joyful.
Sitting at the table, he couldn’t resist carefully counting them.
"Six Silver Snakes, 83 Copper Swallows."
"Woohoo!" Alka couldn’t help but let out an excited cheer, even whistling.
Plus the two Golden Leaves from the man whose proposal had succeeded, a casual roadside performance had yielded a total value equivalent to sixteen Silver Snakes! This is so much faster than any treasure hunt!
Thinking of this, Alka couldn’t help but shake his head again.
Never mind the two Golden Leaves; even these six Silver Snakes aren’t something I can earn every time. It’s mainly because the tourists here are either wealthy or noble. And I also had the clown actively show up, which added to the entertainment effect. Even though I earned over eighty Copper Swallows this time, it’s unlikely to be sustainable. Still, it could be a nice source of occasional extra income.
A smile spread across Alka’s face at this thought.