Chapter 167: The

Inside the tent.

At this moment, the air was filled with a mixture of grease, sawdust, and sweat. The dim candlelight swayed overhead, casting distorted shadows onto the canvas.

A woman of about twenty stood on the stage in the center of the tent. Her six slender arms were spread elegantly like the legs of a spider; every finger was delicate and soft, with clearly defined knuckles.

She had long, deep blue hair like a river at night, reaching her waist. Many small star ornaments were woven into her hair, twinkling under the lights like a beautiful starry sky.

Twelve colorful ribbons were wrapped around her fingertips. She leaped, spun, and danced, her figure as light as a swallow, carving stunning colorful vortexes into the air.

"Big Sister Helena's dance is super beautiful!"

"Big Sister is really beautiful. To think that people like us could also be so dazzling."

"Big Sister Helena, I—I like you!"

Below the stage were deformed people whom ordinary folk would avoid, loathe, and fear. They were clapping their hands excitedly and vigorously.

Some of them had extra limbs or eyes, while others had organs in the wrong places—like a mouth growing on a palm, or bodies covered in snake-like scales.

These deformed people were of all ages, including both adults and children, though children made up the majority.

After the performance, the six-armed dancer lifted her skirt, bowed slightly, and walked off the stage.

After this, new performers took the stage.

A giant with two heads—one adult, one child—stood on the stage. The two heads conversed with each other; the adult head on the left told crude jokes, while the child head on the right innocently offered childish rebuttals, causing the crowd below to burst into laughter.

Their massive, three-meter-tall bodies had to control every movement carefully to avoid hitting the candle-filled light rack overhead.

The deformed people below were amused to laughter, constantly calling out their names: the adult head on the left was Big Toby, and the child on the right was Little Toby.

The next performance was high-altitude tightrope walking. The performer was a cute girl of about sixteen or seventeen, with fuzzy pointed ears, a pink nose, protruding front teeth, and a long tail. Her skin was white with a rosy tint, much like a large Mickey Mouse.

Tap, tap, tap.

The mouse girl led a group of white mice to run, jump, and perform 360-degree flips in the air on the rope. Her tiny feet were as nimble as a real rodent's, and her front teeth gleamed like pearls under the lights.

When she completed a backflip, her tail would curl up instinctively to maintain balance; a small bow was tied to her fluffy gray tail.

"Big Sister Mia is so amazing!" the children exclaimed repeatedly.

The final performance was jumping through fire hoops.

The performer was a snake-scaled youth covered in emerald scales, with vertical pupils and a forked tongue.

He stood with a cold expression beside the narrow fire hoops. His smooth scales shimmered with an emerald glow in the firelight. His slender body passed through the hoops—which were only the size of a human head—at an incredible speed, flashing by like a bolt of lightning.

"Big Brother Xifu, cool!"

In the corner of the circus, the magician leaned against the wall, quietly watching this heartwarming scene.

His eyes were as gentle as an old father's at this moment, completely lacking the tough attitude he had shown when facing the Impaler.

Those dazzling purple-gold heterochromatic eyes also gradually dimmed, losing their luster.

Tap, tap, tap.

The six-armed dancer who had performed earlier walked over. She looked at the magician, a clear sense of respect appearing on her exquisite face.

"My lord, everyone has finished rehearsing and is ready to perform at any time," Helena reported softly.

The magician nodded approvingly, but upon recalling Youde's refusal that morning, his brow furrowed slightly.

Although this detail was insignificant, it was still noticed by the dancer who had followed him for many years.

"My lord, has something happened?" Helena asked with a worried expression.

"This morning, I met an apothecary with a monkey face..."

Because he did not want to worry the dancer whom he viewed as a daughter, the magician thought for a moment and told her the truth.

"That apothecary... did he say he was already satisfied with his life?" Helena asked again, doubting she had heard correctly.

After all, as a deformed person herself, she knew how much the world loathed them. Just by existing, they would constantly face malice from those around them, until they were driven to death.

"Yes," the magician admitted with a hint of a bitter smile.

It was the first time he had been rejected for such a reason; usually, he was just treated as a pervert who liked toying with deformed people.

"... That monkey-faced apothecary must have met someone who saved him."

After pondering for a moment, Helena keenly noticed the key point.

"I really want to meet that person!" she exclaimed sincerely.

"We will be staying in Shengcheng for quite some time; there will definitely be an opportunity."

The magician smiled slightly. He was also curious about what kind of person would save a deformed person; perhaps they could even become friends.

The next morning.

The patrolling guards soon discovered the massive circus tent that had suddenly appeared in the city square, occupying a full tenth of the space.

They quickly reported to their superior, and before long, a Transcendent Rank knight arrived aggressively with a squad of guards.

The knight wanted to lift the curtain at the entrance of the tent and barge in, but fortunately, the magician was already waiting at the door.

"Who are you?" the knight asked vigilantly, gripping the hilt of the longsword at his waist.

The handsome magician before him looked frail, yet inexplicably gave him a dangerous feeling, as if he were standing before a ferocious beast.

"I am Lu En, a traveler and the leader of the Monster Circus," the magician said gently, removing his hat to bow elegantly to the knight.

Monster Circus!?

Hearing this, the knight was stunned, only then noticing the blood-red characters on the tent.

He had naturally heard of this famous circus that had operated in the Southern Region for many years. It was said to have left the Southern Region for other places to tour and perform a while ago; he hadn't expected it to return so soon.

And regarding this circus, there were many strange rumors. The most dangerous rumor was—the knight subconsciously looked into the magician's eyes.

Even under the shadow of the hat brim, he could clearly see that they were a pair of extremely rare heterochromatic eyes.

In an instant, the knight's vigilance reached its limit.

Swish!

The longsword was drawn halfway, revealing a cold glint.

"Mr. Lu En, I am Knight Gray under the Masha family. I am very grateful that you could come to Shengcheng to perform, but the city square is a core area of Shengcheng. Please dismantle the tent and leave immediately!"

Knight Gray said loudly, and the guards behind him also silently stepped forward, surrounding the magician with spears.

Clearly, if the magician refused, a prison sentence would likely await him.

Lu En was silent for a moment, then slowly took a crest from his pocket and handed it to Gray.

Just after glancing at the pattern on the crest, Knight Gray's expression changed drastically, and he immediately sheathed his longsword.

He looked at the magician's deep, violet-like left eye, a terrifying guess emerging in his mind.

Damn it, why did I have to meddle in this?

That bastard who came to report—when I go back, I'll definitely double... no, triple his training load!

Gray cursed fiercely in his heart. He didn't want to know about the scandals hidden within the lord's family. No wonder that bastard Mailin refused to come; he must have known already!

Seeing the expression on the knight's face change rapidly like a palette, Lu En could roughly guess his thoughts, so he said indifferently:

"Mr. Knight, may I now hold the circus performance in the city square?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Knight Gray agreed repeatedly, fleeing in a rather disheveled manner with his guards.

After he left, the magician looked at the fox head mark on the crest in his hand and stood there for a long time, wondering what he was thinking.

Red Fox Castle, guest bedroom.

Xia Mingyu woke up as usual, standing by the window shirtless to greet the cool morning breeze, and washed and dressed under the service of the new maid, Anna.

The little maid, with chestnut hair and deer-like eyes, was blushing as she looked at Xia Mingyu's well-defined, thick chest; her head felt as if it were about to steam from nervousness.

Despite this, the young girl still carefully stood on tiptoe to drape the top over Xia Mingyu and fasten the buttons.

After she accepted Xia Mingyu's invitation to be a maid, she first came to Red Fox Castle and was given maid training by a group of head maids.

After the training, because Anliya was busy preparing heartfelt meals every day, Xia Mingyu's dressing, daily life, and other chores were handled by Anna.

Today was her first day on the job.

"Anna, are you getting used to living in Red Fox Castle?" Xia Mingyu asked softly.

"Yes, everyone here is very kind to me. I've made many new friends, and they are very polite to me after knowing I am Lord Starfire's maid. Some even say they envy me."

Speaking of this, a brilliant smile appeared on the girl's pretty face, and her lake-green eyes curved into the shape of crescent moons.

For a girl who had always lived alone, this feeling of being surrounded by friends of her own age was clearly very novel and happy.

Seeing this scene, Xia Mingyu also let go of his worries about her.

This flower girl, who had previously been lonely and helpless, now also had her own support and life.

In the past, she had fallen in love with him because of a chance encounter. Although his high charm value played a small part, it was more about her fear of loneliness and her desire to change her bleak life.

Dining room.

The breakfast Anliya prepared for him today was honey-fried eggs with pan-fried fish fillets. The fried eggs were sweet and delicious, and the fish fillets were fried to a golden, crispy perfection.

After enjoying this meal, Xia Mingyu felt his whole body warm and comfortable, as if soaking in a hot spring.

Afterward, it was reading, drinking red fruit juice, lying on Anliya's lap to read, drinking red fruit juice, and continuing to read...

By the time Xia Mingyu felt a splitting headache and could no longer study, he suddenly realized that the sky outside the window had already turned yellow.

"Time really passes quickly!" Xia Mingyu looked at the sunset outside the window and couldn't help but sigh.

It is said that whenever you sleep from day until dusk, looking at the sunset will make you feel abandoned by the whole world, and the only cure is...

"Anliya, can you sleep with me today?"

"Ah, really, Your Majesty!"

The golden-haired girl, who had been standing still like a painting beside him, saw the corners of her mouth lift uncontrollably, and two small dimples appeared on her exquisite face.

That smile was so bright that the surrounding air became sweet and sticky.

Xia Mingyu held such a beautiful girl and returned to the bedroom. On the soft large bed, the two pressed their foreheads together, their breathing intertwined, humid and scorching.

Pop, pop, pop~

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~

Just like that, the full moon gradually replaced the sunset, casting countless bright, clear rays onto the ground.

It was already late at night, but many children in Shengcheng were tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep.

One day was enough for the arrival of the Monster Circus to ferment throughout the city.

And for the Monster Circus, the most famous rumor was its unique, fairy-tale-like invitation method.

It possessed a magic that no child could resist.

So they waited, longed, and watched...

Meanwhile.

City Square, Monster Circus.

"My lord, five thousand invitations have all been written!"

Inside the tent, the mouse girl ran to the magician full of energy, raised her hand, and saluted like a soldier.

"Well done, Mia."

The magician touched the girl's head approvingly, then raised his hand to signal her to proceed to the next step.

Shh!

Mia pressed her finger to her lips and whistled loudly.

The next moment, as if by magic, countless white mice suddenly emerged from the ground of the tent.

Although a single white mouse looked small and cute, when they gathered together in dense numbers, it was enough to drive anyone with trypophobia into a frenzy.

"Mouse army, move out!"

Mia waved her hand spiritedly.

The next moment, the white mice scrambled into the large box filled with invitations nearby, then bit the invitations with their front teeth, rushing out of the circus tent like a white tide.

Immediately after, the white tide continuously split, eventually flowing silently into house after house.

On a certain rooftop.

The masked men in black watched the absurd scene before them in shock.

Mice could actually be used to deliver letters?

And in such large numbers—if they were used for poisoning or assassination, just thinking about it was terrifying!

"Captain, should we bring back the person who can control the mice? We would definitely be rewarded by the organization." A man in black felt his heart heat up and suggested to the leader standing at the front of the team.

"No," the captain said indifferently.

The man in black who had suggested it immediately fell silent, tightly closing his mouth.

And the captain continued to gaze at the massive tent that had appeared out of thin air in the city square yesterday, his blue-green beastly pupils full of wariness.

Before he went to the Southern Region, he had been specifically instructed by his superior never to provoke this Monster Circus, otherwise, death would be the only thing awaiting their squad.

"One New Moon Peak, two New Moons, three Morning Stars—to think we can't afford to provoke a circus that performs specifically for children. It's truly incredible!"

Even as an assassin who had experienced countless killings, he couldn't help but sigh at the absurdity of the world.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 168 =====