[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens":3,"chapter-heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-171":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 Billion Citizens",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2271046,4434,"Chapter 171: The Spectacular Performance of the Monster Circus","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-171",171,"\u003Cp>Monster Circus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blue-haired dancer stepped down from the stage, used her six arms to soothe the excited children clustered around her, then walked straight toward Xia Mingyu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve long heard of your reputation, Wise One. I am Helena, the dancer of the Monster Circus.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena lifted the hem of her dress with her third pair of hands and executed a graceful curtsy, her movements fluid and flawless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wise One, I’ve heard of your kindness—embracing the grieving mother who lost her child, rescuing the girl forced into servitude, and more. Thank you for treating those poor girls with gentleness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena spoke softly; as a woman herself, she could imagine the hell those girls endured, and thus naturally felt reverence for the Wise One who saved them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I merely did what I could.” Xia Mingyu replied calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your dance was truly beautiful.” He sincerely complimented her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Many have said so before, but your praise still surprises and honors me.” Helena smiled gently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her lips curved slightly, like a newly bloomed cherry blossom kissed by spring wind, revealing a shy, delicate arc.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you remember this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu took off the bracelet from his wrist and held it in his palm before Helena.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is...” The blue-haired dancer’s eyes flickered with surprise as she stared at the star-shaped ornament strung in the center of the bracelet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She carefully picked up the bracelet, examined the star ornament again and again, then asked with hesitant tone:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I gave an ornament of this shape to a little golden-haired girl named Anliya. How did it end up in your hands, Wise One?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It was Anliya—now a beautiful young woman like you—who asked me to bring it to you. She told me to say that on that day, you fulfilled a child’s every fantasy of childhood.” Xia Mingyu whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Helena stood frozen for a long moment. When she came back to herself, a bright smile spread across her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’d never been told I was beautiful by such a sweet little girl before. That day, I was truly happy.” Helena laughed softly as she gently returned the bracelet to its original place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wise One, would you like to tour the circus with me? I’d like to introduce you to my friends.” The blue-haired dancer extended her invitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’d be delighted.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On one stage, the two-headed giant’s two heads were conversing: the adult head told crude jokes, the child head blurted out childish nonsense, and the young audience below laughed uncontrollably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s even taller than Hagekex!” Xia Mingyu’s expression startled; he realized this circus truly harbored extraordinary talents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this build, clad in custom-made heavy armor, he’d be a killing machine on the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Left is Big Toby, right is Little Toby.” Helena introduced him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The performing two-headed giant noticed the blue-haired dancer below. Big Toby’s eyes lit up and he exclaimed excitedly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sister Helena, you came to watch my show? I’ve come up with lots of new jokes—let me tell them to you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Helena could answer, Big Toby launched into his joke himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A little boy was cursed by a demon. His family summoned a priest to exorcise it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The priest said, ‘Evil demon, leave this poor boy’s body!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The demon replied, ‘You go first!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Big Toby burst into laughter. Helena offered a polite but awkward smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sister Helena, hello. Sister is pretty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Toby, on the right, bit his finger and grinned foolishly, his voice muffled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena’s smile instantly became more genuine, even nodding slightly toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Compared to Big Toby, I definitely prefer Little Toby.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leaving that stage, Helena whispered to Xia Mingyu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hehehe, make everyone happy!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the next stage, iron wires stretched from the ground to the tent ceiling. The mouse girl, surrounded by a group of white mice, ran, leaped, and glided along the thin wires, arms outstretched, cheering joyfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sister Helena!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment she saw the blue-haired dancer, the mouse girl let out a delighted cry, abandoned her performance, and leapt straight toward Helena’s position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dancer spread her six long arms like a spider and caught the mouse girl securely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sister~” The mouse girl rubbed her pink nose against Helena’s cheek, speaking in a cooing, affectionate tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is Mia, a wonderful and adorable child.” Helena’s face radiated affection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She really is adorable.” Xia Mingyu gazed at the girl who resembled a giant white-furred Mickey Mouse and silently marveled at the wonders of this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he not read in books that the beastmen of the Ice Desert had no mouse-like race, he might have truly believed she was a beastman rather than human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I like people who say I’m cute. I also like people as gentle as the Boss.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mia opened her arms toward Xia Mingyu, her childish face filled with hopeful expectation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, she recognized the black-haired youth as the Wise One the Boss had spoken of constantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu would never refuse a hug from a sweet little girl, especially one who was deformed. He walked over and gently embraced Mia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have to say, the girl mouse's body is very soft, like a giant plush toy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief embrace, Mia leapt again, covering more than ten meters, and returned to the stage amid the children’s laughter to resume her performance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the next stage, the scaled youth, his entire body covered in emerald-green scales, flicked his forked tongue and slithered like liquid through fire rings no wider than an adult’s head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His performance was equally impressive, but due to his cold expression and humanity’s innate fear of snakes, only a few children dared to peek through their fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sister...” Seeing Helena, the scaled youth hesitated before finally speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helena nodded with a smile and led Xia Mingyu away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s Sifei. Though he looks intimidating, he’s actually very shy.” Helena whispered again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swish, swish, swish!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before long, the lanterns above the tents began to extinguish one by one, plunging the entire circus into darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s the final act—the Boss’s performance is about to begin.” Helena tugged Xia Mingyu’s sleeve to explain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swish!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next instant, before the children could panic, all the lights flared back on—but the brilliance, as if deliberately controlled, converged entirely onto the largest stage at the tent’s center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the eager gaze of every child, petals drifted in from all directions, gradually coalescing into a figure—the magician.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1063,"2026-06-19T22:18:43.340Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","1bd44c725262a6d272b874248ee3effddb42edd3fae22f25fa5f381b93e4566d","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-172","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-170",186,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fheir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-cover.jpg"]