OFTLHFRO C189
by berryChapter 189: Performing a Magic Trick
When Luo Mingchen announced that he was going to perform a magic trick, Hua Yaoyue happened to be there as well. He was teaching Huo Yuhui how to distinguish between several medicinal herbs that looked remarkably similar.
Seeing Luo Mingchen approach with obvious excitement, Hua Yaoyue raised an eyebrow.
“What kind of magic trick?”
“Obviously, a beautiful one.”
With that, Luo Mingchen took out an apple.
The instant the four of them saw it, their expressions subtly changed.
Even Huo Xiang, who normally loved fruit, instinctively took half a step backward.
They had eaten far too many apples these past few days.
No one wanted another one.
“This,” Luo Mingchen announced while holding the apple up for everyone to inspect, “is just an ordinary apple.”
He passed it around in front of each of them before handing it to Huo Yuhui.
“Hold it out in your hands. Watch carefully.”
The four stared at him, completely puzzled.
No one had any idea what he intended to do.
Luo Mingchen dramatically waved a hand.
“Transform!”
Then he proudly said,
“Yuhui, peel it.”
Huo Yuhui paused before lightly touching the apple’s skin.
To everyone’s astonishment…
The peel immediately unraveled into one long spiral.
Not a single extra strip remained on the fruit.
It had been peeled perfectly.
Even Hua Yaoyue, who had assumed Luo Mingchen was simply entertaining the children, was stunned.
He understood stage magic.
Yet he was absolutely certain Luo Mingchen hadn’t used any sleight of hand.
The peel…
Had genuinely been removed out of thin air.
“Wow! Daddy is amazing!”
Huo Xinyue enthusiastically clapped her little hands, offering wholehearted support.
Huo Xiang’s eyes widened.
“Little Daddy, how did you do that?”
Holding the apple, Huo Yuhui hadn’t felt anything unusual whatsoever.
Only now did he finally understand why everyone had spent the last several days eating apples cut into bizarre shapes.
Could this also be another cultivation technique his little daddy had learned?
Unable to suppress his curiosity any longer, Hua Yaoyue said,
“Do it again.”
Luo Mingchen handed him an apple.
“Eat this one first.”
“…”
Hua Yaoyue’s face darkened.
He hesitated for a long while before finally surrendering to curiosity.
Resigned to his fate, he began chewing.
After he’d finished…
Luo Mingchen performed the trick again, this time while Hua Yaoyue was holding the apple himself.
Hua Yaoyue still couldn’t understand how it worked.
After crunching through five enormous apples, he let out a stuffed burp.
“This technique…”
“It’s from the same school as your water technique, isn’t it?”
Luo Mingchen blinked.
“Congratulations.”
“Correct.”
Hua Yaoyue, who now felt like he might die from overeating apples:
“…”
Now that Luo Mingchen had finally mastered the technique…
Everyone else breathed a collective sigh of relief.
At last…
They no longer had to eat apples every day.
With this newfound skill, peeling fruits and vegetables became effortless.
His cooking speed improved dramatically.
Meanwhile…
Huo Yan continued practicing control over his fire.
Watching him now, Luo Mingchen couldn’t help but see his former self.
The version of himself who’d once used water balls…
To give zombies baths.
At the moment, whenever Huo Yan attacked from farther away, his fireballs lost most of their destructive power.
There was no shortcut for this.
He had to discover the answer himself.
Still…
After practicing for over half a month, the improvement was obvious.
The stronger one’s own abilities became…
The easier everything else seemed.
Following Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan’s earlier warning, Hu Zhongyi had followed the trail and uncovered over a dozen spies left behind by Huo Yuntao.
He immediately escorted every one of them back to the capital.
Very publicly.
Right to the gates of the Grand General’s residence.
By doing so…
The Emperor naturally became even more wary of Huo Yuntao.
Why would one Grand General plant spies inside another Grand General’s military camp?
Sending the prisoners directly to Huo Yuntao’s residence also served another purpose.
It silently told the Emperor…
Huo Yan had nothing to do with this affair.
Otherwise…
Hu Zhongyi would’ve written directly to the imperial court instead of returning the spies to the Huo residence.
Once the spy incident came to light…
Hu Zhongyi could no longer use explosives to conceal the fact that the gold mine had already been mined.
Instead…
He reported that they had accidentally blown open a previously unknown gold mine.
Inside, signs of earlier excavation had been discovered.
Those same spies had intentionally leaked the mine’s location.
After reading the memorial…
The Emperor’s expression turned extremely grim.
After careful consideration…
He ordered Huo Yuntao confined to the capital.
The Grand General was barred from attending morning court and placed under house arrest for an indefinite period.
Had it not been for the Huo Army’s longstanding service and Huo Yuntao’s previous military achievements…
His crimes would’ve certainly earned a harsh reprimand and demotion.
To be honest…
Even Huo Yuntao himself hadn’t expected Hu Zhongyi to protect Huo Yan so thoroughly.
Given Hu Zhongyi’s straightforward personality…
He never imagined the man would find a way to completely separate Huo Yan from the scandal.
At the beginning of the second lunar month…
The trade market officially opened.
That morning, Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan got up unusually early and headed into town.
Even though they knew crowds probably wouldn’t be huge…
It was still opening day.
Some excitement was inevitable.
“Don’t you think we got up a little too early?”
Luo Mingchen looked around as they walked through the quiet streets.
The cold morning wind cut through the air.
Only breakfast stalls had opened.
Most hadn’t even begun serving food yet.
Huo Yan glanced around the peaceful streets.
“How about a morning run?”
“Sure!”
Luo Mingchen grinned.
“Afterward we’ll eat lamb dumplings and spicy pepper soup. Let’s run ten laps around Hancheng. Whoever loses buys breakfast.”
“Deal.”
A sly smile spread across Luo Mingchen’s face.
“I’ll count to three…”
“Ready…”
“Three!”
Huo Yan, who’d patiently been waiting for “one” and “two”:
“…”
Although Luo Mingchen had cheated just a tiny bit at the start…
Once the race began, both relied purely on their own strength.
Neither of them used abilities to gain an advantage.
The soldiers patrolling the city walls watched as their General and his husband sprinted past.
Before anyone could even greet them…
The two had already vanished into the distance.
More importantly…
They hadn’t even used qinggong.
Their speed alone was terrifying.
Rather than discouraging the soldiers…
The sight only strengthened everyone’s determination.
They had to become stronger.
After all…
How embarrassing would it be if such an extraordinary General had to command a group of weaklings?
Although Hancheng wasn’t one of the empire’s largest cities…
It certainly wasn’t small.
Ten laps sounded manageable.
Yet even at Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan’s incredible speed…
The run still lasted nearly an hour and a half.
By the time they finished…
The sun had fully risen.
Panting heavily after narrowly winning by only two steps, Luo Mingchen laughed.
“I won.”
Still catching his breath, Huo Yan nodded.
“Mm.”
“I’ll buy breakfast.”
They stood resting for a moment before walking toward a breakfast shop together.
The streets that had been nearly deserted earlier were now bustling with people.
Most appeared to be merchants from various trade caravans.
Since they’d spent the run circling the roads near the city walls, they hadn’t noticed everyone entering.
Seeing so many visitors made Luo Mingchen genuinely happy.
More people meant more spending.
More spending meant local shopkeepers could earn money.
And that meant all their investments hadn’t been wasted.
Walking into a restaurant, Luo Mingchen called out,
“Boss! Two orders of lamb dumplings, two bowls of spicy pepper soup, four meat buns, and two sesame balls!”
Hearing his voice, the shopkeeper smiled warmly.
“Right away! Please wait a moment, Lord Luo and General.”
“It’s alright.”
“Just follow the normal order.”
“We’ll wait our turn.”
Luo Mingchen had no desire for special treatment.
Otherwise…
The entire system would lose its fairness.
That was exactly what he’d taught every shopkeeper during training.
If everyone expected preferential treatment…
Then the most basic principle of fairness would disappear.
The nearby diners watched the pair curiously.
The General…
And that Lord…
Actually came here to eat breakfast?
They were…
That down-to-earth?