Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When we ignored him, Sōta didn’t get angry. He just kept smiling.

“Yamada Tarō has a magic show tonight. He’s a very famous onmyoji from Sakura Country. I’ll take you to see it.”

Hua Yuling’s eyes lit up.

“Magic tricks? I love magic tricks! Qiao Moyu, come on, let’s go.”

“Pfft-magic tricks? What backwater village did they crawl out of?”

The people beside us laughed even louder. Hua Yuling and I set down our trays and hurried to the front of the stage to grab spots.

The cruise ship had its own orchestra and song-and-dance troupe, with performances every night, and even renowned conductors appearing in person. Unfortunately, the two of us were country bumpkins incapable of appreciating the finer things in life. We had zero interest in all that highbrow art. Magic, on the other hand, sounded fun the moment we heard it.

By the time Hua Yuling and I reached the stage, the first few rows were already full.

At center stage, Yamada Tarō was unfurling a painted scroll for everyone to see.

“This is an Onmoraki. It is an old man who died with lingering resentment. Its eyes can glow, and from its mouth-

“It can even breathe blue flames!”

The instant he finished speaking, a huge burst of blue fire gushed out of the painting, almost scorching the audience in the first row.

Thunderous applause erupted from below the stage.

Standing beside us, Sōta smiled smugly.

“Amazing, right? I watch every one of Master Yamada’s magic shows, and I’ve never found a single flaw.”

But Hua Yuling and I couldn’t laugh.

Because black energy was churning on the scroll.

That ghost was real.

Yamada Tarō showed the crowd several more ghosts, then invited members of the audience up to interact. Sōta immediately raised his hand with great enthusiasm.

“Yamada-kun! Let me! Let me-”

“Very well. Then let’s invite this gentleman up.”

Yamada Tarō put away the scroll and picked up a gourd from the side.

“Sir, have you ever heard of Dodomeki?”

Sōta nodded.

“I know. Dodomeki has eyes all over its body and likes stealing things.”

“Oh? When you say eyes all over its body, do you mean like this?”

As Yamada Tarō spoke, he slowly brushed a hand over Sōta’s arm.

The next second, seven or eight eyes suddenly grew out of Sōta’s forearm, each eyeball rolling rapidly.

A chorus of sharp inhales rose from the audience. Sōta screamed in excitement.

“Oh my god! It looks completely real! Yamada-kun, you’re incredible!”