Chapter 1

It was February, and the winter sunset spread from the west across the entire world. The silent redness was like a layer of oil paint, changing the color of all the passersby.

All the passersby were smiling.

Today was the third day of the lunar new year, the perfect time to visit the temple fair. In the small city of Luocheng, there were as many as six or seven places hosting temple fairs.

"Lu Shu, I want to eat a sugar-coated haw with walnuts," a little girl tugged at the sleeve of the young man in front of her, her small hand already pointing to the sugar-coated haw cart by the roadside. Through the glass window, the sugar-coated haws inside were crystal clear.

The little girl was very young, probably only about ten years old, wearing a clean white down jacket that was spotless.

The seventeen-year-old boy named Lu Shu looked at the sugar-coated haw cart with a pained expression, then swallowed and said to the little girl, "Lu Xiaoyu! We already agreed when we bought you the down jacket. If you want this jacket, you have to save money and be frugal. Otherwise, I won't have enough for my tuition next semester!"

"Lu Shu, you've changed! You told me yesterday that there was plenty of money for your tuition next semester!" Lu Xiaoyu said calmly.

Lu Shu's face turned black: "Who taught you that? Can you stop watching so many romantic soap operas?!"

Then he thought for a moment, sighed, and walked to the sugar-coated haw vendor: "Boss, how much for the ones with walnuts?"

"5 yuan, buy a skewer for your sister," the boss said with a smile, having already figured out who really wanted the sugar-coated haws.

5 yuan... really expensive. Lu Shu took out a crumpled 10 yuan note and handed it to the boss, who gave him 5 yuan in change.

The sugar-coated haws were now in hand. A skewer had seven walnuts. When Lu Shu handed it to Lu Xiaoyu, she said, "I'll eat five, and leave two for you!"

Lu Shu laughed and patted Lu Xiaoyu's head: "One is enough."

At her age, Lu Xiaoyu was only as tall as Lu Shu's waist. Lu Shu could easily reach her head.

"Okay," Lu Xiaoyu said without hesitation, her fair face and red lips making her look like a porcelain doll in the winter.

At this moment, a few young people walked by, discussing something exciting: "Did you see yesterday's news online? It said that an old man's soul could be seen just before he died, but the news was quickly deleted."

Lu Shu watched Lu Xiaoyu munching on the sugar-coated haws, thinking to himself that news about such supernatural events was becoming more frequent. Recently, there were also reports of a child's hand emitting blue light and a man lifting 2000 pounds with his bare hands.

He didn't know if it was fake news, but these people disappeared along with the deleted news.

There were also videos, like one where the streetlights flickered as someone walked by, which was quite scary.

Another video showed an old lady suddenly vanishing into thin air.

And another was shot from a spectator's perspective, showing someone swallowing and exhaling clouds at the top of a mountain in a temple.

Consistently, these videos eventually disappeared.

Lu Shu looked at the sky, feeling that something was about to happen, but he didn't know what.

Is there really such a magical thing in the world? But it can't be that these things only started appearing after he turned 17, right? What's going on?

It feels like life is about to take a turn!

"Let's go, let's watch the acrobatics," Lu Shu took out the ticket from his pocket and looked at it: "It's 20 minutes away, and they say this year's temple fair has a special acrobatic troupe with fire performances."

By this time, Lu Xiaoyu had already finished six sugar-coated haws and, satisfied, handed the skewer and the last haw to Lu Shu: "Delicious!"

"Foodie," Lu Shu muttered.

...

This year's acrobatics were indeed unique, with a touch of magic. The temple fair organizers had set up a huge stage, and the crowd below was packed, making Lu Shu feel the festive atmosphere.

At first, the acrobatics were nothing special, just the usual tricks like balancing a large jar and throwing knives.

But the last act was different. A young man came on stage, and as soon as he appeared, his entire body was suddenly engulfed in flames.

Lu Shu was shocked. My God, is this performance really safe? Won't he die?

"Lu Shu, Lu Shu, let me ride on your shoulders to see," Lu Xiaoyu shouted.

Lu Shu was helpless: "I can't lift you."

Lu Shu looked a bit thin and pale, not because he was sick, but because he had been weak since childhood. He had secretly bought and taken Liuwei Dihuang Pills for a while, but even after making the painful decision to buy them, he saw no significant improvement.

He was still very weak...

At least it proved that his weakness wasn't due to his kidneys, which was some consolation... Lu Shu consoled himself.

Lu Shu pushed through the crowd with Lu Xiaoyu, getting closer to see clearly.

At that moment, the flames on the performer suddenly disappeared, as if he could control them at will.

So Lu Shu felt that the 20 yuan ticket for this year's temple fair was definitely worth it, combining acrobatics and magic!

The performer alternated between having flames and not, the flames red with a hint of blue, very spectacular.

At the end, the flames in his hand suddenly shot out like a comet's tail, heading towards the audience, but disappeared just before reaching them.

All the audience applauded and cheered, and the performer bowed and left the stage.

Only one person was silent. The spectacular flames had been closest to Lu Shu. When the fireball approached, Lu Shu suddenly felt a flutter in his heart, a feeling... like a long-lost reunion...

What's going on? Lu Shu was puzzled. The feeling was so real that he couldn't doubt it.

"Lu Shu, Lu Shu, I want to learn this, take me to find him to learn acrobatics!" Lu Xiaoyu pulled Lu Shu towards the backstage.

"You, a little girl, learning acrobatics? They won't teach you their secret skills, and we don't have the money to pay for lessons!" Lu Shu said helplessly, but he also wanted to see the performer. If possible, he wanted the performer to show it again to see what had happened to him.

However, just as he followed Lu Xiaoyu to the backstage, he saw four or five men in black trench coats raise their hands and shoot a small needle-like object into the neck of the flame performer, who fell to the ground and stopped moving after a few seconds.

None of the acrobats dared to speak, as the men's presence was too intimidating, their bodies under the black trench coats exuding a powerful aura.

Lu Shu was stunned. What's going on? The atmosphere was off!

But Lu Xiaoyu didn't care: "What right do you have to knock him out!"

For Lu Shu, encountering such a bizarre situation would normally make anyone wet their pants, but Lu Xiaoyu, the little foodie, was stubborn. Seeing the person she wanted to learn from lying on the ground, she immediately became upset.

Lu Shu's face turned green, and he wanted to pull Lu Xiaoyu and run, but one of the men in black trench coats calmly said: "This temple fair did not apply for a fire performance fire safety permit. He violated the fire safety regulations, so we need to take him for investigation."

I don't believe you! Lu Shu didn't believe their explanation at all. Even if there was a fire safety violation, they should have gone to the temple fair organizers, right?

And who checks fire safety by knocking people out with something like a tranquilizer needle?

There's something wrong! Something seriously wrong!