Chapter 33: Playing tricks (Part 3)
When watching someone perform magic, one always wants to see the most magical, spectacular and incredible scenes. When Huo Chong performs this kind of trick himself, he is only worried about being seen through, and he only pays attention to the obvious parts that will be exposed.
When the three bundles of hay stuck on the table were burning, Huo Chong felt his face getting hot from the heat radiation. It might be his own shame and uneasiness that made his face become like this.
When the first bundle of hay started burning, the audience was in an uproar. The sounds of surprise and sighing became much quieter when the second bundle started burning. After the third bundle started burning, Huo Chong paused for a moment, calmed down, and then looked down the platform. But he saw that everyone's eyes were fixed on the blazing bundle of hay.
Zhu Youquan's face turned pale, and he stood there blankly, not knowing what to do. After all, Li Yannian, the leader of the Dui Sect, was an old hand, so he was not too surprised, but just stood there with a gloomy face, not knowing what to think.
Suddenly, a shout came from the audience, "Huo Chong knows magic, from now on, if anyone's house catches fire, it's Huo Chong who did it!"
The one who shouted was Liu Laowu. When the other villagers heard this shout, they were all shocked. Huo Chong didn't expect Liu Laowu to say that, and he jumped off the stage in anger and rushed towards Liu Laowu.
Seeing Huo Chong rushing over, the villagers instinctively avoided him. Liu Laowu saw a passage between him and Huo Chong, so he turned and ran, shouting, "He's going to kill someone! Huo Chong is going to kill someone!"
There were gasps and sighs of fear in the crowd, as if Huo Chong was really going to kill Liu Laowu next.
Seeing Liu Laowu running away, Huo Chong did not plan to chase him directly. Moreover, the fear in the eyes of the surrounding villagers also made Huo Chong feel that something was wrong.
I was just playing a little trick, just pretending to be a ghost. Everyone should treat it as a show. Even if there is no warm applause, at least there are some laughter. What does it mean to take this thing seriously?
Just as he was feeling uneasy, he heard Li Yannian on the platform behind him shouting, "Huo Chong, where did you learn this magic?"
There was another round of exclamation from the crowd. Huo Chong was shocked. He had originally just wanted to fight back against the ghost by playing tricks, but judging from the results, he was clearly wrong.
Compared to pretending to be a god, I am not even worthy of carrying shoes for the leader of Tianli Sect. I have only played it a few times, but he has been studying it all his life. Just a casual word of "magic" put Huo Chong in a very disadvantageous position.
Looking at the expressions of the people around him, Huo Chong wanted to refute, but he couldn't think of how to refute. The more he wanted to speak, the less he knew what to say. Huo Chong found himself trapped.
At this moment, someone shouted loudly: "The one on the stage is Master Liu !"
In the silence, this shout eased the oppressive atmosphere a little. Huo Chong was a little worried, wondering if Liu Yannian had called for help again. But then he thought that if Liu Yannian's helpers came to fight, it would divert everyone's attention.
Two men, whom he had never met before, jumped onto the platform and bowed to Liu Yannian. Liu Yannian knew the two men and returned the greetings, asking, "If the two captains wanted to find me, they could have just sent someone to tell me. Why did they come here?"
The two men called out to the people who followed them, and the followers immediately carried two hams. The leader bowed again and said loudly: "Master Liu, we are here to ask you to save us!"
Liu Yannian immediately showed a humble and complacent look on his face, and said politely: "Why are you two brothers so polite?"
The leading captain continued, "We didn't know that Patriarch Liu was here. Now that we have met Patriarch Liu, we will ask him to talk to a captain named Huo Chong here and ask him to save our brothers."
Although his attitude was very polite, the helmsman's voice was loud and clear, and everyone in the audience could hear it clearly. Everyone's eyes fell on Huo Chong. Huo Chong was also at a loss for what to do with this sudden change. Why did someone suddenly ask him to save someone? Liu Yannian's face was as ugly as it could be. Although he wanted to cover it up, the two helmsmen on the opposite side were not fools, and they had already seen the obvious clues. The leader was probably unhappy with Liu Yannian's unfriendly expression, and asked with an unsightly face: "Don't you want to help us, Master Liu?"
Liu Yannian thought for a moment and answered directly: "Captain Hong, I don't know what feud Huo Chong has with you. I came here to tell you that Huo Chong is no longer a member of our Tianli Sect, let alone our captain. Whatever you want to do to him is none of our business."
After hearing this, the people who opposed Huo Chong all relaxed. Zhu Youquan even glared at Huo Chong with a show-off look as if he had come back to life.
"He's no longer your man? What does that mean?" Captain Hong was also a little confused.
Liu Yannian hesitated for a while before continuing, "Who do you want to save?"
"Our brothers in the gang are injured."
Liu Yannian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I can send someone to take a look."
"Don't bother, we have already brought all the people here to rescue them quickly." The helmsman said, turned around and greeted them. Immediately, three stretchers were brought over.
Liu Yannian jumped off the earthen platform and uncovered the things covering the three people.
At this time, the villagers also thought that the situation was becoming more and more interesting, and they all squeezed over to watch. The person in the front immediately screamed "Oh my God!" and started to run back. The people behind tried to squeeze over to see the patient's appearance clearly, and they also screamed "Oh my God" and ran back. After a while, everyone who saw the injured ran far away, as if they could not avoid it.
Liu Yannian's face was also very ugly. He turned around to avoid seeing the injured. He said angrily: "Master Hong, when did Huo Chong hurt your people? You want to seek revenge on him, I will help you!"
"Master Liu, what do you mean? My people were injured in the river, and I came here to ask Brother Huo to save them. What do you mean by beating people? Beat whom? Does Master Liu mean that you don't want to save people?"
Seeing that Captain Hong was really not here to settle accounts with Huo Chong, and being pressed by his words, Liu Yannian simply replied: "I want to save your brothers. Or you can let me..." At this point, Liu Yannian thought for a moment, and finally said with difficulty: "Captain Hong, I can't save your people."
Captain Hong had been asking Liu Yannian for help in the name of a request. When he heard Liu Yannian tell the truth, he immediately became furious: "Why didn't you tell me earlier? You're just talking nonsense to me and wasting my time!"
After saying that, Captain Hong turned around and shouted to the crowd in the audience: "My fellow villagers, I am the captain of the Shangcao Gang of Daqing River. My surname is Hong! This time I came to find a brother named Huo Chong and ask him to save people. If anyone knows where brother Huo Chong lives, please tell me. Thank you all!"
No one answered, but everyone's eyes fell on Huo Chong. When Captain Hong saw this, he immediately jumped off the stage and walked in front of Huo Chong. He saluted first, and then asked: "Brother, do you know where Brother Huo Huo lives?"
"I am Huo Chong." This was all Huo Chong could answer.
Captain Hong stepped forward and grabbed Huo Chong's arm, "Brother Huo, I see you. Brother Huo, please save our people."
Huo Chong could not help but take a step back, fearing that the leader Hong might suddenly attack him. Seeing Huo Chong's performance, Leader Hong quickly let go of his hand and took two steps back, "I'm sorry, Brother Huo, I scared you. Please come over and see our people."
Walking to the stretcher and lifting the bed sheet that Liu Yannian had thrown away, Huo Chong also gasped. There was an open wound on this man's body, which had already festered. The mixture of red and white, plus the exuding tissue fluid, looked unpleasant. No wonder the villagers retreated in fear after seeing it, and Huo Chong also wanted to retreat.
Huo Chong turned to Captain Hong and said, "Captain Hong, I am willing to treat him. But your people are so badly injured, I dare not say I can cure them."
"Brother Huo, I won't rely on you. If they can be cured, it's their fate. If they can't be cured, it's also Brother Huo's best efforts."
Hearing this, Liu Yannian showed some regret on his face. However, he had already made his words final, and now he could not regret it. Huo Chong saw Liu Yannian tighten his lips in anger.
But Huo Chong still didn't dare to agree, so he could only pull Captain Hong's arm and lead him to walk away. Huo Chong didn't need to pull him too much, and Captain Hong followed naturally.
Walking to a place where no one could hear him, Huo Chong whispered, "Captain Hong, I think you heard the news from Brother Xu, right?"
"yes."
"Brother Xu, did you know that my method of healing is a bit weird?"
"I've heard of it." Captain Hong responded, "Brother Xu said that unless it's absolutely necessary, he should never come to you. But these brothers of mine really can't die. As long as we can save their lives, any method will do!"
"Captain Hong, I will do my best. But whether your people can survive depends on whether they are strong enough. If they cannot be saved, Captain Hong cannot say anything."
"Brother Huo, to be honest, I have seen this kind of injury for a while. Even the best doctor can't save him now. That's why I came to ask Brother Huo for help. I just ask Brother Huo to help no matter what. As for the rest, I'll leave it to fate."
"Okay! Carry the person to my house." Huo Chong replied.
There was no way to deal with the festering of wounds caused by this kind of trauma in this era, so we could only wait for Nong to die. The maggots here have been raised, and Huo Chong is going to use them to feed chickens. When the three people were transported to Huo Chong's house, Huo Chong ordered his junior brother to apply alcohol on the foreheads, necks, and behind the ears of the three people with high fever to lower their body temperature.
He asked the people from the Shangcao Gang on the Daqing River to leave. Captain Hong whispered, "I heard from Brother Xu about Brother Huo Chong's tactics. I want to stay and watch."
Huo Chong thought it would be okay if someone was watching, so he immediately picked out some maggots from the flour and put them into the festering wound.
Only after a large number of maggots began to dine on the festering wound did Huo Chong sit down on the stool exhausted.
Huo Chong was completely confused about what happened today. Although Huo Chong didn't know how he got himself into the trap, he still didn't understand after thinking for a while.
But Huo Chong still came to a conclusion. He really couldn't beat others in this. Since he couldn't beat others, he would never do anything tricky again.
Since it is all failure, it is better to admit failure with a clear conscience rather than bear the failure and stigma!
