Chapter 38 first quarter

Everyone sighed, and they were all heartbroken. Everyone looked at Zhang Xian with hope in their eyes, and wished Zhang Xian could be proud of the Chinese people at the World Magic Conference. Zhang Xian kept a mysterious smile all the time, and didn't accuse the British of anything wrong. He just looked at the dull atmosphere and played a few tricks on the table, which made everyone laugh and dispel the heavy resentment in his heart. The owner of the hotel brought his fellows to bless him. Zhao Chengxu raised his glass and stood up, saying, "I wish Mr. Zhang Xian every success!"

Everyone shouted and stood up to toast, and the cups were mixed, which added a lot of joy to this humble small restaurant for a while. The fact that Zhang Xian came to London to participate in the World Magic Conference quickly spread among Chinese and overseas Chinese in London. Although the World Magic Conference is not a world-famous event, the Beiyang government has never sent a mission to London to participate in the competition in recent years. First time.Overseas Chinese were overjoyed and told each other that anyone who had time would come to visit Zhang Xian. They all hoped that Zhang Xian would win glory for the country, bring back a medal, and let foreigners see Chinese stunts!

Zhang Xian originally wanted to be quiet for a few days, but he was deeply moved when he saw the enthusiasm and sincerity of the Chinese people in a foreign country, and he opened the door to welcome guests and accept everyone's respect.The Chinese in London, UK, like the local Chinese, like to be lively and hospitable. When they met Zhang Xian, they were like their own family members. There were banquets for lunch and dinner. , Fresh and fun, with constant laughter and laughter. However, some Chinese businessmen who were familiar with the World Magic Conference worried and hurriedly introduced the origin of the World Magic Conference to Zhang Xian in detail.

It turns out that this World Magic Conference was organized by Sir Hunter, the chairman of the British Association of Magicians. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as a gathering of top experts. It has a supreme status in the Western magic world. Magicians of the highest level will be sent to participate. Many magic tricks and techniques are rare in the world, and they are not performed in public. Ordinary people cannot see them. Only the upper class and royal family members of the UK are the audience.In addition to Sir Hunter, there are more than 30 judges. The judges are not all famous magicians, but include great scientists, great adventurers, archbishops, barristers and other top celebrities from all walks of life. Five people are bound to achieve success.

The World Magic Congress is held every five years. This time Zhang Xian participated, it was publicly said that it was the fifth session.In fact, the history of the World Magic Conference is nearly a hundred years old. At first, it was a means for the British royal family to recruit strange people from all over the world. The governors of the colonies sent contestants. With the gradual expansion of the scale, modern Western magic has risen, and the status of magicians is quite high. , Many magicians have hereditary titles, and they need strong financial resources to perform large-scale magic tricks, and magicians have become a magical profession with rich income.Under the appeal of Sir Hunter, the selection was made public to the whole world, and the momentum of each session was more powerful. Since it is called the World Magic Conference, it is not appropriate to ignore the existence of China, a "big stupid country", so the fifth session The Ten Thousand Kingdoms Magic Conference invited the Beiyang government to send people to participate, and it was right to match the title of "Wan Guo".

There are at least a hundred magicians from all over the world participating in the World Magic Conference. They are divided into several groups. In the end, 20 people are selected to participate in the finals. The first, second, and third place are selected. If they want to conquer the 30 harsh judges below, it is impossible to have any skills. Impossible, many magicians will be yelled "OUT" only halfway through the performance, which means out.It’s not just the judges calling OUT, if the audience is dissatisfied and shouts OUT, it’s still the fate of being out. That is to say, the magician’s performance should not only conquer the judges, but also pay attention to the emotions of the audience. Don’t perform something that only the judges Can see clearly, but the audience does not understand the magic trick.

Western magic has evolved rapidly. In the 1920s, large-scale magic tricks emerged one after another, supplemented by sound and light, making many magic shows look like a magnificent musical.However, traditional Chinese magic has fallen far behind. In the past, a few Chinese magicians were invited to perform across the oceans. Because they were boring, they seemed fresh at first glance. After watching too much, they were spotted by some self-righteous foreign magicians. It was publicly slandered in the magic world, thinking that nothing more than that, the Chinese simply don't understand what magic is.Gradually, Chinese magic has no secrets among Western magicians. Many magicians who have stolen the essence of Chinese magic have changed their originality, but only changed the way of performance. This is already Western magic. It is a secret open to the world, who told the Chinese to be easy to bully.

In fact, this is helpless. Western magicians attach great importance to innovation and are good at creating individual styles. Chinese magicians almost all perform in the same style. comparable.Letting other people change their appearance to perform, they are still dumb and can't tell if they are suffering from Coptis chinensis. It is even more regrettable that the skills of local magicians in China are withering, and many ancient magic tricks have been lost. There are always a few changes. So embarrassing that he didn't even have the ability to fight back, and gradually became a supporting role for Western magicians.

Fortunately, the secrets of ancient Chinese magic are not well known to the public, because the Western magic world and Chinese magic have some common rules, that is, magicians cannot reveal the secrets of magic to the audience.For the British Association of Magicians, it is against the professional ethics of magicians to disclose a certain magic secret to the public privately. Once it is found out who it is, the punishment will be extremely severe. Therefore, those who are worried about Zhang Xian's performance, first hope that Zhang Xian will stop performing familiar magic tricks such as Nine Rings and Braziers, so that he will definitely be "OUT" in the preliminaries, and secondly hope that Zhang Xian can enter the top 20. Very good!

Many people asked Zhang Xian what kind of magic trick he had prepared for his advice, but Zhang Xian smiled and did not answer, never revealing a word. Seeing that four or five days passed quickly, according to the schedule of the conference, it was time to draw lots and divide into groups. Zhang Xian and the others were neatly dressed, and Zhang Xian specially changed into a Chinese-style gown to show his identity as a Chinese.Under the leadership of Zhao Chengxu, everyone went down to the Wallace Hotel, notified their nationality and name, and were led into the backyard hall by the organizers of the conference.

The Wallace Hotel is a private property owned by Sir Hunter of the British Association of Magicians. The outermost part facing the street is the hotel, and the inner part is Sir Hunter's mansion.Pass through the huge water fountain square, walk into the inner courtyard, and come to the luxurious hall. There are already crowds of people, with countless people of all skin colors, all kinds of dresses, and strange clothes. Zhang Xian and the others came in, marveling at the spaciousness and luxury of the hall, but also noticed many foreigners, and cast curious eyes on them. Apart from curiosity, there was also a lot of disdain and contempt in the eyes. Zhao Chengxu, Zhang Xian, Li Yi, and Cao Qian straightened their backs, and without looking sideways, they walked to an open space and stood still, and then took a closer look at the surrounding environment. In this hall, there are groups of three and five people, and there are more than a dozen people crowded together to talk and laugh. There are black wizards dressed in animal skins and feathers, sitting on the ground with sheep's head crutches and muttering to themselves. Some are wearing kimonos, short, with bald heads and several samurai costumes standing still like statues; there are red-haired, face like white paper, blood-red lips, wrapped in a black windbreaker like a vampire There are those who show a strange sneer; some are like witches, holding a green crystal ball and walking through the crowd; some are bare-chested, with countless patterns painted on the chest, back and face; An Indian with a long head, pointed and long python boots, and a neck full of gems. In addition to these weird people, there are more Westerners in tuxedos, bow ties, and shiny hair. They have received a good education, and they have an aristocratic air in their gestures. , some have gray hair and are in their sixties or seventies, some are young and handsome in their thirties, some are smoking huge pipes, some are constantly throwing silver coins in their hands, some are chatting and laughing, and some are silent .The languages ​​of various countries are mixed, and the buzzing voices in the hall are connected together. Cao Qian was still nervous, panting heavily, pulled Li Yi and said, "Damn it, why is such a big scene, I have never dreamed of it." Li Yi said: "Captain Cao, can you see who the magician is?" Cao Qian snorted, "Those who are dressed in strange clothes must be the same as other foreigners, so you can't tell." Li Yi glanced at Zhang Xian, Zhang Xian was staring at a rostrum in the distance with his hands behind his back, without blinking his eyes, nor looking at them. Li Yi leaned over and said to Cao Qian: "Look at that one, the one who tossed the coin is a magician, and that one, the one with a pipe in his mouth, the one with no beard, the tall one, all of them..." Li Yi said , while quietly pointing Cao Qian to know. Cao Qian said in shock: "How did you see that?" Li Yi said: "Magicians have a mysterious aura, and you can see it when you learn magic." Cao Qian said sadly: "My God, there are so many magicians, what do you think is so good about magic, so many people are talking about it?" Li Yi twisted his mouth and said, "It's fun and beautiful." Zhang Xian turned his head and looked at Li Yi, who hurriedly said, "Master, I'm talking nonsense." Zhang Xian smiled and said softly: "Magic is a miracle, and everyone yearns for a miracle to happen." Li Yi nodded, thoughtfully. Applause broke out from the crowd, interrupting Li Yi's thoughts. Everyone looked at the rostrum in front of the hall, and saw a man wearing a tuxedo with medals on his chest, gray hair at the temples, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose Amid the applause of the crowd, the tall foreigner kept nodding his head and walked up to the rostrum with a smile on his face. Everyone in the hall gathered towards the rostrum, and Zhang Xian and the others also walked forward. The person on the rostrum was Sir Hunter, the organizer of the International Magic Conference. From his demeanor, it can be seen that he is not only a knowledgeable scholar, but also a very well-educated noble gentleman. Sir Hunter waved his hand to signal for everyone to be quiet. It seemed that there was an invisible force that made everyone stop their applause and stare at him quietly. Sir Hunter began to speak in a steady voice. Of course, it was authentic London English. Li Yi and Cao Qian couldn't understand it, but they didn't dare to be impatient and listened to "Bird's Language" bravely.Zhao Chengxu could hear it clearly, and wanted to translate to Zhang Xian in a low voice, but Zhang Xian pressed his hand and signaled not to use it. Zhao Chengxu felt strange, could it be that Zhang Xian could understand English, why did he never show it? While Sir Hunter was talking, there were applause and laughter from below. Those who didn't understand were naturally baffled and could only echo. Those who understood thought Sir Hunter's words were humorous.English has been a global language as early as the beginning of the century. Of course, Sir Hunter didn't have to care about people from other countries. After Sir Hunter gave a welcome speech, the conference officially entered the stage of drawing lots.A few of Sir Hunter's assistants came on stage and set up a magic table covered with velvet cloth. Sir Hunter covered it with a black cloth and conjured a huge glass jar from under the black cloth, which was filled with balls of various colors. There are hundreds of them. After all, it is the magic conference of all nations, and even the props used for the lottery are conjured by magic techniques.Sir Hunter made a glass jar, and the audience applauded. This method may not be clever enough, and the applause was mostly out of politeness, but it showed Sir Hunter's status in the magic world. Afterwards, a "talk show" foreigner with rich expressions and body language came on stage to host. He kept saying witty words from the moment he came on stage, making everyone in the audience laugh. This host is a famous "talk show" artist in London, England. , named Mai De III, in fact, he is similar to Chinese stand-up comedy, but foreigners pay more attention to improvisation, unlike Chinese cross talk with fixed jokes. It took a while for Meide to get to the point. It turned out that all contestants should come on stage, take out a colored ball from the glass jar, take out the number inside, and complete the grouping. From both sides of the high platform came seven or eight foreign beauties in very revealing clothes, with their thighs exposed and their breasts even more plump. Their white breasts wanted to jump out from under their clothes, very sexy and charming. Cao Qian and Li Yi blushed and swallowed, thinking that it would be terrible for these women to dress like this in China, aren't these women ashamed?Expose most of the breasts to the outside, it's almost like being naked.