Chapter 298: The Curious Case of the Runaway Deer

Did the white sika deer really make a dash for Mingsha Ge?

Luo Peng was stunned.

Earlier, aside from getting a few red-crowned cranes, he’d also snagged a bunch of animals – and the white sika deer was one of them! No more, no less.

The white sika deer, known for its gentle temperament, sports a flat or palm-shaped antler tip and a slightly long tail. With its pure snowy coat, housing them on three small islands truly gives visitors the feel of stepping into a fairyland.

That’s why they were all scheduled to be escorted to the islands right after tomorrow’s opening ceremony.

“Who would have thought? They were all supposed to be locked up in cages.”

Zhu Qiang sighed wearily.

“Well, since they’ve escaped, the staff can simply round them up. It’s not a huge deal!”

Coming back to reality,

Luo Peng couldn’t help but ask again.

In his mind, this wasn’t a major crisis at all. These white deer aren’t ferocious beasts and can’t hurt anyone. So why were Zhu Qiang and Fang Hou sporting such grave expressions?

“It wasn’t a big matter, but when those deer ran wild yesterday they trampled into the Ancient Building Courtyard where the contestants were staying. Just then, the H Country team leader called saying that the coffee beans provided by Mingsha City have a very distinctive flavor, one they really loved. They even asked for more. I was completely baffled!”

Zhu Qiang gave Luo Peng a long, piercing look.

“Coffee beans? We only prepared plain tea for all our contestants. Not a single coffee bean was provided.”

Luo Peng’s eyes widened.

“So…”

“General Zhu, are you saying that those white deer ended up in the Ancient Building Courtyard where the H Country contestants are staying?”

“We just checked the surveillance. The so-called ‘coffee beans’ the team leader mentioned were actually left behind by your deer!”

“This…”

Luo Peng nearly let out a string of expletives steeped in national pride.

“General Zhu, isn’t this a bit too much? Even if a few deer wandered in, it shouldn’t be—”

“The footage shows that a few actually jumped onto the tables!”

“So, what do we do now?”

Luo Peng was at a loss for words. Even though he despised many of H Country’s antics, as the host city for the magic competition, Mingsha City couldn’t afford to have news spread that their coffee beans were actually deer droppings—it would be a complete scandal.

More importantly, it would damage the reputation of Mingsha City.

This was clearly an ‘incident’ for the organizers.

“If we had a solution, we wouldn’t be calling you! If they hadn’t already had a taste, we might have fixed it. Instead, they loved the flavor, and now they’re desperately asking for more.”

Nearby,

Fang Hou shot Luo Peng a sidelong glance. His face almost betrayed a suppressed burst of laughter.

“I…”

An awkward silence fell until after a moment, when Luo Peng, looking sheepishly at Zhu Qiang, finally asked,

“Does Brother Hao know about this?”

Truth be told, he was at a complete loss about how to resolve the mess.

“I haven’t dared to tell Brother Hao yet!”

Zhu Qiang shook his head slightly.

“Then how about this: should I call Brother Hao?”

After a moment’s thought, Luo Peng agreed.

“Sure! Brother Hao went to Wuzhuang Temple today. He probably isn’t too busy.”

Zhu Qiang and Fang Hou nodded in unison, their unspoken coordination clear.

“Sigh, how did it come to this…”

Taking a deep breath, Luo Peng promptly pulled out his phone and dialed Xu Hao’s number.

Beep beep beep! The call connected quickly, and soon Xu Hao’s voice came through.

“What’s up, Little Luo?”

“Brother Hao, here’s the deal—I think I’ve made a huge mistake.”

Luo Peng recounted the whole incident without omitting a detail.

“I see…”

Surprisingly, Xu Hao showed no sign of agitation. It was as if he were hearing something perfectly normal.

“Hmm, listen.”

Luo Peng whispered, continuing cautiously.

“Just call the team leader over there and say that our ‘coffee beans’ are a limited, internal special supply. Once they’re finished, they’re gone, and for the next few days, it’s only tea available!”

Xu Hao replied promptly,

“Will that work?”

“No problem!”

What Luo Peng, Zhu Qiang, and the others didn’t know was that at the Wuzhuang Temple construction site, not far from Xu Hao, Daoist Yougong was sternly reprimanding his young disciple.

The disciple, known as Wu Yun, stood silently.

Since Biyou Palace had been handed over to Daoist Yougong, everything that could be moved from the training hall, including the disciple Wu Yun, had already been transferred there.

“Master, I happened to see a magic video online and had a quick divination. The omen indicates it’s connected to those people, so I thought I’d teach them a lesson!”

Wu Yun explained in a low voice, head bowed.

“Divination? And you trust your results?”

Daoist Yougong glared at him.

“Master, I felt it was spot on.”

“Spot on? You really have some nerve! I—”

Before he could finish,

Daoist Yougong raised his hand to discipline his disciple.

Suddenly, Xu Hao’s voice rang out from behind,

“Daoist, we just got a call over there. It’s nothing grave—Wu Yun was just a bit angry.”

“City Master, nothing grave? That’s an understatement!”

Turning around swiftly, Daoist Yougong hurriedly continued.

In truth, his appearance at Wuzhuang Temple wasn’t to help Xu Hao with the temple’s construction. He had come along with his disciple to ‘confess’ about the coffee beans incident—an entirely his disciple’s doing.

“Daoist, even foreign ‘kopi luwak’ is turned into coffee—why should deer droppings be any different? Besides, these animals are raised on Mingsha Fudi, which improves their constitution. Who knows? They might even inspire a new idea for Mingsha City to supply a novel kind of ‘coffee beans’ overseas.

Just now, General Luo had called and said the contestants loved the taste and even asked for more.”

Xu Hao glanced at Wu Yun with interest.

Of course,

this was Xu Hao giving Daoist Yougong a way out. Yet, to Xu Hao’s astonishment, his words soon came to fruition when a batch of exorbitantly priced, exclusive ‘special coffee beans’ from Mingsha Fudi began to pour in from abroad.

Those deer nearly worked themselves to death!

“City Master, you can’t keep covering for him! Mistakes must be punished.”

Daoist Yougong, thinking Xu Hao was letting him off the hook, quickly waved his hand defensively.

“This is a one-time deal, alright? Besides, that leaked video might actually be their doing. By the way, how’s your magic act coming along? During lunch, one of our managers drew lots and you ended up as the first contestant.”

Xu Hao waved off the concern, smoothly steering the conversation back to the magic competition. Although the International Magic Competition wasn’t Mingsha City’s top priority, he still paid close attention.

“City Master, rest assured—I won’t let them down!”

Hearing this,

Daoist Yougong pounded his chest and vowed,

“Good, that’s what I want to hear!”

Before long, it was 8:30 AM the next day.

Ordinary tourists and contestants from other countries hadn’t paid much attention to the ‘coffee beans’ incident. Except for a few H Country contestants who still couldn’t stop thinking about the curious coffee beans, nearly everyone was fixated on the magic competition!

At this moment, the lakeside of Mingsha Fudi was packed with tourists. Meanwhile, more spectators at home or unable to make it to Mingsha City were glued to their TVs or streaming Long Kingdom Sports Channel online.

To them, the opening ceremony held little appeal.

They only cared about the new tricks the contestants would pull off in the magic competition and whether their country’s representative would clinch a top spot.

Elsewhere, all the small magic contestants and judges had arrived at Mingsha Ge. Long Kingdom TV’s live broadcast equipment and staff were fully set up, and lucky ticket holders had already found their designated seats! As soon as the cultural performances at the opening ceremony ended, the camera would switch to Mingsha Ge, marking the official start of the contest.

“President, I…”

In the contestants’ preparation area, Feng Peng took a deep, nervous breath.

“Don’t panic! Keep it steady! You’re second. The first is Yougong from Mingsha City. His performance of traditional magic will really set the stage for your act.”

Nearby, Xie Feiyang patted Feng Peng on the shoulder while sneaking a glance at Yougong, who was seated in the first preparation zone.

At that moment, Yougong wasn’t wearing his customary robe but had changed into a short jacket with a double-breasted style. A big number one was boldly printed on it.

“Exactly! Even though yesterday’s video leaked, it didn’t get widespread attention—only a few netizens caught wind of it. The live effect on stage should be better than expected.”

Seed contestant Ma Qian also offered a word of encouragement.

With a sigh, Feng Peng took another deep breath.

Coincidentally, as the conversation continued, Cui Xiaozhong and Jin Shanfú happened to catch sight of events unfolding over there.

Seeing Xie Feiyang’s barely concealed panic made them all the more smug!

“Club President, I suddenly feel more confident now.”

Coming back to reality, the H Country contestant set to perform third spoke up.

“Absolutely necessary!”

The atmosphere on site was electric,

and online too. Especially on a certain foreign forum, discussions raged non-stop.

Netizens from every country defended their own contestants,

with the highest cheer for the M Country competitor who enjoyed the strongest support. Meanwhile, Long Kingdom netizens were unusually subdued. They had so much to say but didn’t know where to start,

only able to watch silently as foreign netizens flaunted their champions.

No more, no less.

A series of magic trick reveal videos had sunk their hopes to an all-time low, and after the second video, few dared to comment—afraid that any comment might push that video to the top, drawing even more attention and worsening the situation for Long Kingdom’s contestant!

“Let’s hope for a miracle! The second act by Feng Peng is clearly a lost cause, but Yue Dong, the fiftieth act, still has hope!”

Finally, some Long Kingdom netizens couldn’t hold back any longer and started typing away.

Most Long Kingdom netizens would mercilessly hurl insults on internal forums, but when it came to such competitions externally, they remained fiercely united.

No one wanted Long Kingdom’s contestants to finish at the bottom.

“A miracle? For small-scale magic, that’s about all there is. It all depends on whether Ma Qian’s large-scale magic can turn the tide!”

One netizen commented.

“Sigh!”

Minute by minute, time passed.

By 9:00 AM, the opening ceremony officially kicked off!

Much like other events, it began with speeches by the officials, followed by cultural performances.

Overall, the performances were standard, but against the backdrop of the ethereal mists over Mingsha Fudi’s lake, many dance routines won hearty applause—a small, delightful surprise.

At 10:30 AM, the performances ended, and the live feed shifted to Mingsha Ge.

“Dear viewers, you are now watching the International Magic Competition for small-scale magic. Next up is the number one contestant from host city Mingsha City performing ‘Scattering Beans to Form Soldiers!’ Contestant number two, please get ready!”

Soon, the camera cut to a charismatic host.

She gracefully approached the judges’ table and announced the name of the number one act.

“Scattering Beans to Form Soldiers?”

Both the TV audience and the live judges couldn’t hide their disappointment on hearing the name, yet they understood.

“Scattering Beans to Form Soldiers” is a form of traditional magic in Long Kingdom.

At the start, the performer used several small bowls and a thumb-sized red ball. Gradually, without any physical contact, the red ball multiplied—one into two, two into five, and finally into a bowlful of bean-sized red balls.

And that is called ‘Scattering Beans to Form Soldiers.’

The original unveiling video of Long Kingdom’s traditional magic had explained that these tiny red balls were merely specialized magic props and nothing extraordinary.

“No wonder Mingsha City is in trouble!”

“Exactly. The regulation had specified that Mingsha City must perform traditional magic, so…”

“If only Mingsha City had a bit more room to improvise—given their style, the performance could be far more dynamic.”

“Enough talk. Let’s enjoy the magic! Mingsha City has already done its best with the venue! Whatever happens in this segment, it deserves applause.”

“Yes!”

Just as Yougong stepped onto the stage, a netizen quietly expressed his thoughts in the comments.

“Hello, judges and viewers. I am Yougong, the magician from Mingsha City, and my act is the Long Kingdom’s traditional magic ‘Scattering Beans to Form Soldiers!'”

Once on stage, Yougong gave a slight bow to the judges and reintroduced himself.

“Please, begin your performance!”

One of the judges casually nodded.

He, along with the rest of the audience, felt that this props-reliant act couldn’t spark much interest.

Yet, to many surprise, Yougong did not pull out a table, black cloth, or red balls as expected. As soon as the cues were given, he nonchalantly reached into his pocket and produced a handful of yellow beans!

“By decree, transform now!”

Whoosh! In the blink of an eye, Yougong chanted as the yellow beans scattered through the air, and a dense white mist suddenly emerged on stage.

Buzz! In the next moment, the white mist cleared!

On stage, fifty armored soldiers carrying sabers had mysteriously appeared.

Their eyes were steely, their armor glinted under the lights, and their piercing crimson eyes locked onto the judges.

“Attack!”

In an instant, the soldiers unsheathed, let out a mighty roar, and surged toward the top of Mingsha Ge, as if intent on storming the stage and claiming everyone’s lives.

“What the—”

Moments later, panic erupted among the judges; one even let slip a curse! In fact, the entire competition venue descended into chaos.