Chapter 9: Fire Breathing Talent

A month later.

The circus arrived at its third stop of the journey.

The city was somewhat inferior in size to Rosak, with shorter city walls, but the shops within it catered to every need.

There was a Fountain Square in the center of the city, just like Rosak.

Having established a synergy, Xia Zhou, and the rest of the members worked together with Strongman Bo Pai to stack up the props and set up the pointy tent on the square.

After completing the mini elastic ball squeeze training, he gained 1 strength attribute.

It made carrying things a little easier for him, but he handled everything with extreme caution.

Whether it was the wooden stakes of the tents, the ropes, the cushioning on the stage, or the wooden weapons, he handled all lightly to avoid incurring additional repair costs...

The leader was strict with rewards and punishments. If anyone damaged the props, they would have to pay for new props or hire a craftsman to fix them from their own pocket.

Fortunately, Farns carried his case containing the fire-breathing potion himself, so neither Xia Zhou nor any other member needed to help.

While Farns was busy with his potion bottles, Xia Zhou stole a few glances into the case, which contained a simple set of alchemy equipment, a small bottle of ready-made fire-breathing potion, and several boxes of other potions.

He cast the Detection Spell and received some startling information.

"Farns-style Intermediate Fire-breathing Potion, drinking will cause body damage, deducting 180 health points within a predicted 60 minutes. When held in the mouth, deducts 10 health points every hour. Successful drinking or use of this potion to spray fire can gain experience."

180 points deducted in 60 minutes…

Xia Zhou checked his character's stats.

[Health] 20/20 (Healthy)

20 health points would only last about 7 minutes.

This tiny potion bottle, for Xia Zhou, meant certain death if swallowed.

Fortunately, the potion is not meant to be swallowed; it's a prop for fire breathing performance, and the proper usage is to keep it in one's mouth and spit it out.

In the box for raw materials, several small red potions gave off a pungent smell that could make one's nose wrinkle and eyes tear.

This potion seemed to be a crucial ingredient that could determine the power of fire-breathing.

The Detection Spell could only offer a series of question marks, and couldn't even predict any negative effects. Clearly, his perception was too weak and he lacked alchemical knowledge.

Every time Farns made the fire-breathing potion, he used only two or three drops of the red potion. If he wanted the fire to be stronger, he would add a few more drops.

Before tonight's dress rehearsal, Farns wore his performance clothes unusually early.

Audrey gathered the members, "Everyone, Farns wants to try a new fire-breathing show. Bo Pai, you and the Clown Siblings will go out later. Sneck and Xia Zhou, prepare five fire rings and stands."

In the days without a fire-breather, the Clown Siblings performed fire ring stunts, so these props were readily available.

Under Farns' guidance, Xia Zhou arranged the fire rings in a circle, and Sneck applied a flammable potion to the rings.

In past fire-breathing performances, Farns always sprayed fire straight out. When expelling the liquid, he would stand still without twisting his body or head.

But this time was different.

Farns stood at the center of the fire ring, first breathing out a long flame. After igniting the first fire ring, he slowly turned his body.

Seeing this, Xia Zhou unconsciously clenched his hands, his palms full of sweat.

What Farns was doing was incredibly dangerous.

Staying still during fire-breathing is for the sake of maintaining a smooth exhalation, focusing on delivering the airflow, and stably spitting out the potion in the mouth.

If there was even the slightest mishap - like feeling uncomfortable in the throat or unsteady body balance - the action of exhaling could instinctively become inhaling. In a flash, the flame would roll back, causing severe injuries to the fire-breather.

However, it turned out that Farns' control over fire-breathing was stronger than anticipated.

The flow spewed from his mouth suddenly became turbulent, and the flames got fierce. Farns quickly spun around, instantly igniting the remaining four fire rings.

Standing within the flaming circle, he raised his arms high to celebrate a breakthrough in the fire-breathing performance.

At that moment, something extraordinary seemed to burst out of this bald man engulfed in flames.

A unique charm that only a fire-breather has rooted deep within Xia Zhou's heart.

He stared wide-eyed, his eyes filled with visions of flames, imagining himself surrounded by a circle of fire, enjoying the pleasure of creating the blaze with his own hands.

"I've decided, I want to become a fire-breather."

Xia Zhou internally made up his mind.

With the advantage of Immortal Body, even if he was burned by fire, everything would be fine as long as he could fully recover his health. A simple burn that cost him his hair and eyebrows, or even damage to his throat, would not be an issue.

Rather than spending time and effort on less profitable acrobatics, it was better to make good use of "Immortal Body". He should endure more hardship and practice fire-breathing skills.

Well... the training process might be painful, but compared to the copper coins and experience gained, everything would be worth it.

The fire in Xia Zhou's eyes gradually dimmed, but his determination became stronger.

Only after the fire rings naturally went out, did Audrey come forward and ask Farns, "How do you feel? Is it safe?"

Farns nodded and gestured affirmatively.

"Are you planning to replace the roast chicken act with this or add it after the roast chicken?" Audrey signaled Sneck to remove the fire rings.

Farns clenched both fists and put them together.

"Counting the warm-up act before the performance, that would be three acts. What do you think about setting the ticket price for the fire-breathing performance at 12 copper coins?" Audrey said, calculating on her fingers.

Farns gave a thumbs up, indicating no problem. Then he promptly left the backstage.

"Xia Zhou, go and change the price list." Audrey looked towards the boy who was still deep in thought from the performance.

"Understood, boss."

As Xia Zhou walked out of the low tent, he anticipated not only the fire-breathing act but also the earnings from this performance.

The tickets for the fire-breathing performance were the best sellers, and many people came specifically to see Farns' performance. There was no need to worry about ticket sales dropping due to the rise in prices.

The original fire-breathing performance ticket cost 8 copper coins; now, with a 50% increase, the price became 12 copper coins. The circus' ticket sales and the experience gained from leveling up would both increase.

…

The next morning at dawn.

Xia Zhou put up the new price list in the carriage.

After updating the prices, he specifically drew a simple sketch to promote the new fire-breathing program: A bald man with his arms high in the air, surrounded by flames.

This was an inspiration he had gotten during last night's rehearsal.

Perhaps the advertising painting was effective. Or maybe the locals had grown tired of the previous fire-breathing performances. Either way, the ticket sales after the price hike were surprisingly brisk!

By dusk, with plenty of tickets remaining for the first three performances, the tickets for the fire-breathing performance were sold out in advance.

Xia Zhou had no choice but to hang up a "temporarily gone" sign and rush to the backstage to consult with the head of the troupe.

As he pulled back the curtain of the low tent, he saw Farns drinking a light blue potion, while Sneck, who was about to perform, was whispering to a green snake.

Xia Zhou nodded greetings to the two men and the snake, went straight to the dressing room, and talked with the head of the troupe through the door curtain.

A minute later, Audrey, having changed into her performance clothes, stood before the fire-breather, "Farns, your show is very popular, and the tickets are sold out in advance. Would you like to add more solo shows? I can have the clown sister warm up the crowd for you."

Farns thought for a few seconds, and then made a gesture to add two more shows.

"Xia Zhou, use the spare blank wooden pieces as additional show tickets. Go quick."

"Okay, boss."

...

2000 copper coins! This was today's ticket revenue, as much as the first day's income in Rosak City.

Farns's personal remuneration was close to 1000 copper coins, of which more than 400 came from those two solo performances.

As usual, Xia Zhou handed over his earnings to Audrey for safekeeping. After everyone else had left, he expressed his eagerness to learn fire breathing to the head of the troupe.

Audrey had long noticed the boy's interest in fire breathing.

She cupped his face in her hands and gave it a firm rub, "Young fella, fire-breathing requires talent."

"Uh? Talent?" Xia Zhou blinked.

Audrey brought over two bags of the same size, filled one with air, "You take a deep breath from this bag first."

Xia Zhou blocked the bulging bag with his mouth, trying his best to expand his chest and inhale more. In the end, he inhaled more than half of the air in the bag, but failed to inhale all of it.

Audrey flattened the other bag, emptied all the air, put its opening to the boy's mouth and used both hands to seal the gap between the mouth and the bag, "Blow hard, exhale all the air in your body."

"Huh~~~" Xia Zhou's face turned red as he tried his best to compress his lungs.

The airflow from his mouth even blew up the empty bag!

"Ahahaha, never thought you'd have the talent for fire-breathing!!"

Audrey laughed joyfully, opened her arms to hug the boy into her arms, lifted him up and spun him around once.

Xia Zhou had just finished exhaling and hadn't had time to take a few breaths when his nose was blocked by the surging waves.

He broke free from the astonishing bosom, propped his arms on his knees, and took large puffs, "Boss.. huh~ huh~ why, huh~ say I have, huh~ the talent for fire-breathing?"

Audrey's eyes sparkled with excitement, and she filled up another bag with air again, "Let's try once more, to be sure."

After resting for half a minute, the dizziness caused by the exhaling of air almost disappeared.

Cooperating with the head of the troupe, Xia Zhou tested again and got the same result.

Although he had only inhaled more than half a bag of air, he was able to exhale a whole bag of air!

At this point, even Xia Zhou, who did not fully understand the situation, started smiling.

He didn't have elemental affinity, but he had the potential to become a fire-breather!

Cool! Not everything was disappointing, after all~

Audrey looked at him like he was a glittering treasure, her eyes wide and shining, her voice trembling with excitement.

"People during breathing, always involuntarily save a small part of the air in the body.

"Only a very few individuals can exhale the saved air. Most people, no matter how hard they try, cannot push this part of the air out of their bodies."

"Whether one has the talent for fire-breathing depends entirely on whether they can take advantage of the saved air in their body!

"Boy, you really surprised me…"

No one understood better than she, just how important it was for a circus to cultivate its own fire-breather.

Moreover, Xia Zhou was hardworking and sensible.

Selling tickets, keeping account of the money, carrying miscellaneous items, cooking food, taking on every task without complaint, working harder than anyone else. He was agile, learned quickly.

He wasn't like other kids who would run around the streets during his spare time, but would stay in the hotel tirelessly reading books.

Audrey deeply felt that the boy before her was a gift sent to the circus by fate, otherwise, why would they have encountered him on a forest path.

"Xia Zhou."

Audrey hugged the boy again, planted a heavy kiss on his forehead:

"Are you willing to learn fire-breathing? I swear, I will stand by your side during each of your practice sessions, and I will never let you get hurt like Farns did. I can also help you exchange fire-breathing tutorials and tools from the Warrior Guild."

Audrey stared into the boy's black eyes, "As long as you are a member of the circus, the tutorials and tools will always be yours."

"I am willing to learn fire-breathing and I like life in the circus. I want to make my living along with everyone else. But why don't I learn from Farns, boss?"

Xia Zhou laid his head on the undulating waves, feeling the soft and warm chest.

Audrey gently stroked the boy's black hair, "Farns exchanged his from the Warrior Guild too. He can't speak, so it would surely be inconvenient for him to teach you. It will be better for me to teach you once I have prepared everything."

Xia Zhou secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

Previously, his eagerness to learn fire-breathing was mixed with apprehension. Now that worry was completely gone.

After all, learning a craft from someone with a habit of stealing caused great mental pressure.

Now, with that worry out of the way, the process of learning fire-breathing would be much more relaxed.