Coins soon rained down from the surrounding spectators. Ed was thrilled, both by his own performance and the generosity of these wealthy tourists. Although it was not as fast as directly stealing, it was safe and also increased his reputation in the circle of "sugar mommies."

As he was collecting, several beautiful noble ladies, some discreetly, others boldly, invited him for a private show. If he could satisfy them properly, there would at least be no shortage of money and heavenly pleasure.

Jack's advice had proven invaluable, especially in creating such a dazzling performance. This was the first time Ed had applied that knowledge practically, and he felt his understanding deepening. Soon, the knowledge wouldn't require the ring; it would be entirely his own.

Just as Ed finished collecting the money with a satisfied expression, a clown suddenly approached from behind him, his face sour.

"Not bad... your magic," The clown grumbled, fixing Ed with a stare so creepy it seemed he wanted to eat him alive.

"But it's still not on my level," He continued, his voice laced with murderous intent.

Ed narrowed his eyes slightly. An old saying he'd heard somewhere came to mind: Colleagues really are rivals.

The tourists who had been about to leave stopped again. The anticipation in their eyes was even more intense than during Ed's performance. Clearly, they were more interested in a bloody fight than a random, childish magic show.

They couldn't help but stay, and more tourists gathered around, making the corner crowded and leaving a ring-shaped space in the middle for Ed and the clown to have their bloody battle.

Some sharp-eyed tourists wondered if this was a staged scene arranged by the two men to dig more money out of them, or whether they should open a betting market and earn some pocket money as well.

Ed looked at the clown in front of him. He was petty and narrow-minded, clearly envious of the attention and tips Ed had just received.

However, Ed had seen the clown's performance yesterday and had a certain understanding of it.

To be honest, those performances were nothing more than simple tricks in his eyes, especially the magic routines, which could only be described as crude. If any child from his previous life saw a performance of that level, they would point out all the clown's tricks in a matter of minutes.

A magic show isn't just about showing off random tricks, it's about bringing the audience into the experience. Otherwise, how could he make them pay willingly?

Not to mention, the trick he had just performed could be easily seen through by anyone familiar with magic. The tourists weren't fools who would easily give their precious money to any guy playing around on the road. They were paying for entertainment, so naturally they had their own requirements and expectations.

This clown clearly wanted to belittle him and make a fool of him, probably for his own inner peace and to attract some attention, and also so that Ed wouldn't compete with him in the future after losing face.

"Mr. Clown, do you have something to say to me?" Ed asked with a frown after a moment of silence, seeing that the creepy clown had no intention of backing off.

A triumphant smile appeared on the clown's face.

"Not exactly. I just felt a little inspired after watching your performance. How about I put on a show for you? Would you care to cooperate with me?"

Why does this scene give me a sense of déjà vu? Ed thought, raising an eyebrow before smiling and replying.

"Of course, no problem."

Hearing this, a deck of playing cards appeared in the clown's hand. He began to shuffle them in the air, showing off to the surrounding tourists.

After shuffling, he handed them to Ed with a confident smile. "Check them out."

Ed took the cards with a curious expression and shuffled them quickly, his movements as simple as any ordinary person's.

"Please, draw one."

The clown covered his eyes exaggeratedly. "Don't let me see it!"

Ed drew a card, the Ace of Hearts. He showed it to the surrounding tourists before sliding it back into the middle of the deck and handing the cards back to the clown.

Only then did the clown uncover his eyes. "Did you put it away? Now I'll find it for you. Let's see where you hid it."

He shuffled the cards, drew one, and showed it to the crowd.

But they shook their heads, and a random man spoke playfully, "It's not this one."

He pulled out another and showed it to Ed this time. Ed, who had been waiting for this moment and could hardly hold back his laughter, shook his head as well.

"Oh, it's not this one either."

"Haha, then it must be this one," Said the clown, who was already starting to sweat. He pulled another card from the middle of the deck, showed it to the audience, and then turned his back to Ed.

This time it was the Ace of Clubs.

Seeing the expressions of the tourists and the playful smugness on Ed's face, the clown suddenly felt something was off.

At that moment, Ed turned his back to the clown and made a shushing gesture toward the crowd. He then turned back and pointed at the clown's back.

Confused, the clown turned around, and the tourists finally understood why Ed had asked them to stay quiet.

A bright red Ace of Hearts was stuck to the clown's back.

The tourists couldn't help but smile, and some of the ladies even began to laugh softly.

The clown turned back and asked everyone, "Isn't it this one?"

Ed shrugged helplessly with a smile and spread his hands. "Of course not. It seems I hid it too well."

The clown turned to the crowd. The tourists smiled and shook their heads in amusement and pity for the clown. They all felt that this time the clown had tried to make fun of Ed but ended up digging his own grave.

Several ladies even covered their mouths to stifle their laughter, which made the clown's makeup-covered face turn red.

Meanwhile, Ed removed his hat and made a final, gentlemanly gesture to end the performance.

"Thank you for your appreciation, dear ladies and gentlemen."

The tourists smiled and, while praising him, generously tossed coins into his hat.

"A perfect performance."

"Well done."

"Will you perform again tomorrow?"

"Little brother, can you teach this big sister some magic as well?"

"Sir, I would like to organize a banquet at my manor. If you are free, we can discuss a private show."

Hearing people offer him jobs with generous pay, Ed smiled and responded to each of them. Although he had no interest in being a full-time entertainment magician, it didn't hurt to become popular. After all, the more famous you are, the better the tips.

After the tourists dispersed, Ed took out half of the coins he had earned and handed them to the clown.

"Here, you put on a great show. I hope we can work together again and fill our pockets together. I believe with your talent and acting skills, we can definitely become rich."

Although Ed's words sounded nice, to the clown they were a blunt insult. His face turned gloomy, and he slapped Ed's hand away, throwing the coins on the ground before storming off.

Watching the clown walk away with a dark expression, as if he had eaten something foul, and the Ace of Hearts still stuck to his back, Ed finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha… You still think you can compete with me?" After shouting at the clown's retreating back and rubbing salt in the wound, Ed picked up the money from the ground and walked toward his rented villa.

…

"Lord Nivek?"

A thug in a suit and flat cap called out to Nivek, who had washed the clown makeup off his face and was now stabbing a knife into the couch nonstop with a murderous look.

Nivek turned, irritation clear in his scarlet eyes. "What is it?"

Seeing Nivek in a foul mood, the thug shrank back, speaking with obvious fear. "Sir, your back."

Nivek frowned, let go of the knife in his hand, and reached behind him to pull off a card, the Ace of Hearts, a "precious token of friendship" left behind by Ed.

As he stared at it, memories of the tourists' laughter and Ed's smug actions rushed back to him.

Rage spread across Nivek's face. With a sudden flick, he hurled the card at the thug before starting to throw everything on the couch around in anger. In the end, he directly overturned the couch.

"Ahhhh!" The thug screamed as the card embedded itself in his left arm like a knife.

"Damn it! Damn it!" A dagger appeared in Nivek's hand out of thin air, and he stabbed it into the wooden table beside him, driving the entire blade deep into the surface.

Hearing the commotion, other gang members who had been dozing off or playing around in the main hall ran into Nivek's room.

"You all, find that damn magician for me. Right now!"

The surrounding gang members, already on edge, nodded immediately. Even the thug who had been struck by the card nodded despite the pain, sweat dripping from his forehead. "Yes!"

A bald figure who was leaning against the door frame chuckled and walked into the room casually. "Haha, who got the best of you this time?" His voice was full of teasing and smugness.

Nivek didn't respond to the bald man but muttered to himself through gritted teeth, "That bastard will pay the price."

…

After a pleasant dinner at Kaila's house, teasing her a bit, and refusing her request to teach her magic, leaving her with a heavy heart, Ed returned to his villa with a pocket full of coins.

He poured the money onto the table, listening to the sound of metal clinking.

A wide grin spread across his face as he sat down and carefully counted each coin.

"Six silver snakes, 83 bronze swallows."

"Wow! Not bad, not bad at all!"

Ed couldn't help but shout in excitement and whistle. This didn't even include the two gold leaves he'd received from the man who had successfully proposed to his lover.

Just by performing on the roadside, he'd earned 16 silver snakes. This was much faster than treasure hunting, of course, he wasn't talking about real treasure.

But then he shook his head and sighed heavily. After all, it wouldn't always be this easy. It wasn't every day you found a brave guy proposing to his girl and giving out two gold leaves, or faced off against a fool with half-baked magic skills and earned six silver snakes.

The wealth of the tourists here had played a big part, along with the unexpected contribution from the clown.

"Earning over 100 bronze swallows in one go wasn't sustainable forever, but as an occasional source of extra income? Not bad," Ed grinned from ear to ear and put away the money.

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