Chapter 2390: Chapter 2391: A Strange Performance
Not everyone is as knowledgeable about the Red Brocade as Feng Yuan; some of them had seen that red shadow and now seemed to have guessed something upon seeing the Red Brocade.
However, they believed that penetrating security measures was the inherent talent of the Red Brocade, inevitably leading to curiosity about it. Some even wanted to try taking it away once they recognized it as a wild spirit beast.
Although this group of wild spirit beasts is employed by Hot Springs Town, they mostly have a collaborative relationship. If the wild spirit beasts are willing, they can naturally follow other beastmasters away.
But the Red Brocade is clearly not so easily fooled. After all, these wild spirit beasts have had a lot of contact with humans and can naturally sense the intentions in people’s hearts. Those with ulterior motives, not just the Red Brocade, but even other wild spirit beasts dislike approaching them.
After wandering around, the Red Brocade thought about Feng Yuan, who had fed it, and couldn’t help but swim towards the location where Feng Yuan had been earlier, only to find that the group of people had already disappeared.
Wrapped in bathrobes, Feng Yuan’s group walked along the commercial street of Hot Springs Town. Besides tourists, there were also many staff in various costumes rehearsing for an improvisational show.
"Isn’t that the Snow Madman? Strange, Bai Xue should still be at the Blooming Pond, right?"
Seeing a person dressed in ragged white clothes, shouting like a madman up ahead, Feng Yuan said with some surprise. The Snow Madman and Bai Xue are considered a classic performance in the Northern Snow Plain.
However, the performance requires not only the Snow Madman but also Bai Xue. The Snow Madman throws out many specially made props that explode and create smoke effects, while Bai Xue drives the Snow Madman away.
The greatest difficulty of this performance lies with the performer of the Snow Madman. Bai Xue needs to use their ultimate move and improvisational skills, leaving little room for tricks. Without sufficient skill, it’s impossible to perfectly recreate the showdown between the Snow Madman and Bai Xue.
The highlight of the show is the crazy Snow Madman constantly evading Bai Xue’s attacks and engaging in battle with props. Even if Bai Xue intentionally suppresses the power of their ultimate move, those lacking in skill can still easily get injured.
Generally, ordinary people cannot serve as opponents to Bai Xue, so even in the Northern Snow Plain, performances of the Snow Madman and Bai Xue are rare. Beastmasters with the skill to face Bai Xue usually perform for their hometown, making money not an issue.
Hot Springs Town finding a performer for Snow Madman surprised Feng Yuan. What’s even stranger is that the show couldn’t start without Bai Xue being here, could it?
"Apart from performances, the Snow Madman can also serve as a disguise."
Qi Chen’s face looked uneasy; he considered another possibility, perhaps the Snow Madman wasn’t an actor hired by Hot Springs Town—they might have come to cause trouble.
Since performers of the Snow Madman commonly carry non-lethal bombs, anyone pretending to be one can easily fool less experienced patrol members if they manage to sneak in.
Of course, this wouldn’t be as successful in the Northern Snow Plain, where such performances are common, and familiarity among performers allows any stranger to be quickly identified.
In Hot Springs Town, it’s uncertain.
Seeing the performer of the Snow Madman handing a lollipop to a nearby middle school student, Qi Chen narrowed his eyes, feeling the urge to intervene.
"Wait, don’t rush."
Feng Yuan stopped Qi Chen from charging forward, watching the Snow Madman with a sense that there might not be any danger after all. Or realistically, could someone really have infiltrated Hot Springs Town disguised as such?
With a crisp bang, unsurprisingly, the lollipop exploded in the middle school student’s hand, dispersing a gust of white smoke. Feng Yuan let out a sigh of relief while still eyeing the Snow Madman with suspicion.
Amid the mad laughter of the Snow Madman, the white smoke cleared away, leaving the middle school student staring blankly, while the Snow Madman strided off looking for the next target.
"Is it really... a performance?"
Qi Chen was equally stunned; he hadn’t expected the Snow Madman to actually be part of Hot Springs Town’s performance lineup. Feng Yuan chuckled and said,
"With the caution of Hot Springs Town, I don’t think anyone could successfully costume as a Snow Madman to infiltrate. But the weird thing is, what are they planning to perform? Just a crazy explosion act, it’s not all that entertaining."
In the Northern Snow Plain, almost everyone knows not to accept anything handed to them by a Snow Madman because another nickname for them is ’Explosion Fanatic.’
It’s common for Snow Madman performers to have all sorts of quirky, innocuous explosive items that, while they don’t harm people, can definitely give them a scare.
It’s just that tourists at Hot Springs Town are unfamiliar with this, otherwise Feng Yuan wouldn’t think there’d be so many people approaching the Snow Madman.
"Perhaps it’s just a simple Snow Madman performance?"
Veronia chuckled softly, rolling her eyes while Feng Yuan said irritably,
"I don’t believe it at all, how could that be."
A solo Snow Madman act wouldn’t only be ineffective, it’d easily lead to trouble, given the performer’s penchant for explosions that—even without causing injury—can incite panic.
Nonetheless, this performer appears restrained, only handing out exploding lollipops or other items without indulging in the Snow Madman’s signature wild bomb-throwing.
Typically, the Snow Madman starts with one or two small explosions and then proceeds to toss explosive batches, making visitors scramble away lest the smoke from the bombs blinds their view.
However, this performer hasn’t done so, instead continuing with wacky antics resembling a madman’s pranks.
"Maybe they want tourists to just get somewhat accustomed to the Snow Madman?"
Dou Yanlan scratched her chin, pondering aloud, prompting Feng Yuan to pause. Dou Yanlan’s thinking wasn’t outlandish.
Unlike the Northern Snow Plain, tourists here at Hot Springs Town might not understand the unique cultural customs—otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many brave souls accepting items from the Snow Madman.
It’s well-known in the Northern Snow Plain that except for beastmasters, almost no one would accept the "gift" from a Snow Madman unless they’ve changed out of their costume.
There’s no other way; the Snow Madman’s just a mad character; while embodying this role, no one knows how the performer might act.
To avoid causing harm to others, the more a performer acts like a madman, the greater the applause and reviews they receive—every Snow Madman embodies the madness.
"If it’s genuinely that, are they preparing for the forthcoming performance?"
Feng Yuan suddenly realized if tourists aren’t subconsciously led to avoid the Snow Madman, their experience watching the show could be quite poor.
Because the Snow Madman and Bai Xue’s battle doesn’t have any barricades; it’s an improvisation directly among tourists. If visitors don’t voluntarily steer clear of the Snow Madman, their viewing experience might just be white smoke, white smoke, white smoke...
There’s no choice. These little explosions are just appetizers; during the actual show, multiple explosives often erupt together, engulfing the scenario in white smoke.
Although Bai Xue would use their ultimate move to push away the white smoke, if too close to the Snow Madman—who continuously makes white smoke—Bai Xue might not disperse it quickly enough.
"Given that, should we stay here? No, they should have announced the show, right?"
Feng Yuan considered and glanced aside, seeking the town’s notice board. As per the town’s habit, such performances are supposed to be advertised here.
As expected, Feng Yuan found the show explained on the notice board, although the specific time was vaguely noted as noon.
"Cannot confirm the showtime?"
Feng Yuan puzzled, eyeing the Snow Madman performer in confusion—no doubt Bai Xue’s side must have no issues, but as for the Snow Madman...
From Feng Yuan’s own judgement, even among other Snow Madman performers in the Northern Snow Plain, this one seems to be top-tier, so why choose an ambiguous timing?
Luckily, there was a special note stating that if the wind starts blowing, it indicates the performance is about to begin, leading Feng Yuan to decide to get some food before returning.
