One-Eyed Monster

The lighting inside the circus tent wasn’t very good; perhaps it’s because the circus wants to create a mysterious atmosphere, so they deliberately made the tent so dark.

Igor and Kadi slowly followed Stanley, looking around once inside the tent. Although the dim light prevented them from seeing anything clearly, they still found the place intriguing.

Crack! There was a snap of fingers, and candles suddenly lit up inside the tent, instantly bringing the scene into focus.

At that moment, Igor and Kadi suddenly noticed that the person walking ahead of them had transformed into a stooped, hunchbacked old man.

”Ah, it’s too tiring to stretch my arms and legs outside; it’s much more comfortable inside.” The voice was clearly still Stanley’s tall, thin frame, but his appearance had undergone a drastic change.

This left Igor and Kadi with their mouths agape in shock.

”Hmm! What’s the matter? Is something wrong…” Stanley continued to ask, deliberately looking behind him, thinking to himself how sitting down could amaze these two youths.

”No, your appearance…” Kadi asked in surprise.

”My appearance, what’s wrong with it?” Stanley was still puzzled.

”How did you turn into an old man! You were still young just now!” Igor exclaimed.

”Oh, that’s it. I’ve always been an old man, but when I go out to work, I need the stamina, so I have to change into a young man’s appearance and straighten my back!”

Igor couldn’t make sense of this explanation; the idea that straightening one’s back could make one younger seemed quite unbelievable.

However, Igor soon accepted it, because this is the circus, and bizarre things happening here are not unusual; the circus should be full of wonders.

Igor and Kadi exchanged a glance, maintaining their mutual understanding, and soon quieted down.

”Well, tell me, which one of you wants to join the circus!” Stanley rubbed his hands together; the letter was already placed on the table by him.

Igor and Kadi once again were left shocked, looking at each other in confusion, not understanding what was going on with the captain. Though they didn’t know the contents of the letter, they knew it was Quinn’s recommendation letter, Quinn wanted to join the circus. While they themselves needed to infiltrate the circus organization, they had accepted Quinn’s commission. Even if Quinn wasn’t yet their friend, they couldn’t betray Quinn’s trust…

Thus, Igor scratched his head looking at the circus captain: ”Did you seriously read this letter!”

”Yeah, did you seriously read the letter!” Kadi echoed.

”Isn’t this just a recommendation for someone to join our circus? What’s wrong with it!”

”Of course, there is!” Igor exclaimed, hardly daring to believe that the circus captain could make such a mistake after reading the letter.

Stanley seemed unconcerned; he opened the letter again, frowned, and read it once more: ”No mistake, still recommending someone to join our circus. Which one of you is coming?”

”It’s not us!” Kadi couldn’t stand it anymore and said aloud.

”If it’s not you, then who? You brought this letter, didn’t you? Is there someone else? This is spooky.”

Igor realized that this circus captain not only had a change in physical appearance but also in his manner of speaking; in his tall, thin form, Stanley was impatient, yet this elderly version was slow-paced…

”Look again, shouldn’t there be a portrait in there? Check again!”

Stanley slowly picked up the letter, then checked again, and soon found a portrait. He squinted at the portrait and glanced at Igor and Kadi, then squinted again to look at the letter. Afterward, he slowly put the letter down, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.

”Tell me, which one of you is Quinn Smith.”

Igor and Kadi stared at each other once more! This captain truly was an enigma!

He had looked at the letter for so long, even checked the portrait, yet still believed one of them was Quinn. No one could quite match such eyesight and comprehension…

”None of us is Quinn!” Igor and Kadi said in unison.

This reaction caused Stanley to pick up the letter again, look twice, and then repeat the previous actions. Moving slowly, it made Igor and Kadi feel anxious.

Then the circus captain opened his eyes wide, pondering Igor and Kadi’s appearance: ”Oh, indeed there’s no resemblance at all, so here’s the quandary. Why did you bring Quinn Smith’s recommendation letter to me, and where is Quinn Smith himself?”

”Quinn is currently at the market, he’ll arrive tonight, he entrusted us to bring the letter.”

”Oh, so that’s how it is. Oh ho ho, I’m old, my eyesight is poor, I got it mixed up.” Captain Stanley shrugged, completely unconcerned about his mistake.

”Um… is the circus willing to accept him?” asked Igor, thinking things seemed a bit too simple!

”He has Lord Bern’s recommendation letter, so naturally he can join us!” Stanley raised an eyebrow and remarked, for him, these things were too simple, nothing extraordinary.

”Don’t you do any assessments?” Kadi was equally surprised, thinking it seemed a bit too simple.

”Assess what, the circus accepts everyone, everyone can adapt to circus life.” Stanley spread his arms.

The process was indeed too simple; Igor and Kadi found it hard to believe, leading them to follow up the captain’s statement with the question: ”So can we join the circus too?”

”Why not!” Stanley raised his eyebrows, dismissing Kadi and Igor’s question with disdain.

”This…” Igor and Kadi, once again, stared at each other.

Honestly, joining the circus this way felt almost too easy, so easy that it was hard to believe.

Could it be that the circus really accepts everything?

This made Igor and Kadi curious about what the circus was really like.

The captain didn’t refuse their joining, meaning that if they wanted to, they could become members of the circus immediately. This shockingly simple process left Kadi and Igor utterly in disbelief, their mouths agape, their hearts restless.