Chapter 065: Li Lekang’s Magic Has Been Unraveled?

Li Lekang’s brilliant stage performance once again propelled him to the top of the trending charts, leaving no suspense at all. People could hardly wait to see his next act. However, the talent show had to proceed as scheduled—after all, the competition couldn’t simply become his one-man showcase, no matter how much the network might wish for it. In fact, they were even toying with the idea of giving him his own program.

Of course, all of that would have to be negotiated with Judy—whether the timing fit, the extent of the benefits, and how much it would help his artistic journey. These were matters Li Lekang didn’t need to concern himself with. All he had to do was look forward to the inevitable wave of astonishment that would surge across the internet once his latest video was uploaded.

Even though he knew his performance was undoubtedly astonishing, it was like unveiling a carefully crafted work of art—no matter how aloof an artist may pretend to be, deep down, everyone yearns for admiration and is eager to see their audience left in shock and awe.

Sure enough, his official YouTube account wasted no time, uploading the video overnight. Li Lekang watched as the view count shot up like a rocket, soaring at breakneck speed!

For viewers who hadn’t gotten their fill from the television broadcast, this was their chance to revisit the magic online, perhaps replaying it several times. Even the magician himself watched his own performance, analyzing the overall effect, searching for any shortcomings or areas in need of improvement, or finding moments that were particularly captivating and worth amplifying in the future.

Though he wielded real magic, Li Lekang never grew arrogant; he remained humble before the art.

Some things, however, were predictable. Every time a new Li Lekang magic video appeared, the comments section would inevitably erupt with talk of “Li Lekang the Wizard.” It happened almost every time.

At first, it was merely the lament of viewers who failed to see through his tricks. But now, it had evolved into a kind of praise from his fans—a way of marveling at the astonishing nature of his illusions.

“Trust me, he’s absolutely a wizard!”

“It’s obvious—no ordinary person could pull this off.”

“In our Ministry of Magic, this would be a simple spatial spell.”

Such comments added to the lively atmosphere and helped spread the buzz beyond America’s borders. Across the Pacific in China, industrious content creators were already capitalizing on the trend, with headlines like “Foreign Guy’s Magic Performance Amazes…” drawing in clicks.

Li Lekang could only sigh at being reduced from a named celebrity to “some guy,” but amid the crowd, certain individuals stood out brilliantly. On Bilibili, a homegrown creator suddenly released a video entitled:

“Official Announcement: I Have Cracked Li Lekang’s Stage Vanishing Act”

Given the timing, this was guaranteed to attract massive traffic!

The internet knows no distance, so Li Lekang was able to watch it on his phone the moment it went live. The creator was a young man who had constructed a simple stage and explained to his viewers, “The black robe is attached to invisible wires. As long as there are enough people operating them, not only can you move around, you can even take off!”

“As for how the magician disappears—when he turns his back to the audience, there’s a skateboard or sliding device already on the floor. If you’re quick enough, you just drop down and shoot into the backstage behind the curtain, while assistants pull the wires to retract the robe. And voilà—the magic is accomplished!”

He then demonstrated: wearing the black robe with his back to the audience, he crouched into position, ready to dash forward. The floor was rigged with a low, flat skateboard; he launched himself and, using inertia, slid swiftly behind the curtain, robe and all. His helpers yanked the wires, causing the robe to shrink back, then quickly cut the lines, letting it fall freely.

Crude as the demonstration was, from the camera’s frontal angle, it did evoke a bit of the original vanishing effect!

The creator concluded, “Given the limitations of my stage and crew, it’s not as smooth as the magician’s performance. But with enough practice and faster technique, it could look identical.”

Even Li Lekang found this somewhat amusing—he’d used teleportation magic, and yet this guy was able to reconstruct the trick through sheer ingenuity?

Many in the comments were impressed, but some felt that the allure of the magician’s mysterious persona had been diminished; once the illusion was “debunked,” it seemed less miraculous.

Others, however, found flaws to point out: “There’s an obvious problem with the video. From the front, it looks plausible, but what about the side-view audience? Wouldn’t they spot the trick? There are a lot of eyes during a live show!”

The creator responded, “Given the difference between the TV audience and the thousand or so people present at the venue, it’s not a big deal. All you need is a few more non-disclosure agreements.”

Though the debate continued, his reasoning was persuasive enough for many. As Li Lekang’s fame peaked, the debunking video also surged in popularity, even breaking out of its original circle as someone translated and uploaded it to YouTube.

It was as though a floodgate had opened; now, viewers around the globe were watching. The comment section buzzed with debate—some marveled at the explanation, others called it unethical to reveal a magician’s secrets.

One person wrote in relief that their eleven-year-old brother finally abandoned his belief in wizards—unfortunately, now he chose to believe Spider-Man was real instead…

As the debunking video’s popularity soared, more and more people watched. Li Lekang’s image as an untouchable wizard seemed to waver. After all these years, was the legend of Li Lekang the Wizard—whose stage magic could not be unraveled—finally coming to an end?

Would the wizard Li Lekang, like other magicians before him, eventually be brought down from his pedestal as time exposed the mechanisms behind his tricks?

Even Judy took special note of this, considering whether some public relations intervention was necessary. Although exposing secrets wasn’t illegal, it could seriously affect a magician’s image. This was supposed to be the moment when everyone worshipped him!

Yet here was a debunker, with seemingly sound arguments, siphoning off part of the attention and making Li Lekang seem less extraordinary.

A sense of crisis gripped Judy. Her first reaction was to strategize a response. She came to discuss it with Li Lekang.

He, however, seemed utterly unconcerned, lounging on the sofa, phone in hand, exchanging flirtatious messages with some unknown woman. To Judy’s worries, he merely replied, “Don’t worry, this won’t affect me.”

“But you might lose some fans who once regarded you as a kind of faith,” Judy pressed—Li Lekang’s fans had always been passionate.

“You make it sound like I’m running a cult! Relax, darling. Just wait and see. Time will prove I’m still unshakable!”

Li Lekang, in fact, was not opposed to being “debunked.” On one hand, it could cool down the talk of wizards and magic. On the other hand, he was, after all, performing real magic! If anyone could truly expose his methods, that would be supernatural indeed.

Sure enough, not long after, Li Lekang saw some netizens pointing out logical flaws in the debunking video.

First: “Even if you could vanish this way, getting around to the auditorium entrance would require you to run at Usain Bolt’s speed!”

Second: “The side-view audience’s perspective was actually recorded—it just wasn’t shown during the live broadcast. We can request it from the official sources.”

Finally: “My explanation is even better. Click the link below to watch!”

The viewers burst out laughing at that last line. Anything for a bit of clout and a quick buck, it seemed—there were no lengths people wouldn’t go to.

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