There are actually two ways to perform this magic trick. One relies purely on sleight of hand, secretly hooking out the small ball when lifting the bowl, creating the illusion that the bowl is empty.
The other method is when the magician performs, he shows you three small balls, but in reality, there are not just three small balls, but four, with the unshown ball held in his hand.
When the magician first demonstrates, placing the small ball into the bowl, it's actually just a feint. It looks like the small ball is placed under the bowl, but in reality, there's nothing in the bowl; the small ball is still held in his hand.
And on the other side, what appears to be covering two small balls is actually discreetly positioning the hidden ball from his hand, blocking the view, and also placing it into the bowl—this creates the "miracle" of the small ball seemingly transferring through the air.
The principle of this trick is that simple; the specific operational process still depends on the magician's dexterity.
Even if you are told the principle, a person with fast hands can transfer the small ball right in front of you, and you still won't see the flaw.
And now, during the performance, not only two bowls are used; to confuse the audience, the difficulty needs to be increased.
Just like this stall owner, he used a total of three bowls when performing the trick, intentionally revealing flaws during the performance to make onlookers think they understood. When they confidently stepped forward to challenge him, they would suffer a Waterloo and be conned out of a large sum of money.
This stall owner had earned a lot of money this way, but then he encountered Hanagata Kensuke, and his trick was seen through.
Not only did he lose all the money he had won, but he was also pestered and not allowed to leave.
If Ayanokouji Kiyohira hadn't come to help, he really wouldn't have known what to do.
So when Ayanokouji Kiyohira said he wanted to use his bowls, the stall owner readily agreed.
In front of Ayanokouji Kiyohira were blue and white porcelain bowls, and the rainbow ball was very conspicuous inside. Moreover, this ball was one size larger than the one the stall owner used, so even if he wanted to secretly transfer the small ball into his hand, the movements required would be relatively larger.
Because of this, Hanagata Kensuke was very confident.
His eyesight was very good, and he was especially skilled at observing subtle movements of other people's hands. Even if it were a different person, the principle of the "Three Immortals Cave" trick would be largely the same, at most differing in technique. He really didn't believe that a different person could change much.
He believed he could see Ayanokoji's flaw.
What's more, winning just once in three rounds counts as a win. Isn't this clearly asking to lose money?
Even if he guessed blindly, his chances of winning were not small.
Ayanokouji Kiyohira naturally knew the principle of the "Three Immortals Cave," but he didn't intend to follow that principle.
In the first round, he lifted each of the blue and white porcelain bowls one by one, showing everyone that the bowls were empty. Then, he inverted these bowls.
He held the colorful ball in his left hand and lightly tapped the top of the middle bowl. In just an instant, the small ball in his hand disappeared.
"Alright, first round, Hanagata Kensuke, guess where this small ball went?" Ayanokouji Kiyohira looked up and asked.
"...Is the performance already over?" Hanagata Kensuke was a bit confused.
Generally speaking, such a performance would involve at least two or three rounds, sequentially lifting the bowls to confirm whether the bottom of the bowls were empty, and then, while the opponent wasn't paying attention, secretly slipping the small ball under the bowl.
But Ayanokouji Kiyohira just showed that the bowls were empty, and then never lifted them again.
Now he was asking him to guess which bowl the small ball was in?
Was he treating him like an idiot?
Hanagata Kensuke sneered, "The small ball is, of course, in your left hand."
Ayanokoji spread his hand; it was empty. "You guessed wrong. My hand is empty."
"The small ball was in your hand just now; it must have slid down your sleeve into your clothes!"
He said angrily, "Hey, are you taking me for an idiot?! Aren't we supposed to guess which bowl the small ball is in? You wouldn't think you've already won, would you?"
"I don't think so. You're the one who thought the small ball was in my hand." Ayanokoji spread his hands helplessly. "From the beginning, I asked you to guess which bowl the small ball was under."
Which bowl?
Hanagata Kensuke snorted coldly, "I guess there are no small balls under any of the three bowls!"
Ayanokouji Kiyohira hadn't lifted these three bowls just now, so there must be nothing under them.
"Is that your answer? Alright then, I'll tell you the answer. Actually, my small ball is in the middle bowl..."
As Ayanokouji Kiyohira spoke, he was about to lift the bowl, but he was stopped by Hanagata Kensuke: "Wait, don't touch the bowl! Who knows if you'll secretly drop the small ball in when you lift it?"
Anyone skilled in "Three Immortals Cave" can secretly drop the ball from their hand into the bowl right under everyone's noses when lifting the bowl, making it appear as if the ball was always in the bowl.
This is why magicians always win; they can modify the result in real-time based on others' guesses.
This stall owner had played this trick several times. Before Hanagata Kensuke's challenge, several people were fooled by the stall owner's move and accepted their loss.
When it was his turn to play, he forbade the stall owner from lifting the bowls, which meant the stall owner couldn't use his trick to deceive him and had to admit defeat.
Hanagata Kensuke now also stopped Ayanokouji Kiyohira. He was confident that as long as Ayanokoji didn't touch the bowls, he would surely lose!
"...Since that's the case, alright." Ayanokouji Kiyohira's hand, which was reaching for the porcelain bowl, naturally flipped over, making a gesture of invitation: "Then please help me open the bowls."
Hanagata Kensuke confidently lifted the bowl; however, it was not empty as he had expected. Instead, a rainbow ball lay quietly inside, as if it had been there from the beginning.
How could this be!?
Hanagata Kensuke was dumbfounded; he had no idea how Ayanokouji Kiyohira had managed it.
All of his operations were clearly within his grasp; the ball should have been in his hand. How did it end up in the bowl!?
The surrounding onlookers also gasped in surprise. Like Hanagata Kensuke, they couldn't figure out how Ayanokouji Kiyohira had done it.
"...Is he performing magic?" Someone murmured, "Is there a problem with the props?"
That's right, the props!
Hanagata Kensuke's eyes lit up. Some small balls are specially made; they look round, but in reality, they can be squeezed into thin sheets with a gentle pinch.
It's possible that he had already stuck the ball to the inside of the bowl when it was in its flattened state, and then when he inverted the bowl, he deliberately slammed it down hard, making the ball return to its original shape!
Thinking this, he subconsciously picked up the rainbow ball and squeezed it in his hand, but to his great surprise, the ball was quite elastic. When he squeezed it in his hand and then released it, it quickly regained its shape, and it could bounce just by gently throwing it on the table.
This was just an ordinary bouncy ball, with no suspicious characteristics whatsoever.
How did he manage to get the ball in there? Could it be that he was careless and didn't notice his subtle movements?
Ayanokouji Kiyohira smiled and asked at the right time, "How about it? No objections to the result, right? Then this round counts as my win."
Hanagata Kensuke nodded reluctantly, throwing the rainbow ball into Ayanokouji Kiyohira's hand, and said in a deep voice, "Continue."
This was only the first round; there were three rounds in total, so he still had a chance.
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