"The only future? How could something like that exist?"
Xia Zuo narrowed his eyes slightly as he pondered this. What it implied was far from simple. He looked thoughtful, as though considering something.
"All right, never mind the future. Ancient One, I hope you can teach me magic."
Xia Zuo cast aside those thoughts and looked at the Ancient One again. Whatever the future held was still rather distant from him. What mattered most right now was getting the Ancient One to teach him magic. That was why he had come here.
The Ancient One watched Xia Zuo in silence, saying nothing, seemingly weighing the stakes.
Only after a long while did the Ancient One slowly speak. "I will not teach you any magic, nor can I become your teacher. But Kamar-Taj is a sacred place for sorcerers. No one has the right to stand in the way of someone who longs to study magic."
The Ancient One left him with those meaningful words, then casually waved her hand, conjuring a golden ring of light. She stepped through it and vanished from the New York Sanctum.
The Ancient One had left, but Mordo was responsible for guarding the New York Sanctum during this period, so he remained there, standing before Xia Zuo.
"It seems the Sorcerer Supreme doesn't want you as her apprentice. Clearly, she finds your character too vile."
Dressed in his monk's robes, Mordo mocked Xia Zuo coldly. Although the Ancient One had already dispelled the Geass ability affecting him, the anger in his heart had not died down. His mastery of magic was not yet particularly profound, but being caught off guard and controlled by a child still infuriated him.
More importantly, Mordo had always revered the Sorcerer Supreme above all others, and Xia Zuo had humiliated him before the Ancient One. That was what angered him most.
Smiling away hatred was something only a saint like the Ancient One could do. He was no saint, so he naturally came to resent Xia Zuo.
"Really? That remains to be seen."
Xia Zuo looked at Mordo with a faint, ambiguous smile. On the surface, the Ancient One's words had seemed to reject him and refuse to teach him magic, but Xia Zuo could hear a deeper meaning in them.
She won't teach me magic or become my teacher because she doesn't want to become bound to me by karma!
That was probably what the Ancient One was thinking. Presumably, she feared that something terrible in Xia Zuo's future might implicate Kamar-Taj, so she did not want any karmic ties with him.
But that was only the surface meaning. Before leaving, the Ancient One had also left him with a particularly meaningful statement.
"Kamar-Taj is a sacred place for sorcerers. No one has the right to stand in the way of someone who wants to study magic."
In other words, Kamar-Taj would not stand in Xia Zuo's way. What if Xia Zuo wanted to enter Kamar-Taj?
The answer was certain: she still would not stop him!
So the Ancient One probably meant: she would not teach him magic, but neither would she stop him from entering Kamar-Taj. If he could learn magic there on his own, it would have nothing to do with her.
That was the true meaning behind the Ancient One's words!
Interesting. It seems even the Ancient One doesn't quite dare stand in my way.
Xia Zuo chuckled inwardly. He understood that the Ancient One was doing him a favor. If he could learn magic at Kamar-Taj, she would turn a blind eye and would not stop him. But Xia Zuo also understood that she was doing this because of that so-called future, so he would make good use of this opportunity.
"Hmph. Whatever you're plotting, this is the New York Sanctum, and I guard it. Get out."
Seeing Xia Zuo chuckle for no apparent reason irritated Mordo, but he could not attack inside the Sanctum. Out of sight, out of mind, so he wanted to drive Xia Zuo away.
"Perhaps we'll meet again."
Xia Zuo chuckled. Naturally, he understood what Mordo was thinking, but he did not care much. After all, in Xia Zuo's eyes, Mordo was merely a clown, nothing worth paying attention to. Besides, he still had some matters to arrange before he could set off for Kamar-Taj, so he left the New York Sanctum without looking back.
"What a strange child. But at least I finally won't have to see that irritating person again."
Watching Xia Zuo leave, Mordo murmured in bewilderment. In truth, he had not fully understood Xia Zuo's conversation with the Ancient One, but he felt much better now that Xia Zuo was gone.
Still, when he saw Xia Zuo again at Kamar-Taj, his expression would likely be quite a sight. Unfortunately, Xia Zuo did not care in the slightest.
Meanwhile, at the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s analysis of the explosion was complete, so Natasha took the report and hurried to Nick Fury's office.
"Nick, we've uncovered the truth behind that explosion." Natasha looked at Nick Fury gravely and placed the report before him.
"Go on." Nick Fury began reading the report while also having Natasha brief him.
"According to our investigation, this was probably another Hydra base. And if we're right, they likely detonated the entire base themselves."
"Detonated it themselves? Presumably, they only did that after someone took control of them."
Nick Fury murmured to himself. Even before this report came out, he had already guessed the truth. In all likelihood, Xia Zuo was behind it.
"Yes, you guessed right. And we also found traces of a major figure inside," Natasha said quickly.
"Who?"
"Whitehall!"
When Natasha spoke Whitehall's name, the previously composed Nick Fury froze for a moment. It took him a long while to recover.
"He really has given us quite a gift this time. We'd been wanting to root out that old fox, but to think he'd end up falling at a child's hands. You don't know whether to laugh or cry."
Nick Fury sighed and slowly spoke those words. Did this count as negligence on their part, or was Xia Zuo simply too capable?
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