The sound of a spear piercing the air came first.
Sif's feet exploded in the sand, and she shot out like a silver cannonball, instantly appearing before Lin Xiao. Without hesitation, the spear tip aimed straight for his throat. Lin Xiao's pupils contracted, and he tilted his head half an inch to the side. The spear blade grazed his neck, creating a gust of cold wind. He reached back to grab the spear shaft, but Sif twisted her wrist, and the spear spun around Lin Xiao's fingertips before striking horizontally towards his temple.
Lin Xiao raised his arm to block, and the spear shaft struck his forearm with a solid thud.
Are you serious?
Sif didn't reply; the second shot had already been fired.
This shot was faster than the first, the spear tip flashing seven times in the air, making it difficult to distinguish between real and feint. Lin Xiao didn't take it head-on; instead, he pushed off with both feet, dodging three meters to the left. The sand where he landed sank with a "plop." But Sif's spear seemed to have eyes, changing its attack mid-flight and sweeping after him. Lin Xiao Lin Xiao leaned back, the spear blade grazing his nose, severing a few stray hairs on his forehead, before he could even regain his footing.
Sif charged forward for the third time, this time even faster. Her spear moved like a dragon, its silver light swirling through the sand, thrusting one after another, each aimed at Lin Xiao's vitals. Lin Xiao dodged left and right, his footsteps tracing semicircles on the sand, managing not to let her touch a single piece of his clothing. His body seemed weightless, weaving through the silver net woven from spear tips, his movements so fast that even those in the distance couldn't discern his outline.
"Is this guy an eel? How did he manage to dodge that?" Fandral's mouth dropped open.
"Mudskipper isn't that good at fighting. Didn't you see that the kid was deliberately letting Sif win?" Volstagg put his axe down from his shoulder, his eyes becoming extremely serious. In all of Asgard, besides Thor, there are very few who can fight Sif to this extent.
Sif's brow furrowed deeper and deeper. She realized she couldn't touch him. He was clearly retreating, dodging, not retaliating, but her spear just couldn't catch up. Each time, the tip of the spear was just half an inch away, and that half inch was like a wall she couldn't cross, blocking all her killing intent and anxiety.
"All you do is hide, Midgardian!" Sif finally spoke, her voice filled with barely suppressed anger.
"Hide? You big-breasted, brainless bastard, this is a civilian area. How many people would be affected if a fight broke out? How about an aerial battle if you're so capable? I can fly." After saying that, Lin Xiao lightly touched the ground with his toes and took off, instantly reaching a height of more than ten meters in the air.
Sif's face flushed with anger, but without the slightest hesitation, she pushed off with her feet and gave chase. Her speed in the air was no slower than on the ground, perhaps even faster. Her spear, wreathed in silver light, thrust upwards, aiming straight for Lin Xiao's back. Lin Xiao spun in mid-air, his right fist slamming out. The force of his fist collided with the spear tip, producing a deafening metallic clang. The shockwave rippled outwards from the point of impact, raising a cloud of yellow dust on the sand below, and even sending Sif flying five or six meters.
"When did the Midgardian acquire such power?" Hogun asked, tilting his head back, his voice trembling.
" Lin Xiao is a monster, otherwise he wouldn't have gained my approval." Thor gazed at the two figures locked in combat in the air and gave his conclusion, his tone even carrying a hint of pride. But that confidence was replaced by apprehension after the next shot. "But he's fighting Sif... Should I have intervened?"
"Can you stop him?" Volstagg asked without turning his head.
Thor opened his mouth, but found himself unable to refute it.
Jane stood behind them, her face pale, the water bottle in her hand cracking as she gripped it tightly. She had seen Lin Xiao tie Thor up and fly away, and she had seen him jokingly deal with agents, but this silver-armored woman was different; every shot she fired was aimed at killing. Jane wanted to call for a halt, but her throat felt blocked, and she couldn't utter a sound.
In the air, Lin Xiao and Sif had already exchanged over a hundred blows. Sif's spear techniques surged from all directions like a storm, and Lin Xiao no longer simply dodged. He unleashed a flurry of punches, the force of which deflected Sif's spear shadows by a third. The two fought further and further apart, from the sky above the town all the way into the depths of the desert.
Lin Xiao glanced down at the deserted landscape below, a smirk playing on his lips. Now that they were far from town, they could relax.
He seized an opening, accelerated suddenly, and flashed behind Sif. His right hand shot out like lightning, grabbing her left shoulder. Sif tried to turn around and return the gun, Lin Xiao's other hand had already pressed down on the shaft of her spear, pushing her down. The two plummeted from a height of over ten meters, crashing into a sandy field in the wilderness, where sand and dust exploded like a fountain.
Before the dust had even settled, Sif had already broken free from his grasp and unleashed a sweeping shot. Lin Xiao leaped three meters away, landing on the sand, his hands in his pockets, tilting his head to look at her.
"Should we keep fighting? If we keep going, it'll be dawn." Lin Xiao's voice was calm, with a hint of a smile.
Sif didn't answer, breathing heavily, her hand gripping the spear trembling wildly. Her eyes began to redden, but she held back her tears. When Lin Xiao saw her like this, his heart skipped a beat. Oh no, he'd really hurt her in the fight. But since she was Thor's subordinate, he couldn't embarrass her too much. He'd just give Thor some face.
"Alright then," Lin Xiao released his hand from his pocket and took two steps toward her, "Look, we've been fighting for ages, you can't poke me, and I can't hurt you. To decide a winner, we'd have to go at least another three hundred rounds. Did you come here to fight me or to find Thor? Don't you think it's stupid to let your momentary impulse delay your plans?"
Sif gritted her teeth and remained silent.
Lin Xiao's eyes lit up, sensing an opportunity. He took another step closer, his smile returning, this time less infuriating and more conciliatory. "How about this, let's settle things over drinks. Aren't you Asgardians the best drinkers? Beating me isn't easy, so try beating me!"
Lin Xiao's hand was already on the spear shaft at some point, pressing down gently. Sif couldn't pull it away no matter how hard she tried. Gritting her teeth, she turned her head and said coldly, " Midgardian, you've brought this humiliation upon yourself."
"That's perfect, let me show you what humiliation is." Lin Xiao released the spear shaft, turned around, and gestured with his chin to the north. "There's a tavern twenty kilometers from here, I know the way. Are you coming or not?"
Sif stared at Lin Xiao, holstered her spear, and strode forward. As she passed Lin Xiao, she bumped him hard on the shoulder. Lin Xiao wasn't annoyed; he just chuckled and followed beside her. The two of them walked into the night, one after the other.
The tavern was still the same " Red Nose." Old John, with his white beard, was sitting at the door sharpening a meat cleaver. Seeing Lin Xiao walk in with a woman in silver armor, and glancing at Sif's attire, he looked up at Lin Xiao: "Lin, is this your new friend? Did you just come from the film studio?"
"Stop guessing, this is an old friend." Lin Xiao slapped a few bills on the bar. "Bring up whatever's good, I'm going to have a drinking contest with this beautiful lady today." Sif snorted in response.
The two sat down in a booth by the window. Old John brought over two cases of Purkinje, along with two plates of roast beef and a basket of tortilla chips. Lin Xiao opened a bottle for each of them and downed half of it straight from the bottle. Sif wasn't as boisterous as him; she filled a large glass, but also drank most of it in one gulp, putting down her glass without even flinching, as if it were water.
"Sure," Lin Xiao said, getting excited, and opened another bottle. "One more."
The two of them took turns drinking, and soon the empty bottles on the table were lined up in two rows. Sif became more and more sober with each drink, her eyes even brighter than before. Lin Xiao began to wonder what Asgardians livers were made of. He regretted speaking so confidently, but he refused to admit defeat and instead drank even more enthusiastically.
"The wine in your Midgard is alright, just a bit weak," Sif, rarely speaking up, slamming the empty bottle down on the table.
"Then try this one." Lin Xiao beckoned to Old John, "Bring out all the tequila you've treasured in your cupboard, it's on me."
Old John hesitated for a moment, then went to the back to get them. When he brought out the bottles of tequila, Sif sat up a little straighter, seemingly showing some interest in the amber-colored bottle. Lin Xiao poured her a full glass, and filled his own as well. The two clinked glasses and simultaneously drank it all in one gulp.
After drinking three or four bottles, the alcohol started to take effect. Lin Xiao became more talkative, telling Sif how he got Tony out of the cave, how he competed with the green monster to see who could pee the farthest, and how he stole the spotlight at Stark's press conference. Sif didn't respond much, occasionally giving an "uh-huh" or a cold laugh. When he was rambling on and on, she would tap his arm with the butt of her spear, complaining that he was disturbing others.
Seeing that the girl wasn't buying it, Lin Xiao steered the conversation towards the gods. Lin Xiao started cursing Zeus, saying that the old man had fathered children everywhere and even turned his own children into heartless monsters. Sif still didn't say much, but she drank another cup. Lin Xiao's eyes lit up. Sure enough, you should talk about the right things when drinking with the right people. He became bolder and, after finishing talking about Zeus, started talking about Odin.
"Let me tell you, your God-King's parenting methods would have gotten him arrested by the domestic violence hotline in the Midgard. What kind of father tortures his son to death? Thor's current state is half due to your God-King being too much of a father."
Sif's face instantly turned cold. She slammed her glass on the table, her gaze sharp as knives. "Say that again."
Lin Xiao's Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed the rest of his sentence. He raised his glass, chuckled, and said sincerely, "My fault, my fault, I drank a couple too much and couldn't keep my mouth shut. I'll punish myself with three drinks."
He really did down three glasses in a row. Sif watched him chugging the drinks without saying a word. When Lin Xiao finished the third glass, he choked and coughed violently, covering his mouth. Seeing his disheveled state, Sif couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.
Lin Xiao heard the laughter, looked up, and saw that Sif had already turned her face away.
"Laughed, huh? If you laughed, you're not allowed to lay a hand on me." Lin Xiao wiped his mouth and pressed his advantage, "The way you were acting just now, I thought you were going to nail me to the wall with a spear and use me as a tavern decoration."
Sif ignored him, poured herself a glass of wine, and sipped it, but the smile on her lips was impossible to hide.
Later, the two started chatting. Actually, to be more precise, Sif had drunk too much and started to talk too much. She mentioned that she was adopted by Odin when she was very young and grew up with Thor. To her, Odin was not only the king of the gods, but also more like a father. As she spoke, her voice became softer and softer.
"But he's lying in bed now, and there's nothing I can do. Loki has taken control of the temple; I can't stay there anymore. It's not my home anymore."
Lin Xiao didn't interrupt, listening attentively as Sif finished speaking, then gently patted Sif's back with his large hand.
"Your hand..." Sif glanced at him sideways.
"What?" Lin Xiao asked seriously.
"Weren't you being naughty just now?" Sif slapped Lin Xiao's hand away.
"It's a huge injustice; I only meant well."
"Kindness my foot! Where are your hands going? If you're going to take a picture, why are you moving them down?"
Lin Xiao coughed and said seriously, "Let's drink, let's drink, why talk about such trivial things?"
Later, the boss came over and said that they were out of alcohol. They really were out; even the two of them had drunk the entire stock. Old John, looking embarrassed, said he'd give them a 20% discount next time.
Lin Xiao and Sif exchanged a glance, both seeing a swaying hint of drunkenness in each other's eyes. They stood up and walked out of the tavern one after the other. The night was already deep, and the wind blew in from the desert, making them shiver.
On the way back, Sif walked ahead, her steps a little unsteady. Lin Xiao followed behind, reaching out to steady her every few steps. Once, she tripped over a stone and twisted her ankle; Lin Xiao quickly grabbed her arm. Sif shook him off, saying, "I'm fine."
"I know you're alright, I just wanted to prove my hand is steady." Lin Xiao withdrew his hand and walked forward on his own.
Sif rolled her eyes at him and said nothing more.
The two hadn't walked far when Sif suddenly stopped, looked up at the sky, then turned to look at Lin Xiao, squinting her eyes. "Although you're a bit uglier Thor, you're actually not a bad person."
Lin Xiao paused, half-sobering up. "I'm not as good as that blond guy?"
"He's a prince."
"What's a prince? I'm still the company boss, the chosen one with cheat codes. How can he compare to me?"
"He's handsome."
"Dude, your looks are top-tier even in the Midgard. Do you have a problem with your aesthetic sense?"
"He has a good physique."
Lin Xiao was displeased. He took a few steps over to Sif, ripped off his jacket, revealing a sweat-soaked vest underneath. The vest clung to his body, clearly outlining the lines of his chest and abdomen. He leaned closer to Sif: "Take a good look. This physique can't compare to that actor Xu Jinjiang, the one who Thor? Oh right, you don't know Mr. Xu. Well, look at these abs, these pecs, these arms. You dare say I can't compare to him?"
Sif actually looked. Her gaze slid from his shoulder to his waist and abdomen, then quickly shifted away, and she snorted, "Not as good as Thor."
You are definitely lying.
"They can lift Mjolnir."
Lin Xiao opened his mouth, only to find that he didn't even have the strength to refute. He angrily slammed his coat shut, plopped down on a haystack by the roadside, and remained silent. Sif also sat down, the two of them about half a person's distance apart. A night bird cried out in the distance, and the wind swirled sand past their feet.
After a while, Sif spoke up, "Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Reflecting on life."
"You?"
"Just me." Lin Xiao looked up at the starry sky, feeling a pang of melancholy as he remembered it was Qixi Festival in Dragon Country. He suddenly asked, "Have you heard the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl?"
Sif shook her head.
Lin Xiao then began to tell her the story, from the Cowherd peeping at the Weaver Girl bathing to their annual reunion on the Magpie Bridge on Qixi Festival, embellishing it with every romantic detail he could think of. Sif initially said it was "boring," but later fell silent, listening quietly and occasionally blinking.
After he finished speaking, Lin Xiao asked her, "Do you still think I'm a bad person?"
Sif turned her head and looked at him for a moment. "It's just telling a story, and you expect me to distinguish between good and bad people? What kind of logic is that? Besides, I never said you were a bad person."
"Then why did you stab me the moment we met?"
"Who told you to always be so cheeky and annoying? If you weren't so cheeky, I might not have bothered with you."
"That's impossible," Lin Xiao said confidently. "This is my core competitive advantage."
Sif couldn't help but laugh again. This time, she didn't even realize it herself.
After a while, Lin Xiao hiccuped and continued, "Why were you so hostile towards me when we first met? Was it because I was with Thor?"
Sif paused, buried her face in her knees, and said in a muffled voice, "No."
Why is that?
"It's nothing." She turned her face away, the tips of her ears slowly turning red, then gritted her teeth. "Don't mention it again, you're so annoying."
Lin Xiao didn't press the matter. He stretched out his arm, picked up a few scattered blades of dry grass, casually wove them into a small loop, and handed it to Sif. Sif took it, looked at it in her hand, and didn't say anything.
"It looks pretty." After a while, Sif whispered.
Lin Xiao chuckled, leaned back, and lay down on the haystack. Sif also lay down, the two of them about a meter apart, looking at the sky. The starlight was densely packed down, as if someone had scattered a handful of diamonds from the sky.
After an unknown amount of time, the two fell asleep. In his half-awake state, Lin Xiao heard Sif say she was cold, as if she were talking in her sleep. Lin Xiao sighed and activated the Blue Silver Grass.
Several slender vines sprouted from his palm, carrying a faint blue glow, and spread along the haystack, gently wrapping Sif around. The vines were extremely thin and soft, layer upon layer covering her, curling her into a ball. In her dazed state, Sif felt herself being enveloped by something soft and warm. She twitched her nose, shrank back a little, and didn't wake up.
Lin Xiao looked at the large blue cocoon, nodded in satisfaction, stretched out his arms and scooped the cocoon into his bosom, then tilted his head and fell asleep.
The next day, just as dawn broke, Thor and the Asgard's Warriors Three followed the direction the tavern owner had pointed out.
In the distance, they saw a huge blue spherical object lying across a haystack by the roadside, its surface shimmering with a faint blue light. Lin Xiao was holding the basketball in an extremely ungraceful posture, his face buried in it, one leg dangling over it. Hogun muttered, "What are those Midgardian up to now..."
Fandral poked Volstagg with the scabbard. "So you really spent the night with Sif?"
Volstagg ignored him, and silently took out a piece of dry rations and took a bite.
When Sif emerged from the blue cocoon, a few blue vines were still clinging to her hair. She mechanically ripped off the Blue Silver Grass, stood up, and expressionlessly adjusted her armor, not looking at anyone. Her ears were bright red, almost dripping blood.
Lin Xiao was still fast asleep when the Blue Silver Grass lost control, drooping limply like a blob of blue noodles that had been wilted by the sun.
Sif glanced back, gritted her teeth, picked up a small stone from the ground, and threw it at Lin Xiao. The stone hit him squarely on the forehead, and Lin Xiao jumped up from the haystack with a "whoop," looking at everyone with a blank expression.
"Why did you hit me?" Lin Xiao asked, rubbing his forehead.
Sif didn't speak, turned and left. The Asgard's Warriors Three exchanged glances. Thor opened his mouth, but only managed to utter, " Lin Xiao, you... didn't do anything out of line last night, did you?"
"What outrageous thing did?" Lin Xiao yawned and rubbed his throbbing forehead. "Am I that kind of person?"
Volstagg nearly choked on his rations, Fandral glanced at Lin Xiao with a suggestive look, Hogun silently took a half-step back. Thor looked at Sif's back, then at Lin Xiao, his expression extremely complicated.