May and Betty have been incredibly busy these past few days. After General Ross was sent back to New York from Brazil, he went straight to the intensive care unit at the military hospital. Betty handled business at Vought during the day and stayed in the ward at night writing reports. The father and daughter, separated by a cast and bandages, finally had their quietest time together in years. May, worried that Betty wouldn't be able to manage, offered to help take care of Thaddeus Ross, a gesture that deeply moved Betty.
But Lin Xiao never returned. The Brazil side only said "mission is coming to an end," but no one knew exactly what was coming to an end.
Peter and Ned came over to help over the weekend and saw that May had dark circles under her eyes from staying up all night, and Betty was dozing off in her chair. The two stood in the hallway for a while, remembering the king's instructions.
" Uncle Lin isn't here, and Aunt May and Sister Betty are already busy enough. We can't just sit here and wait," Peter said in a low voice.
So you mean...
"When Mr. Wang came last time, that invitation wasn't fake. Let's make a trip together, take care of what needs to be done, and learn what needs to be learned."
Ned's eyes lit up. "Then we should bring a small gift, right? It's not good to show up empty-handed. Uncle Lin taught us that the way of treating people in Dragon Country is perfect for putting into practice."
Peter thought for a moment and nodded. The two then went their separate ways. Ned went online to look up "rules for becoming an apprentice," but after searching for a long time, he only found a bunch of ancient texts about "the six rites of payment." In the end, he decided to keep things simple. Peter went to Chinatown to pick out tea and dried fruit, Ned bought two bags of soy milk and a box of traditional sponge cake, which he even wrapped in red paper.
On the morning of their departure, they got up very early. Peter even left the breakfast he had bought on the table with a note. "We're going to Kamar-Taj, don't worry." Then he left.
After the plane took off, Ned fidgeted in his seat, Peter huddled by the window, pulling his hat down as if trying to doze off. He hadn't slept well for two days straight, worrying about Lin Xiao's situation in Brazil while also keeping an eye on Ned to prevent him from posting anything inappropriate on social media.
" Peter, do you think Kamar-Taj has WiFi?"
"Have no idea."
"I think so, what era are we living in? I saw some people online saying the signal is okay there, but it drops when climbing mountains."
"You checked?"
"I checked. I even checked their criteria for accepting apprentices. Look at this—" Ned shoved his phone screen right under Peter's nose. It showed a post he'd scraped from some forum, titled " Kamar-Taj Beginner's Guide: Everything You Need to Know." Peter glanced at it; half of it was clearly fabricated, with things like "you have to meditate for twelve hours every day" and "the sorcerer can see right through your past."
You actually believe that?
"We should at least make some preparations." Ned put his phone away, rummaged through his backpack for a while, and pulled out a neatly folded black robe. Peter stared at the robe for three seconds, then looked up at Ned's face.
When did you buy it?
"Last month, I saw it online. It was advertised as a 'wizard-inspired' item, and the reviews were great, so I placed an order. Look at this material, it doesn't trap sweat, and it's machine washable."
Uncle Lin was referring to a sorcerer, not a wizard.
"Pretty much the same. Look at what Mr. Wang wore last time, wasn't that also a robe? Mine is just a bit darker in color."
Peter opened his mouth, but in the end he just put his hat back on his face and decided to leave it at that. He had known Ned for so many years and had long understood one thing: some things you can't stop, so it's better to let him hit a wall on his own.
When the plane landed in Tibet, it was already the next morning. The airport was packed with people. Ned, dragging his suitcase and wearing his wizard's robe, stood in the middle of the arrival hall and circled around, looking like a lost tourist who had escaped from a comic convention. Several elderly people picking up passengers nearby gave him a few extra glances. One of the women even took out her phone to take a picture, muttering something in dialect to her husband. Peter didn't understand, but judging from her expression, it wasn't a compliment.
Are you sure you want to dress like this?
"We've already put them on, we can't just change them now." Ned puffed out his chest, pulled his hood back to reveal his round face, and said, " Uncle Lin said we need to be sincere. Sincerity, do you understand?"
Peter didn't reply. He took out his phone, opened the map, and looked at the location Wang had sent him again. The location was deep in the Himalayas; to get there from the airport, you had to take a taxi, then a bus, and finally walk along a mountain road. He mentally calculated the time and patted Ned the shoulder.
"Let's go, we should be able to get there before dark."
The two of them wandered around for several hours before finally boarding the bus. They were filled with excitement and curiosity as they watched the mountain road begin to ascend. The buildings outside the window gradually turned into trees, then into bamboo forests, and finally even the bamboo became sparse. The two of them got off the bus and walked for a long time until their legs gave way. All that remained was a narrow stone path winding upwards, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Ned carried a backpack and two large bags in his hands, one a bag of soy milk and the other a bag of cake. Peter also carried two bags. The two of them huffed and puffed as they climbed for what seemed like forever. The stone path grew narrower and narrower, and the trees on both sides became denser. The hem of Ned's wizard's robe was covered in mud, but he didn't seem to care, humming a theme song from some unknown movie.
As we rounded the last bend, the mountain gate came into view. Two rows of stone lions crouched on either side of the stone steps, their age indistinguishable by wear. Above the gate hung an old plaque, the inscription half-eaten by rain and moss. The mountain gate was wide open, and people were moving about inside, dressed in uniform dark yellow monks' robes, creating a neat, dark yellow hue from afar.
Peter stood at the doorway, watching the monks coming and going inside, then looked down at his ordinary dark T-shirt and thought it was alright. Then he turned and glanced at Ned.
Ned's wizard robes stood out in the crowd like a black ink bloom in the snow. The two bags of soy milk and cakes in his hands also stood out against the monks' drab clothes. When the monks passed by, their eyes would linger on him for a moment before looking away. No one said anything, but the silence itself was awkward enough.
Peter was about to say something, a man walked out of the mountain gate. Wang, wearing his dark yellow monk's robe, visibly paused when he saw the two people. His gaze swept from Ned's wizard's robe to the two bags of soy milk cakes in his hand, and his lips twitched, then twitched again.
"You've arrived," Wang said dryly.
"Mr. Wang!" Ned greeted him warmly, handing him the bag. " Uncle Lin asked us to bring this; we hope the Master will like it."
Wang looked down at the two plastic bags, remaining silent for three seconds. Then he looked up at Ned with an extremely complex expression, and slowly said, "The mage knows you're here. Come with me."
He turned and walked inside, ignoring the two bags and Ned's strange clothes. Ned followed behind him, carrying the things, his steps lighter than before. Peter walked at the back, looking at the two figures, one tall and one short, ahead of him, thinking, "If this works out, Uncle Lin will be laughing his head off when he gets back."
The king led them through the front hall, then around a long corridor, finally stopping before a door. The door was ajar, and warm yellow light shone from within. The king knocked twice and whispered, "Master, the people have arrived."
There was no response from inside.
Wang was silent for a moment, then turned and nodded to Ned and Peter, indicating that they should go in on their own, before turning and leaving.
Peter pushed open the door and led Ned inside. The hall was quiet, with wooden planks on the floor and a few oil lamps burning in the corners, their flames thin and almost motionless. In the center of the room sat a futon, upon which sat a bald, thin woman in a dark monk's robe, her back to them, meditating with even breathing.
Ned stood by the door, waiting for a while. He waited some more, until the sunset had completely disappeared, and then he spoke softly.
"She's asleep."
"Looks like someone in deep meditation."
Is there a difference between entering a meditative state and falling asleep?
Peter shook his head. He genuinely didn't know. The two waited for about ten more minutes. Ned's feet started to twitch. After walking for half a day on the mountain path and standing there for so long, he finally couldn't take it anymore. He leaned close to Peter's ear and whispered, "Should we wake her? Look, it's almost dark. How much longer can we wait?"
"That's not a good idea."
"Why don't you give it a try? Isn't your the Fool capable of touching things? Get a few Spider-Man to tickle her, wake her up from the itch, and she won't realize it was us."
Peter turned sharply to look at him, his face screaming, "Are you crazy?"
Ned, however, thought it was a good idea and added, "Don't scratch my face, scratch my feet. The soles of my feet are very sensitive."
Peter a deep breath, mentally cursing Ned to death.
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately summoned the Fool, wanting to see what state the Ancient One was in. Several sand spiders, no bigger than fingernails, crawled out from the cracks in the floor and silently slithered along the wooden planks. The golden sand was almost invisible in the light. They crawled over the hem of the Ancient One's robe and were about to continue upwards when suddenly they stopped. The entire spider seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall, instantly turning into scattered sand grains that fell softly to the floor.
The Ancient One opened his eyes.
Those eyes were calm, but beneath that calmness seemed to contain some other kind of magic, making Peter feel that everything about him had been seen through by the Ancient One. The Ancient One turned her head and looked in the Ned and Peter, her gaze lingering on them for a moment before finally settling back on Peter.
"An aura that doesn't belong to this universe again." She spoke slowly, her voice low but each word clear, "That soul entity on your body, was it given to you by Lin Xiao?"
Peter nodded, instinctively taking a half-step back. He wasn't sure what to say. The Ancient One's gaze made him feel like she could see right through him, yet there was no sense of oppression. It was like someone looking up at the night sky, and the sky staring back at him.
"Grandma, you noticed."
The Ancient One frowned.
Peter then realized what he had said, his face flushed red, and he quickly added, " Uncle Lin told me to call you that. He said you're his... godmother."
The Ancient One was silent for two seconds. Her expression didn't change, but the corner of her mouth twitched very slightly, as if she wanted to laugh but didn't. She shook her head, shifting her gaze from Peter to Ned, who was kneeling on the ground beside her.
Ned had knelt down at some point, his hands raised above his head, and in his broken Dragon Country, he said, word by word, "Disciple, Ned, pays respects to your master. Sincerity is key; the master's authority is paramount. One bow seals our fate."
After he finished speaking, he knelt down and kowtowed, his forehead hitting the wooden floor with a dull thud.
Peter stood there, unsure whether to stand still or offer help.
The Ancient One looked down at the back of Ned's head, remaining silent for several seconds. Her expression was complex, a mix of surprise, amusement, and something else entirely. She didn't tell Ned to get up, nor did she say she wouldn't take him in; she simply watched quietly.
Ned lay there for a while, but heard no response. He then raised his head, his expression shifting from expectation to confusion, and then from confusion to grievance. He stole a glance at Peter, Peter quickly looked away.
The Ancient One said nothing, but simply took out a silver ring from her sleeve, twirled it on her finger, and then flicked it lightly. The ring flashed a silver light, landed on the wooden floor in front of Ned, bounced twice, rolled half a circle, and came to rest right next to his knee.
"Try using what you know."
Ned looked down at the ring. It was silver, old, with a narrow face engraved with fine patterns. He didn't pick it up immediately, but instead took out the old Sling Ring from his pocket. The fragments and cracks were still there, and a small part of the rune was missing, but he was already used to using it.
"I... I'll stick with this habit," Ned said softly, respectfully handing the new ring back to the Ancient One and clutching his old Sling Ring again. He closed his eyes, recalling the feeling of accidentally opening the door for the first time. He had just drawn a circle randomly, without thinking, his mind filled with "I'll try it, I'll try it," and then the door opened.
Now that he's trying to think about it seriously, he's finding it hard to pinpoint the key point.
He tried once; the Sling Ring around on his fingertip, emitting a small burst of golden sparks, but nothing happened. He took a deep breath and tried again. This time, the ring lit up, but the halo dissipated, like a candle extinguished by the wind. Peter had been silent all along, had quietly retreated to the wall, afraid of being caught in it. When Ned tried for the third time, his mind suddenly went blank, leaving only one image: he was standing at the gates of Kamar-Taj, seeing the King emerge, followed by monks in their robes.
He made a swipe with his finger.
A golden halo exploded from the Sling Ring, like a net being unfurled, swirling halfway through the air before settling. The door opened, revealing the stone path outside the mountain gate on the other side, where the steps they had climbed up could still be seen.
Ned opened his eyes and stared blankly for a long while at the still slightly swaying portal in front of him.
The Ancient One stood still, looked at the door, then at Ned, and nodded slightly. She didn't say much, only calling out to the side, "Your Majesty."
Wang peeked half his body in from outside the door.
"Take them to settle in."
Wang responded and gestured with his chin toward Ned and Peter. Ned was still standing in front of the portal, his expression still showing signs of shock. Peter went over and pulled him aside, whispering, "Let's go."
Ned was pulled away by him and walked out. He only came to his senses when he reached the door and glanced back at the Ancient One. The Ancient One had already sat back down on the futon, her back to them, as if nothing had happened. But Ned noticed that the flame of the oil lamp in front of her had flickered in the gust of wind and had not yet fully stabilized.
Wang led them towards the side courtyard. On the way Ned suddenly leaned close to Peter's ear and whispered, "Do you think she accepted me or not?"
"You guess."
"I think there's a chance." Ned clutched the old Sling Ring in his hand, examining it from all angles. "She made me test the portal; that was the test, right? I passed, so she took it."
Peter didn't reply, but simply patted him on the shoulder.
The room in the side courtyard was small, with two bamboo beds and a window through which one could see the bamboo grove behind. As soon as Ned entered, he took off his robe and threw it on the bed, revealing a T-shirt soaked with sweat underneath. He lay on the bamboo mat, limbs outstretched, and let out a long breath.
" Peter, what do you think of this place?"
Peter leaned against the window, watching the wind chimes swaying gently in the evening breeze outside, and thought for a while before speaking.
"Fine."
"It's fine?"
"Um."
Ned rolled over, buried his face in the pillow, and mumbled, "I feel really good."
Peter didn't turn around, but a slight smile appeared on his lips.
A gust of wind blew by, making the wind chimes tinkle. A very faint chime came from afar, but it was quickly carried away by the wind.