Six o'clock in the morning, in the corridor of the Panduolake Hotel.
There was a knock on Lin Xiao's door, three quick, short knocks. Lin Xiao rolled off the bed, his bare feet on the carpet, and opened the door.
Hill stood outside. Her dark circles were so thick they looked almost blue, and her hair was wet and hanging over her shoulders. Underneath her dark gray coat, she was wearing the same black turtleneck from yesterday. She looked at Lin Xiao with an unusually cold gaze and her voice was hoarse and husky.
Banner has disappeared.
Lin Xiao leaned against the door frame, rubbed the back of his head, and looked bewildered.
"That happened in the early hours of the morning. Coulson finally got a tip from an informant and found information about Banner, so they went to look for him. But do you know what the final result was? He was gone! Just vanished for no reason! Coulson's report only had one sentence: 'The target is no longer in the same place.' He was just gone. Fury's exact words were, 'Go ask that bastard Lin Xiao.'"
"Then you've come to ask me."
Your GPS shows you were near the dock around 4 AM.
"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk. That's none of your business."
"You've been scattered for three hours? Near which ship? Lin Xiao, do you think I'm stupid?"
Lin Xiao tilted his head to look at her, and seeing the dark circles under her eyes, he couldn't help but speak.
You didn't sleep well last night.
Hill frowned and gave a cold smile:
"You're telling me this shift in topic?"
Lin Xiao continued as if he hadn't heard, "Your dark circles are really bad. You must have tossed and turned all night, flipping your pillow and folding and covering yourself with the blanket repeatedly. You finally sat on the edge of the bed waiting for dawn before knocking on my door at six."
Don't flatter yourself.
"Then why did you come in person? You could have just had Coulson come and ask. You could have easily sent him."
Hill didn't reply, but she bit her lip tightly.
"Because you want to hear me say everything you want to know." Lin Xiao took a step forward. Hill took half a step back, her back hitting the corridor wall.
" Agent Lin Xiao, remember your place."
"What's your identity? A secret agent being interrogated by the deputy director?"
"You're still Level 7 Agent at S.H.I.E.L.D.., and I'm your superior. What you just said has seriously crossed the line."
"I know I've crossed the line." He took another step forward. The two were now only a fist's distance apart. "But you thought about what I said all night, didn't you? Coming to see me so late was because you were considering my feelings, wasn't it? You knew there was a high probability I did it, yet you waited until dawn to confront me, which means you were torn between wanting it to be me and not wanting it to be me."
Hill's hands gripped his coat pockets tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"Yes, that's right, you guessed it." Lin Xiao lowered his voice, "I took Banner away. Last night, after you closed the door, I waited until you were quiet before I went out."
Hill almost stopped breathing.
Where did Banner go?
" New York, we should be at Vought's lab by now. Tony and I have made arrangements; Happy will come to pick us up in his plane."
"Then why did you tell me?"
"Because you care about me, you have concerns, you care, and I don't want to lie to you."
Hill froze. His lips moved, but he didn't say anything.
"How do you plan to write the report?" Lin Xiao's voice was soft, his fingers clenched at his sides.
Hill lowered her head. She pulled a black voice recorder from inside her coat; the indicator light was on. Before leaving, Fury had called, instructing her to record any problems Lin Xiao had, and send the recorder to him.
She stared at the recorder for a long time, rubbing her fingertips back and forth on the pen. Then she suddenly clenched it and slammed it down at the end of the corridor.
Snap. The plastic casing cracked, scattering fragments all over the ground, and the indicator light went out.
" Banner's whereabouts are unknown. Agent Lin Xiao was not involved in this operation." The voice was flat and indifferent, as if reading a report that even he himself didn't believe. He turned around and walked towards the other end of the corridor.
Lin Xiao's eyes narrowed. He had already discovered the recording pen. He had imagined countless possible outcomes: Hill would truthfully report the contents of the recording to Fury, Banner Hill would disappear without a trace. But he hadn't expected Hill to smash the recording pen to pieces and claim that Lin Xiao hadn't participated in the operation. In that instant, Lin Xiao felt that it was the greatest insult to such a dutiful woman, who only cared about order, to defy her professional ethics for him. Hill, and no one could stop him. He said it.
Lin Xiao called out in a hoarse voice, " Hill."
Hill paused for a moment, trembled slightly, but quickened his pace.
Lin Xiao sighed softly and followed after her, gently taking her wrist in his hand. Hill stopped abruptly, turned her head, her eyes filled with astonishment and something she couldn't suppress.
What do you want to do?
You dropped the voice recorder.
That's my business.
"You smashed the recording pen for me." Lin Xiao pulled her half a step closer to him. "You chose this side. I can't let your choice go to waste."
"Let go. You're Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.."
"I am not now."
"Who are you."
"I'm not." Lin Xiao's voice rose a half-octave, loud enough to be heard throughout the entire corridor. "I am Lin Xiao now, a bastard who wants to take responsibility for you."
Hill opened her mouth. Her wrist twitched in his palm, but she didn't pull it back. She looked up at him, her grey-green eyes churning with so much: anger, panic, regret, and something thin but bright.
"You bastard," he squeezed out through clenched teeth.
"I know." Lin Xiao lowered his head and kissed him.
Hill slammed her back against the wall, pushing against his chest twice, but couldn't move him. Her fingers changed from pushing to grabbing, gripping his shirt. After a long while, she bit his lip, not hard, but enough to make him take a half step back. She leaned against the wall, panting, her lips stained with a little blood.
"You're crazy."
"I'm not crazy. You smashed the recorder, so you chose me."
Hill bit her lower lip and remained silent. Lin Xiao lowered her head again, and she turned her face away, her lips brushing against Hill's cheek and landing behind her ear. Hill froze for a moment.
"Not in the hallway."
There are no security cameras here.
"Have."
"Oh no. I checked it on my first day here."
Hill turned his head and glared at him. Three parts anger, three parts helplessness, and the remaining four parts seemed like a sigh of relief.
"You had this planned all along."
"Right."
Hill opened her mouth as if to call Lin Xiao shameless, but the next second, Lin Xiao smiled. He picked her up horizontally. Hill let out a short cry of surprise and patted his shoulder twice, the force gradually decreasing. He carried her into the room, placed her on the edge of the bed, and unbuttoned his coat with one hand, tossing it onto a chair. Hill looked up at him, her lips moving several times.
Hill leaned against the headboard, her hand resting on the blanket, looking at the ceiling. Lin Xiao said with a grin.
"It's not too late for you to back out now."
"What are you going back on your word about?"
"The matter of the report."
Hill remained silent for a moment.
"I've written the report. Banner's whereabouts are unknown, and Agent Lin Xiao was not involved in the operation." The voice regained its businesslike tone, softening slightly at the end, "But you'd better not make me regret this."
Lin Xiao buried his face in her hair and chuckled softly. Hill's fingers were still clutching his shirt, her knuckles slowly loosening and then tightening again. The collar of her black turtleneck was worn askew, revealing a small patch of skin below her collarbone. Lin Xiao's breath moved from her hair to her ear, and then to the crook of her neck.
Hill.
"Um."
Have you ever...?
"Never," she interrupted him, her voice dry and harsh, as if she had been waiting for him to ask this question.
Lin Xiao paused for a moment. His eyes lit up, and he looked up at her. Hill was staring at the ceiling, her lips pressed into a thin line, and the tips of her ears were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.
"Then I'll be gentle."
Hill didn't answer. She simply tightened her grip on his shirt, slowly raised her head, and stole a glance at Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao picked her up and placed her in the center of the bed.
The two barely spoke throughout the entire process. Hill bit her lower lip, occasionally letting out a soft groan, her fingernails leaving several red marks on his back. Lin Xiao slowed the pace so much that Hill once reached out and pushed his waist, saying, "Hurry up." Afterwards, she turned to her side, pulled the blanket up to her shoulder, turned her back to him, and curled up into a small ball.
A few hours later, Lin Xiao pressed himself against her from behind, putting his arm around her waist. Hill didn't pull away and spoke after a long while.
Lin Xiao.
"Um."
"If you tell anyone about this, I'll apply for your transfer to Alaska."
" Alaska is too far; I suggest I be transferred to the office next to yours."
Hill didn't reply, but her shoulders twitched slightly. Lin Xiao rested his chin on her head and closed his eyes.
The Himalayas, Kamar-Taj.
The door to the bamboo hut was gently pushed open. A young monk stood in the doorway and called out in the Dragon Country language.
"Guests, wake up! The morning service is about to begin. The monk said you are welcome to participate."
Peter sat bolt upright, glanced at his watch, took a deep breath, and dragged Ned out of bed.
"Just five more minutes of sleep..."
"Get up."
"It's still dark..."
"I know."
Ten minutes later, two men, wearing newly received monk robes, stood in front of the mountain gate. Dew clung to the stone path, making it slippery and cold to walk on. A dozen or so older disciples were already lined up. The leading monk, a lean, bald man, glanced at Ned, said nothing, and turned to run.
Ned followed behind. After running less than two hundred meters, he started panting. The altitude was too high, the air too thin, and he was breathing out white mist through his mouth. His legs felt like they were filled with lead.
"Even monks go for morning runs?" he shouted to Peter beside him as he ran. "Nobody told me that!"
Peter slowed his pace and waited for him.
"I didn't expect this either. Since we're here, we should do as the Romans do. How about this: if you can still stand after you finish this trip, you win."
"I'll bet fifty."
"I bet a hundred."
Ned gritted his teeth. The group ahead of him ran further and further away, disappearing around the bend in the mountain path. Ned ran and stopped, stopped and ran, and in the last part he almost walked. Peter followed beside him.
When they returned to the mountain gate, Ned's legs were as weak as noodles, and he rested on the steps for a while, supporting his knees, before he recovered. Peter stood beside him, barely out of breath.
"Could you, you the Fool,... give me a ride?"
"No. Wang said you can't use your abilities for morning runs."
"Wang didn't come along."
He said he would use magic to check.
Ned cursed, propped himself up on his knees, and after an hour of morning exercise, Ned came back lying on the ground like a dead dog, tongue lolling out, and was dragged back by Peter.
Breakfast consisted of plain porridge and pickled vegetables. Ned ate three bowls, pushed the bowl away, and let out a satisfied burp.
Wang stood by and watched, and only after they finished eating did he wave towards the side hall.
A black mage emerged from the shadows. He was not tall, but had a straight posture and a sharp, straight jaw. He wore a dark gray monk's robe and had a short staff at his waist. His eyes never left Ned the moment he appeared. If Lin Xiao had seen him, he would have said that he was the black guy who valued the balance and justice of the magical world the most.
"This is the mage Mordo. Ned, you will be learning magic from him from now on."
Ned straightened up and reached out to shake hands. Mordo glanced down at him, his gaze sweeping from his face to his waist before returning to his face.
"Pull your pants up! What kind of behavior is this!"
Ned looked down and saw that his monk's robe belt had come undone at some point, and his trousers had slipped down halfway, revealing the Bugs Bunny shorts underneath. He hurriedly fastened his belt, and when he looked up again, Mordo had already turned and walked away.
Ned shrank back and glanced at Peter. Peter raised his chin. "Follow me."
Ned jogged after him. Mordo walked quickly, passing through two courtyards, along a long corridor, and stopped in front of the side hall.
Pushing open the door, I saw a bowl of water on a futon inside, with a thin incense stick burning beside it, casting very thin smoke.
Mordo turned around.
"To learn magic, you must first learn to be calm and focused, to keep the bowl level. If you spill a drop, start over."
Ned looked at the bowls of water in front of him, so full they were almost overflowing. He glanced at his still trembling arms, then squatted down. He picked up the bowls with both hands, his arms shaking like a leaf. The water rippled and swayed.
Mordo stood to the side, expressionless.
Peter stood outside the door for two seconds, then turned to go find Wang. He took a couple of steps, then stopped and looked back. Ned was gritting his teeth, staring intently at the water, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. The water in the bowl sloshed, spilling a drop onto the cushion.
Mordo said, "Start over, and remember to stay calm."
Ned poured the water back into the jar and scooped out another bowl. Peter watched for two seconds, then turned and left.
The king sat on the steps of the front hall, a yellowed book spread out in front of him, and a very fine pen in his hand, writing something on it.
Peter walked over and stood beside him.
Mr. Wang.
"Um."
" Ned has started, what should I do?"
Wang looked up at him, then put down his pen.
"Your ability isn't in your hands, it's in your heart. The master said your problem isn't a lack of strength, but a lack of focus. You only have a three-minute attention span, whether it's practicing martial arts or meditating. Your spirit is an external manifestation of your soul; the more restless you are, the harder it is to control."
Peter didn't argue. He knew the king was telling the truth.
"Starting today, you will sit quietly with me for one hour every day. Don't think about anything, don't do anything. Just sit."
"One hour?"
"One hour."
What about Ned?
He has his studies to do.
The king stood up, patted the hem of his robe, and gestured with his chin toward the bamboo grove behind the side hall.
"Let's go. Let's start with half an hour today."
Peter followed the king through a bamboo grove and onto a bluestone slab. In front of the slab lay a wide valley, the morning mist still lingering, and the distant snow-capped peaks peeked out from the clouds, dazzlingly white.
The king sat cross-legged on the bluestone slab and pointed to the stone opposite him.
Peter sat down, closed his eyes, and his mind was filled with thoughts of what Lin Xiao was doing, how things were in Brazil, whether Aunt May and Betty were alright, whether Ned had treated everyone fairly, when Tony's new armor would arrive, Gwen Stacy's exams next week...
"Calm down."
The king's voice drifted over from the other side.
Peter a deep breath and tried to suppress those thoughts one by one. He suppressed one, and another popped up. He suppressed it again, and another popped up. He cursed under his breath and closed his eyes again.
The wind rustled past his ears in the bamboo forest, and the coolness seeped up from the stone slabs beneath him. He sat there for a long time, so long that his legs went numb, so long that he didn't know when the king had left, so long that the sun had fully risen behind the snow-capped mountains, illuminating the entire valley.
On Ned's side, the water was finally leveled. A whole bowl, not a drop spilled. He squatted on the ground, his arms still trembling, but the water in the bowl remained steady. Mordo stood opposite him, watched him for a while, and finally nodded.
"Another bowl, please."
Ned's expression changed from smug to bitter.
"Again?"
"Thirty bowls. Only after you've served them all evenly are you qualified to learn the next lesson."
Ned poured the water back into the jar and scooped out the thirtieth bowl. When Peter opened his eyes in the bamboo grove, the sun had already passed its zenith. He looked down at his hands, then at the empty flagstone opposite him. The king had left sometime earlier, leaving behind a bowl of cold porridge and a piece of pickled vegetable on the flagstone.