A melodious bell rang out, and Lin Xiao rubbed his sleepy eyes, rolled over on the bamboo bed, and sat up. Since returning from the bamboo forest, he had only slept for half an hour, but he didn't feel tired at all; on the contrary, he felt energetic. He wondered if he should strike while the iron was hot and see if he could awaken another ring of ability.
Just as I was lost in thought, my stomach protested, rumbling loudly.
"Never mind, let's go get something to eat first. We haven't had a proper meal since we arrived yesterday."
He changed his clothes and went out, passing through two courtyards. Guided by a young monk, he headed towards the dining hall. Before he even reached the entrance, he could hear the sound of someone slurping noodles inside, hurried and loud.
Lin Xiao pushed open the door and stepped inside, his footsteps pausing on the threshold.
At one end of the long table, Ned was engrossed in eating a bowl of plain noodles, with sixteen empty bowls stacked in front of him. There were also two empty steamers at the corner of the table, and only a few crumbs of steamed bread remained on the table. Peter sat opposite him, holding his own bowl of noodles, his chopsticks hovering in mid-air, his expression a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you.
Ned didn't answer, only letting out a muffled hum as a response.
Lin Xiao walked over and sat down next to Peter. He looked down at Ned's eating habits, then at Peter's bowl of noodles, and his lips twitched twice.
How many bowls did he eat?
"He ate sixteen bowls by himself, plus a whole steamer of steamed buns, and he even ate my whole basket of them," Peter in a low voice. "He said he was punished yesterday by copying the Calming Mantra until midnight, and when he finished, he didn't even see a single vegetable in the cafeteria. He was so hungry today that he was dizzy, and I had to carry him here. His eyes lit up as soon as he entered the cafeteria, and he's been eating ever since."
"Are you just going to let him eat like that? What if he gets sick from overeating?"
"I tried to stop him, but he looked so pitiful, I couldn't bear it..."
Lin Xiao glanced at Peter, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Ned finally looked up from his bowl, a noodle still clinging to his lips. He saw Lin Xiao sitting opposite him, mumbled "Good morning, Uncle Lin," and then lowered his head to shovel the last few mouthfuls of soup.
Wang entered at that moment. He stood at the entrance of the cafeteria, glanced around, his gaze sweeping over the stack of empty bowls in front of Ned without even moving his brow, before landing on Lin Xiao.
"The monk requests your presence."
Lin Xiao gently put down the steamed bun he had just picked up. "So early?"
Wang stopped in front of him. "The monk has been asked to let you see someone."
"A friend of the Ancient One?" Lin Xiao blinked. "What's their background?"
"You'll find out when you get there." The king had already turned and was walking out. "The person is waiting in the side hall."
Lin Xiao picked up the steamed bun and followed. Reaching the door, he glanced back at Ned, Peter was peeking at Peter's bowl of noodles. Peter had moved his bowl to the other end of the long table. Lin Xiao ignored them and quickened his pace to catch up with Wang.
The side hall was smaller and dimmer than the stone hall from yesterday, with only a few rays of diffused light filtering through a row of low windows along the wall. Wang pushed open the door, stepped aside to let Lin Xiao in, but did not follow.
I'll leave it here.
Lin Xiao stepped inside, and as soon as he steadied himself, a blazing tongue of fire shot out from his left. The heat wave swished against his skin, and he dodged to the side, the flames grazing his shoulder and striking the stone wall behind him, scorching a patch of brick. Before he could even regain his footing, another icy blue frost blade slashed down from his right, its angle darting towards his lower body.
Lin Xiao turned his foot, and the Frost Blade flew past his trouser leg, leaving a three-inch-thick ice mark on the ground.
When he looked up and saw the person's face clearly, the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.
" Tao Yuhan, I didn't expect to see you again."
Tao Yuhan stood in the center of the side hall, dressed in a dark gray casual outfit. He was thinner than when they last met in New York, but his gaze was more steady. He still held a wisp of lingering icy mist in his hand, and with a flick of his fingertips, it turned into a few tiny frost flowers that fell to the ground.
"Brother Lin, it's been a long time."
Lin Xiao patted the charcoal ash off his shoulder and took two steps forward. "Brother Yunfei, how have you been? No, I mean, Brother Yuhan, how have you been?"
Tao Yuhan paused for a moment, then laughed. The laughter was soft, but the tension in his body eased considerably. "Brother Yunfei? Are you acting in a TV drama?"
"Dude, you've gotten stronger." Lin Xiao looked him up and down. "You didn't have this skill last time in New York."
"You're different now too." Tao Yuhan's gaze fell on his arm. "Stronger than when we first met. I just arrived in Kamar-Taj last night to see how you've improved."
Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow. "So you came all this way just to test me?"
Tao Yuhan didn't respond to that, but simply raised his hands, a ball of fire and a ball of ice condensing in each palm. "Just one move. Catch it, and I'll treat you to dinner."
Lin Xiao thought for a moment and nodded. It was a good opportunity to test the Ring of Protection that had just been bound to him yesterday.
He raised his left arm, and the golden bracelet on his arm flashed. A layer of pale golden light expanded from the bracelet, forming a semi-circular shield in mid-air, covering his entire body. Tao Yuhan's flames and frost slammed into it simultaneously. The fire exploded on the surface of the shield, and the ice shattered on the surface of the shield. Sparks and ice shards flew all over the ground, but the shield remained unmoved.
Tao Yuhan withdrew his hand, a hint of surprise flashing across his face. He stared at the shield for two seconds before lowering his hand. "This thing is not simple."
Lin Xiao took the bracelet back. "Indeed, but I haven't explored it enough yet."
Tao Yuhan nodded, not pressing for details. He took two steps forward, patted Lin Xiao's arm, and his smile became more genuine than before. "Let's go eat. There's a Northeastern restaurant in the village down the mountain. I was there once before, and the food was pretty good. Authentic Northeastern stewed goose in an iron pot."
Lin Xiao's eyes lit up, and he grabbed Tao Yuhan's neck. "Stewed goose in an iron pot? That sounds delicious!"
Tao Yuhan nodded, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
The village at the foot of the Himalayas is small, with a few dozen households scattered along the dirt road. There are Tibetans, Nepalese, and some random tourists whose origins are hard to pinpoint. The Northeastern restaurant is tucked away at the end of the village. Its storefront is so small that it can only fit four tables, but the braised pot at the entrance never goes out from morning till night, steaming hot, and you can smell it from half a street away.
Lin Xiao sat at the table against the wall, a braised pork knuckle in front of him. The sauce was thick and glistening, the skin and meat were tender and soft, falling apart at the slightest touch with chopsticks. He picked up a piece of meat, put it in his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and then suddenly fell silent.
Tao Yuhan sat opposite him, watching him.
Lin Xiao took another bite, his eyes a little red. By the third bite, he looked up, his eyes shining brightly.
"It has no sweetness."
Tao Yuhan was taken aback.
"What I mean is," Lin Xiao poked at the braised pork knuckle on his plate with his chopsticks, his tone laced with a hint of irrationality, "the kind of braised pork knuckle made by chefs from Northeast China at the foot of the Himalayas is salty and savory. Every Chinese meal I've eaten in America has sugar in it. Sugar in stir-fries, sugar in stews, even Mapo Tofu is sweet. And this braised pork knuckle today—"
He picked up another piece. "This pork knuckle is just right."
Tao Yuhan's lips twitched. He watched as Lin Xiao devoured the entire braised pork knuckle, even picking the meat out of the bones with his chopsticks. Finally, he picked up the plate, poured the remaining sauce into a bowl, and mixed it with rice. Lin Xiao also finished half of the four-pound goose by himself.
Tao Yuhan looked down at the bowl of food in front of him that he hadn't touched much, and suddenly felt that he had gotten a huge rip-off from this meal.
"Do you want some?" Lin Xiao pointed to the remaining broth in the pot.
Tao Yuhan shook his head, looking at the few star anise leaves and two scallion segments left at the bottom of the pot. "No, I'm full."
Lin Xiao didn't stand on ceremony and ordered another bowl of rice, pouring all the remaining broth from the pot over it. He ate until sweat beaded on his forehead. After swallowing the last grain of rice, he patted his stomach, leaned back in his chair, let out a long breath, and then looked at Tao Yuhan again.
"Speak."
Tao Yuhan was holding his teacup, lost in thought, when he heard those two words and paused. "What did you say?"
"You've come all this way, testing me and treating me to dinner, you're not here to do charity." Lin Xiao's voice returned to its usual lazy tone, but his eyes were steady. "Since just now, we've been the only table in this restaurant. Now that more people are coming, look at how stiff they're sitting, isn't that how you eat in a restaurant at this hour?"
Tao Yuhan's fingers tightened on his teacup for a moment. He looked up, his expression slightly surprised, then relaxed. "Brother Lin has a good eye." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the tables of customers in the restaurant. Two men were eating noodles with their heads down; they looked like locals, but their posture was too upright, and the zipper of their backpacks was undone, revealing half of the metal buckle. "This restaurant is indeed one of the S.P.E.A.R.'s outposts."
"So, why did you invite me here? Just to catch up? Unlikely." Lin Xiao put down his chopsticks, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. "I think you want to recruit me."
Tao Yuhan opened his mouth.
"If you want me to join the S.P.E.A.R.," Lin Xiao put his teacup back on the table, his expression becoming serious, a stark contrast to when he was eating the pork knuckle, "You'll need to give me a few good reasons. Let me make it clear first, I have high standards; I don't care about ordinary things."
Tao Yuhan looked at him, remained silent for a few seconds, then shook his head, took something out of his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it over.
It was a photograph.
"Brother Lin, you've misunderstood." Tao Yuhan's tone suddenly became serious. "I've come this time to ask you to help me find someone."
Lin Xiao looked down at the photo. It showed a middle-aged man with regular features, neatly combed hair, wearing a dark gray three-piece suit, and a professional smile on his lips. The name Wu Zhengkai was written on the back of the photo in pen.
" Wu Zhengkai, PhD, a professional surgeon. He performs surgeries beautifully, with superb skills, and is very famous in the field." Tao Yuhan lowered his voice by half an octave. "But his whereabouts are very unpredictable. Several of my intelligence leads have gone cold, and I haven't been able to pinpoint his exact location. This is a private commission of mine, and it has nothing to do with the S.P.E.A.R.. I hope you can help me find him."
Lin Xiao stared at the photo, finding it increasingly familiar. He'd seen that face somewhere before, but couldn't quite place it. He stared at the photo for another two seconds, when suddenly Doupao's voice echoed in his mind.
"Ding--Character detected: Wu Zhengkai. Identification complete. From the Iron Man 3 universe. This character's storyline does not match the current timeline; the main storyline has not yet progressed to the Avengers, and related storylines and rewards are not yet unlocked."
Lin Xiao's lips twitched suddenly.
He slowly flipped the photo over and over again to make sure he wasn't mistaken. Looking up at Tao Yuhan's serious face, he suddenly realized how ridiculous his "come and recruit me" attitude had been. Lin Xiao coughed awkwardly a few times.
"Brother Lin?" Tao Yuhan looked at him and remained silent for a long time.
"It's nothing." Lin Xiao put down his teacup, his lazy smile returning to his face. "I just ate too much, my brain's a little sluggish. Go on."
Tao Yuhan stared at him for two seconds, as if confirming something, and finally nodded, pushing the photo further in front of him.
"Okay. The reason we're looking for this person is more complicated than you think..."