Angel Cup

Sitting at the table covered with floral cloth, Clary stared blankly at the familiar Tarot Cards on it and said, "My mother painted these."

"Yes, they were a gift from her," Rosie, who only wanted to live a quiet, ordinary life, casually explained before urging, "See which card chooses you."

Hearing that Rosie had no intention of getting involved in the ‘Valentine’ matter, Clary reached out her right hand and slowly brushed it over the Tarot Cards.

Nearby, Li Feng folded his arms and watched with interest as one Tarot Card inexplicably floated into the air and pressed itself against Clary’s palm.

As Clary turned over the Tarot Card, an image of a cup appeared before everyone.

Rosie glanced at the card in Clary’s hand and said, "The Cup card."

Jace leaned over to look at the card and added, "That’s the Angel Cup."

"So what?" Clary, who completely failed to understand what Rosie and Jace were talking about, asked in confusion, "What does this card mean?"

Rosie shot Jace an annoyed look. As Clary’s neighbor, and one who had always been close to Clary’s family, Rosie truly did not want Clary dragged into dangerous events.

After thinking it over, Rosie decided to send Clary back to her normal life before danger arrived.

Perhaps staying away from Shadowhunters meant staying away from danger? With that thought, Rosie gave Jace a rejecting look and said to Clary, "Ignore him—"

Before Rosie could finish, Jace interrupted, "That’s an Angel Artifact, one of the three sacred artifacts of our people. What does Clary’s mother have to do with it?"

Jace had practically told Clary outright, ‘Your mother is connected to an Angel Artifact.’ Having encountered one strange event after another, Clary curiously asked, "What does the Angel Cup have to do with my mom’s disappearance?"

Realizing that Jace had successfully piqued Clary’s curiosity, Rosie gave him another annoyed look. After sighing inwardly, she calmly said, "Your mother used to be a Shadowhunter." She pointed at Jace. "A hunter like him."

What did that mean? My mom was from the same race as this blond kid? Clary was a little dazed. After freezing for a moment, she could not help but argue, "No, my mom was just an artist."

"She never talked to you about any of this?" Rosie asked in puzzlement.

"I only know that my mom disappeared," Clary said helplessly. "And I don’t even know where to start looking for her."

Rosie seemed to understand something and roughly guessed that Clary’s memories had been sealed by her mother.

But that meant Clary knew nothing about the dangers she faced.

Rosie lamented how unreliable Clary’s mother was. She could clearly have let Clary prepare herself for danger, yet instead she had simply sealed her memories and called it a day.

Wouldn’t Clary be finished if she ran into danger with no preparation at all? After thinking it over, Rosie felt that letting Clary know what dangers awaited her might at least prepare her mentally. "Let me read your mind."

As Rosie used mind-reading on Clary, Li Feng picked up the Tarot Card depicting the cup and carefully sensed the seal on it.

If all he wanted was the Cup itself, Li Feng had plenty of methods. He could simply stuff the Tarot Card into his pocket. Rosie would not dare say anything.

Even if Rosie told Clary that the Cup was inside the Tarot Card, so what? Li Feng had plenty of brainwashing spells.

As for how to take the Cup out of the Tarot Card, that was even less of a problem for Li Feng. He knew countless sealing techniques: Matryoshka Doll seals, mirror seals, and more.

As long as Li Feng spent a little time studying the Tarot Card, he could put the Cup into his shoulder bag within minutes.

But—

Li Feng did not merely want some meaningless collectible. He wanted to collect the Cup, but he also wanted to understand what it could do.

That made him hesitate.

If Jace’s organization, or the academy’s headmaster, Mr. Hodge, knew what the Cup did, everything would be simple.

But if they did not, taking the Cup now would leave Li Feng completely in the dark.

After hesitating, Li Feng ultimately decided to follow the plot. At the end of the movie, the great villain Mr. Valentine, who understood the Cup and had used it in all kinds of experiments, would appear at the academy.

Then, Li Feng would only need to capture Valentine to learn everything about the Cup from his mind.

With that in mind, Li Feng casually placed the Tarot Card back on the floral table.

Meanwhile, Rosie finished reading Clary’s memories and helplessly said, "Sorry, but something has sealed your memories."

As she spoke, Rosie opened the door and gestured for Li Feng and the other two to kindly leave. She said to Clary, "I’m guessing your mother found someone with powerful Mana to seal them specifically to protect you. I can’t help you."

"Protect me from what?" Clary asked in confusion.

Rosie guessed, "Maybe your memories."

"Why?" Unable to understand her mother’s actions, Clary asked blankly, "What memories do I have that my mom wouldn’t want me to remember?"

Rosie shrugged, indicating that she did not know.

Just as Clary felt like her brain had turned to mush, she suddenly heard footsteps coming from upstairs.

Thinking the kidnappers who had taken her mother had returned to the scene, Clary froze. She instinctively looked up at the ceiling, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and rushed back into her own apartment, ready to teach those audacious kidnappers a lesson with it.

Watching Clary and Jace hurry upstairs, Li Feng leaned against Rosie’s door and asked with a smile, "How much do you know about the Cup?"

Rosie instinctively glanced at the Tarot Card on the floral table, shook her head, and calmly said, "It is a holy relic of the Shadowhunters. I’m only a witch, so what I know is limited to the legends everyone knows."

Following Rosie’s gaze, Li Feng glanced at the Tarot Card, scratched his head, and took an Amulet from his shoulder bag before handing it to Rosie. Wearing an expression that said, ‘I can see right through you,’ he said, "In the past, I would have directly extracted your memories. Before I change my mind, tell me everything you know. This is yours."

Rosie’s heart churned, but she calmly looked at the Amulet. She could tell that Li Feng was far stronger than she was, and the Amulet before her held enormous appeal for her.

She had never seen such a high-level Amulet.

After a moment of silence, Rosie suppressed the urge to take the Amulet and slowly said, "According to legend, Crusaders summoned an angel, Raziel. Raziel poured his own Angel Blood into a cup, and after the warriors drank it, they became beings half angel and half human."

"To use the Cup, you first pour your own blood into it, allowing it to be infused with an angel’s power. Then you drink that blood, which was originally yours but now carries a trace of angelic power."

After a pause, Rosie slowly reached for the Amulet and quietly said, "Angel Blood itself contains tremendous power. If humans drink it directly, even if they can endure the impact of that power, they will still go mad when their souls become tainted with an angel’s aura."

Rosie gripped the Amulet in her hand and said with a hint of excitement, "According to the legends, the reason those warriors could gain immense power after drinking the blood while retaining their sense of self was because the Cup separated Raziel’s will and preserved only the most primal power."

"The legends say the Cup’s purpose is to separate Raziel’s consciousness." Looking at the Amulet now in her hand, Rosie slowly closed the door while cautiously glancing around, wary that Jace might suddenly appear. "But that is only a legend. I cannot confirm whether it is true."

At that moment, Rosie saw Clary hurrying downstairs with Jace and another boy, and quickly shut the door.

Li Feng scratched his head, turned to Jace, and asked, "What are you doing? Are there demons upstairs too?"

Jace glanced at Li Feng without slowing down and rapidly said, "She wants to find Luke."

Seeing Li Feng join them, Jace hesitated before explaining, "Maybe Luke knows why her mother disappeared. Or maybe Luke has clues about the Cup."

That second reason was why you were following Clary, wasn’t it? Li Feng glanced at Jace, turned invisible, and leisurely lay atop Dark Cloud. He asked the newly joined boy, "Kid, what’s your name?"

Having personally watched Li Feng turn invisible, the boy said in utter confusion, "I’m Simon. You are?"

"Austin, a Mage," Li Feng introduced himself.

A Mage? Simon blankly looked at Jace. First there had been demon hunters, and now a Mage had appeared. What was wrong with this world?

Luke lived quite far away. By the time Li Feng had become familiar with Simon, the group finally arrived at Luke’s house after nightfall, drenched by the pouring rain.

Clary looked at the tightly locked front door, then at Luke’s car parked by the roadside, and immediately concluded that Luke had to be home. She waved everyone over, preparing to enter Luke’s house through the back door.

Luke was not answering his phone, his car was parked outside, and the weather was terrible. Sensing that Luke’s house might be in danger, Jace stopped Simon for safety reasons and said, "You stay here."

Simon was somewhat displeased and was about to say something when Li Feng grabbed him. While using magic to dry the soaked Simon, he rubbed his empty stomach and asked, "I’m hungry. Do you have any money?"

One moment Simon had been drenched like a drowned rat, and the next he was completely dry. He froze for a moment, and only when he came back to his senses did he realize that Clary and Jace had already entered Luke’s house.

Feeling his empty stomach, Simon searched his pockets and helplessly nodded. "I still have some loose change. I’ll buy everyone something to eat."

As he spoke, Simon looked around, held both hands over his head, and ran through the rain toward a convenience store.

Just as Simon ran toward the convenience store, a police car suddenly stopped in front of Li Feng.

A demon’s scent? Li Feng frowned. After raising a shield, he whistled at the officer stepping out of the police car and asked with a grin, "Hey, little thing, do you know where your Valentine is?"

Whether the officer could not see Li Feng or the demon possessing him was simply stupid, it ignored Li Feng entirely and craned its head toward Luke’s house.

Li Feng curled his lip. Thin Hellfire ignited across his palm as he grabbed the demon by the throat and viciously asked, "I’m talking to you. Where is Valentine?"