Loki’s Thanks

Earlier, Thor’s plan had been simple. Sif would rescue Jane with the invisible Li Feng, then Li Feng would transport Jane and Sif to the Dark World, Malekith’s home turf.

Afterward, Li Feng would return to Asgard and bring Thor and the remaining companions to the Dark World.

By then, all Thor had to do was set up an ambush in advance. Once Malekith extracted the Aether from Jane’s body, he and his four companions would rush in and beat Malekith into minced meat.

Given Li Feng’s meager strength, Thor had not intended for him to help beat up Malekith. All Li Feng needed to do was open a door and send them back to Asgard after they destroyed the Aether.

But now that he knew Li Feng’s Portals could not, and lacked the power to, connect to the Dark World, Thor had a headache.

Sif, on the other hand, found this rather comforting. It was better if he could not open a Portal. Jane would surely be tortured to death by the Aether then, and Sif could take advantage of Thor’s emotional emptiness to enter his heart, win Thor’s embrace, and ascend to the throne as Queen of the Asgardians.

Just thinking about it made her happy.

Thor fell silent for a while before suddenly remembering something. "There is another way to leave Asgard, though very few people know about it." After a pause, Thor said quietly, "Only one person knows how."

Beside him, the bearded Volstagg clearly realized what Thor meant.

Back then, Loki had bypassed the Bifrost and led the Frost Giants into Asgard through another route.

Now, Thor plainly wanted to ask that traitor Loki for help.

Volstagg exchanged glances with several companions and said instinctively, "No, that is not a good idea. You cannot guarantee Loki will not betray you again. You cannot guarantee that, can you?"

Thor shook his head slightly and gritted his teeth. "I can only guarantee that if he betrays me, I will kill him."

Volstagg gave Thor a serious look, then subtly rolled his eyes. He could see that although Thor said he would kill Loki, there was not the slightest killing intent in his eyes. Instead, there was affection.

Perhaps Thor wanted to free Loki from prison so Loki could get some fresh air, or perhaps he wanted to give him the chance to escape the fate of being locked in prison for the rest of his life. Volstagg sighed and asked, "What then?"

"What then?" Thor shrugged. "Then we use Austin’s Portal to leave the Golden Palace. After meeting up in the outskirts, we head to Malekith’s home together and beat Malekith to death."

Why am I involved too? Li Feng covered his face miserably and ranted inwardly, Bro, Malekith may sound like minced meat, but he is not actually food! He even has a Cursed Warrior with him—a Cursed Warrior who can beat all of you senseless!

But Li Feng knew his words carried little weight. Thor, who was determined to save Jane, would not listen to his explanation. Instead, he would wonder how Li Feng knew about the Cursed Warrior.

Li Feng could only pray inwardly that Odin would not take the chance to chop him down, then dejectedly followed Sif toward where Jane was being held.

Before long, Sif used the excuse of delivering a late-night meal to slip into Jane’s room. She swiftly knocked out the guard and signaled for Li Feng to hurry up and open a Portal so they could run.

Before leaving, Li Feng looked around the room where Jane was supposedly imprisoned.

Honestly, considering Jane was the Asgardian Prince’s girlfriend, this so-called imprisonment looked more like Lady Jane taking a relaxing vacation in Asgard.

Just look at where Jane lived: a huge swimming pool outside the window, a bathtub scattered with flower petals inside the room, and maids at her side twenty-four hours a day, ready to obey her every command.

Jane, who was supposedly imprisoned here, ate Asgard’s finest delicacies every day, drank Eternal Spring water provided by Li Feng, wore luxurious silk clothing, and had jewelry capable of stabilizing the Aether.

Other than lacking personal freedom, what part of this suggested Jane was locked in a cell? It would not be an exaggeration to say she was enjoying herself at a five-star hotel.

Li Feng expressed enviously that if Odin ever caught him, he wanted a cell like that too.

Free food and lodging, and I could practice magic in peace too.

Inside Asgard Prison, Thor stood outside a cell, looking sorrowfully at Loki, who sat sprawled barefoot on the ground with disheveled hair. "You know about Mother, right?"

Loki’s face darkened. Thinking of how his "real mother" had nearly been killed by the Cursed Warrior—and how the Cursed Warrior had broken through the Golden Palace’s defenses under his guidance, allowing Malekith and the Cursed Warrior into her chambers—made the corners of his mouth twitch with anger. After a moment of silence, he said, "Thank that Mage for me. The grudges between him and me are settled."

Thor nodded, indicating that he would pass the message along. "I know you are as keen on revenge as I am. If you take me out of Asgard, I will take you to Malekith for revenge. After that, you can return to prison."

Loki narrowed his eyes and thought it over. Something felt wrong. If Thor had said he was keen on revenge in the past, Loki would have believed him. Back then, Thor had been a reckless brute who charged forward with his hammer lowered.

But now Thor was charging down the path of becoming a wise ruler. How could he possibly say he was keen on revenge?

So there is something here I do not know? Someone like Odin would never go to Svartalfheim, the Dark Elves’ territory, to fight Malekith without being certain of victory. Thor’s true purpose in seeing Malekith is probably to save the woman he loves.

The only ones who would support Thor in doing this are probably the Warriors Three and Sif, who has been blinded by love.

No reinforcements, and one mistake could get them all killed. This really is a life-or-death "revenge."

Loki glanced around the cell he had turned into a pigsty after learning Frigga had nearly died. Perfect. I do not want to waste my life in prison either. I might as well use this chance to escape.

With that thought, Loki smiled. "You must have run out of options before you thought to ask me for help."

Thor did not deny it. After all, Jane’s life was being sustained by Eternal Spring water, and Eternal Spring water was a nonrenewable resource.

Loki stood and dusted off his hands, signaling Thor to open the cell door as he asked curiously, "How do you know I will not harm you?"

"I do not trust you," Thor said as he opened the cell door. "But our mother trusts you."

Burdened by guilt over nearly getting his "real mother" killed, Loki fell silent for a moment. "I do not want the Queen Mother to be sad."

Thor smiled. He could tell that although Loki refused to admit it, he still loved Frigga deeply and wanted to act like a good boy in front of her.

Just as Thor patted Loki’s shoulder to show that they were good brothers, a Portal suddenly appeared before them.

This was the Portal Li Feng had opened after bringing Jane and Sif to the outskirts to meet up with Volstagg and the others.

Seeing Li Feng on the other side of the Portal, Loki smiled faintly and nodded to thank him for saving Frigga.

Li Feng froze for a moment, then understood what Loki meant. He knew Loki was the type to care desperately about appearances. Forget getting him to say thanks out loud—getting Loki to smile and nod in thanks was already his absolute limit.

Scratching his head, Li Feng said to Thor, "I will not be going to the Dark Elves’ home. I cannot help you anyway. With my strength, I would only hold you back."

Thor thought it over and was about to agree when Loki looked around. Confirming that there was no transportation nearby, he said speechlessly, "Are we really going to walk to the spatial passage?"

Thor froze for a moment, then nodded. "What is the problem?"

"The problem is huge." Worried about Thor’s intelligence, Loki said weakly, "I am leaving prison, and Jane is leaving the Golden Palace. Even if you bribed Heimdall to keep this secret for us, how much time do you think Odin will give us to travel?"

Sif narrowed her eyes in thought and asked, "Is the spatial passage far from here?"

Loki pointed at a distant mountain peak. "The passage is there. Right now, we either run for half a day," Loki said, turning to Li Feng, "or we have the Mage open a Portal and transport us directly near the spatial passage."

Thor turned toward Li Feng. Before he could say anything, Li Feng waved his hand and opened a Portal. As he stepped through it, he asked, "Are there any dangers in the wilderness? If not, I will have some wine here and enjoy the scenery."

Sif followed Li Feng through the Portal and glanced around. "To us, there are only cute little animals or meat that tastes good nearby. But to you…"

Sorry for being weak and embarrassing you all. Li Feng rubbed his nose and said gloomily, "Am I their meat?"

Thor patted Li Feng’s shoulder and smiled. "That is why you should come with us to the Dark World."

But I do not want to go with you. People will die, Li Feng thought helplessly. He did not think his life was tough enough to survive that.

Unfortunately, musclehead Thor did not care what Li Feng thought. Using concern for Li Feng’s safety as an excuse, he dragged Li Feng along after Loki.

On the verge of tears, Li Feng traveled through the spatial passage to Svartalfheim.

After arriving in the Dark World, Li Feng saw nothing around them but desolate sand dunes. He looked up at the dim sky and said pitifully, "Everyone, how about I wait here for your triumphant return? My strength would only make me dead weight on the battlefield."

Thor considered it, then looked at the Warriors Three, Loki, and Sif. With so many companions around, he secretly thought that losing one weak Mage would not make much difference.

Thor patted Li Feng’s shoulder. "All right, wait here for us to return. I believe you can protect yourself in the Dark World."

Li Feng’s eyelid twitched as he nodded. I can protect myself, but why does your tone make me feel so uneasy? Could there be dangerous creatures on such a desolate planet?

Beside them, Loki looked into the distance, then turned to search for a suitable ambush spot. At the same time, he pondered how to breathe free air again. In any case, he did not want to return to an Asgardian cell and spend the rest of his life there.

Only after Thor and the others had gone far away did Li Feng look toward where Loki had been staring.

There was a faint fluctuation of spatial energy there.

Li Feng pursed his lips. Without caring what Loki planned to do, he opened the Mirror Dimension and began studying the Personal Space spell.

This was a spell connected to hiding the Mind Stone. Li Feng only wanted to master it as soon as possible.