Picking Little Mushrooms from Young Girls

Portals in the world of The Mortal Cup differed from those at Kamar-Taj. All they required was for the user to firmly decide where they wanted to go.

So, when Clary escaped Valentine’s clutches through a Portal and appeared soaking wet on the street, she stared blankly at the moon overhead. I clearly wanted to go to Mom. Why did I end up on the street? Has my mom fallen on hard times and ended up homeless?

At that moment, an adorable little girl of seven or eight, draped in a silvery-white gauze dress woven from moonlight, was dancing alone in the middle of the street to "Picking Little Mushrooms from Young Girls."

It was obvious that the little girl was quite happy.

But Clary certainly did not feel good about it. This was the United States. As the saying went, dark nights and strong winds were perfect for murder. There were countless people out looking to earn some "extra cash" under cover of moonlight. Even strong young men would not dare wander the streets alone at this hour. People could die out here.

What gave such an adorable little girl, loved by all who saw her and cherished by all who met her, the courage to appear on the street in the middle of the night? Was it the collapse of morality, or the extinction of humanity?

Before Clary could figure out what was going on, the little girl spotted her. Her eyes rolled white, a sign of a demon, and she bounced excitedly toward Clary, ready to pick this little flower.

A demon? Did she really have to be this unlucky… Clary panicked. She knew she was not ordinary, but she had only just learned that. She had no combat skills and no weapons. What was she supposed to use against a demon? Tell it she was brain-damaged and that eating her might be contagious?

Clary suddenly regretted the pose she had struck when jumping into the Portal.

The pose must have been wrong. Otherwise, why would I suddenly appear beside a demon when I was supposed to go to Mom?

This was just great. The Portal had delivered her to a demon as a midnight snack, complete with premium door-to-door service.

Just as Clary accepted the reality that she was about to be Liang Liang, a "big dog" suddenly rammed the demon into a clothing store by the roadside, then leaped inside and began fighting it.

Well then, the "little mushroom" that had been about to pick a young girl was picked by the "big dog."

That really was instant karma. This story taught them that before doing bad things, they had to look around and make sure no one was watching before acting… That seemed to be getting off topic.

Meanwhile, Clary, who had narrowly escaped disaster, was still sprawled on the ground. Shaken, she watched as a hand reached out from inside the clothing store and stripped the clothes off a mannequin.

Not long after, Clary saw Uncle Luke, who had always doted on her, walk out of the clothing store with Wolverine’s hairstyle.

When Luke met Clary’s eyes, he heard the demon that had dared to pick Clary’s "little mushroom" still struggling for breath inside. It was not dead yet. Fury instantly surged through him as he turned around and stomped wildly on the collapsed "little mushroom."

You dared to pick my family’s little girl? Look at Clary, she’s still lying on the ground from fright! Compensate her for emotional damages!

Only after confirming that the demon was truly dead did Luke walk over to Clary. With a touch of irritation in his voice, he apologized, "Sorry. I got a little worked up when I saw you in danger."

Clary stared blankly at Luke. She was not stupid. She had personally seen a big dog pounce on and kill the demon, yet Luke had walked out moments later. That was enough to prove that Luke was a Werewolf.

If he isn’t, I’ll drink cola upside down to apologize.

Knowing that Shadowhunters and Werewolves did not have a particularly friendly relationship, Clary was practically on the verge of tears. What is this? First a demon wanted to pick me, and now a Werewolf wants to chew me up?

Clary backed away in terror and shouted, "Luke, you Werewolf, don’t come any closer!"

Seeing Clary’s panicked expression and hearing the disgust in her voice, Luke’s face stiffened. He slowed down and cautiously approached her, saying gently, "Sorry. I won’t hurt you. Don’t be afraid."

As he spoke, Luke had already drawn close to Clary.

Just as Luke reached out to help her up, Clary, whose mind was a complete mess, slapped his hand away and cried out in terror, "Don’t touch me!"

Luke immediately stopped trying to help her. He raised both hands and backed up a few steps, showing that he meant no harm as he said, "Relax. It’s okay now." Luke pointed at the demon inside the store and tried to persuade her, "That thing might come back. We aren’t safe outside."

Perhaps Luke’s retreat eased much of Clary’s fear. Once she calmed down, she hesitated for a moment before ultimately choosing to trust the voice in her heart that told her, Luke is a good person, and followed him somewhere safe.

"To escape Valentine, I jumped into a Portal," Clary asked in confusion as soon as they reached Luke’s home. "I thought I would end up with my mom, but I came to the place I least wanted to be."

"Listen," Luke said calmly, knowing how the Portal at the Institute worked. "It sent you here because you were thinking about me at the time." With the smug thought of all my kindness toward you wasn’t wasted, Luke stated firmly, "Deep down, you know you can trust me."

The moment Luke finished speaking, Clary retorted, "When Valentine’s men kidnapped you, you said you did not care at all what happened to me or my mom. You only wanted The Mortal Cup, just like everyone else. How could I possibly trust you?"

Before Clary could finish, Luke asked helplessly, "You saw that I was tied up. What else was I supposed to do? Defiantly get beaten to death by them? Besides, I was trying to protect you. At least Valentine’s attention would shift from you to The Mortal Cup."

Feeling that Clary was far too innocent, Luke sighed weakly and added, "And I’ve been watching over and protecting you this whole time."

Luke’s words, coupled with what he had done when he transformed into a Werewolf, made Clary realize something. She said with certainty, "Back at the vampire den, you were the one who brought the Werewolves to save us."

"What else?" Luke pulled a dagger from beneath a shelf and said irritably, "I brought my companions to save you, and what did you do? Forget thanking me—you stabbed me before leaving. By the way, that throw was beautiful. Very accurate."

Clary blushed and awkwardly explained, "Sorry, I didn’t know that was you at the time."

Before Luke could say anything, thin-skinned Clary did not want to dwell on how she had hurt her savior. She swiftly changed the subject and asked, "Is Valentine really my biological father?"

Luke froze for a moment, then silently nodded. As he took out a treasured photograph, he slowly said, "He used to be a great Shadowhunter. He killed countless demons for humanity."

"Later, he clashed with the Shadowhunters because of ideological differences. In a fit of anger, he stole The Mortal Cup and began conducting all kinds of experiments. During that time, your mother discovered that Valentine had changed completely. He was no longer the husband she had once loved deeply, so she escaped Valentine’s clutches with The Mortal Cup in time."

"Valentine feared that your mother would tell the Shadowhunters where he was and bring retaliation upon him, so he burned his home to ashes. He wanted the world to believe that he had died in the fire."

"When the fire was extinguished, we found the remains of a man and a little boy in the ashes."

Clary interrupted, "Wait, you said there was a little boy too? I have a brother?"

Luke nodded, acknowledging that Clary had a brother, then continued, "Valentine was both afraid of and hateful toward your mother at the time. He wanted your mother to believe that he had killed himself and their child. Now it seemed Valentine had not died, and as for your brother…"

Spreading his hands, Luke said uncertainly, "Perhaps he did not die either."

Valentine was her father? Unable to accept that her father was an evil man, Clary collapsed into a chair. Just as she was struggling to process this world-shattering information, her phone suddenly rang.

Clary picked up the phone, glanced at the caller ID, and pressed answer. Before she could say anything, she heard Simon trembling as if he were in Siberia. "Clary, we found your mom."

Clary’s head buzzed as she hurriedly asked what had happened.

Over the phone came the sound of Simon sniffing a few times. He said while shivering, "A lot of demons appeared in the Institute. They chased us everywhere, and I accidentally spotted your mom. As for why I’m shivering from the cold…" Simon glanced at the Dementors sucking up demons like jelly and said in confusion, "There’s a group of Skeleton Monsters here that look like Grim Reapers. They ignore humans and hunt demons everywhere."

Having seen vampires, demons, and Werewolves, Clary calmly told Simon to stay safe, then turned to Luke. "My mom is in the Institute, but Valentine is there. I need help."

Tricked by Clary into thinking that the Institute only had Valentine and no demons or Dementors, Luke immediately called his companions and summoned his Werewolf brothers to rescue people at the Institute.

Before long, Luke’s Werewolf friends gathered outside his house in cars, trucks, and all kinds of motorcycles.

Seeing this, Luke waved a hand, and the group headed for the Institute in a grand procession.

Not long after, Li Feng, who was sitting cross-legged on Dark Cloud while happily drinking beer and eating popcorn, noticed Luke and the others climbing over the Institute walls and rushing inside.

Li Feng scratched his head. The Institute was currently putting on a father-and-son bloodbath, and soon there would be a brother and sister disregarding blood relations for love. Such a spectacular scene was something that only came around once in a century in real life. It would have been unreasonable for Li Feng not to enjoy it.

But right now, every Dementor was patting its round belly to show it was full, and Hodge and the others were not idiots. They would definitely guess that Li Feng had stolen The Mortal Cup.

Although there was nothing Hodge and the others could do even if they knew he had taken The Mortal Cup, strength was strength. Even if they joined forces, they were no match for him. Still, they were descendants of angels. Who knew whether killing them all would draw an angel’s attention?

When that happened, with his little body, Raziel would probably Purification him.

Li Feng smacked his lips and ultimately resisted the urge to slaughter all the Shadowhunters and immediately flee back to the Marvel Universe. After all, he still wanted to gather magical materials in this world.

I can’t kill them, but having a bunch of flies buzzing around me all day is annoying.

Fine. If he could not afford to provoke them, could he not at least avoid them?

With that thought, Li Feng looked at Clary and the Werewolves, who had already stormed into the Institute, and called out in Necrolanguage, "Wangcai, come back. It’s time for us to go."