Safe Travels, Remember to Come Back and Visit When You Have Time

Ancient One’s tea room—Li Feng was quite familiar with the place. Back then, whenever he had nothing to do, he would come here, both to ask Ancient One about magic and to scrounge a few filling meals at Kamar-Taj.

Unfortunately, ever since the characteristics of the energy within his body had become increasingly obvious, Li Feng no longer dared to casually come to Kamar-Taj for free meals.

As for the future, Li Feng figured he would not be coming to Kamar-Taj anymore. Ancient One was about to retire, and among the remaining Mages, aside from Mordo, with whom he had a fairly decent relationship, everyone who knew him treated him like a stranger.

Li Feng was not stupid. Naturally, he could guess the reason.

Looking around the familiar tea room, Li Feng reminisced for a moment, then motioned for Stark to sit nearby. Like he owned the place, he took some tea leaves from the bookshelf, held them to his nose for a sniff, sighed, "Good tea," and began boiling water and rinsing the teacups.

Just as the tea was ready, a Portal suddenly appeared in the tea room.

Li Feng quickly set down the teacup, rose to his feet, and bowed. "Master."

Stark followed Li Feng in standing and bowing, then rolled his eyes at him. The way you were handling the tea leaves and cups just now, I thought you were the owner of this tea room. Why do you turn into such a good little boy the second Ancient One shows up? What a coward.

Li Feng understood Stark’s eye roll and raised a brow. What do you know? Ancient One’s tea is all good stuff. Don’t you know that thick skin gets you meat, while thin skin gets you nothing? If I were polite, I wouldn’t get a drop of this tea.

Ancient One ignored the exchanged glances between the two. With a stiff smile, she nodded to them, walked to the tea table, and went through the whole process of pouring water and rinsing the tea. Once she had filled Li Feng and Stark’s cups, she softly said, "Earlier, Strange told Mordo about me."

"You mean Mordo found out that you’ve been using Dark Energy?" Li Feng lifted his teacup, took a light sip, and guessed, "Mordo wasn’t surprised, was he?"

"That’s right." Ancient One nodded slightly and smiled. "Come to think of it, I should thank you for setting straight that one-track-minded Mordo."

That sounds awfully ambiguous, like I’m into something weird. Though he grumbled inwardly, Li Feng gave a slight bow and modestly said, "It was what I should have done."

Ancient One smiled, refilled their cups, then suddenly said, "I do not have much time left."

Stark, who had just accepted his cup, froze. He looked blankly at the rosy-cheeked Ancient One, then turned to Li Feng in confusion, hoping he could explain what "not much time left" meant. Did Ancient One have some terminal illness? Or was she about to face an opponent so formidable that even she was not certain she could handle them?

Li Feng ignored Stark’s questioning look. Knowing something was one thing, but until he was certain of Ancient One’s true intentions, he did not dare explain it rashly.

Still, a vague explanation should be fine, right? If Stark can’t understand the meaning, what does that have to do with me?

Li Feng silently raised the cup before him and, treating it like a wine cup, toasted Ancient One with a grin. "Master, safe travels. Remember to come back and visit when you have time."

Stark was even more confused. What the hell does that mean? Does safe travels mean Ancient One is about to kick the bucket? And what does coming back to visit mean? Does she own Hell? Can she come and go whenever she wants? What about Mephisto’s dignity? Did Ancient One rub his face into the ground?

Ancient One raised her teacup and discreetly rolled her eyes. "I knew I could not hide it from you."

After taking a sip of tea, Ancient One rose and pushed open the window. Gazing up at the stars, she said, "After I leave, Kamar-Taj will depend on Strange to hold it together. Mordo and Wong are both excellent, but their personalities…"

After a long silence, Ancient One gently shook her head and sighed. "Never mind them." She turned to Li Feng and said, "Please look after Strange more in the future."

You make it sound like you won’t be coming back. Li Feng scratched his brow. "With the Eye of Agamotto’s help, Strange will grow quickly after a while. By then, I might not even be his match. It would be more like him looking after me."

"Using the Eye of Agamotto can indeed accelerate his growth." Ancient One returned to the tea table, poured herself some tea, and slowly said, "But repeatedly crossing through time is never good for the soul. And using time travel in battle could easily ruin his foundation."

At the mention of traveling through time, a gleam flashed through Stark’s eyes as he lowered his head in thought. I remember that when I first met Austin, he told me he would need my help someday, and that it involved time. Now Strange can travel through time too. Should I take this chance to ask about magic related to time?

Just as Stark was considering how to ask, Li Feng took out the wheat seeds Stark had been eyeing, along with some herb seeds, from his shoulder bag and placed them on the tea table. "How about expanding the planting area for wheat and Magical Herbs? That way, Strange can build himself a strong body."

Pointing at the seeds, Li Feng said, "Consider these my congratulatory gift to the future Sorcerer Supreme."

Ancient One glanced at the seeds and said, "I thank you on Strange’s behalf." Then she pointed toward the door and smiled gently. "You should leave first. I have some matters to discuss privately with Mr. Stark."

Oh? Stark, has Ancient One taken a fancy to you? Li Feng blinked, then slowly reached for the teapot with a grin. "Well, you always tell me to drink more tea, so I’ll go drink tea by the door."

With that, Li Feng carried the teapot and teacup out of the tea room under Ancient One’s eye roll. He sat cross-legged in the training grounds, drinking tea as he watched the Mages spar.

After a long while, Stark emerged from the tea room carrying a paper bag. With a smile on his face, he walked behind Li Feng and silently watched the Mage apprentices training diligently. Then he sighed. "I’m rather glad I learned Merlin’s branch of magic. If I had to borrow energy that charged interest every time I used magic like they do, I might be thinking about how to strengthen my body so I could borrow more energy during battle."

Li Feng turned to Stark. "But when it comes to combat power during the apprentice stage, Kamar-Taj’s Mages are still stronger. Don’t you regret that?"

Stark shook his head slightly and smiled. "But I have the protection of the Iron Man armor. I don’t care about that tiny amount of weak power during the apprentice stage. I prefer power that I control myself. Besides, I believe that with my intelligence, my path will only go farther than those Kamar-Taj Mages."

"You’ve got ambition." Li Feng shrugged. He did not deny Stark’s future potential. After all, the man’s cheat was downright absurd. Who knew? One day, Stark might have some wild idea and use scientific principles to develop magic such as black holes or antimatter cannons.

When that happened, he could ask which Mage could withstand antimatter magic.

Merlin’s magic, which complemented technology, really suited Stark, a scientific researcher. Though I deserve some credit for that too.

Li Feng stood and asked, "What did Ancient One talk to you about?"

Stark handed the paper bag to Li Feng. "These are the tea leaves Ancient One gave you. She did not say much, only gave me some guidance on magic cultivation." After hesitating, Stark asked in confusion, "I feel like Master Ancient One was settling her affairs. It seemed as if she wanted me to look after Kamar-Taj. What happened to her?"

She didn’t explain the fake death? Li Feng considered it, then offered one explanation. "Be confident. She really does want you to look after Kamar-Taj a little. Master Ancient One has truly worried herself sick over Kamar-Taj."

"I know what you’re thinking, but I can only tell you that she’s retiring. As for where she’ll go after retirement and what she’ll do, I don’t dare tell you."

With that, Li Feng put the tea leaves into his shoulder bag, waved open a Portal, and pulled Stark through it. "Now that we’re done, let’s get out of here. Being in Kamar-Taj makes me uncomfortable all over."

After crossing through the Portal and returning to the desert, Stark looked at Li Feng with a faint smile. "Are you worried that Kamar-Taj’s Mages will kill you, a Dark Mage? Relax. They already know your true identity."

"I know. Don’t be fooled by the fact that I always wear a mask when casting spells. The people who should know already know." As Li Feng transformed Scarface back into her giant Dragon form and gestured for her to find the training grounds, he said, "If Master Ancient One had not been protecting me, those old-fashioned Mages would have come looking for trouble long ago."

Stark curled his lip and silently smiled. "But they are too weak. No individual Mage can do anything to you, while you do not dare kill them because you are wary of Ancient One. Now that Ancient One is about to ‘retire,’ have you considered how you will deal with these Mages in the future? Kill a few blind fools to make an example?"

Li Feng scratched his head and let out a long sigh. "What else can I do? Avoid them, I guess. In case Ancient One gets angry…" Halfway through, Li Feng suddenly caught on. Stark is fishing for information about where Ancient One will go afterward.

Narrowing his eyes, Li Feng looked at Stark with a half-smile.

Stark rolled his eyes, and Li Feng said, "Some things are better left understood but unspoken. After all, pressure creates motivation. Only when those Mages who spend all day idling around realize that their biggest backer has fallen will they focus on improving their strength, instead of hiding beneath Ancient One’s wings all day and remaining eternal rookies."

So Ancient One really is only faking her death. Stark nodded slightly to show he understood, then rubbed his chin. "Now that Strange has embarked on the path of magic, can we go home too? I really miss my big bed."

"And Potts?" Li Feng added with a suggestive grin.

Stark did not deny it. He was not a monk. What was wrong with missing Potts? It was not something shameful.

Li Feng pointed at the Sling Ring and grinned. "It’s not impossible to return to New York, but you’ll have to use your own power to get home."

With that, Li Feng slapped Scarface’s back. Scarface instantly understood. With a roll, she flung the unsteady Stark from high in the air. Then Li Feng transformed her into a crow, and she landed on his shoulder, tilting her head as she watched Stark curse while desperately trying to cast a Portal.

Before long, Stark landed safely on the sand. Just as he was about to point at Li Feng and start cursing, Li Feng waved open a Portal and vanished from sight, leaving behind several bottles of potions and the words, "I’ll wait for you at your house."

Stark picked up the potions. When he saw the label reading "Magic Amplification Potion," the corner of his eye twitched. Damn it, is he making me cast Portals all the way home? With this little Mana of mine, I’ll probably get home just in time for turkey.