S.H.I.E.L.D. naturally sent people to investigate the strange incident.
However, their investigation showed that 177A Bleecker Street was nothing more than an ordinary antique shop.
It sold old furniture and antique clocks.
The people inside were clean, orderly, and everything appeared perfectly normal.
On second thought, the Ancient One—an ancient Sorcerer Supreme, a skyfather-level master of magic—was exceptionally proficient in spatial sorcery.
If she did not wish to be seen, there was no way S.H.I.E.L.D. could uncover any flaws in their investigation.(Although the Ancient One's actor is female, Marvel's official data never explicitly states a gender. Let's just treat her as female for now. As for her origin, we'll go with the comic setting and say she's Chinese. That's all I remember!)
The sudden appearance of this ancient mage—dropping a business card with an address near Thor's hammer—clearly meant the matter had something to do with Thor or Asgard.
As for what kind of relationship existed between them, Qin Xiao would have to find out in person.
It seemed he would have to attend the opening ceremony of the Stark Expo after all.
Unable to wait for Thor any longer, Qin Xiao once again took the initiative and went to find him.
To his surprise, the idiot had already made up with Jane.
The two of them had returned to that state of locking eyes, sparks practically flying.
He had comforted her so quickly, sweet-talking his way back into her heart—what a bastard.
Qin Xiao was furious.
On the surface, however, he still offered Thor a few words of encouragement, saying he had some business to attend to and telling Thor to wait there until he returned.
As for the Ancient One, no matter how Coulson reported this to Nick Fury, Qin Xiao would go when the time came, say what needed to be said, and keep his mouth shut about everything else.
He flew from New Mexico all the way to New York, using Stark's car and driver, and was delivered to 177A Bleecker Street.
The street was located in Manhattan, one of the busiest and most prosperous areas of New York.
He didn't really understand how the Three Sanctums operated. If changing locations were possible, Qin Xiao would rather rent out the sanctum and move it somewhere cheaper.
Let's just forget about how Wong was so poor in Avengers: Infinity War that he couldn't even afford food.
Standing at the entrance, Qin Xiao cursed the sanctum for occupying such valuable street space—what a waste.
After hesitating for a moment, he raised his hand to knock.
A flash of golden light suddenly appeared beneath his feet.
A portal opened directly under him.
In an instant, the ground vanished, and he fell straight through the glowing ring.
Inside a corresponding study on the second floor of the sanctum, Qin Xiao tumbled out of the portal.
He landed squarely onto a single sofa.
Three walls were lined with bookshelves filled with books, forming a small, square study without a door.
Three single sofas were arranged facing the shelves. When Qin Xiao sat up, there was an empty sofa to his right, and directly across from him sat the Ancient One, head lowered, reading.
It had been her spell that transported Qin Xiao directly from the doorway to the second floor.
Yet after bringing him here, she said nothing—only continued reading in silence.
This was the advantage of absolute power.
Even if you acted aloof and cool, no one dared to raise their voice.
If this were an ordinary person, Qin Xiao would've dragged them over, slapped them across the face, and sent the book flying.
But standing before the Supreme Ancient Sorcerer, he could only complain internally and restrain himself.
Of course, Qin Xiao had never been someone who accepted things quietly.
Seeing that the Ancient One hadn't even glanced at him, he pulled a cigar from his pocket and lit it right in front of her.
If you won't talk, I'll blow smoke in your face and see if you choke.
Filled with irritation, Qin Xiao took a deep breath and pretended to accidentally exhale a huge puff of smoke toward her.
But the Sorcerer Supreme was still the Sorcerer Supreme.
Without even lifting her head, a small golden ring—no bigger than an ashtray—suddenly appeared in front of Qin Xiao's face.
The portal hovered less than half a meter away. The moment it appeared, all the smoke Qin Xiao exhaled was instantly sucked into it.
Looking through, Qin Xiao saw a snow-covered mountain on the other side. He didn't know where it was, but it was clearly at very high altitude.
The sky was clear, with no wind at all.
Due to pressure differences, there was no wind on Qin Xiao's side, so the smoke and ash from the cigar drifted neatly into the small portal.
The effect was exactly like cracking open a car window while smoking at high speed.(Realistically, opening a portal at high altitude would probably send all the books flying—but let's not worry about details. After all, the Ancient One would have a solution, right?)
Amazing. This ashtray even had ventilation.
"This ashtray is great. If I put one in my bedroom, I wouldn't need a ventilation system—and I could save on a trash can too."
Qin Xiao had nothing else to say.
At this moment, facing the Ancient One made him genuinely nervous—especially since he had no idea why she had summoned him.
"If you open one in your bedroom and a snowstorm starts on the other side, your house will be buried under snow in less than an hour. Are you sure you want to try? I can help."
The Ancient One finally looked up and smiled.
"I went to the trouble of inviting you here. Don't you have anything to say? Or anything you want to ask me?"
She closed the book and set it aside.
"Of course I do. Since I was already at the door and you pulled me up with a portal anyway, why didn't you just come get me from New Mexico? Plane tickets aren't cheap."
Since she spoke first, Qin Xiao flicked his cigar into the ashtray-portal and asked a completely irrelevant question.
"First, I don't need to pay for plane tickets. Second, whether I walk downstairs to open the door, open a portal at the entrance, or send you upstairs directly—the energy cost over such a short distance is roughly the same."
The Ancient One waved her hand, closing the small portal, and answered seriously.
Qin Xiao found himself unable to refute his own logic. He hadn't expected her to take his nonsense so seriously.
Left with no choice, he complied and asked what she wanted him to ask.
"I want to know why you came to see me."
She tilted her head slightly, then looked at Qin Xiao with a calm, probing gaze.
"I am friends with Odin. While he sleeps, he exiled his son to Midgard. Naturally, I noticed. But what surprised me was that someone who should not have appeared… appeared."
"You should not exist here—nor in that place."
"So I am curious. Why did you appear where you shouldn't? And why hasn't the Time Variance Authority arrested you yet?"
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