Portal magic truly was the most reliable spell for travel. With Li Feng opening and closing the door, the van and its occupants had already arrived at a remote cemetery. Before Li Feng could step out of the car, Coulson grabbed Melinda, who was holding her mask and about to exit as well, and said, "May, your mask only works at night. And since Johnny Blaze doesn't die during his motorcycle stunts, you probably can't afford to kill him."
Before Coulson could finish, Li Feng, who had already opened the car door, turned his head and said, "The Ghost Rider can only come out at night. Daytime is Johnny Blaze's downtime. Of course, because of the Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze can't be killed during the day either. But as for combat power..." Li Feng shrugged, his lips curling slightly in disdain. "He's barely stronger than an ordinary person."
Coulson froze for a moment, tilted his head in thought, and asked, "Are you saying sunlight can suppress Johnny Blaze from turning into the Ghost Rider? What about artificial sunlight? Could it keep the Ghost Rider trapped inside Johnny Blaze?"
"Artificial sunlight?" To be honest, Li Feng hadn't considered that possibility. Scratching his head, he replied uncertainly, "You could try it. At least it's one approach."
With that, Li Feng strode toward the caretaker's hut and shouted, "Mr. Carter Slade, you've been keeping a horse without a production date, place of origin, or quarantine certificate. Come out and pay the fine now."
Nearby, Melinda, who had followed Li Feng out of the car, instinctively slowed her pace. After putting some distance between them, she glanced at Coulson beside her and muttered, "I'm starting to regret going on a mission with this guy who's clearly got water in his brain."
Coulson forced a stiff smile and nodded slightly, silently agreeing: Couldn't he have come up with a better excuse? Even the water meter inspectors wear uniforms these days. Anyone could tell at a glance that his casual outfit was fake. At the very least, a black suit might've been passable.
Before Coulson could finish his internal grumbling, an elderly man dressed as a cowboy, with graying hair and beard, stepped out of the hut carrying a shovel. After eyeing Coulson and the others, he turned to Li Feng and asked, "Who are you?"
Li Feng glanced back at Coulson before replying, "If I said I'm from the Animal Disease Control Center, would you believe me?"
Carter Slade's lips twitched. He pointed at Coulson standing in the distance behind Li Feng and said, "They're just ordinary people—probably from some government department. But you..."
"Though my power is nearly spent, I can still sense the magic within you," Carter Slade sneered, tapping his own eyes. "And I can tell your magic leans toward darkness."
At this point, Carter Slade spoke with grave sincerity, "Young man, darkness doesn't necessarily mean evil, but it can easily corrupt you into the forces of evil. So use your power wisely, or else—"
Li Feng scratched his brow, shrugged, and replied with playful nonchalance, "Or else what? You'll glare me to death with those big eyes of yours? Or roast me to a crisp with hellfire?"Carter Slade spat out a bloody mouthful and glanced at the high-hanging sun before saying, "Seems like you know a lot about Ghost Riders—not only did you deliberately come for me during the day, but you also know about our 'Penance Stare' ability."
Beside him, Coulson froze for a moment before instinctively asking, "We? Mr. Carter Slade, when you say 'we,' do you mean there are other Ghost Riders?"
Carter Slade shot Coulson a look that clearly said he had no interest in talking to him, then turned his attention back to Li Feng.
But Coulson wasn't the type to give up easily. He pressed on, "Are you referring to Johnny Blaze?"
Coulson's words made Carter Slade shift his focus back to him, frowning as he asked, "How do you know Johnny Blaze's name?"
No sooner had Carter Slade spoken than Li Feng, hearing the sound of a motorcycle in the distance, squinted toward the horizon and remarked, "Coulson, did you jinx it, or is Johnny Blaze just that easy to summon? The moment you mention him, he shows up?"
Coulson ignored Li Feng's joke, brushing past him as he strode toward Johnny Blaze.
Melinda glanced at Li Feng and Carter Slade, then signaled Ward and the others to stay close to Li Feng while she quickly caught up to Coulson, positioning herself like a personal bodyguard.
"Johnny Blaze is quite the celebrity now," Li Feng pointed at Johnny Blaze and casually explained, "Not because of his motorcycle stunts, but because he's now a wanted man by the police." Scratching his head, Li Feng turned to Ward and asked, "How much is the reward for providing information on Johnny Blaze?"
Ward tilted his head in thought, then shrugged and said, "Seems like they didn't specify the amount."
"Then forget about him. Who'd do something without any benefit?" Li Feng shrugged and said, "At least I wouldn't."
Though Ward privately agreed with Li Feng's reasoning, he was currently decked out in S.H.I.E.L.D. gear and felt he should at least put on a show of righteousness.
Just as Ward was about to say, "S.H.I.E.L.D. does good deeds without expecting rewards," Li Feng held up a half-opened wooden box and said to Carter Slade, "Hey, buddy, mind handing over that shovel of yours?"
Ward was curious about the contents of the box. While he felt nothing—still healthy and hearty—Carter Slade seemed to be having a rough time.
Indeed, the moment the wooden box appeared, Carter Slade felt weak and miserable, as if he'd been thrown into a vat of sulfuric acid. His grip on the shovel slackened, letting Li Feng take it effortlessly. Too weak to resist, Carter Slade instinctively glanced at the box, hands on his knees, and gasped, "Angel feather?"
Hearing this, Ward froze, his mind fixated on the phrase "angel feather."
Ward knew the mission well—a sorcerer hunting a demon, with him as the bodyguard for three researchers studying how to combat demons. If things went south, he might even have to trade blows with the demon himself.
But Ward never imagined angels existed in this world. Otherwise, where did the feather come from? After all, only a feather from an actual angel could be called an "angel feather." It couldn't just be some goose feather the sorcerer enchanted and rebranded—that'd be an insult to angels.
Now, Ward's only thoughts were whether Heaven truly existed and if he'd make it there after death.
Carter Slade's words stunned not just Ward but also Li Feng, who had never heard of Heaven in the Marvel universe.
Li Feng glanced at the wooden box in his hand, closed it, and narrowed his eyes. "Have you seen an angel?"
Carter Slade chuckled bitterly and shook his head, breathing heavily with a weathered expression. "Someone like me, worthy of seeing an angel? I just took a guess—this feather is pure white, flawless, and radiates energy that counters my power."
Li Feng eyed Carter Slade with skepticism, his gaze met with calm composure. "This is a pseudo-angel feather, a gift from a friend of mine," he said.
As Li Feng opened the wooden box, Johnny Blaze in the distance was also drawn by the energy emanating from the feather. Unlike Carter Slade, who only felt pain, Johnny sensed a strange familiarity, compelling him to suppress his agony and approach the pseudo-angel feather for a closer look.
By the time the box was closed, Johnny Blaze and Coulson had just reached Li Feng, catching his words: "This is a pseudo-angel feather, a gift from a friend of mine."
Coulson and Melinda exchanged glances before asking in unison, "You have an angel friend?"
Li Feng glanced at them, tapped the shovel to confirm it was hollow and contained something, then casually stuffed it into his satchel. "I said it's a pseudo-angel. She's still far from being a real one."
"She?" Coulson couldn't help but ask. "A female pseudo-angel? Where is she now?"
Li Feng shrugged. "How should I know? She's not my prisoner—I don't keep tabs on her. But she's a total homebody, hardly ever leaves her place. As for contacting her now, don't even think about it. She's even more primitive than I am. At least I have a modern RV, but her? No phones, not even electric lights—just torches."
Patting his satchel, hinting at the San Venganza scroll inside, Li Feng added, "So I have to play delivery boy—unpaid, no less. Hopefully, Leonor will give me something worthwhile." Smacking his lips, he reminisced, "At least her holy water is top-notch. Quenches thirst and boosts my mage potential."
As he spoke, Li Feng subtly glanced at Carter Slade. His mention of the pseudo-angel feather and his half-truths about Leonor the Gargoyle were all to keep Carter quiet about the scroll and test if the feather could counter him.
Sure enough, Carter, who had initially wanted to stop Li Feng from taking the scroll, hesitated before asking, "Do you still have any of Leonor's holy water?"
So he's still skeptical? Good thing Mordo gave me some leftovers.
Li Feng nodded with a grin. "What, want a taste? I'll give you a drop for free. Guaranteed to blow your mind."
Carter's lips twitched. "If you swear on your own magic to deliver that thing to Leonor, drinking the holy water would be a release for me."
Swear? Yeah, right.
Li Feng smirked and called out, "Kreacher, fetch my holy water."
Soon, the invisible Kreacher handed him the vial. Li Feng turned and offered it to Carter. "See for yourself if it's the real deal."
In truth, Carter Slade didn't need to scrutinize carefully to recognize the immense power of the holy water in Li Feng's hands. Moreover, he was certain that Li Feng, whose magic leaned toward darkness, could never produce holy water of such high quality.
However, even after Li Feng proved he possessed holy water, Carter Slade still regarded him with skepticism, his eyes filled with the unspoken question: When are you going to swear that oath?