Before long, Coulson hurried back into the RV and eagerly asked, "Austin, do you know why Bob is here?"
Li Feng, who was sitting on the sofa drinking beer, looked at Coulson's anxious face and nodded in confusion. "What's wrong? Did Bob cause trouble in town?"
Behind Coulson, Melinda stood with one hand on her hip and the other gripping a mask, her lips twitching as if she were furious. "He's not Bob. He's Abigor—a demon."
Li Feng scratched his head as Coulson sighed and said, "Abigor brutally murdered and dismembered people in town, including an innocent child under eight years old."
"Murder?" Li Feng smirked, casually placing his beer glass on the coffee table. He gave Coulson a bemused look. "Isn't killing people standard demon behavior? Why are you so shocked? Did you expect demons to do charity work? God would laugh himself to death hearing you say that."
Coulson stared at Li Feng with a stern expression, his face clearly conveying, 'That joke isn't funny at all.' "Tell me what you know."
Li Feng shrugged, walked over to the computer, and had Ward pull up news about the flaming skull. "This is actually about Ghost Rider."
As Coulson carefully read the news, he turned to Li Feng in surprise. "Are you sure Ghost Rider isn't just an urban legend?"
"Demons are wandering around in the human world, and then there's me," Li Feng pointed at himself. "A legendary sorcerer standing right in front of you. Is it really that strange to hear about a Ghost Rider who enjoys killing demons?"
It didn't seem all that strange, really. Ever since S.H.I.E.L.D. learned of sorcerers, they had searched for evidence of Ghost Rider's existence but found nothing concrete despite digging deep.
Now, before they could even get a lead on Abigor, Ghost Rider had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as if stepping out of a dream. Coulson rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. "What does this have to do with Bob—" He paused, glancing at Melinda, whose eyes were filled with murderous intent, and quickly corrected himself. "What does this have to do with Abigor?"
Li Feng scratched his brow, mixing truth with fiction as he recalled the plot of Ghost Rider. "Although Ghost Rider belongs to the side of Hell, he's addicted to hunting down demons and criminals—the kind who gets restless if he doesn't kill for a day."
After a moment's thought, he casually added, "The criminals in Ghost Rider's eyes aren't the same as the ones you see. He doesn't use Earth's laws to determine guilt or innocence. You could say he judges who's a criminal based on Hell's laws."
"Ghost Rider's main job is fulfilling Mephisto's contracts, while judging who gets sent to Hell is more of a side gig. But Mephisto is, after all, a big shot—petty matters aren't worth his attention. So, any task he personally assigns usually has nothing to do with minor demons."
"If the previous Ghost Rider hasn't shown up for centuries, it means no major demons have wandered into the human world in the last hundred years. Or, you could also interpret it as Mephisto accepting the previous Ghost Rider's resignation letter, letting him retire into seclusion to enjoy what little freedom he has left."
"Here's the key point," Li Feng emphasized before continuing slowly, "Now, this newly emerged Ghost Rider is clearly just starting his term. And Mephisto, that stingy devil, wouldn't activate a Ghost Rider for no reason. So, there must be some powerful demon who's come to the human world, and Mephisto needs the Ghost Rider to deal with it to protect his interests here."
"The real focus is on that demon who came to the human world," Li Feng mused, stroking his chin like a detective. "Keeping up with the times, you know? Demons understand that the human world is developing too fast—going solo won't get them far. So, this demon is bound to recruit other demons lingering in the human world to help."
Coulson rubbed his increasingly throbbing temples and, after a long moment of thought, asked, "Are you saying Abigor was recruited by that demon?"
Seeing Li Feng nod in confirmation, Melinda narrowed her eyes and asked, "If even Abigor has to follow its orders, does that mean the demon who snuck into the human world is stronger than Abigor?"
"Lower-tier demons obey higher-tier ones—that's obvious," Li Feng agreed, his eyes lighting up as if he'd thought of something beneficial. "Maybe we could ask the previous Ghost Rider? See if he's heard any news from Hell?"
"The previous Ghost Rider?" Coulson's eyes widened in shock. "You know who the previous Ghost Rider is?"
I've been spinning this whole story just to get you guys to help me find the previous Ghost Rider so I can get my hands on the contract of the Spirits of Vengeance from the town of St. Sico. The number of vengeful spirits in there is enough to make my mouth water.
And this is the perfect opportunity to let these S.H.I.E.L.D. agents know I have the gift of foresight, so they won't suspect me when I accidentally drop spoilers.
But I still have to play the part—after all, they're all agents. Who knows what clues they might pick up?8/27/25, 21:43
At this thought, Li Feng spread his hands and said, "Not sure, but I can try divination."
The moment the words left his mouth, everyone in the compartment turned to stare at Li Feng with bulging eyes—especially Coulson, who circled around him as if trying to see right through him.
Just as Li Feng was starting to feel thoroughly uncomfortable under their scrutiny, Coulson narrowed his eyes and said, "I may not be a mage, but I've spoken with several mediums. The knowledge involved in divination isn't something a self-taught hedge mage like you could just pick up. Unless… you actually had a mentor?"
"Kreacher, fetch me the crystal ball," Li Feng called out before rolling his eyes at Coulson. "What's the big deal if I know divination? Sure, I taught myself, but I've got a sharp mind."
"As for accuracy…" Li Feng took the crystal ball from the invisible Kreacher, forcing a slightly bashful expression. "Alright, I'm not exactly a master. On a good day, I might pick up a clue or two."
Coulson nodded, squatting beside Li Feng with keen interest. As the crystal ball filled with swirling mist under Li Feng's spellwork, Coulson couldn't hold back his curiosity. "What do you see? Or is the previous Ghost Rider living in some foggy city now?"
Like I can see a damn thing. I'm just using the crystal ball as cover.
Li Feng rolled his eyes again, feigning exhaustion from mana depletion. "My crystal ball shows he's somewhere in Mexico. And I see a remote cemetery—seems like the previous Ghost Rider is now a graveyard caretaker." He paused, scratching his head awkwardly when he realized he couldn't recall the former rider's name. "That's all I got."
Nearby, Ward immediately sat down at a computer, pulling up a map of all the cemeteries in Mexico. He turned his head and asked, "Did you catch any specific traits of the previous Ghost Rider?"
Li Feng pretended to keep gazing into the crystal ball, thinking for a moment before replying, "The image is blurry, but he looks like a man in his sixties or seventies, tending the cemetery alone…" Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he added, "Oh, check if any caretakers keep horses. The last Ghost Rider rode one—maybe the horse is still with him. Could be a lead."
Melinda smirked, joking, "You said the last rider vanished a century ago. What horse lives that long? Besides, riding horses isn't exactly trendy anymore. For all we know, he's gone straight and switched to a bicycle."
"Heh," Li Feng spread his hands and said, "There's no harm in trying. Maybe we really can track them down through the horse? Besides, you seem to underestimate the power of the Ghost Rider. Don't forget, the previous Ghost Rider still looks like he's in his sixties or seventies, and that horse is anything but ordinary—it can burst into flames without giving off the smell of roasting meat."
Before long, Ward, who had been busy at the keyboard, looked up at Li Feng and said, "Found the cemetery. There really is a caretaker there who keeps a horse. Also," he turned the screen toward Coulson as he spoke, "I dug up a police report—last night, they uncovered the identity of that guy whose head caught fire."
Coulson glanced at the computer screen and said, "Johnny Blaze? I remember him—a stunt motorcyclist, goes by the name 'Blaze.'" Pausing, as if something had just clicked, he added, "No wonder he never died no matter how many times he crashed during his stunts. So he's the current Ghost Rider?!"
"What do we do now?" Melinda turned to Coulson with a look that said, You're the boss, you decide, and asked, "Do we follow the Ghost Rider to find Abigail, or head straight to the cemetery and ask the previous Ghost Rider which demon escaped from hell?"
"Compared to Abigail, that demon from hell seems like the bigger disaster," Coulson replied, then turned to Li Feng with a questioning look that said, What do you think?
"Why look at me?" Li Feng pointed at himself, still annoyed. Hadn't they heard? The police already knew Johnny Blaze was the Ghost Rider, which meant he must have killed a demon in public to draw their attention.
The problem was, while Johnny Blaze was good at killing demons, he usually just sent them back to hell rather than turning them to ash. If he had already sent Abigail back to hell, things would get very complicated.
Li Feng blinked blankly for a moment, silently praying Abigail was still alive, then said, "I know the previous Ghost Rider has a scroll in his possession. That thing naturally attracts demons. So no matter which demon made it to our world, it'll try to track him down for it."
Melinda, already heading for the driver's seat, said, "Then let's go find this cemetery caretaker first."