Marvel: The Alchemist Just Wants a Peaceful Life...

"Wow! Doro, have you gained weight? You look like you've been eating well lately?"

"Mmm! Doro has been eating so much Orenji lately, and my sister even took him to eat Bunana, and so many more good ones!"

Doro and the Ancient One acted like an ordinary old man and his granddaughter, exchanging questions and answers while completely ignoring Sherlock, who was also walking out of the gate, making Sherlock's eyebrows twitch.

A faint regret was beginning to creep into my heart about handing Doro over to this boiled egg.

Looking at this harmonious scene before him, Sherlock became even more certain that this rotten, oozing boiled egg was definitely trying to fight him for custody of Doro!

Sherlock rolled his eyes in annoyance, closed the door, and sat down opposite the Ancient One. Without any hesitation, he picked up the legendary 'Ancient One's Wonderful Little Tea' and started drinking it.

You know what, the 'Ancient One's Wonderful Little Tea' that can automatically refill is really delicious. Unfortunately, no matter what I say, Ancient One refuses to give me even a drop of her unique tea leaves.

After playing with Doro for a while, the Ancient One suddenly produced an orange the size of a volleyball from her bosom and, to Doro's delight, placed it in Doro's hand, letting him play with the big orange.

After calming Doro down, the Ancient One turned her attention back to Sherlock, or rather, to the Anywhere Door behind Sherlock, and said to Sherlock with a somewhat amused expression.

"I never imagined that Kamar-Taj's portal magic would exist with this kind of mentality. I must say, Sherlock, you really are a genius!"

She paused here, took a sip of tea, and then continued speaking to Sherlock.

"To be honest, I never imagined that Fujiko F. Fujio would become a world-renowned manga artist after leaving Kamar-Taj!"

Pfft! Cough cough cough!

Upon hearing the Ancient One's words, Sherlock instinctively spat out a mouthful of tea, his gaze towards the Ancient One filled with a strange feeling, as if he were only getting to know her for the first time today.

Despite being stared at by Sherlock with that eerie gaze for a long time, Gu Yi didn't seem to care at all. She simply shrugged at Sherlock with a calm smile and said with a helpless expression.

"You know how long I've lived, and I always need to find some fun for myself in my spare time, right?"

It would have been better if the Ancient One hadn't said anything. After she did, Sherlock's gaze towards her became even more bizarre. It was hard to imagine that the current most powerful Sorcerer Supreme on Earth was actually a hidden anime character.

Furthermore, Sherlock has become highly suspicious that the Ancient One sometimes secretly changes her identity, or simply goes directly to attend famous comic conventions around the world.

Just imagining the Ancient One followed by a large group of cosplayers, chasing after her and shouting that they wanted to collect her photos and expand their social circle, while also stuffing her with tons of materials, makes Sherlock feel a strange sense of his character collapsing.

However, the Ancient One remained unusually calm, took another sip of her tea, and then, as if she knew what Sherlock was thinking, spoke to him.

"Don't be so surprised. Stripped of the Sorcerer Supreme's mantle, I'm just a human who's lived a little longer! Besides, Kamar-Taj never rejects any kind of flexibility!"

Sherlock, whose thoughts had been exposed, instinctively stiffened. Just as he was wondering if the Ancient One had used mind-reading on him, he looked up and saw the Eye of Agamotto on the Ancient One's chest, which was emitting a green light.

"F*** you! I hate people who play with time!"

Hearing Sherlock's words, the Ancient One's expression did not change; her already smiling lips simply became even more radiant.

Seeing this, Sherlock pursed his lips helplessly, rolled his eyes at the Ancient One, and casually made the Spear of St. Longinus, which he had repaired, appear behind him.

Pointing irritably at the Spear of Longinus floating behind him, he asked the Ancient One.

"Honestly, did you anticipate something before giving it to me? I feel like you tricked me!"

Chapter 48 The Arrangement of Fate

Hearing Sherlock's accusations, Gu Yi's expression remained unchanged. She maintained her composed demeanor, keeping a smile on her face, and poured Sherlock another cup of tea before continuing to speak to him.

“No, Sherlock, I didn’t arrange anything. I just brought forward the meeting of fate.”

Upon hearing the Ancient One's statement, Sherlock finally lost his composure, as the Ancient One's words were tantamount to openly admitting that she had tricked him.

"So, you knew everything all along? Including my parents' affairs, and what would happen after you gave me the Spear of Longinus?"

Sherlock's tone was a bit defensive, and his face was also somewhat dark. After all, anyone would find it hard to accept being tricked and then having their face magnified so closely.

When Sherlock asked her a question, the Ancient One shook her head slightly and remained mysterious as she spoke to Sherlock.

"No, Sherlock, I have already said that the future is always in your hands. I cannot see your future, nor do I need to see it. Giving you the Spear of Longinus is merely delivering what was originally yours to you ahead of time."

Hearing the Ancient One's riddle-like words, Sherlock felt his blood pressure rising. These magical bigwigs always liked to act as riddles, and Sherlock was really fed up with it.

This is true of Dumbledore, and it's true of the Ancient One now, and even the knowledge written by some great figures in their alchemy books is like this.

Why can't we just talk things out clearly?

Sherlock, his face dark with displeasure, finally couldn't hold back any longer and looked at the Ancient One with eyes full of disgust, complaining irritably.

"Sometimes, I really want to burn all of you riddlers to a pulp! Wait! No, damn it, Truth is a riddler too! Fxxk!!! You riddlers should be sent to fight Truth, that riddler!"

Sherlock was completely devastated, and for a moment he even felt like he had stumbled into the Riddler's lair.

Seeing Sherlock's devastated state, the Ancient One's smile widened as she comforted him.

"Fate can be so strange sometimes, Sherlock. Follow your heart, protect those you love, and then leave everything to fate!"

At this point, the Ancient One's expression finally showed some fluctuation, at least she no longer maintained that aloof and superior demeanor, and continued to speak to Sherlock with a touch of humanity.

"Sherlock, if you really want to glimpse the trajectory of fate, then why not become the Sorcerer Supreme? Once you become the Sorcerer Supreme, I swear, so-called fate will be nothing more than a plaything in your hands."

The Ancient One spoke to Sherlock with a slightly mocking expression, pointing to the Eye of Agamotto on her chest, which was emitting a green glow.

Seeing this, Sherlock raised an eyebrow, looking at the Ancient One who was even looking at him with a hint of expectation, speechless. He rolled his eyes in annoyance before speaking to the Ancient One.

"I refuse! This is the 5237th time you've asked me this!"

Upon hearing Sherlock's answer, the Ancient One pouted somewhat regretfully and said to Sherlock.

"Really? Never mind then."

Looking at the Ancient One's somewhat roguish appearance, Sherlock felt a wave of exhaustion. Who would have thought that the Ancient One, who appeared so majestic and dignified in the movies, would be so absurd in real life?

But thinking back to the movie, where the Ancient One could lie on the roof of the New York Sanctum wearing sunglasses, drinking milk tea, and watching the Avengers and aliens fighting to the death in the distance as if it were a movie, Sherlock inexplicably finds it quite reasonable.

After letting out a helpless sigh, Sherlock finally gathered his thoughts and began to explain the purpose of his trip to find the Ancient One.

“Obadia is getting more and more crazy. It’s no longer safe for Tony. I want to leave Doro with you for the next few days. I’ll come back to pick up Doro after I’ve dealt with Obadiah, okay?”

Having heard Sherlock's words, the Ancient One, who seemed to have known all along why Sherlock had come, naturally did not refuse and immediately nodded in agreement.

"of course can."

But after saying that, the Ancient One reached out her hand to Sherlock, as if waiting for Sherlock to give her something.

Seeing the Ancient One's actions, Sherlock was speechless.

"With your family being so big and powerful, you wouldn't need to ask me for Doro's living expenses, would you?"

"Of course I want to! Why wouldn't I? Besides, I've already told you that I really enjoy finding new and exciting things to do throughout my long life."

As she spoke, Gu Yi pointed towards Sherlock's pocket, inside which was Sherlock's wallet!

Does the Ancient One have money to spare?

If Sherlock were to say that, he would definitely slap the other person in the face!

But then the Ancient One pointed to her wallet. Could it be that there was something in her wallet that the Ancient One was interested in? Besides money, all that was left in her wallet were cards.

Wait a minute? Card?

Sherlock hesitated for a moment before taking out his wallet and then the metal card that the Judge had recently given him for his VIP status at the Continental Hotel.

Upon seeing Sherlock take out this thing, the Ancient One didn't hesitate at all and snatched the card from Sherlock's hand.

Seeing this, Sherlock was speechless at the Ancient One's behavior and complained irritably.

"No, you actually like to seek thrills in this assassin's lair?"

Faced with Sherlock's teasing, the Ancient One winked mischievously before speaking to Sherlock.

"No, it's just that I haven't enjoyed high-end hotel services in a long time. Oh, by the way, let me tell you a secret: the hot springs and massage services at the Continental Hotel in Osaka are unparalleled in the world!"

Gu Yi chuckled as he played with the VIP card belonging to Sherlock in his hand, but what he said left Sherlock speechless.

It's obvious that Gu Yi is planning to take Doro on vacation using his VIP card.

Sherlock rubbed his head, looking a bit of a headache, then sighed helplessly. In the end, he decided to go all the way, since he could rest assured that the Ancient One was watching over Doro's safety.

With his hands clasped together, red lightning crackled in his palms, and a flash of red light appeared in his left eye. The next second, a huge briefcase appeared in Sherlock's hands. Sherlock opened the briefcase and pushed it toward the Ancient One, inside which were neatly arranged gold coins.

"Spend money sparingly, and don't feed Doro too much; he's gained some weight recently."

Faced with Sherlock's instructions, the Ancient One waved her hand impatiently, as if Sherlock were some kind of annoying fly.

Seeing this, Sherlock felt his blood pressure rise again. He rolled his eyes in annoyance before standing up to leave through the Anywhere Door once more.

But at that moment, the Ancient One's voice rang out from behind Sherlock.

"Sherlock, when you have time, go and visit the library in Kamar-Taj. I will speak to the King, and the library and the vault of artifacts in Kamar-Taj will be open to you forever."

After hearing the Ancient One's words, Sherlock looked back at the Ancient One, who was playing with Doro, with some confusion. He neither agreed nor refused, but simply opened the pink door and left without saying a word.

Chapter 49 Sherlock and the Ancient One

Sherlock neither rejected nor accepted the Ancient One's suggestion, but simply left Kamar-Taj in silence.

The reason for this is quite simple: Sherlock has already developed some PTSD because of the Spear of Longinus, and no one knows whether the Ancient One's decision will hide a series of pitfalls like the Spear of Longinus.

When Sherlock realized he had been tricked by the Ancient One, the phrase "For every gift, fate has already arranged the price" kept echoing in his mind.

Of course, putting that aside, the main reason he didn't agree was that Sherlock wasn't interested in becoming a mage, and naturally, he wasn't that interested in the room full of magic books.

The reason he didn't refuse was also because of the room full of magic books. Sherlock wasn't really interested in becoming a wizard, but he was extremely interested in the principles of magic in those magic books.

In particular, Kamar-Taj's dimensional magic is its greatest strength; across all worlds, Kamar-Taj's dimensional magic is far superior.

As for why I'm interested in the principles of magic, the reason is quite simple: because of the application of alchemy.

It is well known that the essence of alchemy is the absolute principle of equivalent exchange, but few people know what the goal of alchemy is.

The true goal of alchemy is actually very simple: it's not about becoming a god, nor about achieving immortality, nor about creating gold. The real goal can be summed up in four words: fulfilling wishes!

Magic itself is also a way to fulfill wishes.

To use an imperfect analogy, magic is like starting a fire by rubbing sticks together—simple and easy to understand, enough to allow magic to be passed down and spread widely.

However, alchemy is like a lighter—convenient and quick, even those without magic can easily master it. But similarly, the ability and skill required to create a lighter are limited, and not just anyone can utilize it.

Both aim to ignite a flame. Magic teaches people how to ignite a flame, while alchemy contemplates why flames are produced and, after understanding the origins of the matter, ignites a flame in its own way.

In this process, there is no doubt that if one can understand the principles of magic, then the manufacture of lighters will be much more efficient.

This is why Sherlock was so interested in those spellbooks and the magical principles within them.

However, what Sherlock didn't know was that after he left through the Anywhere Door, the Ancient One shook his head helplessly when he saw that Sherlock hadn't responded to the benefits he had offered.

Only the Ancient One herself knew that there was really no trap behind this.

Of course, there are some things that the Ancient One will never tell Sherlock!

For example, while the Time Stone cannot see Sherlock's future, it doesn't mean that the Ancient One, who has lived for hundreds of years, also cannot see Sherlock's future.

To the Ancient One, Sherlock is still a child who hasn't grown up yet, a child who doesn't know the limits of his alchemical abilities.

Although the Ancient One did not understand Sherlock's alchemy, after five years of living together, she had enough insight to understand the upper and lower limits of Sherlock's alchemy, even though she was an old monster sorcerer who had lived for a long time.

In the Ancient One's view, there is no doubt that, just as Sherlock himself said, the so-called 'truth' is essentially closer to the so-called 'Way of Heaven,' without any guidance, only following the so-called 'rules.'

But therein lies the problem: 'truth' adheres too much to its own set of 'rules' of equivalent exchange.

As long as you can afford the price, 'Truth' can even allow you to take his place, or even surpass his position, and become a true 'God' who transcends all things in the world!

All it takes is the sacrifice of truth, or rather, the most precious thing in the universe: the soul.

Even truth doesn't care whose soul it is!

In other words, if Sherlock wanted, he could even sacrifice the souls of the entire universe in exchange for any wish in 'truth'!

And this is precisely what the Ancient One was most worried about!

He simply couldn't imagine what the world would become if Sherlock, this kind-hearted boy with a slightly wicked sense of humor, were left to hide alone in a corner, and if he got stuck in a rut when problems really arose.

It was precisely because of this concern that the Ancient One used artifacts to orchestrate a scheme, forcing Sherlock to become involved in, or rather, to become involved in, the Avengers' affairs.

Only in this way, under the influence and arrangement of the Avengers, can the Ancient One truly feel at ease about the future.

Watching Sherlock leave, the Ancient One felt both helpless and amused, but she was no longer so worried about the future.

Compared to Sherlock's previous social circle, which consisted only of himself and Zhao Weike's family, Sherlock now has many more people around him, and it's almost predictable that the number of people around him will continue to grow.

Therefore, the Ancient One gradually became more confident about the future, even after she left, no matter who the Sorcerer Supreme was in the future, she believed that the Earth could continue to exist.

Freed from her worries, the Ancient One immediately picked up Sherlock's VIP card, snapped her fingers, and in the next second transformed from a bald woman into Sherlock.

Looking at Doro, whose belly was swollen from eating an orange the size of a volleyball and who was lying on the ground looking like he had eaten too much, the Ancient One said to Doro with a smile.