Someone from the City Lord's Residence

Knock, knock, knock.

Lin Qi was holding a bowl and drinking porridge when a sudden, urgent knock sounded at the door.

"Who is it?"

Lin Feng put down his wooden spoon and called toward the courtyard gate, "We're not open yet!"

A somewhat solemn woman's voice came from outside. "Open up. I'm from the city lord's residence."

"The city lord's residence?"

Lin Feng froze, a puzzled look on his face.

"Could they be going to wipe out bandits again? Do we have to pay another bandit suppression tax?"

He was just about to get up and open the gate when Lin Qi grabbed his wrist.

"Dad, you don't need to go. They're here for me."

Lin Qi put down his bowl and wiped his mouth.

Afraid that Lin Feng would worry, he added, "When you were captured by bandits last time, I asked the city lord's daughter, Alicia, for help."

"The young lady?"

Lin Feng was completely dumbfounded. Clearly, he hadn't expected his son to be so impressive that he even had connections to the city lord's daughter.

"Let's go, Wind Chime."

Lin Qi beckoned to the Wind Chime Cat. The little fellow understood at once and nimbly hopped to his side, its tail swishing as it followed him to the gate.

I didn't expect Alicia to get impatient so soon.

He had never forgotten about helping Alicia find Pink Fluorite, and he had already completed the task.

But Lin Qi wasn't in a hurry to deliver it to her.

Taking the initiative to deliver it himself would be acting like a lackey. If he waited for her to come to him, then at least she would be the one asking him for a favor.

He simply hadn't expected Alicia to give him two weeks, only to get impatient and check on his progress on the tenth day.

When he pulled the gate open, Alicia's personal maid, Xiao Lan, was indeed standing outside.

Xiao Lan wore a blue-green maid's uniform, her face tense. As soon as she saw Lin Qi, she got straight to the point. "Lin Qi, my lady sent me to ask you about the Pink Fluorite..."

"I found it."

Lin Qi cut her off, saying evenly, "Just take me to see the young lady."

"Really?"

The stern look on Xiao Lan's face gave way to delight at once.

"That's wonderful! Come see the young lady with me, quickly."

Following Xiao Lan through several streets where the morning mist had yet to disperse, he soon spotted the gates of the city lord's residence.

The guards at the entrance stood straight, but their eyes were a little listless. Clearly, they had yet to shake off their early-morning drowsiness.

"Huh, isn't this Wang Teng?"

Lin Qi walked up and curled a finger, gently poking the guard in the lower back.

"Ow! Who dares sneak up on me?"

Wang Teng clutched his kidney and turned around, cursing under his breath. But when he saw who it was, the rest of his curse caught in his throat.

"L-Lin Qi?"

Looking at his former boss, Wang Teng instinctively wanted to shrink back.

Wait, that's not right. I'm a Card Apprentice now, and a guard at the city lord's residence too. Lin Qi awakened a trash card. He'll never have a chance to turn things around in this life. What am I afraid of him for?

Before Lin Qi awakened his Natal Card, these lackeys had remained his lackeys because they hadn't known what card Lin Qi, who had been called god-favored since childhood, would awaken.

But ever since Lin Qi awakened a trash card, those fellows had begun looking for their own opportunities. After all, there was no future in following a boss with a trash card.

The moment that thought occurred to him, Wang Teng's confidence surged.

"Ahem."

He cleared his throat and tried to keep a straight face to make himself look more imposing.

"Lin Qi, what are you doing here? Do you know where this is? This is the city lord's residence, a restricted area! Believe it or not, I can have you thrown in jail to suffer for a few days for attacking a guard!"

Seeing him throw his weight around by relying on someone else's power, Lin Qi couldn't help laughing. He deliberately drew out his words.

"Oh? Guards at the city lord's residence are so impressive? Sister Xiao Lan, it looks like I'm not welcome here, so I'd better go back. As for the Pink Fluorite..."

When Xiao Lan saw Lin Qi turn to leave, she immediately panicked.

"Hey, hey, don't go!"

She grabbed Lin Qi and glared furiously at Wang Teng.

"You're new here. How dare you speak to the young lady's guest like that? Apologize, now, or I'll go straight to the captain of the guard and have you fired!"

"The y-young lady?"

The smug look on Wang Teng's face froze instantly, as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him. He hadn't expected the good-for-nothing Lin Qi to have any connection to the young lady.

There were two emperors in Stone Iron City: one was the bishop of the Lava Church, and the other was the city lord. He had thought becoming one of the emperor's guards meant he had made something of himself. He certainly didn't want to lose his job after only two days!

"B-Brother Qi... I... I didn't mean it. I was blinded by stupidity just now. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against me..."

Seeing Wang Teng at a loss and looking as though he was about to cry, Lin Qi shook his head helplessly.

"Back then, I took you in as my underling because I thought you had the makings of a great emperor. But after all these years of my teaching, you're still such a coward. Tengzi, you're truly beyond teaching."

He ignored Wang Teng and turned to Xiao Lan. "Sister Xiao Lan, let's not waste any time. Let's go see the young lady."

"Right, right, let's go find her!"

Xiao Lan nodded quickly and shot Wang Teng a vicious glare before leading Lin Qi into the residence.

Wang Teng stood where he was, watching the two walk away. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, no longer daring even to straighten his back.