Murder by Proxy

Lin Qi had barely closed his eyes and felt as though he hadn't slept long when a piercing clamor reached his ears and dragged him out of his stupor.

"Hand Lin Qi over, now! Keep dawdling, and don't blame me for tearing down the door!" The hoarse, harsh roar was full of hostility, making the door panels tremble.

"Captain, there must be some mistake. Lin Qi wouldn't even dare kill a chicken. How could he possibly kill someone?"

"Huh? Kill someone?"

Lin Qi's eyes snapped open, his drowsiness vanishing in an instant.

He glanced at the sky. It was already dusk, and darkness was about to fall.

"Since when were the people from the city lord's mansion diligent enough to work at night?"

He knew those parasites all too well. They never lifted a finger unless there was something in it for them.

"They say I killed someone? How did they know?"

Lin Qi frowned, unable to make sense of it.

He hadn't seen anyone else at all when he went to the abandoned mine!

"Dad, what's going on?"

As soon as Lin Qi stepped outside, he saw Lin Feng and Ruilian facing off against a group of city guards.

Oliver's gaze latched onto Lin Qi like a hook the moment he appeared. "Lin Qi, someone reported that you killed Wang Meng and two others at the mine north of the city. Come back to the city lord's mansion and stand trial!"

Lin Qi picked at his ear, thinking he must have misheard after just waking up.

"Who did you say was dead? Wang Meng?"

Oliver's face was cold, and his tone took on a hint of condescension. "That's right. If you confess now, we'll take your age into account. At worst, you'll be sent off for military service, and you'll get to keep your life."

"Wang Meng is dead?" Lin Qi stared at his face, his voice full of surprise.

"That's right," Oliver repeated impatiently.

"Wang Meng is really dead?"

Oliver nodded again. "Yes."

"Are you sure it was Wang Meng?"

Lin Qi pressed him again, and the doubt in his eyes even made Oliver a little unsure of himself.

He instinctively glanced at the guard beside him. The guard hurriedly nodded. "Captain, there's no mistake! It was Wang Meng. His family has already identified the body!"

Only then did Oliver come to his senses. A greenhorn had just rattled him with a few questions. It was an utter humiliation.

He flew into a rage and shouted, "Enough nonsense! Arrest him!"

"Let's see who dares lay a hand on my son!"

Lin Feng stepped forward and lashed out with his right leg. His powerful kick sent the guard who had stepped forward flying into the courtyard wall with a heavy crash.

"Lin Feng, are you trying to rebel!?"

Shocked and furious, Oliver flipped his hand. A card glowing with an eerie green light unfolded in midair and transformed into a long spear gleaming with cold light. Its tip sliced through the air, pointing straight at Lin Feng's throat.

"You think I'm afraid of you?"

Lin Feng swung his hand as well, and orange-red flames flared to life. A long saber wreathed in blazing fire appeared in his hand, held steadily across his chest.

"That's not the Wind-Breaking Saber?"

Oliver's pupils contracted sharply. He froze for a moment, then seemed to remember something, and his voice changed.

"You advanced?"

"If you're scared, then get lost."

Lin Feng's gaze was icy. Flames crackled along the blade, heating even the air around it.

Seeing this, the other guards hurriedly summoned their Natal Cards. There were shield cards glowing earthy yellow and shortsword cards flashing silver. Lights of every color intertwined as they surrounded the three men, and a fight was ready to break out at any moment.

Oliver steadied himself, his voice growing even more vicious. "Lin Feng, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you've advanced! You mined north of the city without permission and dared to keep the Fire Crystal Ore you found instead of handing it over to the city lord's mansion. In Stone Iron City, that's a capital crime punishable by the confiscation of your property and the extermination of your family!"

"Oliver!"

Ruilian stepped forward, his voice full of anguish. "We all came from Stone Ridge Village. Do you really have to go this far?"

"Ruilian, you have no say here! Say another word, and I'll arrest you too!"

Oliver berated him, but his eyes remained fixed on the Blazing Fire Saber in Lin Feng's hand.

His gaze was complicated, filled with envy, resentment, and disbelief.

Oliver simply couldn't understand how a mercenary who had lost his fighting spirit like Lin Feng could have successfully advanced his Natal Card.

Could the rumors going around the city these past few days about Lin Feng becoming a card-making master's disciple be true?

As soon as the thought appeared, Oliver dismissed it.

Though he wasn't close to Lin Feng, they had grown up in the same place and knew each other reasonably well.

Lin Feng was nothing but a lousy mercenary.

He strongly suspected that Lin Feng had stumbled into a secret realm through sheer dumb luck and obtained advancement materials and plenty of cards there. Only that could explain why the Wonderful Tales Shop had cards for sale.

"Lin Feng, since we're from the same village, I'll give you a way out."

Oliver licked his dry lips and lowered his voice. "Hand over all the cards and advancement materials you have, and I'll let you leave Stone Iron City."

"Heh, you think you're worthy?"

Lin Feng couldn't be bothered wasting any more words. He flicked his wrist, and the Blazing Wind Saber traced a fiery red arc. The gust from the blade forced the surrounding guards to retreat.

"Ruilian, protect my son."

He gave the instruction without looking back, then pushed off hard and charged at Oliver amid raging flames.

"Brother Feng, be careful!"

Ruilian hurriedly shielded Lin Qi behind him.

Even though he knew Lin Feng had undergone a complete transformation, he was still afraid of Oliver from the bottom of his heart.

Back when Alicia's grandfather came to mine the Fire Crystal Ore, Oliver's father had betrayed the village and become a lackey.

Oliver had benefited from this. After awakening his Natal Card, he was trained by the city lord's mansion, and his fighting ability and combination of cards far surpassed those of the other Five-Star Card Masters in Stone Iron City.

Who was it? Could that brat Wang Meng have come back from the dead and appeared to someone in a dream?

Shielded behind Ruilian, Lin Qi was full of questions.

He hadn't noticed anyone following him when he went to the abandoned mine. But now that something had happened to Wang Meng, someone must have seen him going in and out of the mine tunnel, and might even have followed him inside.

If it was because of the Fire Crystal Ore, he shouldn't have reported me to the authorities. He would have used it to threaten me instead. If it wasn't for profit, was it out of hatred?

Who has a grudge against me? Enough to give up a treasure like Fire Crystal Ore...

As far as Lin Qi knew, he had no real enemies in Stone Iron City, apart from Wang Meng and a few others his age with whom he had the usual youthful conflicts.

Someone with a grudge against me, or against my dad?

A name suddenly sprang to mind.

Lei De!!

That's right, it's him!

Lin Qi suddenly understood.

I was wondering why things had been so peaceful lately. It's because Lei De hasn't shown up in so long.

He had wondered before: Lin Feng had clearly lost their last fight, and Lei De hadn't been beaten badly enough to spend ten days or half a month in bed as he had before, so why hadn't he come looking for trouble in so long?

The rumors about Dad being a card-making master's disciple must have spread lately, and with a mercenary group on friendly terms with him too, Lei De didn't dare make a move openly. That's why he came up with this vicious scheme to kill us by proxy!

Once that fell into place, everything made sense, and Lin Qi immediately knew what to do.

"Uncle Ruilian, take these to Fiona at the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion. Hurry."

"This..."

Ruilian looked at the three cards Lin Qi had pressed into his hand and hesitated for a moment.

"Will this work?"

Lin Qi looked certain. "Don't hesitate. The sooner you go, the sooner we can settle this trouble."

"All right."

Ruilian had always trusted Lin Qi's decisions. He took the cards and rushed straight out, and not one of the Card Apprentice guards dared to stop him.

Of Stone Iron City's ten thousand residents, only a hundred were Card Masters, and most of those belonged to mercenary groups. The rest were all Card Apprentices.

The city lord's mansion had more than a dozen Card Masters, but they were stationed at various points in the city's defenses. Only Oliver oversaw the town's security, and the guards under him were all Card Apprentices who threw their weight around under his protection. They certainly wouldn't risk their lives fighting a Card Master like Ruilian.

Now that Uncle Ruilian has left, we can stop holding back.

Lin Qi's gaze turned sharp. He had sent Ruilian to Fiona with three Phantom Longsword cards not to seek support, but to establish an alibi.

That way, even if they killed someone and the city lord's mansion came looking for trouble afterward, it would be with him and his father at most.