Healing Card

The next day,

A shocking piece of news swept like wildfire through the streets and alleys of Stone Iron City.

Oliver, the captain of the city lord's guards, had died outside Lin Feng's home. It was no accident—he had been murdered.

Who was Oliver?

He was the captain of Stone Iron City's guards, a Five-Star Card Master.

It was no exaggeration to say that, among Stone Iron City's more than three hundred Card Masters, he was unquestionably the strongest.

Yet someone like him had been killed.

For a time, the whole city was abuzz.

"I heard from the brothers at the city lord's residence that Oliver brought men to block Lin Feng's door the day before. He was probably trying to force Lin Feng to make cards for him, but he picked the wrong fight and got taken out by Lin Feng's backer!"

"No, no! My cousin works at the city lord's residence. He said Oliver stole a treasure from the residence and wanted Lin Feng to make him a Concealment Card so he could run away. The city lord sent a Grand Card Master after him to silence him!"

There were all sorts of versions of the rumor, but they all shared one central idea.

Lin Feng was a genuine card maker, and his background was unfathomable.

The strongest evidence was that the guard captain had been left dead on his doorstep, yet the city lord's residence had remained unusually silent. Even the bishop of the Furnace Church, who was always meddling in other people's affairs, had made a brief visit to Lin Feng's home with little fanfare and left without saying a single unnecessary word.

Now everyone had an idea of what was going on: an important figure might be emerging in Stone Iron City.

The Wonderful Tales Shop.

Today's line was longer than usual, stretching from the shop entrance all the way to the corner at the end of the street.

Oliver's death had not scared the customers away. Instead, it had confirmed Lin Feng's identity as a card maker, and even more people were clamoring to bask in the master's reflected glory.

Being able to buy cards from a card maker's shop was far more prestigious than shopping at a purely commercial card shop like the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion.

After all, when bragging to others later, they could say, "My card was made by Master Lin Feng." The low-level cards bought from the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion, on the other hand, were mostly the work of card-making apprentices. There was no prestige in that at all.

"Young Master Lin Qi, I'm the deputy leader of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Corps. We've done business before."

Leather boots thudded against the stone pavement as a wild-looking woman in leather armor passed the people in line and walked straight over.

Lin Qi, who was counting cards behind the counter, looked up. He was a little surprised to see the anxious woman standing before him.

"Oh? The Wild Wolf Mercenary Corps?"

When the Wonderful Tales Shop had first opened, the Wild Wolf Mercenary Corps had ordered thirty Mercenary's Sabers. Later, they had also won the three-star Implement Card, the Phantom Longsword, at auction for a high price. They were longtime customers of the shop.

He handed the cards he had sorted to Ruilian and tilted his head toward the woman. "Follow me. We'll talk in the backyard."

After they passed through the noisy front hall, it was much quieter beneath the locust tree in the backyard.

Lin Qi turned around and looked the woman up and down. Her leather armor was covered in dust that had yet to dry, and her eyes were visibly bloodshot. Clearly, she had been traveling in a hurry.

"Deputy leader, are you here to add to your order of Mercenary's Sabers?" Lin Qi spoke first.

The woman gave a hearty smile. "Young Master Lin Qi, don't call me deputy leader. Just call me Fengye."

Fengye...

Lin Qi looked the woman up and down. The leather armor she wore really did have something of a maple leaf about it.

"Fengye, you can just call me Lin Qi. I'm no young master."

"All right, then I'll get straight to the point."

Fengye put away her smile, her expression turning serious in an instant. "To be honest, I'm here to ask Master Lin Feng to make a custom healing card for us."

"A healing card?"

Lin Qi narrowed his eyes slightly and drew out his words. "Every card maker has an inherited lineage, and each one specializes in making different cards. Some are good at making Implement Cards, while others like to study Magic Cards. How can you be sure what kind of cards my father specializes in?"

"Huh? Is that how it is?"

The smile froze on Fengye's face. She really had not looked into it. She had only known that Lin Feng was a card maker, so she had rushed straight over.

Lin Qi did not actually understand the ins and outs of card making either, but he understood human nature.

Even Dashan, who ran the bakery across from his home, had refused to say a word when Lin Qi asked him several times how he made black bread that wasn't hard, to say nothing of someone as exalted as a card maker.

Seeing Fengye's embarrassment, Lin Qi softened his tone. "Tell me what kind of card you need. My father can't guarantee an exact match, but a card of the same type should be much the same."

Fengye cupped her hands slightly. "I didn't think it through. I'd like a three-star Holy Light Card, or a Healing Card of the same type would do. As long as it can treat serious injuries."

"Oh? A Holy Light Card..."

Lin Qi nodded knowingly, though inwardly he was completely baffled.

What kind of card is a Holy Light Card? But since it's a three-star card that heals injuries, it should be able to heal even a Grand Card Master, right?

He had seen Healing Cards in the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion's card catalogue, but they were extremely expensive.

A white one-star Healing Card was worth a thousand Ka'en, and the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion did not even sell two-star Healing Cards.

To fuse a three-star Healing Card, he would need fifty one-star Healing Cards. The cards alone would cost fifty thousand Ka'en.

By that reckoning, a three-star Healing Card should sell for at least a hundred thousand Ka'en? And that's assuming one is even available. If you ask a card maker to make one, you have to provide the materials yourself and pay a card-making fee on top of that... Wouldn't that come to two hundred thousand Ka'en?

The more Lin Qi thought about it, the more astonished he became.

He did not know whether other card makers made money, but he certainly would!

Other card makers sometimes failed, but he had a one-hundred-percent success rate. He was guaranteed to profit without losing a thing.

He suppressed the excitement in his heart, his face remaining calm.

"Fengye, although my father can't make a Holy Light Card, he can indeed make a Healing Card."

"Really?"

Fengye's eyes lit up at once. She took half a step forward, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

Lin Qi raised a hand, signaling for her to be patient.

"Everyone knows the value of a three-star Healing Card. The materials needed to make it are rare, and it takes a long time..."

Fengye nodded immediately, her expression serious. "We understand all that. Whatever materials the master needs, I'll have people gather them right away. Besides the materials, our Wild Wolf Mercenary Corps will offer a hundred thousand Ka'en as payment. On top of that, the corps will owe the master a favor. If he ever needs us in the future, he need only ask."

A hundred thousand Ka'en and a favor...

Lin Qi was somewhat surprised, but his expression remained unchanged.

"All right. I'll ask my father about it. I'll make you a list of the materials he needs later."

Having received a definite answer, Fengye thanked him repeatedly and left the shop with a spring in her step. Even most of the weariness she had arrived with had faded.

Lin Qi stood alone beneath the locust tree, tapping his fingers lightly on the stone table. "Did I agree too readily?"

He had heard that the leader of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Corps was a Grand Card Master and had recently fought a fierce battle with the Black Wind Mercenary Corps. Presumably, the leader had been seriously injured, and ordinary healing medicine had not worked, which was why they were so eager to buy a Healing Card.

Healing Cards could not be linked as Secondary Cards. All Healing Cards were single-use consumables.

That was precisely why Lin Qi had accepted the job.

If Healing Cards could be reused, never mind a hundred thousand Ka'en-even at a million Ka'en, people would be fighting to buy them.

"Offering a hundred thousand Ka'en just like that. Looks like mercenary corps have plenty of money to be made."

Lin Qi rubbed his chin, an idea forming in his mind. "The payment's settled, so I'll have to do a little more with the materials list. I ought to make a bit more for myself."

As a qualified merchant, Lin Qi would not make money through unscrupulous means, but making a little extra profit was fine.

"Fifty one-star Healing Cards. I wonder if the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion has enough in stock... But that's Fengye's problem. All I have to do is wait for the materials, make the card, and safely pocket the hundred thousand Ka'en and the favor."