The First Baturu

Early the next morning,

The sun had just begun to shine through the window when Lin Qi heard a series of faint, rapid metallic clinks downstairs. The grinding of an iron pestle crushing herbs mingled with the clinking of glass bottles.

It had to be Lin Feng working with yesterday's goods to make a blood-clotting medicine.

Lin Qi waved his hand, and a card appeared out of thin air.

"It's already the eighth day. Why haven't I broken through to One-Star Card Apprentice yet? Or do I have to be like Xiao Yan and use source power for three years straight before I can activate this Natal Card?"

The moment that terrifying thought occurred to him, Lin Qi felt that his future was pitch-black.

Just then, a booming voice suddenly erupted downstairs like a thunderclap, instantly dispelling Lin Qi's gloom.

"Son, Laifu's back! Come downstairs!"

"Laifu?"

Hearing her name, Lin Qi practically sprang upright in bed.

Laifu was the girlfriend he had started dating when he was ten. Last year, she had awakened a rare green-aptitude Natal Card, and her family had sent her to the junior card master academy in Xinyao City. She hadn't returned since.

Laifu must have learned a lot about cards by now. Maybe she can help me solve the problem with my Natal Card! Lin Qi thought as he hurriedly dressed and rushed downstairs.

As soon as he came down, Lin Qi saw a girl in a long blue dress standing in the middle of the living room.

Her long hair reached her waist, curling slightly at the ends. Her skin was as fair as fine porcelain, and her features had gained a touch of youthful maturity since last year.

"Laifu, you're back."

Lin Qi went up and pulled her into a hug, his heart full of excitement.

Laifu's body stiffened slightly, and she didn't hug him back. Her voice was flat, without a trace of emotion.

"I'm back."

When the enthusiastic response he had expected didn't come, a sudden, inexplicable unease arose in Lin Qi's heart.

"Lin Qi, there's something I need to tell you."

Laifu averted her eyes, her voice trembling slightly.

Lin Qi grew even more uneasy. He seized Laifu's cold hand, his fingertips clearly feeling her tremble.

"Come on, let's talk in my room."

Watching his son hurry upstairs with the girl, Lin Feng paused with the pestle in his hand and shook his head helplessly.

In the room,

The sketches of his Natal Card and source power analysis data he had drawn up the night before were still spread across the wooden table, the pages densely covered with formulas and questions.

Laifu sat in a chair, clutching her skirt in both hands. Her fingertips pinched creases into the pale blue fabric, and her eyes darted away, too afraid to look at him.

Lin Qi spoke first, keeping his voice as gentle as he could in an effort to dispel the inexplicable awkwardness.

"Laifu, there are some things I want to ask you. Could you help clear them up for me?"

Hearing his warm voice, Laifu finally mustered the courage to look up.

"Okay."

Lin Qi leaned forward, his eyes full of anticipation.

"I want to know how a Natal Card can be promoted. You probably know my card is a bone, right? But my dad said there was a Card Mastery Grandmaster in the kingdom whose first Natal Card was just a flower."

At the mention of card knowledge, Laifu's eyes finally lit up a little.

"You mean the Rose Count, right? I heard a teacher at the academy tell his story."

"Really? Tell me about him!"

Laifu gathered her thoughts and spoke earnestly:

"The Rose Count's original Natal Card was a colorless trash card called the Thorny Rose. It really was just like a rose in a roadside flower bed. Apart from never wilting, there was nothing special about it.

"Later, he cultivated hard for a year and finally reached One-Star Card Apprentice, opening his card slot space.

"He also linked his first Secondary Card, a two-star Summoning Card called the Vine Demon."

"Normally, even if someone with a trash card can cultivate, their limit is Two-Star Card Apprentice. But the Rose Count later obtained a special card called the Heart of the Rose."

"The Heart of the Rose?"

Lin Qi hurriedly asked, "What kind of card is that?"

Laifu shook her head.

"I don't know. When people like us advance from Two-Star Card Apprentice to card master, we need to prepare materials to promote our Natal Cards. After successfully becoming Three-Star Card Masters, our Natal Cards basically transform from white quality to green quality.

"But the Rose Count used the Heart of the Rose as promotion material for his Natal Card and forcibly broke the curse that kept people with trash cards from becoming card masters.

"His Natal Card also skipped several stages at once, transforming from a colorless trash card into a blue Summoning Card, the Rose Flower Demon. It's said that Summoning Card was incredibly powerful. The Rose Count was only a Three-Star Card Master at the time, yet he could fight Four-Star Card Masters above his level."

"So Natal Cards really can be promoted!"

Lin Qi's heart surged as he listened. He clenched his fists, and light rekindled in his eyes.

"Then my bone Natal Card can be promoted too, right? As long as I find the right materials, I can become a card master too!"

Laifu watched his excitement with a complicated smile and nodded earnestly. "Lin Qi, you've been smarter than everyone else since you were little. You're a genius. As long as you're willing to work hard, you'll definitely become the second Rose Count!"

Lin Qi's smile gradually faded. Looking at Laifu's evasive eyes, he softened his voice.

"Laifu, you didn't come back just to tell me this, did you?"

At that, Laifu lowered her head instinctively, unable to meet his eyes.

"Go on. Did your parents find out I awakened a trash card and decide they don't approve of us being together?"

Lin Qi had rehearsed that question countless times in his head, but when he actually said it, his throat still tightened.

Laifu bowed her head even lower and nodded slightly. Her long hair fell over her face, hiding her expression.

"So you're breaking up with me because of that?"

Lin Qi stared hard at Laifu, waiting for her answer.

But Laifu shook her head. The movement was slight, yet unmistakable.

That shake of her head left Lin Qi completely bewildered.

He frowned, his voice full of confusion. "You didn't come to break up with me?"

Laifu shook her head again. Her lips moved hesitantly for a long time before she whispered, "I did..."

"Then why are you breaking up with me?"

Lin Qi pressed her, growing more and more puzzled.

Laifu said softly, "Lin Qi, I believe you can become the second Rose Count. I'm not giving up on you because you awakened a trash card, either. I... I just think our personalities aren't compatible."

"Not compatible? How aren't we compatible?"

Lin Qi pressed her. He couldn't understand how they could suddenly be incompatible after growing up together.

Laifu seemed to make up her mind. She abruptly raised her head and looked straight into his eyes.

Her eyes were slightly red, but she gritted her teeth and said it anyway.

"When I'm with you, I always feel like you're my dad, controlling everything I do. I have to ask you before I go out to have fun, listen to you about what clothes to wear, and even tell you when I chat with my classmates... It feels awful. I can't breathe. And... and I got a new boyfriend at the academy. It's been two months already."

After saying it all in one breath, Laifu seemed to have shed an enormous burden. Her chest heaved, but she didn't dare look Lin Qi in the eyes again.

Lin Qi's eyes widened. His head buzzed as though countless bees were flying around inside it.

He had thought he might follow the broken-engagement route like Xiao Yan, but he had never imagined he would end up living as the Great Qing's first Baturu, the king of green hats!

"Lin Qi, don't be angry."

Laifu hurriedly pulled a card from her pocket and placed it on the table.

"I traded Ka'en I'd saved up for a long time for this card. Consider it... compensation."

As soon as she finished speaking, Laifu sprang to her feet and ran for the door as if fleeing, her steps unsteady. She left the king of green hats standing there in a daze.

"Son, why did the girl run off? I just made the honey water she likes. Why didn't she stay for a meal?"

Lin Feng entered carrying two steaming cups of honey water and looked in puzzlement at Lin Qi, whose head was glowing green.

Lin Qi slowly raised his head and gazed blankly at his father. His lips moved, and he said something that made Lin Feng freeze on the spot.

"Dad, do you think I'm like a father?"

The tray in Lin Feng's hands clanged against the table. A few drops of scalding honey water splashed onto the back of his hand, but he didn't notice.

His eyes widened as he looked Lin Qi up and down, and a horrifying guess suddenly sprang to mind.

"Son! You... are you saying Laifu's pregnant? But she only just got back! How did you manage that, boy? You're so young!"

"..."

The corner of Lin Qi's mouth twitched. A wave of speechlessness washed over him, even lessening some of the sadness he had just felt.

He stood up and pushed Lin Feng toward the door.

"Dad, what are you thinking? It's nothing like that!"

"Son, talk to your dad. Stop pushing me! Is it true? Am I going to be a grandfather? Come on, tell me..."

As Lin Feng was pushed along, he kept asking excitedly, his voice rising.

"Bang."

Lin Qi slammed the door shut, leaving Lin Feng's questions and knocking outside. He leaned against the door and took a deep breath, but the tightness in his chest only grew worse, as though a heavy stone were weighing on it.

He walked back to the table and looked at the chair Laifu had just occupied, his gaze growing vacant again.

"In my last life, I failed to win a girl over and ended up losing my life because of it. In this life, I started when we were kids and raised my own child bride, but who would've thought I was raising her for someone else..."

"And she said I was like her dad... Am I really that much like a dad?"