Chapter 357
Chapter 357
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 357 – Lan Qi’s Composed Preparations
On the second floor of the Kingston City Lord’s mansion, inside a classically decorated magitek workshop, the dark-brown carved counters stood in orderly tiers, the engraved barrier sigils upon them glowing faintly, like breathing lights.
Sid sat in a cushioned chair by the corner, cradling the little black cat in her arms, watching Lan Qi craft magic cards with great interest.
Though it was her first time hearing that a magitek artisan needed someone to “keep watch” during card-making, she didn’t mind if it could help Lan Qi. In truth, she had already wanted to see what her Saint Son looked like while making cards.
Even now, she still remembered their first meeting during the trial of the Annihilation Branch of the Helrom Annihilation Knights. From the very start, she had admired Lan Qi’s works. Whether he was carving, painting, or making magic tools, she never felt bored watching him.
At the innermost corner by the window, a thick silver magic-insulating velvet cloth covered the workbench, shielding the materials and tools from interference by ambient magitek devices. Under the warm light, Lan Qi’s shadow stretched across the room, and his focused green eyes reflected the magical instruments in front of him.
To his right sat a neat row of small glass vials with measurement markings, each filled with liquids of varying colors and volumes — all carefully refined and measured by him. He had just put down one freshly blended vial of magic-core solution and was already turning smoothly to continue mixing the next batch using the miniature balance and precision containers at hand.
“Why does he need so many materials?”
Sid whispered softly into the little black cat’s ear.
She had seen other card-makers before — usually they prepared enough for one card at a time.
But Lan Qi was like a kitchen chef, preparing ingredients for ten or twenty cards before even starting.
“I don’t know, meow. Every time this kid makes cards, it feels like he’s prepping for a fifty-pull gacha. Well, I guess his family can afford it…”
Boss Cat muttered quietly.
It remembered that every time it had stayed in Lan Qi’s dorm watching him make cards, he had a decent success rate only with sealing cards, with spirit or light-type cards being somewhat passable, while all the rest had an abysmal failure rate.
Thinking about it, Boss Cat stopped talking.
Even if Lan Qi’s family was wealthy, they were just rich commoners. From what it overheard at Ikerite Academy, the Wilfort Trading Company couldn’t withstand too big a storm. And Sigrid, as a Cardinal of the Resurrection Church, was an entirely different existence altogether.
Boss Cat didn’t even dare imagine what would happen if Lan Qi’s father ever saw Sigrid — his son’s possible future fiancée — visiting.
“I see,” Sid nodded, turning her gaze back to Lan Qi.
She saw him carefully weighing transformation-attribute magic crystal powder. The crystals were low-tier but of exceptional purity. Lan Qi poured in the exact amount required, with a precision so fine that even a stray breeze could have upset the balance — but he never spilled even a grain.
“Skilled enough to make one’s heart ache,” Sid whispered.
“…”
Boss Cat glanced at her but said nothing.
Lan Qi slowly dripped condensed magic-core liquid into the crystal powder. The mixture reacted instantly, bubbling and settling almost at once, glowing faintly. Then, he filled his engraving pen with the newly made mana ink, sealing it carefully.
He picked up a finely crafted, semi-transparent blank card — an essential material, produced only in the Shadow World, capable of holding a fixed spell formation while maintaining card durability and mana stability.
Lan Qi spread out several basic low-tier transformation spell scrolls, the deep-blue sigils faintly visible on the pale moonflower-paper. Using a special cutter, he sliced out the needed portions and positioned them precisely on the card, beginning a process similar to rewriting a scroll’s spell matrix.
The process of inscribing magical circuits required extreme focus and skill. Yet Lan Qi’s breathing and heartbeat remained steady, as though he were doing something completely ordinary.
Even outsiders like Sigrid and Boss Cat could tell how difficult this was. The dense, jagged infernal runes looked like swarming ants — hard to even glance at for long.
But Lan Qi engraved them with calm ease, as if he had no doubt about success.
Like a painter reproducing a familiar masterpiece, each stroke was quick and precise, yet delicate.
Sid found herself watching him more seriously, sensing an aura that made him seem like a great artist at the peak of his craft — and she even started anticipating what kind of card he would produce.
Then, just a few seconds later —
With a burst of sparks and a loud bang—
It exploded.
“That was fast.”
Sid blinked in surprise as the firelight died away.
Though her Saint Son seemed wasteful and a bit eccentric in his approach, she believed this was either the behavior of a supremely confident genius — or of a hopeless fool.
She was sure Lan Qi was the former.
“Blew up again…”
The workshop’s light wards kept Lan Qi unharmed. He stared at the charred remains of the failed card, still looking a little dazed.
“Scared you, didn’t I?”
He turned back to Sid, looking slightly embarrassed.
“It’s fine. I rather like fireworks.”
Sid’s lips curved in a small, encouraging smile.
Lan Qi froze for a moment, seemingly caught off guard by such a response. Then, after a pause, he lowered his gaze and sighed with relief.
From now on, he decided, he would never again tease Sid about being an “unmarriageable older woman” — she really was just too perfect.
Sid merely frowned slightly and squeezed Boss Cat a little tighter, saying nothing.
Lan Qi turned back to his work, and Sid continued watching him.
Time passed quietly, broken only by the occasional crackle of another failed card.
When night fell, Lan Qi still hadn’t made the card he was aiming for.
Sid was already dozing off, fast asleep on the chair, even snoring softly. No amount of noise from failed attempts woke her — it was like sleeping through a thunderstorm.
“Meow.”
Boss Cat floated a thick blanket from the upstairs guest room using telekinesis, gently covering Sid. Then it looked worriedly at Lan Qi.
It had the feeling that with Sid around, Lan Qi’s failures were happening even faster than usual.
Before, at least he would get a few steps in before the card blew up. Now he was almost carefree, like a kid playing with clay — and he didn’t even look ashamed, just smiling faintly.
It was clear he had completely let go of his pressure and rediscovered the pure joy of card-making.
Boss Cat didn’t know whether Sid’s “reverse buff” was a blessing or a curse.
It just knew that if Lan Qi went back to the Southern Continent and Talia saw him making cards like this, her blood pressure would explode.
When the last trace of twilight faded, leaving only stars and moonlight peeking through the curtains, the grandfather clock in the corner struck midnight.
Then, after an unusually long silence —
A brilliant light flared from Lan Qi’s workbench.
“Mm…”
Sid stirred, rubbing her eyes, just in time to see the glow intensify and then vanish.
Lan Qi was holding a magic card wreathed in violet mist.
“A purple rare card! No wonder the little black cat says you’re amazing.”
Sid clapped her hands, impressed.
It had taken him over ten hours, but he had finally made a targeted, rare-quality magic card. Though it was only second-tier, it still showed excellent skill.
“Card-making is my specialty,” Lan Qi said with a smile. When he returned to the Southern Continent, he knew most of his time would once again be devoted to honing his magitek craft — though life on the Northern Continent had been full and happy.
Boss Cat leapt from the chair, curiously inspecting the card.
It turned out to be a second-tier spell [Transformation: Human], one Lan Qi and Talia had long since mastered.
But this one clearly had a special appearance-locking modification.
“You went through all that trouble just to make a new disguise?” Boss Cat asked, startled.
It knew that Lan Qi and Sid needed new disguises — last time, he had even lent Sid the card he used to transform into Rocky McCarthy.
Lan Qi simply smiled and tapped the card. His figure blurred and twisted, and when it became clear again, he was the spitting image of the Son of Annihilation.
“Meow?!”
Boss Cat’s fur stood on end as it leapt into Sid’s arms in fright.
But after a moment’s thought, it peeked out again — yes, this was still Lan Qi.
Though he wasn’t imitating the Son of Annihilation’s mannerisms, the appearance was flawless.
“You capture someone, then disguise yourself as them and sneak back to their companions… I don’t even know how to describe such a wicked creature.”
Sid understood immediately what Lan Qi intended to do next — and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
All she could say was that he truly belonged on the side of the Resurrection Church.