The road back to the imperial capital was unexpectedly smooth. Aili City was in an uproar, with the imperial envoy and local officials, along with a cavalry unit, having gone missing for several days. Some said there was a large group of mountain bandits nearby, while others claimed it was a cannibalistic cult. As a result, wealthy families and merchant caravans everywhere were recruiting bodyguards, and Asa returned with a caravan headed to the imperial capital.

  He stood in front of the big house again, and Asa couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. There had been several times when he thought he would never come back. When he pushed open the two wooden doors and heard the familiar creaking sound, he suddenly felt a sense of homecoming. He involuntarily shouted: "I'm back!"

  "Come back, just come back, what's the big deal." Shandru emerged from the small hut inside. He was still the same, still wearing that long gown that was so dirty it couldn't be seen in color, his beard and hair mixed with silk threads on the edges of his gown almost burying his face, still looking as if he blended in with the surrounding corpses and organs.

  Although Sandru said so, Asa still saw a hint of smile in his eyes. If this place had a bit of a homey feel to it, then the old man had a flavor that was a mix of family, friends, and elders. "You're skipping work without any reason, making me suddenly overworked, you'll have to compensate for it."

  "Ah Sa asked: 'The World Tree leaf you mentioned, how is it used to treat injuries?'"

  Xander looked him up and down with a skeptical gaze, saying casually, "Did you get it? Was it bought from a street vendor or something?"

  Asa somewhat proudly took out the World Tree Leaf from his bosom and placed it on the table in front of Sandro.

  Shandru was stunned.

  Most of his face was obscured by a mixture of whiskers and hair, making it impossible to discern his expression, except for two black-and-white eyes staring at the leaves of the World Tree, as if infected with the green aura emitted by the leaves, emitting an eerie but unbelievable gaze.

  Xander stretched out his hand, as if afraid of offending the collision, and slowly picked up the leaf of the World Tree with a very slight gesture. His originally pale hand seemed to have been given some vitality under the green leaves.

  Shandru stared at the leaf, his pale and withered fingers gently stroking its surface, as tenderly as a young man in love touching his lover's skin. "How did you get it?" His voice was actually shaking slightly.

  "That's how I got it." Asa replied lightly, feeling rather pleased with himself.

  Shandoru was still staring blankly ahead when he suddenly turned his head and asked: "Are you going to use this thing to save people?"

  A Sa nodded.

  "Who is going to save?"

  "Save the one I want to save." Asa didn't bother explaining the cause and effect, and responded with a useless phrase.

  "A woman?" Sandru noticed sharply. Asa nodded.

  Xander sighed and shook his head, saying: "You're actually using this thing to save a woman. Why don't you just chop yourself up and feed it to the pigs?" He furrowed his brow and stared at Asa, "Do you even know what this is?"

  "World Tree's Leaf, wasn't it you who told me? I seem to have also heard that it was some kind of divine object."

  Shandru turned his head to look at Yezi and said slowly, "Do you know how great the power of this thing is and what it can be used for? When I was young, I went crazy searching for it. It took me ten years to find a clue, and then another ten years to think of ways to get it, but I never succeeded." He let out a long sigh and shook his head. "I didn't expect that now I don't even think about it, yet it has come into my hands again."

  "Hey, this is what I got. Asa wanted to remind him, but seeing how engaged he was, didn't want to interrupt."

  "If I had gotten it twenty years earlier..." Sandru was completely immersed in the nostalgia of his youthful vigor, his eyes bursting with a vitality that belied his age, and an air of grandeur radiating from him. "I would have..." He furrowed his brow valiantly, as if he had truly returned to those days.

  But gradually his sharp eyes dimmed again in the chaos, and finally returned to a state of confusion and helplessness, saying in a sighing tone: "I will also take it to save a woman."

  He tossed the leaves back at Asa and shook his head with a mixture of disappointment and frustration, saying: "Take it to save your woman."

  A Sa picked up the leaves and said in a low voice: "Not my woman."

  "What are you doing saving a woman who's not yours? Are you out of your mind?" For some reason, Andrew seemed to have been ignited with some anger from the nostalgia just now.

  Asa stuffed the leaves into his bosom, feeling a bit strange. After thinking for a moment, he said: "If I don't need to use one leaf, I'll just cut off a small half and give you the rest..."

  "This thing is useless once it's cut up. Just let her eat the whole thing." Sandru returned to his usual tired and apathetic self, turning back to face a corpse. Asa found him somewhat strange, wanting to ask something but not knowing what to say. He turned around and walked towards the gate, he was going to the Duke's mansion now.

  "Wait a minute." Shandru suddenly shouted from behind: "Don't panic. Give me back that book. What are you taking it away for? That's something very important. I've been worried about this book all this time, and what if you don't come back or lose the book?"

  He stopped in his tracks, turned around and said awkwardly: "I lent it to someone else."

  "Lent it to someone else?" Shandru's stimulation seemed even greater than when he saw the leaves of the World Tree earlier. Earlier, he was just stunned, but now he jumped up as if his butt had been kicked, and rushed to Asa's front, grabbing his collar. Asa only then discovered that this old man's movements were actually quite agile.

  Shandru's eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out, and he gritted his teeth, asking: "Do you know what that thing is? Who did you lend it to?"

  "It's the duke's daughter... She went out traveling, said she was just looking around on the way... That book of yours was thrown behind the bookshelf, I thought it wasn't anything important." Asa saw Sandru get excited for the first time and was a bit at a loss.

  "Women! I knew it, women again! Go and get her back for me, go, go, go!" Sandro was furious, pushing Asa out the door and poking his head with his hand. "Let me tell you, even if you're young and vigorous, use your brain to think things through, don't just be obsessed with women all day."

  A Sa didn't understand what he was saying, so he pulled his leg and ran to the Duke's mansion, saying: "I'll go ask her where she is..."

  The servants of the duke's mansion were of high quality and didn't make things difficult for him even when they saw his unimpressive attire, quickly helping him to report.

  As soon as he came out, it was him. The Duke smiled warmly, like seeing an old friend he hadn't seen in years. Klavius beside him didn't change his expression, but his face turned a bit pale.

  Ah Sa said that he had brought the medicine that could cure Xiao Yi, but the Duke did not show much reaction. During this time, he had already found all the doctors and priests he could find, but his daughter's injury was not only not getting better, but was actually worsening with time. He had long since given up hope.

  Under Asa's persistent request, the duke brought him to the bedside of Xiao Yi.

  If it weren't for the Duke himself bringing her here, Ah Si really wouldn't dare believe that the person on the bed in front of him was actually Xiao Yi.

  She had become emaciated to the point of being unrecognizable, her skin tone almost indistinguishable from that of a corpse. Her originally plump and rosy cheeks had completely sunken in, her eyes tightly closed, appearing very prominent on her skeletal face covered only by skin.

  "She's been like this almost all day since last week. The doctors and the priests say she could stop breathing at any moment." The duke's voice was heavy, his mood indeed also very heavy. This was his daughter, whom he had watched grow up from a baby in diapers to a slender beauty, and now he was watching her slowly die on the bed.

  Moreover, she is also a very important card in his hand, used to establish a relationship with a powerful and influential family, which directly affects his grand plan.

  She's already in a coma like this, can she still eat that World Tree leaf? Asa's heart is anxious.

  It should be fine, after all, this is a divine object. Although he wasn't quite clear what 'divine object' meant, he could only place his hopes in this unclear concept. He took out the World Tree leaf from his bosom and carefully pinched open Xiao Yi's mouth, stuffing the leaf inside. The Duke frowned as he watched from the side.

  Fortunately, this thing indeed produced a magical change that matched its name. The leaves of the World Tree slowly melted in Xiao Yi's mouth, not turning into liquid, but as if they had directly merged into her body, shrinking bit by bit and slowly disappearing. Xiao Yi's mouth slowly closed, and after a while, she suddenly let out a long sigh and moaned.

  A Sa also finally let out a breath of relief and stood up. He had already seen a flush rise to Xiao Yi's face.

  The duke's mouth twitched, staring at his daughter's face in disbelief as it gradually turned rosy, and her originally weak breathing slowly became stable. He looked at Asa, reached out to hold his hand, opened his mouth wanting to say some words of gratitude, but this sudden surprise had surpassed his usual eloquent and composed response, and he didn't know what to say.

  Asa looked at the duke in front of him. Now he was just an excited father, and this pure joy made it clear that there was no ulterior motive or other things. Asa himself was originally very happy, now even more so, with a joyful smile on his face.

  Clavis stood woodenly at the door, watching the scene inside with a detached air. His expression hadn't changed, still looking as handsome and powerful as ever, only his face had taken on a faint greenish hue. It was in stark contrast to the healthy flush on his fiancée's face and the excited color on the duke's.

  He had never seen the Duke lose control like this before.

  The Duke's profundity, wisdom, mind, and cunning were all beyond his grasp, making him both admire and fear him. In his heart, the Duke was first an idol, a guiding deity who showed him how to achieve success and power, and only then a real person with actual relationships.

  But now this idol in his eyes was visibly weakened by the obvious expression. Klavius believed that all tenderness, including joy, were undoubtedly symbols of weakness, and even if expressed, they were just a means of performance on suitable occasions. And now the Duke would actually be moved by such a lowly plebeian who dared to rush into the Ducal Palace in such tattered clothes, making him feel that his idol had been desecrated.

  Not only that, he also had a sense of failure. No matter how hard he tried, no matter what he did, the Duke never showed him much appreciation or recognition. And now, in front of this lowly trash, the Duke's face was clearly filled with gratitude. This unmistakably showed that in the Duke's eyes, he was not as good as that inferior person. Now this clear and thorough failure plunged him into extreme anger.

  Suddenly a footman rushed in and reported to the duke: "Outside, two church pastors are asking if Mr. Asa is here."

  The duke looked at Asa, and Asa was stunned for a moment. "Looking for me?" He didn't remember having any connection with the church.

  The entrance of the duke's mansion. Two priests were standing outside the gate, with marks on their clothes indicating that they were high-ranking priests who could sit at the same table as royalty. Next to them was a carriage, a white luxurious body pulled by four pure white horses without a single speck of impurity.

  "Does Archbishop have business with me?" Asa asked, looking at the carriage. He remembered that it seemed to be the carriage of Archbishop Ronis.

  "Bishop Ronis has a matter of utmost urgency that requires your presence, please get in the car." The pastor opened the door for Asara.

  Asa looked uneasily at the spotless interior of the car and the pastor holding open the door, this courtesy making him a bit flustered, he nervously stepped aboard.

  The coachman shut the carriage door, jumped up on the box and pulled the reins, the four white horses let out a long whinny, raised their hooves and galloped away with the carriage. From start to finish, neither of the two pastors looked at anyone else in the eye, including the duke.

  The duke looked in the direction of the departing carriage, his slender eyebrows wrinkling into a small crease, and waved his hand saying: "Prepare my horse."