The Lazy Demon King Definitely Won’t Meet the Retired Sword Saint – Chapter 241

Chapter: Chapter 243
Drip, drip, drip…
The raindrops striking the smooth ground produced clear and pleasant sounds.
A woman in a white dress adorned with star patterns stood quietly under this vast and boundless starry sky, her gaze fixed on a bright star in the heavens.
Her unkempt white hair cascaded to the ground, covering a large area behind her.
This was her exclusive space, and she was its ruler.
After an unknown period, hurried footsteps approached from a distance. A young girl in a crimson robe, her face etched with anxiety, stepped into the starry expanse.
“Master! There’s an emergency!” the girl shouted, waving two sheets of white paper in her hand at the woman.
She dared not venture deeper. If she went too far into this starry expanse without the Master’s guidance, she feared she would never find her way out. This place was an absolute forbidden zone, and only the Master could venture deep within.
Upon hearing the girl’s voice, the woman’s expression remained unchanged. She simply raised a hand, and the white papers flew from the girl’s grasp, drifting slowly into her own.
After quickly scanning the contents of the two papers, the woman looked up at the star she had been gazing at: “Star River… Sword Saint…”
A different light flashed in the woman’s eyes, unseen by anyone. She stood with her hands behind her back, silently contemplating under the starry sky for a long while, seemingly considering something.
As seconds ticked by, the girl waiting at the edge of the starry expanse grew increasingly anxious, but she dared not speak up, fearing she might interrupt the woman’s thoughts.
The starry sky above the woman’s head began to transform rapidly. The original orderly arrangement of the stars was disrupted, and a new order began to form in the sky, yet the woman remained standing still, watching.
Just as the girl was about to lose her composure and speak, the woman slightly parted her lips, her ethereal voice echoing beneath the starry expanse: “Her future remains clear and unclouded by this matter. Perhaps, this will be a turning point for her.”
“Then, Master, what do you mean…”
“Take the branches and fruit of the Tree of Life there; they will need these,” the woman said calmly.
“Ah?” The girl’s expression froze. Was this support too meager?
The Tree of Life was indeed a divine artifact, but its branches and fruit were not. These two items, at most, were useful for healing injuries, and beyond that, they were of no use in combat.
The two urgent requests for aid clearly stated that their enemy this time was a truly terrifying monster, likely reaching the divine level. Bringing only these two items would be utterly ineffective.
The girl couldn’t quite fathom what her Master was thinking, though she had never truly understood her Master’s thoughts.
The woman offered no explanation. She merely waved her hand and continued to gaze at the ever-changing starry sky above: “Also, prepare a guest room. We will soon have two lovely little guests.”
The girl was completely bewildered. Indeed, with her limited intellect, she could never comprehend her Master’s commands.
Fortunately, the girl was not one to pry. When faced with matters she couldn’t understand, her greatest skill was to simply ignore them.
“Does Master have any other instructions? If not, I will make the arrangements.”
“Assign this matter to Qian Lin.”
“Yes, I understand.” The girl could no longer react to the woman’s words. She didn’t want to ask why Qian Lin, who was currently in confinement, would be assigned this task.
The Master’s decision must have her own reasons. She only needed to execute the orders obediently.
Over the years, the Master’s judgments had never been wrong, and she believed this time would be no different. The Master’s judgment would undoubtedly be correct.
“The branches and fruit should be freshly picked. Have Qian Lin go directly.”
“Yes.”
Leaving the starry expanse, the girl hurried away. There was no time to waste.
Giant mechanical automatons stood every few meters along the corridors. These were the security measures for this forbidden area. At the end of this long corridor was the headquarters of the Divine Seat.
“Good afternoon, Cardinal.”
“Where is Cardinal going?”
“Will Cardinal join us for dinner tonight?”
Contrary to the typical impression of such a mysterious organization, the Divine Seat’s headquarters did not feature any grand buildings. Instead, it resembled a beautiful, small village.
On the village’s avenues, many members of the Divine Seat, dressed in various attire, walked about. Without exception, smiles graced their faces. Upon seeing the red-robed girl running, many also greeted her.
The girl wore a wry, helpless expression. While she was happy about her good relationships within the organization, she wished these people would consider the context. Her current appearance clearly indicated an urgent matter.
“We’ll talk about these things later. I have an urgent matter to attend to, so please clear the way!” the girl shouted.
Hearing this, the members of the Divine Seat who had been standing in the path quickly made way, allowing the hurried girl to pass.
“For Cardinal to be in such a hurry, did something major happen?”
“Lady Youyou always seems to be running around like this. This is probably her routine, right?”
Youyou ignored the discussions behind her and ran swiftly to the area where the isolation rooms were located. Then, taking a deep breath, she kicked open the door of the isolation room.
The loud noise startled the girl with green hair and pointed ears, who was squatting on the ground, drawing with a white chalk. Upon seeing who it was, the beautiful girl patted her meager chest and said to Youyou with residual fear, “It’s truly an honor for Cardinal Youyou to visit me. You have graced my humble abode.”
Looking at the elf before her, who showed no elven demeanor, Youyou couldn’t understand why the Master would send her for support. Wasn’t she afraid of infuriating the people being supported?
Thinking about Qian Lin’s past actions made Youyou want to grind her teeth. If the Master hadn’t stopped her, she would have kicked this good-for-nothing who only wasted food out long ago.
“The Master has a mission for you. She wants you to take the branches and fruit of the Tree of Life to this place to support Sasha,” Youyou relayed the Master’s command.
Upon hearing Youyou’s words, Qian Lin’s expression fell. She tugged at her hair in distress and nodded reluctantly, “I’m so close to a breakthrough; can’t you give me a little more time?”
“You always say that, but have you ever produced any results? Even if you can’t, can you at least avoid causing such major news every day?” Youyou took out a set of keys from her pocket and unlocked the delicate little lock hanging on Qian Lin’s ankle.
After removing the lock, Qian Lin looked at the small lock that Youyou had taken away with a hint of nostalgia. “I think this thing looks quite beautiful hanging on my ankle. Why don’t you ask the Master to custom-make such an accessory for me?”
Youyou had long since become immune to Qian Lin’s whimsical ideas and merely gave her a look of indifference to this latest one. “Hurry up and go. This mission is urgent. The Master wants you to get there as quickly as possible.”
“Hmph, the Master would never say that. You’re definitely exaggerating.” Qian Lin stretched, listening to the crisp sounds from her body as her energy seemed to overflow. “Alright, I’ll make haste.”
“Then go quickly and stop babbling here,” Youyou forcefully pushed Qian Lin out of the isolation room.
Qian Lin wore a very helpless expression. Youyou was good in every way, except that she tended to be too impatient at times, which didn’t seem fitting for a high-ranking Cardinal.
However, her personality wasn’t exactly unpleasant.
Watching Qian Lin trot away, Youyou casually tossed the small lock in her hand, awaiting the arrival of another person.
Considering the time, they should be here soon.
As soon as this thought crossed her mind, Youyou heard a voice from behind her, “I was wondering who dared to kick open her isolation room door. It turns out to be Cardinal Youyou.”
A woman holding a thick book floated over from a distance. She had long purple hair and wore thick black-rimmed glasses, giving her a scholarly appearance.
“The Master assigned Qian Lin a mission, so I let her go ahead.” Youyou tossed the small lock back to the woman, looking at her senior with a helpless gaze. “While I trust the personalities of these colleagues, shouldn’t there be some security in a place like this? Aren’t you being too relaxed?”
Every time Youyou came here, she raised this question, and the woman would always brush it off with a laugh.
This time, as expected, it was no different. “This is also the Master’s will.”
As expected, the Master’s authority was being used to pressure her. Youyou pouted indignantly. “Fine, I won’t say anything more. Since I’ve returned the item to you, I’ll be going back now. There’s a pile of troublesome matters waiting for me to handle.”
“Then, please excuse me for not escorting you further.”
The atmosphere between these two was clearly not very good. On the other hand, the atmosphere beneath the Tree of Life was much more pleasant.
A large number of demi-humans with animal or pointed ears were gathered under a giant tree. Qian Lin carefully stepped over these relaxed-looking people and walked directly towards a small wooden cabin at the base of the tree.
A cute elf girl was sitting in the cabin, propping her head up, and coughing. A trace of crystal-clear liquid trickled from the corner of her mouth, leaving a wet stain on the table. She seemed to be having a pleasant dream.
Seeing this scene, Qian Lin covered her face. Others always said she was disgracing elves, but this girl was the truly embarrassing one.
Raising her hand, Qian Lin patted the table twice and shouted into the elf girl’s ear, “Wake up! The sun is already shining on your butt!”
“Ah!” Startled by Qian Lin’s shout in her ear, the girl, still lost in her dream, woke up instantly.
Then, under Qian Lin’s speechless gaze, she rolled off the chair.
A few seconds later, the girl poked her head out from under the table with an embarrassed expression. “You darn Qian Lin, couldn’t you have woken me up in a more peaceful way? You know my hearing is good, yet you shouted like that. You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”
Qian Lin rolled her eyes. “That would take forever. Never mind that, I’m here to see you about something important.”
“I know. The freshly picked branches and fruit of the Tree of Life are being prepared for you and will be sent down soon.” The girl indicated that she understood Qian Lin’s purpose. “These things contain a lot of life essence. I really don’t know what they’ll be used for.”
The Tree of Life had been cultivated by the Divine Seat for many years. Although it had grown quite large, the parts containing divine power were still limited, and the annual yield of branches and fruit was definitely not large.
Even the inventory stored in the warehouse possessed properties that could drive ordinary people mad.
Extending one’s lifespan was just the basic effect; these items could even snatch people back from the King of Hell.
“They’re going to save people. Otherwise, they wouldn’t need to send me, the divine doctor, over, right?” Qian Lin said proudly. Her medical skills were her greatest confidence.
Unfortunately, the girl before her didn’t share her confidence in her medical skills. “Just don’t kill anyone… Ah, here are the things you wanted.”
A vine descended from the great tree, entwined at its end around a man in a green robe. The man held two small boxes in his hands. Upon seeing Qian Lin waiting in the wooden cabin, he frowned, “Don’t tell me you’re the one taking these two items?”
“Hey, what’s wrong with me? Does the Master sending me on this trip bother you?” Qian Lin immediately became unhappy. She put her hands on her hips and questioned the man before her with full confidence.
She used to lack the confidence to retort to this guy, but today was different. She had accepted the Master’s mission.
The man shrugged, indicating he had no objections. “You should be familiar with how to use these items and their precautions. Since they’re freshly picked, their effects might be quite potent. Be careful when you use them.”
Qian Lin took the two boxes handed to her by the man and put them into her small medical bag. Then, she looked up and glared at the man, “I know, Senior Brother.”
“You still remember I’m your Senior Brother? Never mind, never mind. Be careful on your journey. These kinds of missions assigned at the last minute are invariably extremely dangerous, especially when you’re carrying these two items.” The man waved his hand, signaling Qian Lin to disappear from his sight quickly.
“Alright, rest assured about my movement techniques. My research is waiting for me here, and I won’t die out there.” Qian Lin hopped away from the wooden cabin, sticking her tongue out at the man. “Next time, I’ll blow up your laboratory.”
This childish threat made the man want to laugh and cry. Watching Qian Lin’s receding figure, he shook his head. “This girl hasn’t changed at all.”
“Sigh, we already knew that. It’s more likely that the elves’ old men will collectively gain enlightenment than to expect her to be reliable.”