Lex pernah mengunci ingatannya tentang nama Wu Kong dari dalam Chamber of Secrets, namun saat membacanya lagi, tiba-tiba kenangan-kenangan itu kembali padanya, sekali lagi mengingatkan betapa berbahayanya interaksinya dengan tamu spesifik ini.
Dia harus benar-benar mengendalikan pikirannya, agar pemikiran itu tidak terlihat oleh tamu. Bagian paling buruknya, dia tidak yakin apakah Host Attire akan melindunginya dari tatapan tamu, karena Sistem sepertinya sama sekali tidak mampu mendeteksi tamu khusus ini. Hal itu aneh.
Tapi hal itu member Lex alasan yang tepat untuk bertemu tamu khusus ini, yang cukup nyaman karena dia memang sudah memutuskan untuk bertemu dia. Jika ada Dao Lord lain yang memburu tamu ini, maka akan merepotkan jika menahan dia di sini terlalu lama.
Meski teleportasi Sistem diseal di luar Origin realm, dan lokasi realm-nya tersembunyi dan disamarkan, siapa tahu kemampuan apa yang dimiliki Dao Lord? Lebih baik hati-hati saja.
Lex dengan hati-hati menaruh surat itu di laci yang sama dengan surat sebelumnya, menguburnya di antara banyak kartu nama miliknya. Meski surat khusus ini tidak melukainya,
"Sun Wu Kong, aku senang tahu kau menikmati kelembutan Midnight Inn," ujar Innkeeper, suaranya selalu menyenangkan dan menenangkan untuk didengar. Saat dia mulai berbicara, kantornya sepi hanya berisi dirinya sendiri, namun begitu kata-katanya selesai, seekor monyet yang berbudi luhur duduk di hadapannya.
Wu Kong menatap terbuka ke arah Innkeeper, pemikiran tak diketahui berjalan di kepalanya. Apalagi, dia mungkin sedang menginspeksi Innkeeper, tapi Lex tidak bisa menebak. Di hadapan Dao Lord lain, Sistemnya akan menutupi keberadaannya sebaik mungkin, dan membiarkan semuanya berjalan otomatis. Namun, bahkan saat tamu khusus ini, yang namanya Lex menolak untuk dipikirkan, duduk di depannya, Sistemnya tidak menunjukkan indikasi penyembunyian sama sekali.
"Innkeeper yang ternama," akhirnya Wu Kong bicara, minat bersinar di matanya. "Aku sudah mendengar banyak hal tentangmu. Dikatakan kau memiliki penguasaan Karma yang tak tertandingi. Melihatmu sekarang, seolah tanpa ikatan Karma apa pun selain Inn, aku melihat itu benar."
Innkeeper tersenyum dan mengangguk sopan, seolah mengakui pujian itu.
"Aku juga sudah banyak mendengar tentangmu, tamu terhormat," kata Innkeeper, nada dan tempunya santai, seolah reputasi besar monyet itu tidak mengganggunya sedikit pun. "Aku dengar kau suka dipanggil Handsome Monkey King."
Wu Kong meletakkan siku kirinya dengan santai di sandaran kursinya, menggunakannya menopang diri saat dia menaruh dagu di kepalan tangannya. Namun saat Innkeeper menyebut julukan yang disukainya, siku Wu Kong terselip, dan Dao Lord itu hampir jatuh dari posisi duduk.
Innkeeper tidak bereaksi pada tersandungnya tiba-tiba, dan Wu Kong juga tidak mengakuinya, namun Lex menduga tamu itu menahan agar pipinya tidak memerah.
"Ya, kan, itu juga aku punya, tapi kira-ku dari banyak hal yang membangun reputasiku, itu bukan hal yang akan jadi fokusmu."
Lex menolak percaya bahwa seorang Dao Lord bisa gugup begitu mudah. Tidak mungkin.
"Ya, kan, aku juga dengar kau menerima saran kencan buta dari Brandon. Cukup berani, kalau boleh kukatakan. Senang kau memanfaatkan lingkungan Inn untuk mengeksplorasi opsi romantismu. Gimana kabarnya?"
Wu Kong tiba-tiba kelihatan seperti ditembak di jantung, meski hanya sesaat. Lex menolak percaya makhluk di depannya begitu terbuka menampilkan emosi aslinya, dan yakin itu digunakan untuk mengganggu kewaspadaannya.
Sementara Wu Kong teringat bahwa Innkeeper, bahkan tanpa bertemu dia, pernah menasihatinya untuk tidak ikut kencan buta. Apakah Innkeeper sudah meramal bahwa dia akan dibuang?
"Aku hanya mencoba pengalaman baru. Bukan hal yang perlu terlalu disepelekan," kata Wu Kong dengan acuh tak acuh. "Tau, sebelum aku datang ke Inn, aku menyelidikimu. Kurasa kau sudah bisa menebak. Tanpa sejarah dan tanpa jejak di alam semesta, seolah kau muncul dari nowhere. Kurasa dengan penguasaan Karma-mu, tidak sulit menghapus semua jejakmu.
"Tapi aku juga dengar belakangan ini, kau jarang muncul di publik. Aku penasaran kenapa. Sekarang aku mengerti, karena kau merawat luka parah. Kalau harus ditebak, kukira kekuatanmu sekitar 40% dari normal. Luar biasa apa yang kau lakukan dalam kondisi seperti itu. Kalau akuzelewd, aku tidak akan mengekspos diriku."
Lex tiba-tiba punya pemikiran, meski dia tidak percaya pemikiran itu benar. Dia menggeserkannya. Bagaimana mungkin seorang Dao Lord memiliki kemampuan konfrontasi verbal yang lemah begitu?
Kalau dia menelaah percakapan mereka, terlihat jelas sekilas bahwa tamu duduk di hadapannya mencoba mengganggu ketenangannya, namun upayanya gagal terus. Maka dia menyerang sisi personalnya.
Yang menarik, tamu tersebut tampak menganggap kondisi luka Sistem sebagai milik Innkeeper sendiri. Lebih spesifik, Sistem berfungsi 40,2%, dan tamu, yang jelas mencoba mengamati Innkeeper, salah sangka kondisi lemah Sistem sebagai kelemahan Innkeeper.
Lex tidak tahu niat tamu itu, tapi ini bukan saat kehilangan keberanian. Dia akan terus bersikap seolah semua yang ditampilkan tamu sengaja untuk menipunya. Dia cuma tidak percaya ada Dao Lord yang begitu sederhana dan lurus.
Lex had once sealed his memory of Wu Kong’s name from within the Chamber of Secrets, but upon reading it again, suddenly those memories returned to him, once again reminding him of how dangerous his interactions with this particular guest were.
He had to be in complete control over his thoughts, lest his thoughts be seen by the guest. The worst part was, he wasn’t sure if the Host Attire would protect him from the guests gaze, for the system seemed entirely incapable of detecting this particular guest at all. It was uncanny.
But it provided Lex with a proper justification to meet with this particular guest, which was convenient because he had already decided to meet him. If there were potentially other Dao Lords hunting this guest, then it would be inconvenient to keep him here for a long time.
Although the system teleportation was sealed outside the Origin realm, and the location of his realm was hidden and masked, who knew what capabilities Dao Lords had? It was best to be careful.
Lex carefully placed the letter in the same drawer as the one with the previous one, burying it with many of his business cards. Although this particular letter had not harmed him,
"Sun Wu Kong, I am glad to know that you enjoyed the hospitality of the Midnight Inn," the Innkeeper said, his voice ever pleasing and comforting to hear. When he began to speak, his office was empty save himself, and yet as his words completed, a dignified monkey sat opposite to him.
Wu Kong stared openly at the Innkeeper, unknown thoughts running through his head. Heck, he might have been inspecting the Innkeeper, yet Lex could not tell. In the presence of other Dao Lords, his system would suppress itself, hiding its presence as best as it could, and allow everything to run on automation. Yet, even as this particular guest, whose name Lex refused to think of, sat before him, his system showed no such indication of hiding.
"The renowned Innkeeper," Wu Kong eventually spoke, interest shining in his eyes. "I have heard many things about you. It is said that you boast an incomparable mastery over Karma. Seeing you now, seemingly without any Karmic ties at all save for the Inn, I see that is true."
The Innkeeper smiled and nodded politely, as if acknowledging the compliment.
"I have also heard much about you, dear guest," the Innkeeper spoke, his tone and pace at ease, as if the monkey’s vast reputation did not bother him at all. "I have heard you like to be called Handsome Monkey King."
Wu Kong had his left elbow rested peacefully on the arm of his chair, using it to support himself as he rested his jaw on his fist. Yet when the Innkeeper spoke of the nickname he liked to be called, Wu Kong’s elbow slipped, and the Dao Lord almost fell over from a seated position.
The Innkeeper did not react to the sudden stumble, and Wu Kong also did not acknowledge it, yet Lex suspected that the guest was suppressing a blush from appearing.
"Yes, well, I have that going for me too, though I’d have thought that from the many things my reputation is built on, that is not what you would be focusing on."
Lex refused to believe that a Dao Lord could be flustered so easily. There was just no way.
"Yes, well, I have also heard that you are accepting blind date suggestions from Brandon. Quite courageous of you, if I might say so myself. I’m glad that you are making use of the Inns’ environment to explore your romantic options. How is that going for you?"
Wu Kong suddenly looked like he had been shot through the heart, though it only lasted a moment. Lex refused to believe that the being before him was so openly displaying his genuine emotions, and believed that they were being used to throw him off guard.
Wu Kong, meanwhile, recalled that the Innkeeper, even without meeting him, had once dissuaded him from trying to go on a blind date. Had the Innkeeper foreseen that he would be dumped?
"I was merely trying out a new experience. It’s nothing to take too seriously," Wu Kong said nonchalantly. "You know, before I came to the Inn, I looked into you. I suppose you could have already guessed as much. With no history and no mark left on the universe, it seems you appeared out of nowhere. I suppose with your mastery of Karma, it is not difficult to erase all your traces.
"But I also heard that lately, you have reduced your appearances in public. I was wondering why that might be. I see now it is because you are nursing a grave wound. If I had to guess, I would say you are at about 40% of your regular strength. Quite impressive what you can do in such a state. If I had been so weakened, I would never expose myself."
Lex suddenly had a thought, though he could not believe such a thought to be true. He pushed it aside. How was it possible that a Dao Lord could have such weak verbal confrontational skills?
If he looked over their conversation, it seemed apparent at a glance that the guest sitting opposite to him was trying to unnerve him, yet his attempts kept failing. As such, he took to attacking his more personal traits.
What was interesting was that the guest seemed to be considering the system’s wounded state as the Innkeepers own. To be more specific, the system was at 40.2% functionality, and the guest, who had clearly tried to observe the Innkeeper, mistook the system’s weakened state as the Innkeepers own.
Lex did not know what the guests intentions were, but this was no time to lose his nerve. He would continue to act as if everything the guest was showing was purposeful to deceive him. He just couldn’t believe there existed such a simple and straightforward Dao Lord.
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