"Astaga, siapa yang datang ke sini? Lord Idris, dari Star Scorpions, terhormat sekali bisa menerima kehadiranmu," ucap Wu Kong sambil bangun dari tempat duduknya, perlahan berubah dari penampilan manusia ke penampilan aslinya. Bukan semua Dao Lord ramah seperti Pengelola Inn. Khususnya Dao Lord Binatang. Star Scorpion bisa dengan mudah tersinggung kalau sesama binatang mempertahankan bentuk manusia.
Wu Kong secara alami harus sopan dan ramah agar Lord Idris betah di sini sehari-hari. Kalau begitu, dia mungkin bisa mencuri sebagian Dao lawan. Sudah lama sekali tidak ada Dao Lord lain yang mendekatinya begitu berani.
"Sang legendaris Sun Wu Kong," ucap Idris pelan, tanpa menunjukkan sedikit pun kekecewaan atas penampilan monyet itu. "Aku tidak pernah bayang bisa bertemu denganmu, apalagi seperti ini. Ngomong-ngomong, ini bukan maksud menghina atau apa, tapi aku punya Bohemian Anchor di jiwaku, jadi Dao-ku tidak bisa disentuh."
Wu Kong tertawa, seolah mendengar lelucon.
"Oh come on, Lord Idris. Kamu tidak jujur percaya aku bisa mencuri Dao, kan? Itu cuma rumor jahat yang disebar Kaisar marah karena malu sama aku sekali atau dua kali. Kamu tidak usah panik. Lagipula, Pengelola Inn sudah jadi tuan rumah yang baik buat aku. Aku tidak akan merusak Inn-nya dengan melakukan hal memalukan di sini," kata Wu Kong sambil diam-diam mengubah target dari Dao Idris ke hal lain yang mungkin menarik perhatiannya.
"Ya, aku denger cerita Peaches of Immortality. Memang kisah legendaris - luar biasa kamu bisa capai pencapaian seperti itu bahkan sebelum jadi Immortal. Aku pengen denger versi kamu langsung, tapi mungkin lain kali. Faktanya, aku datang ke Inn ini punya tujuan spesifik. Mungkin kamu bisa bantu," katanya, tidak menyebut tujuannya langsung. Sebaliknya, dia diam-diam mendirikan barrier di sekeliling dirinya.
Meski berhadapan, dia tidak merasakan Wu Kong mencoba apa-apa, tapi dia sudah dibriefing dan tahu pasti monyet itu pasti mencuri darinya. Fakta bahwa sekadar klon, terbuat dari sehelai rambut, bisa mencuri dari Dao Lord saat berhadapan tanpa terdeteksi sedikit pun adalah salah satu hal paling menakutkan yang dihadapi Idris sejak jadi Dao Lord.
Seberapa kuat Wu Kong sebenarnya? Lord Idris pernah denger rumor bahwa bahkan klonnya bisa bikin klon lagi, masing-masing tetap punya kekuatan penuh Wu Kong. Adegan seperti itu benar-benar mustahil dipercaya.
"Ya, tentu. Aku senang bisa bantu kalau bisa. Kenapa kamu tidak ceritakan ke aku," kata Wu Kong, sambil mencuri ingatan Star Scorpions dan menelusikannya. Itu baru ingatan-ingatan tidak penting untuk saat ini, tapi masih menarik.
"Aku datang langsung ke Inn tanpa kirim Letter of Intent karena, ya, ini inn. Tapi aku pengen ketemu Pengelola Inn, dan tidak yakin caranya. Rumor bilang fenomena terbaru yang terlihat seantero alam semesta adalah Pengelola Inn. Aku pengen tanya dia tentang itu, atas nama All Beast Alliance (ABA)."
Wu Kong menggosok dagu, menatap Idris. Kali terakhir dia bicara resmi sama Pengelola Inn, dia kirim Letter of Intent lewat Z. Tujuannya biar karma dan asal-usulnya kacau biar nggak ada yang tahu sejarah dia sama Zarek. Kalau Pengelola Inn punya pelayan Demi Dao Lord di sekitar, mereka bisa antar Letter of Intent dengan aman tanpa terpengaruh terlalu banyak, tapi sepertinya tidak ada orang seperti itu di sekitar. Dao Lord kedua Inn, yang bernama Mary, juga tidak cocok antar surat, karena terus terang siapa yang kirim Letter of Intent ke dia dulu? Kalau begitu, mending pakai Z lagi.
"Datang ke Inn nggak bakal jadi masalah, dan aku bantu urus suratnya juga," kata Wu Kong, tiba-tiba mengeluarkan Letter of Intent Idris dari sakunya sendiri lalu meletakkannya di meja di depan lawan. Dia cepat-cepat kirim pesan ke Z, memanggilnya, tapi suruh nunggu setengah jam sebelum datang.
"Ada yang sedang datang ambil suratnya, Lord Idris. Kenapa tidak duduk dulu? Kita bisa ngobrol - ini pertemuan pertama kita kan, jadi kita harus luangin waktu buat saling kenal," kata Wu Kong sambil sopan menarik kursi buat Lord Idris.
Kursi itu, buatan Inn, otomatis berubah bentuk nyocok sama struktur tubuh kalajengking, tapi Lord Idris tidak bergerak duduk meski sudah berubah. Matanya tetap mengunci surat itu.
Surat itu tadi berada di node ruang temporal di dalam tubuhnya - bagian dari dirinya sendiri, bukan seperti cincin spasial yang harta karun eksternal. Meski begitu, Wu Kong bisa ambil suratnya tanpa mengejutkan kalajengking sama sekali. Seberapa kuat dia sebenarnya?
Kalajengking itu menatap monyet dengan sedikit ketakutan tersembunyi di matanya. Dia pernah denger rumor bahwa Wu Kong pernah nyuri nyawa Dao Lord langsung dari jiwanya, dengan itu membunuhnya. Dia kira cerita seperti itu rumor absurd. Tapi sekarang, dia nggak begitu yakin lagi.
Kalajengking nggak bisa berkeringat, tapi Lord Idris berkeringat saja saat duduk di hadapan Wu Kong. Dia tiba-tiba mempertanyakan semua keputusan hidupnya. Lagipula, seperti hampir semua Dao Lord yang ada, Lord Idris nggak ada progress sama sekali di kultivasinya sejak jadi Dao Lord. Tapi Wu Kong... dia paksa nulis nama sendiri di Cosmic Ascendance Spectrum! Kultivasinya... pasti sudah mencapai level luar biasa!
"Ya, mari kita saling kenal," katanya lemah sambil duduk. Sudah lama sekali kalajengking itu nggak merasakan ketakutan. Terasa hampir asing.
Berapa miliar tahun sudah sejak nyawanya terancam? Dia nggak lagi biasa dengan sensasi itu.
"My oh my, who do we have here? Lord Idris, of the Star Scorpions, it is an honor to receive you," Wu Kong said as he got up from his seat, slowly transforming from his human appearance into his true appearance. Not all Dao Lords were as amiable as the Innkeeper. That was especially true for Beast Dao Lords. A Star Scorpion could easily take offense to a fellow Beast maintaining a human form.
Wu Kong naturally had to be polite and amicable to keep Lord Idris here as long as possible. After all, if he did that, he might even be able to swipe a portion of that fellow’s Dao. It had been a long time since another Dao Lord approached him so brazenly.
"The legendary Sun Wu Kong," Idris spoke slowly, not showing a hint of any dissatisfaction with the monkey’s appearance. "I never imagined I’d have the privilege of meeting with you, especially like this. By the way, I’m not saying this as an insult to you or anything, but I have a Bohemian Anchor in my soul, so my Dao cannot be touched."
Wu Kong laughed, as if he had heard a joke.
"Oh come now, Lord Idris. You don’t honestly believe I can steal Daos? That was just a malicious rumor spread by an angry Emperor who was embarrassed by me once or twice. You don’t need to be alarmed. Besides, the Innkeeper has been a gracious host to me. I would not ruin his Inn by doing something so disgraceful here," Wu Kong said as he silently changed his target from Idris’ Dao to anything else that might attract his attention.
"Yes, I’ve heard about the Peaches of Immortality. It is a legendary tale indeed - incredible how you achieved such a feat even before becoming an Immortal. I would love to hear the tale from you in person, but perhaps another day. In fact, I came to this Inn with a specific purpose. Maybe you can help me out with it," he said, not directly mentioning his purpose. Instead, he silently erected barriers around himself.
Even face to face, he could not feel Wu Kong trying anything, but he had been briefed and knew that the monkey was most certainly trying to steal from him. The fact that a mere clone, made from a single hair, could steal from a Dao Lord face to face without being detected in the slightest was the one of the most alarming things Idris had faced since becoming a Dao Lord.
How strong was Wu Kong really? Lord Idris had heard rumors that even his clones could generate more clones, each of them still containing Wu Kong’s full power. Such a scene was entirely unbelievable.
"Yes, of course. I would love to help you if I can. Why don’t you tell me about it," Wu Kong said, even as he stole the Star Scorpions memories and looked through them. They were only unimportant memories for now, but they were still interesting.
"I came to the Inn directly without sending a Letter of Intent because, well, it’s an inn. But I would like to meet with the Innkeeper, and am not sure about how to do so. Rumor has it that the latest phenomenon that was seen across the universe was the Innkeeper. I would like to ask him about it, on behalf of the All Beast Alliance (ABA)."
Wu Kong rubbed his chin, and looked at Idris. Last time he talked to the Innkeeper officially, he sent the Letter of Intent through Z. The purpose of that was to mix up his karma and origins so that no one could learn of his history with Zarek. If the Innkeeper had some Demi Dao Lord servants around, they could safely deliver the Letters of Intent without being affected by them too much, but there didn’t seem to be anyone like that around. The Inns second Dao Lord, the one called Mary, was also unsuitable to deliver the letter, because then who would send her a Letter of Intent first? In that case, might as well just use Z again.
"Coming to the Inn shouldn’t be a problem, and I’ll help you out with the letter too," said Wu Kong, suddenly pulling out Idris’ Letter of Intent from his own pocket before placing it on the table in front of him. He quickly sent a message to Z, summoning him, but told him to wait half an hour before coming.
"Someone is on the way to pick up the letter, Lord Idris. Why don’t you have a seat? We can chat - this is our first meeting after all, so we should spend some time getting to know one another," said Wu Kong as he politely pulled out a chair for Lord Idris.
The chair, being from the Inn, naturally morphed to suit the body structure of a scorpion, but Lord Idris made no move to sit despite the change. Instead his eyes remained fixed on the letter.
That had been placed inside his temporal space node - something inside his body. It was a part of him, not like a spatial ring which was an external treasure. Even so, Wu Kong had taken the letter out without alerting the scorpion at all. How strong was he really ?
The scorpion looked at the monkey with a hint of dread hidden within its eyes. It had once heard a rumor that Wu Kong had once stolen a Dao Lord’s life directly from his soul, thereby killing him. He had thought that such a story was an absurd rumor. But now, he wasn’t so sure.
Scorpions couldn’t really sweat, but Lord Idris began to sweat anyway as he took a seat opposite to Wu Kong. He was suddenly questioning all his life decisions. After all, like almost every other Dao Lord in existence, Lord Idris had made no progress at all in his cultivation since becoming a Dao Lord. But Wu Kong... he had forcibly written his own name on the Cosmic Ascendance Spectrum! His cultivation... must have already reached an incredible level!
"Yes, let’s get to know one another," he said weakly as he sat down. It had been a long time since the scorpion had felt fear. It almost felt foreign.
How many billions of years had it been since his life was in danger? He no longer felt accustomed to the sensation.
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