Lex jarang mengambil risiko sebesar ini sebelumnya. Dia lebih suka bertindak dari posisi aman jika memungkini. Meski dia jadi lebih aktif belakangan ini, dia tetap tahu garis apa yang tidak boleh dilanggar. Yang paling mendekati hal berbahaya seperti ini adalah saat dia menggunakan Jack untuk mendekati tujuh Dao Lord Naga Kerdil.
Kali ini, dia mendekat melalui talian hayat terakhirnya. Jika sesuatu terjadi pada kalung itu, tidak mungkin dia bisa kembali ke tubuh dan Sistemnya. Jack, meski handal, bukan tandingan bagi pengejarnya.
Meski Lex sudah melakukan riset dasar tentang Dao Lord itu, itu belum cukup untuk yakin. Apalagi, dia bahkan tidak yakin apakah Tuan Keberuntungan itu benar-benar orang yang sama yang menulis surat. Bisa jadi dia orang yang datang kemudian.
Selain itu, bahkan jika mereka orang yang sama, alasan apa yang dimiliki Lex yang membenarkan dia memanggil Dao Lord? Cuma karena dia mau mengumpulkan lebih banyak sumber daya? Tidak, alasan itu tidak cukup baik.
Dan yet, Lex memutuskan mengambil risiko ini dengan berani. Dia tidak hanya khawatir soal pengejar. Tidak, Lex mengarahkan pandangannya ke musuh setelah itu, dan setelah itu lagi. Mulai sekarang, dia harus menatap ke Dao dan tidak ada yang lain. Hanya musuh di level Dao yang merupakan musuh nyata, dan hanya dengan mendekati level seperti itulah dia bisa mengamankan masa depannya.
Kalau tidak, bahkan jika dia selamat sekarang, akhirnya akan tetap sama.
Lex melihat sosok berdiri di depannya, meski awalnya dia bermata mempertahankan mata tertutup. Tanpa perlindungan Midnight Inn atau Pakaian Tuan Rumah, bahkan sekadar melihat Dao Lord saja bisa berbahaya.
Tetapi saat sosok itu muncul di depan Lex, dia tak bisa menahan kagum. Meski Lex belum pernah melihat sosok itu, dia mengenali rasnya sekilas. Di depannya berdiri seekor qilin, tubuhnya rusa agung, kepala naga dan ekor singa. Sisiknya seperti naga, tapi memuat pola awan mengambang, sementara jenggotnya terbuat dari api biru.
Kehadirannya tidak masif atau menakutkan. Justru kehadirannya menyegarkan dan menguatkan. Semua kecemasan Lex melebur dalam kehadirannya, dan dia merasa semuanya akan baik-baik saja.
"Eh, eh, lihat itu, kau temukan pesanku dalam botol," kata Romulus dengan nada terkejut senang sambil menatap Lex. "Itu ide bagus dariku, tahu. Kau nggak akan sangka, tapi botal secara alami wadah yang luar biasa, dan bentuk uniknya memudahkan membekukan waktu di dalamnya."
Lex melirik botol hijau yang tiba-tiba muncul di tangannya. Di belakangnya, Mithon mengayunkan ekornya dengan antusias sambil menatap Romulus.
"Tuan Keberuntungan! Tuan Keberuntungan! Gilded Hollow sudah terbuka lagi! Aku bawa senior untuk memberitahumu!" kata dia dari belakang, jelas ini bukan pertama kalinya dia melihatnya.
"Bagus, Mithon, meski aku sudah tahu Hollow terbuka. Tapi, kurasa kau sudah cukup lama diasingkan. Mengubah perubahan zaman, kau boleh kembali ke benteng," kata Romulus sambil menggelengkan kepala seperti kakek manja, lalu mengalihkan pandangannya kembali ke Lex.
"Kau orang yang menarik. Aku benar-benar tidak bisa melihat masa lalumu. Pasti ada orang kuat yang mendukungmu. Kau bilang soal Midnight Inn? Itu apa?"
Lex membungkuk rendah, sangat bersyukur Tuan Keberuntungan cukup mengendalikan Daonya untuk tidak membinasakannya secara tidak sengaja hanya dengan berdiri di dekatnya.
"Midnight Inn adalah penginapan yang dijalankan oleh Pengelola Inn, dan buka untuk tamu dari seluruh alam semesta. Meski akhir-akhir ini perang memaksa Inn meminimalkan operasinya. Tapi jika kau pergi dari sini, Inn akan sangat terhormat menamu," kata Lex dengan sangat rendah hati.
Tuan Keberuntungan mengangguk, seolah jawabannya sudah dalam dugaannya.
"Pengelola Inn. Bagus sekali. Aku penasaran apakah dia teman lama. Sudah terlalu lama aku terjebak di Hollow. Baiklah Lex, ada urusan di sini? Aku punya pertanyaan untukmu, dan pasti kau juga punya hal yang ingin dibicarakan. Hal seperti itu lebih baik dilakukan di balik tembok benteng Keberuntungan."
Lex cukup terkejut betapa ramah dan santai Tuan Keberuntungan, karena bahkan Dao Lord paling ramah pun jarang bersikap seperti itu. Itu persis hal yang 'konon' membuat Pengelola Inn begitu unik.
"Aku tidak punya urusan lain di sini," konfirmasi Lex.
Qilin itu mengangguk, lalu mengangkut mereka bertiga ke benteng Keberuntungan. Lex bahkan tidak yakin apakah itu teleportasi. Apapun itu, mereka tiba-tiba aman. Oh, dan semua karma positif Lex seolah terlepas sementara dari dirinya, menyatu dengan kota. Tapi itu sepertinya tidak masalah saat ini.
Lex menemukan dirinya berdiri di bawah pohon uang yang sangat besar, daunnya melebar menutupi dia dengan enggan memberikan teduh. Bukan rumput yang menutupi tanah, tapi semanggi empat daun, dan ada periuk emas besar di sisi, kilau emasnya memancarkan pelangi.
"Kau tidak perlu khuatir soal balasan paksa selama kau di tanah ini," kata Romulus muncul di samping Lex. "Kau bisa tinggal di sini selama kau mau. Tapi kurasa kau tipe orang yang tidak bisa diam, kan?"
Lex tersenyum, dan mulai mempertimbangkan langkah selanjutnya. Semuanya sebenarnya tergantung pada keinginan Dao Lord ini.
Lex had rarely taken such a massive risk before. His preference was to act from a position of safety if possible. While he was becoming more active as of late, he still knew what lines not to cross. The closest he’d ever come to something as dangerous as this was when he used Jack to approach the seven Dwarf Dragon Dao Lords.
Now, though, he was approaching via his last lifeline. If anything happened to the necklace, it was unlikely that he’d be able to get back his body and system. Jack, while formidable, was no match for his stalker.
Although Lex had done some basic research on the Dao Lord, it was not nearly enough to be sure. Heck, he could not even be sure that the Fortune Lord was the very same as the one who had written the letter. He could be someone who came afterwards.
After all that , even if they were one and the same, what excuse did Lex even have that warranted him calling a Dao Lord? Just that he wanted to harvest some more resources? No, it was not a good enough excuse.
And yet, Lex decided to take this risk boldly. He was not concerned with just the stalker. No, Lex set his gaze on the enemy after that, and the one after that. From now on, he had to set his eyes on the Dao and nothing else. Only enemies in the Dao were real enemies, and only by approaching such a realm could he secure his future.
Otherwise, even if he survived now, his ending would ultimately be the same.
Lex looked at the figure standing in front of him, even though he had originally intended on keeping his eyes closed. Without the protection of the Midnight Inn or the Host Attire, even the mere sight of a Dao Lord could prove to be dangerous.
Yet as the figure appeared in front of Lex, he could not help but stare at him in amazement. Although Lex had never seen the figure before, he recognized the race at a single glance. Before him stood a qilin, its body that of a magnificent stag, a dragon head and a lion’s tail. Its scales were like that of a dragon, but held a pattern of flowing clouds, while its mane was made of blue flames.
Its presence was not massive or overbearing. Instead, his presence was refreshing and reinvigorating. All of Lex’s anxieties melted away in his presence, and he had a feeling that everything would be alright.
"Hey, hey, would you look at that, you found my message in a bottle," Romulus said with a hint of pleasant surprise in his voice as he glanced upon Lex. "It was quite the idea on my part, you know. You wouldn’t think so, but bottles are naturally excellent containers, and their unique shape makes it very easy to freeze time within them."
Lex glanced at the green bottle that had, at some point, appeared in his hand. Behind him, Mithon wagged her tail excitedly as she glanced upon Romulus.
"Lord Fortune! Lord Fortune! The Gilded Hollow has opened back up once again! I was bringing the senior to tell you!" she said from the back, clearly demonstrating that this wasn’t the first time she had seen him.
"Mithon, good job, although I already knew about the Hollow opening. Still, I guess you’ve been in exile long enough. Considering the changing times, you may return to the stronghold," Romulus said, shaking his head like a doting grandfather, before turning his gaze back to Lex.
"You’re an interesting one, though. I actually can’t see through your past. You must have someone pretty strong backing you. You said something about the Midnight Inn? What is that?"
Lex bowed humbly, extremely grateful that the Fortune Lord had enough control over his Dao not to annihilate him by accident just by standing close by.
"The Midnight Inn is an Inn run by the Innkeeper, and it is an inn open to guests from around the universe. Though these days the war has made it so that the Inn has had to minimize its operations. If you leave from here, though, the Inn would be most honored to host you," Lex said extremely humbly.
The Fortune Lord nodded, as if the answer was within his range of expectations.
"The Innkeeper. Very nice. I wonder if he’s an old friend. It’s been too long since I’ve been stuck in the Hollow. Alright then Lex, is there anything here you need to do? I have some questions I’d like to ask you, and I’m sure you have matters you want to discuss as well. Such things would be better done behind the walls of the Fortune stronghold."
Lex was quite surprised by how amicable and down to earth the Fortune Lord was behaving, for even the friendliest Dao Lords hardly ever behaved like that. It’s exactly what ’supposedly’ made the Innkeeper so unique.
"I have no other business here," Lex confirmed.
The qilin nodded, and then transported the three of them to the Fortune stronghold. Lex wasn’t even sure if it counted as teleportation. Whatever it was, they were suddenly safe. Oh, and all of Lex’s positive karma seemed to have temporarily detached from himself, fusing in with the city instead. But that hardly seemed to matter at the moment.
Lex found himself standing under a ridiculously large money tree, with its leaves spreading out over him to reluctantly cast their shade upon him. Instead of grass, the ground was covered in four leaf clovers, and there was a massive pot of gold on the side, the shine from the gold causing a rainbow to spread.
"You don’t need to worry about any forced retributions while you’re within this land," Romulus said, appearing right beside Lex. "You can stay here as long as you like. But I get the feeling that you’re not the type to sit still, are you?"
Lex smiled, and began to consider his next moves. It actually all depended on the whims of this Dao Lord.
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