The Innkeeper

Chapter 1898: Speechless

Eclipse raised not one, but both of her eyebrows as she looked at Lex curiously.

“Can the Innkeeper replicate the laws of the Primordial Garden?” she asked, amazed.

“If I am being entirely honest, I do not know,” said Lex, holding up his hands. Before he could continue, Eclipse interrupted him.

“Only liars say ‘if I’m being honest’.”

Lex was stumped. Well, technically he was lying, but the truth he was referring to was that he did not know if the system could genuinely replicate Primordial energy.

He quickly corrected himself.

“What I mean is, the Innkeeper is interested in studying the laws with the hopes of recreating Primordial energy, but I do not know if he can actually do it. However, I have the means to try and record the laws for him so that he may attempt to recreate it.”

Eclipse’s eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s genuinely impressive if he thinks he can do that. You know even old Ventura can’t recreate my garden. Sure, you can go ahead and record the laws as long as you don’t harm my garden’s laws in any way. I’m now actually quite curious about this Innkeeper, I’ve never heard of him before. Do you know where he’s from?”

Lex was stumped. Many people had always wondered about the Innkeeper, but no one had asked him about it. The problem was, even if they asked he could lie about it. But how could he lie to a Dao Lord right in front of their face, without the support of his Host Attire?

“To be honest, I’ve never asked him,” Lex answered.

“Only liars say ‘to be honest’,” Eclipse responded, stumping Lex once more. Why had he forgotten how to talk today?

“I… I’ve never dared to ask the Innkeeper anything about his past. I can only tell you about the things I’ve witnessed since I joined the Midnight Inn,” Lex answered. Every word he said was true, and if the Dao Lord had some way of looking into the details, well he was screwed. But if she could see the truth or untruth in what he said, she did not make it apparent.

“Alright, forget that. Do you think you could invite the Innkeeper over for a cup of tea? I’m very interested in learning how he plans on replicating the law to recreate Primordial energy. I had to sacrifice the complete maturity of my realm to dedicate a whole segment of its power into forming a Primordial energy converter. You know, originally, Primordial energy was created through the birth of the universe? I had to recreate a process similar to the birth of the universe to keep the energy running in my little garden.”

Lex, of course, once again fainted before he could hear the full extent of what she was saying. It couldn’t be helped – even with her full power sealed, she was a Dao Lord, and every second line she spoke contained incredible secrets.

The entire history of the Primordial Age was a secret, and even the karma of that age could not be traced. So the casual things Eclipse mentioned were things even ordinary Dao Lords had no way of knowing for sure – they could only speculate.

This time, instead of sprinkling Lex with water, she poked his face with a stick.

“Hey kid, wake up. Wake up, don’t sleep in the grass, you’ll catch a cold. Even the bacteria in this realm is Primordial – that stuff will kill you.”

“I… I’m so sorry about that,” Lex said as he groaned, realizing what had happened.

“It’s okay, I’m used to it,” Eclipse said with a shrug. “But yeah, ask the Innkeeper if he can come over for a cup of tea. We can chat.”

Lex rubbed his head, fighting the literal and metaphorical headache that was killing him at that moment.

“I… I will ask him. But for him to visit, he will have to send a tavern here. The Innkeeper does not usually leave the Inn premises,” confessed Lex.

“Ah, totally understandable. I never leave the garden either – this place acts as a seal on my power. If I step out, I’ll probably blow a hole in the fabric of reality. Hey, hey, don’t collapse again,” Eclipse said, this time catching Lex before he fell again.

This was the most awkward and embarrassing conversation of his life.

“So then, with your permission, I’ll try and record the laws here,” Lex confirmed with her one more time. Only after she shrugged as if she didn’t care did he activate the Realm law replication feature of his Inn.

“By the way, kid, I just remembered. You experienced a Primordial tribulation. Right now, you don’t feel too different, but you should be careful once you exit the garden. The space here, it’s tough. Outside this realm, if you don’t contain your presence properly, you’ll tear through space and fall into the Void.

“Let me tell you, a Primordial in the Void is a wild time. I once threw a Primordial acorn into the Void for giggles. That is now the Acorn Realm. You ever been there? It is home to the most hedonistic group of squirrels the universe has ever seen. A friend of mine once told me those squirrels hunted down a dragon and dragged it back to their realm for… well, you know what dragons do in such a situation. All day, they only bathe in gold and jewels.”

Lex opened his mouth to ask about what she meant by her warning that he needed to contain his presence properly. His aura never leaked unless he wanted it to. But her story stumped him, leaving him speechless.

Lex could have sworn that he was a much better conversationalist than this usually, but what did one even say in response to learning about hedonistic squirrels who kidnapped a dragon to count their treasures with them?

Fortunately, someone came to his rescue. Lotus finally recovered from stealing energy from Lex’s tribulation, and wanted him to ask Eclipse a question.

“I have a friend on my back who has a question for you,” Lex said, not acknowledging the squirrels. “He’s asking why the realm feels like it’s heavier on one side than the other?”

Lex did even know what that question meant, but he asked it anyway.