The Innkeeper
chapter-1279

Outside the Midnight Inn, Lex could not even read the writing on the envelope, though as he pulled it out now he saw that it was nothing too mystical. The front on the envelope simply read: Innkeeper.

Admittedly, the name was written in a deep crimson ink, in the most beautiful calligraphy Lex had ever seen. It was also filled with enough spiritual energy to turn a barren planet such as earth into a 5 star planet, and gave off a pleasant aroma he could smell with his very soul.

Furthermore, even with his Host Attire protecting him, Lex could feel the burden on him increasing so he quickly looked away, and spent a few minutes to recover.

It seemed like the effect of the Inn to negate harmful auras was not entirely effective on Dao Lords. It was predictable.

Once he had sufficiently recovered, Lex pulled out his Innkeeper's letter opener, and softly and carefully cut through the wax that had sealed the letter. Something told Lex that if he hadn't been using the letter opener, he would never have been able to open the letter no matter how hard he tried. He also wondered if the wax, and the letter itself counted as Dao level ingredients.

Something told him that even if they did, he could not use them the way he used the resin. The fact that it was easy to absorb was one of the defining factors of the resin, considering that it could even be absorbed by a mortal. He doubted other Dao ingredients would be as easy to use. Lex also wondered how the governor would feel if he knew that the all powerful Innkeeper he had been trying to communicate with was thinking of ways to scarp his letter and use it as parts or ingredients.

Lex could not even imagine what Dao level ink might be good for - literally. He literally could not imagine it for the thought of trying to conceive things related to the Dao seemed like a very bad idea to Lex at that moment.

Realizing that he was procrastinating, Lex pulled out the letter, which was only a single page, and contained very few words, fortunately. Bit by bit, a few words at a time, Lex read the letter, but even taking it slow Lex found himself covered in sweat and trembling. As soon as he read the letter, he knew that he'd need to go to the Chamber of Secrets and wipe his memory, or he'd never be able to take his Host Attire off.

With trembling hands Lex scribbled something, then immediately teleported to the Chamber of Secrets and completely wiped all his memory of the letter. He thought that with the protection of the Inn, as well as the Host Attire, reading and responding to the letter might be possible. At the same time, he kept his previous experience with Dao Lords in mind, where even using the Innkeeper's business card had failed him. That was why he had all the precautions planned out before he read the letter, and they had indeed been useful.

Lex had to make an effort not to collapse onto the ground once the Chamber of Secrets removed the knowledge from his mind. He'd heard that knowledge was power, but that was pushing it.

Lex chugged a cup of Midnight brew and teleported back to his office. With his eyes closed, he picked up the letter, opened his table drawer for the first time ever and dropped the letter inside. Then he buried the letter in a stack of Innkeeper business cards, so that the aura from those business cards would smother the aura from that letter.

It was only after he closed the drawer, and the aura finally vanished that Lex allowed himself to collapse into his chair and breathe a sigh of relief. He wiped the sweat from his brow, and realized how long it had been since he actually sweat.

After a few moments, Lex picked up the paper he had scribbled on and read his eloquent summarization of the letters' contents: 'BRIBE INNKEEPER. FORGET NECROPOLIS. REALLY ANGRY.'

Suddenly, a lot of things made sense to Lex. Anyone else might not be able to decipher his deeply encrypted message, but in essence, the governor was pissed about the revelation of the Necropolis, and wanted to bribe the Innkeeper into staying quiet about it.

The part that made sense to Lex was why the letter had affected him so strongly. After all, let alone read a letter, Lex had directly met a Dao Lord within the Inn, and had been fine. But that was likely because when he met the Dao Lord, he had likely been suppressing his aura. The governor, instead, was likely trying to convey the depth of his feelings through his writing, which is why even with the protection of the Inn, reading the letter had been such a burden. The words were infused with the governor's anger.

Of course, it was unlikely that he was angry at the Innkeeper. Instead, it was likely that he was just sharing the anger he felt with the Innkeeper. Probably. Hopefully. In truth, Lex's scribbles weren't quite clear on who the target of his anger was. To be fair, he was not exactly in the condition to write a detailed note at the time.

He thought for a moment, then summoned a Midnight Inn letterhead, the Inkwell, and the Innkeeper's pen and wrote a very polite, one lined letter.

'Dear Governor,

I do not concern myself with things unrelated to my Inn.

Regards,

Innkeeper.'

He looked at the letter, the words filled with the deep aura of the Innkeeper and thought it perfectly freed him of all responsibility. After all, Lex didn't even want the Dao Lords bribe. He wanted to meet Dao beings as little as possible.

He wasn't at that level yet.

Lex sealed the letter, and then went and relaxed within the Hot tub. He needed to recover before his meeting with the emperor. They would surely have a lot of things to discuss.