"I have not hidden my identity for a single moment," said Romulus as he held his hands open. "I am Romulus Valecar, son of Gladius Valecar and Persephone Jadehorn, heir to the golden throne of the Qilin kingdom known as Vari, owner of the Fortune stronghold within the Gilded Hollow. e, say my name if you can, Havi. Control my fate if you dare."
His tone was happy and amicable, and his expression relaxed and open. In fact, it was not until he deliberately mentioned the Havi’s ability to control him with his name that the three Dao Lords realized that Romulus was not for a single second fooled.
Whether it was their fight, or the strategy of the Havi, Romulus had seen right through it. They had pretended not to realize that he had been stuck in the Gilded Hollow, but Romulus had not cared at all. He invited their challenge openly.
The three Dao Lords shared a glance and then attacked in unison. Lex could not follow what was happening after that. It was a blur, and he had a feeling that the Fortune Lord was hiding the vision from him on purpose lest he be affected by the vision of what he saw.
This continued for two months until the vision cleared up, stunning Lex by what he saw. There were no longer three Dao Lords in front of him, but five. There were two Havi, and three Orchidfolk, all five of them on the ground, pinned down with what looked like acupuncture needles.
They were also all missing body parts, and looked like they were extremely shocked by the situation they had encountered. Lex couldn’t see the Fortune Lord himself in the picture, but he had a feeling that he was fine.
"So now that we know each other a little better, how about those questions I wanted to ask earlier," said Romulus, his tone still friendly and light. If one only heard him, and did not see the situation, they would assume that Romulus was talking to his good friends.
None of the five responded, and instead only looked at him with hate and fear in their eyes.
"I see you’re in a very cooperative mood. Excellent. I want to know... what happened to the Vari empire. Why have I been unable to learn of any sign of it?"
The Dao Lords looked at each other as if to municate wordlessly, but that was the wrong move. The first Havi that Romulus encountered suddenly lost an eye, and as it opened its mouth to scream, the qilin also cut off its tongue.
Lex was stunned by how easily the Fortune Lord was acting. Based on his understanding of Dao beings, injuring their bodies should not have been so easy. Perhaps that’s just how powerful the Fortune Lord was, or how weak these other Dao Lords were.
But a moment later, all five of them vanished, as if they weren’t there to begin with. Perhaps what Lex had been watching was an old recording, or maybe something had happened that he couldn’t understand at all.
"If you don’t wish to answer, that’s fine too," said Romulus calmly to the empty landscape made of Dao materials. "I can see the faint glimmer of qilin fortune within your own. All who benefited from the fall of my people will soon e to regret their actions."
Lex would not have heard those words if the Fortune Lord hadn’t wanted him to. Perhaps that was some kind of hint or warning for him, but for once he could say that he genuinely had no part to play in anything related to qilin.
At the same time, Lex’s curiosity about the fortune cultivation system, as well as the laws of fortune began to increase. This was a whole new way of applying laws and dealing with things - and it was something Lex had never encountered before.
Karma alone had served him so well. If he could also integrate fortune into regular skills, wouldn’t he bee even stronger?
However, that was probably true for all laws at higher levels. Instead of blindly pursuing fortune simply because he’d now seen what it could do, Lex felt like it would be better to focus on one of the eight ruling laws and improve that. After all, wasn’t fortune too simply just a part of Tether?
He found it odd that Dao Lords focused on these individual laws rather than the ruling laws. Was there some kind of reason or restriction behind that?
"It’s because the ruling laws are constantly undergoing a change as the universe continues to grow," said Romuluas as a clone of his appeared behind Lex. "And yes, you are right. I wanted you to see that, not because it was a warning though. After I talked to you and learned about the situation with the qilin, I discovered quite a bit. The reason I wanted to share it with you is because... I feel like the Innkeeper might be a natural ally for me. After all, our enemies are one and the same."
Romulus handed Lex a scale enclosed within a wooden box.
"That is a scale of mine that I shed. It can be used to summon a clone of mine for a conversation. I wish for you to pass it to one of your elders when you return so that we may have an opportunity to converse. When I return to the universe, I will need allies, and similarly, my strength can bee an aid and deterrence in the universal war - regardless of the situation."
Lex wasn’t quite sure what the Fortune Lord was thinking, or what his perception of the Innkeeper was, but he dared not reject it, and accepted the wooden box and sealed it within his space ring.
"Also, there’s a lead on the flower you were looking for," Romulus said, a hint of ambiguity in his voice. "As it turns out, something very similar to what you’re looking for is right in the vicinity of my own target. What a lucky... coincidence."
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