The Innkeeper

Lex's mood dropped as he considered the ramification of the immortal words. The inscriptions had become a part of his body, and at the moment were not really harming him in any way. It was only if he tried to become an immortal that they would pollute his body, according to what the Celestial had informed him previously.

Yet at the same time, even for a Celestial, it was not simple to remove them. No wonder the system had never picked up on them. Even his tumor, although a part of his body, was actively harming him.

"But worry not," the immortal continued. "Although it is not simple, all it requires is a little preparation. I can still do it. Actually, if I wasn't concerned about not harming you, it would be easy to remove the inscriptions. They are not that strong. It's just maintaining your health that is the complicated part."

"Well I'm glad you are concerned about my health," Lex said wryly. It would be quite problematic otherwise.

"Remove all your clothing, as well as all items and jewelry and set them aside. I will begin momentarily."

Lex froze for a moment, but then he had no choice but to comply. He took off his clothes without any hesitation, as if he was not feeling extremely awkward and embarrassed. Though he could not decide if it was being naked which was embarrassing him, or the fact that he was skinless!

He folded everything and put it neatly on a table, before taking his place inside the formation once again.

"Brace yourself, this is going to hurt."

Before Lex had an opportunity to respond, the formation was activated and Lex felt an unquestionably massive force gripping his body, preventing him from moving. Then, the force entered his body.

"HOLY-" Lex was not able to complete what he was saying for he fell unconscious, a defense mechanism of his body.

The Celestial activated another formation the job of which was to act as life support, but then realized that Lex's body was actually quite tenacious, and despite the immense pressure it was under, showed no signs of collapsing or shutting down.

"The mystery deepens," the immortal mused, before turning his attention to the inscriptions.

Based on what he could tell, all the inscriptions were a form of protection for Lex. He could not determine what the one on his forehead did, for it had deteriorated on its own, but the one in his heart seemed to be hiding an innate feature of his body. The one on his neck seemed to be a tracker.

He could not decide which one to remove, for all three of them were in extremely delicate places where even the slightest deviation of energy could kill Lex. Whoever placed these there in the first place was extremely skilled.

The immortal spent some time trying to decide which one to remove, and ultimately decided on the tracker. Of the three, the one in Lex's heart was the most difficult to remove, while the one on the skull had already deteriorated on its own. In a few years, it may even vanish entirely. That only left the one on his neck.

Once decided, the immortal did not hesitate. Although Lex's body did not require the life support formation, he activated it nonetheless, and began the process.

Slowly, ever so slowly, his own energy seeped into Lex's body, traveled through his meridians, and reached his neck. His energy simply wafted the inscription, before moving on.

He was supposed to channel the energy out of Lex's body as it was not contaminated, but something unusual happened. Before he could take it out, the energy was absorbed directly by Lex's body!

Just as the immortal was alarmed, and even considered stopping the operation lest something unexpected happens, a spirit sense connected to his mind and transmitted a message.

"Thank you for the meal, senior!" said the Lotus, who had been roused from his slumber due to the delectable energy coursing through Lex' s body.

The Celestial trembled.

"Who the hell are you?" he could not help but utter, before he quickly shut his mouth. His stupid curiosity was what got him in this situation, so it was best to keep it suppressed lest he land himself in more trouble.

The unusual auras he had felt on Lex's body earlier had let him know that Lex's background was absolutely not simple. When he learned of the Midnight Inn, he more or less confirmed that Lex had some connection to that entity.

But even being a janitor counted as being a part of the organization, which would allow Lex to come in contact with those various auras. But, regardless, he did not want to leave any chance for someone to create any trouble for him, so he offered to remove the inscription on his own.

But now it seemed like Lex's connection to the Midnight Inn was not as simple as a normal member. Or else, why would there be a hidden guardian inside Lex's body?

Due to his unfamiliarity with the Lotus on Lex's back, simply due to how incredibly rare it was, the Celestial had misunderstood the situation. He thought the simple thanks from the Lotus was a subtle warning for him not to try anything, not that he had any intention to do so from the beginning.

The immortal became extremely serious, and decided to complete the removal as quickly as possible without endangering Lex. The Lotus, who was suddenly being fed even more energy, became even more ecstatic. This was a rare delicacy.

Of course, the Lotus also knew how to share, so he used some of that energy to begin healing Lex's body as well, slowly regrowing his skin.

The procedure, despite its complexity, did not last long. A few hours later, once he was done, the heirs' father teleported away, no longer willing to be involved with Lex. Maintaining his neutrality was becoming a real hassle these days.