The Innkeeper

Chapter 2249: Who could have seen that coming?

It was dark in the Land of a Hundred Rivers, with thick, black clouds covering the sky far as far as the eye could see. Whether it was night or day could no longer be determined, for the clouds had been there for days already, sometimes breaking into furious rain, and at other times calming down and simply rumbling with thunder.

Such downpour was not uncommon during this time of year, which is why it was rare for the citizens of this land to go outside their cities, towns or villages during this time. The downpour could cause floods, river breaks, landslides and any number of other natural disasters. The danger was incalculable.

Yet it was because of that very darkness, and that very danger that River and Pearl had finally escaped the pursuit of their attackers. Beneath the shade of a banyan tree, River looked at Pearl with tender eyes as she wrapped his feet with strips of cloth she had cut his shirt into. The soft, warm glow of Pearl’s necklace was the only source of all around, allowing her to see what she did.

Although the absence of a shirt might cause him to fall sick if the rain should start again, without being bandaged his bleeding feet presented a much more urgent obstacle. The rest of his body was covered in bruises too, all from fighting off those who had pursued them.

Yet despite his bruised state, Pearl’s nimble hands caused him not a lick of pain as she bandaged him. She seemed like... she had practiced it much too often.

"I promise you, Pearl," River’s voice suddenly broke the silence. "I promise you. One day, I will give you everything you deserve. One day we’ll roam these lands, hand in hand, and we’ll have a place to call home, wreathed in pearls so that the whole world knows who lives there. The sun will shine on us, and we’ll have full stomachs and full hearts, with no need to run and hide."

Pearl listened to River’s noble promise, one that seemed too grand to even be considered a fantasy, but she did not stop her work. His words washed over her like rain on plain stone, leaving not a mark, for there was no edge left in her to polish.

River smiled at her, his dirt covered, bruised face hoping to see the light in her eyes, to see the smile which had caused him to fall for her all those years ago. Yet she showed no response. His dreamy words caused no stir in her heart. His words were met with only silence, and gloomy darkness, until she finished her work that is.

"I think... I will be content if we can be buried beside each other," she said in a soft, defeated voice, her eyes continuing to look down for she could no longer will herself to look up or look forward. "I have no more expectations left of this life. Maybe... even asking for that might be too much. They’ll surely dig up our graves no matter where we are buried."

River squeezed his eyes shut tight, because if he left them open he might not be able to stop his tears from flowing. The defeat in her voice pained his heart so much more than the bruises on his body, or the cuts on his feet. The shame of being unable to protect her, to provide for her ripped at his soul far more than the Sawdust poison which had ripped the meridians in his body.

Pearl had been such a pure soul, born in this world to be loved, to be protected, and yet he had only brought her suffering. The pain of that was so much worse than anything else.

"No Pearl, no, I promise! I promise!" River said as his body trembled because of how tightly he was clenching his fists. "I promise, I’ll find a way. We’re destined for more than just a grave. We’ll live happy lives, long lives, you’ll see!"

Pearl heard his words, but no longer responded to him. She no longer had the energy to do so. She didn’t even remember the last time she ate.

She just simply curled up next to him as he sat pressed up against the banyan tree, and closed her eyes. It would have been nice... if his body was at least warm.

Thus, Pearl slept, and River did his best to stop his tears, and Lex wondered how he’d ended up inside this soap opera. Not that he was looking down on their suffering or anything - that was quite genuine, and quite pitiful actually.

But when he sent his necklace away, leaving no traceable ties between himself and the necklace, to act as a last-ditch life insurance treasure because there was no way he was going to finish finding the Nexus and establishing his secret base any time soon, he did not expect it would end up around the neck of a random, mortal woman.

Well, to be fair, this was far from the worst place it could have shown up. Based on his luck, Lex was completely ready for the necklace to end up inside the core of a star that was somehow alive, and also somehow a volcano, and also somehow his long lost enemy. Compared to that, waking up inside a necklace around the neck of some girl was not so bad at all.

Lex resisted the urge to groan, or sigh, and instead started to take stock of his situation. He was not dead, so that was great. However, his body was trapped in the hands of a creepy Sovereign stalker, so that was not so great.

Jokes aside, whoever that guy was, he was definitely, extremely dangerous. Fortunately for Lex, he’d suffered so much in life leading up to this point, that he’d long learned to take precautions, and had enough hidden cards for him to use. Hopefully, he wouldn’t screw up, because if he did, not only would he lose his body, he would lose his system, and possibly the identity of the Innkeeper. If that happened, he might also end up losing everyone inside the Inn, and that wasn’t acceptable.

Lex turned his attention from himself to his surroundings. More importantly, he looked at River, who was a walking, talking template for a main character from a low-quality chinese . Fortunately for him, low-quality writing template main characters had tremendous plot armor - and Lex wouldn’t mind getting his hands on some of that right now.

In the end, though, Lex could not stop himself from sighing. He supposed this meant he was now supposed to take on the role of the old grandpa - no, eh, the young 25 year old inside the necklace.

Who could have seen that coming?