Chapter 135: Entrusted for Safekeeping

This was the first time Bilbo had put on the Ring in front of everyone. When he removed the Ring and reappeared, everyone realized he had been sitting in his seat the whole time without leaving. Gandalf looked at Bilbo with some concern. Kael also inquired with care, "Are you alright, Bilbo?" They were mainly worried that Bilbo would be influenced by the Ring's corrupting power. Bilbo shook his head with clear eyes, pointing to his forehead. "The ring was indeed tempting me just now, trying to make me put it on and run away to hide, but immediately there was a cool sensation on my forehead that calmed me down." Hearing this, Kael and Gandalf exchanged meaningful glances. They guessed it was Lady Galadriel's blessed forehead kiss that had taken effect, and they breathed a sigh of relief. However, both silently decided to keep Bilbo away from the Ring in the future. Though Galadriel's blessing could temporarily block the Ring's erosion, it wouldn't always be effective. So Gandalf still said to Tom, "Tom, as you can see, none of us can avoid being influenced by the Ring's power. So we've come this time to ask if you'd be willing to keep this ring for us?" Hearing Gandalf's request, Tom happily patted his chest. "How could Tom refuse a friend's request! Old Tom guarantees he'll keep the ring safe for you!" "Wait, Tom," Kael suddenly spoke up, still somewhat concerned. "Tom, won't keeping the Ring affect Lady Goldberry?" The others also became concerned upon hearing this, as they certainly didn't want Goldberry to be harmed. Goldberry smiled brightly and gently shook her head, indicating there was no need to worry. Tom was even more confident as he patted his chest. "In Tom's domain, nothing can harm my Goldberry!" With that, he picked up the Ring and brought it close to everyone. "Come, you all try holding it!" Kael, Gandalf, and Legolas were startled by this sudden action. The three instinctively leaned back as if avoiding a tiger, deeply afraid of touching the Ring. Gandalf nearly toppled over with his chair. Tom showed a pleased, mischievous smile as if his prank had succeeded, grinning as he waved the ring in his hand. "Come on, don't be afraid! Take it and try!" Looking at the Ring brought close to their faces, the three didn't dare approach for a moment. The Ring's power was simply too terrifying. Once touched by hand, one could easily be corrupted by the Ring and become its puppet. No one dared take that risk. However, seeing Tom's encouraging eyes, Kael still chose to trust him. After taking a deep breath, he reached out to take the Ring. Gandalf and Legolas both showed worried expressions. As soon as the ring fell into his hands, Kael finally exhaled. He looked at the ring, feeling the cool temperature in his palm, his heart still pounding. What made his eyes widen was that this dangerous Ring now felt like an ordinary gold ring in his hands, not emanating any bewitching or corrupting power. "Try putting it on!" Tom's eyes were surprisingly bright as he continued to encourage. Kael's hand shook, nearly startled by Tom. But under Tom's burning gaze, he steeled himself and put the ring on his finger. Hmm? Kael looked at the ring on his finger. There seemed to be no change at all? Looking around at the people watching him, Kael immediately realized he hadn't become invisible like Bilbo! Kael looked at Tom with disbelief. Had Tom done this? Receiving Kael's shocked gaze, Tom proudly puffed out his chest, like the sense of achievement after successfully demonstrating a little trick to children. Gandalf, Legolas, and Bilbo also stared wide-eyed, their faces full of shock. Then Gandalf and Legolas carefully took the Ring as well. Without exception, the Ring in their hands seemed to become an ordinary object, dead silent, showing no power at all. Everyone's mood was somewhat unsettled. This was their first time personally touching the One Ring. Before this, they never thought they'd have such an opportunity. "Tom, can you destroy the Ring?" Kael inquired. In his view, since Tom could make the Ring lose its power, perhaps he could directly destroy it? But Tom shook his head. "I can only prevent its power from affecting me, but that doesn't mean I have the power to destroy it." Getting this answer, Kael, Gandalf, and the others weren't disappointed. After all, being able to make the Ring lose its power was already an incredibly impressive ability. They hadn't expected to achieve everything in one step. After witnessing Tom's ability, everyone felt comfortable entrusting the Ring to Tom's care. Tom also directly put the Ring on his little finger. As for the treasure box that had held the ring, it belonged to Bilbo. However, to prevent the absent-minded Tom from losing the Ring, Kael and Gandalf still entrusted the more careful Goldberry to watch over it. Goldberry also agreed with a smile. Then, with Tom and Goldberry's consent, Kael connected their fireplace to the Floo Network and gave them a large bottle of Floo Powder. He also welcomed them to visit Weathertop anytime through Floo Powder. After staying one night at Tom's house, the group formally bid farewell the next day. However, this time, Gandalf didn't travel with them. "Gandalf, aren't you coming to the Shire with us?" Bilbo asked. Gandalf patted Bilbo's shoulder. "No, Bilbo. Let Kael and Legolas escort you for the next part of the journey. I believe they can get you home safely." Bilbo felt somewhat reluctant. He had wanted to properly host everyone once he got home. Kael hadn't expected Gandalf to leave so soon and also felt reluctant. "Where are you planning to go, Gandalf?" "I'm planning to go south," Gandalf said. "I'm somewhat worried about the situation in Mordor and plan to see Gondor's Steward to make him more vigilant." "I also plan to visit Isengard to investigate my old friend's situation." When he said this, Gandalf's expression was somewhat heavy. Hearing this, Kael frowned and looked at Gandalf. "You're planning to see Saruman alone? Isn't that somewhat imprudent?" He didn't want Gandalf to be imprisoned by Saruman prematurely. Seeing Kael's disapproving look, Gandalf smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry about me. Since I know he's turned to darkness, I won't act rashly. I just want to investigate the situation to make more preparations." "Alright then, be careful." Kael could only hope Gandalf would have a smooth journey. After parting with Gandalf, the wizard flew south on his broomstick. As for Kael's own flying broomstick, he gave it to Legolas to carry Bilbo. He transformed into an owl and flew alongside them. When passing through the Old Forest, Kael broke off some branches from the Huorn trees and stored them in his space bag, planning to make some wands when he had spare time in the future. After flying over the Old Forest, they approached Buckland nearby. The group didn't stop but continued flying west. Finally, in the afternoon, they reached Hobbiton. Kael, in owl form, landed first in front of Bag End and transformed back into human form. Legolas and Bilbo followed closely behind. The neighboring hobbits all saw this scene. They were immediately stunned with shock. "Finally home!" Bilbo looked at his familiar house, feeling as if he were in another lifetime, somewhat emotional. After being away for a year, the garden had become overgrown with weeds due to lack of care. The mailbox was also stuffed with various letters. "It's a letter from cousin Drogo Baggins. He says he's marrying a young lady from the Brandybuck family." Bilbo opened the first letter, somewhat surprised by its contents. "What a pity I didn't know this good news earlier, or we could have stopped at Buckland to congratulate him." "But it's not too late now. I need to prepare a proper wedding gift to send over," Bilbo said thoughtfully. Hearing this news, Kael was also surprised and immediately said, "Let me know when you send the gift. I'll prepare one too to send along with yours." He had a good relationship with Drogo Baggins, so naturally he should acknowledge the wedding. And he should send a gift to the Brandybuck bride's side as well. After all, the Brandybuck family had helped him quite a bit back then. "Hmm? An auction notice?" Bilbo was puzzled when he saw the second letter. Opening it, he became even more stunned. "Auctioning Bag End? Why would they auction my house?" "What's the situation?" Kael and Legolas also curiously leaned over. Then they discovered this was a letter about auctioning Bag End and its contents. For some reason, it had been delivered to Bilbo's mailbox. "Mr. Bungo! Mr. Bungo!" Bilbo hurriedly called to the fat hobbit man who was secretly peeking from the neighboring yard. The stout hobbit man who was called by name looked at him with surprise and uncertainty. "Mr. Bilbo?" Having experienced a long adventure, Bilbo's temperament had changed, making his neighbor Bungo somewhat hesitant to recognize him. "It's me, Mr. Bungo," Bilbo said. "Can you tell me what happened here? Why is my house being auctioned?" Bungo looked at this long-absent neighbor whose temperament had become "strange," then glanced at the two behind him. One an incredibly handsome Elf, the other the mysterious wizard he'd seen before. He said somewhat guiltily. "Because you've been away for many years with no word, everyone thought you had died." "So they wanted to divide up my property and prepare to auction my house?" Bilbo immediately understood, so angry his ears turned red. And what did they mean by "many years"? He'd only been away for about a year, and these people were already eager to divide up his property and house? Bungo was obviously one of them and said it even more guiltily. "You can't blame us. It was your cousin-in-law Lobelia Sackville-Baggins who said you were dead, and her son was the first heir to your property, so she organized the public auction." Lobelia Sackville-Baggins? Bilbo immediately became even more annoyed. This woman was his distant northern cousin who had always coveted his house, especially since he had no heirs. She had constantly tried to make her son his heir. "Wait," Bilbo suddenly realized, "if they were going to auction my house, why hasn't there been any activity until now?" Speaking of this, Bungo showed a look of lingering fear in his eyes, then glanced at Kael with awe. "Because there's something strange about your house. Everyone who tried to force open the door locks quickly grew long hair all over, and no matter how much they shaved, it was useless!" "So no one dared approach Bag End anymore, and the auction was cancelled."