This was the first time Bilbo had worn the one ring in front of everyone.
When he took off the one ring and reappeared, everyone realized he had been sitting in his seat the whole time and hadn't left.
Gandalf looked at Bilbo with some concern.
Luke also asked with concern, "Bilbo, are you alright?"
Mainly, they were worried that Bilbo would be influenced by the one ring.
Bilbo shook his head, his eyes clear, and pointed at his forehead, saying, "The ring was indeed tempting me just now, making me want to wear it and run away and hide, but then a cool sensation on my forehead immediately calmed me down."
Luke and Gandalf exchanged glances upon hearing this; they guessed it must have been Lady Galadriel's blessing kiss on his forehead that had worked, and they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
However, both of them silently decided to keep Bilbo away from the one ring in the future.
Although Galadriel's blessing could temporarily block the one ring's erosion, it wouldn't be effective forever.
So Gandalf still said to Tom, "Tom, as you can see, none of us can avoid being affected by the power of the one ring.
That's why we came here to entrust you with this ring. Are you willing?"
Hearing Gandalf's request, Tom happily patted his chest and said, "How could Tom refuse a friend's request! Old Tom guarantees he will keep the ring safe for you!"
"Wait, Tom," Luke suddenly interjected, still a bit uneasy, and asked, "Tom, if you take the one ring, will it affect Lady Goldberry?"
The others also became concerned, as they certainly didn't want Goldberry to be harmed.
Goldberry smiled brightly, gently shook her head, and indicated there was no need to worry.
And Tom confidently patted his chest: "In Tom's domain, nothing can harm my Goldberry!"
Saying that, he picked up the one ring and brought it closer to them, "Come, you try holding it!"
Luke, Gandalf, and Legolas were startled by this sudden action.
The three instinctively leaned back as if fearing a tiger, terrified of touching the one ring.
Gandalf almost tipped over his chair.
And Tom, as if having completed a prank, revealed a triumphant, happy smile, grinning and shaking the ring in his hand.
"Come on, don't be afraid, try holding it!"
Looking at the one ring held out before them, the three dared not approach for a moment; the power of the one ring was truly terrifying. Once touched by hand, it was easy to be corrupted by the one ring and become its puppet.
No one dared to take that risk.
However, seeing Tom's encouraging gaze, Luke chose to trust him. After taking a deep breath, he reached out to take the one ring.
Gandalf and Legolas both showed worried expressions.
As soon as the ring landed in his hand, Luke finally exhaled.
He looked at the ring, feeling the cold temperature in his palm, his heart still pounding.
What made his eyes widen was that this dangerous one ring, now in his hand, was like an ordinary gold ring, not emitting any seductive or corrupting power.
"Try putting it on!" Tom's eyes were astonishingly bright as he continued to urge.
Luke's hand trembled; he was almost startled by Tom.
But under Tom's piercing gaze, he still bit the bullet and put the ring on his hand.
Hmm? Luke looked at the ring on his finger; it seemed like nothing had changed?
Then, looking at the people watching him, Luke instantly realized,
He hadn't turned invisible like Bilbo!
Luke immediately looked at Tom in disbelief. Was this Tom's doing?
Receiving Luke's shocked gaze, Tom proudly puffed out his chest, like someone who had successfully demonstrated a small trick to a child and felt accomplished.
And Gandalf, Legolas, and Bilbo also widened their eyes, their faces full of shock.
Then Gandalf and Legolas also carefully took the one ring.
Without exception, the one ring in their hands seemed to have become an ordinary item, lifeless and showing no power at all.
The mood of the few people was somewhat restless; this was the first time they had personally touched the one ring.
Before this, they had never imagined such an opportunity would arise.
"Tom, can you destroy the one ring?" Luke asked.
In his opinion, since Tom could make the one ring lose its power, could he directly destroy it?
But Tom shook his head.
"I merely prevent its power from affecting me, but that doesn't mean I have the power to destroy it."
Upon receiving this answer, Luke, Gandalf, and the others were not disappointed; after all, being able to make the one ring lose its power was already an extremely formidable feat, and they did not expect to achieve everything in one go.
After witnessing Tom's abilities, everyone confidently entrusted the one ring to Tom for safekeeping.
Tom also directly wore the one ring on his pinky finger.
As for the treasure box that held the ring, it belonged to Bilbo.
However, to prevent the carefree Tom from losing the one ring, Luke and Gandalf still entrusted the more meticulous Goldberry to look after it.
Goldberry also smiled and agreed.
Then, after obtaining Tom and Goldberry's consent, Luke also connected their fireplace to the Floo Network and presented a large bottle of Floo Powder.
And he welcomed them to visit Weathertop anytime via Floo Powder.
After staying one night at Tom's house, the next day, the group officially bid farewell.
However, this time, Gandalf did not travel with them.
"Gandalf, aren't you coming to the Shire with us?" Bilbo asked.
Gandalf patted Bilbo's shoulder, "No, Bilbo, for the rest of the journey, let Luke and Legolas escort you. I believe they can safely get you home."
Bilbo was a little reluctant; he had wanted to host everyone properly once he got home.
Luke hadn't expected Gandalf to leave so soon and also felt a little reluctant.
"Then where are you going, Gandalf?"
"I'm going south," Gandalf said. "I'm a bit worried about the situation in Mordor, and I plan to see the Steward of Gondor to warn him."
"I also plan to visit Isengard to inquire about an old friend's situation."
When he said this, Gandalf's expression was somewhat heavy.
Luke frowned upon hearing this and looked at Gandalf: "Are you planning to go see Saruman alone? Isn't that a bit imprudent?"
Lest he be imprisoned by Saruman prematurely.
Seeing Luke's disapproving look, Gandalf chuckled and shook his head.
"You needn't worry about me. Since I know he has turned to darkness, I won't act rashly. I just want to scout out the situation to make more preparations."
"Alright, then be careful yourself." Luke could only hope Gandalf would have a smooth journey.
After parting ways with Gandalf, Gandalf flew south on his broom.
As for Luke's own flying broom, it was given to Legolas to fly with Bilbo.
He, meanwhile, transformed into an owl and flew alongside them.
When passing by the Old Forest, Luke again broke off some branches from the Huorn trees and put them into his spatial bag, planning to make some wands when he had free time later.
After flying past the Old Forest, they reached the nearby Bucklebury.
The group did not stop, flying westward all the way.
Finally, in the afternoon, they arrived at Hobbiton.
The owl that Luke had transformed into landed first in front of Bag End, then transformed back into human form upon landing.
Legolas and Bilbo followed closely behind.
The nearby hobbit neighbors all witnessed this scene.
They were instantly stunned and speechless.
"Finally home!" Bilbo looked at his familiar house, feeling as if a lifetime had passed, his heart somewhat excited.
After being away for a year, the garden had become overgrown with weeds due to neglect.
His mailbox was also stuffed with various letters.
"It's a letter from my cousin Drogo Baggins; he says he's getting married to a young lady from the Brandybuck family." Bilbo opened the first letter and was somewhat surprised by its contents.
"It's a shame I didn't know about this good news earlier; otherwise, when we passed by Bucklebury just now, we could have stopped to congratulate him."
"But it's not too late now; I need to prepare a nice wedding gift and send it over." Bilbo said thoughtfully.
Luke was also surprised to hear this news and immediately said, "Let me know when you send the gift; I'll prepare a gift too and send it along with yours."
He had a good relationship with Zhuoguo Baggins, so naturally, he had to show his regards when he got married.
And a gift also needed to be sent to the bride, Brandybuck.
After all, the Brandybuck family had helped him quite a bit back then.
"Hmm? Auction letter?" Bilbo paused when he saw the second letter, then opened it and was even more stunned, "Auction Bag End? Why are they auctioning my house?"
"What's going on?" Luke and Legolas also curiously leaned in.
Then they discovered it was a letter about auctioning Bag End and the items inside the house. They didn't know what was going on, but it had actually been delivered to Bilbo's mailbox.
"Mr. Fatbo, Mr. Fatbo!" Bilbo hurriedly called out to the stout hobbit man in the nearby yard, who was secretly peeking out.
The short, stout Hobbit man, whose name was called, looked at him in surprise: "Mr. Bilbo?"
Bilbo, having undergone a long adventure, had a changed demeanor, making his neighbor Mr. Fatbo hesitant to recognize him.
"It's me, Mr. Fatbo," Bilbo said, "Can you tell me what happened here? Why is my house being auctioned?"
Mr. Fatbo looked at this neighbor, whom he hadn't seen in a long time and whose demeanor had become "strange," then glanced at the incredibly handsome Elf and the mysterious Wizard he had seen before standing behind him. He said nervously:
"Because you've been away for many years with no news, everyone thought you had passed away—"
"So you're going to divide my property and even auction my house?" Bilbo immediately understood, his ears turning red with anger.
And what did he mean by 'away for many years'? He had only been gone for a year, and these people were already rushing to divide his property and house?
Mr. Fatbo was clearly one of them and said even more nervously:
"You can't blame us; it was your cousin-in-law, Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, who said you had died, and her son was the primary heir to your property, so she organized a public auction."
Lobelia Sackville-Baggins? Bilbo was even more annoyed.
This woman was his distant northern cousin, who had always coveted his house, especially when he had no heir. She had always tried to make her son his heir.
"Wait," Bilbo suddenly realized, "Since my house was to be auctioned, why has there been no movement until now?"
At this, the hobbit's eyes showed a lingering fear, then he looked at Luke with awe.
"Because your house is strange; everyone who tried to force open the lock quickly grew long hair, and it wouldn't go away no matter how they shaved it!"
"So no one dared to approach Bag End anymore, and the auction was canceled."