Almost not long after Bilbo left, Bag End, which was very close to the cheerful atmosphere of the banquet venue, soon welcomed its new owner-Frodo, who was also the owner of the house Bilbo specially visited before leaving.

The adopted son and legal property heir are designated and notarized.

Different from the past, where he walked briskly and without hesitation, cheerfully and carefree, this time, Frodo walked for the first time in a step-by-step manner.

When he pushed the door open completely and came in, he found that in the familiar corner of supplies was no longer his respected elder Bilbo, but the old and slightly stooped back figure of the gray-robed wizard Gandalf, who was sitting in a corner.

A thought suddenly occurred to Li:

Bilbo, has he left home as originally planned and is now on a long journey?

Even though Frodo firmly believed in his mind that his conjecture was right, for some reason, he still instinctively refused to give up.

I could only hear him asking in a tone that was still filled with some meager to extremely slim hope: "Mr. Gandalf, is he gone?"

"Yes, little Mr. Baggins. As you expected, he left the Shire and walked on the path he had long expected." Gandalf replied.

"I really should not be greedy for those few glasses of sweet fruit wine, my God! I really hope that I can come back soon, instead of coming back so late, not even seeing him before he leaves." Frodo said.

He was filled with annoyance and regret, and even his emotions were so obvious that Gandalf didn't need to guess too much. He could see it from his deeply furrowed eyebrows.

In Frodo, the young man made no secret of his respect for his elders and his sincere love for his relatives, which made him behave extremely kindly.

Kindness, integrity, these beautiful words undoubtedly won Gandalf's deep appreciation at this moment.

This wizard who had recruited the Hobbit in his prime decades ago to serve as a snitch in Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain's glorious expedition to the Lonely Mountain, when he looked at Frodo now, he was surprised.

I feel that the current Frodo has some overlap with the brave and fearless Bilbo who knew nothing about adventure but was very yearning for adventure decades ago.

At this moment, it was exactly like that moment... For a moment, Gandalf, with those precious memories flooding into his heart, met Frodo's eyes and looked at each other speechlessly.

After a short moment of silence, until Frodo was wondering if he had said the wrong thing to make the wizard sitting in the corner angry, Gandalf finally opened his mouth to comfort him and said:

"Don't blame yourself too much, Frodo. May I call you that?"

After getting Frodo's nod in response to the question, Gandalf continued: "You may not have noticed, but Bilbo himself has insisted not to see anyone before leaving. After so many years, maybe he himself should have guessed

He’s not good at saying goodbye! By the way, he even left a package for you before he left. It’s right over there!”

Following the guidance of Gandalf's fingers, Frodo took the envelope off the fireplace.

After carefully looking at the font on the envelope, the young hobbit did not open it immediately.

Seeing that the young heir seemed a little hesitant to open the envelope in front of him, Gandalf immediately guessed Frodo's concerns.

"You should get several written certificates of property transfer signed by Bilbo in the envelope." The wizard said. "Congratulations on becoming the new owner of Bag End, you will also inherit his very special gold ring.

!”

"The ring!" Frodo said in surprise. "He left that to me? My God, this is incredible."

"The reason why he did this naturally has a reason why he must do it." Gandalf said. "By the way, as a wizard, I want to give you a piece of advice - if I were the new owner of the ring, I would try not to touch it as much as possible.

It. In addition, the owner of the ring should know how to keep it secret and try not to let everyone know that you have this ring. Well, Frodo, I am sleepy, please allow me to say goodbye and go to bed."

With that said, the somewhat casual elder wizard faced Frodo's complicated eyes and left Bag End, and walked back to his exclusive caravan to sleep.

.....

As the master of Bag End, Frodo must endure the longing for Bilbo's departure and say goodbye to his guests one by one.

At that time, rumors about Bilbo's farewell remarks at the dinner party had already spread in the streets. Faced with many scandals and speculations, Frodo could only answer: "Everything will be revealed tomorrow morning.

"

What made him feel more fortunate was that not everyone was so interested in Bilbo's declaration of departure. Many guests left in carriages that evening and embarked on their way home.

We arrived as promised the next day. Obviously, many people were still curious about the reason for Bilbo's departure.

Many dwarves and hobbit wandering merchants hired by Bilbo in advance began to clean up the venue after the dinner as scheduled.

After this, a group of guests who were curious about the truth behind Bilbo's disappearance came to the door of Bag End to inquire. Even though he was worried about how to deal with these people, Frodo knew that these were all expected.

Frodo was standing at the door with a smile on his face, a tired and worried look on his face. He welcomed all the guests, but had nothing to say. He had only one answer: "Mr. Bilbo Baggins has left Sheltar."

He went on a long journey. I thought he might never come back. That’s it, let’s all leave!”

After most of them left with suspicious expressions, some guests were invited by Frodo to stay in the house for a while, all because Bilbo left some special gifts for these people.

In the living room are piles of packages and various sundries and furniture. Everything has a label on it.

Each parting gift had a label written by Bilbo himself, and as in the past, he also left some jokes on the note.

Most of the gifts are things that the recipients urgently need. Hobbits from relatively poor families received the bread, ham and other food necessary for their lives.

In addition to these gifts, of course Bilbo left more of his property to Frodo, the orthodox heir.

Frodo was left with famous paintings, books, and antique furniture.

That afternoon, Frodo, the new owner of Bag End, was even more tired and his feet ached.

There were rumors that everything in the house was given away for free, and a large number of unrelated people immediately came here and could not be driven away. Faced with this sudden misunderstanding and dispute, Frodo wanted to protect Bilbo.

The property left behind was naturally a result of a lot of effort.

.....

After much effort, Frodo finally sent away all the difficult guests.

Before his butt was even hot, there was another small knock on the front door. "It's probably some money-grubbing person who hates people again."

With an annoyed mood, the young hobbit continued to drink tea. The knock on the door was repeated several times and became louder, but he just ignored it as if he hadn't heard it.

At this moment, the wizard's head suddenly appeared outside the window.

"Frodo, if you don't let me in, I'll blow your door to the other side of the mountain," he said.

"Ah, it's dear Gandalf! I'll open the door right away. Please come in!" Frodo hurried to the door and welcomed the wizard in.

"I have come to give you a special suggestion." Gandalf sat down. "Frodo, you must be careful to collect that ring! The owner of that ring should be most wary of him."

"Oh? Why?"

"Before I tell you something, I want to ask, what do you know?"

"I have heard Bilbo's travel stories, and the story tells something about this ring. How he found it and how he used it."

"I don't know which version of the story it is," Gandalf said.

"Well, certainly not the version he wrote in the book," said Frodo. "Not long after I came here he told me the truth. He thought I had a great need to know the truth about the ring, but

He didn’t tell me the reason why he did this.”

"Interesting, I didn't expect Bilbo to be so far-sighted." Gandalf said. "Well, what do you think?"

"If you mean that he made up the story that the ring was a gift, I don't think it's necessary. I don't see why he made up this story. It's not like Bilbo's style, so I think it's strange.

.”

"I think so too. The true function of this ring is actually far more than what it appears on the surface. Its ability may be more than just making you disappear when needed. Trust me, you don't want to know how terrible it is.

ability.”

"I don't understand," said Frodo.

"To be honest, I'm not sure myself," the wizard replied. "I only started to be suspicious of the ring because of Bilbo's abnormal behavior last night. Don't worry about it yet. I hope you will listen to my advice - about the ring.

You just need to keep it safe and don’t leak it!”

"You are so mysterious! What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'll tell you when I find out the truth. I'm leaving soon. See you next time." He stood up.

"Leave immediately?" cried Frodo. "I thought you would stay at least a week. I was going to ask for your help."

"That was my original plan, but I changed my mind. I may leave for a long time, but as soon as I have a chance, I will rush back to see you. You will know then! I will quietly

Come for a visit. I will probably never visit the Shire publicly again. I find myself becoming persona non grata.

Many decent hobbits don't seem to like me as much as I do when I set off fireworks. Some even accuse me of encouraging Bilbo to travel. Or even worse, some say you and I are plotting to steal his wealth.

.”

"How could they do this!?" Frodo said in disbelief. "You mean Othor and Roberta? How mean! If I could have Bilbo walking around with me, I would rather take the Bag Give them the pit and everything. I like the Shire, but now I'm not sure if this idea is right. Maybe I should leave with Bilbo then!"

"Perhaps you are right, Frodo," said Gandalf. "I still have many doubts in my mind. Say goodbye now! Take care of yourself, I may show up at any time! Goodbye!"

Frodo walked him to the door.

The old-looking wizard waved his hand and walked away at an astonishing speed.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Frodo felt that the wizard seemed even more tired than usual, as if he had a heavier burden on his shoulders.

The night gradually fell, and Gandalf's tall figure also disappeared in the afterglow of the setting sun.

After that parting, Frodo did not see Gandalf again for a long time, and this reason puzzled him.

....

The discussion about this incident not only lasted for a week, but also lasted for more than three months. The second mysterious disappearance of Bilbo Baggins has been discussed in the Shire, where the Hobbits live, for more than a year, and even more so. People have remembered it for a long time.

He left everyone without saying goodbye. Just like the legendary adventurer who suddenly disappeared, Bilbo, and the secrets of the massive wealth that he may have contained in him, were completely transformed into a legend with his disappearance.

But at the same time, his neighbors had a very different view of him. Those who always secretly speculated on the role of the wizard Gandalf naturally blamed Gandalf for part of the reason for Bilbo's sudden disappearance.
To be continued...