Chapter 200: Pen Pal and Trouble
After a period of travel, Luo En finally disembarked at Backlund's bustling dock area.
"The weather in Backlund is really… as bad as ever. It can't compare to being at sea at all." He looked up at the gray, smoke-shrouded sky and couldn't help but complain.
"Meow!" Lachi also poked her little head out of his backpack, curiously surveying the city she hadn't returned to in a long time.
Luo En first went to a small restaurant by the roadside and had a simple lunch of oat bread and fried sausages.
Then, he hailed a carriage and went directly to 69 Rose Street, a place he was incredibly familiar with.
Standing before the familiar dark brown painted door, Luo En first looked down at his current appearance.
He had put away the Disguise Cufflink. Aside from his black hair, which hadn't completely faded from the dye, and his somewhat weathered face from experiencing too much hardship, other aspects—should be fine, right?
He raised his hand and gently knocked on the door.
But there was no response from inside the door.
Is Mrs. Griffin not home?
Luo En felt a bit puzzled, so he increased his strength and knocked again.
"Who is it—?"
A moment later, a lazy, annoyed, and indistinct voice finally came from inside the house.
"Ah—don't you know it's rude to disturb someone's afternoon nap?"
Nap—
Hearing the complaint from the room, Luo En's mouth twitched slightly.
Why does it feel like Mrs. Griffin is always sleeping?
After another ten-odd seconds, the door finally opened a crack with an "Oh dear" from inside.
"Who is it?"
Mrs. Griffin's sleepy face peered out from the crack in the door. Her gaze fell upon the stranger outside, who had short black hair and an indistinct, dangerous aura about him.
Luo En was about to speak and greet her when he noticed that Mrs. Griffin's originally sleepy eyes suddenly narrowed slightly. A powerful and dangerous aura erupted!
"Meow!"
Lachi, hidden in the backpack, also let out a cry of distress due to this sudden aura.
But Luo En didn't seem too flustered. He just showed a helpless smile and said, "Mrs. Griffin, it's me."
"I am Luo En."
"Little Luo En?"
Hearing this, Mrs. Griffin's face showed a hint of surprise. She immediately reined in her aura and meticulously scrutinized Luo En up and down again.
"Is it really Little Luo En?" she mumbled uncertainly, "It feels like… he's become a bit dangerous."
"Madam, I just… dyed my hair," Luo En said, feeling quite speechless.
Honestly, he had indeed felt an extremely strong spiritual fluctuation from Mrs. Griffin just now. He could now be 100% certain that his seemingly ordinary landlady was definitely a powerful Beyonder.
The landlady really keeps a low profile.
"Hmm, disguises of any kind are forbidden here," Mrs. Griffin mumbled to herself again, then looked at Luo En and said, "It seems you really are Little Luo En."
Luo En nodded: "You finally recognized me."
"Little Luo En," Mrs. Griffin said, opening the door completely, "You've only been gone for a short time, but the changes… are really big."
Luo En sighed and said, "I couldn't help it; I experienced some hardships outside."
"Mrs. Griffin, can you let me in first?"
"Oh, of course." Saying that, she turned around and let Luo En into the house.
The two chatted briefly in the living room. After listening to Luo En recount his experience of this "long journey at sea," Mrs. Griffin's face suddenly showed a hesitant expression, as if she wanted to speak but held back.
"Little Luo En, actually…"
"What's wrong?"
Seeing the landlady like this, Luo En felt a strange feeling in his heart.
Coupled with her vigilant demeanor when she opened the door earlier, Luo En suddenly had a very bad premonition.
"Mrs. Griffin," his voice became a bit dry, "It couldn't be that… someone has already come looking for me during the time I was away, could it?"
Hearing this, Mrs. Griffin, who was about to pour tea, paused slightly. She turned around, looked at Luo En, and slowly nodded.
"Ah? There really was?!"
Luo En's heart instantly sank.
Is it the Rose School of Thought? Or is it… that mysterious woman who gave me the Assassin potion back then?
"And," Mrs. Griffin added, "it wasn't just one group of people."
"Not just one group of people?!" Luo En's face showed an even more puzzled expression.
"Hmm." Mrs. Griffin nodded, recalling as she spoke, "The first ones to come knocking were two very young girls."
"One of them seemed particularly concerned about you. She also said she was your pen pal, and her name—it seemed to be—Fors?"
Fors… that Author?!
Luo En immediately recalled his time in Tingen. He had written several letters to her.
At that time, to earn money, he had asked her for advice on writing books.
It was just that later, due to a series of events, the matter of continuing to write and reply to letters had long been forgotten by him.
Because I haven't replied, she specifically came to my house, Luo En thought.
Right, I don't think I wrote my Tingen address at the time. To find me, she could only follow the previous letters to here…
Just as Luo En was pondering various possibilities, Mrs. Griffin suddenly leaned closer, her face showing an extremely gossipy expression as she said:
"Hey, hey, Little Luo En, is that girl named Fors really—just your pen pal? Seeing how anxious she was,"
"Could she be your little girlfriend?"
"Hear…—" Hearing this, Luo En's mouth twitched violently.
Mrs. Griffin's imagination was truly—as rich as ever.
He somewhat helplessly changed the subject: "Madam, then—who were the other people who came looking for me?"
Upon hearing this question, the gossipy smile on Mrs. Griffin's face instantly vanished. Her expression became somewhat solemn.
"The other group of people, huh—"
"Those were—not good people."