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August 21st, morning, Backlund, Cherwood Borough.
Outside the Purple Grape Restaurant, behind a particular Intis sycamore tree, Fors and Xio, using the trunk to conceal themselves, were peering out, observing the situation inside the Purple Grape Restaurant, looking completely furtive.
Of course, it was mainly Xio who was observing; after all, as a bounty hunter, Xio was the professional in this regard, while Fors, being a slacker, was far less capable.
After observing for a good while, Xio finally looked up at Fors and said, "There are no ambushes, nor are there any traces of other people; there shouldn't be any problems."
"That's good." Fors breathed a sigh of relief. The reason she and Xio were hiding behind this sycamore tree, secretly observing, was naturally because they were worried that today's meeting would be a trap.
Although after so many days of exchanging letters, Fors had come to believe that Ross Earl, who was corresponding with her, was truly a fan of her books, as a wild Beyonder, and because of the Full Moon Whisper incident, she had decided to meet the other party, Fors naturally still harbored a sense of vigilance.
After all, in this day and age, wild Beyonders who are too reckless don't live long.
"Then I'll go in first. You wait for me outside here. If there really is any danger, if you can beat them, come and save me; if you can't, you run away by yourself. I also have ways to escape." As Fors said this, she gestured to Xio with the stone bracelet on her hand.
This stone bracelet was considered a rather special Beyonder item; each stone, when used, could create an effect similar to Traveling. Fors had escaped life-or-death crises because of it, but the reason she suffered from the Full Moon Whisper's intrusion was also because she used the stones on this bracelet. It could only be said that there were both gains and losses.
If you were to ask Fors if she regretted using this bracelet to this day, she wouldn't say she particularly regretted it. After all, if she hadn't used this bracelet to escape, she might have died back then and wouldn't have lived to this day, let alone suffer from the Full Moon Whisper's torment.
"Then be careful." Xio nodded, having no objection to Fors's arrangement.
While they were talking, they naturally didn't notice that near the window of the Purple Grape Restaurant, the person they had just focused on observing, who was also the person Fors was going to meet this time, casually glanced in their direction before picking up the black tea in front of him and gently taking a sip.
Did Lin Ruo discover Fors and Xio? That was for sure. After all, as a Sequence 7: Pyromaniac, Lin Ruo was extremely skilled in tracking and counter-tracking, reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance. Fors and Xio's concealment might be difficult for ordinary people to detect, but to Lin Ruo, it was no different from a light bulb in the dark.
However, Lin Ruo didn't care. After all, he could understand Fors and Xio's concerns. If they wanted to observe, then let them. Anyway, he wasn't here with malicious intent this time.
After Lin Ruo took two or three sips of his black tea, a new guest finally walked into the Purple Grape Restaurant, heading straight for his seat.
"Hello, are you Mr. Ross Earl?"
Lin Ruo raised his head. Entering his sight was a lady of about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with a height of around 1.65 meters. She had wavy brown hair and light blue eyes, wore a black gauze hat, and was dressed in a beige dress, looking at him with a friendly smile.
Without a doubt, this person was Fors, the future Tarot Club member known as "The Magician", a famous novelist, and, if nothing unexpected happened, also a student of a future Abraham family member, someone who was so much of a slacker that Squid didn't know where to start cutting, successfully surviving to the grand finale in the original work, even having the potential to win her way to becoming an angel.
Speaking of which, the other party also had a good friend, who was the future "Judgement" of the Tarot Club, Xio, who was one meter and fifty-two centimeters tall.
For a moment, Lin Ruo got into character very professionally. A joyful smile appeared on his face. As he stood up, he said, "Yes, I am Ross Earl. You must be Teacher Fors, right?"
Calling Fors "Teacher" was naturally not because she taught, but because she was a writer. In the past letters, besides using Abraham's knowledge to lure Fors, Lin Ruo had also consulted Fors as a junior who also dreamed of becoming a novelist. Calling her "Teacher" was a matter of politeness.
"That's right, I am Fors. There's no need to call me Teacher; just call me Madam." Fors smiled and sat down opposite Lin Ruo. As soon as she sat down, a lazy temperament emanated from within. However, obviously because she was mindful that this was in public, Fors still paid attention to her image, at least sitting relatively upright.
"Alright, Madam Fors." Lin Ruo followed suit with the address, changing his tone without any hesitation. Then, he noticed Fors's gaze falling on the ancient book beside his hand, and his smile deepened a bit, only because he was already smiling brightly, so it was hard for others to tell.
The ancient book was naturally a fake, and much of the content was made up by Lin Ruo. However, Lin Ruo still wrote the important parts according to what was described in the original work, and avoided many sensitive contents, ensuring that even if the current situation was different from what he described, it would at least not harm Fors.
However, Lin Ruo was not in a hurry to hand the book over to the other party, but opened his mouth and said, "Madam Fors, you told me last time that you already had inspiration for your new book. Are you planning to write content related to the supernatural? I'm really looking forward to your next work."
The anticipation was real; after all, finding an author who suited his taste these days was not easy.
Lin Ruo himself no longer produced content, so he naturally relied on others to produce it.
Fors's smile stiffened. She had just been about to open her mouth to talk about the ancient book, but at this moment, her first reaction was to give a perfunctory three-word reply: "I'm writing," "It's coming soon," "Just need the ending." Anyway, she would never admit that her new book hadn't even had an outline written.
"Ahem, it's coming soon. The main thing is that I'm thinking about the characters. You know that if you want to write a good book, characterization is very important." Fors coughed softly, intending to forcibly change the topic. "Speaking of which, is this the ancient book you mentioned?" She pointed to the book in front of Lin Ruo.
"Oh, right, and this." Lin Ruo pointed to the cover of the ancient book as if he had just remembered it, and said, "That's right, this is the book I mentioned in the letter that records the related deeds of the Abraham family. More accurately, rather than a book, it's actually more like a diary, a diary written by a certain Abraham member."
A diary… Fors was stunned for a moment. Thinking of the content Lin Ruo had mentioned when corresponding with him these days, she immediately understood and became even more expectant of the ancient book in Lin Ruo's hand.
After all, if it really was a diary written by an Abraham member, there might really be detailed records about the Full Moon Whisper in it.
Fors, who had expectations rising in her heart, immediately said, "Then can you let me see this ancient book? You know, my new book needs inspiration to catalyze it, and perhaps the content of this ancient book can bring me some inspiration."
Lin Ruo did not give an answer immediately, but tapped the surface of the ancient book with his fingers, seemingly thinking.
The atmosphere became strange at that moment, and Fors, who had been very happy just now, suddenly became alert. Her fingers unconsciously stroked the stone on her wrist, ready to run away at any moment.
Outside the Purple Grape Restaurant, Xio, who had already hidden behind another sycamore tree, also noticed the oddness between Fors and Lin Ruo in the restaurant and secretly prepared herself.
As Fors became more and more nervous, Lin Ruo looked up at her. His expression suddenly became serious, and he asked, "Ms. Fors, before I give you this ancient book, can you answer me a question?"
"What question?" Seeing that Lin Ruo didn't seem to be making a move, Fors was still vigilant in her heart, but because she was really curious about the content of the ancient book, she asked back.
"Are you a Beyonder?"
A Beyonder? He knows… He is also a Beyonder?
Is he deliberately using the content related to Abraham to lure me in?
What is his purpose?
Fors's blood rushed to her head in one breath, and she was thinking quickly at this moment, while instinctively wanting to use the stone to escape.
"Teleportation is forbidden here."
However, before Fors could completely activate the stone, a gentle but majestic voice rang out at this moment. Then Fors's pupils shrank, because she found that the stone had actually failed.
Lin Ruo, who was using the ability of the Sequence 5 "Disciplinary Knight" of the Arbiter pathway for the first time with his iron-black gloves, helplessly said: "Don't be so nervous, Ms. Fors. I don't have any malice, I'm just a little curious. After all, generally speaking, no one should care about things related to the Abraham family now."
Helplessness was real helplessness. Lin Ruo didn't expect that he just asked such a not-too-sensitive question, and Fors was so scared that she wanted to run away. At the same time as being helpless, Lin Ruo understood what he was forbidden from doing. He was forbidden from singing.
Well, it's not a big deal.
Fors, who had the idea of "I'm done for" in the moment of teleportation failure, also glanced at him carefully after hearing his words. After realizing that Lin Ruo didn't seem to have any malice, she said, "Isn't the Abraham family's matter deliberately revealed to me by you?"
Hearing this, Lin Ruo suddenly showed a wry smile and said, "Ms. Fors, don't you think I deliberately revealed the Abraham family's matter to you to fish you out?"
Although the fact is like this, Lin Ruo's expression at this moment was quite innocent, as if he really didn't do this.
"Could it be… not?" Fors asked uncertainly, while observing Lin Ruo's expression on the opposite side.
"Of course not!" Lin Ruo continued to maintain his wry smile and said:
"I never thought about fishing you out. I am indeed your book fan. At the beginning, I told you about the Full Moon Whispers just because I thought of it and wrote it in the letter. As a result, who knew that you would be curious about this aspect, and also so interested in the Abraham family's matter. That's why I started to guess your identity and guessed that you were a Beyonder. As a result, who knew that I just asked and you became so excited."
After speaking, Lin Ruo paused and glanced at Fors again, seemingly helplessly, and said: "Besides, why would I want to fish you out? What am I plotting?"
Fors was a little embarrassed when she heard this. Of course, she wasn't sure what Sequence the person on the opposite side was, but just based on the fact that the other party had just made her stone ineffective, Fors could be sure that the other party's Sequence was definitely higher than hers, even much higher.
Such a person doesn't seem to have anything to plot from her.
However, at the same time as being embarrassed, Fors actually breathed a sigh of relief, because she found that the other party didn't seem to have any malice towards her, which made her relax a lot, and subconsciously replied: "Maybe you want to catch me and lock me up to write manuscripts."
She just said it casually, but after she finished speaking, Fors regretted it, because she found that the young man in front of her actually showed a thoughtful expression after she finished this sentence, as if considering the feasibility of this matter.
This made Fors's face change drastically, and she quickly said: "That won't work. Writing manuscripts, writing manuscripts requires inspiration. If you really catch me and lock me up, I won't be able to write anything, absolutely not a single word."
Then Fors saw a look of regret on the other party's face, as if agreeing with her words.
"That's right, this aspect can't be forced."
"Huff…" Fors breathed a sigh of relief, and her heart was raised again, because she heard the person on the opposite side say this:
"Speaking of which, the little girl outside who wants to rush in is your companion, right? Let her in, I don't have any malice towards you or her. Actually, I'm really just here today to see the author I want to see, and to confirm whether you are a member of the Abraham family who has been stranded outside." When Lin Ruo said this, his smile was both helpless and innocent.
Xio has been discovered… What to do, should she come in? Or should she leave…
No, that idiot Xio must have discovered that her stone is useless. She's not running away now and even wants to rush in. Can she really persuade her to leave… What to do?
Fors fell into a fierce mental struggle for a while.
Lin Ruo smiled when he saw this, and said leisurely: "Speaking of which, I've actually seen that little guy outside. She's the Miss Arbiter Xio from the East Borough, right? If I'm not mistaken, she should also be a real Arbiter, right?"
He knows! He actually knows!
That's right, Xio has investigated him. Since he is a very powerful Beyonder, he may have discovered it long ago.
It's her fault… Fors was a little self-blaming for a while, and then she heard Lin Ruo continue to say:
"You really don't have to worry, I will not attack her. Speaking of which, there is a bit of a connection between me and her… We've met before, although that was when we were very young."
Lin Ruo's words were not a lie, because the original owner did meet Xio when they were not very old.
Met… Fors was stunned for a moment, and suddenly thought that Xio had also said that she felt familiar with Ross Earl.
She looked at the leisurely Lin Ruo in front of her, and then glanced at Xio, who obviously didn't plan to retreat, and made a decision in her heart.
After all, since the other party knows her and Xio so well, I'm afraid it will be easy to run away today. Moreover, the other party has not shown any malice so far, and may even know Xio before, so let's take a gamble!
You can't really wait for Xio to rush in, otherwise things will be irreversible.
So Fors took a slight breath and gave Xio, who was ready to come in and snatch people away, a wink.
The latter was obviously stunned for a moment.
A few minutes later, there was a quiet little guy like a quail opposite Lin Ruo.
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