The port area of the coral island was still the same, noisy and chaotic. After separating from the crew, Charles took Lily straight to the Bat Hotel where they stayed.
Although he now has enough echo to buy a house in the port area, Charles always feels that he can't stay in this sea for long, and there is no need to waste money on this.
As soon as he walked into the hotel, Charles immediately noticed something was wrong. The unkempt guy who used to sit behind the front desk had disappeared, and in his place was a middle-aged man whose clothes were completely inconsistent with the surrounding environment.
The white shirt, black vest and neat hairstyle make him look nothing like someone who works in the port area.
"Mr. Charles, has the owner of the Bat Inn changed?" Lily, who was standing on Charles, looked at the man curiously.
Charles thought for a moment and then walked over. "I need to stay for a month this time, 303 on the third floor, and send two more meals to my room."
"Yes, sir. The room is ready for you."
Just when Charles was about to take out the Echo Coin, the guy waved his hand and indicated that it was not necessary.
He said respectfully with a smile on his face: "Mr. Charles, you don't have to pay. This hotel belongs to you now."
"Mine?" Charles looked at the guy in front of him, but couldn't see any information.
"Who are you? Who sent you?"
"The master left a letter in your room. You will know after you read it."
Taking the key handed over, Charles walked towards the room where he lived in confusion. After opening the door with the key, he found that the decoration inside had changed.
The peeling walls were repainted and covered with classical carved wallpaper, and all the old furniture was replaced with new classical-style furniture.
The floor was covered with thick pure wool carpets and the walls were decorated with artistic murals, all of which made Charles feel very unfamiliar.
The biggest change in the room is that a fireplace has been forcibly carved out of the left wall.
The blazing fire not only illuminated the entire room, but also brought warmth that dispelled the previous dampness and coldness in the room.
Charles stepped out of the door and looked at the house number again, and found that he was not in the wrong place. This was the room he had lived in before. Now the decoration and furnishings in this room made him feel like he had walked into the bedroom of a governor.
"Wow!" Lily jumped off Charles's shoulder excitedly, and rolled over on the bed. "Mr. Charles! Come on, this bed is so soft and comfortable!"
Charles ignored Lily's excited shouting. He thought about what the guy had just said and glanced at the table.
An envelope was placed neatly in the middle of the table.
"Who in Earthsea would write to me?" Charles had an answer in his mind, and his heartbeat began to accelerate.
He quickly rushed over and opened the envelope, and a folded piece of drawing paper fell out. It was Anna, and she was making a face.
Charles stared at the portrait quietly for a few seconds, then turned it over and found some Chinese characters on the back.
"Gao Zhiming, how is your search for the exit going? Do you have any clues? I have something happy to tell you. I am married now. Don't worry, I am not cheating on you. That guy smells pretty good."
"I came over to take a look because I had something urgent to do recently. You men are really rough. You can even live in a room like this. I cleaned it up a little. Don't thank me. Don't think too much. This doesn't mean anything."
Charles looked at the Chinese characters on the painting over and over again, and only put it down after a long time.
His mind was in a mess at this moment, and he didn't know why Anna did this.
"You want to go?"
"Don't put the blame on me. You must be thinking the same thing as I am. You want to find it but you don't want to find it either."
"What if we find her? Don't forget her identity. Let her stay with us, and then we watch her eat people every day. Can you accept that?"
"Hey, you are Gao Zhiming, and I am also Gao Zhiming. If you can accept it, I can certainly accept it too."
Charles, frowning slightly, let out a breath and put the drawing paper back on the table.
He slowly sat down on the leather sofa in front of the fireplace, and subconsciously rubbed his temples with his right fingers. The soft leather sofa and the warmth of the fireplace could relax his physical fatigue, but could not alleviate the entanglement in his heart.
In his memory, Anna is his childhood sweetheart. Even though he now knows that those beautiful memories are fake, he still can't forget her.
But no matter how deep the feelings are, it cannot offset the fact that Anna is a man-eating monster.
After watching the flickering flames in the fireplace for a while, Charles said, "There is no logic in the Earthsea. Do you think there is any way to-"
Richard took over the conversation and said, "Thinking of a way to turn Anna back into a human? You're really good at thinking. Regardless of whether the tentacle monster agrees or not, if we change our goal and help it, what will we do when we explore the surface exit? Which is more important, the woman or going home?"
Charles remained silent and did not answer. Just as he was thinking and feeling a little upset, a small box on the ground caught his attention. There seemed to be something in it.
Charles went over and found a letter torn in two. He bent down and pieced the envelope together.
Margaret Jane Cavendish (sent)
Mr. Charles (received)
Margaret? Charles recalled the timid, rabbit-like innocent girl.
Charles looked at the grimace on the table, then at the envelope torn in two in his hand.
Since Anna tore up the letter, why did she leave it here for me to see
After thinking for a moment, he folded the envelope together, put one end in his mouth and bit it, then pulled hard with his right hand, and the two pieces of the letter were torn into four pieces.
Charles threw the scraps of paper in his hand into the trash can and walked to the bathroom.
The fact that she hid food for the slaves showed that she was a good girl, and Charles didn't want to have anything to do with her, no matter what she wrote in the letter.
He already had enough ties to Earthsea, and he didn't want to add another one.
Charles' dull life on the island did not last long. Just half a month after he started painting again to clear the spiritual pollution, he saw the scarred exploration ship of the Church of Light at the dock.
"How's it going? Did you find the supply island?"
In room 303 of the Bat Hotel, Charles asked Kede who had a very bad look on his face.
As for the exit from the Land of Light, he didn't even ask. Given this guy's devout attitude towards the God of Light, if he really found it, he would never have this expression.
(End of this chapter)