For these past several days, everyone lived quite leisurely. Freed from worry, they felt no concern about encountering danger again. Moreover, the Shire was full of scenic locales, giving the newcomers the illusion of a wilderness excursion or a springtime outing. The Hobbits were also masters at foraging wild foods—all sorts of wild vegetables, mushrooms, plant stems, and roots. Aragorn would also hunt small animals, so in terms of the quality and flavor of the menu, the newcomers, straight from the concrete jungles of the real world, often wouldn't have had access to such fine fare.

Setting the food aside, the group learned a great deal about Rivendell, the Elven sanctuary, from Aragorn. The first topic was its military strength. Learning the answer immediately put their minds at ease. Even though the Elven race was currently retreating beyond Middle-earth, Rivendell was, after all, their capital, housing several thousand regular troops. Even if only a thousand of those archers possessed the ability to fire green arrows, Rivendell certainly did not fear the threat of the Ringwraiths.

This was the nature of their life for seven days and seven nights. Approaching Rivendell, the party encountered a stunningly beautiful Elven woman. She rode a pure white, magnificent steed. The first person to meet her was none other than Zheng Zha.

Following his usual habit, Zheng Zha controlled the Skeleton Steed, patrolling above the massive forest canopy or along steep inclines. At that moment, he was about one or two kilometers ahead of the group, standing on a sheer, precipitous slope that dropped almost vertically. When this beautiful Elven woman on the white horse appeared.

Without a word, she drew her Elven longsword and began chanting strange incantations that Zheng Zha couldn't understand.

As the Elven beauty finished the spell, the steep slope where Zheng Zha stood suddenly trembled. Countless rocks tumbled down from the hillside above him. It was only thanks to the Skeleton Steed's gravity-defying nature that Zheng Zha yanked the reins and leaped up.

He jumped directly onto the falling rocks, descending along the cliff face. When he reached lower ground, Zheng Zha pulled the reins again, and the Skeleton Steed bounded powerfully, landing directly atop the crown of a great tree.

The Elven beauty did not retreat. Instead, she rushed toward Zheng Zha brandishing her sword. Just then, a man's shout suddenly rang out, causing the Elven beauty to pause in confusion. Indeed, not far away, Aragorn was riding toward them.

"Arwen, stop! That is not a Ringwraith; those are our friends!" Aragorn roared from a distance. His horse was not a superior warhorse, so it took him a while to reach the space between the treetop where the Elven beauty and Zheng Zha stood. He then dismounted and ran straight toward the Elven woman.

The Elven beauty also dismounted, standing there gracefully. When Aragorn reached her side, she immediately broke into a smile, allowing Aragorn to take her hand.

"These are our friends. They defeated several Nazgûl and even seized the mount of one of the Wraiths. They are mighty warriors, Arwen. They are also the ones entrusted by Gandalf to protect the One Ring."

Aragorn, holding Arwen’s hand, smiled as he introduced Zheng Zha and the others. The rest of the team, lacking mounts, could only run toward the trio from a distance.

Arwen smiled apologetically at Zheng Zha’s bald head, nodding slightly. She then turned to Aragorn and said, "We received word from Gandalf: Saruman has betrayed us. He has begun to fear the power of the Dark Lord Sauron, willingly falling into darkness. We have lost another ally, and even Gandalf has been imprisoned. However, he seems to have found a way to escape Saruman and is currently hurrying toward Rivendell. We should meet him when we return to the Last Homely House."

Aragorn nodded solemnly. He called out to Zheng Zha and the others with a weary voice: "Comrades, we may need to quicken our pace. Tomorrow—by midday tomorrow—we absolutely must reach Rivendell."

In truth, running at full speed with mounts would not have taken an extra day, but there were only three mounts among dozens of people. Out of necessity, those who had mounts dismounted and walked, proceeding toward Rivendell step by painstaking step.

As Princess Arwen of the Elves, her beauty was truly extraordinary. Furthermore, being an Elf, her beauty carried an aura of delicate elegance. Such a magnificent woman was many times more beautiful than the celebrities of the real world, instantly captivating the men and women of the three Reincarnation Squads. Of course, Cheng Xiao was the most overtly expressive.

No one knew where he got a harmonica from, but he began playing a song for Arwen right in front of Aragorn. After the tune finished, this strange musical instrument immediately made Arwen deeply curious. Cheng Xiao wasted no time, attempting to take Arwen’s hand to teach her how to play it. His intentions were quite obvious—a kiss by proxy shouldn't be too much to ask, right? However, the Elves were a proud and reserved race. Arwen simply smiled and firmly refused, subtly drawing her hand back. Only when Aragorn sat down next to Cheng Xiao with a faint smile did the man settle down. Not only did he stop leaning toward Arwen, but the music he played also shifted from a lingering love ballad to a solemn, uplifting melody.

"Though I hate to admit it, I truly cannot beat Aragorn. Trying to court his girl in front of him, I worry I might end up becoming a creature with nothing below the waist..." This was what Cheng Xiao confided to others privately. As a key protagonist in the world of The Lord of the Rings, the last remnant of the royal bloodline of Men, Aragorn was already a formidable warrior in the original film plot. In this enhanced version of Middle-earth, Aragorn’s strength had increased exponentially. Lacking the Nazgûl's skeletal steed, he was absolutely equal to a level six or even level seven Ringwraith in every other aspect.

Aragorn wielded only a common two-handed greatsword, but when he swung it, the speed was astonishing, almost matching that of a level seven Ringwraith. Moreover, as he swung the sword, the entire blade radiated a white light flowing from his body into the steel. This ordinary greatsword instantly manifested powerful, invisible blade-light, multiplying its destructive force several times over. It could be said that this version of Aragorn surpassed even the veterans of the three Reincarnation Squads’ main force.

This explained Cheng Xiao’s private remark; if he dared to do anything truly indecent to Arwen, Aragorn would not need much effort to kill him.

But regardless, having a beautiful, elegant woman join the team instantly injected much more warmth into the atmosphere. By the time the group arrived at Rivendell, the few girls on the team had already formed a very close bond with Arwen.

It wasn't until two o'clock the following afternoon that the group finally reached Rivendell—the Elven capital nestled in the quiet solitude of a deep valley. The entire city was not excessively large, yet it was a place of beauty so profound it was almost indescribable. It possessed the inherent grace and elegance characteristic of the Elves. The city was built against the sheer mountain walls, dotted everywhere with lush green trees, and accompanied by numerous small waterfalls nearby. It was a city as beautiful as a fairyland; anyone arriving there would be overwhelmed with awe, purely for its sheer beauty.

With Aragorn and Princess Arwen leading the way, the group easily passed the scrutiny of the Elven guards. Upon entering the city, their first sensation was one of astonishment and deep absorption. Only after Aragorn and Arwen repeatedly urged them on did the group reluctantly follow the pair toward the Council Hall.

The Council Hall was a platform opening out toward the valley, offering a view of exquisitely beautiful scenery. Several people were already waiting on this platform, including the familiar Lady of the Shire, as well as several other Elves.

The four Hobbits immediately became excited upon seeing the Lady of the Shire, shouting and running toward her like four children. The Lady of the Shire laughed and embraced them. For a time, these five seemed to have an endless stream of things to say. The four Hobbits began recounting the terrible dangers they had encountered, especially the terror of the Ringwraiths and their near-death experiences. It wasn't until the four Hobbits mentioned that Zheng Zha’s group had slain eight Ringwraiths that the Lady of the Shire and the Elves turned to look at Zheng Zha’s party with surprise.

"Brave warriors? You defeated the Ringwraiths whom no one has ever beaten? And you slew as many as eight of them?" an Elven man suddenly asked.

Arwen interjected, "Not only did they kill eight Ringwraiths, but they even captured the Skeleton Steed of one of them! Heh, but that steed causes plants to wither, so I had the guards take it down near the stone banks where no vegetation grows."

At these words, the Lady of the Shire and the Elves were utterly shocked, all looking at Zheng Zha’s group in disbelief.