You are not allowed to be a Pokémon Trainer!

Chapter 102 The Sealed History, the Vast Past! (3k)

Here, Xia Chigang has just met Rotom on his phone.

Ziyu, the senior student on the other end, also ended her call with Danyu.

"Danyu has already spoken to her grandfather, so we can just go there in a bit."

Zi Yu walked over and said.

Xia Chi nodded and said, "Senior Sister Ziyu, are you busy later? Could you come with me?"

Since he was just a middleman, and he didn't even have Danyu's contact information, it would be more convenient to have Ziyu go with him.

"Of course, no problem! I'd also love to visit Danyu and Wuli's grandfather!"

Nemo, who was standing nearby, asked curiously, "Hey, where are you guys going?"

If it were someone like Wu Li, who's a real pain in the ass, he'd probably feel like Xia Chi and Zi Yu are ostracizing him right now.

They might even have a paranoid suspicion that the two of them are secretly talking badly about him behind his back.

Nemo's charm lies in her personality; she asked straightforwardly, "Can I come along?"

Xia Chi didn't mind and replied, "Sure, let's go together then."

Cui Lv Town is neither very big nor very small.

After leaving the resort, they hailed a Corviknight flying taxi and hovered in the air for nearly ten minutes before getting off in front of a typical Sinnoh northern-style courtyard.

After getting out of the car, the frail Nemo stretched her limbs and asked, "Is this the place?"

Xia Chi looked at the words "[Woodworking Xuezhong's Family]" on the doorplate and nodded, "Yes, this is it."

Some things are like that; they are vague in the memory, but can be confirmed as soon as you see them. The descendant of the mask craftsman in the story is called "Xuezhong".

As for the surname, it doesn't seem to be explicitly stated in the game's storyline.

However, the surname "Muzuo" (木作, meaning woodworking) fits well with the craftsmanship passed down through generations in their family.

The doorbell rang, and the three of them waited respectfully outside the door.

A short while later, an elderly man with white hair and beard came to open the door.

"Hello, are you Grandpa Xuezhong?"

Blueberry Academy's chief diplomat, Senior Sister Ziyu, flashed an irresistible smile and introduced herself: "I'm Danyu's classmate. She should have just told you about our visit, right?"

Xuezhong smiled and said, "That girl just called me. Please come in."

Xia Chi and Nemo introduced themselves to Xue Zhong and followed Zi Yu into the room.

The courtyard is small, but very exquisite.

A few goldfish swim in a small, clear pond, and several tall maple trees and fruit trees are scattered along the winding pebble path.

Interspersed with a few small and exquisite rock formations, a typical Sinnoh-style garden unfolds before your eyes.

Passing through the small courtyard, Xuezhong led Xia Chi and the other two to the entrance.

A babysitter beetle, its body no longer emerald green but slightly yellowish, placed three pairs of clean, faded slippers in front of the three people.

Xia Chi was somewhat surprised. Did they have a babysitter bug in the house?
On such a cold day, why did Xuezhong open the door himself?

As if seeing through Xia Chi's thoughts, Xue Zhong smiled and explained, "This babysitter bug is quite old."

“When Danyu and Wuli’s father were born, they were cared for by the nanny worm. It was able to take care of Danyu when she was little, but now, more than forty years later, its body is more fragile than mine and it can’t stand the cold!”

"Chirp!"

The babysitter insect seemed quite dissatisfied with Xuezhong's "slander" of it, and prepared to go to the courtyard to use its flying leaf blades on the maple branches to show that it was not old at all.

But a gust of cold winter wind blew by in Beishang Township, and the nanny bug, who had just stepped out the door, instinctively pulled back.

This made Xuezhong laugh out loud, "You, you, you're always as stubborn as you were when you were a kid."

The nanny seemed to recall the time when she first came to Xuezhong's house decades ago, and a shy, happy smile appeared on her face.

When I first evolved into a babysitter, I planted the maple tree in the yard myself.

When Xiao Danyu came back last time, she had grown almost as tall as a maple tree.

It turns out that more than forty years have passed in the blink of an eye since I started living with Xuezhong. Time flies!
Seeing this heartwarming scene, Xia Chi couldn't help but smile.

Decades later, will I and the other monsters, like Tire Meow Meow and Dream Fairy, be in the same situation?

"Why are you still waiting at the door, old man? Hurry up and bring the guests inside."

While the group was still lingering at the door because of the babysitter bug incident, a somewhat aged but kind female voice came from inside the house.

"Understood." Xue Zhong called out into the house, then turned to Xia Chi and the other two and introduced them: "This is my wife, Shuzi. Let's go in. Old people tend to have bigger tempers."

Although there was a hint of reproach in his words, he couldn't hide the smile in his tone.

The three followed Xuezhong into the house.

Nemo and Xia Chi, who were at the back, whispered to each other: "Isn't it said that the people of Beishang Township are very xenophobic? Grandpa Xuezhong seems to be very nice."

Of course! The only model family in Diaomin Township is joking with you, right?
Thinking this to herself, Xia Chi shook her head and whispered, "I don't know, maybe every family is different."

Before they had exchanged more than a few words, the group settled down in the warm and cozy living room.

Following local customs, Xia Chi and the other two sat cross-legged on a cushion next to the warm table, where Grandma Shu brought them tea and dried fruit.

"Try it, this is our famous honey apple cider vinegar and dried honey fruit from Beishang Township."

The wrinkles on Shuzi's face smoothed out into a kind smile. "Because of the season, that's all we have. Come back in August or September, and Grandma will pick the sweetest honey apples in the whole of Beishang Township for you. Danyu will take you to participate in the Covering Face Festival."

Grandma Shu was so enthusiastic that Xia Chi and Zi Yu had no choice but to politely accept.

After Shuzi left the guest room to prepare lunch in the kitchen, Xuezhong, carrying a cup of hot tea, asked, "Danyu said you have something you want to ask this old man. What exactly is it?"

Zi Yu and Ni Mo looked at Xia Chi, and Xue Zhong also realized that this was the boy who had come to find him.

Xia Chi pondered for a moment, then took out the green grass mask and said, "I must have encountered that legendary ghost yesterday."

Zi Yu and Nimo were completely baffled.

yesterday?

Weren't you with us yesterday?

When did I encounter a ghost?
Are you secretly ostracizing the two of us?

Xuezhong stared at the green grass mask for a long while, then sighed, "For that child to entrust this mask to you, he must trust you very much."

Xia Chi: "."

No, you're calling a legendary elf who's hundreds of years old a child?

Forget it, it's not important.

"Uh"

Xia Chi said a little embarrassedly, "Actually, this mask wasn't given to me by the [ghost]. It fell off when it escaped, and I picked it up."

Xuezhong: "."

I thought you had made some kind of pact with Egui Peng, but it turns out you didn't even meet him through the righteous path.

Xia Chi quickly added, "Last night I saw a big wolfhound bullying it. After I rescued the ghost, I wanted to check its injuries, but it got scared and ran away. That's when the mask fell off."

Ziyu and Nemo, standing to the side, were even more confused.

Wasn't it said that [Ghost] was a powerful spirit capable of defeating three Pokémon at once?
How did I get bullied by a big wolfhound?
Haven't seen you in centuries, and you've gotten this bad?

Knowing the inside story, Xuezhong sighed softly again and said, "As expected, the mask's power has been completely lost, hasn't it?"

Xia Chi continued, "I don't think the [ghost] is as ferocious as the legends say. That story is also full of doubts."

"That's why I asked Senior Sister Ziyu for information about you, because the craftsman who made masks for men and ghosts in that legend might know the whole story."

Xuezhong frowned and pondered for a moment before finally saying, "Alright, perhaps it's time for the world to know the truth of history."

------

“Long, long ago, a fierce-looking man came to Beishang Township with a spirit named Erguipeng. The villagers, fearing their appearance which was so different from their own, drove them to live in the Terror Cave on Ghost Mountain, even though they acted very friendly and did nothing bad.”

"But people are always afraid of loneliness. He and Erguipeng longed to integrate into Beishang Township, so the man found the village's mask craftsman to make four exquisite masks for them and inlaid the four crystal fragments he brought with him on them."

"The mask worked very well. The man wearing the mask and Egui Peng participated in the village's summer mask-covering festival, causing a sensation and being welcomed by the villagers. But for some reason, the exquisite mask attracted the attention of an elderly couple outside the northern village."

"The couple who longed for the mask instructed their Pokémon, Momotaro, to steal it. Momotaro then lured three Pokémon—Kozanuki, Ape, and Chinchilla—to go to Kitakami Village to steal the mask."

"They successfully found the cave where the man and the Evil Spirit lived. Just as they were about to leave with the mask, the man returned from outside. He held onto the Green Grass Mask tightly, refusing to let go no matter how the elves beat him. Tao Dailang and Sanbaoban had no choice but to take the other three masks and leave first."

When Egui Peng returned to the cave, he only saw the dying man and the green grass mask he was protecting. Enraged, Egui Peng immediately put on the mask and went down the mountain to find the elves who had stolen the mask and take revenge.

"The power of the mask was aroused by the rage. Egui Peng fought against the three bandits alone for a long time and finally defeated the Three Treasures. However, the villagers who rushed to the scene only saw Egui Peng wearing the mask and in a rage. They were terrified and regarded him as the murderer who attacked the village. Instead, they regarded the three bandits as heroes who protected the village, called the bandits 'Three Treasures,' and even built statues and temples to worship them. How ironic!"

After many years, Xuezhong finally told the truth and sighed, "My ancestor, the craftsman who made masks for men and Egui Peng, was the only one who knew the truth. He tried his best to tell the villagers what happened, but he was persecuted as a heretic."

"There was no other way, so our ancestors could only pass this secret down within the family, waiting for the day when the injustice done to E Guipeng would be redressed."

(End of this chapter)