Pokémon: Starting as a Farmer Instead of a Trainer

Chapter 71 The Monster Who Came from Xicui to Beishang Township

Back in the living room, Mingyou brought out a teacup she had made herself and placed it on the table, then poured herself a cup of tea.

"I brewed this plum tea myself. It's quite delicious. I chilled it, which is perfect for cooling down in the summer."

Thank you for your hospitality.

Xiao Zhao sat on the sofa, picked up the teacup and took a small sip. It was sweet and sour, and the chilled texture made it quite delicious.

"It's delicious!"

"Woo~"

Zorua thumped its paws, "I want a drink too!"

"I'll get you another cup."

As she spoke, Mingyou went back to the kitchen and got another clean cup, which she poured for Zoroya as well. The little fox seemed to really like drinking cold drinks, licking the plum tea with her pink little tongue, unable to stop.

Mingyou then sat down on the sofa to the side, looked at Xiaozhao, and asked, "So what do you want to talk to me about? And what are those questions...?"

Xiao Zhao held the teacup in her hands, her eyes becoming serious again, and said softly, "Since there's no one else here now, I'll just get straight to the point. I hope you don't mind."

"It's alright, go ahead and speak."

"The Evil Spirit... is here, right?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Mingyou's eyes sharpened instantly, and she stared intently into the other person's eyes, causing the atmosphere around them to become tense.

After several seconds of this, he finally spoke, asking, "How did you know?"

"I saw it when I arrived, but I think I startled it a bit. I watched it run back upstairs, hoping it could apologize."

Xiao Zhao spoke the truth. Mingyou leaned back on the sofa, slapping his forehead, surprised that this was how it was. He then nodded: "Ponpon is indeed here, but how do you know its name?"

"As I said before, although I've forgotten a lot of things, I remember everything about Pokémon very clearly. I know all the Pokémon, and I look forward to encountering them!"

Hearing this, Mingyou hesitated, wondering why it sounded somewhat like him. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "You're not some kind of time traveler, are you? Like those characters in novels and TV dramas…?"

"Haha, you think so too?"

Xiao Zhao smiled and then replied, "Sometimes I do have a vague feeling that I may not belong to this world. Of course, I'm still searching for the truth, but I hope you won't tell anyone."

"I hope so too..."

Mingyou didn't want Ponpo to be known by the people in Beishang Township, but since things had already developed to this point, he had no choice but to go upstairs and call Ponpo down.

Hearing that she was going to meet other people, Ponpo was reluctant, but she still put on the ghost mask and followed her into the living room. After seeing it, Xiaozhao was slightly surprised: "This is not your sister... no, it must have been too dark at the Masked Festival that day, so I didn't recognize her."

Mingyou nodded, took Ponpo's hand, and said seriously, "After all, it does look quite human, and it is the ghost in the Beishang Township story, but I don't want you to call it that."

"No wonder you..."

Now Xiao Zhao completely understood. If you put the Egui Pong and the legendary ghosts together, the contrast is indeed quite large. Compared with the legends, the real ghosts... or rather the Egui Pong, do not look as scary as the legends.

Then she tilted her head, smiled, and reached out her hand to greet him: "Ponpon is so cute~"

"Hmm?"

Ponpo was a little surprised. Did she not find herself scary, but cute?

Xiao Zhao seemed to understand what it meant and replied, "Of course, I like all Pokémon, so you don't need to be afraid."

"Hmm..."

Ponpo clung tightly to Mingyou. Although Xiaozhao said that, it still didn't completely trust the other person.

However, at this moment, Zoroya suddenly jumped over. The little fox remembered what happened during the Masked Festival, when Zoroya gave her half of a delicious pastry.

"Woo~"

"Mmm~"

Ponpo is not so afraid of Pokémon anymore, and is very happy to play with them.

Watching Ponpo and Zoroya chase each other around the living room, Xiaozhao resisted the urge to hug them and exclaimed excitedly, "Aren't they so cute!"

"Is that even a question?"

Mingyou would be happy whenever someone said Ponpo was cute, and he couldn't help but feel a little more favorably towards Xiaozhao. The tense atmosphere from before completely dissipated, and he sat back on the sofa, asking, "By the way, about that thing I asked you to inquire about before..."

"Oh, that's exactly what I wanted to say right now. I was held up by something a few days ago and haven't had a chance to call you to tell you."

"It's okay, so what are the specifics?"

"Um……"

Xiao Zhao sat up straight, took another sip of tea, and began to speak, "I did ask Dan Yu's grandfather about the Eternal Forest. The monster that lives there is said to have come here from the Northern Continent more than a hundred years ago..."

Upon hearing this, Mingyou pondered for a moment and asked, "The Northern Continent... isn't that the Sinnoh region? No, if it were more than a hundred years ago, the Sinnoh region should still be called the Shizuku region."

"That's right."

Xiao Zhao nodded slightly and continued, "It is said that the monster ate several humans and Pokémon in the Shizuku region. It was driven away by some people using Pokémon and fled to Kitakami Township. At first, it just wandered around the village, but the villagers who were afraid of it used the power of their Pokémon to drive it away."

"Bao Ban? Wasn't he beaten to death?"

Mingyou asked a question: those three guys were clearly killed by Pengpeng and buried in the ground, could they have come back to life more than a hundred years ago?

Xiao Zhao shook her head and continued, "I don't know the specifics. According to Danyu's grandfather, they actually prayed for Baoban's help at Baoban Square, and then several people wearing Baoban masks threw stones to drive the monster away. After all, Beishang Township was quite superstitious at the time..."

"I understand. It's like going to a temple or Taoist monastery to pray before an exam, to give yourself something to rely on. In reality, it's just using stones to drive away the monster."

"That's what I thought too, but it's a bit strange that the man-eating monster was driven away in Kitakami Township without harming anyone..."

"There is indeed a problem, so what?"

"Then the monsters that were driven away settled in the Eternal Forest, which is the farthest place from the town of Emerald Green in Kitakami Township. It is on the other side of Ghost Mountain. Because it is so far away, it has little impact on this area, and the stories about the monsters have become more and more outrageous."

"Outrageous? How so?"

"Whether the monster only appears during the fog is still under investigation. It is said that a hunter from the village once saw the monster eating honey when he went there to hunt during the day, but he ran away quickly and was not attacked by the monster."

"..."

Hearing this, Mingyou stroked his chin, lost in thought. If that were the case, then the monsters might not have any restrictions on their movements. They would come out to hunt when they were hungry, but their appearance rate would be higher when it was foggy.

Just as he was pondering this question, Xiao Zhao finished her plum tea, placed the teacup on the table, and continued, "Besides, there's another rumor known to few: it's said that... when the monsters begin to go berserk in the mist, a blood moon will appear in the night sky..."

"Mist...blood moon?!"

……

(End of this chapter)