chsdbacks Chapter 122 Who dares to accuse this official?
Chapter 122 Who dares to accuse this official?
Chapter 122 Who dares to accuse this official?
but.
After agreeing to participate in the Masked Festival with Ze Shu, E Gui paused for a moment, as if remembering something.
After hesitating for a moment, it tugged at Ze Shu's sleeve and said worriedly:
"Bonnie..."
"Oh..." Ze Shu paused, "You mean if the villagers of Beishang Township discover you're a demon, even I, who's close to you, will be..."
Will you face rejection? Persecution? So you've thought about it and decided to stay indoors?
Ergui nodded hesitantly: "Pop...:
Yes, that way, the masked festival that Zeki participates in won't become too chaotic.
Ze Shu laughed, "No way! Then the Evil Spirit absolutely has to participate!"
He reached out and pinched Ergui's soft, bouncy orange cheek, and whispered:
"You have to believe me, right? You've become my friend, how could I possibly treat you the same way I always have? You're even too scared to participate in the Hidden Face Festival?"
"I told you, at least I won't let these villagers bully you again..."
"And, they're persecuting us?"
Perhaps this time, it is they who should be persecuted.
Dusk was gradually falling.
Emerald Green Town, Northbound Center.
The long-standing "Masked Festival" is also gradually becoming popular.
The dazzling fireworks display, the sweet aroma of candied apples, and the unique sizzling fragrance of fried noodles, mixed with the shouts of vendors and the laughter of the crowds on the streets, create a lively celebration scene unique to Beishang Township.
The air was filled with the aromas of various delicacies.
The six-tailed creature was so hungry that its mouth was watering uncontrollably, and it quickly looked at Zeki with a pitiful and aggrieved look.
That look in your eyes suggests that if you don't respond to it, you'll suffer an immense sin.
"Ou Ming..."
Ze Shu sighed: "What do you want to eat?"
Liuwei's eyes lit up: "Oo Ming!"
I want to eat them all!
And the first to be affected is candied apples!
one-
Although I'm tired of eating apples, I have to try this new species, candied apple.
"Go, go..."
.
Watching the Six-Tails happily run to the stall with the Alliance Coins given to it by Ze Shu.
Little Blue beside her giggled:
"If the Six-Tails keeps eating like this, it might swell up like my Jigglypuff."
She was wearing a fitted kimono, seemingly meticulously dressed, with delicate makeup and a lip color so clear it seemed to reflect the moonlight. A fine blue earring adorned her small earlobes.
Ze Shu sighed helplessly, "The Six-Tails gets fat even without eating, it's really..."
Little Blue pursed her lips and said, "Little Sixtails hid some snacks."
She blinked, watched as the Six-Tails ran off into the distance, then suddenly leaned close to Zeju's ear and said with a grin:
"I know where Rokubizou's snacks are, they're at...."
She was speaking in a low voice.
Ze Shu suddenly said "Oh".
But Liuwei, who was buying apple candy, suddenly felt a cold wind, giving it a bad feeling:
"Oh, Oh, what?!"
Xiao Lan also wore a small mask on one side of her forehead.
Although everyone wears masks during the Masked Festival, no one will say anything if you don't wear one.
Ze Shu doesn't like wearing masks; Xiao Lan doesn't like wearing masks either.
So I just bought a small mask and casually wore it on one side of my forehead.
However, the evil spirit, who was being led by Ze Shu, put back on the laughing green grass mask.
It gripped Ze Shu's hand tightly, looking around nervously as if it were a thief, afraid of being discovered. Although Ze Shu said, "It should be them who oppress the people of Beishang Township," E Gui still didn't want to cause trouble for Ze Shu.
In particular, I recall the newly erected sign at the entrance of the Hidden Face Festival that read "Demons are not allowed to enter."
This made Ergui even more nervous: "Bonnie."
Ze Shu squeezed its little hand, but didn't say anything. He just accompanied it and Xiao Lan as they strolled around the Masked Festival and "played" together.
Many aspects of the Face-Covering Ritual were things that the Evil Ghost had never experienced before, even after coming here hundreds of times—it had only dared to watch from the outside in the past.
Now, being pulled along by Ze Shu, it has experienced quite a few activities.
The more he played, the more his previously suppressed curiosity and playful nature were gradually awakened.
However, it is agile and clever, and when it gets serious, it can win the so-called "grand prize"—Ergui is really talented in this aspect.
For example, scooping goldfish.
With a swift movement, Ergui scooped up the largest goldfish with his net.
Then, with a delighted expression, it presented the prize it had won—a silly-looking Psyduck keychain—to Zeki.
Another example is the ring toss game.
Ze Shu bought more than a dozen rings in a row, originally because he was afraid that E Gui wouldn't win, but E Gui hit every single one of them. During the fog, more than a dozen small prizes such as Slowpoke keychains and Eevee plushies appeared!
The elusive creature plans to give all these prizes to its "new friends," such as Glaceon and Bubble Squirrel: ...
They just kept playing like that.
The evil spirit had gradually forgotten the unpleasant matter of "forbidden entry of evil spirits"—it could even ignore the treasure-like prizes in various mini-games.
However, the northward center where the masked ceremony was held was not far from the northward ancestral hall.
Not long after walking, Egui Peng saw three masks—one azure, one fiery red, and one rock gray—hanging in the Beishang Ancestral Hall. As if on offer, these three masks were hung high below the plaque, seemingly showcasing the "traditional culture" of Beishang Township.
But it also seems like showing off "trophies".
This left Ergui momentarily stunned: "....
Its voice, which had been joyful for half the time, became somewhat lower.
Ze Shu stopped with it. But not long after, Er Gui gently tugged at Ze Shu, whispered an apology, and then tried to follow Ze Shu to the next game location: "Bonnie.::"
But Ze Shu then said softly, "That's your mask, isn't it?"
The strange proof was: "Pop...::"
.
Before Egui could answer, Zeshu laughed and, without saying a word, decisively pulled Egui towards the ancestral hall to the north. Little Blue behind Zeshu blinked, asked no questions, and quickly followed in his footsteps.
"Boo...boo...!"
Beneath the three hanging masks stood an old man with completely white hair and beard.
The old man was dressed in tattered cloth clothes and had a white goatee. He would look up at the masks from time to time and sigh from time to time.
Just as he was sighing, he suddenly saw Ze Shu leading a "child" closer, and he was somewhat puzzled:
"You are...."
Ze Shu said, "They've come to steal the mask."
The old man said, "Oh, so you've come to steal the mask... Huh? Steal the mask!"
The sudden words startled the old man, who stared wide-eyed for a moment, his mind still reeling.
He turned and stared at Ze Shu incredulously: "Do you know...?"
Mai Zeshu calmly continued, "Are you the one managing this Beishang Ancestral Hall?"
The old man was interrupted, his mouth agape for a moment, but being of advanced age, he calmed himself and slowly shook his head: "No..."
He continued, "May I ask why you...why did you steal this mask? Masks like this can be bought anytime during the Masked Festival, why bother stealing it here?"
Ze Shu said, "I'll just snatch it and play with it."
Old man: "..."
Ze Shu laughed: "So, who's in charge of this Beishang Ancestral Hall?"
The old man was stunned by these audacious words. Looking at the man who had "spoke so wildly," he finally sighed.
He glanced thoughtfully at Egui, who was being led by Zeshu, but unusually "helped with the torture" and said:
"I'll call him over for you."
at this time.
The evil spirit being led by Ze Shu was already stunned.
Its small mouth, hidden beneath the mask, opened in a perfectly round arc.
It never expected that Ze Shu would walk in so directly and say "I'm here to steal the mask." This was as blatant as Nidoking mating with Nidoran in front of Nidoqueen, and it really startled Egui.
"Pop, pop..."
Ze Shu continued to hold its little hand and said softly, "Leave it to me."
Not long after.
An elderly bald man rushed out in a hurry and looked aggressive. He was clearly the "Zongzheng" in charge of the ancestral hall, and he was accompanied by several strong young men.
"Who, who's trying to steal this mask?! This is...!"
Ze Shu: "Yes, it's me."
"Oh, oh, oh... it's you, Inspector..."
"You...you...
"Could you...could you explain why you wanted to steal this mask? Is there...is there some misunderstanding...?"
Upon seeing Ze Shu, Zongzheng's attitude underwent a complete 180-degree turn.
This left the several strong young men accompanying the Imperial Clan Minister somewhat stunned, and they couldn't help but ask in low voices, "Lord Imperial Clan Minister..."
But the "Lord Zongzheng" he mentioned ignored them and just looked at Zeshu with a forced smile.
This "Zongzheng" was actually the administrator of Gongming Hall.
Ze Shu said, "There's no misunderstanding, we're here to steal these three masks."
Administrator: "This...this...Your Excellency, these three masks are the only relics left behind by our valiant companion. We've cherished them to this day; they're extremely important..."
"There must be some misunderstanding, right? There's definitely some misunderstanding!"
Ze Shu said, "Xiao Lan, you tell us, what exactly did you find out..."
Xiao Lan hummed in agreement.
"I checked the Sinnoh League's funding data for the Kitakami Township area in recent years, and the funding amount is: 40 million League Credits per year."
As soon as Xiao Lan said this, the administrator's face turned a little pale.
He opened his mouth, about to interrupt.
Xiao Lan said directly:
"When I found this information, I was confused. The Beishang Township area only has one small town, Cuilu Town, and even the town's infrastructure is not well-developed."
"There's only one bus stop; vast stretches of wasteland; accommodation is limited to the community center; Miss Joey has to provide treatment in a tiny shed!"
"This amount of funding could have been used to build something much better—no, it's simply impossible to build something like this!"
"To put it bluntly, it's a poor, remote place!"
"Does this justify the annual funding our league provides?"
Xiao Lan's words left no room for refusal.
The administrator, pressing his trembling hand, cried out in a panic:
"What...what does this have to do with you trying to steal our noodles?!"
Ze Shu nodded: "We haven't found out why Beishang Township was built like this yet, but we suspect it's related to these three masks."
Xiao Lan smiled and said, "Yes."
The administrator stammered, "I...I...this...this..."
Then he gritted his teeth:
"Yes, it's related to these three masks! These three masks have drained the wealth of our Beishang Township. Yes, that's right. Maintaining these three masks requires a considerable expense every year!"
"If, Your Excellency the Inspector, you wish to 'temporarily' remove these three masks for investigation purposes..."
"We will definitely cooperate, yes, absolutely!"
"Please...please."
The administrator kept talking, and when he mentioned "cooperation," he forced a smile on his face, looking at Ze Shu repeatedly as if he were trying to please him or begging him, without even glancing at the three masks hanging on the wall.
But Ze Shu said, "You want me to do it myself?"
The administrator said, "Ah! How could I trouble the inspector? I'll personally bring it down for you..."
As he spoke, he swayed his old and somewhat unsteady body and ran around searching through the ancestral hall to find a chair. He then painstakingly took down the masks hanging high in the hall one by one.
Then, his face turned serious, and he folded the mask and solemnly placed it in Ze Shu's hands.
He appeared to be "fully cooperating with the alliance's investigation."
Ze Shu nodded and said, "Thank you."
The administrator smiled apologetically: "No, no, cooperating with the alliance is our duty."
After saying that, he started making faces.
Ze Shu smiled but didn't say anything.
Until Ze Shu led her out of the ancestral hall in the north, her face beneath the mask of the evil spirit was filled with disbelief.
It followed the swamp tree's lead mechanically, not even noticing a small pebble under its feet. With a "thud," it nearly fell face-first to the ground.
If Zeshu hadn't pulled it back in time, it would have really fallen.
However, due to inertia, the mask was flung off.
Fortunately, no one should have seen it. In a panic, Ergui stuffed the green grass mask back onto his face.
"Boo, bonioh..."
.
"No need to rush, the masks are all made by touch."
Ergui hurriedly shook his head: "Bo... Boni!"
What's incredible isn't that the mask was brought back... well, that's incredible too.
But what's even more unbelievable is the way Ze Shu retrieved the mask.
It considered it might be a real "outright robbery" and was even planning to pull out its thorny vine club to help Ze Shu fight.
It even considered "stealing," and with its agile body, it wasn't impossible; it even planned out a route for its "theft."
But what Egui never expected was...
To be able to "snatch" the mask so "without bloodshed" and with such a "smiling face" and have the temple manager personally hand it to him—this way of "snatching" the mask was truly beyond the imagination of the little devil's mind!
It's even more formidable than its reputation as a "demon"!
Ergui opened his adorable mouth wide, revealing his startled little tiger teeth:
"Bonnie..."
Ze Shu shook his head and said, "The threat of evil spirits is always external. The key to getting the mask back this time is the demon in the administrator's heart."
Ergui raised his hand, which was clasped with Zeshu's: "Boni-oh!"
Regardless, in the final analysis...
Ze Shu is amazing!
Xiao Lan laughed, "I didn't expect that just a scare would completely expose the administrator. We don't even need to investigate anymore to know why..."
Previously, when Ze Shu went to Ghost Mountain to find E Gui Peng.
Xiao Lan did indeed "investigate".
After all, the administrator's previous conversation with them did reveal some suspicious points.
But how could anything be found out in such a short time?
Xiao Lan could only find out the information she had just mentioned.
But this one "scare" was enough to make the administrator spill everything out—from his expression and his behavior.
Thinking of this, Xiao Lan laughed and said, "Should we go report to the Alliance now, or continue visiting the Hidden Face Festival?"
Ze Shu also smiled and said, "I'll listen to you."
The ritual of covering one's face is not over yet.
Following Xiao Lan and Peng's advice, we naturally continued to stroll around the Hidden Face Festival.
this time....
Egui was truly relaxed, her steps light and her little hands waving gently as she fully engaged in all the little games of the Face-Covering Festival;
Of course, Little Six-Tail also followed along from a distance, holding the Alliance Coins given to it by Ze Shu. It tasted almost all the food at the entire Masked Festival and even had some left over to bring back a few portions for Ze Shu and the others.
Foam Chipmunk, Psyduck, Farfetch'd, and Sudokoyaki teamed up to visit the Masked Festival, and Sawaki would occasionally run into them;
Growlithe wasn't interested, but the little cat was thrilled; everything here was new and exciting to it.
Because there were too many people at the Face-Covering Festival, the shy little Lugia didn't want to get close, and just lingered above the Ze Tree.
As evening approached.
The twilight begins with the veiled ceremony.
As the sunset faded and the night deepened, the entire starry sky seemed to be draped in a thin veil of mist by the smoke of the sacrificial ceremony, revealing a soft and hazy halo.
It was late, and Ze Shu intended to leave, but just as he was about to leave the Kitakami Center where the Masked Festival was being held...
But a sudden, sharp shout shattered the atmosphere.
"That's it! This little guy is the devil!"
"I saw its mask fall down in front of the ancestral hall. I saw it myself, and it perfectly matched the image of the evil spirit depicted on the plaque at the entrance that read 'Evil spirits are not allowed to enter.'"
"I've finally found it again, that evil spirit!"
It seems that the word "evil spirit" triggered some keyword.
The people around Ze Shu, who was being pointed at by the one who shouted, immediately scattered in a panic.....
People from Beishang Township, carrying brooms, sticks, barbecue grills, and even Slowpoke tails, gradually surrounded Zeshu.
Their expressions ranged from panic to anger, but without exception, they all aimed their weapons at Ze Shu.
"It's an evil spirit..."
"Sure enough, it's exactly the same size as the demon we beat up yesterday and the day before!"
"I was already suspicious, but in the past, evil spirits were always alone, so I didn't suspect anything..."
"But I never expected the evil spirit to have accomplices!"
The people of Beishang Township looked at Ze Shu, who was being led by E Gui, with inexplicable hostility.
"A stranger! A passenger?"
"We don't welcome those who help evil spirits! After driving the evil spirit away, we'll deal with this guy who helped it..."
"Expel them from Beishang Township!!"
In an instant, the five words "Expel them from Beishang Township" were shouted in unison.
Faced with this sudden situation.
Ze Shu twitched the corner of his mouth: "They've all gone mad..."
Feeling the startled and bewildered Egui Peng being led by the hand, he smiled and said in a steady and reliable voice, "Remember? I told you..."
"We cannot be persecuted by this group of people from the north."
"We persecuted these people from the northern countryside together."
Ze Shu had just finished speaking.
As the northern villagers suddenly approached, seemingly about to sweep their sticks at him, the little Lugia hovering above let out a loud cry, and in the fog, a violent gust of wind suddenly rose.
All that could be heard were three sounds: "Ouch!", "Clang!", and "Pfft pfft pfft".
"Puff puff puff" is naturally the sound of the strong wind blowing everywhere;
"Ouch!" was the involuntary exclamation of the people from Beishang Township as they collided with each other in the strong wind.
"Bang qiang" is the crisp sound of their weapons clashing together or falling to the ground.
It was almost foggy.
The group of people from the northward-bound village huddled together, stumbling and falling, uttering cries of "Ouch!"
Ze Shu sighed, "Not even bringing out Pokémon? Are they looking down on us?"
One of the villagers from the north, who had been knocked down by the strong wind, shouted angrily, "You bastard who aids and abets evil! Our brave companions will not let you get away with this!"
Another person angrily echoed, "We're going to expel you from Beishang Township and form the aforementioned alliance!"
"You bastard who helped evil spirits endanger the lives of the people of Beishang Township and destroy our property, we're going to sentence you! We'll send you to jail!"
This statement immediately garnered a lot of responses.
They glared fiercely at Ze Shu.
This is in an atmosphere of standoff, as if an "armed conflict" is about to break out.
The words "the aforementioned alliance" made Ze Shu laugh.
"Oh.."
Who among you is accusing me?
Should he be sentenced?
Should we send him to jail?
Ze Shu did want to go, after all, he had been thinking about whether he should find some time to see Chi Ri, who was working on a sewing machine, and see if he had changed his ways and realized his mistakes.
But in any case, the phrase "the aforementioned alliance" came out of the mouth of this group of people from the north.
Ze Shu didn't complain much about their sudden appearance.
All that remained for him was a relieved smile.
But faced with the angry glares of the group of people from the north, Ergui Peng suddenly shouted bravely.
It grabbed the thorny vine and stood firmly in front of the swamp tree to protect it!
"Bonnie!"
The appearance of the evil spirits and the surge of the gale immediately drew the attention of everyone in the masked ritual.
This includes other tourists who come to Beishang Township.
This includes Pokémon that Sawamura placed in the Masked Festival to play freely.
This also includes the clan head of the Beishang Ancestral Hall and the administrator of the Gongming Hall, who held a very high position in Beishang Township.
He went out to check the situation, wanting to see who the guy being besieged and helping the "evil spirit" was.
But he saw Ze Shu's face.
The face of this Sinnoh League special inspector.
The administrator felt like the sky had fallen!
His hands were trembling, his face was turning pale, and his head was starting to spin.
But then.....
He also heard the people of Beishang Township talking about the "above-mentioned alliance," and that they wanted to sentence this person.
"oops!"
The administrator's mind went blank for a moment.
He staggered and suddenly collapsed to the ground.
The bald head hit the ground with a "bang," causing a minor commotion.
A ritual with faces covered, held atop a high hill.
Wu Li ripped off his mask, his eyes widening as he stared at Ze Shu and E Gui, who were surrounded by the people of Beishang Township. His body trembled as he murmured:
"A demon, it's a demon. I never expected it to be this person."
"Even in this predicament, the evil spirit can surely overcome it, one blow at a time!"
His eyes suddenly lit up with excitement: "I want to go help..."
But before Wu Li could finish speaking, Dan Yu beside him smacked him on the back of the head with a loud "smack." Wu Li was stunned, while Dan Yu shouted:
"This is a demon! A demon that harms people!"
"Really, Wuli, how can you worship evil spirits? You'll end up like this person, surrounded and driven away by the villagers!"
Wu Li covered her head and complained softly, "We were supposed to go to Blueberry Academy anyway..."
The subconscious message of this statement is: whether you rush them or not, they have to leave.
Danyu got angry: "We can leave, but what about Grandpa? What about Grandma? And this is an evil spirit, Wuli, you need to rein in your rebellious ideas!"
She was saying that.
Suddenly, an old voice came from behind:
"No.."
"This time, it was Danyu who was wrong as the older sister, Wuli... sigh!"
Danyu and Wuli turned around at the same time:
"grandfather?!"
The grandfather walking towards them was an old man dressed in tattered cloth clothes and sporting a goatee.
He was the old man Zeshu first encountered in the ancestral hall, the one who sighed while looking at the mask, and also the "unorthodox" old man who helped Zeshu call the administrator to snatch the mask.
His name is Xuezhong.
Xuezhong paused for a moment, then slowly began to speak:
"Perhaps I should tell you now. The demon is not truly evil as its name suggests; its real name is Evil Ghost."
"This is the true history that has been passed down and preserved in our family..."