The young man who had arrived wrapped in wind and rain opened with a baffling remark, leaving the parents gathered near the counter momentarily stunned.
Just then—
They suddenly noticed a small yellow figure hopping into the inn, shaking the rain from its body before swiftly climbing onto the young man's shoulder. It turned its little face toward them and flashed a wide smile.
"Pichu~"
Rather than finding it cute, the crowd recoiled several steps in fear.
"A… a monster!"
Amid the commotion, the young man calmly turned his gaze to the man who had earlier been spitting accusations into the bearded innkeeper's face.
"May I ask which student's parent you are?"
Facing the young man's question—and the stare of that yellow little monster—the man swallowed. He glanced at Qiao Cheng beside him, felt a bit reassured, and mustered the courage to give his child's name.
"Then that settles it," the young man nodded.
"Your child still being unconscious—that was my doing."
As he spoke, he pulled out his phone, opened a simply edited video, and placed it on the counter.
"Take a look."
Though seething with anger, the man instinctively glanced at the phone.
On screen appeared a familiar figure—his son. The boy held a small note, exchanged a glance with his friends, then snickered as he stuck it onto the back of the girl sitting in front of him.
A classic prank. Simple, effective.
After class, amid the laughter of many classmates, the girl finally realized what had happened. She silently peeled the note from her back, lowered her head, and sat back down without a word.
Hiding chairs. Pulling hair.
In just a few minutes of footage, his "good son" demonstrated four or five different pranks—almost as if the less the girl resisted, the more they tried to provoke her attention.
Until the final scene—
The eruption of Banette.
The man's expression froze.
Parents around them began murmuring in low voices.
Suddenly—
A towering figure sprang forward. Before anyone could react, a fist slammed into the man's face, knocking him flat to the floor.
The usually jovial, ever-smiling bearded innkeeper now looked like an erupting volcano. He grabbed the man by the hair and roared:
"Feels good having your hair yanked like that!?"
He raised his fist to strike again—
But Qiao Cheng and Ah Hui snapped back to their senses and rushed in, barely managing to restrain him.
"Boss, that's enough, enough."
"Boss, calm down—he's not worth it."
Too impulsive.
Watching the still-enraged innkeeper, Chen Mo couldn't help but recall Xiao You charging recklessly toward Banette earlier that day.
From the bottom of his heart, he sighed—
Father and daughter indeed.
Ignoring the chaos, Chen Mo addressed the man who had just gotten back up.
"Simply put, the reason your son is still unconscious is because he's in the middle of a dream. As for the content of that dream—it's everything he's done before, except this time, he's the one on the receiving end."
"That… that's impossible…"
"For humans, yes. For Pokémon, no."
This was the task Chen Mo had entrusted to Gengar—to give those prank-loving children a uniquely memorable 'lesson.'
"If nothing goes wrong, your child will wake up precisely at midnight tonight."
With that, Chen Mo shifted his gaze to the surrounding parents.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're all here because your children were attacked by ghosts, right?"
Most parents had a decent idea of what their children were like.
After what had just happened, many were already losing their nerve.
At that moment—
A tall figure in a rain-soaked coat entered the inn. He scanned the room, then looked to Chen Mo, his voice as low and steady as ever.
"Sorry. I'm late."
"No—you're right on time, Yi-ge," Chen Mo replied. "How did it go?"
"I investigated everything. The audio files are already in your email. This is the material I compiled."
As he spoke, Yi-ge pulled out a stack of documents and handed them to Chen Mo.
After flipping through a couple of pages, Chen Mo closed the file and addressed the parents.
"The ghost that attacked your children is called Banette—the Pokémon shown in the video just now. As for why it attacked… after watching that footage, I think you already understand."
The crowd erupted into discussion.
After a long while, someone finally stepped forward.
"From what I know, my child has never had violent tendencies. He's a top student and gets along well with classmates. He's in fifth grade and doesn't even share a floor with the child named Xiao You—they hardly ever interact. Yet my child was still attacked."
"What's your child's name?" Chen Mo asked.
"Xiao Ran."
Before Chen Mo could respond, Yi-ge had already stepped up to the counter and turned on a recorder.
"Do you know Xiao You?"
"…Yes."
"Why? You're not even on the same floor—you shouldn't know her."
"…She's pretty. I heard about her from friends."
"Before the ghost attack, the last time you saw Xiao You, what happened?"
"…My friends said she was a stupid girl without a mom and told me to say it too. So I did… I didn't mean it—I was taught to say that."
"Thank you for your cooperation. Teacher Wang, you may let Xiao Ran return. Please bring in the next student."
The audio ended abruptly.
The parent who had just spoken turned completely ashen.
Chen Mo flipped open the file again and said calmly,
"Xiao Ran, right? He was attacked by the ghost and fell, sustaining abrasions to his arms, calves, and other areas. Treatment duration—"
"No need, no need to read it…"
Watching the parent retreat hastily into the crowd, Chen Mo said nothing more and looked to the others.
"Since most of the families involved in the ghost attacks are here, let's settle this openly today. There's a police officer present—we'll accept whatever compensation and apologies are appropriate. The question is: are you willing?"
"I've said my piece. What do you think?"
—
Ten minutes later.
The crowd inside the inn had completely dispersed.
The bearded innkeeper sat on the steps by the counter, utterly drained.
After a while, he suddenly remembered something and looked up anxiously.
"Where's Xiao You? Didn't she come back with you?"
"She did," Chen Mo replied, glancing upstairs.
In a second-floor room—
The innkeeper saw Xiao You, already changed into her pajamas, hugging the Banette doll tightly and sleeping soundly on the bed.
Seeing the faint smile on his daughter's face, he quietly turned off the light and retreated.
"I didn't think it was necessary for Xiao You to be involved in what happened downstairs," Chen Mo explained later in the common lounge. "So I had Pidgeotto take her up from the back stairwell."
The innkeeper's mood remained low, and Chen Mo wasn't sure how to comfort him.
Just then, Ah Hui appeared with a crate of beer, popped one open, and set it in front of the innkeeper.
"Want a drink?"
The innkeeper glanced at Ah Hui, then at the bottle still bubbling with foam, and smiled bitterly.
"I haven't had a drink in nearly ten years…"
The last time he drank, he said, was after Xiao You's mother passed away. Back then, he was often drunk out of his mind.
Until one day, a neighbor heard a child crying, woke him from his stupor, and scolded him harshly.
Holding the still-crying Xiao You in his arms, he finally woke up—for good.
He quit drinking that very day.
Ten years in total abstinence.
This time, too, he didn't drink. Instead, under everyone's gaze, he slapped himself hard several times.
The rain continued to fall.
Though there were still loose ends in Ziyuan Town, Chen Mo had no intention of staying.
At departure—
Qiao Cheng, the innkeeper, and Xiao You—hugging her Banette doll—came to see them off.
"Boss, are you really decided?" Chen Mo asked once more.
The innkeeper had mentioned the night before that he planned to leave Ziyuan Town with Xiao You.
He would sell the inn, using the money to compensate the school for damages—and also those truly innocent victims of the Banette incident.
Holding an umbrella, the innkeeper glanced at Xiao You and smiled.
"I was never a local. I stayed here for love. And now… it's time to leave."
Chen Mo remained silent.
He knew there was another reason—the resentment toward Banette wouldn't fade so easily.
At that moment—
Yi-ge, who rarely spoke, suddenly stepped forward.
"Have you decided where to go?" he asked evenly.
"…Maybe my hometown up north," the innkeeper replied after a pause. "It's been many years. I wonder what it's like now."
"I have a suggestion," Yi-ge said. "Anping City. They're building the first city where humans and Pokémon truly coexist. Given Xiao You's situation, it's a perfect fit. The Pokémon Research and Response Bureau has new policies for children like her—covering living support and educational assistance."
Chen Mo turned, giving Yi-ge a long look, then added,
"I live in Anping City. Compared to other places, it really would be a good choice for you."
The innkeeper was clearly tempted.
Yi-ge calmly produced a business card and handed it over.
"No rush. Go whenever you decide. This is the contact for the person in charge."
The name on the card—
Professor Zhou, whom Chen Mo knew well.
After a few more words, Chen Mo turned to Qiao Cheng.
"Xiao Qiao, when are you planning to leave Ziyuan Town?"
"Well…" Qiao Cheng hesitated, then said honestly, "Mo-ge, I've already applied to stay. I'll probably be here for quite a while."
"What!?" Ah Hui blurted out.
After everything, his fondness for Ziyuan Town had dropped to rock bottom.
"Xiao Qiao, don't do anything rash. This place isn't worth it. Your investigation's over—why stay?"
Qiao Cheng scratched his head, sneaked a glance at Chen Mo, then smiled.
"Ziyuan Town fell into this state mainly because of Pokémon—tourism declined, income dropped, resentment grew. That resentment is what led to Banette's rampage."
"If this conflict isn't resolved, even if Xiao You and Xiao Ji leave, another Banette will eventually appear."
"That's not something I want to see. I know Mo-ge can't stay in one place forever to solve every problem—but as his fan, I feel I should do something for this town."
"So… I want to stay."
In the rain-soaked town—
Some were about to leave.
Others chose to remain.
Watching the off-road vehicle disappear down the road, a white figure on a distant hill turned and merged into the wind and rain, becoming a fleeting white phantom.
At the same time, a purple-black ghost glanced back at the town one last time before fading into the endless drizzle.
To be continued…
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