blogombal Chapter 525
Chapter 525
Chapter 525
After much effort, Qi Shu managed to lure Bictini off his face with a macaron he pulled out of his bag. Only then could he free his hand to straighten his straw hat and look at Xia Chi, who was walking up behind him.
A sweet smile appeared on her delicate face, and the slight upturn of her lips was gilded with a thin halo in the sunlight.
"Congratulations on advancing, Achi~"
Her voice rose slightly at the end, and then, as if remembering something, she stuck out her tongue.
"Although advancing may not seem like much to you, since the result is the same and the process is predictable."
Xia Chi, with his hands in his pockets, stopped in front of Qi Shu and joked, "Aren't you afraid that Gadria will find out if you say that?"
Qi Shu instinctively shrank back.
Her straw hat slipped down a little, and she quickly reached out to steady the brim.
But she quickly raised her head again, a sly glint in her almond-shaped eyes, and retorted confidently, "Sister Gadria isn't that petty. We even ate lunch together backstage at the exchange match. She shared half of her pudding with me and said my livestreaming style was very interesting. Xia Chi, don't try to sow discord between the United States and Padia."
Although the two hadn't seen each other for several months, they started talking in such a familiar, almost bickering way that they didn't seem awkward at all.
It feels like those months of separation were just a long sleep from yesterday to today.
After the joke, Xia Chi and Qi Shu went to the beverage shop together.
This is probably the most profitable place in the entire Alola region.
It's not because the residents of this region have a sweet tooth than others, but because living in a region that is hot all year round, nothing is more refreshing than a glass of chilled tree juice.
If there is one, it must be an iced carbonated drink.
From the busiest commercial street in Haole to the most secluded beach trails, you can find an ice cream shop every few hundred meters.
At this moment, the huge beverage shop was almost full of people.
Those who had been exposed to the scorching Alola sun for hours huddled together in an air-conditioned room, like a group of migrating Pokémon that had finally found water.
They were sprawled out on wicker chairs, holding various colored chilled drinks, their faces remarkably uniformly filled with satisfaction and relaxation.
Xia Chi and Qi Shu found Ye Ci in the most secluded corner of the store.
The champion of the Padia League, Xia Chi's opponent in the next match, was sitting quietly at the small rattan table by the window.
Today she was wearing a simple, light gray linen shirt, with one button loosely undone at the collar.
Her hair was gathered to one side and draped over her shoulder, and the delicate silver bracelet made with traditional Padiya craftsmanship on her wrist swayed gently in the breeze from the air conditioning vent. She was also wearing sunglasses.
It's not about being arrogant.
During the Ten Masters Tournament, nine out of ten tourists who come here are there to watch the matches.
As the top champion of the Padiya League, if he doesn't keep a low profile, he won't be able to go out in peace.
Xia Chi also tried to conceal his identity today, wearing a baseball cap he had casually bought from the hotel gift shop, with the brim pulled low.
In addition, he didn't bring his conspicuous cats and dogs with him, so not many people recognized him along the way.
"Sister Yeci~"
Kiju sat down next to Yaji. On the other side, Doronbalut, who was drinking a beverage, noticed this and moved slightly to the side to make room for him.
Its tail tip circled around the chair leg, then gently patted the ground, making a very faint thud.
Ye Ci lifted her sunglasses and pushed them up above her forehead.
Her amber eyes first glanced at Qi Shu, who was already flipping through the drink menu without any hesitation beside her. Then, her gaze went over Qi Shu's head and looked at Xia Chi, who was sitting down opposite her. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
"How did you end up with this guy? You little traitor."
"This guy" obviously refers to Xia Chi.
Xia Chi and Ye Ci will be each other's opponents in the next match. Three days later, in the first round of the main tournament, the two will compete on the same rocky field for a ticket to the semifinals.
As one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Padiya Alliance, Kiju, legally speaking, belongs to the same regional alliance system as Yaji, and should rightfully support his own leader.
That's why Ci said that.
However, this was clearly a joke, with the teasing element far outweighing any actual dissatisfaction.
The three of them had arranged to meet today.
Back on the day the schedule for the Ten Masters Tournament was announced, Qi Shu posted a screenshot of the schedule in the three-person chat group, circled the "Xia Chi vs. Ye Ci" column with a red marker, and added a string of emojis with no clear meaning next to it.
Then, assuming the dual role of the Four Heavenly Kings of Padia and the mascot of the group chat, she forced the two parties to complete a task before the competition.
"A peaceful and friendly informal meeting."
Not to mention the relationship between them.
It can be said that Ye Ci watched Xia Chi grow from an unknown rookie trainer to where he is today.
These kinds of little jokes between the three of them are harmless.
Xia Chi sat down opposite him, took off his baseball cap and put it on the corner of the table, and casually picked up the ice water pitcher on the table and poured himself half a glass.
A transparent stream of water poured down from the spout, and a thin layer of white mist immediately condensed on the cup wall.
He gently pushed the cup towards the railing in his arms.
The little guy held the cup with both hands, sipped slowly with his head down, and rested the stove mask on his lap, its emerald green down trembling slightly in the cool air.
Although Grass-type Pokémon are relatively afraid of ice, most Grass-type Pokémon are not even willing to go near the freezer compartment of a refrigerator.
But when it comes to this level of strength, it doesn't matter what kind of thing it is.
As Xia Chi wiped the water droplets that had slid down the rim of Lanlan's cup with her fingers, she looked up and teased with a smile, "Sister Yeci, I heard you caught a Pheromosa. Go easy on her in the competition the day after tomorrow."
Yeci glanced at him, and the Padiya chief champion rolled his eyes, a rare occurrence for him.
Could a single pheromone beetle be enough to frighten Xia Chi?
What a joke.
During that divine battle, countless Pheromosa were killed by the splashes of Meowha's Thousand Transformations.
Besides, this is just a mere pheromone.
"I'd like you to go easy on me."
Ye Ci pushed her sunglasses back up on her nose, picked up her still-steaming iced coffee, and regained the composure and calmness of a champion, "But I guess you won't listen."
After the jokes, the three started chatting.
The gentle breeze from the air conditioner vents lightly turned the pages of the beverage menu on the table, which had been worn down by the whitish tree's frequent flipping. Dorombalto's tail patted the floor idly by the chair leg.
Bictini had finished the macaron and was carefully licking the frosting off her paws with the tip of her tongue.
The heatwave outside the street and the coolness inside the shop created a misty dividing line on the glass. Occasionally, a few passersby would walk past the window, shielding their eyes from the sun and hurrying to the next air-conditioned shop.
Ye Ci gently stirred the ice in her glass with a straw and asked, "Xia Chi, what are your plans after this competition?"
Xia Chi leaned back in the rattan chair, her fingers unconsciously twirling the small tuft of emerald green down on the top of her head. After thinking for a moment, she replied, "Let's go back to Qiming Island to rest... It feels like we've been out for ages."
Qi Shu squinted at him.
"You've only been out for a few days, okay?!"
Xia Chi chuckled and pulled Pengpeng closer to his chest: "It's mainly because Pengpeng and the others are homesick."
The baby in his arms blinked.
Those emerald green eyes lifted up from above the glass of ice water.
Do you miss home?
I didn't have much fun in Alola.
A while ago, I was building sandcastles on the beach at Melemele Island. I spent the whole afternoon digging in the sand with Victini, and in the end, we built a sand sculpture that nobody recognized as a Pokémon.
"Fine," Xia Chi said, "I think that's it."
She put down her water glass, crossed her two little hands in front of her, and nodded obediently.
Kiju chuckled twice. "I think you just want to go back, you shut-in!"
Xia Chi chuckled and changed the subject, "By the way, why is Sister Ye Ci asking this? Is there anything I can help you with?"
Logically speaking, the matter in the Parthian region should have been resolved long ago.
The exploration of Zone Zero has come to a successful conclusion. Those deep laboratories that had been sealed off for countless years have been cleared one by one, and the ecological investigation and management plan for Paradoxical Pokémon is also progressing steadily under the leadership of Yaji.
The mass production technology of Taijingzhu is mature, and the security perimeter of Zone Zero has been established.
There shouldn't be any troublesome things that I need to handle myself.
Ye Ci put down her iced coffee, and the bottom of the cup made a crisp, light sound when it touched the porcelain coaster.
She smiled slightly. "No, I wanted to invite you to visit Padiya for a while. When you came before, you went straight to District Zero and didn't even explore the Academy City much. You haven't experienced the beauty of Padiya yet, have you? The night view of Niangguang City, the hot springs of Beigu Town, the art district of Glass Bottle City..."
As she spoke, she turned her head slightly to look at Qishu, who was secretly drinking her iced coffee through a straw.
Qishu was caught in her gaze, his lips still holding the straw, his almond-shaped eyes wide open, his expression just like an Eevee caught stealing food.
Ye Ci didn't expose her, but instead changed the subject: "It's a good opportunity to give Qi Shu a break and let her show you around. This girl has been complaining too much about the Four Heavenly Kings' affairs lately. If we don't give her a break, she's afraid she'll flood the complaint mailbox of the Padia Alliance's personnel department."
Qi Shu paused for a moment while holding the straw in his mouth.
Her almond-shaped eyes moved from Ye Ci's face to Xia Chi's face, and then quickly looked back.
A long time ago, Ye Ci had been thinking of poaching Xia Chi to be the son-in-law of Padia, and this time she didn't even bother to act anymore.
Xia Chi twitched the corner of her mouth.
He naturally understood the underlying meaning in Ye Ci's words and said helplessly, "Sister Ye Ci, aren't you afraid that Sister Mu Xue will cause you trouble by doing this?"
Yu Muxue.
The moment Xia Chi uttered that name, Ye Ci paused for a moment, holding her coffee cup.
The extent to which the Donghuang champion cared for Xia Chi was no secret within the small circles of champions in various regional leagues.
If Xia Chi were willing, she probably wouldn't hesitate to hand over the championship title to him immediately.
It's estimated that these two female champions communicated quite a bit privately about this.
Of course, whether they are friendly or not is another matter.
Ye Ci didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "By the way, speaking of champion Yu Muxue, I haven't heard from her in a long time. Where did she go?"
Xia Chi was slightly taken aback, and then he realized that he hadn't contacted her for quite some time.
When was the last time we spoke?
He rummaged through his memories, a vague point in time appearing in his mind, then shook his head: "She told me last month that she was going to Shennong Forest... and then I lost contact with her."
Qi Shu tilted her head curiously, the wide brim of her straw hat casting a small fan-shaped shadow over her face.
"What's she doing in the Shennong Forest? Cultivating her spiritual power?"
Shennong Forest is one of the oldest nature reserves in the Donghuang region. It is said that it still preserves many landforms and native species mentioned in ancient Donghuang myths.
For ordinary trainers, it's a great place to train and catch rare Pokémon.
Xia Chi pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "No, it's to explore the legends of Donghuang."
He nodded knowingly.
As is well known, Donghuang has a long history, vast territory and abundant resources, and its expansive area is second to none among all regions.
From the snowfields of the far north to the islands of the South China Sea, from the ancient ports of the eastern coast to the uninhabited Gobi Desert in the western hinterland, this land is steeped in a civilization more profound than any other region.
However, very little information about the legendary elves has survived.
While other regions' alliance archives contain complete sighting records and energy characteristics of everything from the Three Divine Birds to the Twin Dragons of Time and Space, the section on legendary spirits in the Eastern Empire's archives is almost entirely blank.
Only a few folk tales and books of strange tales contain scattered fragments that cannot be verified.
Among the records of Jieping myths and unofficial histories, some entities with vague names are mentioned, but none of them can be verified by modern energy detection technology.
It's as if some force deliberately erased those existences from the records of history.
Yu Muxue, as the champion of Donghuang, has been worried about this matter for a long time.
During her tenure, she spearheaded at least three large-scale archaeological surveys of legendary elves, each of which ended in failure.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, she had Xia Chi replace her in the Ten Masters Tournament, while she herself used this rare window of opportunity to delve into the Shennong Forest to explore the legends, killing two birds with one stone.
"but..."
Xia Chi stroked his chin, his brows furrowing slightly. "It's been a long time since we've been in touch, and it's still a little worrying."
It wasn't that he didn't trust Yu Muxue's abilities; the woman who could hold the title of champion of Donghuang was no ordinary person.
But Shennong Forest is, after all, a pristine area that even the league's map only marks as its outer perimeter. After being out of contact for several weeks without any news, as a friend, he felt he should check on his own champion.
Xia Chi put the empty cup back on the table. "I'll make a call and ask when I get back."
Ye Ci pondered for a moment.
She tapped the rim of her iced coffee cup, which was almost empty thanks to Kishu's sneaky drinking, with her fingers, making a few rhythmic, crisp sounds.