After saying goodbye to the patriarch, Xiao Ye can finally cross off the task of "being a conscientious intelligence provider NPC - talking to the patriarch about the Eclipse Sun Rebellion" that he has been thinking about for several days, and return to Yang Yu's house with peace of mind.

The boy with the scarf had already finished the party and was playing with a large group of Pokémon in the yard. Not long after Xiao Ye joined, some of the well-fed Pokémon had begun to yawn, and the two humans took the opportunity to say goodnight to their friends and returned to their respective rooms to get ready to rest.

Probably because the dinner party was too hard, and Pichu and Leolu, who usually always stayed away, were sleeping in the courtyard and couldn't follow the trainer upstairs. Therefore, the girl has a rare quiet night alone.

- Just, is it really alone?

Xiao Ye sat by the window, spreading out the notepad to a blank page, holding a pen in her right hand. The smile that usually hangs on weekdays has faded from the face, and the moonlight seeps into the room through the window, and the silvery light is reflected between the girl's eyebrows, revealing an almost cold and mysterious color.

"I'm sorry to talk to you in this way – you can hear me, right. ”

She whispered to the stagnant air under the moon.

The speculation that had been hidden in the fog finally came true. If the feelings of Red Lotus Island during the First World War can be barely explained by hallucinations, then what happened a day ago proves beyond a doubt that there is another will hidden in this body.

It may be a living, normal soul—

Or maybe "something else".

"That's when I heard your voice. The Otherworldly Traveler said with great calmness, as if what he was doing was not a nonsense of talking to him, "I heard you say, 'The bond between man and God should not be severed'—I agree with you, and thank you for intervening in times of emergency. As a small compensation for the little thing that has taken over your body, I swear I will do my best if something like this happens in the future. ”

"Excuse me, is there anything else I can do to help you?"

The moonlit room was silent, except for the tiny chirping of insects.

The girl paused for a moment and then said, "I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to do anything for you." I'll do what I want to do as soon as possible and ......"

"Find a way to give your life back to you. ”

She didn't seem to know what that meant to her, and spoke in a calm and determined tone. It's just that the hand holding the pen doesn't move, and there are no thoughts in his mind that don't belong to him.

The hidden will in her body did not answer her.

Xiao Ye waited patiently for a while before closing the book and standing up.

She didn't know if the hidden will would take over control of her body only "in a hurry", or if she simply didn't want to respond. As an outsider who knows nothing about the memories, emotions and determination of "Starry Night", all she can do is wait.

Outside the window, the moon hung high, and the most energetic flame people were already on their way home. Xiao Ye, who had slept for more than 30 hours in a row, really didn't feel sleepy, and simply started the work that he had planned to leave for tomorrow.

She picks up the notepad from Team Rocket, which had provided clues about the rabbi's plan to capture her, and which she later used to record what she saw during her travels, and quietly walked out of the house.

Stretches of torches stand along the road, still blazing – these special torches are said to burn for more than 20 hours.

Saya brings the notepad closer to the torch. The flames of the high temperature immediately devoured the paper products mercilessly, destroying them along with the handwriting left in them for half a year. After a few moments, only a puddle of black ash remained in place, which was quickly dispersed by the breeze that passed through the valley.

During a conversation with the patriarch just now, Kai said that it was not safe to write down information such as the Eclipse of the Sun Rebellion in a notebook, and that it was better to transfer it to an electronic device to prevent it from being read by others. But instead of typing slowly on her phone at the speed of an elderly person's hand, Sayo felt that there was a faster, if not absolutely safe, way to do it.

She returned to her room, took out a brand new notepad, and wrote down word by word what had been engraved in her mind.

Not written in the language of the Union, but in a form far more complex than the alphabet symbols, which only she could understand now—

Texts from another world.

After the completion of the dictation homework as a primary school student, Xiao Ye finally found a trace of sleep. Sitting on the edge of the bed and picking up the phone, she saw the black screen, and then she remembered that the phone that had not been charged for two days had already turned off automatically.

As soon as I plugged in the charging cable and turned on the phone, Xiaoye's sleepiness was suddenly scared.

There are a steady stream of messages and missed calls on the screen, making Xiao Ye wonder if he has really slept for ten years. She couldn't read the dense information for a while—especially when there were too many golden retriever siblings chattering and talking—so she opened the call list first, clicked on the latest missed call from Xiaotian, and was about to dial back, when she glanced at the time in the upper right corner and quickly withdrew her hand.

She thought about it for a while, opened LINE and sent a message to Xiaotian.

[Is it convenient to answer the phone?]

Xiao Yeman thought that Xiao Tian, who was used to sleeping before ten o'clock, would reply tomorrow morning, but he didn't expect that less than half a minute after the message was sent, the other party called, which scared Xiao Ye.

She quickly picked up the phone and apologized, "Xiaotian, am I bothering ......?"

"Are you okay?"

The young man's voice from the microphone rarely interrupted Xiao Ye's words, and there was a faint eagerness in his tone, which made Xiao Ye stunned for a moment, and replied confusedly, "It's good?"

Recalling that long list of missed calls, Xiao Ye felt that she might have missed something important during her sleep, and quickly added, "Sorry, I didn't look at my phone before—did something happen?"

The voice on the other side of the phone was silent for a while before replying, "This is what I want to ask you." ”

Xiao Ye sighed, and suddenly remembered that a certain Flame Folk had mentioned "this matter is on the news", and suddenly it dawned on her—she did say in the group that she had plans to play a match on Orange Island, "You mean about the Flame Valley? Don't worry—although I haven't read what the news says, everything is fine here, and everyone has just had a banquet." ”

Xiao Tian seemed to be a little worried about Xiao Ye's loss of contact for two consecutive days, and asked a few more questions about the situation in Flame Valley. Xiao Ye 1510 answered one by one, and finally preliminarily proved to his friends that Flame Valley and himself were still alive and kicking, and they were not scorched by the flame bird.

Probably considering that it was late, Xiaotian did not drag out the conversation for too long, and the two quickly said goodnight to each other and hung up the phone. And Xiao Ye didn't dare to fall asleep, and went to the group to report safety to the golden retriever brothers and sisters.

Unlike Xiao Tian, who has a healthy schedule, Xiao Jie and Xiao Ling never go to bed before twelve o'clock, and sure enough, they used the reaction speed of a night owl - Xiao Ling directly clicked on the group voice quickly.

The two of them seemed to be together, howling at the mobile phone, only to shake Xiao Ye's eardrums and think it was a layman who knocked on the Wupei drum - according to them, if Xiao Ye didn't reply to the news today, they planned to buy tickets and fly to Tangerine Island to find their missing friends.

Xiao Ye explained and posted the photos of the banquet and food taken before, and finally calmed down the anxious brother and sister. Xiao Ling condemned Xiao Ye for poisoning late at night, while still chattering and asking, "Are you really okay?

"Really...... Huh, wait. Xiao Ye replied casually until halfway through the answer, "Is the news so specific......?"

"Certainly not news. Sayyo...... You don't know yet, do you?" Xiao Jie's puzzled voice came from his phone.

"You know what?" said Sayo, doubling her confusion in her tone.

Xiaojie dropped a sentence of "wait a minute" and lost his voice. Half a minute later, he posted a link in the group.

Xiao Ye clicked on the link to enter the live broadcast room in confusion, and recognized that it was the trainer anchor that Xiao Jie had recommended. Then, she glanced at the title of the most popular video below, and a bad premonition suddenly rose in her heart.

The girl who hadn't been on the Internet for two days opened the video tremblingly, and her expression gradually became sluggish as the progress bar went on.

So......

The whole process of the first battle of Asoyama was broadcast live!?

Early the next morning.

As always, the breakfast was held at Yongzhen's house. The five of them gathered together to eat and chat—the hot topic was naturally the big battle two days ago.

"Straight live broadcast??" Yong Zhen was so shocked that his chopsticks fell off, and his eyes widened like Kentaro.

The Flame Folk were too busy with post-war restoration work to read what was being said on the Internet, and they even learned about the live broadcast of the battle before Night. Even Yongzhen's parents looked like dumbfounded flame chickens, and the restaurant fell into a rare moment of silence.

Yang Yu was a little worried that such a video would have a bad effect on the flame bird if it was widely known, and muttered that he wanted to talk to Jing Mu. Yongzhen didn't think about it so much, and happily searched for the live video and clicked on, and was soon disappointed.

"I can't see people at all, I can only see moves flying around...... I'd like to see you all in action. The brown-haired boy was dissatisfied.

"After all, it was dark. Sayo replied with a smile.

The figures in the video are blurry and difficult to identify, and even the stranger's purple hair, which would reasonably be conspicuous, has been turned a blurred crimson by the firelight, and it looks no different from the people of the flames. The golden retriever siblings can identify their little friends from it, presumably by the color of the feathers of the Dabi bird that shines on the way.

Yongzhen was so addicted to watching the video that he forgot to continue eating for a while, which caused his mother to teach him a lesson, from the eight dangers of inattentiveness to eating to the eighty possible violent deaths that quietly ran to the wind thief base camp yesterday.

Jing Mu sent a message yesterday that those who wanted to participate in the battle would gather in the auditorium early in the morning. So, after breakfast time, a large crowd of people rushed to the square - supposedly to cooperate with the police to do some work such as collecting evidence.

The people of the flames were all ready to write reports like Yasumu until the night, but they did not expect that the police inquiries were short and quick, and did not take much time. Not only that, but representatives of the police department held a simple commendation ceremony with those who had prevented a terrible disaster with their own hands.

The alliance has complete post-war medical and living security measures for the "righteous and courageous" people, and the substantial rewards are not rich. However, the Flame Folk apparently preferred the other to the material reward, and were beaming with the freshly baked Iron Cross.

And Saya ...... I feel that there is a subtlety in my happy mood.

Project Artificial Phoenix King, the terrorist attack on the eve of the Quartz Alliance's top 16, and the battle in the Valley of Flames—in just half a year after embarking on her journey, she has already received three Iron Crosses, symbolizing "as a free trainer, bravely stood up and made meritorious contributions in times of crisis", and she couldn't help but wonder if she was traveling and training Pokémon at all.

Maybe you should find a quiet place to organize a training camp for the Pokémon, after all, if you lose because of neglect of training, you will lose not only honor, but also the thickness of your wallet.

And the thickness of the wallet is the thickness of life!

Xiao Ye thought wildly, returned to the guest room of Yang Yu's house and began to pack his luggage.

She didn't have a lot of belongings, and since she had been eating and drinking at Yongzhen's house, her cooking tools were lying in her backpack intact, and it took little time to put them away. The loose robe of ethnic style that she was wearing for the time being was washed and dried by Xiao Ye and put back in the closet, and then, she looked at the spare sportswear left in her backpack, and hesitated seriously and heartbreakingly, and finally only put on a T-shirt and did not take out the coat.

The symbolic hair ornament of the "Flame of Honor" presented by the patriarch was casually tied to the side of Xiao Ye's ear, and a small braid was tied up, and the short hair, which was already irregularly curled, suddenly became even more unkempt. She didn't care, letting the bright color of fire melt into her hair.

Little Pichu knew that his master was currently a disabled person who "couldn't carry it on his shoulders", so he consciously got into his backpack pocket, revealing only his hairy head. Sayo smiled and rubbed it, picked up her backpack and walked out the door.

She wanted to go and say goodbye to the patriarch first, but as soon as she walked through an intersection, she bumped into Yang Yu and Yongzhen, and said goodbye to the two friends briefly.

"What, you're leaving!?" Yujin roared, knocking Pichu's ears to his stomach, "Why so fast...... Okay, you should be tired of staying for more than a week, but it's too sudden!"

The brown-haired boy rolled his eyes, dropped the sentence "My mother just steamed a snack, you have to take some away" and ran away. Inspired by this, Yang Yu suddenly realized, and then set his sights on the jam he made at home.

Xiao Ye's face was covered with smoke and dust from the two of them, and before he could say anything, he saw that the passers-by who happened to pass by also shouted in disbelief, "What, you want to go!? You saved my brother's life, and I haven't thought of any thank you gift yet!!"

Seeing that the noisy voices began to gather, Xiao Ye hurriedly broadcast "I want to go to other islands to play games to make money, so I have to go" and "I really don't need a thank you gift if I understand it". Fortunately, there were not many pedestrians on the path, and it was not surrounded like yesterday. Knowing that the strangers had made up their minds, the red-haired people dispersed aggrievedly, so Xiao Ye wiped his sweat and ran to the patriarch's house with Pichu, who had been heated into a fried hairball.

The ice ridge still stood in the doorway, angrily emitting cold air, like a small air conditioner. Xiao Ye put her backpack up and stopped for a while, and when she saw that Pichu was finally resurrected with full blood in the cold air, she reached out and knocked on the door.

Luckily, she didn't go to the police station like Jingmu, and was staying at home, and soon opened the door for Xiaoye.

"Good morning, Night. It's hot outside, isn't it? Come in, I'm on the air conditioner. The young patriarch greeted the stranger merrily.

"Good morning, Mr. Ye. Xiao Ye casually placed her backpack on the floor of the hallway and smiled, "It's rare that you can turn on the air conditioner." ”

She'd only seen the patriarch's air conditioner standing in the corner like a sculpture before—after all, the Flame Folk weren't afraid of the heat, and she didn't know why he bought one and put it in the house.

"Mr. Ye, I'm here to resign today...... Huh?"

Halfway through her words, she realized that there were others in the back room.

That back was so familiar that Xiao Yeyi was stunned.

"Little ......?"

The familiar back turned her head when she heard the call, and sure enough, it was the face she remembered.

The silver-haired boy was sitting upright at the table, tea in hand and across from him, apparently talking to karma beforehand. Xiao Ye was surprised to look at the little friend who had just been separated for more than a week, and then at the patriarch - Ye didn't seem surprised by the acquaintance of the two, so he naturally took a step back and motioned for your peers to talk first, ignoring him as a boring adult.

Xiao Ye walked into the back room and wondered, "Xiao Tian, why are you here...... Are you here for a tour? When I called yesterday, I said in advance that I would pick you up. ”

She guessed that Xiao Tian was here for the Flame Bird - since the Battle of Mount Aso was broadcast live, there had been a steady stream of trainers who wanted to land on the island to see the Flame Bird, but the port of Tangerine Island was strictly controlled because of this incident, and the mountain road leading to the Flame Valley was also blocked, and almost no one was allowed to pass through.

Of course, judging from the patriarch's familiar look, he probably knew Xiao Tian, so it was naturally not difficult to enter the Flame Valley.

Xiao Ye paused for a while, didn't wait for a reply, and looked at Xiao Tian blankly.

The silver-haired boy looked at his friend, whose head and shoulders were bandaged, and his left arm still hanging from his chest.

“...... We've only been apart for less than two weeks. He was stunned for a moment before he said in a harsh voice.

Xiao Ye followed Xiao Tian's gaze and looked at his "respect", and also felt that the contrast in this image was a bit big, and said with an embarrassed smile, "I didn't expect it to be like this at all...... It feels like Pokémon are going to suffer from volcanic PTSD. ”

As soon as she said that, she realized that her expression was not appropriate, and quickly turned her head and explained to the patriarch who didn't really care about this casual joke, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ye, I didn't dislike this. Just two times in a row at the volcano in a dangerous battle......"

"Twice?" Ye was stunned for a moment, and seemed to quickly think of something, "You were also on Red Lotus Island in April this year?"

"'Also'?" Xiao Ye and the patriarch were stunned at the same time, looking at each other. Probably seeing that the atmosphere was too solid, Xiao Tian on the side added: "At that time, we were fighting Team Rocket underground. ”

The patriarch was stunned and said, "I fought against the Fake Phoenix King with Xinghai seniors on the ground......"

All three were stunned by this astonishing coincidence, and even the air was silent for a moment. And the name "Star Sea" circled in Xiao Ya's mind, and suddenly triggered a guess.

She already knew that Xinghai himself was the captain of the Dragon's Fang, so ......

The Dragon's Tooth exhibition match in Tokiwa City, which I had watched a long time ago, flashed through my mind, and the image of my memories was frozen in the little man who used the Flame Chicken. Xiao Ye said tentatively, "Mr. 'Karmic Fire'?"

Karma: "!?"

Under the direct gaze of the two ten-year-old children, the young patriarch stiffened for a few seconds before waking up from a dream, revealing an extraordinarily innocent smile, "Do you mean the karmic fire of the dragon's fang?

Sayo: "......"

Xiaotian: "......"

Industry: "...... Sorry, the excuse is so bad. ”

After realizing that this secret was actually broken as soon as he poked, he didn't bother anymore, he only cried and laughed, "Xiaoye, is this your counterattack?"

He only recognized Xiaoye's hidden identity after a battle a few days ago, but he didn't expect feng shui to take turns, and now it's his turn to be lifted from his vest.

The topic was stirred up by a series of accidents, and after the three of them chatted for a long time, Xiao Ye remembered his original goal and said goodbye to karma.

The patriarch seems to be a little worried about Sayo's physical condition - it is true that she looks a little bad now. However, seeing that Xiao Ye already had a plan for the next trip, he didn't insist on staying.

Xiao Ye, who had a task, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and said in her heart that she could finally end this journey of eating and drinking, and turned to her friend who suddenly reunited and asked casually, "So Xiaotian, you actually came to visit your father's friend?"

After guessing the "vest" of the industry, Sayo remembered what he had said earlier that "Beidou had a battle with his friend's son in the league competition", and immediately understood that he was talking about Xiaotian. Since the two know each other well, it makes sense to come and visit after the accident in the Valley of Flames.

The silver-haired boy nodded, "yes—and, to see you." ”

Xiao Ye was stunned for a moment, and before he could say anything, he suddenly heard a noise outside the door, as if something had hit the door.

The three of them walked to the hallway and opened the door, and were immediately startled by the crowd gathered outside the door.

The path in the Flame Valley was not very spacious, and there were seven or eight people crowded in front of the patriarch's house, all of which were about to squeeze the ice ridge out of the cold. The guy who accidentally knocked his head on the door panel smiled embarrassedly and apologized, and slipped into the crowd.

Yang Yu and Yong Zhen stood on the edge, holding large and small boxes in their hands like everyone else. Night's gaze swept over the crowd - all but two young men had familiar faces.

"That...... We heard that you were leaving, and we thought we should come and say thank you. Standing at the forefront was the young man on horseback who almost died.

"We've all been saved by you, and I thought I'd find a chance to thank you. The straightforward young man showed a rare shy look, "It's a pity that the time is too rushed, and I haven't even thought about what to say...... Anyway, this is my thank you gift!"

People thanked each other and stacked their belongings aside. Xiao Ye was taken aback by the size of the boxes, and was about to excuse herself, when a kind middle-aged man smiled and said, "You can just take it—we thought about it, you must not be comfortable if the gift is too heavy, these are our home-made snacks." ”

"Of course, this snack is not a reward, so just like the patriarch said-" The young man on horseback said in a loud voice, "Don't be polite when you need it, remember to ask us to help!

Sayo: "......"

The strangers were full of sincere emotion, and they were all suffocated by the astonishing "chicken feather arrow". She hesitated for a moment between "pretending not to hear it in all seriousness" and "correcting that it wasn't chicken feathers, but bird feathers", but finally couldn't bear it anymore and laughed with the red-haired ones who were also broken.

Yang Yu and Yong Zhen were at the end of the line, quietly placing their boxes on top. Yang Yu also conveniently stuffed two carved fire stones for Xiao Ye, claiming that these things were so tiresome in the Valley of Flames that it was better to give them away.

"How embarrassing is this, I didn't even give you the meal and accommodation fees for this week......" Xiao Ye waved his hand again and again.

"Don't don't, don't be, if it is known that our people of flames let tourists rush to the front line to fight and kill without their lives, and they also ask for accommodation fees, no one will dare to come to the Valley of Flames to play, please don't kill our tourism industry!" Yujin waved his hand again and again three times faster than Xiao Ye, and his face was also very frightened, making Xiao Ye cry and laugh.

"We give you gifts for a reason. Yang Yu said warmly.

The red-haired boy let go of his fingers pinching the end of his scarf and squinted and laughed at his purple-haired friend without haze.

"Thank you for allowing me to get my flame back. ”

A group of people gathered on the narrow path, and it was not until noon approached that they reluctantly ended chatting. Before leaving, they stressed to their friends several times that they would "come back often when they are free", and only after receiving an affirmative answer did they disperse with peace of mind.

Xiao Ye took a lot of effort, and finally stuffed the big bags of snacks into his backpack with Xiao Tian. Then, she said goodbye to the patriarch and set out on the familiar gravel path that led to the valley beyond.

"What are you going to do next?" Xiao Tian turned slightly to the side and looked at his friend, "Go to Fengxue Mountain to participate in the competition?"

"Hmm. Xiao Ye nodded.

The contest "Battle of Wind and Snow" held on the Wind and Snow Mountain of Napuru Island was recommended by Harina to Sayyo. Hosted by the Himi clan who live in Mt. Windset, this tournament has a bit of special rules, and is moderately difficult, fun, and rewarding, in keeping with the nobility of the organizers—the last one that immediately catches the attention of the impoverished freelance trainer Saya. After hearing that she had the intention of going to Fengxue Mountain, an enthusiastic middle-aged man said that his eldest daughter happened to run a hot spring hotel on Naipuru Island, and he couldn't help but call her daughter on the spot and told her that there were important guests coming to check in soon, and she must treat Yunyun well.

also drew several free coupons for strangers on the spot, apparently to continue the behavior pattern of "eating, drinking, and living". At this point, Sayo gratitiously accepted the kindness of the Flame People.

"It's almost half a month before the start of the race, so I'll probably stay at a hot spring inn first. Xiao Ye said, smiling at the silver-haired boy, "What about you, Xiao Tian, do you want to play together for a few days, I heard that August on Napuru Island is the peak tourist season." ”

The boy nodded slightly—or rather, he was here for it.

"Gladly. ”

====================

Small Theatre:

Industry: (pretending to be calm) He probably has a phobia of purples, don't worry about it, just go in.

Industry: (Hurriedly explaining) Speaking of which, the friends of the Bingjian family helped us a lot during the earthquake a while ago, and I'm embarrassed to ask them for help now......

Karma: (pretending to be innocent) Do you mean the karmic fire of the Dragon's Fang? Our name is indeed a bit like that-

Nighto, who is shocked by a thousand strange bad excuses: ............

Sayo: (worried) Xiaotian, did you say that Mr. Ye has lied no more than five times since he was a child?

-- After coming home late at night --

Kaku: (tears down her face) Niwa-sama actually believed the lie I told me today - this is the first time in my life that I have successfully deceived someone, ah no, I deceived the bird!