The half-empty auditorium was silent for a moment.

The "wartime cadres" of the flamed people standing around them—let's take it that way—changed their faces to the same appearance, and their faces were full of "nonsense".

The young patriarch who was sitting upright was stunned, but did not immediately express any objections. He leaned forward slightly and asked seriously, "Why do you want to do this?"

"Just a few days ago, the Wind Thief stole an important item from someone who was kind to me, and I wanted to help her get it back. The purple-haired girl replied calmly, "Besides—"

She raised her right hand, and a ball of crystal blue light slowly emerged with the exclamations of the people around her.

"I'm good at finding things, maybe I can help everyone. ”

After Xiao Ye's words fell, a noisy whisper filled the hall and beyond. She even heard someone whispering outside the window, "No wonder it was so violent last night, it turned out to be a waveguide messenger, it was not strange at all", and she was immediately confused by this causal logic.

"Indeed, our clan lacks the ability to seek the enemy, if only with the help of the power of the waveguide......"

"You may not know much about the real situation of Mt. Aso. One of them was interrupted in a hesitant remarks. The middle-aged man who was called "Jing Mu" by the young patriarch frowned and spoke—his expression was so serious that it was even a little vicious, and there were a few deep furrows between his eyebrows, which was enough to scare away children, "The Wind Thief is not a law-abiding citizen unlike the trainers you met on your travels. I'll admit that you're better than your peers when it comes to designing tactics and taking the initiative to attack. ”

As he spoke, he glanced at the gun on the table that had been snatched by Xiao Ye.

"But, once in the mountains, the wind thieves are in the dark, and we are in the light, I think you should be able to imagine-"

Before he could finish speaking, a large black shadow spread without warning, enveloping the figure of the stranger in an instant.

- What will happen to those who are not familiar with the battlefield. ”

As soon as this move was announced, the people in the room remained silent as if they had expected it, and the children outside the window were already screaming in dissatisfaction.

"Uncle Jingmu, you are too good, why do you treat our guests like this!"

"I put lights and ghosts on to bully people at every turn, and I have the ability to eat spicy food compared to outsiders!"

After a few seconds, Jing Mu suddenly raised his hand and signaled the young onlookers outside the window to be quiet.

The only thing left of the mummified man was a black silhouette, which should theoretically have been immobilized for a long time - but the black shadow was melting little by little, and the interior was faintly empty, and there was no human shadow at all.

The figure of the ghost of the lights appeared on the side, looking left and right for his target. Jing Mu, who originally had a casual attitude, was stunned, and before he could speed up his brain, he felt a light touch on his waist.

He jerked his head down, only to see a red light shoot straight out, dragging the ghost of the light back into the ball.

The initiator still had that over-calm expression, as if he didn't feel that he had done anything strange. She calmly returned the Poké Ball to its original owner, and said seriously, "I think you were right—I can indeed make up for your ability to seek enemies." So, let me join, shall we?"

“......”

The middle-aged man who failed to defeat the enemy was speechless for a while. The children outside the window burst into laughter in unison as if they had agreed to do so, not wanting to save face for their families at all.

The young patriarch turned his head calmly, not knowing if he was hiding his smile.

It wasn't until he received a vague glare from his friend that he cleared his throat and said, "Please forgive us for our rude behavior just now—it was just a small test, and it didn't mean to hurt you." ”

Ye stood up and held out a hand to the stranger with a smile, "On behalf of all the Flame People, I thank you for your help, please lend us your power for the time being." ”

"Well, I'd love to. ”

The two hands clasped together, and the young man in the feathered weave blinked briskly.

"It's a scene, I don't think you will like it. Why don't I put it another way - it really helped us a lot, and we'll have a dessert ready to thank you!"

As soon as the patriarch's voice fell, the children's choir outside the window immediately announced the names of the dishes one after another. Ye seemed to think that it was not bad to be lively, so he just stood there and laughed until Jing Mu, who was so noisy, slammed the window shut.

"Yang Yu. ”

"Yes. The red-haired boy who had been standing in the corner raised his head and looked at Jing Mu.

"You just said Yong was really injured, didn't you? That's right, you and her formed a temporary team. ”

"I see. ”

Yang Yu nodded, and immediately trotted to Xiao Ye's side, and said with a smile, "Please advise."

Saya was a little surprised by what Jing Mu said, "Yong is really injured" - he was fine when they met after the battle. But before she could ask questions, the people at the conference table stood up in unison, as if they had finished their deliberations.

Before walking out of the auditorium, Xiao Ye was stopped by the young patriarch behind him.

"I must emphasize one thing. ”

The red-haired man looked unusually serious.

"Whether or not you find the Upe drum, you must leave Mount Aso before the fire worship festival begins, okay?"

The Fire People's outgoing patrols seem to be two-on-two. The division of labor had been arranged at the meeting before, so Yang Yu said that he would explain the precautions to the new members in detail later.

The members who participated in this "carpet search" had already entered the mountain one after another, and Xiao Ye and Yang Yu were not allowed to delay for too long, so they only went to Yongzhen's house before leaving, and said hello to the family of three.

And as soon as he heard that "new friends and old friends are going to search the mountains together", Yong Zhen's eyes immediately widened.

"Wait, cough, cough, wait, I'm going to go!!"

The brown-haired boy coughed heartbreakingly, and at the same time grabbed the sleeves of the two of them, and he had a posture of not letting go if he was not promised.

Xiao Ye and Yang Yu looked at each other, and both showed helpless expressions.

It wasn't until he entered the house that Xiao Ye realized that the "Yongzhen injury" mentioned earlier was actually just a throat injury caused by poisonous smoke, and he didn't even need to take medicine, and he would naturally heal after a few days of cultivation. Of course, the original search work was naturally out of play.

"What are you going to do, are you trying to scare the thieves away with your cough?" the young chubby mother slapped the back of her son's head in disgust.

"I can put up with !!"

Yong Zhen took a sharp breath, blushing and keeping his neck quiet for ten seconds.

Then he turned his back and coughed so that the sky was dark, and the sun and moon were dark.

"Alas...... As you can see, my indisputable son is of little use right now. ”

The woman sighed, ignored her son's grunting protests, pushed him into the house and slammed the door shut. Then she stretched out her arm and patted the two young men on the shoulder.

"Yang Yu, and our little guest—please, to get our treasures back. ”

After a brief meeting with friends and their parents, the two of them stopped grinding and went straight to the road out of the valley.

Before leaving, Yongzhen's mother stuffed Xiaoya with a scimitar that was common in the Flame People's house, saying that it was just in case. Sayo's belt only has the function of absorbing Poké Balls, and if you insist on hanging the heavy knife, it may be a tragedy, so she just hangs it on her shoulder like a shoulder bag.

As he walked, Yang Yu opened the map he was carrying with him to show Saya.

It is a partial map of the Aso Mountains, and every corner is drawn in great detail. The river that winds through the mountains is clearly visible, and there is a waterfall not far upstream of the Flame Valley, which, according to Yang Yu, can be heard if you walk a little north to the north of the Flame Valley.

The team's patrol route has been carefully marked on the map by Yang Yu with a pencil. Xiao Ye looked at the route that was obviously not drawn casually, and couldn't help but wonder how the Flame People could assign patrol missions to the entire mountain area in a brief combat meeting.

As she passed by the altar in the center of the Valley of Flames, Xiao Ye saw that the red-haired guards had formed a strict formation, patrolling back and forth near the Pillar of the Covenant, and even the sky was observed by more than one person holding a telescope at all times, as if they were facing a great enemy.

"Yang Yu. Xiao Ye pondered the words for a moment, "Does the Patriarch also think that the Wind Thieves' goal is to destroy the Pillar of the Covenant?"

"Yes. The boy shook his head, the two dumb hairs on the top of his head that were like young seedlings drawing a blank arc in the air, "If the destruction of the Pillar of the Covenant is not successful, stealing the Lope drum is the Wind Thief's backup plan, the Patriarch said so - it's just that I don't understand why they did this, it's obviously not good for the Wind Thief." ”

"Like selling the drums?" asked Sayo casually.

"Unlikely. Yang Yu shook his head and said, "Our Wupei drum is a registered cultural heritage, and it is the only one in the world, no matter where it is obtained, it is too dazzling and difficult to sell." ”

"Well, since they didn't destroy the Appe drum like they did with the Pillar of the Covenant, but quietly stole it, it means they must need to do something with it...... Yang Yu, is there anything special about it?"

"Uh...... Loud sounds?"

“......”

Seeing a meaningful change in Xiao Ye's expression, as a peer, Yang Yu immediately objected, "It's impossible that the drum sound has a hypnotic effect or something—we play with that Upe drum every year at the Fire Festival, and I never thought it was strange." ”

"That's it......" Xiao Ye blinked, finally losing the strange middle two guess in his head.

The voices gradually thinned out, and the two had already left the living area and walked into the forest.

"It's okay here, we'll have to move quietly when we get out of this area, don't rush to do anything if you find the wind thief's tracks, report to the patriarch first—ah, there's no need to scout the surroundings now. ”

Seeing that Xiao Ye seemed to have the intention of indiscriminately searching the carpet first, the red-haired young man hurriedly waved his hand to stop it, and the light-colored scarf wrapped around his neck also swayed, "Large-scale detection is very energy-consuming, isn't it? Let's wait until we get to the area we are responsible for." ”

"You're right. Xiao Ye happily accepted Yang Yu's kindness.

Probably considering that it was probably the first time for Xiao Ye to carry out this kind of work, Yang Yu explained the precautions for patrolling the deep mountains in detail. By the time he finished speaking, the Pichu on Night's shoulder was already drowsy and fell headlong - and was narrowly snatched back into his palm by his master.

"Thank you for the explanation-" Saya smiled at the boy, "don't worry, I won't hold you back." ”

"I—I'm not worried about this ......"

"I know, just kidding. ”

The purple-haired girl gently crossed the trunk of the tree in front of her, looked back and asked, "Yang Yu, I remember that Yongzhen said before that the annual fire worship festival is always chosen when the lava of Mt. Aso is most active, and this time is predicted by the patriarch, right?"

"Hmm. Yang Yu replied, "That's why we nominate patriarch candidates based on their strength - if they are too weak, they won't be able to sense when the volcano is active." ”

"I see. So, is this year's volcanic activity different from previous years?"

Yang Yu was stunned, "Why do you say that......?"

The girl turned around and observed Yang Yu's expression.

"Yang Yu, can you tell me why the patriarch asked all outsiders to leave Mount Aso before the Fire Worship Festival?"

The red-haired boy's footsteps paused. The air fell into a long silence.

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

Small Theatre:

Sayo: Yang Yu, ever since I met the patriarch, there's a question I've been concerned about.

Yang Yu: What's the problem?

Sayo: (cautiously) Mr. Ye, how old is he?

Yang Yu: (Suddenly realized) Oh, you must think that our patriarch is too young, so you're curious, right?

Sayo: (breathes a sigh of relief) yes, so ......

Yang Yu: Mr. Ye is not yet 30 years old this year, almost younger than the previous patriarch when he took office.

Night: ......

Night: ............

Sayo: I shouldn't have hoped, there are no normal people in this clan!