Pokémon: This trainer is too wild!

Chapter 525 The Story of Egui Peng and Tao Dailang, the Truth

"Okay, I'm all dressed now. Wow~ Hikari looks so beautiful~"

Inside the room, Qi Shu held onto Prantina tightly, refusing to let go.

"Hmm~ Okay, Kisaki, you're beautiful too."

Prantina patted Qishu's little hand with a helpless expression and looked into the full-body mirror.

At this moment, she was wearing a beautiful and gorgeous pearl-white kimono, decorated with tiny pearl patterns.

Kiki was also wearing a pink kimono, her beautiful long hair was tied up, she looked less energetic but more gentle.

The Covering Face Festival is a traditional activity in Beishang Township that has been passed down since ancient times, and wearing retro clothing is the most appropriate way to participate in such an event.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, both men and women wear kimonos.

"Let's go, the party must have already started. Mr. Mammon and Sister Cattleya are waiting for us."

As the two women stepped out of the room, they indeed saw Cattleya and Mammon standing at the door.

"Are you all dressed up? Hmm~ You all look beautiful."

Mammon, dressed in a black robe with wide sleeves, smiled and praised the two women.

Beside Mammon, Cattleya wore a black kimono with gold patterns, looking dignified, elegant, and noble.

"Hehe~ Of course, we're super invincible beauties~"

Qi Shu proudly raised his head and held onto Prantina's arm.

"To be honest, I haven't worn a kimono in a long time. I only remember wearing it a few times when I was a child."

Prantina lowered her head shyly and smoothed her sideburns.

“But it is indeed very beautiful,” Mammon said with a smile.

"Hey~ let's take a picture together, there aren't many occasions like this where we have to dress up so formally."

Qi Shu's eyes lit up, and he made the suggestion with great joy.

“Okay.” Mammon did not refuse.

Mammon stood in the center, with Prantina and Gadria on either side, while Qishu leaned against Prantina, tilting his body slightly in a funny pose.

The Rotom phone captured this moment.

"Hehe~ We really do look good in photos!" Qi Shu loved the photo and couldn't stop smiling.

"Come on, let's set off."

The Covering Face Ritual is held in the Kitakami Center, which belongs to the Shinto community area, so it is relatively large.

Wow, it's so lively!

Upon arriving at the Kitakami Center, the place was already brightly lit, and people wearing masks and kimonos were everywhere.

The campfire was burning brightly, and many people were having a show.

Qi Shu kept filming these scenes; she had never seen anything like them in Niangguang City.

"Mr. Mammon!"

Just then, four people walked over, and a girl wearing a pink mask that covered half of her face waved and greeted Mammon.

"Ziyu, how did you recognize us?"

Mammon pushed the stove mask up and asked Ziyu curiously.

“Girls’ intuition is usually very accurate,” Zi Yu winked at Mammon.

"What intuition? Didn't you only find out because I reminded you that Miss Cattleya and Xiaoguang were over there?" Du Ruo complained.

After all, Cattleya's blonde hair, Plantina's blue hair, and Kiju's highly recognizable blue-pink hair are still easy to distinguish.

Mammon's black hair was no longer so noticeable.

"Shut up!" Du Ruo shrugged, not wanting to make a fool of herself any further, under Zi Yu's fierce gaze.

"Mr. Mammon, the exorcism festival over there is about to begin. Shall we go and take a look?"

Wu Li pointed to a spot in the distance and asked Mammon.

"What is the Ghost Festival?" Qi Shu asked curiously.

"It's an event held during the Face-Covering Festival, kind of like a competition, and it's quite interesting," Danyu explained.

"However, this year's Oni Festival was delayed. It should have started already. Apparently, three masks that were sealed in the shrine were stolen."

"The masks stored in the shrine were stolen?"

Qi Shu was taken aback.

Mammon touched the stove mask on his face and smiled without saying a word. He used his ability to easily hide the light from the stove mask, so outsiders could not see it.

"Ah~ that's right, it's a treasure mask from a long time ago." Dan Yu's brows furrowed slightly beneath the mask, but she still replied.

"I heard that the Demon-Slaying Festival was inspired by the legendary story of Hoban's battle against the evil spirit Pom."

As everyone headed towards the location of the Ghost Festival, Mammon spoke with a smile.

“That’s right, that’s exactly it.” Danyu nodded.

"The legendary treasure companion? Oh, you mean the hero who protected Beishang Township, right?"

Qi Shu recalled what she had seen and heard in Beishang Township over the past two days. She had even seen the stone statue of Sanbaoban.

"That's how the story goes... but the truth is not like that."

At this moment, Wu Li said the following.

“Yesterday, our grandfather told us the truth. The real history is the opposite. The Egui Peng is not a ‘ghost,’ and the Bao Bans are not heroes. The Bao Bans are the real bandits!”

Wu Li spoke earnestly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Qi Shu suddenly became interested. Could it be that the history of Beishang Township is wrong?
“Long ago, a man from a foreign land and Egui Peng got lost and came to Beishang Township. However, the villagers were afraid that they looked different from them, so they did not allow them to approach the village.”

"The man and Ergui were saddened by their lack of welcome, but being kind-hearted, they believed that being together was enough to make them happy, so they lived a simple life in a cave in the back mountains."

Wu Li recounted the true history she had learned from her grandfather.

“The village mask makers felt sorry for them, so they made several masks for them, decorated with sparkling gems that the men had brought from foreign lands.”

"By wearing a mask, one can cover their face and get along well with the villagers. The men and the Egui Pong were happy and grateful to the mask maker for his kindness."

"From then on, the man and the Egui Pong would wear masks and secretly participate in the village's celebrations. The masks of this mysterious combination were exquisite and quickly became very popular. The news even spread to many distant countries."

"Perhaps having heard the rumors of this rare and glittering mask, Gouzan Dog, Yuanzeng Ape, and Jizhi Chicken came to Beishang Township. They secretly sneaked into the man's and Egui Peng's residence, attempting to steal the mask."

"But the man happened to return, clashed with them, and barely managed to save one of the masks."

"Several hours later, Erguipeng returned to the cave and found traces of the fight and the green mask. Erguipeng put on the green mask and went down the mountain, where he defeated Gouzan Dog, Yuanzeng Ape and Jizhi Chicken."

"The unsuspecting villagers only saw the demon's furious outburst and were terrified, believing that the three Pokémon had protected the village from the demon's clutches."

"So the villagers affectionately called them Baoban and gave them a proper burial, while the injured Egui Peng, immersed in grief, returned alone to the cave in the back mountain."

Wu Li's tone was very complex.

"This……"

Qi Shu was somewhat intrigued. Was this really true?

“What foolish villagers,” Cattleya said bluntly, showing no mercy whatsoever.

“Poor Ergui Peng.” Prantina felt sorry for Ergui Peng in the story. He was clearly the victim, but he was treated as a 'ghost', and the story was even passed down like this.

"Then why not tell the villagers the truth?"

Qishu wrinkled his little face and looked at the Demon-Slaying Festival in the distance. The Demon-Slaying Festival...

"It's no use. Our ancestor, the mask craftsman, actually told the villagers the truth back then."

Danyu shook her head and sighed.

"But not only did no one pay attention, they were also persecuted as heretics. In order to protect their descendants, the ancestor preserved the truth and made his descendants continue to pass on the true history."

"This is just too much!"

Zi Yu was furious; the people here were truly too ignorant.

"Tsk~ Hearing is believing, but to stubbornly believe in what you see without even understanding the specific truth is truly foolish."

Du Ruo clicked her tongue and said sarcastically, clearly annoyed.

"Speaking of which, I've also heard a story. This story isn't circulated in Beishang Township, but it's related to the story of Egui Peng. Would you like to hear it?"

Mammon chuckled and addressed the group.

“Mr. Mammon, please speak.”

"Hundreds of years ago, there lived an old couple who had no children. They treated the timid Pokémon, Toki, as their own child and loved him dearly."

Mammon began his narration slowly.

Tao Nilang?
No one had ever heard of this Pokémon.

"In order to gain more affection, Tao Dailang kneaded the poison in his body into delicious chain-shaped sticky cakes and gave them to the old couple to eat. The old couple could not resist the deliciousness of the chain-shaped sticky cakes and soon became Tao Dailang's captives."

"And this sticky rice cake seems to cause the desires of those who eat it to expand infinitely, so the old couple began to become greedy and unrestrained in demanding all sorts of things from Tao Dailang."

Something's not right here.

Upon hearing this, Qi Shu and the others immediately understood that the outcome would certainly not be good.

"And being responsive to every request is the secret to gaining more love. So Tao Dailang asked Gouzan Gou, who was already obsessed with chain sticky cakes, to bring the old couple the new clothes and all sorts of things they wanted, such as the Phantom Peach Fruit. Naturally, the old couple loved Tao Dailang even more."

"Until one day, the old couple heard rumors from somewhere and asked Tao Dailang for the exquisite and beautiful mask that was said to exist in the north."

It's connected!!

Wu Li and the others felt a jolt in their hearts. The awesome dog and the mask that existed in the north were connected!
"Momodai naturally agreed, and so they embarked on their journey. Momodai brought along his chain-sticky dog, and along the way they captured the Wishbear, which is said to be able to see a bit of the future, and the Chinchilla, which can use pheromones to knock out opponents. The four Pokémon traveled all the way and finally arrived at Kitakami Village."

"Amidst the bustling crowd of the Masked Festival, Tao Dailang and the others spotted the masked man and the Egui Pong, confirming the truth of the rumors."

"On a full moon night, Gouzan Dog and his companions sneaked into the cave, stole the mask, and returned to Taodailang's side. Taodailang was very happy, but then the furious Egui Peng arrived wearing the Bicao Mask."

"E'gui Peng defeated Gouzan Gou, Yuanzeng Yuan, and Jizhi Ji. Finally, it leaped high and knocked Taodai Lang away. Taodai Lang used its last bit of strength to hide in its shell, rolled into the forest and disappeared. No one ever saw it again."

At this point, Mammon looked at Wuli and the others.

"So, the three companions were just accomplices too?" Dan Yu pondered, but then became indignant.

"To destroy the happiness of others for his own sake, how despicable Tao Dailang is!"

"This is the story of the Mythical Pokémon, Toddler. Actually, I wasn't sure if it was true before, but now it seems to be true."

Mammon shrugged and explained.

"Whether it was Tao Dailang or E Guipeng, in the end they didn't get what they wanted, how pitiful."

Zi Yu has a strong sense of empathy, and she felt quite upset after hearing these two stories.

After that, Wu Li and the others weren't in the mood to watch the Demon Festival. Mammon followed behind Cattleya and the other two girls, but...

"Where's Bo?"

A soft cry reached Mammon's ears. Mammon raised an eyebrow, turned his head, and saw a small green creature hiding behind a tree, cautiously and curiously watching him.

Or rather, looking at the stove mask on your own face.

Mammon pushed the stove mask up and looked at the little guy with a smile.

Egui Peng, a little widow who fears loneliness.

(End of this chapter)