Chapter 70: Mount Goat Ranch
After Bai Feng returned Home, he found a Container and soaked the Seed Ying Zhou had given him, planning to soak it first to encourage germination.
Before soaking, Bai Feng, as usual, used his Golden Finger to comb through its Energy. The Energy contained within this Seed from an S-Rank Fruit Tree was indeed more abundant than the Seeds Bai Feng had previously germinated. No wonder Ying Zhou said that if this Seed could sprout, it would Inevitably grow into a B-Rank Fruit Tree; its starting point was higher than the Fruit Trees Bai Feng bought from the Plantation.
He just didn't know what this Seed would ultimately grow into now with the intervention of Bai Feng's Golden Finger.
After soaking the Seed, Bai Feng handed the Container to Buneary, asking it to keep an eye on it so it wouldn't be thrown away as Trash by any Pokémon in the Home.
Buneary happily held the Container and placed it in a bright and ventilated Location.
In the afternoon, Bai Feng brought the Specimen of the Flower of Time and rode Talonflame Captain towards the Bi Yi Gym.
Seeing Bai Feng visit, Grandpa Fu put on a stern face and pretended to be angry, saying, "You brat, you still remember this old man?"
Hearing this, Bai Feng quickly smiled apologetically, "How could I forget you, old man? You're closer to me than my own grandpa! It's just that I've been relatively Busy lately. I'll definitely come to see you more often in the future."
Grandpa Fu snorted, "Those are all excuses. If you really cared, how could you not make Time? It's not like your place is ten thousand miles away from mine!"
"Yes, yes, it's all my fault." Bai Feng didn't try to excuse himself this time; he had indeed been wrong recently.
Grandpa Fu wasn't truly angry. After teasing Bai Feng for a while, he started asking about his gains from his trip to Mi A Lei City. Bai Feng answered everything, especially when he learned that Bai Feng had obtained an A-Grade Fruit Tree from the League, he was both surprised and pleased.
"Since the League gave it to you, Cultivate it well. Maybe someday you'll Cultivate it into an S-Rank Fruit Tree!" Grandpa Fu said to Bai Feng.
A Fruit Tree with a Tree Age of eight hundred years has the foundation. Coupled with Bai Feng's extraordinary Talent, maybe he really could succeed someday.
"Yes, I will Cultivate it well and definitely not let down the Knowledge I learned from you."
Grandpa Fu was very satisfied with these words, his gaze towards Bai Feng filled with kindness.
The old man and the young man chatted for a while longer, and Bai Feng finally stated the purpose of his visit this Time.
"Grandpa Fu, I came this Time because I also wanted to ask you for a favor," Bai Feng stammered.
Hearing this, Grandpa Fu's reaction was exactly as Bai Feng had Guessed.
"Alright, I knew you brat only came when you needed something. I thought you came specifically to see me, but it turns out you have something to ask of me again!"
Seeing Grandpa Fu's annoyed look, Bai Feng quickly took out the Flower of Time and said, "Oh, I definitely came specifically to see you! Asking for your help is just secondary. Look, I even brought you a Gift!"
Grandpa Fu gave Bai Feng a "You think I believe that?" expression, but his gaze was eventually drawn to the Flower of Time in Bai Feng's hand.
"This... this is..."
Unlike Bai Feng, the clueless young brat, Grandpa Fu recognized at a glance that this Crystal Lotus was not real Crystal, but a Plant with a special form.
"This is a special Plant Specimen, named Flower of Time..."
Seeing Grandpa Fu staring intently at the Flower of Time, Bai Feng began to tell him the Origin of the Flower of Time. Even though Grandpa Fu was well-informed, this was the first Time he had heard the name Flower of Time, after all, the Quantity of Flower of Time brought out from the World Tree of Beginning was not large.
He looked deeply at Bai Feng and said, "It's impressive that you managed to get your hands on it."
Bai Feng just chuckled, not saying anything.
Grandpa Fu also stopped talking and carefully circled the Flower of Time, afraid of accidentally damaging it, showing how much he truly liked it.
Then, following Bai Feng's guidance, he watched the Video recorded inside the Flower of Time and was equally shocked by the battle that lasted only a dozen seconds.
It was clear that the two Pokémon that appeared in it were truly extraordinary.
"This Flower of Time is actually related to Mèng Huàn (Mew) and the World Tree of Beginning, it's truly magical," Grandpa Fu couldn't help but exclaim, very satisfied with the Gift Bai Feng had given him.
After admiring the Flower of Time, Grandpa Fu said to Bai Feng, "It's not impossible for you to have the Fairy Flower." At this point, Grandpa Fu paused.
"Really?" Bai Feng said excitedly.
"But you have to help me with a Matter," Grandpa Fu added.
"What Matter? Just tell me directly, why be polite with me?"
Grandpa Fu said irritably, "Of course I won't be polite with you! You brat just know how to take advantage!"
Then Grandpa Fu stated his request.
It turned out that his son runs a Mount Goat Ranch, but for some unknown reason, Mount Goat or Ride Lamb Pokémon have been disappearing every few days recently, and they haven't been able to find the reason. So, he had to ask his father for help.
Grandpa Fu is not a lonely old man; he has his own family. Besides his deceased wife, Grandpa Fu's son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, and grandson all live in Couriway Town.
However, Grandpa Fu's son is not a Trainer, so he rarely comes to the Bi Yi Gym. Most of the Time, he stays with his family at the Ranch inherited from Grandpa Fu.
This Time, with the incident at the Ranch, Grandpa Fu originally wanted to send a Dojo apprentice from the Gym, but since Bai Feng had come to him, he might as well let him go. He knew Bai Feng's Strength was not Weak. This brat was really annoying, thinking that giving him a Gift could erase his little trickery towards the old man?
After listening to Grandpa Fu's explanation, Bai Feng patted his chest and said, "So it's this Matter. Don't worry, I will do my best to help you find the reason."
Grandpa Fu nodded, "Okay, but you also need to be careful. If you encounter problems you can't solve, contact me immediately!"
Although it was unlikely for anything major to happen at the Ranch, there's always a possibility.
Grandpa Fu's son's Ranch is also in the East District, but using the Bi Yi Gym as a reference, its Location is roughly opposite to Fang Xing Mountain. Fang Xing Mountain is northwest of the Bi Yi Gym, while the Ranch is northeast.
After getting a general understanding of the Situation from Grandpa Fu, Bai Feng rode Talonflame Captain and set off for the Ranch that afternoon.
At the Ranch, Grandpa Fu's son and daughter-in-law welcomed him at the Home Entrance. Grandpa Fu had already called his son and daughter-in-law beforehand.
Grandpa Fu's son is named Luo Bu, now over forty. Unlike the Weak Grandpa Fu, he is a bit fat, especially his round beer belly which is particularly noticeable.
His daughter-in-law is a beautiful woman with slightly dark skin named Balis, who looks slightly younger than Mr. Luo Bu and has a very cheerful and generous Personality.
"Hahaha... you must be the young friend Bai Feng that Dad talks about! We've heard Dad mention you many times. He really wishes you were his own grandson," Balis said warmly as soon as she saw Bai Feng.
Bai Feng politely greeted the couple, "Hello Uncle Luo Bu, hello Aunt Balis."
Luo Bu's Personality is not as outgoing as his wife's; he seems a bit awkward at communicating with people. He just said dryly, "Hello, hello, thank you for making the trip."
Bai Feng quickly waved his hand, saying, "It's no trouble, no trouble. Grandpa Fu has taken care of me a lot, I'm very happy to be able to help him."
"Alright, let's not stand here being polite. Let's go inside first," Balis interrupted their pleasantries.
"Yes, yes, let's go inside first," Luo Bu immediately said with a simple smile.
So, led by the couple, Bai Feng walked along a long Path through the Ranch Center and arrived at Luo Bu and Balis's Home Entrance.
The Ranch the couple inherited from Grandpa Fu was truly huge. Bai Feng walked all the way without seeing the edge of the Ranch. Mount Goat and Ride Lamb Pokémon were everywhere, leisurely eating Pasture Grass.
According to Mr. Luo Bu, the Pasture Grass on the Ranch is Special Pasture Grass Cultivated by Grandpa Fu, which is very suitable for Mount Goat and Ride Lamb Pokémon to eat. It not only promotes their growth and enhances their immunity but also promotes milk production in the mother goats, giving the Goat Milk a Unique Flavor.
In Couriway Town, the Ranch run by Luo Bu is very famous and cooperates with many Restaurants and Dairy Products factories. Even the Pokémon Center occasionally orders Goat Milk from them.
The Ranch run by Mr. Luo Bu mainly focuses on selling Goat Milk, while also training Mounts for Riding Competitions as a side business.
"Come in quickly, come in!" Balis warmly invited Bai Feng inside.
Luo Bu and Balis's Home, like Bai Feng's, was Simple on the outside but had one prominent feature: it was large and practical.
As soon as Bai Feng entered, he saw two small Heads peeking out from behind the Living Room Sofa.
Balis also noticed the two little ones. She waved and said, "Xiao Yu, Xiao Long, come here."
Then Bai Feng saw two identical little figures walk out from behind the Sofa. They looked at Bai Feng with wide, round eyes, full of curiosity.
Bai Feng knew these were Uncle Luo Bu and Aunt Balis's twin children, who had just turned four this year, about the same age as Xiao Limo. The one named Xiao Yu was the girl, the older sister, and the one named Xiao Long was the boy, the younger brother.
Uncle Luo Bu and Aunt Balis had children relatively late, which is why the twins were so young. Grandpa Fu particularly dotes on this pair of twin grandchildren and usually returns to the Ranch just to visit them.
"This is Brother Bai Feng, quickly say hello to your brother," Balis said to the siblings.
"Hello Brother Bai Feng!" The siblings hid behind their mother and quietly greeted Bai Feng. Their Personality seemed to be more like Uncle Luo Bu's.
After introducing the twins, Balis invited Bai Feng to sit down and began to recount the details of the recent disappearances of Mount Goat and Ride Lamb Pokémon.
"The first Mount Goat disappeared five days ago. Luo Bu and I didn't pay much attention at the Time because the Ranch is large, and it's normal for one or two Mount Goat to hide and go unnoticed. It happened before."
"But unexpectedly, the next day another Mount Goat and a Ride Lamb Pokémon were missing. Luo Bu and I realized something was wrong, so we started searching the Ranch for the missing Mount Goat and Ride Lamb Pokémon, but we didn't find them."
"Not only that, we also found that a Gap in the Fence at the Ranch Edge was damaged. At first, Luo Bu and I thought the Mount Goat had broken it. They must have run outside through this Gap, so we searched in the direction of the Gap."
"But we didn't find them. However, we saw Bloodstains in the Forest outside the Ranch."
Speaking of this, Aunt Balis's expression became somewhat grim. She took a deep breath and said, "Luo Bu and I suspect the missing Mount Goat and Ride Lamb Pokémon have been killed."
At this moment, Uncle Luo Bu finished making Tea and brought it over, continuing, "That's right. Since that day, Balis and I have been watching the Situation at the Ranch, even taking turns guarding at night. But the next day, another Mount Goat disappeared, and we didn't even see a trace of the culprit."
Balis nodded, feeling very sad. All the Mount Goat and Ride Lamb Pokémon on this Ranch were raised with their hard work. Losing any one of them pained her heart.
Five days passed, and no matter how careful the couple was, they still found no trace of the culprit. Several more Mount Goat and Ride Lamb Pokémon disappeared one after another. Helpless, they had to ask their father for help.
They worried that if the culprit continued to act so recklessly, the next victims might not be Mount Goat and Ride Lamb Pokémon, but perhaps the couple and the twins one day.
After understanding the details, Bai Feng said to Luo Bu and Balis, "Can you take me to see the damaged Fence?"
The culprit must have entered the Ranch through there. There might be hidden Clues.
Balis replied, "Of course, let Luo Bu take you."
"I'll take you," Luo Bu nodded.
Leaving the Home, Luo Bu summoned two Mount Goat as Transportation. There was no other way; the Ranch was too big, and walking on two legs would take too much Time.
The two Mount Goat Luo Bu summoned were specially Trained Mount Pokémon that had participated in Riding Competitions. They walked quickly and steadily while carrying people. Before long, the two arrived at their destination.
The damaged Fence had already been repaired by Luo Bu, but the newly repaired part looked Different from the rest of the Fence at a glance.
Bai Feng got off the Mount Goat and carefully observed the Fence. After a moment, he stood up and said to Luo Bu:
"From the marks, it looks like the damaged part was broken by force. Didn't you and Aunt Balis hear any noise before?"
Luo Bu shook his Head, his face full of bitterness. "Nothing at all. Otherwise, we wouldn't still not have seen the culprit."
Bai Feng thought for a moment and said to Luo Bu, "Uncle Luo Bu, why don't you go back first? I'll look around the area to see if I can find some Clues."
Luo Bu nodded, "Then be careful."
"Don't worry, I will."
Hearing this, Luo Bu left with a worried expression, but he left the Mount Goat for Bai Feng.
(End of Chapter)