Chapter 58 No Male Mother No Male Mother

It turns out that everything in the movies is true. The consequence of acting tough and trying to resolve a paranormal incident all by yourself is that you end up becoming the paranormal incident.

Qian Lin looked at the souls drifting in the sky and sighed once again. "You relocated both Pangoro and Growlithe, leaving me here all alone. Surely that wasn't just to scare me, right? That’s getting a bit low."

"Besides, I'm easily startled. I'll accept whatever you're planning to do, just please don't scare me..." Qian Lin wasn't afraid of Ghost-type Pokémon that appeared right in front of him; he was terrified of Ghost-type Pokémon that hid in the shadows.

Especially the ones that took joy in frightening people.

Chuckle-like sounds seemed to echo through the air. No... not just chuckles, it vaguely felt as though someone was whispering something to Qian Lin.

Qian Lin looked toward the direction the sound came from, where a few figures flashed past and vanished.

The voices disappeared as well.

"What on earth do you want?" Qian Lin muttered speechlessly. Now that he was already here, surely they didn't bring him all this way just to play pranks and scare him?

Right, "they." There was definitely more than one Ghost-type Pokémon here; it was very likely an entire family.

[Why aren't you afraid of us?]

The giggling voice made it impossible to tell whether the speaker was male or female, with only the hazy, shifting figures indicating that they were not human.

"If you had just jumped out to scare me directly, I probably would have been terrified for a second," Qian Lin shrugged. "But since you've shown yourselves to me, once I realized you're Pokémon, it actually stopped feeling scary."

Besides, Qian Lin glanced at the human soul still floating in mid-air. "Isn't there still a genuine human 'ghost' floating around up there?"

Though, come to think of it, I'm not a Pokémon, nor do I possess any special abilities. Why can I see human souls?

Was it those creatures that allowed me to see them?

[You're so boring.]

"I don't think dragging a human's soul out of their body is a particularly interesting thing to do." Qian Lin looked at the distant shadows, his tone involuntarily sinking. "What you're doing is killing people."

The only thing keeping those people alive right now was nutrient solution. Having been in a coma for half a month, they had wasted away to skin and bones. If they didn't wake up soon, they might actually die from this.

[If we wanted to kill them, those people would already be dead.]

"Then why? Why are you pulling out their souls?" Qian Lin asked.

[Because it's fun.]

"Fun?" Qian Lin frowned. "Then..."

[I think you might have misunderstood.]

[We pull out human souls because we find it fun, and the humans whose souls are pulled out find it fun too. Both we and the humans find it fun.]

[We obtained the humans' consent.]

"What?" Qian Lin was somewhat taken aback.

That is to say, this wasn't a malicious prank or an attack. It happened because those humans wanted it, which was why the Ghost-type Pokémon here pulled their souls out. But the reason... what could it possibly be?

Qian Lin subconsciously looked up at the human souls drifting across the sky...

A rather grim guess formed in his mind.

The next moment, those scattered dark shadows suddenly stopped moving, standing in the distance and waving at Qian Lin.

[Follow us.]

What were they planning to do?

Qian Lin instinctively wanted to ask, but no words came out, because no matter what they intended to do, he had to follow them. Whether it was for the humans back at the hospital, or for Pangoro and Growlithe who had been whisked away to some unknown location, he had no choice but to go.

Placing his right hand over his chest to feel Altaria's Poké Ball, Qian Lin took a deep breath and walked toward the dark shadows.

Seeing Qian Lin take a step forward, the dark shadows giggled and drifted deeper into the area.

[How terrifying~ A Trainer brought a Pokémon to catch us~]

Despite saying "how terrifying," there wasn't a hint of fear in their tone; if anything, it sounded more like sarcasm.

What thoroughly uncute creatures.

Qian Lin lowered the hand that had been gripping the Poké Ball, the corners of his lips curling upward.

About two minutes later, they stopped in front of a lavish villa. Qian Lin looked up. Amidst this expanse of unfinished buildings, this extravagantly decorated—even luxurious—villa looked completely out of place.

The dark shadows vanished right in front of the door.

A second later, the front door of the villa swung open, exposing a quiet, dim interior to Qian Lin. That profound darkness seemed like a devouring beast, from which teasing, sarcastic laughter drifted out.

"Are you betting that I wouldn't dare go inside?" Qian Lin chuckled softly, stepping forward without the slightest hesitation to cross the threshold and enter the villa.

Light flared at that very moment.

Yes, unlike what he had seen from the outside, the interior of the villa was brightly lit. Countless people dressed in grand formal wear stood about, smiling, chatting, and dancing intricate steps that outsiders couldn't quite decipher within the uncluttered space.

Compared to them, Qian Lin in his casual clothes looked entirely out of place.

"Quite the grand welcoming ceremony." Qian Lin smiled as he looked at these 'people,' letting out a slightly helpless laugh. "However, I'm not really used to this atmosphere, so could you quiet down just a little bit?"

As his words fell, the music stopped, and the laughter of the 'people' vanished. The brilliantly lit room plunged into absolute silence in an instant.

Everyone turned to look at Qian Lin, their faces still frozen in the bright, cheerful smiles of a party in full swing.

"Much better, thank you." Qian Lin expressed his gratitude very politely.

[Heh~ Unlike before, you're much more interesting now.]

The people vanished.

The very instant that voice echoed, every single person disappeared, as if wiped away by an eraser leaving behind empty space on a sheet of white paper. The lights in the villa remained on, the delicious food was still laid out on the tables, and champagne bubbled over the rim, slowly cascading down a tower of stacked glasses.

Magnificent yet spine-chilling.

From the inner rooms, a massive shadow emerged. Accompanied by the gentle music starting up once more, it glided out, floated across the ornately decorated grand hall, and came to a halt right in front of Qian Lin.

This was the first time Qian Lin stood face-to-face with a Ghost-type Pokémon.

Not a shadow, not an illusion, but a genuine Ghost-type Pokémon!

Three meters tall with a purple body, wearing what looked like a wizard's hat, embedded with three red gems across its chest, and sporting a permanently smiling face, it resembled a noble princess... or rather, a noble king.

The Totem Mismagius!

Qian Lin looked at the Totem Mismagius before him, momentarily at a loss for words.

Right now, he just wanted to travel back in time to slap himself across the face, then drop to his knees in front of the Totem Mismagius and beg for mercy.

Don't call him a coward—this was a Totem! A Totem! A Totem!

And it was a Ghost-type Totem, arguably the most difficult kind to deal with.

Qian Lin instinctively felt for the Poké Ball resting against his chest, mentally comparing Altaria with the Totem Pokémon...

Little one, should we... give it a try?

The sleeping Altaria gave a violent shudder.

As if seeing right through Qian Lin's thoughts, the Totem Mismagius's eyes curved into smiling crescents. "This little one is no match for me."

I know, of course I know, I was just thinking of trying—alright, just kidding.

Qian Lin gave a dry cough, looking up at the Totem Mismagius before him. "Um... your voice is lovely."

It was a remarkably gentle female voice.

"Thank you." Mismagius lowered its head slightly, as if acknowledging the compliment.

Just like a mother speaking softly, a Pokémon with such a tender voice probably wouldn't be too difficult to communicate with. Just as Qian Lin was thinking that this female Mismagius actually seemed quite polite, he heard that gentle female voice speak once more.

"But I am male."

Qian Lin: "..."

No male mamas, please! No male mamas!