Chapter 258: The Sand Scale Fruit Ripens
Unfortunately, he discovered it too late. By the time he wanted to bring Yao Yifei back, she had already ruined herself.
As the Acting Gym Leader, An Feng was quite busy every day, having to deal with challengers and handle the gym’s daily affairs.
However, she enjoyed it tirelessly, after all, this was her daughter’s family business, and as her mother, she should manage it well for her.
After brewing herself a cup of tea, An Feng quietly looked at the cup in front of her.
An Feng knew she was not a normal human; her beast ears on her head made that clear.
（Specific appearance reference to Sadao’s mother.）
“Ji Anfeng, it seems you’ve completely forgotten the family’s glory.” An indifferent voice suddenly sounded from the room.
Hearing this voice, An Feng’s facial expression changed.
Before she could react, a figure appeared in front of her.
Ji Family Second Elder Ji Xi!
“Second Elder?” An Feng asked warily in a low voice.
Ji Xi chuckled lightly: “You actually still remember me; that’s somewhat surprising.”
An Feng didn’t speak again, instead watching the other with a tense expression.
She didn’t know what the Ji Family Second Elder wanted from her; as early as 20 years ago, the Ji Family had already expelled her.
An Feng thought she would never have any ties with that family again in her lifetime, but she didn’t expect Ji Xi to suddenly visit.
Ji Xi asked expressionlessly: “Want to give you and your daughter a chance to return to the Ji Family?”
Ji Xi used a tone almost like charity, but An Feng wasn’t angry at all; instead, she looked at him excitedly as if she had found a treasure.
Seeing this woman’s reaction, Ji Xi was extremely satisfied inside.
Of course An Feng was very willing to return to the family; having originated from the Ji Family, she knew it too well.
Although this family was still immersed in past glory, the Ji Family’s resources were indeed good. If they could return to the Ji Family, with her daughter’s talent, she would definitely receive the family’s nurturing.
At that time, her daughter might even have a hope of breaking through to Champion Level.
Thinking of this, the extremely excited An Feng asked in a trembling voice: “What does the family want me to do?”
An Feng knew too well what the Ji Family was like; unless necessary, the Ji Family would definitely not think of her, this family outcast.
Ji Xi didn’t directly state the request, but countered: “Do you know what your daughter has been doing lately?”
“She…”
An Feng hesitated as she looked at Ji Xi.
Actually, An Feng didn’t know what her daughter was doing either. Say she was carrying out an alliance mission? But that pretty boy had already started school, and the alliance mission had long ended.
Could it be that her daughter was dating the pretty boy?
In An Feng’s eyes, her daughter had been deceived by the pretty boy, even deceived into living together, and he had taken away most of her main Pokémon.
However, as a daughter slave, An Feng didn’t stop Yao Yifei; mainly, Yao Yifei was almost 26, which rounded up was heading toward thirty.
Over these years, Yao Yifei hadn’t dated anyone, and An Feng had even suspected if there was something wrong with her daughter’s body.
Now, finally encountering someone her daughter was interested in, An Feng certainly wouldn’t stop it. Most importantly, according to the information she had gathered, that pretty boy named Lu Li actually had pretty good talent.
Grand Festival champion—that still had value.
Out of caution, An Feng hesitated for a moment before answering: “She is carrying out an alliance mission.”
Ji Xi didn’t refute, but directly asked: “Then do you know the identity of the little boy by her side?”
Somewhat confused, An Feng probed: “Pretty boy?”
Ji Xi: “…”
“You don’t know that person’s identity?” Ji Xi asked with a dark face.
What kind of existence was Lu Li?
The Rainbow Hero!
In the eyes of the Ji Family people, the Rainbow Hero was their ideal; An Feng’s words were somewhat insulting.
“What identity? Grand Festival champion? Genius breeder?” An Feng looked at Ji Xi in confusion.
Even if Lu Li had great talent, given the Ji Family’s arrogant style of considering themselves superior, they shouldn’t look up to Lu Li.
“He’s the Rainbow Hero! This generation’s Rainbow Hero!” Ji Xi said through gritted teeth.
Sensing the key factor, Ji Xi asked nervously: “You haven’t offended him, right?”
If An Feng had really offended the Rainbow Hero, he would definitely turn and leave without another word, and upon returning, issue a statement that An Feng had been kicked out of the family registry and had nothing to do with the Ji Family.
Among all the divine envoys, the ones you absolutely couldn’t offend were the Forest Messenger and the Rainbow Hero.
The former had a save file cheat, the latter had a revival cheat; such cheaters weren’t something normal people could deal with.
An Feng also heard the strangeness and tension in Ji Xi’s tone, and quickly shook her head in denial: “No! I haven’t even met him.”
Hearing this, Ji Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Your daughter’s luck is very good, as expected…”
A flash of envy passed through Ji Xi’s eyes.
A Togekiss with the Heaven’s Grace ability was simply a luck cheat; Ji Xi firmly believed that Yao Yifei could be with Lu Li precisely because she had the luck cheat.
“What is the family’s intention?” An Feng asked Ji Xi cautiously.
“That youth named Lu Li is this generation’s Rainbow Hero; fortunately, you didn’t offend him.” Ji Xi said with immense relief.
“What!”
An Feng looked at Ji Xi in front of her in shock, her eyes full of disbelief.
The pretty boy her daughter was keeping was the Rainbow Hero?
What was this equivalent to?
This was equivalent to her daughter casually finding a pretty boy outside, and that pretty boy turning out to be the entire family’s ideal goddess.
What a ridiculous life this was!
Back then, the reason she had been transformed into a half-human half-Pokémon monster was to please Ho-Oh, or rather, the Rainbow Hero.
And yet her daughter had actually brought back a real Rainbow Hero.
Looking at An Feng full of disbelief, Ji Xi nodded contentedly.
That’s right!
This was the normal reaction of a Ji Family member upon hearing about the Rainbow Hero.
An Feng’s thoughts were now racing.
If Lu Li was really the Rainbow Hero, and really dating her daughter, then wouldn’t that mean…
Instantly figuring out how to scheme, An Feng asked cautiously: “What does the family want me to do?”
Ji Xi said: “As long as you can get the Rainbow Hero to marry into the Ji Family, then the next Family Head of the Ji Family will be your daughter.”
Hearing this, An Feng’s eyes turned red, and even her breathing quickened, just like a gambler seeing millions in betting funds.
Right now, An Feng’s mind was full of thoughts on how to lure the Rainbow Hero back home.
But An Feng quickly reacted.
Even the reclusive Ji Family had gotten this news, so the other top noble families definitely knew about it too.
An Feng knew too well what those noble families were like; she could already imagine the countless rivals her daughter would face.
According to the family’s information records, the Rainbow Hero was pure, dull in emotions, and even more devoted to Pokémon than ordinary people, not needing human love.
In short, the Rainbow Hero was that thick-headed type, with intense emotional reactions, full of thoughts about Pokémon—a “silly thing.”
This was also the main reason why people in the world were unwilling to make enemies of the Rainbow Hero.
They only desired power, not authority, and wouldn’t rob your territory without reason; only someone whose brain was caught in a door would offend such a person.
Note! This Rainbow Hero does not include the Ji Family ancestor, because the Rainbow Hero’s personality mutated when it got to him.
“What if I can’t convince him to marry in?” An Feng asked cautiously.
“Then you can still return to the family, but the Rainbow Hero’s descendants must intermarry within the Ji Family.” Ji Xi said in an unquestionable tone.
The older the family, the more they cared about bloodline; in this world, some unusual powers could be passed down through the bloodline.
“Don’t worry, Elder, I know what to do.” An Feng nodded directly, then pretended to hesitate: “However…”
Ji Xi saw through what An Feng wanted at a glance, so he directly asked: “If there are any difficulties, you can tell the family.”
“My daughter went astray before; now wanting to get back on track is quite difficult. I wonder if the family can provide some Pokémon nurturing resources.” An Feng said directly.
Although An Feng still had some sense of belonging to the family, it wasn’t high at all—nowhere near her love for her daughter.
Right now, An Feng only wanted to get benefits for her daughter from the family.
“No problem, Pokémon nurturing resources—we Ji Family will cover them, including the Rainbow Hero’s.” Ji Xi waved his hand grandly and made the decision directly.
“But the Rainbow Hero’s identity absolutely cannot be known to him personally; this is a tacit agreement among multiple noble families, so violating it could lead to being besieged.” Ji Xi instructed uneasily.
An Feng nodded.
As long as the resources were obtained, everything was fine.
An Feng pushed her luck: “What about high-qualification Pokémon…”
“You want the family’s pseudo-legendary tribe?” Ji Xi frowned as he looked at her, a sense of disgust rising in his heart—this woman was too greedy.
An Feng nodded decisively.
She knew too well how great the temptation of the Rainbow Hero was to the Ji Family; not exaggerating, as long as her daughter didn’t fall out with the Rainbow Hero, the Ji Family would definitely support them fully.
An Feng was banking on this, daring to make such a bold demand.
In fact, she guessed right.
After hesitating for a moment, Ji Xi asked with a slightly darkened face: “The Ji Family has two pseudo-legendary tribes; which one do you want…”
Before Ji Xi could finish, An Feng decisively answered: “Dragonite! My daughter wants Dragonite! She’s a Flying Attribute trainer.”
Hearing this, Ji Xi smiled noncommittally.
The Ji Family had two pseudo-legendary tribes: Dragonite and Goodra. Dragonite went without saying—Flying and Dragon Attribute, with Mega Evolution form.
Known as the Tyrant of the Skies, such a Pokémon was top-tier even among pseudo-legendaries.
While Goodra was more awkward.
Goodra had a glorious period once, but later due to a curse, Goodra had become known as the shame of pseudo-legendaries.
Though not to the point of sitting at the same table as starter Pokémon, if given a choice, Goodra was often the one abandoned.
“The family agrees to your requests; hope you don’t disappoint the family.” Ji Xi said, looking deeply at An Feng.
An Feng quickly guaranteed: “We absolutely won’t disappoint the family!”
Ji Xi nodded, then stood up.
“The resources you need, the family will send over as soon as possible. Tell your daughter to be careful not to let the Rainbow Hero be lured away by people from other families.” After saying this, Ji Xi turned and left.
Ji Xi really didn’t want to stay here a moment longer.
An Feng watched Ji Xi’s back, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly.
Her daughter clearly liked that boy; being able to use this opportunity to get some benefits for her daughter was killing two birds with one stone.
“Rainbow Hero! Daughter, your luck is really good…”
An Feng whispered softly.
………..
Lu Li was dragged out of bed by Tropius.
Lu Li, who finally wanted to sleep, looked helplessly at the impatient Tropius.
“Did something happen in the orchard?” Lu Li asked.
Tropius shook its head excitedly.
Seeing this, Lu Li instantly became serious: “Could it be the medicine garden and garden?”
“Trop~”
（Trainer, stop guessing! Can’t you hope for something good?）
Tropius called out unhappily.
Under its Tropius’s careful care, how could the orchard have problems? Do you understand what an authority expert is!
Me! Tropius! The Pokémon in the world best at caring for berries!
“Then why are you so urgent?” Lu Li asked speechlessly.
“Trop~”
（It’s the Sand Scale Fruit; the Sand Scale Fruit we planted has ripened.）
Lu Li: “???”
Lu Li slowly typed out 3 question marks.
Do you even listen to what you’re saying?
The growth cycle of Sand Scale Fruit is different from ordinary berries; in his calculations, the Sand Scale Fruit shouldn’t ripen until after the new year.
“Trop~”
（It’s because of that divine item, so the Sand Scale Fruit ripened early.）
Tropius continued to explain.
“Landorus’s Divine Item is this useful?” Lu Li was somewhat surprised inside.
“Take me to see.” Lu Li said.
Tropius nodded and then crouched down.
Climbing onto Tropius’s back, Lu Li soon rode Tropius to the orchard.
The Sand Scale Fruit Tree in the center of the orchard was already covered with green fruits.
Sand Scale Fruit is green when ripe; more precisely, the riper the Sand Scale Fruit, the greener it is.
Looking at the green fruits hanging on the tree, Lu Li had preliminarily confirmed that the Sand Scale Fruits were indeed all ripe.
“Just don’t know about the quality.”
Lu Li cautiously picked one Sand Scale Fruit, then activated his Spiritual Vision Eye.
Lu Li carefully observed the fruit in his hand.
The Sand Scale Fruit contained rich energy, with bright luster and plump flesh.
It could be confirmed that the Sand Scale Fruits had grown well; though not the masterpiece among masterpieces, they were comparable to the Sand Scale Fruits Yu Lili had given her last time.
“Next year, the quality of these fruits might improve further; Tropius, you have to keep working hard.” Lu Li, relieved, smiled and teased.
“Trop~”
（So they really ripened?）
Lu Li nodded.
“They are indeed all ripe. Did you count how many fruits are on the tree?” Lu Li asked casually.
“Trop~”
（33!）
“Hiss~”
Lu Li inhaled sharply.
What did it mean for one Sand Scale Fruit Tree to bear 33 fruits? Just reference the one in the Qingyun Secret Realm.
The Sand Scale Fruit in the Qingyun Secret Realm had been there for who knows how many years, yet its fruit count had never broken 30.
This showed how terrifying the fruiting rate of the Sand Scale Fruit Tree in his own orchard was.
