The Money-Hungry Ghost

Chapter 15

Splash—

Jing He shook the rainwater off his umbrella, hurried into the room, and shut the door.

"Phew—"

Letting out a long breath, Jing He looked at Gastly.

"K-Koujie."

Noticing Jing He's gaze, Gastly's expression stiffened slightly. It nonchalantly looked away. If it could whistle, it would probably have been whistling by now.

Did he find out? No, right? Gastly was still worried that Jing He had discovered how it had gone back to give that man a memorable nightmare when he said, "Gastly, you did well."

Jing He had naturally noticed Gastly doubling back, but it was hardly important, so he had not taken it to heart.

"Koujie."

I-It was nothing. This was the first time Jing He had seen embarrassment on the little fellow's face.

With a slight smile, he said, "I'm going to change."

Then he turned and entered the room.

The rain had not been heavy, but the commotion Da Hui caused in Lilycove City had left quite a bit of his clothing soaked.

"Koujie~~"

Seeing that Jing He was not going to scold it, Gastly let out a long breath.

Before long, Jing He emerged from the room in clean clothes, tied on an apron, and entered the kitchen.

Not long after, two steaming bowls of noodle soup were set on the table.

"Koujie!"

At the sight of the plainly colored but wonderfully fragrant noodles, Gastly's eyes lit up. It immediately floated to the table, calling out as it waited for Jing He to sit down.

Ψ(￣￣)Ψ Although it could eat Energy Cubes now, Gastly still loved the food Jing He made.

Besides, with Jing He's current financial situation, he could not afford to let it eat Energy Cubes as regular meals. It still needed ordinary food every day.

"You got rained on. Have some hot soup to warm yourself up."

The moment he sat down, Gastly eagerly picked up a fork, twirled up some noodles, and stuffed them into its mouth.

"Koujie?!"

But after taking one bite, Gastly quickly realized something was wrong.

So spicy!

Its mouth hung open as it panted, looking toward Jing He.

Did you mistake chili for salt? Jing He said irritably, "I added ginger. I told you it was to warm you up, otherwise you'll catch a cold easily."

"Koujie!!"

Gastly's eyes widened like brass bells.

Have you ever heard of a ghost needing to warm itself up?

But Jing He left no room for argument this time. "You're just a Ghost-type Pokémon, not an actual ghost. As long as you're a Pokémon, you can get sick. Finish it, and don't leave any soup!"

"Kou—jie—"

Gastly answered in a drawn-out voice, looking utterly helpless.

Gulp, gulp—

Spicy as it was, it still tasted quite good. Gastly ate faster and faster, finishing both the noodles and the soup in just a few blinks.

Whether it was the ginger or something else, as it ate, Gastly felt a warmth spread through its heart.

"Koujie~~"

Gastly: ()

After the meal.

Jing He and Gastly curled up on the sofa.

He examined the rough stone Gastly had slept in, while Gastly stared at the computer screen, excitedly licking its lips.

A Pokémon Battle was playing on it.

"So what secret does this stone hold that those 'remnants' from Greater Mauville Holdings are so interested in? And how did they know Dr. Solanus had found this stone?"

Though the hidden danger had temporarily been dealt with, he still could not truly relax without figuring out the stone.

Besides, he had developed a strong interest in it himself.

"A fossil?"

That had been his first guess.

But why would a fossil interest an energy company like Greater Mauville Holdings? "I should just smash it."

After thinking for a long time, Jing He, who knew nothing about stones to begin with, finally made that decision.

If it was a fossil, smashing it might affect its value, but some important elements could probably still be extracted. But if it was not a fossil... that was another matter.

"Koujie, koujie—Koujie?!"

Gastly had been nodding absentmindedly in agreement, but it quickly realized what Jing He meant, and its voice rose several pitches.

It stared at Jing He in shock.

Smash what? The stone?!

"Koujie, koujie."

Its head shook like a rattle drum.

No, no.

"Three."

Jing He did not argue with Gastly over the pros and cons. He held up three fingers.

Three Energy Cubes.

"K-Koujie..."

Gastly froze for a moment. After a brief pause, its head shook even faster.

No, still no! To Jing He, it might only be a stone with some value, but to Gastly, it was where it had slept for nearly a thousand years.

It was both its bed and its house.

Its only "possession," so... it needed more money. A lot more!

Jing He's brows furrowed slightly at the sight.

He raised his other two fingers as well.

"Five. No more than that."

Gulp—

Gastly swallowed.

Its eyes rolled around before the corner of its gaze shifted toward the kitchen, and its eyes lit up.

"Koujie!"

It pointed at the kitchen and called out.

It also had to go in there once!

Jing He's face darkened as he took a deep breath.

"One minute. One minute at most, or forget it."

"Koujie!"

Deal!

Gastly: ˙˙

Having gotten what it wanted, Gastly wore a triumphant smile. It happily waved its black mist, signaling for Jing He to smash it—smash it however he wanted!

Soon.

One human and one Pokémon gathered on the balcony.

Jing He placed the stone on the ground and held it steady with one hand while gripping a hammer with the other, lightly tapping it.

Tap, tap. Tap, tap—

However, the stone was far harder than he had imagined. The hammer struck it, yet it did not budge at all.

"Koujie!"

Put some strength into it! Didn't you eat?

Jing He shot it a sidelong glance and swung the hammer harder.

Bang! Crack! The stone immediately rang out with a crisp sound. Along with some shattered stone flakes, fine spiderweb-like cracks appeared across its surface.

Jing He quickly picked the stone up with care, and Gastly immediately leaned its head closer.

The once-intact stone was now covered in fine cracks, with a sizable fissure smashed open through its center.

Yet through that fissure, they could vaguely see something inside.

"Koujie!"

There really was something in there? It had "lived" there for so many years without noticing.

They hurried back to the desk in the room.

Jing He switched on the desk lamp.

Under the light, the object inside the stone reflected a faint glow.

At the same time.

By the light of the lamp, Jing He and Gastly could vaguely make out the object within.

It seemed to be a transparent sphere, like a glass marble.

Yet within the sphere were red and purple shapes, delicate like leaves. They looked both like leaves and like spirals.

"This is..."

As Jing He made out the sphere inside the stone, his pupils contracted slightly. He was both stunned and suddenly enlightened.

"Koujie..."

Gastly wore much the same expression. But unlike Jing He, it could vaguely sense that the sphere held a subtle attraction for it—a strange feeling it could not put into words.

It looked at Jing He.

It felt that Jing He should know what this was.

Rustle, rustle—

To confirm it, Jing He decided to clean away the outer layer.

As layer after layer of stone flakes peeled away like fruit skin, the sphere within the stone was finally completely revealed before Jing He and Gastly.

A transparent sphere, accompanied by a faint red glow and a light purple sheen.

Jing He leaned back against his chair and slowly let out a long breath.

"It really is a Mega Stone."