Chapter Forty-Six: Turning the Tables

"There’s the scent of Rolling Beast over here!"

Just as Qin Fei had guessed, Agumon had found the village of the Rolling Beasts.

However, if nothing was amiss, that very village must have already been occupied by the Bakemon.

Upon hearing Agumon’s voice, Tai hurriedly took out his monocular and scanned the surroundings.

"It’s a forest!"

Tai exclaimed in delight, drawing the attention of the other children.

"A forest? Is it the Rolling Beast’s forest?"

"Probably..." Tai set down the monocular, calming himself. He couldn’t be certain this was their hoped-for destination. Gritting his teeth, he and Agumon took the lead, running toward the forest, apparently wanting to scout ahead.

"Wait, Tai!"

The rest of the children, seeing Tai’s bold figure charging forward, could only chase after him.

Soon, the lush grass and trees replaced the barren ground, and the children’s spirits brightened a little.

"Let’s go; it’s best to check things out first," Qin Fei suggested.

The children and their Digimon nodded, proceeding cautiously toward the depths of the forest.

Before long, as they passed through the woods, their view opened up: a village, clustered like Mongolian yurts, nestled between the hills not far away.

"It’s the Rolling Beast’s village, wonderful!"

"Bath! Bath!"

Mimi cheered, about to run down, but was abruptly held back by the ever-prepared Qin Fei.

"Wha... what’s wrong?"

Mimi turned, puzzled, looking at Qin Fei. Suddenly, as if realizing something, her cheeks flushed and she said, "Do you want a bath too? But I get to go first!"

"Quiet down, Mimi, something’s not right."

Qin Fei shot her a look—he had no intention of rushing in recklessly and falling into Bakemon’s trap, as had happened in the story.

"What’s wrong? Isn’t this the Rolling Beast’s village? Aren’t Rolling Beasts friendly Digimon?"

Mimi was becoming annoyed at Qin Fei still holding her back.

"Rolling Beasts are, but some others aren’t. I’ve said it before: we must always be cautious."

Qin Fei spoke, then glanced at Agumon beside Tai.

"Something’s definitely off here," Agumon nodded to Qin Fei, clearly sensing the strangeness.

"What’s not right?"

Tai raised his monocular again, carefully observing.

"Huh? Those aren’t Rolling Beasts!"

Clearly, Tai had spotted the Bakemon in the village.

"How odd, there’s the scent of Rolling Beast, but it’s all Bakemon," Agumon said, borrowing Tai’s monocular to take a look.

"Bakemon? What kind of Digimon are those?"

Hearing Agumon and Tai’s confusion, Mimi finally reconsidered entering the village.

"Bakemon are Digimon with nasty temperaments," Beetlemon explained.

"They’re all bad Digimon?!"

Mimi became dejected.

"So, should we enter the village or not?" T.K. asked cautiously, seeing his friends conflicted.

"Agumon, you said you smelled Rolling Beast here before, right?" Qin Fei asked again.

"Yes, but now I can’t smell it anymore," Agumon replied with a nod.

"Whalemon also mentioned there’s a Rolling Beast village in this forest... so these Bakemon showing up here definitely isn’t normal."

Qin Fei glanced at the nearby village, sharing his "guess" with the group: "Could it be these Bakemon have seized the Rolling Beast’s village, or—worse—set a trap for us, the Chosen Children?"

Everyone exchanged looks, each seeming to find Qin Fei’s guess plausible.

"Let’s just go around it," Joe proposed sensibly, aiming to avoid conflict.

"No, we should go in," Qin Fei replied.

"Huh?!"

Everyone was stunned by Qin Fei’s suggestion. Weren’t there just traps inside? Why walk into them?

"First, we’re all very exhausted and urgently need supplies and rest. Second, if Rolling Beasts are imprisoned by Bakemon, we can help them. Third, there are eight of us, plus our Digimon who can evolve—these Bakemon are no match for us. They surely wouldn’t want direct conflict with us..."

Soon, Qin Fei explained his plan to everyone, though the main point was that Tai’s Crest of Courage was nearby and couldn’t be missed.

"So this... is what you mean by turning their scheme against them?" Mimi asked. Despite some hesitation and concern, the children finally agreed.

...

"Listen to my instructions," Qin Fei whispered to the group as they reached the village entrance, then strode in with a look of curiosity.

As expected, their arrival immediately drew the attention of the grayish Bakemon.

"Excuse me, do you have any food here? We’d like to trade for some," Qin Fei stepped forward from the group, speaking kindly to the Bakemon who were sizing them up with ill intent.

"Yes, yes, come on over," the Bakemon said, and as soon as Qin Fei finished, a crowd of "hospitable" Bakemon surged forward, using their arm-like ears to pull Qin Fei toward the largest house at the center.

Qin Fei didn’t resist, letting the Bakemon lead him, even flashing a sly smile.

Seeing Qin Fei being dragged away, Tai and the others nodded to each other and followed where Qin Fei had disappeared.

Once inside the yurt-like house, just as Qin Fei had warned, the Bakemon were overly enthusiastic, almost convincing the children that Bakemon were kind and friendly Digimon.

Music and dance soared; a grand welcoming ceremony began.

"Thank you for waiting," Bakemon said, bringing out trays of delicious food.

"Are these things just illusions again?" Sora took a fruit, hesitant to eat.

"It’s fine, everyone. Eat; don’t waste their ‘goodwill,’" Qin Fei smiled, biting into a fruit with apparent confidence—though he emphasized the word ‘goodwill’ heavily.

Seeing Qin Fei eat first, the other children relaxed and began to eat happily.

These Bakemon had no ability to create illusions like Devimon, so the food was real—though stolen from the Rolling Beast village.

"Eat, Black Dotmon!"

Qin Fei handed a fruit to the small figure nestled in Loretta Beast’s arms. Though their relationship had warmed in recent times, Black Dotmon still wouldn’t let anyone but Loretta Beast hold him.

"Favoritism! I want some too," Loretta Beast said playfully, opening her small cherry mouth to Qin Fei.

Qin Fei had no choice but to feed Loretta Beast as well.

"Ow! Ow ow ow!"

But seeing Qin Fei and Loretta Beast so close, Black Dotmon seemed jealous. When Qin Fei reached out, Black Dotmon bit him hard.

"Ow! Let go! Dotmon, let go, let go!"

Qin Fei’s rare, comical blunder immediately sent the surrounding children into laughter.