Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 197 - 52 Payment and Reward_1

Chapter 197: Chapter 52 Payment and Reward_1

(263...084...458... Book group number, if you want to join us, hop into the group. ps friends passing by, I’d love your favourites and recommendations. Your support is my biggest motivation. Also, do feel free to give more suggestions, thanks. ps2: There’s a change in the title, see details in work update.

"I see the entrance trail." The Night Owl, a scout specializing in reconnaissance for the mercenary corps, quietly climbed down from the treetop, his voice hushed. "Without any indications, it’s really hard to spot, it’s indeed well hidden."

"Situation around the entrance." Dora yanked the Night Owl’s arm, peppering him with questions, "Any guards? Anyone watching it?"

"The entrance is a climbable rock wall covered in vines, with a one-meter wide crevice filled with vines as well. You would hardly notice even if you look closely." The Night Owl used his hands to describe the scene, "As for guards, I haven’t seen any so far."

"The guards wouldn’t be outside." Pannis added, "That would be a clear indication something is off here. I guess if there are any guards, they would be in the middle or innermost part of the entrance. This way they would know whenever someone passes through, no form of hiding can help."

"That’s troublesome. Either way, we need to go in and confirm whether they used to live here and if they’re still here. If they’re still here, contrary to what we speculated, they might move as soon as they’re alerted." Dora furrowed her brows and paced anxiously, "Any ideas? Illusion Fox, Vivian, you two are mages, do you have any special tricks?"

"Nothing I can do, I’m afraid." Illusion Fox gave a bitter smile, shaking his head. "I’m not sure about Vivian."

Dora turned to Vivian, only to find her sitting on a cracked, dead stump. With her right hand propping her chin and eyes firmly closed, she had drifted off to sleep. Catherine sighed helplessly as she walked over and ruffled Vivian’s soft hat. Vivian groggily opened her eyes; completely bewildered, she managed a half-asleep voice, "What’s up, sis? Time to set up camp?"

Catherine slapped her forehead in despair, "Dora asked if you have a way to see inside the crevice in the rock wall."

"Absolutely not." Vivian shook her head forcefully, causing her two short braids to flutter wildly. "The Eye of the Mage can only be placed in one spot, and the Projection Spell can only project the scene around the Eye of the Mage. Meaning, unless I go in and set an Eye, there’s absolutely no way to spy inside."

"Quite a hassle indeed." Catherine and Pannis exchanged a glance. Pannis proposed, "Maybe I can give it a try, climbing up the cliff might give me a view inside."

Catherine looked up at the almost vertical cliff, which was five to six hundred meters high, and firmly shook her head. "You also said you’d try. What if you can’t and end up falling?"

"It doesn’t matter if I fall, I can..." Pannis shrugged nonchalantly. However, he was cut off by Catherine who gestured sternly with her index finger, her face filled with displeasure. He then reluctantly offered a small smile, "Alright, I get it. Your wish is my command, oh mighty knightess."

All of them gathered and had a heated debate about this headache-inducing issue. However, every idea they brought up was ruthlessly rejected. After enduring much hardship on the journey, they were blocked by this final obstacle. The frustration was palpable. As they were quietly and fiercely arguing, a faint white light suddenly shone out from Catherine’s chest, and Annie’s ethereal figure emerged from this light. After landing, she immediately ran over to Pannis, spread her arms, and looked up at Pannis, her eyes twinkling. Pannis sighed, bent down, and picked up Annie’s weightless spectral body, eliciting a round of giggles from the female members.

"Why are you so attached to him, little girl?" Catherine, momentarily distracted from the argument, asked with interest.

"Because he feels very familiar." Annie grinned and hugged Pannis’s neck, "I’m over hundreds of years old, older than all of you."

"Er, that, that still doesn’t work," Catherine spluttered but continued to refuse with determination. "Regardless of your age, your mind is still that of a child and you can’t take part in battle."

"But I don’t have to fight, I can become invisible, and nobody will be able to see me." Annie pouted, "I’ve seen so many amazing things since I’ve been with you guys, I’m really happy. You’ve all taken good care of me, and I also want to help."

"Let her do it." Pannis petted Annie’s hair and spoke to Catherine, "Invisibility... is the magical talent intrinsic to spectral entities. Unless you cast a spell to detect Undead, you can’t see her. Annie won’t be in danger. As for priests, I doubt any clergy would join a band of thieves. Even if there are, I don’t think there’s any that would keep the effect of an Undead detection spell active in his own home. Right, Lina?"

"No," Replied Lina. Despite having climbed mountains and traversed forests for over an hour, her clothes were still neat and tidy. Even her hair, coiled up, did not fall out of place, and her expression was impassive yet stern, as though nothing in the world could make her flinch. She spoke in an even-keeled voice, "Unless a demi-god priest did it, it would be too draining for anyone."

"That’s good," Pannis sighed in relief, bending over to set Annie back on the ground. His eyes moved to Catherine’s face, "Let her go then. Don’t waste the child’s intentions."

"Alright, but be very careful. Hide as soon as you see anyone. Regardless of whether they can see you, run back here immediately if you’re discovered," Catherine squatted down anxiously giving the little banshee a long series of instructions for a full five minutes. Vivian suddenly burst into laughter. Catherine shot Vivian a disgruntled look which stopped her chattering. "What’s so funny? It’s never wrong to be careful," she muttered.

"Hehe," Vivian snickered mischievously, then whispered in Lina’s ear, "Just look, Lina! If one didn’t know any better, they might think from Pannis and Catherine’s conversation that they were Annie’s parents."

Catherine’s face turned beet red, and she stood up abruptly, "Come here, I’m going to kill you!"

"Go ahead," Pannis smiled painfully, patting Annie on the head, "Just go in and take a look, then come right back. Check if there’s anyone inside. If there are many people, note how many are guarding the entrance. Be careful, and come back right after."

Annie nodded obediently, her figure fading slowly, vanishing from sight. The only thing left was her distant voice saying, "I’m going now, wait for me Brother and Sisters."

Catherine stopped chasing Vivian and said, with worry in her eyes, "I really wish she didn’t have to be involved. Even though I know she’s a Gold Rank banshee, she doesn’t possess the mentality of a professional. She isn’t fit to be placed in harm’s way."

"It actually isn’t that dangerous," Pannis said, "And have you ever considered her future?"

"Her future?" Catherine spoke quietly, "I have thought about it."

"I thought so. She has been living around your neck all this while," Pannis said, "You guys must talk a lot."

"Yeah." Catherine’s face spread into a small smile, "We’ve talked a lot. Little Annie is very cute."

"So, can you bear to be separated from her?" Pannis’s voice was indifferent as if he was talking about regular trivialities, "The first time we met her, she wanted to leave. Due to your unfamiliarity, you didn’t want to go against Annie’s wish and make her stay. What about next time? If Annie wants to leave again to go look for her parents, can you bear not keeping her? Can you bear to watch her wander and potentially be purified by a clergy at any time?"

"Of course not, we can take her to her parents’ place afterward," Catherine said loudly. "We know already where her parents’ remains are."

"And then?" Pannis asked. "You ought to know, even if a ghost’s fixation dissipates, there is still quite a long way till eternal rest. Likely dozens of years, some will never return to their eternal rest. So, after her lifelong wish is fulfilled, are you planning to leave her there to return to being lonely?"

"Of course not," Catherine shook her head. "I will bring her home. We can continue living together as we do now."

"That’s it." Pannis clapped his hands, finally getting to the point. "Are you ready to let her watch as you risk your life fighting all sorts of creatures? To see you facing increasingly challenging enemies? Watch as you step into danger? Or even to see you die?"

"I... I..." For the first time, Catherine was completely dumbstruck. After several attempts, she could not spit out a single word.

"Although Annie is a Death Banshee, she still thinks like a human," Pannis sighed, continuing, "I understand, you care about her, want to take care of her, want to do something for her. Everyone understands that. But this is us giving unilaterally. She wants to give back."

"I don’t want her to feel obligated to repay me," Catherine protested.

"Right, you don’t, but she does." Pannis patted Catherine’s shoulder, "Think about it. If she were the kind of person who only knows how to receive and not give back, could you still treat her with your whole heart? And if she isn’t, how could you stop her from giving back, making her uneasy, forcing her to leave you in the end?"

Catherine stood there speechless for a while before letting out a deep breath and nodding, giving Pannis a weak smile, "I almost made a mistake, thank you, Pannis."

"Very bad, very bad!" Annie’s voice suddenly came from the distance in mid-air. A blurry figure emerged from the sky and plunged into Pannis’s arms, trembling, "It was terrifying! I was frightened to death, there are so many, so many. There are corpses inside, a lot of gruesome corpses."