Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 239 - 5 Heart of Years_1

Chapter 239: Chapter 5 Heart of Years_1

(Happy Holidays everyone, I don’t know how you are all celebrating, but I’ve discovered that catching up on work during the holidays is utterly implausible.)

"Because sis read it in the newspaper." Catherine loves these two innocent yet resilient children. They’ve earned their fame in the arts solely through their own hard work, and such tirelessly striving children are always endearing: "It’s written clearly in the newspaper that you two will perform before midnight. You are truly amazing, performing at the New Year celebration, before tens of thousands of spectators. I wouldn’t even dare to dream of doing something like that."

"Uh-huh." Michelle and Ansha nodded enthusiastically, enjoying Catherine’s heartfelt praise: "Uncle Pannis and you sisters must come and watch our performance then, no excuses."

"Of course, we’ll all go." Catherine said, indulgently: "Don’t worry, we’ll definitely cheer you on."

"You two, eat properly." Lina glared at the twins like a mother: "I warn you, if you dare to keep practicing and forget to eat again, none of us will attend your performance."

"Yes~~~~~, we understand!" Michelle pouted, her reply coming out as a long whine: "We promise we won’t do that again."

It must be admitted that Pannis was indeed a competent part-time chef. The three young ladies of Nellie’s adventure team, including Catherine, all believed so. He can prepare meals for seven people in less than an hour; the diners wouldn’t taste any hint of haste from the dishes, which all consisted of readily available and affordable ingredients. This was vital, at least Catherine thought so. Ever since Pannis joined this big family, although the household size increased, the monthly food expenses, considering only home-cooked meals, decreased from ten gold coins to eight. Undeniably, whether it was ten or eight gold coins didn’t make a significant difference to the members of the high-ranked adventure team, but Catherine always had a peculiar view towards money.

After a simple but satisfying dinner, the twin girls and the little banshee started their routine activities every time they gather, which turned the spacious mansion into their playground where they chased each other merrily. Laughter filled the mansion at this moment; even the somewhat gloomy passages seemed to lighten up with joy.

"Undead and humans coexist, quite miraculous." Pannis, legs crossed and propped up by the hand under his chin, watched the three little girls run past the living room door and said to himself.

"What is it, Pannis?" Catherine, passing Pannis a pasfruit across the table: "What are you muttering about?"

"I actually despise the undead," Pannis said, shifting his gaze towards Catherine without moving his body: "Very, very much."

"Why?"Catherine asked, rather taken aback: "Annie clings onto you, and you treat her well. I thought you liked the undead."

"Annie clings to me for a reason, and my abhorrence for the undead stems from the same reason." Pannis leaned back on the recliner, lifting up the pasfruit, observing it: "The undead often represents only the coldness of death, the loss of sanity, frenzy and despair. Animosity towards the living is the natural instinct of most undead; those who can resist this instinct... are quite rare. Honestly, if Annie hadn’t shown a certain level of wisdom and friendliness towards humans from the very beginning, I would have struck her with my sword the moment we first met."

"How bloody." Lina smirked, "Then now? Do you still want to strike her?"

"Of course not." Pannis shook his head with a weary smile: "Though I can’t figure out why Annie is conscious, she can’t be seen as a regular undead now, but more like a humanoid intelligent creature. That being the case, why on earth would I want to strike her?"

"Then we need to consider what to do with her in the future." Lina suggested: "We can’t let her stay at home forever, but letting her out might scare people. This is quite tricky."

"Actually, I have a suggestion." Pannis said: "After some time, find an opportunity to take her to see her parents."

"You mean the research institute?" Lina probed: "Let her see the corpses of her parents?"

"Yes, to the place where her parents breathed their last." Pannis explained: "The existence of the undead is often traced back to an indomitable resentment or obsession before death. For Annie, it is likely the desire to see her parents again. So, why not take her to see her parents?"

"But by doing that, Annie would vanish, right?" Lina asked: "Wouldn’t this be equivalent to us killing her?"

"No, it wouldn’t be death as she is already dead." Pannis explained: "For the dead, it is liberation. Moreover, although I’m not certain myself, theoretically, there’s a small chance she would disappear. Only the mindless undead would achieve final liberation after fulfilling their pre-death wishes. But Annie is not that, she’s a death banshee with divine wisdom. It would not be that simple for her to just vanish."

"What do you think, sis?" Lina, unable to decide, turned to Catherine for help: "You make the decision."

"What?" Catherine looked up with bewilderment: "Deciding on what?"

"Big sis, why can’t you take after Vivian more?" Lina sounded annoyed, "Having one Vivian in the house is headache enough."

"Sorry, sorry, I was reading the newspaper," Catherine responded after Lina gave her a brief summary of the previous discussion. She thought for a moment before adding, "I suggest asking her for her opinion. Personally, I lean towards Pannis’ perspective. Whether it’s about achieving freedom or facing death, we have to confront these things eventually. We might avoid them for a while, but there comes a day when we must confront them. We can’t spend our lives running away, can we? Don’t you agree, Pannis?"

"Ahaha." Pannis gave a dry laugh and diverted the conversation, pretending to be interested in something else. "What were you reading just now? You were so engrossed you didn’t even hear Lina and me talking?"

Catherine glanced sideways at Pannis but didn’t push further. She followed his change of topic, moving away from the suddenly heavy discussion. "News about the New Year’s auction?"

"What’s special about the New Year’s auction?" Pannis asked puzzled.

"I didn’t mention it... Oh, I forgot to mention it earlier." Catherine laughed awkwardly, handing over the newspaper. "It’s a special event on New Year’s Day in the Holy City. It’s jointly organized by the three major auction houses. They alternately preside over the auction of unique or valuable items. Anyone interested in the auction items can participate, whether they’re tourists or locals."

"Should we participate?" Pannis asked. "Is there anything in specific you want to bid on that has you paying such close attention?"

"Of course not." Catherine said with a bitter smile. "Because the New Year’s auction attracts wealthy travelers from all over, the prices are usually high. Even if there’s something I want, I can’t afford it. I’m not even going to bother going. I was just reading the auction item list because I find it interesting."

"Interesting?" Pannis after scanning the newspaper, "Can’t see any fun in this."

"Look at the first item on the list," suggested Catherine. "It’s at the bottom of the first page."

"The Heart of Years?" Pannis paused, then said slowly. "You’re right. It is interesting."

The Heart of Years is a scarlet gem and once caused numerous fierce disputes in the Yarran World thousands of years ago. At least a dozen demigods and countless professionals of lesser rank have fallen for it. And over five empires were destroyed because of it.

The gem has such a track record not because of its beauty. Although the Heart of Years is indeed beautiful, with its shining, gem-like surface emanating a fascinating aura, this alone could never cause its painful history. The real reason is a legend.

According to legend, the Heart of Years contains a powerful energy, one related to eternity. As the tale goes, once a person can absorb this energy, they can gain the eternal life that most people desire. Because of this rumor, death and bloodshed always follow this gem. It has changed owners countless times, but no one has ever sensed the existence of this energy, nor has anyone achieved immortality from absorbing it.

Eventually, people understood that they were just fooling themselves. This gem was just a beautiful rock. There was nothing special about it, let alone granting someone eternal life. So people came to see it as a cursed object that brings misfortune and did their best to avoid it. Of course, the real reason is that the gem carries a heavy history, making it popular among wealthy and bored collectors. Because of this, the gem’s price continued to rise to unthinkable heights that few could afford through normal means.

"Really interesting." Pannis put down the paper pensively, "I didn’t expect this object to be auctioned. I’m curious to see how much it will finally sell for."

"The starting bid is half a million gold coins. The final price will probably be astronomical," Catherine said with a pained expression. "It has nothing to do with professions or ancient ruins. It’s just a pretty rock. I can’t understand why so many fools are willing to spend extravagant amounts of money on it."

"No, no, no. The value of such an object is not the central focus. Even if it was just a broken stone, it wouldn’t make a difference," Pannis shook his head. "A small portion of the rich are really after the history and the bloodshed it carries. Of course, such people are not many; for most people, they only use such expensive items to flaunt their wealth and status."

"As I said, a group of fools," Catherine pronounced their final verdict, her face full of envy.

"Should we go that day?" Pannis inquired with some interest. "It seems like it would be bustling."

"It’s a scheduling conflict. I’d like to see it too," Catherine said regretfully. "We promised Michelle we’d attend the New Year’s festivities, which clash with the auction, so we can’t go."

"That’s a shame." Pannis sighed and shook his head regretfully.