Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 240 - 6 The Visitor in the Shadows_1

Chapter 240: Chapter 6 The Visitor in the Shadows_1

(263...084...458... book friend group, if you wish to join, please do. Ps. To the friends that happen to pass by, please support by keeping us as favourites and recommend us, your support is my greatest motivation. Also, could everyone please give us more suggestions, thank you. Ps2: Regarding the change of the book name, please refer to the information related to the book.)

"Ding dong, ding dong." The bell representing the arrival of visitors rang out at No. 6 Fox Street. As it echoed, Catherine, in a thick light blue cotton home dress and legs covered by a blanket, was reading seriously under the rare winter sun while lounging on a chair in the garden beside the mansion. The ground’s accumulated snow had already melted away, and the warm sunlight poured over Catherine, dispelling the winter chill and filling her with a sense of warmth.

A round coffee table was placed to the right of the lounge chair, a pot of steaming hot tea set on a tray on the table. Basking in the seldom seen sunlight, sipping a cup of hot tea in the cold winter, nothing could feel more cozy than this.

On the other side of the table was another identical lounge chair, Pannis was lying on it snoring lightly, covered head to toe with a blanket. The light rhythmic snores paired with occasional rustling of book pages intensified the tranquil of a winter afternoon.

It was a warm and harmonious scene. Everything was so peaceful that one could not bear to break it.

However, the bell still shattered this peaceful scene. As the bell sounded, Pannis suddenly poked his head out from under the blanket, looking directly towards the gate.

"I’ll go." Catherine put down her book, stood up and threw off her blanket. "I’ll also get some pastries, what do you want?"

"Dragonblood berry cookies." Seeing Catherine willing to answer the door, Pannis lied back down leisurely, "And get me a glass of milk. Those cookies taste best soaked in milk."

"You sure know how to enjoy." Catherine sighed helplessly, "Alright, wait for me."

"Thank you so much. hehehe." Pannis chuckles, squinting at the clouds drifting in the sky, as if all the troubles of the world no longer existed.

"Huh?" After lounging for a bit, Pannis suddenly jumped up from the chair, threw the blanket aside, using his acute hearing, he realized that three sets of footsteps were walking around the mansion towards the backyard. Pannis knew that Catherine was very big on etiquette, if it was a guest that needed inviting in, she would have led them directly into the mansion’s living room, not like now, leading them to the yard, unless they were familiar faces. Listening carefully to the footfalls, Pannis sighed, "Turns out it’s those two, sigh, seems like trouble has come to the door."

"I’m really heartbroken, how could you think we are trouble?" A full-bodied female voice came from the corner of the mansion. "Men really are no good, don’t you agree?"

The owner of another set of footsteps, whom she was seeking approval from, replied in a cold and stiff voice, "Stop bantering."

"Alright, alright, I’ll stop banter." The sensual voice sighed disappointedly, "I’ll let you off this time, Pannis."

"I wonder, have you Legendary-Rank professionals grown so bored that you start forming groups and running around handling the same issue?" Pannis didn’t show any surprise, he just stated boredly, "You all gather in groups and come out to handle the same task?"

"We want to, we get along well." The steps rounded the corner of the mansion, the sensual voice appeared behind Pannis, "You are really brave, turning your back on us."

Pannis slowly turned his head, Catherine had emerged into view with two women. The two women were arm in arm, one with a seductive figure, every movement, every facet of her filled with a sensual charm. The other was icy and taciturn, though beautiful in her appearance, she was noticeably less enticing than the first.

"Passion. Oh, and Indulgence." Pannis sat up straight and chuckled, "Two beauties of the shadow, may I know if you are here as representatives of the Shadow Hand or simply as yourselves?"

"We represent Shadow Hand." Assassin Passion spoke coldly, "Shut up, Indulgence. You always stray off-topic whenever you open your mouth. I will do the talking."

"Sigh." Thief Indulgence sighed softly, pouting. Those who did not know her well might be bewitched by merely her expression and sigh, and become completely entranced by her charm.

"Alright, Pannis is here now." Catherine brought over two more chairs to sit and ask, "What exactly is it? What happened?"

"We are here to offer a commission on behalf of Shadow Hand." Passion said using her calm, nearly toneless voice. "Theoretically, we should have commissioned the adventurer’s guild, but among adventurers, we had relatively harmonious cooperation with you, so we hope you can take it directly."

"Hehe, actually what she wanted to say is, the only adventurers she trusts is you guys." Indulgence revealed Passion’s true intentions with a giggle. "So she didn’t even go to the adventurer’s guild and came directly to you."

Indulgence shrank back with a grin, raising her hand and muttering, "Don’t look at me like that, I’ll stop talking." Passion’s icy gaze swept over Indulgence’s enchanting face.

"Please specify the task details." Catherine wasn’t affected by Indulgence’s charm, or rather, having met twice, Catherine had gained some resistance to Indulgence’s natural charm. "We need to know the specifics of the commission before giving a response. What’s more, you’re both more powerful than our entire team combined. Why don’t you handle it yourselves instead of entrusting us?"

"The task is to investigate." Passion blandly stated, "Adventurers are professionals, we shadow dwellers lack experience with this type of task."

"Hm, this reason is acceptable." As Catherine noticed Pannis nodding slightly, she asked, "So, what is the task?"

"In the recent months, some problems have emerged in our City of Innocence." Passion explained coldy, "Though the issue seems inconsequential for now, there is no sign of it stopping. This situation greatly irks our guild leaders, but if the guild masters, including us executives were to investigate, it would be too conspicuous. Additionally, we have no clue where to start with this type of issue, hence the guild master hopes to enlist the help of reliable adventurers."

"What exactly is the problem?" Catherine inquired, "I need to know the details before accepting the assignment."

"Human sacrifices." Passion hesitated for a while before continuing, "There have been more than twenty instances of human sacrifice in the City of Innocence in recent months. Each time, the circumstances are the same. The victim’s body lies within a strange Array, covered in slashes, drained of nearly all its blood. The body is inscribed with symbols written in fresh blood, symbols that we assume form a language, one we’ve never seen before."

Catherine and Pannis exchanged a glance, keeping their surprise hidden, Catherine asked, "What kind of language? Have you brought it with you?"

"Here is a copy." Indulgence took out several papers and handed them over, "The same language is used in all the sacrifices."

Frowning, Catherine unfolded the copied pages filled with many unfamiliar symbols that seemed in total disarray, nothing like any known language. If not pre-informed, anyone looking at these symbols would probably mistake them for abstract patterns.

"I’ve indeed never encountered it." Catherine handed the pages to Pannis, "Take a look."

"Oh." Upon seeing the symbols, Pannis prolonged his ’oh’, "So, it’s these."

"You recognize them?" The three women turned to him simultaneously, their eyes filled with anticipation as they asked in unison, "What do they say?"

"Of course I don’t." Pannis spread his hands, speaking quite seriously, "How could I possibly recognize such oddities?"

"Then why did you ’oh’ so solemnly?" An exasperated Indulgence responded, "If you don’t recognize them, don’t act so enlightened, alright?"

"Although I don’t recognize it, I never said I hadn’t seen it before." Pannis argued innocently, "I’ve seen similar patterns before. Your assumption is indeed correct, this is a kind of writing."

"Where have you seen it?" Indulgence pressed, "Under what circumstances?"

"It was a long time ago, in an ancient ruin." Pannis replied, reminiscing, "It is a very old ruin. It dates back to the Mythical Age of the First Epoch."

"Are you suggesting that this is a language from the First Epoch?" Indulgence dramatically widened her eyes, the disbelief palpable. "Does it mean this case is somehow connected to the Mythical Age?"

"No, wait." Catherine nudged Pannis, "Despite their rarity and complexity, some scholars should be familiar with languages from the First Epoch. There shouldn’t be any completely unrecognizable languages."

"I know some languages of the First Epoch." The mansion door opened and Vivian, who had slept until noon, emerged. She came over to take a look at the symbols beside Pannis, "But not this one. However, the First Epoch languages were not singular, it is plausible to have some obscure categories that no one had ever seen."

"Yes, it is an extremely rare language." Pannis added, "According to two scholars, it is supposed to be a special language used by the clergy of the Mythical Age. For others, it’s a sin to even see it."

"It connects." Passion said flatly, "It makes sense that this specialized language of the clergy is used in the sacrificial rituals of this evil god. However, how can this language still be in use?"

"Could it have something to do with the things that happened in the Mythical Age?" Indulgence bit her finger lightly, appearing lost in thought, "That seems far too complicated, doesn’t it?"

"Any concrete judgments cannot be made at this time." Catherine knocked on the tea table, summarizing, "So, all judgments will have to wait until we’ve actually conducted an investigation."

"So, have you accepted this assignment?" A gleam of joy appeared on Indulgence’s face, "Thank you so much."

"A few months ago, we broke into a service of this evil god’s sacrifices. It makes me wonder if it could have been organized by the same group." Catherine avoided answering directly and shifted the topic, "If it’s the same group, we could have a problem on our hands. The mastermind we encountered then was a Legendary Magician."

"Don’t worry." Passion chimed in, "We will assist you in the investigation when the time comes."

"In that case, there shouldn’t be any problems." Catherine nodded, "We accept this assignment, but our responsibility extends to investigating only. We will not be dealing with the resolution."

"That’s only fair." A relieved Indulgence confessed, "We, the Shadow Hand, will be in charge of resolving matters."

"Also, we cannot set off immediately." Remembering something, Catherine hurriedly added, "We will only be able to leave after the New Year."

"No problem, we will return to the City of Innocence and wait for you there," said Passion, "Once you’re here, you can find us at the headquarters of the Shadow Hand."

"Well then, I look forward to a successful partnership." Catherine extended her hand, shaking Passion’s warmly, representing the solid agreement between them and the Shadow Hand.