Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 255 - 21 Coincidence_1

Chapter 255: Chapter 21 Coincidence_1

"What fun things could that be?" Catherine asked, "Is it related to the mission?"

"Sort of related, I guess." Pannis replied, glancing amusedly at the bustling city guards nearby. "If all goes well, I reckon, many local watchdogs will come to join the fun."

"Uh, that’s quite common, isn’t it?" Catherine pondered, "Dinner was grilled, right? They roasted an entire lamb, and the leftovers like bones and innards were piled up by the campsite. It wouldn’t surprise me if it attracted some domestic and stray dogs."

"Of course, it’s not surprising at all," Pannis nodded, "It would be weird if they didn’t come. Hush, listen."

From the edge of the site, the low growls of dogs could be faintly heard. Seven or eight dogs that villagers let roam free had sneaked to the edge of the camp, rummaging through the trash there to scrambles for the bones and organs. What’s human garbage was fine dining for them.

At first, the city guards were startled by the growling. But after finding out what it was, they moved their attention elsewhere, with some even tossing their leftovers to these animals. Sensing the guards’ goodwill, these dogs felt emboldened to saunter right out of the shadowy outskirts, sniffing around for food.

"Sure enough, they’ve arrived quickly," Catherine looked at Pannis and asked, "So what’s the continuation of what you were saying? What kind of trouble will these dogs bring?"

"These dogs won’t cause any trouble." Pannis shrugged nonchalantly, "What trouble can some dogs cause? It’s just that they’re not humans. They don’t abide by civilization and hygiene standards, and often leave behind traces that people wouldn’t find pleasing."

"You mean they’re going to randomly pee and poop." Catherine rolled her eyes, "You could have just said that, instead of beating around the bush. That’s what you meant right?"

"They do not randomly do their business." Pannis waggled his index finger, "Dogs, they look for corners or posts, places with angles, when they pee. Right, Lina?"

"How would I know?" Lina, just back from a patrol, responded perfunctorily. As she passed Pannis, she suddenly lifted her hammer as if to strike him.

"Hey!" Pannis held up his hands together defensively, blocking Lina’s hammer, "Why did you suddenly try to hit me? I didn’t say anything about Diana."

"I knew it!" Lina scoffed, glaring at Pannis before suddenly sending a kick his way, "Just drop dead."

"I’ll dodge." Pannis drew in his stomach, narrowly avoiding Lina’s kick, "Whew, that was close. Luckily I am always on guard, otherwise that would’ve seriously hurt."

"Boom." Without paying attention, Pannis had released Lina’s hammer, and she swiftly moved in to headbutt his nose.

"Ah, my nose!" Pannis howled, clutching his nose before keeling over. He exaggeratedly rolled on the ground groaning "Help me, my nose is broken."

"Serves you right," Lina huffed faintly, flinging back her ponytail as if nothing had happened before returning to her seat, "Although, animals from the canidae family do have that habit, not only dogs."

"I still don’t get it," Catherine queried, "Besides the smell, what impact would it have on us?"

"Look closely at our campsite. Where do you think is the most suitable place for those dogs to relieve themselves?" Pannis inquired, "Spot anything?"

"Our convoy?" A look of concern crossed Catherine’s face, "It’s the wheels of the carriages. No, we can’t let them wander aimlessly. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Let’s go and take a closer look." Pannis lazily climbed up from the fire pit, yawning and stretching, "Let’s revive Vivian and head there together."

The four strolled leisurely to the neatly aligned carriages, Pannis, with a strange smile on his face, seemed curiously interested in the ground, standing next to the five trucks carrying gifts. That was where a city guard had previously fallen; the broken porcelain jar and scattered candies, after a rushed clean-up, were piled near the corner of the carriage, close to the wheels.

"What seems to be the problem, Miss Catherine?" Upon seeing the group, Captain Ayrland hurried over. He was puzzled upon seeing the worried looks on their faces, "Is there an issue here? I’ve had people patrol many times."

"It’s fine, there’s no issue." Pannis bent down, picked up a few clean candies and chose one to try, nodding his approval, "Yep, this is the one, these candies. They’re pretty good. Do you want any?"

"No way, it’s filthy." Lina glared in disgust, " It fell near dog pee, and you dare to put it in your mouth."

"It didn’t even touch it, just grazed some dirt, what’s there to be afraid of?" Pannis said nonchalantly, looking at the candy in his hand with regret. He casually tossed the candy back onto the ground, where it rolled into a wet patch of dirt beside the wheel. "How about I show you a magic trick? It’s a funny little trick, Captain Ayrland, you should join us, it’s quite entertaining."

"Yes, let’s all go together." Catherine now understood something, her expression became slightly pale as she nodded, "This is important, we’ll go over it in detail when we get back."

"What on earth happened?" When everyone got back to the private quarters of the adventure team, Ayrland asked urgently, "Why so secretive?"

"It’s better to keep this from others, so as not to worry everyone." Catherine reassured Ayrland before turning to Pannis, "Okay, you can do your performance now. Do you need any help?"

"Watch this." Pannis gave a cryptic smile, held up his right hand, and carried a few candies wrapped in a small piece of cloth. "Vivian, could you help me chill these candies?"

"Chill?" Vivian blinked, taking the candy and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I’m sure." Pannis nodded, "The temperature does not need to be too low, just estimate how cold it is at night and chill it to that level."

Vivian tilted her head in confusion, then suddenly her eyes lit up with realization, "Ah, it’s that kind of thing, I understand now, this is a silly method."

"You’re probably right." Pannis smiled, "Let’s start."

"Not here, follow me." Vivian beckoned everyone, leading them around to the back of the tent, "Since we don’t want to attract attention, let’s keep it out of their sight. Ladies and gentlemen, the magic is about to start."

Vivian placed the cloth-wrapped candy on the ground, pointed the end of her magic staff at it, and softly chanted the spell. As the magical fluctuation disappeared with her chant, they could feel a significant drop in temperature within a small area. To their surprise, as the temperature gradually decreased and hit a critical point, the few candies suddenly burst into a silent, raging fireball. Even without any obvious accelerant, the flames continued to burn and lasted for more than five minutes before quickly extinguishing.

Covered in cold sweat, Ayrland stared dumbfounded at the spot where the candy had vanished, imagining that if the candies were still in their original place, once the oil cloth covering the gift carriage was ignited, all the gifts would be burned to ashes, even if everyone tried to put out the fire, it would be too late. And the consequences of this tragedy would be everyone returning by the same route, the lord of the city having to prepare the presents again, and the little princess possibly not being able to get to the City of Freedom in time, resulting in the cancellation of the wedding. Thinking of this, Ayrland stammered, "What, what, what is this stuff? Fire oil?"

"These are candies." Pannis pulled out a few more candy balls and juggled them in his hand, "They’re a relatively expensive candy in the market, a jar probably costs ten gold coins, enough for a person to live frugally for over half a year."

"But how could these candies catch fire?" Ayrland asked, not understanding, "And they burn at low temperatures?"

"Candies of course won’t burn, just like these ones." Pannis caught all the candies and held them up to Ayrland, "Would you like to try one? They’re very sweet."

"No thanks, I’m good." Ayrland dodged Pannis’s outstretched hand with a strange expression, "How come these ones don’t, but the ones just now burned so fiercely?"

"Well, candies are actually very safe, and delicious, they won’t cause any problems." Pannis was about to toss one in his mouth before Lina quickly slapped it out of his hand. He regretfully looked at the candy rolling on the ground and said, "But, if this candy mixes with a dog’s urine, a subtle change occurs, producing something called Ka, Ka, Ka... what’s it called again?"

"It’s called Kalemito." Vivian reminded, "It’s a very odd component. The lower the temperature, the easier it ignites, and once it starts burning, it quickly turns into an accelerant and aids the burn. Many scholars are currently studying this thing."

"Yes, that thing, this candy only produces Kalemito when it mixes with canine urine, wolf’s urine doesn’t work." Pannis said, "That’s why candy jar packaging always says to keep it away from pets."

"Dog urine?" Ayrland’s face was expressionless while he looked at the gift carriage beyond the tent, "So it was those dogs that caused such a huge hidden danger?"

"Yep, a tragedy brewed by a bunch of dogs." Pannis said with a teasing smile, "But to those unaware of the circumstances, who would know that a jar of candies and a few dogs could cause such a massive disaster?"

"Not to mention the collaboration of low temperatures." Vivian looked at the position of the moon in the sky, "It’s not too cold today, but as it gets later, the temperature falls. I estimate that by around two in the morning, the temperature will drop to the point where Kalemito will spontaneously combust."

"So, all of this was just a coincidence?" Ayrland was reluctant to believe it, but after thinking about it, there seemed to be only this conclusion, "After all, these things all happened independently of each other."

"A coincidence, huh?" Pannis grinned his teeth, "Hehehe, perhaps." (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to vote and support. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com.)