Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 313 - 25 - The Real Reason_1

Chapter 313: Chapter 25 - The Real Reason_1

"Dark, wide, dry, damp, filthy, clean, dangerous?" Passion repeated the key words that Catherine had said with a forever unchanging wooden expression. "Did that person say these key words?"

"Just these ones." Catherine nodded. "The problem is they contradict each other, it’s really hard to understand."

"Not difficult." Passion, as economical with words as Catherine was with money, said, "I understand."

"Ah, with his prophecy, I have a rough idea where he’s referring to." Indulgence mused, "I hadn’t expected it to be connected to that place, it really is surprising."

"You guys figured it out?" Vivian asked in surprise. "The Flower and Grass Sisters and I studied it all afternoon and couldn’t guess what it refers to. And you guys understood it just by hearing it?"

"That’s because you two don’t know some secrets." Indulgence (放纵) delicately bit her thumb while cocking her head to the side. "Its existence is a secret to the City of Innocence, it’s normal for you not to think of it."

"What should we do then?" Catherine asked. "Do we stick to the original plan to investigate the back alley district? Or do we abandon the back alley district and go directly to the place prophesied?"

"We can’t hang our hopes on a fantastical prophecy." Indulgence turned unusually serious. "Tonight, the two of us will accompany you to investigate, but from tomorrow on, it will all depend on you two."

"Huh? Why?" Catherine asked, not understanding. "Do you two have to leave?"

"No... never mind, I’ll tell you the truth." After a brief hug between Indulgence and Passion, during which they exchanged thoughts, Indulgence began to speak. "Do you know why the Guild invited you?"

"Of course not." Catherine retorted. "The explanation they gave us could only fool children, but I know you must have a reasonable explanation."

"You came here knowing nothing." Indulgence sighed helplessly at Catherine’s response. "Should I praise you or scold you?"

"Our transactions have always been pleasant. Moreover, Miss Passion and Pannis used to get along very well. You don’t have any reason to harm us." Catherine reasoned. "Besides, Pannis and I have discussed it. I trust his judgment; if there was anything suspicious, he would have noticed. Since he thinks there’s no problem, why wouldn’t I dare to come?"

"Don’t trust anyone from the Shadow Hand. There are no good people here, including us." For the first time, a change of expression appeared on Passion’s rigid face: a bitter smile. "But, there indeed is no ill will this time."

"Let me explain." Indulgence took over. "The reason we invited you is because there may be a traitor within the Shadow Hand. In fact, the sacrificial event happened twice. The first time was more than three months ago; right after I returned from the Crying Cave. We exerted our best efforts, but it seemed someone knew our every move, constantly tipping them off; several times we practically had them in our hands, only to lose them. However, we found a lead to a large organization within the city; the head of which was in league with the sacrificial cult. Although we managed to topple the organization, the cult members had already disappeared, and anyone who knew specifics was already silenced. Thankfully no other sacrificial events have occurred since, allowing Passion and I to breathe a sigh of relief."

"I suppose the situation must have worsened, or else you wouldn’t have sought us out." Catherine queried.

"You guessed right. As I mentioned this morning, a half month before New Year, by chance, our people in the back alley district found the corpse left after another sacrifice. " Indulgence took over with a grave expression, "Based on the state of the corpses, they died after the previous sacrificial event; they weren’t the overlooked ones from the last sacrifice. After the report, we conducted a thorough search of the back alley district with our direct subordinates, pinpointing four new sacrificial traces. If we were to investigate again, we might need the Shadow Hand’s strength. However, fearing a repeat of past failures and sabotage from the inside, we decided to hide this secret and secretly have you investigate. The traitor is very sharp, I’m afraid if we two behave unusually, it will make the mole alert. So, starting from tomorrow, we will have to act normally and appear in the Guild as much as possible, to dull the mole’s alertness."

"I see." Catherine nodded in contemplation. "So, starting from tomorrow, we have to look for clues that might not exist in a completely unknown and chaotic city, without drawing anybody’s attention, then dig out enemies who we know nothing about? Is that what you mean?"

"Hehe." Indulgence made a somewhat embarrassed face, throwing Catherine a flirtatious wink, speaking in a coquettish tone, "Don’t make things sound so unpleasant, it’s little embarrassing."

Catherine and Vivian felt a chill on their backs, shook their heads vigorously to clear their confused minds, and barely managed to say, "I get it, please stop making that face, it’s nauseating."

"I know it’s a tough job," said Indulgence, once again serious, "But as thieves of the Shadow Hand, distrust has become our instinct. When we face problems, we can’t find anyone else to help. We can only rely on the few of you who we trust comparatively. We hope you can help us solve this problem. I promise that as long as you do your best, no matter the outcome, you will have our eternal friendship."

"Who said we can’t trust the promises of people from Shadow Hand just now?" Catherine asked innocently, "Especially stressing those two?"

"She did." Indulgence quickly pointed out Passion, "I never said that, so I can still be trusted."

"Huh," Catherine grumbled helplessly at Indulgence’s utter disregard for the dignity of the strong: "I understand. I promise you I’ll do my best to investigate. But first, I can’t guarantee any results. Secondly, if I encounter anything that endangers my teammate’s life, I’ll prioritize safety. Lastly, I can’t guarantee a timeline either. I’d prefer to wait and conduct the investigation after Pannis arrives, but given your urgency, let’s start the preliminary investigation immediately."

"Sounds reasonable," Passion nodded unaffectedly, "We accept."

"Let’s go then," Catherine quickly pulled on her prepared black cloak, concealing the shine of her silver armor. "By the way, if it’s just the two of us on the investigation from tomorrow, I do hope to have a couple of extra pair of hands."

"You mean your two maids?" Indulgence chimed in unimpressed. "I’ve already looked into them. Their track record is spotless, and they are from the dark alley district, so they are quite familiar with the environment. If you don’t mind that they’re not professionals, just ordinary people, I don’t mind you bringing them."

"No rush. Today’s goal is mainly to inspect the site," Vivian spoke up for Catherine, who was struggling with her cloak. "The official investigation won’t start until tomorrow, so you can bring them along then."

"By the way, I wanted to ask you something," Catherine finally got her cloak on and seemed to remember something. But she hesitated as she started to speak, "Never mind, I’ll ask after we’re done with this. It’s too early to ask now."

"If you have anything to ask, just say it boldly," Indulgence suddenly close the distance, lifting Catherine’s chin, and teasingly said, "We’re in this kind of relationship now, isn’t there anything we can’t discuss openly? And regardless of what you ask, I won’t agree, so what’s there to worry about?"

"Hey, since when did we have ’this kind’ of relationship?" Catherine snapped back with wide eyes, "And what do you mean by ’you won’t agree’ regardless?"

"Ha ha, just a joke," Indulgence winked at Catherine with twinkling eyes and flashed a white-toothed smile, "You can ask whenever you want, I’m not in a hurry. We’ll leave separately. Passion and I will wait for you outside."

In contrast to their afternoon outing, this time Catherine and Vivian didn’t call for their coachman, Swin, nor did they disturb their maids, the Flower and Grass Sisters. They quietly left their rooms, cloaked, and headed to the outside of the inn. Originally, Catherine was worried that leaving secretly with her cloak on would attract people’s attention, but she soon realized this was unnecessary when she stepped onto the street.

The scene outside was much different from the morning. During the day, the City of Innocence was deserted, even on the main roads. It was rare to see a person. But the sight after nightfall took them by surprise. The City of Innocence, at night, turned into a bustling hub around the memorial hall. As soon as they came out of the inn, they spotted many people traversing the quaint street, many of whom wore cloaks similar to the two young ladies, concealing their true identities. Just as Indulgence had said, for the City of Innocence, the night marked the true beginning of the day.

Everyone on the street had different destinations, but they all wore a look of anticipation, seemingly immensely looking forward to where they were going.

"How’s that, I was right, wasn’t I?" Indulgence and Passion were already cloaked as well, with Indulgence pointing to the bustling streets, "This is the true City of Innocence. It isn’t as bad here. Wait till we reach the main road, that’s even more magnificent, with the 20-meter wide avenue lined with carriages making it even more spectacular. At times, the traffic is so heavy that the entire road is gridlocked, with vehicles crawling along, it’s quite amusing."

"I must admit," Catherine nodded, "that this is another side of City of Innocence that I am seeing for the first time." (To be continued. If you like this novel, please vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest encouragement. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)