Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 363 - 74 The Unique ’Language’ of the City of Innocence_1

Chapter 363: Chapter 74 The Unique ’Language’ of the City of Innocence_1

"Hmm, heard something unexpected." Outside the venue, Pannis’s gaze flashed, a quirky smile on his face as he nodded sagely. "Looks like I’ve found someone to settle the score with, Catherine."

"There’s no need for that." Catherine sighed, although she also felt disgruntled, she nevertheless advised, "After all, I really have nothing else going on right now. Let it go. And don’t make a scene here."

"Crackle, crackle." The clamorous sound resurfaced from the communication device, frowning those who were attentively listening to the content inside.

"You can leave now." A spotty voice came from the device, "You have no business here anymore."

"What’s the rush?" Indulgence stopped him, laughing seductively. "The problem is unresolved. It’s not good to just leave."

"Are you trying to kill the witness?" Lord Cruel’s voice suddenly sounded a little hoarse. "So impatient already?"

"Your words sound strange." Indulgence’s voice also seemed a bit unnatural, still maintaining her seductive laugh. "It was clearly you who wanted to attack him, I only acted to save him. Why did you want to attack him? Because he already served his purpose by saying what you taught him?"

"Sounds like the two of them had a scuffle." Pannis frowned, "However, Passion didn’t get involved, so no one else did either. It must’ve been a probe. But even so, it seems a bit rushed."

"Not too hurried." Suspicion pondered, "Testing the waters now would make it difficult for others to gauge their capability and avoid making hasty decisions."

"Lord Cruel, be patient." In the communication device, the voice of Madness wasn’t mad at all, "Actually, I also find Joseph’s words a bit suspicious. Let’s postpone and clear it up later."

"Alright, I should join now." Hearing this, Suspicion snorted softly. "The waters are not yet muddy enough, everyone is hesitant to make a bet. Once I stir the water a bit, that should do it."

"When should we join?" Catherine asked, "Together with you?"

"No, manage your own timing." Suspicion moistened his lips and abruptly vanished from sight.

"I really don’t want to go in there." After Suspicion left, Lina finally conveyed the disgust on her face, "Just thinking about that scene makes me feel sick."

"Actually, they’re just openly exhibiting the ugliness that some humans hide." Catherine, who should be the most disgusted by such dark scenes, looked normal. Her aristocratic education had given her some resistance to this degree of darkness, "Those who hide their monstrosity are often more disgusting than them."

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"Lord Suspicion is surprisingly late." When Suspicion pushed open the conference room door, twelve gazes converged on him simultaneously. Sitting in the chief seat, Lord Cruel’s lips curled into a smile, "But it’s good that you’re here. Finally, all seven of us are present. This is the first time, isn’t it? The first time we’ve gathered outside of the Seven-Person Council? It seems we should thank Lord Suspicion and Lord Indulgence. If it weren’t for your actions, we wouldn’t have had this gathering."

"I wasn’t aware that I did anything?" Suspicion scoffed coldly. He pressed his hand on the back of an empty chair, gently sliding it to sit next to Passion, addressing all the captains, "I’m sitting here. Anyone objects?"

"Where you sit is naturally up to you." Dignifiedly sitting in her chair, Elegance responded with an everlasting smile, "But... are you sure you want to sit there? Picking there might make some things hard to explain."

"What’s the point of explaining unexplainable matters? The Shadow Hand would not indulge in such useless acts." For the first time in the meeting, Passion spoke a lengthy sentence. She was so unfamiliar with it that she felt awkward after voicing it. Eventually, returning to her usual concise manner, she said, "Nonsense."

"So, the three lords do not plan to explain the issue Joseph raised?" Madness was still leaning on his right hand, his gaze shifting between the two ends of the oval dining table, "What do you think, Lord Curiosity?"

"Me?" Squatting on the chair, Curiosity had just finished his job of intensively studying every unfamiliar item on the dinner table. Upon hearing Madness’s question, he wiped his face with a napkin, catching residues from various bits of food. He then touched his own nose while looking reserved, asking, "You’re asking me?"

"Of course." Madness’s expression remained unchanged, calmly looking at Curiosity’s face, "Unless there’s a second Lord Curiosity here?"

"I’m very curious, why are you asking me?" Curiosity displayed an innocent expression, his eyes sparking with curiosity, scratching his head and asking innocently, "I have no clue what happened over the two months, not to mention whether what he said was real or not, that’s why I’m here. If I had any opinions, I would have left long ago. Why would I waste time here?"

"Indeed, Lord Curiosity, it’s hard to decide who to trust at the moment," Madness bit his fingernails, his gaze wandering over the face of the crowd, "Honestly, it’s hard to settle the matter as each side has put forth a compelling argument."

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"As far as I know, no one, aside from Joseph’s initial statement, said anything substantial. These people..." Outside the meeting room, Lina was bemused and at a loss for words to express the feelings she had in her heart.

"Hmm, they’re merely outlining their temporary positions." Pannis shrugged helplessly, "A shift in the power dynamics between the factions, for them, forms their language. They might seem to be talking nonsense but each seemingly meaningless word could in fact be a matter of life and death for them."

"I understand all too well." Lina sighed, "However, I still can’t adapt to such falseness and darkness."

"That’s why you have so many ’friends’." Pannis hinted, "It’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it?"

"I..." Lina wanted to say something, her lips quivered as if to form words, but in the end, she just let out a soft sigh.

"I had already anticipated this kind of disagreement, and I also had doubts about Joseph’s words." There was silence on the communicator for a while before the voice of Cruel resounded, "So, taking a leaf out of Lord Passion and Indulgence’s books, I invited two outsiders. I asked them to infiltrate the underground waterway on my behalf to find out what transpired. The answers they brought back were shocking. Would you like me to invite them to meet everyone?"

"That would be best." Lord Elegant sounded quite pleased, "This would clear up things and everyone would be able to relax. Therefore, I would like to request you, Lord Cruel, to invite them."

"That’s about it," Pannis suddenly said, "Let’s get ready, we should go in now."

"The two people he mentioned must be the two black-robed mages from the Sands of Time." Catherine sneered, "It’s time to avenge the thousand people from Spindle Village."

"However, we don’t have an invitation, do we?" Teresa, as a clergy, asked nervously, "Can we still go in?"

"Who said we don’t have one?" Pannis, who was about to ascend the grand steps at the entrance of the Crown Casino, paused as he pulled out a red invitation from his pocket and waved it in his hand. "Isn’t this it?"

"Hey, that’s theft, isn’t it?" Lina had adjusted her mood within a few minutes and exclaimed, "This is illegal, sis. There’s a thief here, catch him quick!"

"Shh," Pannis placed a finger on his lips, "This is the City of Innocence, so I am innocent."

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An obscure door on one side of the meeting room opened. As per Cruel’s instruction, the two robed mages made their way through the resting area and approached the platform where the team leaders gathered. Looking at the two black-robed mages, every team leader frowned. The two people were indeed normal Legendary-Rank mages with a semblance of life, but they were shrouded in a heavy deathly aura, indistinguishable between life and death.

"To avoid the puppets that suddenly appeared in the underground waterway, the two masters enveloped themselves with death using secret techniques, so the puppets cannot discern whether they are alive." Cruel explained, "Only in this way could they silently advance in the underground waterway, infiltrate the hiding spot of the heretics to uncover a well-kept secret. Masters, please take a seat and enlighten us on your findings."

"It’s not necessary. Standing here is fine." One of the black-robed mages replied. At least five meters separated the two mages from the oval dining table. Quite clearly, these two, being mages, would by no means intimately approach a group of thieves of the same level, let alone sit with them.

"Whatever the masters wish." Cruel did not insist that the mages take a seat. Perhaps, he guessed long ago that they would not join them. He continued in line with the mages’ wishes, "Then, please enlighten us about your discoveries."

Since the appearance of the two mages, everyone carried on as before, but their expressions and gaze had shifted slightly. Curiosity observed the two men interestingly, seemingly studying the deathly aura they emitted. However sporadic sharp glances divulged the changes in his heart. Madness remained composed, but the way he looked at Passion and Indulgence seemed intriguing. Passion and Indulgence were still nestled together, but since the two mages appeared, the two had been exhibiting slight restlessness. Only Elegance remained unaffected, still as graceful as ever.

"There’s not much to say," the two mages looked towards Passion and said in a cold tone, "We just saw her negotiating with several purple-robed cultists."

"In such circumstances, can we now draw conclusions?" Cruel asked with an enigmatic smile, "Or would Lord Passion and Indulgence like to raise any objections?"

"Bang," the door of the meeting room was suddenly kicked open drawing everyone’s attention to it. In the same instant, the seven individuals around the oval dining table seemed to have disappeared and then reappeared, leading those who saw this to believe it was just an illusion. However, it was not an illusion; there were apparent changes around the dining table. (To be continued... If you like this work, please show your support on Qidian, your support is my greatest motivation. You can read it at m.qidian.com for mobile users.)