Yarra’s Adventure Notes -
Chapter 652 - 16 Storytelling_1
Chapter 652: Chapter 16 Storytelling_1
"What are you talking about?" Chester looked at Pannis with confusion and asked oddly, "I don’t quite understand what you mean."
"Um, that’s no wonder, after all, I’m not very clear." Pannis patted his head, making an enlightened expression. "Let me put it this way, I accidentally found a crumpled piece of sheepskin, which recorded some interesting information, don’t you want to hear it?"
Uncertainty flickered across Chester’s face as he sought help from two old men with big beards. "Uncle Dak, Uncle Mayor, why does this guy keep talking such weird things?"
The mayor’s gaze flickered as he stroked his unruly beard and sat down next to Old Dak, whispering, "Little Chester, some parts of what he says I also find interesting, you can also listen, maybe there will be unexpected gains."
"Yeah, haha, it won’t hurt to listen." Pannis pulled a crumpled piece of thin sheepskin from his pocket, gently unfolding it bit by bit, and casually said, "We should be thankful for the Snowfield people’s habit of using sheepskin as a writing tool. If it were regular paper, it would have been soaked and destroyed, not possibly kept this intact. By the way, Mr. Chester, can you guess where I found this sheepskin? I think you’re so smart, you should be able to guess."
"I don’t know." Chester said sullenly, "What are you trying to say? Just say it, don’t beat around the bush."
"Alright, then I will reveal the answer." Pannis lowered his voice, full of mystery, "Just now on the Snowfield, we found Neil’s body. It was horrible, his body was covered with what looked like claw marks left by a magical beast, even his stomach was split open, half his intestines were exposed, and he was covering his stomach with his hands as if trying to stuff his intestines back in before he died. That gruesome sight, you should remember it, right?"
"How could I remember." Chester’s face turned ashen, and he gritted his teeth, "I wasn’t there at all."
"Hehe, it doesn’t matter if you remember or not, let’s continue with the situation at that time." Pannis finally carefully unfolded the sheepskin, which was covered in blood. "Then I noticed that he didn’t seem to be covering his wound with his hand, because two of his fingers had already reached into the wound. Imagine how painful that would be, there must be a reason. So I felt around inside the part of the intestines where his fingers were, and it turns out that before he died, he chose to endure the pain to hide this piece of sheepskin in his stomach. What kind of horrifying willpower does it take to endure the pain to do something like this? What kind of secret is hidden in this piece of sheepskin?"
"What does it say, exactly." Lina impatiently said, "You’re acting so mysteriously, it’s so annoying. Just read it out."
"The content is quite simple." Pannis ran his finger over the sheepskin and spoke, "It’s just a letter of apology from a girl to a boy she grew up with. The letter says she chose someone else, and she feels very sorry for the boy she’s apologizing to. She hopes that he can forgive her, and not to hate her."
"Um, indeed very simple." Lina received the bloodstained sheepskin from Pannis, reading it as she spoke, "Wait, no, the one being apologized to..."
"Weird, isn’t it." Pannis squinted his eyes with a mysterious smile, "The one being apologized to, surprisingly, isn’t the imagined loser, Mr. Chester, but Mr. Neil, who has already become a cold corpse. This doesn’t fit with the information we received before, that Miss Betty had chosen Mr. Neil as the lucky one. Dear Mr. Chester, I don’t know if you can explain the secret hidden here?"
"I don’t know." Chester’s breath was a bit rushed, but he still kept his composure and said, "It wasn’t written to me, how could I possibly know what secret is hidden in it. If you know, why don’t you tell us."
"Alright, alright, I’ll say it." Pannis shrugged, "Well, let me tell you a story. This story is based on the current situation. If there is anything wrong with it, I hope you all can point it out."
"In a world blanketed by ice and snow, there was an insignificant little town, within which lived two friends close as brothers. They had arbitrary names, let’s call them Tom and Jerry. They grew up together with a beautiful girl, named Ariel. Gradually, Tom and Jerry both fell in love with Ariel, while Ariel was also in love with both brothers, torn between the two while trying to make choice."
"Finally, one day, Ariel decided, she chose Tom, who was slightly older. While confessing her feelings to Tom, she wrote Jerry a letter. In the letter, Ariel explained her choice clearly, and also apologized to Jerry. Jerry felt heartbroken and devastated, but he respected Ariel’s choice, while also honored his friendship with Tom, who was like an older brother to him. The next day, he invited Tom over to his house, and gave him his blessings."
"As for Jerry’s actions, Tom was deeply moved, but for some reason, his words always somehow incited Jerry. In the end, Jerry came up with the idea to leave the little town and try his luck up in the north, to leave this heartbroken place and search for new love in the wider world outside."
"Jerry, a very impatient person, packed his luggage the same night he made his decision. He entrusted his home to his most trusted older brother, and rode off on his sled from the little town. Tom and Jerry grew up together, and Tom seemed very reluctant about Jerry’s departure. So, accompanied Jerry on his way in the blizzard to see him off. After over an hour, Jerry worried that Tom might encounter danger on his way back, so he hugged Tom to say goodbye."
"However, Jerry would have never imagined, when they hugged, his stomach was suddenly torn open by a sharp blade. On a closer look, Tom’s hand was wearing a gauntlet made to mimic the claw of a snow leopard, which pierced Jerry’s abdomen. After his successful attack, regardless of Jerry’s shocked eyes and his hoarse questioning, Tom attacked Jerry brutally with the strange gauntlet, leaving countless wounds on him. Not until Jerry was at his last breath and about to faint, did Tom stop. He tampered with Jerry’s luggage before quickly leaving on a snowboard. Both Tom and Jerry knew that Jerry won’t survive, however, Tom never imagined that even though Jerry was heartbroken and desperate, Jerry was carrying the farewell letter from his beloved. Before dying, Jerry wanted to expose Tom’s actions, but fearing that Tom might check his body, Jerry stuffed Ariel’s letter into the wound on his belly, just to leave a clue for whoever finds his body."
"So, what do you think of my story?" Pannis smirked, "Isn’t it interesting?"
"Not particularly." Lina shook her head while holding a book, "Tom’s actions were baffling. Unless he was the loser, his actions would make sense, but he clearly had Ariel’s affections, Jerry was the loser. He had no reason to set this up, to kill a friend who was like a brother to him."
"Of course, if we were only talking about this story, it wouldn’t make sense at all," Pannis nodded, "However, if we link it to another aspect of the story, everything can be explained."
"Tom was a very good young man, smart, strong, brave, with his only flaw being a love for adventure. For a few extra gold coins, he would risk hunting dangerous game. Of course, to the villagers, this wasn’t a flaw. But what if, instead of being adventurous, he was simply greedy?"
"Like sister?" Lina asked tilting her head, "The one who goes crazy at the sound of gold coins?"
"Ahem, not that severe," Pannis coughed twice, "Anyway, he’s just quite fond of money. That’s the only plausible motive I could think of. Of course, there could be other reasons but, overall, it could probably be attributed to personal greed. One day, two guys approached him and made him a deal. They brided him to do something awful to a girl in the village that would ultimately lead to her death, and in return, Tom could have everything he wanted."
"Tom was hesitant because the girl happened to be Ariel, his childhood friend. On one hand was everything he wanted, on the other was the girl he loved. After a long dilemma, Tom finally made up his mind."
"Just on that day, Ariel came to visit Tom, she expressed her choice and feelings to Tom, wanting to live with Tom forever, and told Tom that she had explained everything to Jerry. Tom was thrilled. He secretly encouraged Ariel to go to the north with him and live richly among the upper class."
"Tom’s promise made Ariel richly forget everything. She readily followed Tom’s advice, left a letter for her father according to Tom’s dictation, and then she never appeared in front of people again." Pannis’s gaze swept across Chester’s face, squinting his eyes and asked, "My dear Mr. Chester, where do you think Ariel is now, who never appeared again in the story?"
With the narration from Pannis, both the mayor and Betty’s father, Old Dak, their faces grew gloomier. Although there were many unclear parts in Pannis’s story, the potential implications chilled the two old men to the bone. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly passes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile readers please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
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