Chapter 879: Good Deeds

“That’s not how you should put it… child.”

Aunt Tong was incredibly patient. Even though Aries repeatedly displayed aggression in his words, trying to push her away, she acted as though she hadn’t heard any of it.

I always felt that Aunt Tong’s way of thinking was different from normal people… or perhaps her thoughts existed on a higher plane?

“While ‘eliminating stray thoughts’ might earn the favor of the ‘Mother Goddess,’ it doesn’t mean having ‘stray thoughts’ is unacceptable,” Aunt Tong continued. “Child, the fact that the two of us can stand here and talk is also, in some unseen way, the intervention of the ‘Mother Goddess.’ So she must have already noticed you.”

“Oh?” Aries responded ambiguously. “Then is your ‘Mother Goddess’ planning to help me?”

“She will. But before that…” Aunt Tong smiled, “I need to ask you a question on behalf of the ‘Mother Goddess.'”

“Go ahead.”

This time, Aunt Tong didn’t press her hand against Aries’ chest. Instead, she gently lifted one of his hands with both of hers.

A distant bell tolled, and an eerie aura seemed to emanate from Aunt Tong.

Aries seemed to sense the strangeness of the situation, but he didn’t pull his hand back. He just stared at her expressionlessly.

“Child, how many ‘good deeds’ have you done?” Aunt Tong asked abruptly.

“‘Good deeds’…?” Aries’ eyes glazed over for a few seconds before hardening again. “Almost none. I’m a conman—I rarely do ‘good deeds.'”

I was stunned. I had imagined many possible professions for Aries in the real world—even a “negotiator”—but never a “conman.”

How should I describe this feeling?

Put simply, I’ve known Aries for a long time, yet I’ve never sensed any trace of “evil” from him.

Honestly… even someone like Zhang Qiang, a petty thief, exudes more of an “evil” aura than Aries.

Could it be that Aries is just too high-level for me to perceive?

“So you’re a ‘conman’…?” Aunt Tong nodded slowly. “It seems I still can’t fully grasp the will of the ‘Mother Goddess’…”

Frowning slightly, she looked at Aries and asked, “Child, are you really a conman?”

“Do I have any reason to lie to you?” Aries countered.

“Have you always been one?” Aunt Tong pressed.

“Believe what you want.”

Just as Aries was about to pull his hand back, Aunt Tong tightened her grip.

“Anything else?” Aries asked.

“Child, I often struggle to understand the will of the ‘Mother Goddess,'” Aunt Tong said. “But I always trust her unconditionally, because she is everything. Since she brought us together, there must be a reason.”

Aries remained silent, his gaze fixed on her.

“I thought only enough ‘good deeds’ could accumulate sufficient ‘good karma,’ and everything would fall into place. But I never expected the ‘Mother Goddess’ to extend an olive branch to someone like you. You must have something extraordinary about you.”

“I don’t understand,” Aries said. “Are you trying to activate some kind of ‘Echo’ in me? Or are you telling me this ‘Mother Goddess’ is just a product of your ‘Echo’?”

“The ‘Mother Goddess’ is a product of ‘Echo’?” Aunt Tong shook her head. “No, child. All ‘Echoes’ are the products of the ‘Mother Goddess.’ She grants us these extraordinary abilities so we may sense her presence.”

“Hmph.” Aries nodded. “Then what ‘extraordinary ability’ did the ‘Mother Goddess’ grant you?”

“Child, I am ‘Karma.'”

“Karma…?” A pause. Aries’ eyes flickered with doubt. “Are you joking? There’s an ‘Echo’ called ‘Karma’ here?”

Not just him—even I was baffled.

Of all the ‘Echoes’ I’ve heard of so far, their names at least hinted at their abilities. But how was I supposed to understand a religious term like “Karma”?

Aunt Tong turned to Jiang Ruoxue with a smile. “If little Jiang can be ‘Causality,’ why can’t I be ‘Karma’?”

“‘Causality’…?” Aries’ gaze shifted to Jiang Ruoxue. After a long silence, he muttered, “Interesting.”

“Child, I initially thought you had accumulated much ‘good karma,’ which would lead to favorable outcomes,” Aunt Tong said. “But your misconduct has built ‘bad karma,’ clouding your path ahead.”

“Then how do you distinguish between my ‘good karma’ and ‘bad karma’?” Aries retorted. “What if what you see as ‘bad karma’ is actually a ‘good karma’ I’ve spent decades orchestrating? How would you judge that? With a thousand people holding a thousand different beliefs, how do you evaluate my actions?”

“Child, good and evil aren’t determined by me, nor by the views of the countless beings in this world…” Aunt Tong said. “They’re determined by you.”

“What…?”

“As long as you believe what you’re doing is ‘good karma,’ one day the ‘Mother Goddess’ will grant you the blessings you deserve,” Aunt Tong continued. “These blessings may manifest in ways you see or don’t see—small as altering words on a slip of paper, large as altering a person’s fate. In this world, one reaps what one sows. All beings are bound by this truth.”

“One reaps what one sows. All beings are bound by this truth…” Aries murmured the words, as if something had clicked in his mind.

“So when you admitted to being a ‘conman,’ you affirmed your own ‘bad karma,'” Aunt Tong said. “But the ‘Mother Goddess’ is still the ‘Mother Goddess.’ Her thoughts are beyond our mortal understanding. Even though you’ve affirmed your ‘bad karma,’ she still chooses to favor you. This is her will. I am merely following it.”

“‘Causality’… ‘Karma’… I see…” A faint glimmer of understanding flashed in Aries’ eyes. Even his tone carried a hint of reverence now. “I think… I suddenly get it. The ‘Mother Goddess’… might truly exist here.”

“Child,” Aunt Tong said, “there’s no ‘might.’ You will meet her. She will give you what you deserve.”

Aries stared at Aunt Tong for a long moment before lowering his head slightly. “I was rude earlier. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” Aunt Tong smiled. “Thank the ‘Mother Goddess’—and yourself.”

Jiang Ruoxue and I stood behind Aunt Tong, dumbfounded, unable to interject.

Even someone as bold as Jiang Ruoxue couldn’t interfere with their conversation—what could I possibly add?

“Ruoxue…” I whispered beside her. “Did you understand any of that?”

No response. I glanced over and realized she hadn’t been listening at all—she was hiding behind me, flipping through the comic Aries had dropped earlier.

“Ruoxue!!” I called out urgently.

“Huh?” She looked up, blinking. “What’s up? Are the two sages done talking?”