Eternal Illusion Chapter 5 A Road to Redemption

A Road to Redemption

Boss Cody, were those two really from the Silver Creek City Goddess Church? Since when are Goddess Church people so shameless? Right—I've never met people more shameless than us before. I don't think they're clergy at all. I can't prove they're real, but I also can't prove they're fake. In cases like this, better safe than sorry. We're nobodies—we can talk tough, but who can we actually afford to cross?

Boss, the job fell through. Now there's no way to deliver, no payment. What about your sister's illness?

If it weren't for that old bastard's mistake back then—if it weren't for him, boss wouldn't be working for that kind of asshole, having to watch his temper every day.

Enough—don't say more. Be careful of walls having ears. Whether they're church people or not, they're unlikely to stay in a dirt-poor village like that. They'll probably leave by nightfall, so we can sneak into the village under cover of darkness and steal the things from that kid's house.

Boss, you're so smart!

Nonsense—how else would he be boss? If it weren't for that old bastard, boss might've gone to the academy by now.

Well? The inner voices are a bit chaotic—let me sort it out. Simply put, that man named Cody has a seriously ill younger sister named Nina. Years ago, her father tried to assault Nina while drunk, and the enraged Cody slit his throat. Cody went to prison, and it was his friends who took care of Nina while he was inside.

Those friends pulled every connection they could, tried everything, and barely got Cody's sentence reduced to three years. After release, Cody planned to work honestly, support his family, treat his sister's illness, and repay those friends. But because the story of him killing someone and going to prison had spread, no shop would hire him. Using a fake name didn't help—he has a burn scar on his face; his identity couldn't be hidden.

Desperate, he and those friends started doing dirty work for one of the lord's squires.

Lord's squire? I remember Norn's eldest brother was also a lord's squire. What do we do now—go in and kill them all?

Stop thinking about killing everyone all day. They're not like those utterly evil bandit gangs.

But they work for the lord's squire—they have blood on their hands too.

Just watch what I do first.

Who are you people? What do you want here?

Calm down. Can we talk?

Of course.

See that? His eyes instantly cleared up. That was my illusion art just now—just to let you understand my capabilities. No need to actually fight and wreck this place. A perfectly good house—why destroy it? Repairs cost money, time, and effort. Don't you agree?

You're absolutely right.

Of course, if you don't cooperate, I can actually tear this place down.

We'll definitely cooperate! We've been the most honest people in the region since childhood—right?

Actually, don't be too stressed. I'm a church priest, after all. I'm a man of great love. If my intelligence is correct, Cody—you were forced to do dirty work for the lord's squire to raise money to treat your seriously ill sister, weren't you?

How do you know that?

Don't underestimate my intelligence network. You only need to answer one thing. If you could get a decent job with pay equal to or better than what you make now, would you be willing to stop the petty theft, bullying, and even killing for money?

Father, if it weren't for circumstances, who'd want to be a rat in the gutter?

The adventurer's guild in Silver Creek City is actually short on helpers. The specific job is caring for the guild's two hundred horses—basically being stable masters. You know how most adventurers are rude and grabby. Before, some adventurers borrowed horses and refused to return them, and even threatened the stable master not to report the unreturned horses to the guild.

That stable master was timid, afraid of revenge, so he bought a cheap horse out of pocket as a replacement. When it came to light, the original stable master was fired. The guild director has been looking for capable, bold but careful people with some skills who aren't afraid of offending others to tend the guild's horses. Pay is fifty silver coins per person per month.

Fifty silver coins—really that much?

Silver Creek City is a big city. Its guild is one of the top in the eastern kingdom. The commissions there are so numerous the adventurers can't even finish them all. How could wages be low?

Father, are you going to introduce us to work there?

Of course.

Why help us? We had a conflict not long ago. I don't believe there are saints in this world who repay evil with kindness.

True—but the thing is, even if I wanted to get rich through violence, you lot couldn't withstand one punch from me. So I've decided on a different kind of wealth. I want you to work for me.

You mean go work at the guild and turn over our wages to you?

Of course not—I wouldn't even look at that pittance. I just want you, while doing your jobs properly, to also do ten good deeds every day in the city without seeking any reward, and to do them in the name of Mike Leon. Say you're sinners guided by Leon to turn over a new leaf. Say you're just learning from Leon, emulating Mike Leon's noble character—doing good without leaving a name.

Doesn't that feel a bit embarrassing?

If it weren't embarrassing, how could it make you rich? And this way you can spread my excellent character throughout Silver Creek City—killing two birds with one stone. Perfect. Brother Cody, which feels better—being a good person or a bad person?

A good person, of course.

Then the opportunity to be good is before you. Will you take it?

Father, you really don't hold my earlier disrespect against me?

I told you, this is my revenge. And with my strength, if I wanted to kill you, I would've done it already—why waste all these words?

Can my brothers and I all go?

Two hundred horses—one or two people can't handle them all. The guild also has several prized warhorses, each needing multiple caretakers. They can never have too many stable masters.

Father, please give us this chance. We don't want to do those shameful dirty jobs anymore.

Now that's the spirit. Making mistakes is normal—who hasn't made mistakes in life? Make a mistake, fix it; make another, fix it again; make again, fix again—tempered through countless trials.

You're absolutely right. But I'm afraid that lord's squire won't leave us alone.

Don't worry. I'll deal with him later and ensure you have no worries. But first, tell me everything you know.

About today—there's one thing I don't understand. You wanted to rob Norn's house from the start, didn't you?

Why? That kid named Norn has an eldest brother who's also a knight's squire. Though his magic talent is poor, his combat instincts are outstanding—he faces demon beasts without fear. The lord favors him greatly. Rumor says the lord even gave him some special magic device, but no one knows the specifics except him and the knight lord.

Our employer is named James. He's always coveted that mysterious magic device. After that kid's eldest brother collapsed, the knight lord personally sent people to escort him home with honor. James had no chance to act, so he hired us to rob the village—first a few random houses, then take everything suspicious that could be a magic device from the kid's home.

I see. What else do you know about this James?

I know he colluded with the steward to embezzle the lord's special aid supplies and infrastructure funds for the villages. Made a fortune. Also, Father, don't you think it's strange? That kid's eldest brother was clearly valued by the lord, yet the lord didn't give any compensation.

Maybe the lord is just stingy?

The lord isn't stingy. For example, he never takes back magic devices he's issued—even if a squire dies in battle, he sends someone to deliver the device to the squire's family. In his view, the devices and weapons he issues are proof of their bloody battles against demon beasts—honors belonging to the squires. He has no right to strip their glory.

Well-spoken and dignified. This lord is just like those hypocrites from Heavenly Heart Sect—one face in public, another behind your back. So although there's no evidence, we all believe that the compensation for those critically ill squires returning home has always been stolen by James and the steward. The lord wouldn't personally deliver money, and he wouldn't track every coin's flow.

I also remember something. James has more than just us doing dirty work. I heard from others that James might be planning to run away recently.

Why would he suddenly have such thoughts?

Apparently, the demon beasts in the west have intensified their attacks recently. Expert spies in the army obtained intelligence that there are special individuals with abnormally powerful mana among the demons—likely meaning a Demon King is personally leading the campaign.

A Demon King is no big deal. If they really reach the far eastern border, I'll wipe them out casually. But the Demon King is attacking from the west—a hundred thousand miles from this far eastern border. Why would he be afraid? Mainly because the lord intends to lead troops to the front and has already chosen his successor. And James, that coward, fears death and wants to run early.

I roughly understand now. Cody, do you still have the things you looted from the village? Yes. Why? Return them, and apologize to each household you bullied. Even if they beat you, you must not fight back or talk back.

But... I... Come on! I'm a priest of the Goddess Church, after all—not just any trash can become my subordinate. I'm waiting for you to do good deeds every day to spread my name. If you can't even show the proper attitude for doing good now, then forget about Silver Creek City.

I understand. We'll do it right away. Jiang Qiu, can you tell me why now? They're just people who'll do anything for money. Because you offered better terms, they chose to be good. If evil offered greater benefits, they'd choose to remain rats in the gutter without hesitation.

There are many despicable people like this in the world. They may have hardships, but that doesn't cover up their lowly, ugly human nature, and it can't erase their past crimes. By being such a promiscuous "good person," you only make your kindness cheap.

Your commentary is getting sharper. But we are dao cultivators. If we can't accept the ugliness of humanity, how can we speak of divinity? Cultivate what dao? Achieve what immortality? Of course, this doesn't mean forgiving all sins. We also don't have the right to forgive on behalf of the victims.

Then why not kill them? Do you think the world is better with one more corpse or one more reformed person? Don't the victims deserve compensation? Sins can be severed in one stroke, but the scars left by evil deeds never disappear. In that case, it's better to let sins be repaid bit by bit.

In short—for those who can be converted, find ways to convert them; for those who cannot, kill them directly and decisively. One must be both compassionate to all beings and wield vajra methods to eliminate evil thoroughly. I believe balancing the two is one manifestation of divinity.

That's too difficult. That's why immortals aren't easy to cultivate and gods aren't easy to become. Let's go—to the lord's manor. Do you discriminate against old people?