The girl glanced at Zhou Shirong, then summoned her courage. "I'm not afraid of you. You may look gloomy, but you're not a bad person. Otherwise, you would've killed us just now. My granny said she'd read a biography of Duke Mingde. He was a great sage, and no matter how unworthy his descendants might be, they wouldn't be unable to tell good from evil. My granny also said there's no such thing as karma in this world. It's just a delusion of the human heart. People do good deeds hoping for good fortune in their next life, and do evil deeds before burning incense and praying to Buddha to erase their sins. It can't be that simple."
"All the affairs of this world come down to just two things: good and evil. To know good from evil is to have a clear conscience. As long as you act according to your conscience, why worry about karmic retribution? My father brought us here to sweep Duke Mingde's tomb, not because he feared karmic retribution, but because Granny taught us to live and act without losing our conscience. When dealing with others, you should ask your own heart. There's no karma—only good and evil."
When the girl finished speaking, Xu Yi froze. His eyes were hollow and lifeless, yet his thoughts roamed the vast reaches of the universe, stirring up a stormy sea.
That was right. He had exhausted himself trying to deduce karma: countless causes gave rise to countless effects, and countless effects gave rise to countless causes. Where could it all end?
He had treated Yuan Qinghua as a dear friend and given him a secure life, never imagining that this would instead make the Yuan family prosper and enjoy limitless wealth. Yet Yuan Qinghua had grown extravagantly rich,