You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿ - Chapter 203

They were making a huge fuss, saying that an immortal had appeared.
[Of course, it's fine for them to enter our city, right? After all, they're an immortal!] [Yeah, that's right. If it's an immortal, they should be welcomed no matter what!]

Han Jaeyoung, who had been standing still as if nailed to the spot, poked me in the side.
"Immortal, congratulations."
"...Iâd like my party to be inspected as well. We want to enter the city together."

"Youâre thinking you canât die alone, right?"
Han Jaeyoung muttered something under his breath, but it was the same for everyoneâif they wanted to enter the city, they had to be inspected.
When Han Jaeyoung and Yuhanul were being inspected with the troublesome items:

"..."
I frowned.
The results were highly unexpected.

When the two were inspected, there was no dazzling blue light like mine.
"...It's red?"
Instead, the opposite, a red light, appeared.

"Whatâs going on?"
"Uh... I didn't expect this."
It was a result that could only surprise both Han Jaeyoung and Yuhanul.

To be honest, I also thought the same color would appear, so this was quite a surprise.
While the three of us were momentarily frozen by the unexpected results, the two people standing at the Watchtower exchanged some murmurs and nodded.
[Theyâre a valuable guest. If they want to enter the city, we can let them in.]

"..."
I exchanged uneasy glances with Han Jaeyoung.
Did I think too one-dimensionally?
The blue color they had been so excited about, and now the opposite red colorâit made me wonder if they were causing a commotion because they thought the two of them were evil.

âA valuable guest, huh.â
They said they distinguish between immortals and evildoers, but calling someone a "valuable guest" instead of categorizing them as good or evil felt ambiguous.
"What does âvaluable guestâ even mean...?"

[However, before entering the city, thereâs one promise you must make.]
"What promise?"
A man who awkwardly wore a sword spoke solemnly.

[In this city, you must never cause a disturbance. Stay in the designated places. And follow the city managerâs rules.]
"What are the managerâs rules?"
[Even if you're a guest, if the manager tells you to leave, you must leave immediately.]

That was an extremely unsettling rule.
We must follow the manager's orders, no questions asked?
Han Jaeyoung and I exchanged quick glances, and then Han Jaeyoung stepped forward.

"Weâre caught up in an accident, so of course, weâd follow the rules if you accept us... But, isn't this person, according to your standards, someone like the immortal teacher Hyunam? Shouldnât we leave if the manager tells us to?"
It was a relief to have Han Jaeyoung aroundâhe was quick on the uptake and asked a very precise question.
âI donât understand how this city works.â

The words "immortal teacher Hyunam" and "manager" were mentioned separately, so based on their answers, I could figure out the hierarchy of these two entities.
The two people at the Watchtower looked at each other in response to Han Jaeyoung's question.
[Well... Actually, itâs our first time encountering an immortal like this... What should we do?]

[First, we should contact the manager...]
"I see. But who is this manager? Is the manager higher than immortal teacher Hyunam?"
[Why does it matter? Are you thinking of not following the rules of our city?]

This question received a surprisingly sharp response.
Han Jaeyoung quickly retreated.
"Ah, if I upset you, Iâm sorry. Itâs just, weâve been so exhausted, and Iâm worried weâll be chased out without even a chance to rest..."

"Cough!"
I timed it perfectly and feigned a weak cough.
The looks from the people who had been stern softened a little.

Was it because I had received the immortal certification?
[No need to worry. We think itâs polite to treat guests well. If you follow the rules, there wonât be any issue with being chased out.]
[Weâll send someone to guide you to a vacant guest room. Wait there. We can give an immortal their own room, butâ¦]

"No, Iâll go with them."
In this uncertain situation, it feels awkward to separate from those who might be useful as shields, even if theyâre inconvenient.
[Alright, the immortal can do as they please.]

[Friendship is more precious than gold.]
Their responses were uncomfortable in several ways, but⦠in the end, I had no information about the city, so it was better to enter first, since I had been granted permission.
-The system provides direction.

The system still pointed towards the remnants beyond the city.
Creeeak!
[Come this way.]

And, it seemed the promise to let us into the city wasnât a lie. The door to the safe area truly opened.
"...Iâll go first."
Yuhanul nodded quietly and then passed through the door the people had opened.

And nothing happened.
"Meow!"
-Disappointment!

Leo, in my arms, spoke my feelings out loud.
I clicked my tongue softly.
âHonestly, I thought the moment the door opened, arrows would start flying at us.â

Things never go as planned.
At that moment, people shouted from above the Watchtower.
[What are you doing? Hurry up and come in!]

[The immortal looks so tired, Iâm worried.]
But contrary to my expectations, I didnât see any hostility in the faces of the seemingly simple people. They were actually quite friendly, almost as if welcoming us.
It wasnât even as if they were monitoring usâmore like they were part of a welcoming party.

Given the formation and the precautions they had in place, this city had clearly been exposed to attacks at some point.
But why were these ordinary people working at the Watchtower without even having awakened powers?
It raised many questions.

"...Something about this feels ominous. Honestly, I donât want to go in."
It seemed Han Jaeyoung had the same feeling.
"Now that I think about it, it might be better to split up rather than go in all at once... Ow."

I grabbed Han Jaeyoungâs ear and ⪠NоvеlÑgÒ»t ⪠(Official version) pinched it mercilessly.
"Where do you think you're going off on your own? If anyone is going to separate, it should be me."
The hero, the fairy, the demon king. Who canât see that this group doesnât quite fit together?

"Hey, Daon, youâre an immortal. How could you separate... Ouch!"
I tugged at Han Jaeyoung's ear while passing through the door.
The people at the Watchtower laughed as they watched us.

[Ha ha, looks like you get along well. Are you siblings?]
[Arenât they sisters? Anyway, you should listen to the immortal.]
I heard some unpleasant remarks.

I let go of Han Jaeyoungâs ear and clapped my hands.
Han Jaeyoung rubbed his ear and whispered softly to me.
"By the way, whatâs that jewel hanging over thereâ¦? It looks like some kind of item."

"Well, itâs definitely not an item for judging good and evil."
Thereâs no way something as flimsy as that could judge whoâs good or evil.
âIf itâs not a dragonâs eye embedded in it, then itâs impossible.â

To judge a personâs good or evil, it would mean the ability to see through their soul.
The system, being a collective intelligence, could essentially know everything happening on Earth and could judge good and evil based on its own criteria.
However, thereâs no way an item attached to such a flimsy precaution could judge immortals and evildoers.

âIf it really was a way to judge immortals, then Yuhanul and Han Jaeyoung wouldnât have such different colors.â
Even now, Yuhanulâs soul still shines annoyingly brightly in my view.
Han Jaeyoung too... well, he could technically be considered an immortal.

So, that item was definitely some kind of scam concocted by Immortal Teacher Hyunam.
Of course, seeing the different colors on each person, it seems thereâs some kind of criterion to this judging system.
And that criterion, what could it be�

âMoreover, I have the same color as Immortal Teacher Hyunam.â
How does this judging system classify people as having the same color as me?
The first thing that comes to mind is mana, but if that were the case, Yuhanul and I shouldnât have different colors.

Many hypotheses came to mind and vanished quickly.
[The guest has arrived?]
At that moment, I saw a middle-aged woman walking leisurely from afar.

It seemed she was the one the people at the Watchtower had contacted.
She scanned the three of us with a cautious look.
[Are these the outsiders?]

[Yeah. Since theyâre guests, take them to the empty guest rooms. They said they were hurt, so get them some medicine.]
[The doctor should already be asleep, but theyâll see them in the early morning.]
[It doesnât look like any serious injuries, so they should be fine. Letâs feed them first. Oh, andâ¦]

The person speaking quickly tapped my shoulder.
[This person, theyâre amazing.]
[Whatâs amazing? Theyâre carrying a cat, thatâs unusual.]

[No, itâs not that. Theyâre the same kind of immortal as Immortal Teacher Hyunam. Their light was blue.]
[What? Is that true, or is it a lie?]
[Why would I lie? They had the same light as Immortal Teacher Hyunam.]

[Wow, amazing. An immortal?]
The womanâs cautious gaze instantly turned into one of admiration.
Because of that, I couldnât shake off the uncomfortable feeling.

[My name is So Mun-Young. You can just call me Aunt So.]
So Mun-Young smiled and extended her hand to me.
I stared at the hand she offered.

"...Yes, I look forward to working with you."
My hesitation didnât last long.
No matter how uncomfortable I felt, rejecting her friendly gesture would contradict the concept of a âpoor foreign hunter who got caught in an accident.â

[Follow me. Alright, Iâll take the guests. Take care.]
[Yeah, see you later!]
[Goodbye!]

The people at the Watchtower waved as they let us enter.
It was a scene that felt surprisingly warm.

Considering the situation with the city that was completely covered in the Qi Men Dun Jia formations, it didnât match at all.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than .net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
[You must have had a hard time with the accident. Where are you from?]
So Mun-Youngâs attitude was also very friendly.

"Ah, Iâm from Korea."
[Korea! I know it well. In the past, Koreans often came to Suzhou for tourismâ¦]
So Mun-Young trailed off, probably because after the system was introduced, the city had almost stopped accepting foreign tourists.

[Korea even has immortals, huh? Thatâs amazing. Where did you learn that?]
"..."
I didnât know how to answer, so I kept silent.

[Ah, the road here is a bit rough, so be careful where you step.]
As So Mun-Young said, the road from the precautions was quite rugged.
Other than a narrow path cleared enough for one or two people to walk, the rest was overrun with weeds, making it almost indistinguishable from the ruins I had seen inside the Qi Men Dun Jia.

Is this really functioning as a city?
"Thank you... But how long will it take to reach the guest rooms?"
I asked, adding in:

"Iâm really tired."
[Oh, itâll take about 20 minutes. But with so many guests, there might not be three rooms available.]
There are many guests in a place like this?

Just as I was about to ask againâ¦
"Meow!"
-Noisy!

Before I could react, Leo jumped up first.
It was no wonder, as the voices of the people suddenly started to get loud.
And, without any warning, the scene in front of us suddenly changed.

"...Hah."
Han Jaeyoung let out a bitter laugh.
It was understandable because the scene, which had looked like ruins just moments ago, now appeared asâ¦

[Ah, donât worry about it. The night market is open today.]
The familiar sight of the Canal City, Suzhou, came into view.
[How much are you going to charge for this? Donât make it too expensive.]

[Hey, I personally went all the way to Nanjing to get it, so donât say that.]
The sound of merchants and customers arguing, and children running around with snacks in their hands, filled the air.
The area around the canal was bustling with shops and people.

So Mun-Young looked at our shocked expressions and laughed loudly.
[Itâs amazing, right? Even though monsters have appeared, everything looks so normal. Thereâs no place like Suzhou in the world. Itâs the new paradise.]
"Huh? Oh, yes... Itâs really amazing."

I responded a beat late to So Mun-Youngâs proud words.
The amazement was real.
For one, the fact that none of the sounds around us leaked outside caught my attention.

It seemed that the Qi Men Dun Jia formations were influencing this area as well.
Moreover, the fact that the visible people were living their lives so actively was striking.
âWell... Korea is still maintaining some semblance of its old lifestyle.â

Perhaps it was because I had seen so many ruined scenes inside the formation, but I hadnât expected to witness this lively atmosphere.
Even more so in a place that was almost completely isolated from the outside world.
I cautiously opened my mouth.

"This lively scene is amazing. Was there no invasion by monsters?"
Perhaps pleased that I had complimented her, So Mun-Young puffed her chest proudly.
[Yeah, doesnât it look lively? Actually, thereâs a special defensive formation around here. There are occasionally people who get lost and end up here, but dangerous monsters canât get in at all.]

It seemed like even the ordinary citizens knew about the Qi Men Dun Jia formations.
However⦠I wasnât sure if they knew that the formation was made of cinnabar-infused stones.
I looked around at the children running around near the canal and asked.

"By the way, who created this defensive formation?"
[Oh, of course, it was Immortal Teacher Hyunam. Heâs an extraordinary person! Thanks to him, we can live so peacefully.]
So Mun-Young, who had already looked proud, smiled even wider.

[Where else would you find such a great immortal? Oh, of course, since youâre also an immortal, you must be familiar with Immortal Teacher Hyunam, right?]
I felt uneasy about So Mun-Youngâs words.
Being an immortal, she assumes we must know each other... What kind of relationship is she talking about?

It was strange, as though the conversation wasnât quite lining up.
â...Wait a second.â
Beep!

"...Daon?"
When I turned off the translator, Han Jaeyoung seemed confused, but I had something to confirm.
I opened the Chinese dictionary app I had downloaded and searched for the character for "immortal," then spoke to Han Jaeyoung.

"Tell her to say the word âimmortalâ again."
"Huh?"
Suddenly, it struck me.

âIn Hanzi culture... the term "immortal" has multiple meanings.â
Itâs possible that the "immortal" So Mun-Young was talking about wasnât the same as the "immortal" (å人) we had in mind.
Andâ¦

[Oh, you donât know the character from a foreign country?]
Thanks to turning off the translator, I could now understand So Mun-Youngâs words properly.
She nodded as she looked at the character I had searched.

[Yes, this character. Immortal Teacher Hyunam is a "xianren" (ä»äºº), a Taoist immortal!]
...Isnât this the leader of a cult?