Chương 116: Harmony Between Man and Demon

"Simple enough." Li Shuyan smiled.

"Qin Hao and I were just discussing this. We're planning to hire spirit beasts from the Everlasting Mountains and bring them into White Flower City. The goal is to achieve harmony between humans, demons, and nature itself." He paused, letting the idea sink in before continuing.

"And since Old Xu acts as the representative of all the spirit beasts in the mountains, once he sees us treating them as equals, he'll understand that this is your way of extending an olive branch, Brother Fang."

"Man and demon living together in peace? That sounds... difficult." Fang Cheng scratched his head, his brow furrowing deeply. He had killed many demons in his time and knew their nature well.

"Even when they take human form, they can barely control their demonic instincts. What if one of them loses its mind one day and goes on a rampage through the city? What about the safety of our people?" Li Shuyan nodded slowly, acknowledging the concern. He had already considered this.

"The key here is education. Most spirit beasts cultivate in remote mountains, far from human civilization. They don't understand our rules. They follow the law of the jungle, pure and simple." He folded his hands behind his back and paced as he spoke, his tone measured and thoughtful.

"But if we teach them to follow the path of goodness, if we show them what it means to be virtuous, to be loyal, to be righteous, then they will learn to abandon their cruel and savage ways. Beyond that, we need to establish clear rules. Let them know what is forbidden. If they break those rules, they will face severe punishment. In the worst cases, execution." Fang Cheng considered this for a moment.

"So you're saying we should take some of our teachers from the academy and send them to educate the demons? But they're just ordinary mortals. Would they be able to handle that kind of work?"

"No, Brother Fang. We don't need to pull teachers from the academy." Li Shuyan shook his head.

"The spirit beasts in the Everlasting Mountains are divided among different peaks, each ruled by a great demon lord. I'll gather those lords together and teach them personally. Once they've learned, they can return to their respective peaks and pass the knowledge down to their underlings."

"Ah, so it's like the old strategy of using barbarians to control barbarians." Fang Cheng nodded in appreciation, stroking his chin.

"That's actually a good idea. We should also establish a rule that if a lesser demon under a great lord breaks the law, the lord shares the punishment. Otherwise, some of those lords might not take it seriously and let their underlings run wild."

"That's a real concern." Li Shuyan paused in his pacing, meeting Fang Cheng's gaze.

"I'll strengthen their education and impose stricter rules to keep them in check." Zhao Lian'er spoke up, her voice sharp and dismissive.

"Why go through all this trouble? Just cut off the heads of the disobedient ones and display them as a warning. It saves time and establishes authority. What's the downside?" Li Shuyan glanced at her, a faint, knowing smile on his lips.

"That would work too, if Brother Fang approves." Fang Cheng frowned.

"If we're going to talk about harmony between man and demon, we can't just start killing them left and right. We're the ones bringing them out of the mountains. If we don't even bother to teach them properly and then kill them for convenience, that's nothing short of betrayal. Unless they actually commit a crime, we should not resort to violence." Qin Hao nodded vigorously.

"Exactly. And we have a reputation to uphold. Trust is everything in business. I've spent some time with the spirit beasts of the Everlasting Mountains recently, and I've found that while they are wild, they aren't mindlessly cruel. They eat humans because they see us as just another living creature. To a running goat, we humans are the real villains." He rubbed his hands together, warming to the subject.

"I agree with Shuyan. The difference in morality between humans and demons comes down to education. But if they want to cultivate and advance, they must learn to think like humans, to live among us, and to temper their inner beast. Only then can they go far and truly become immortals."

"Ah Hao speaks wisely." Fang Cheng nodded approvingly, then a thought struck him. His eyes lit up.

"Here's an idea. Any demon that truly wants to advance will naturally seek to cultivate like a human and suppress its beastly nature. So when we recruit them, we can hold interviews. Weed out those without ambition. Only hire the ones who show a genuine desire to do good."

"Brilliant, Brother Fang! That's a fantastic idea!" Qin Hao clapped his hands together, his face bright with excitement. He was already building on the idea, his mind racing.

"We can make the interviews strict and reject any that don't meet the standards. On top of that, we can create two public rankings, one listing how many demons each peak has hired, and another listing how many have been rejected. The great demon lords care about their reputation. If their peak ranks at the bottom, they'll be anxious and put more effort into educating their underlings." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Fang Cheng laughed heartily and clapped Qin Hao on the shoulder.

"Ah Hao, you're truly my right-hand man. You not only catch on quickly, but you also think ahead." Zhao Lian'er, however, let out a cold laugh. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, her eyes skeptical.

"Don't be so naive about spirit beasts. Even we humans can barely control our animal instincts. What makes you think demons will change so easily? Words don't reach the heart. You need to make an example of a few to scare the rest. Look at the street performers who keep monkeys. They beat one or two disobedient ones to death, and the rest fall in line. That's the only way."

"That's different." Qin Hao shook his head.

"We cannot kill them before they've done anything wrong. They're spirit beasts with human-like intelligence, not mindless monkeys." Zhao Lian'er snorted.

"It's precisely because we treat them like humans that we need to be harsher. Humans are the most beastly of all creatures, and they're also the best at hiding it. Do you think the word 'hypocrite' was invented for demons?" Seeing the tension rising, Li Shuyan raised a hand and stepped between them.

"Enough, enough. Both of you have valid points. That's exactly why I plan to start by teaching the great demon lords first. The higher their realm, the more complex their thoughts become, much like humans. The lesser demons, on the other hand, tend to be purer in heart. Most of the ones we hire will be small fry. Even if they go berserk, they won't cause too much damage. And if any of them do break the rules, we'll punish them harshly and publicly. That will establish our authority and deter the others."

"Shuyan has a good point." Fang Cheng nodded.

"The cultivation manual teaches us to view all things dialectically. Each person is different, some good, some bad. The same applies to demons. We can't generalize. Take those running goats on the grassland, for example. Some of them have a strong gamey smell, but others are completely mild." Just then, Xiaofeng popped up from somewhere, his small face beaming with mischief.

"Haha, are we having running goat again? Baa, baa, baa! I've already got my bowls and chopsticks ready!" The sudden bleating startled Fang Cheng. His eyes widened. How did this kid know how to make that sound? Could I have accidentally let out a bleat just now? No, no, no. He quickly leaned toward Zhao Lian'er and whispered, "Did you hear me bleat?" She gave him a word.

"No." He sighed in relief, then immediately reached out and smacked Xiaofeng on the back of the head. The boy yelped, rubbing the sore spot, then glared at Fang Cheng and let out a hiss. When that got no reaction, he switched back to bleating, and sure enough, Fang Cheng's face darkened.

"Baa, baa, baa!" Xiaofeng bleated happily, skipping in a circle. Fang Cheng felt an overwhelming urge to bleat along with him. He clenched his jaw and fought it with every ounce of his willpower. But he knew he wouldn't last much longer.

"Right. The demon recruitment plan is settled. You two discuss the details." He rose abruptly.

"I'm going to check on the southern fields." And with that, he shot into the air and flew away as fast as he could. Qin Hao watched him go, then glanced at Li Shuyan. They had already covered most of the important points. The remaining work involved drafting the employment contracts and interview criteria. Qin Hao planned to study those further and consult with He Chunhua and the other merchants. Since Li Shuyan was more of a scholar than a businessman, there was no point dragging him into those details.

With a wave, Qin Hao took his leave. Once he was gone, Li Shuyan turned to Xiaofeng and told him to go practice his calligraphy. The boy whined that he'd already finished his practice for the day. Li Shuyan's expression didn't waver. He simply said, "Then write these two sentences one hundred times each: 'Children should not interrupt when adults are speaking' and 'Brother Fang is a truly great good person.'" Xiaofeng trudged off with a dramatic sigh, sniffling all the way.

Now the courtyard was quiet, with only Zhao Lian'er and Li Shuyan remaining. A long silence stretched between them. Finally, Li Shuyan broke it.

"Miss Lian'er, which Star Lord's inheritance do you follow?"

"Greedy Wolf," she replied flatly. Li Shuyan nodded, a slight smile on his lips.

"I see. I follow the Literary Star Lord. We are fellow travelers." Zhao Lian'er let out a short, humorless laugh. Li Shuyan caught the bitter edge in her voice and offered a piece of advice.

"Now that you've joined this path, you must learn to wear a mask. Hide your killing intent. You used the word 'hypocrite' earlier. That word suits us well."

"Hahahahaha..." Zhao Lian'er laughed, loud and mocking, her eyes sharp.

"You really think the two of us are on the same side as him? He's the real hypocrite. The rest of us are just food on his plate, livestock waiting to be fattened. When the time comes, we'll be harvested and devoured."

"Hahahahaha..." This time, Li Shuyan laughed. His laughter was different, low and knowing.

"Miss Lian'er, you think you understand him, but you don't. You saw that cultivator just now, Qin Hao. Let me ask you this: if Qin Hao were to bear fruit someday, would he be eaten?" Zhao Lian'er fell silent. Her brow furrowed as she considered it. The more she thought about it, the more uncertain she became. Li Shuyan didn't wait for her answer. He simply repeated his earlier words, his voice calm and deliberate.

"Hypocrite is a word that suits the two of us." He said "the two of us." Not "the three of us." Zhao Lian'er's eyes flickered. She finally understood. Her view of this fellow traveler shifted. Heh. It seemed that no one who had been taken under Fang Cheng's wing was simple.