Sylvie City, "Holy Sword" headquarters, Ye Qingning's study.
The afternoon sunlight shines through the clean glazed windows and onto the large wooden table, but it does not dispel the dignified atmosphere that permeates the room at all. Ye Qingning is sitting at the main seat, with dozens of documents just sent from various locations stacked in front of him. An urgent report was sent as quickly as possible. Her beautiful brows were furrowed tightly, and her blue eyes reflected the scrawled or neat handwriting on the parchment, but there was no clearness and firmness of the past, only an inexorable heaviness and fatigue.
The contents of the urgent reports were surprisingly consistent, but each had its own heart-wrenching details:
"Heishan Town Urgent report: Last night, a team of three suspected to be Evil Soul Master sneaked in and were shot dead by the station 'Iron-Back Gray Wolf'. Wolf King's left forelimb was slightly injured. The villagers panicked when they saw the blood, and several households wanted to move..."
"Huiyan Village Urgent report: Evil Soul Master was traveling alone, Soul King cultivated, used illusions to confuse people, and was countered by the resident 'Phantom Poison Moth' with scales and powder. He fell into madness and self-mutilated and died. The appearance of the corpse was horrific, causing great fear in the villagers and questioning the authenticity of the contract..."
"Xigu Market Urgent report: Evil Soul Master set fire, and was put out by the station 'Black Water Turtle' with a water curtain and killed. The battle affected two houses, there were no casualties, but the villagers asked the 'behemoth' to stay away from the residential area..."
"Qingxi Village Follow-up: After preaching and comforting, the villagers' mood has stabilized slightly, but their fear of 'Giant Horned Bear' is getting deeper and deeper. They require the addition of human Soul Master guards, or... move Soul Beast further away to guard..."
According to rough statistics, hundreds of similar incidents have occurred in just half a month! They are all over the border villages and small towns affected by the influence of "Holy Sword". Without exception, the lurking Evil Soul Master was discovered, blocked, and killed by the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast guardians stationed there.
Judging from the results, this is undoubtedly a huge success! Evil Soul Master's harassment was effectively contained, hundreds of civilians were saved, and the border defense line was consolidated. At the end of each emergency report, the responsible Soul Master emphasized Soul Beast's "dedication to duty" and "huge results."
However, Ye Qingning's knuckles were slightly white as she held the hand that reported the report. What she saw was not only the cold "kill numbers", but also the fear, suspicion, distrust, and even hatred of the surviving villagers revealed between the lines.
Soul Beast protected them and killed the evil intruder, but what it brought was not gratitude, but a deeper uneasiness. It was as if what was placed beside their bedside was not a patron saint, but a double-edged sword that although sharp, could hurt themselves, or even... a monster that could break free of its chains at any time.
"Ling Ning," Ye Shuhua, who was sitting next to her, spoke softly. She put down the medicinal materials she was grinding and looked at her daughter with gentle and worried eyes, "you have done enough. Without you, without 'Holy Sword', these villages would have already become Evil Soul Master's hunting grounds, with nine out of ten houses empty.
Although the Soul Beast asylum plan is... somewhat controversial, judging from the results, it did save many people. It is human nature that the villagers found it hard to accept it for a while. After all, their fear of Soul Beast has been engraved in their bones for generations."
"Yes, yes, Sister Qing Ning!" Ye Xuanxuan, who was tiptoeing to the side, trying to water a pot of Begonia Douluo flowers by the window, also turned her head, her little face was full of seriousness, "Those big guys are listening. Enough! Last time I went to Xigu Market, the big turtle even let me touch its shell. It was cool and comfortable! They just look a little fierce, but they are not bad at all! The villagers will definitely not be afraid after getting along with them for a long time!"
Ye Qingning raised her head and gave a forced smile to her mother and sister, but the smile quickly disappeared from the corner of her mouth. Didn't she know that what her mother said was the truth, and her sister's innocence also carried beautiful expectations. But in this position, she saw far more and more complicated things than they did.
"Mother, Xuanxuan, everything you said is right." Ye Qingning's voice was a little dry, "Soul Beast is indeed fulfilling the contract. They killed Evil Soul Master and protected Villagers. From the perspective of 'just results' and 'actual utility', this plan is undoubtedly successful, even... successful beyond expectations. Without them, our manpower would not be enough to cover such a vast border, and the number of casualties would probably be ten or a hundred times what it is now."
She stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the bustling Sylvie City, which was rapidly returning to life, but her eyes seemed to Penetration the city walls, seeing the panic permeating those distant mountain villages.
"But the problem is not what Soul Beast did, but... how people view what they did." Ye Qingning whispered, with a hint of powerlessness and insight in his tone, "What the villagers fear is not Evil Soul Master's body, or even Soul Beast's power itself.
What they fear is the uncontrollability, the unknown, and the insecurity that comes from placing their wealth and life on a powerful being who is not one of their own kind, whose wisdom and behavior patterns are difficult to fully understand, and who only rely on a contract to restrain themselves."
"In their view, Evil Soul Master is a visible evil, but Soul Beast... is a potential and greater 'uncertainty'. Today it can kill Evil Soul Master, but tomorrow it will kill Evil Soul Master for some reason. The reason - hunger, irritability, misunderstanding, or even just 'bad mood' - and turned its fangs on them? Contract? What is that? Can it stop the mad beast? The guarantee of 'Holy Sword'? What if you can't control it either?"
She turned around, her eyes filled with complex light. "This is the power of stereotypes, the imprint of the soul left by thousands of years of blood feud and survival competition. It cannot be easily erased by killing Evil Soul Master a few times or a few gentle interactions. What we give is 'safety', but what they feel more deeply is perhaps 'safety under threat', which is a fragile peace accompanied by huge psychological pressure."
Ye Shuhua was silent for a moment and nodded slowly. "You are right. I think it is simple. It is easy to heal the wound, but it is difficult to heal the heart. What needs to be cured in particular is the fear in the collective subconscious of countless people."
Ye Xuanxuan seemed to understand, and blinked his big eyes. "Then... what should we do? We can't just drive away those obedient big guys, right? They didn't do anything wrong, and they helped us a lot."
"Of course we can't drive them away." Ye Qingning walked back to the table, running his fingers unconsciously across the urgent reports, "They are not only heroes, but also...'Holy Sword' an indispensable force in stabilizing the border. But we cannot ignore the fear of the villagers and allow suspicion to grow. Otherwise, once the panic spreads and forms a wave, the prestige and popular support we have worked so hard to build may be eroded from within."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if she was sorting out her chaotic thoughts and making some kind of determination. When she opened her eyes again, her blue eyes, although still tired, regained a calm and firm light that belonged to a leader.
"We need to adjust our strategy." Ye Qingning's voice became clearer. "First, immediately dispatch additional human Soul Master liaison officers to all villages where Soul Beast is stationed. The quota will be doubled. Their The task is not only to communicate and coordinate, but also to record Soul Beast's status, behavior, and eating habits in detail every day, and announce them to the villagers. Turning 'unknown' into 'transparent', even if it is only superficially transparent, can alleviate some of the anxiety."
"Second, set up a 'Guardian Special Allowance'. Any village where Soul Beast is permanently stationed will have its taxes reduced by another 20% on the basis of the original reduction. This money will be jointly borne by 'Holy Sword' and the empire. At the same time, if the villagers' property is damaged due to the Soul Beast battle, we will fully compensate the villagers and provide additional comfort. We want the villagers to truly feel that the existence of Soul Beast brings not only safety, but also real economic benefits. Benefits are sometimes more convincing than reason."
"Third," she looked at her mother, "Mother, please and several key members of the treatment department, please develop a simple 'emotional soothing' and 'health monitoring' process for Soul Beast as soon as possible. Although they may not be necessary, we need to show it to the villagers.
Our therapist Soul Master regularly conducts 'check-ups' and 'comforts' on Soul Beast under the watchful eyes of the villagers, even if it is just a formality. This can not only demonstrate our 'control' over Soul Beast, but also subtly convey the message that 'they are in good condition and emotionally stable'."
Ye Shuhua's eyes lit up. "This method is very good! I will do it immediately."
"Fourth," Ye Qingning's eyes became sharp, "Strictly investigate the identities of all 'Evil Soul Master' killed by Soul Beast. Each corpse must be cross-verified by at least two Soul Master from different strongholds, and Soul Power will be retained E characteristics, Spirit Empire traces, and item evidence. The final conclusion must be well-documented, and part of the publicly available information must be disclosed to local village representatives. We will never leave anyone with the excuse that we 'arbitrarily framed and killed people to silence'. Once trust collapses, it will be as difficult as the sky to rebuild."
She spoke one by one, and her ideas became clearer and clearer. This was no longer a simple military deployment or humanitarian rescue, but a complex operation involving people's hearts, interests, public opinion, and even political balance.
Ye Xuanxuan heard this and opened her mouth slightly, her eyes full of admiration. "Sister Qing Ning, you are so amazing! You think so much!"
Ye Qingning rubbed his sister's hair and said with a bitter smile, "This is not awesome, but... I have to do it. Sitting in this position, you can't just see the light, but also see the shadow cast by the light, and find a way... to make the shadow less scary."
She looked out the window again. The sky was blue and Bai Yun was relaxing.
"Soul Beast The coexistence with humans is a road that has never been traveled before. No one knows whether the road ahead will be thorny or smooth. But since we have chosen, we can only explore and repair while moving forward. I hope... our light is bright enough and warm enough to slowly melt the ice that has been frozen for thousands of years."