Chapter 1202: The Two Great Fox Clan Demonic Arts
Yang Haoran's expression remained unchanged as he faced Bai Xue's concern.
"Heh heh, it is a bit adventurous, true, but it's not a big problem. You don't need to worry too much."
Yang Haoran smiled as he offered reassurance. Seeing Yang Haoran's confident demeanor, Bai Xue's slightly furrowed brow unfurled, and the serious expression on her face vanished, replaced by a smile.
"Heh heh, it seems Officer Yang has already thought of a countermeasure?"
Bai Xue asked with a captivating smile. Yang Haoran, in response, gently shook his head.
"Heh heh, I wouldn't call it a countermeasure; it's more of a clumsy solution, I'd say."
Yang Haoran said with a smile, then briefly explained his plan for the situation to Bai Xue.
Yang Haoran shared some of Bai Xue's concerns, so he certainly wouldn't ignore the matter. If he did nothing and allowed things to develop freely, it would only be a matter of time before considerable trouble arose.
His first thought was to have Bai Jiumeng assume a new identity, temporarily refraining from showing her true appearance or using her real name. It wouldn't be too late for Bai Jiumeng to resume her true name and appearance once she had successfully broken through to the Demon King realm and, in her view, the crisis had been completely resolved.
However, merely doing this was, of course, not enough. After all, the Guardian District now had Bai Jiumeng, a woman of such stunning beauty. While it wasn't universally known, some people were aware of it. Therefore, to prevent exposure, a gag order was absolutely necessary to preserve the secret as much as possible and reduce the risk of Bai Jiumeng's identity being leaked.
As Yang Haoran stated, this was indeed a clumsy solution. Yet, it could not be denied that this clumsy method still had some effect, especially in the early stages before Bai Jiumeng's identity was exposed; such a simple approach could provide excellent prevention.
As for what countermeasures Yang Haoran would take later, that would depend on whether Bai Jiumeng's identity would be discovered by the White Fox Clan, and what their reaction would be.
It was still uncertain if this would even happen, and even if it did, in Yang Haoran's opinion, it would be a long time from now. He felt there was no need to formulate a comprehensive plan for it at present.
After hearing Yang Haoran's clumsy solution, Bai Xue naturally expressed her agreement. In her view, doing so was very necessary. Even if Yang Haoran didn't do it, as the president of the Flock of Demons Society, she would still do the same to reduce potential trouble. Whether it was a clumsy method or not didn't matter; what mattered was that it worked.
"Officer Yang, I have another concern in my heart."
Bai Xue suddenly remembered something and spoke to Yang Haoran.
"Heh heh, what other concerns do you have? Tell me, I'll listen."
Yang Haoran responded with a smile, his face full of interest.
"This Bai Jiumeng isn't like us demons who cultivated independently, without family or blood relatives. So, it's much easier to retain demons like us, because we need to stick together to survive more easily in this chaotic era. On the other hand, for demons with families, especially those from large clans like Bai Jiumeng, keeping them is considerably more troublesome."
Her words stopped there. Bai Xue didn't continue, but Yang Haoran already understood her meaning and knew what she was worried about.
"You're worried that after Bai Jiumeng successfully breaks through to the Demon King realm with our resources, she'll 'cross the river and demolish the bridge,' abandoning the Flock of Demons Society, aren't you?"
Yang Haoran asked with a faint smile. Bai Xue nodded, her reaction confirming that what Yang Haoran had just said was exactly what was on her mind.
"Officer Yang is right; this is precisely what I'm worried about. Although there's only a single step between the peak Great Demon and the Demon King realm, the resources required are no small sum. If we pour massive resources into Bai Jiumeng, successfully helping her break through to the Demon King realm, but then she betrays us after achieving her goal, not only will we suffer a huge loss of resources, but it will also bring a negative impact to other members of the Flock of Demons Society. Once one member sets a precedent, surely more will follow suit in the future. If it truly comes to that, then the losses for our Flock of Demons Society will be immense."
Yang Haoran listened, lighting a cigarette for himself. After Bai Xue finished speaking, he didn't respond immediately. Instead, he took a drag from his cigarette, then slowly said with a smile,
"Heh heh, your concern is quite reasonable. So, to prevent this situation from happening, we must do more 'ideological work' with her. As long as the ideological work is successful, how could she possibly leave the organization? Besides, she lives within the Guardian District; would it be difficult to frequently conduct ideological work with her?"
Yang Haoran asked with a smile. Bai Xue immediately gave her reply.
"To appeal with emotion and reason, Bai Xue naturally understands this principle, and she also knows the importance of consistently doing ideological work with her. But what I fear is that Bai Jiumeng might be an 'unyielding rogue,' impervious to persuasion."
This was what Bai Xue feared most, and her concern was not entirely without possibility.
"Heh heh, I will do everything we should do, owing her nothing. If she ultimately chooses to betray us, I will make her pay a painful price for her actions. By then, it will be too late for her to regret it."
Yang Haoran spoke, a faint smile on his face, his tone devoid of any killing intent, as if discussing a trivial matter. In fact, his smile even seemed kindly. Yet, the meaning behind his words was filled with murderous intent.
"Heh heh, I think the same way. If this Bai Jiumeng truly proves impervious to persuasion and betrays the organization, then even if it costs us something, we must wipe her from this world as a warning to others!"
As Bai Xue spoke these words, not only were her words filled with murderous intent, but her tone and gaze also exuded a powerful killing aura.
"Heh heh, it's still too early to talk about that. Bai Jiumeng might not necessarily betray the organization. Compared to this matter, what I'm more concerned about right now is something else entirely."
Upon hearing this, Bai Xue's face immediately showed intense interest.
"Oh? What else could capture Officer Yang's interest more?"
Bai Xue asked with a smile. Yang Haoran didn't keep her in suspense. The smile on his face deepened slightly, and then he replied,
"The Fox Clan's two great demonic arts."
Bai Xue was momentarily stunned upon hearing this. Then, she suddenly recalled something, and her expression instantly lit up with surprise.
The Fox Clan had two most famous demonic arts: the Enchantment Art and the Charm Art. The primary ability of the Enchantment Art was to subtly make people around the practitioner develop affection and trust for them. The Charm Art, on the other hand, could directly bewilder a target's mind, even manipulating their brain, to make the target serve the caster.
Of these two demonic arts, the former was gentler and focused on gradual progression, while the latter was more overbearing and aimed for rapid results.
Besides this difference, these two demonic arts had another significant distinction: the Enchantment Art was a passive demonic art, requiring passive activation. The Charm Art, however, was an active demonic art that could be cast at any time according to the practitioner's will.
Of course, there were also similarities between the two. Neither the Enchantment Art nor the Charm Art, whether actively cast or passively triggered, had a hundred percent success rate. Failure invariably resulted in a backlash.
Both Yang Haoran and Bai Xue had cultivated the Enchantment Art, and its effects were self-evident. It was no exaggeration to say that the Enchantment Art Yang Haoran cultivated played a significant role in his current achievements. Bai Xue, having also cultivated the Enchantment Art, was naturally no exception; she, too, was a beneficiary.
However, both had only cultivated the Enchantment Art, one of the Fox Clan's two great demonic arts. As for the Charm Art, neither of them had ever cultivated it.
Like the Enchantment Art, the Charm Art could be cultivated by both men and women. However, Yang Haoran had not the slightest interest in this art. Bai Xue, on the other hand, had an exceptionally strong interest in it, almost a determination to never rest until she acquired it.
Yang Haoran naturally understood Bai Xue's intense interest in the Charm Art. Given Bai Xue's beauty and the powerful allure she exuded from head to toe, cultivating the Fox Clan's Charm Art would undoubtedly elevate her allure to the opposite sex by several levels. At that point, the number of men in this world capable of resisting Bai Xue's potent charm would likely be pitifully few. Thus, Yang Haoran wasn't surprised in the least that Bai Xue desired this demonic art.
In Yang Haoran's view, both the Fox Clan's Enchantment Art and Charm Art were a perfect match for Bai Xue. Conversely, for the equally beautiful Bai Jiumeng, cultivating the Enchantment Art posed no problem and could even offer her considerable, intangible assistance. But if she were to cultivate the Charm Art, Yang Haoran felt it would be less effective.
It wasn't that Bai Jiumeng couldn't cultivate the Charm Art. It was simply that, given Bai Jiumeng's personality and temperament, even if she cultivated the Charm Art, its utility would be limited. After all, this was an active demonic art. Considering Bai Jiumeng's nature, the likelihood of her actively employing this art was low. Therefore, even if she cultivated it, its benefit to her wouldn't be very apparent, like a "chicken rib"—something of little value or use, but which one is reluctant to discard. In this regard, she fell far short compared to Bai Xue.
Yang Haoran couldn't be certain whether Bai Jiumeng had cultivated the Fox Clan's Enchantment Art or Charm Art. Although Bai Jiumeng hadn't used the Charm Art when facing him this time, that didn't mean she hadn't cultivated it.
Bai Xue had always yearned for the Fox Clan's Charm Art, but so far, while she had collected some demonic arts, she had not acquired the Fox Clan's Charm Art. Yang Haoran was aware of this.
Now that he had gained a fox demon under his command, and one at the peak Great Demon stage at that, Yang Haoran immediately thought of the Fox Clan's two great demonic arts. A fox demon of Bai Jiumeng's realm, and one from the prominent White Fox Clan, might very well have cultivated both of these demonic arts.
Even if one were to take ten thousand steps back and assume Bai Jiumeng had never cultivated these two demonic arts, given her background, she would surely know where to obtain the Charm Art.
Earlier, Yang Haoran hadn't directly asked Bai Jiumeng about this in front of her. That was because Bai Jiumeng had only just joined the Flock of Demons Society, and her guard against him hadn't yet been lifted. If he were to rashly inquire about this, not only would he not get the desired result, but it would also strengthen Bai Jiumeng's vigilance towards him, as this concerned one of the Fox Clan's two great demonic arts, not just an ordinary one.
If Bai Jiumeng were to misunderstand, thinking that the invitation to join the Flock of Demons Society was merely a ploy to obtain their Fox Clan's two great demonic arts, then handling the matter would become even more troublesome.
Yang Haoran had long considered these issues in his mind, so when facing Bai Jiumeng, he hadn't mentioned the Fox Clan's two great demonic arts at all. Now that Bai Jiumeng had left the study, leaving only him and Bai Xue, he finally brought the matter up.
As for Bai Xue, her attention had previously been entirely focused on Bai Jiumeng, including analyzing the veracity of Bai Jiumeng's words and considering what kind of trouble bringing Bai Jiumeng into the Flock of Demons Society might cause. Precisely because her thoughts were consumed by these matters, she hadn't, for a moment, considered the matter of the Fox Clan's two great demonic arts. It wasn't until Yang Haoran's reminder that she suddenly recalled it, remembering the Fox Clan's Charm Art she had always yearned for but had yet to acquire!
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