Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 303 - 40: Gathering Material
The maid teahouse in Shen City has a rich history.
In the beginning, the Shen Family came to this place to pioneer, relying on their military might to crush the Chaos Demons and indigenous spirits, establishing a frontier outpost of human civilization, Shen City.
Soon, however, it struggled under pressure from all directions. Thanks to the unique Laws of Heaven and Earth and chaotic Spiritual Qi in the area, the number of spirits around Shen City was more than ten times that of other places. Despite the cultivators of the Shen Family suppressing the spirit veins and setting up barriers, they could never fully eradicate them, preventing this place from becoming purely human territory. Often, during the day, arrays could keep the peace, but with one gust of night wind, barbarism would flourish again, turning it into a haven for Mountain Spirits and Wild Beasts.
Thus, the Shen Family had no choice but to adapt their thinking.
Chaos Demons remained their unshakeable arch-enemies, and those irrational beings hostile to all living things had no possibility of conciliatory dealings. In fact, before the Shen Family's arrival, the territory around Shen City had always been a battleground for indigenous spirits and Demon Essence. It was only when the Shen Family made its powerful entry that both sides' firepower was attracted.
Once the Shen Family extended an olive branch to the indigenous spirits, the situation immediately improved. Any indigenous spirit that had developed civilization harbored admiration for human cultivators; as long as humans were willing to cooperate, these spirits were eager to comply.
Despite superior innate conditions, like their physical prowess often surpassing humans, and a few elite spirits possessing innate divine techniques, with some even manipulating the Heaven and Earth Spirit Wind from birth to form their own True Essence—an innate Immortal Body—a rarity on the Xiangzhou Continent since the end of the Primordial Era,
on the other hand, from the aspect of society and civilization, spirits were far inferior to humans in rational understanding of the Heaven and Earth Dao and the dissemination and inheritance of cultural achievements. Human civilization demonstrated overwhelming superiority.
The spirits that first settled in Shen City almost instantly melted into the great melting pot of human civilization. The capability of a dominant civilization to overrun a weaker one was almost unimaginable. Within just a few years, those indigenous spirits, once primitive, were wearing human silk and satin, drinking tea, reading newspapers, and speaking in a slightly strange human language while flirting with human girls on the street.
However, there were physiological differences between spirits and humans. For instance, human cuisine was rarely to the spirits' taste, while spirits' delicacies were often poisonous to humans, necessitating separate dining habits.
More importantly, not all spirits could smoothly integrate into human civilization. Some spirits were inherently unruly and eccentric, incapable of adapting to social activities, making it difficult for them to live by human rules. Such individuals, upon arriving in Shen City, would quickly find themselves out of place, eventually turning to crime and dealt with severely by Shen City's law enforcement.
As more spirits settled in Shen City, numerous issues arose, leading its people to consider various methods to ease these tensions. For those easily integrated, the dominant culture was imposed; for those unable to integrate, some were kept at a distance, left to survive on their own. Others were forcefully eliminated. After several hundred years, a certain peace was finally achieved.
The maid teahouse emerged during this cultural assimilation period.
Initially, a kind old man took in a few lively but clumsy fox maidens in his teahouse. These fox maidens, aside from having looks and figures that were appealing to humans, had almost no talents: they lacked physical divine techniques, had poor cultivation aptitude, and were considered endangered with little presence even among spirits. Upon arriving in Shen City, they faced hard times, with only flesh trade to rely on, but their species placed great importance on reproductive behavior—they mated only once in their lifetime, making them surprisingly chaste despite their seductive appearance, completely unfit for human flesh trade.
Such vulnerable beings faced predictable difficulties in human society, almost returning to the wild. Fortunately, the old man, who ran the teahouse and needed extra hands, recruited these lively girls as waitstaff. Noting their wild nature, he thoughtfully designed maid-like work uniforms for them, giving them the appearance of actual maids.
However, objectively speaking, these fox maidens were far from qualified service personnel, being clumsy, forgetful: serving Anxi tea when customers ordered Iron Goddess, charging 100 taels instead of 1 for a pot of tea, breaking teacups daily, spilling hot tea on guests, and loudly discussing the fat percentage of rotund guests with their companions for everyone to hear... Every day, the teahouse owner had to apologize to guests, nearly costing him his old life.
But for all their shortcomings, the fox maidens had one undeniable advantage: their undeniable cuteness.
After an initial period of adjustment, the teahouse soon attracted a loyal customer base. These patrons came from all walks of life, from noble heirs accustomed to servitude, to high-ranking officers in the Shen Family Army and common merchants, all enjoying the chaotic service provided by the fox maidens. The overweight guests, frequently discussed for their fat ratio, particularly enjoyed having hot tea spilled on them, indulging in a delirious expression as if their fat was melting, a sight that haunted the others' nightmares...
Regardless, with the support of these devoted patrons, the teahouse thrived. The elderly owner, expected to have few years left, was gifted an elixir pill by a distinguished guest, extending his life by 20 years. He also caught the eye of the fox maidens' leader, marrying her and enjoying a decade of blissful life before passing.
This charming story naturally inspired many imitators.
Though fox maidens were few and those willing to serve tea at teahouses even fewer... there were many other spirits with human-like appearances and minor differences in detail. Even spirits not resembling humans were accepted, as the vastness of Shen City attracted many heroines like the Amazons... soon, all kinds of Mountain Spirits and Wild Beasts filled the service industry, creating a unique cultural sector.
This trend evolved into the distinctive maid teahouse culture. Although today true spirit bloodlines are nearly extinct, and most city-dwellers with animal ears have had cosmetic surgery, Shen City's people continue to preserve past traditions with various cultural substitutes.
——
"So, after introducing us to so much history about maid cafés, what does this have to do with the real business we have to do?"
On the street, Shen Qingming had to interrupt Li Wanqing's endless history lesson and ask about the main topic. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Li Wanqing said, "Because I need to find out if the secret weapon we used in Cyan Cloud City can still work in Shen City."
Shen Qingming listened confusedly, "What weapon?"
Li Wanqing said, "Think about it. When we were in Cyan Cloud City, if we wanted to do something but others disagreed, and the opponents were powerful and influential, what should we do?"
Shen Qingming said, "Appeal with reason and emotion?"
"To be precise, put on cat ears, a cat tail, and cat paws, and use a cute cat voice to appeal with reason and emotion, 'I just want it, could you buy it for me, meow~'"
Before the words were finished, Li Chaolu beside them burst into laughter without any grace.
Shen Qingming's face instantly turned red with heat, "Nonsense! I never said that!"
Li Wanqing said, "Yeah, I was the one who said it."
"..."
"I'm also a member of the Spirit Cat Plan and have the right to use the spirit cat persona, so what's strange about that?"
"..." Shen Qingming was left speechless, originally wanting to say a lot, but once the image of Li Wanqing wearing cat ears and a tail, pleading in a sweet voice, came to mind... all thoughts vanished.
"The spirit cat image has quite a market in Cyan Cloud City," Li Wanqing said seriously. "People have an instinctive fondness and closeness for these anthropomorphic animals or animal-like people. So I had considered before, if Shen Jinghai and Shen Yueying refuse to let go of their prejudices, you might have to humble yourself by rolling and pleading as Spirit Cat Qingming."
"I'd never do it even if it kills me!"
"The problem now is, even if you did, it probably wouldn't make a difference." Li Wanqing spread her hands, "Due to the existence of maid cafés, people in Shen City are already used to these half-human, half-beast girl images. There are over 120 registered maid cafés in the city that have been operating for more than a year. While they can't be called mainstream, they are widespread enough to have deep cultural influence. Our Spirit Cat Plan might occupy a certain market elsewhere, but it's hard to conduct business in Shen City. Though there are historical ties between Cyan Cloud City and Shen City, more importantly, the spirit cat persona here is no longer a novel concept; there's no selling point."
"... So?"
"There's no 'so'. That's the end of my investigation." Li Wanqing said regrettably, "That maid girl is quite the tease, only introducing me to this point. She said if I want more details, I must go to her house tonight."
Pausing, Li Wanqing said, "So the more detailed report will have to wait until I visit her house tonight and gather more information."
"You're really going?! What are you going to gather?!"
Li Wanqing said, "Of course, I'm going. I've flirted with countless girls in my life, but rarely have I been actively flirted with. Not responding would surely become a Heart Demon."
"Your Heart Demon is way too cheap!"
