The North American Gourmet Demon Handbook

This caused Li Shanze's forehead to ache slightly.

"So, how exactly did you manage to circumvent this mind-filtering witchcraft by using reverse Orientalism?"

Let's talk about something practical...

"See, you already understand this," Cyrus Morton smiled. "Orientalism reveals that cognition is power. Every 'discovery' of the East by the West is a reaffirmation of its own subjectivity."

Li Shanze tried his best to avoid the messy philosophical terms and asked tentatively, "Are you saying that by changing the subject, I am breaking this cognitive hegemony?"

Morton nodded: "In principle, that's right."

“I turned the Orientalist model of ‘interpreter-interpreted’ upside down. I began to try to interpret Western history from an Oriental perspective.”

"For example, the surname Morton actually came from a family that fled westward from the Central Plains after a rebellion by five ethnic minorities. The original surname was Wang..."

Wait, please wait for a moment.

Morton turned the corner too sharply and almost broke Li Shanze's waist.

You are a typical red-haired Celtic, whose ancestors have lived in the British Isles for eight hundred generations. How did you become a relative with the surname Wang?

And by "five ethnic minority riots", do you mean the Five Barbarians Invading China?

This is fucking pseudo-history!

As expected, Morton continued, "Speaking of the Western geographical discoveries, the navigation and astrological techniques actually all came from the 'Encyclopedia of Eternal Happiness' from a dynasty called 'Illuminati'—what a strange name."

Ah, ah, it's here as expected. The Genesis of pseudo-historians, the Yongle Encyclopedia.

Anyone who can translate the Yongle Encyclopedia into an encyclopedia of eternal happiness is at least a talent.

A pure-blooded red-haired Scotsman used Eastern pseudo-history to counter the brainwashing witchcraft of Western wizards? And it worked?

Li Shanze felt that his facial expression management was on the verge of getting out of control.

"Do you really believe that? The West even stole its calendar from the Yongle Encyclopedia?"

Morton laughed and said, "No, you still don't understand the point."

"It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not, or whether it's true or not. What matters is that in this model, the East is the interpreter and the West is the interpreted."

"What's important is this way of thinking. The reversal of the Orientalist paradigm has allowed me to escape this consciousness manipulation that affects more than 60% of the world's population."

Morton's words made Li Shanze feel a little more receptive.

Li Shanze really finds it difficult to accept the conclusion that "pseudo-history theory" is an effective tool to resist "Western cognitive hegemony."

In Li Shanze's view, this is using lies to fight lies, which will only obscure the truth of history.

I have to say, Li Shanze, this is the flaw of Eastern performance-based management - it is stubborn and places more emphasis on objective facts.

Unlike the winning theory of America and India, which claims to win because of faith and wins because of winning.

Even though the planes were shot to pieces, they still celebrated with great fanfare and the whole country celebrated for ten days - even if they lost, they were still winners.

Perhaps seeing through Li Shanze's thoughts, Morton sighed and explained, "You might say this is using lies to fight lies, but as long as I can fight against the lies imposed on me, that's all I need. Those who monopolize the right to interpret and promote lies don't care about the truth themselves."

"The core of this matter lies in the struggle for the right to interpret. As long as you successfully seize the right to interpret, you can freely choose to use truth to fight falsehood, or choose to use falsehood to fight falsehood."

At this point, Morton asked Li Shanze in a strange tone, "Westerners have even stigmatized your entire country and nation as cannibals and excluded them from the 'civilized world.' Are you still so pedantic as to want to tell them the truth?"

"You've come to America after so much hardship. Aren't you trying to regain the status your country deserves?"

It was obvious that Morton thought Li Shanze was an agent who had traveled across the ocean to infiltrate the United States.

Li Shanze was very pleased to infer from Morton's words that China in this world seemed to be developing quite well.

Otherwise, Morton wouldn't have used the phrase "taking back the status we deserve."

Thinking of this, Li Shanze smiled, shook his head, and replied: "No, I don't care about the feelings of Westerners."

"I simply believe that an empire built on falsehoods and lies is like a castle built on gravel. It cannot withstand the test of history. Manipulating lies will always backfire."

Morton sighed, "You sound so old-fashioned, like someone who's lived for hundreds of years, not like someone in their twenties or thirties. It's a shame the West can no longer produce young people like you."

Li Shanze felt that this wizard was a little too self-hating, always saying that the West was declining, backward, corrupt and hopeless.

He looked like he was saying, "I think the Qing Dynasty will be over sooner or later."

But as an outsider, Li Shanze couldn't say anything in the face of this self-hatred.

After sighing, Morton raised his head again and asked Li Shanze, "How about it? Have you ever thought about joining forces to destroy this cognitive sky constructed by the wizards?"

Isn't this invitation a bit too abrupt? We just met for the first time last night, and you're inviting me to such a big event?

How is this any different from Alex Drummond's sudden invitation to me to participate in Kate's murder?

Li Shanze frowned and became alert.

Author's words: Thanks to Xiaopingguo112633 for the recommendation vote

250 Test

It seems that Morton really thinks I am an "undercover agent from the East"?

Is he truly anti-Western, or does he want to infiltrate China in this century?

Is he deliberately putting on an anti-Orientalist and anti-colonial narrative to please the "Oriental spies", or does he really mean it?

Because the information available was still too little, Li Shanze found it difficult to make a judgment.

However, Li Shanze thought that there would be no harm in colluding with this wizard.

First of all, this wizard knows a lot of inside information, and we can get a lot of information from him.

Secondly, even if Morton really wanted to reverse infiltration, Li Shanze was even less clear about what China in this world was like than Morton. Trying to get intelligence from Li Shanze was probably a complete mistake.

Therefore, Li Shanze did not rush to reject his proposal, but acted hesitant, as if he had difficulty making up his mind.

"Why are you anti-Western? Aren't you a pure-blooded Scottish Celt?" Li Shanze asked proactively, speaking in the tone of someone inspecting a business partner.

"Yes, I'm a Highland Celtic." Morton nodded.

"That's the problem. I'm neither Anglo-Saxon nor Jewish. I'm not one of their 'own' people in the West. So why should I stand on their side?" Cyrus Morton said as a matter of course.

“You know, Orientalism extends not only to the Maghreb, but also to Ireland and Scotland.”

It always seems particularly eccentric, ridiculous and unreliable for a Celt to say that he is anti-"Western".

But when he used the example of Ireland's resistance to the immoral British Empire, it suddenly became particularly convincing.

"The systematic stigmatization of other peoples by Anglo-Saxon Jews is not limited to your country."

"Take King Arthur for example. His prototype is a Celtic lord who fought against the Viking invasion in the Middle Ages. He is a Celtic hero."

"He has not only been subjected to cultural appropriation by the Anglo-Saxons, but in modern times, he has been further stigmatized."

"A few years ago, there was an online game in the US called World of Warcraft. It created a villain named Arthas who murdered his father. The name of the character obviously came from Arthur."

How could this even involve World of Warcraft? That's a bit far-fetched, isn't it?

Li Shanze gritted his teeth when he heard this.

As if noticing Li Shanze's disapproval, Cyrus continued, "Under the bewitchment of an evil wizard, he drew out an evil sword and became the king of the evil undead."

"It's clearly a literal reproduction of the stories of Merlin, the Sword in the Stone and King Arthur, stigmatizing and demonizing them."

This seems to make some sense, but it's still far-fetched...

Li Shanze nodded slightly.

"For a more direct example, Arthas also killed a paladin named Uther in the plot! This name is exactly the same as King Uther, King Arthur's father!"

"Did you feel indifferent when you first heard my accusations? That's right! The Anglo-Saxons are best at this kind of subtle stigmatization!"

"At first, you just thought it was a small matter! But as this game became popular all over the world, the legendary Celtic hero was subtly transformed into a patricidal villain in everyone's mind!"

Speaking of this, Morton was heartbroken.

When Li Shanze thought about how Arthas was indeed well-known as a filial son on the Chinese Internet in his previous life, he couldn't help but nodded, thinking that Cyrus Morton's seemingly exaggerated words did make sense.

"So, is it so hard to understand that I, an 'Orientalized' Celt, would want to disrupt the Anglo-Saxon-Jewish group in the 'Western World'?"

Morton smiled and asked back.

Although Li Shanze still didn't believe Morton's words, in Li Shanze's opinion, the wizard's logic on culture was completely consistent and there was nothing contradictory or incoherent about it.

"Is it because you are a Celtic that the guy yelled at you and acted like the master?" Li Shanze pointed to Alex Drummond in the distance, who was being beaten by Kate and screaming miserably.

"Ah, no, that's not entirely because of it. Although he's English, it has something to do with it. English people are like that."

Morton sneered, "Henry Kissinger summed up the characteristics of the English in their diplomatic activities: the English have no moral baggage and arrogantly believe that anything that benefits the English is also beneficial to the whole world."

"But I was forced to sign a contract with the Drummond family to serve this fool, mainly because..." He pointed at his head, "because I am not a very 'Western' wizard. So this is also a kind of, uh, exile?"

"Then I want to congratulate you, Morton. Your exile has come to an end."

"Hahahaha." Li Shanze's words made Morton laugh happily towards the sky.

Then he suddenly stopped laughing and turned serious. "No, not yet. I must pray that the venerable Great Knight tortures my employer to death. Otherwise, my contract will not end yet."

"The two remnants of the Silver Nail Brotherhood have been eliminated. I believe it is only a matter of time before a wizard like you breaks free from the contract." Li Shanze continued to provide emotional value to Morton - in more common terms, it was flattery.

"No, a mere thug from the Silver Nail Brotherhood is not enough to restrain me."

Morton waved his hand dismissively, clearly not caring about the Silver Nail Brotherhood, which had effectively been wiped out.

Morton lowered his voice and whispered, "The problem is that the contract I signed with the Drummond family was signed in the presence of the devil."

When talking about the contract signed under the witness of the devil, Li Shanze's heart moved.

The soul contract that he had always wanted to get rid of was signed under the witness of his devil wife.

Li Shanze remained calm, with a hint of surprise in his tone: "Devil?"

"Yes, the devil." Morton bared his teeth, as if he had a toothache when talking about the devil. "The contract guaranteed by the devil is very difficult to break."

"Not only are the clauses elaborate and complex, making it difficult to find loopholes, but they also have strong enforcement capabilities and are capable of draining the souls of those who break the contract."

Are you the one sent by that devil Alessia to trick me?

Li Shanze was suspicious.

"The cost of breaking the contract is very high. For me, the best way is to pray. Pray that the great knight can help me eliminate this scourge." Morton shook his head.

This wizard just laughed heartily, clearly finding a way to break free from the devil's contract...

Now he starts to act pretentiously again. Is it because he has noticed my situation and is saying this deliberately to fish?

Li Shanze became increasingly suspicious of the wizard Morton's true identity and purpose.

But what if what he said was true? I have to find a way to observe how he can get rid of the devil's contract.

So Li Shanze pretended to be regretful and whispered, "I'm sorry, Your Excellency the Great Knight won't be able to do as you wish."

As Li Shanze spoke, he extended his right index finger from a distance and pointed at Kate.

In fact, he quietly conveyed instructions to Kate through the information cocoon capability of the index finger of the First Amendment of the Constitution.

"Is this true? Has the Catholic Church found such a pedantic knight now? Even if someone wants to hire someone to murder her, will she let that person go?" Morton asked quietly in disbelief.

"What if that was just a sudden excuse Alex Drummond came up with to force you to do something?" Li Shanze said disapprovingly. "Your employer isn't entirely normal, so this doesn't make sense."

"But he has been beaten and his leg is broken. The eldest son of the Drummond family has never suffered any loss. Do you think he will let it go and give up revenge?" Morton questioned.

"Just make him forget about revenge. At best, this is just a misunderstanding caused by careless words. I believe the Drummond family will understand. Yes, they will definitely find a way to understand it." Li Shanze continued calmly.

"Oh, this isn't a misunderstanding." Morton finally couldn't help himself and spilled the beans. "The attempted murder of the great knight was a plan of the Drummond family, not the whims of some young master."

At this point, Morton realized his slip of the tongue and his face changed.

"How about this, let's make a deal, Mr. Morton. You just need to satisfy my curiosity, and then I will end your exile for you, how about that?" Li Shanze said with a smile.

251 Motive for Murder

Now it was Cyrus Morton's turn to be suspicious.

The wizard stared at Li Shanze and said, "This is far from an equal exchange. I only need to provide some information, and in exchange you can kill the helmsman of an ancient family?"

Li Shanze smiled and said, "Why, are you not satisfied with the conditions?"

Morton nodded first, then shook his head: "Unsatisfied... No, it shouldn't be described as dissatisfied. To be more precise, I'm too satisfied."

"The terms are so generous that I dare not accept them. After all, the last contract I signed that satisfied me was the one with the Drummond family to take care of their successor."