I am the villain in the book

“This humble servant congratulates my husband!”

Shu Prefecture City.

When Wei Changtian had spent nearly an hour with Liang Qin and finally walked happily to the front hall, preparing to meet the guest from Lingmen Temple, Yang Liushi, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately teased with a smile:

“Your face is radiant with happiness, as if you've become a different person.”

“Of course.”

Waving his hand with a smile, Wei Changtian didn't hide his joy at all: “After all, I'm a father now.”

“Yes.”

Yang Liushi looked towards the small courtyard, a hint of envy in her eyes: “This humble servant also wants to see Xiao Hongsu.”

“Alright, you can go see him after we've dealt with things here.”

Wei Changtian knew what she was thinking, so he chuckled softly: “Besides, we'll have children sooner or later, don't worry.”

“Mm.”

Yang Liushi's cheeks flushed slightly, but she quickly returned to normal.

After a few simple jokes, the two naturally turned the topic to serious matters.

“Husband, that person is still waiting in the tea room.”

“This humble servant chatted with him for a while just now, and it sounds like Lingmen Temple has really found out about Chu Xianping's whereabouts.”

Walking side by side towards the tea room, Yang Liushi reported in a low voice:

“However, he wouldn't say anything more. He probably wants to wait for you to hand over the second half of the sword manual before he opens his mouth.”

“But this humble servant thinks that the sword manual cannot be given to them easily. After all, it will take some time to verify the truth of the information. It's best to wait until we catch Chu Xianping before giving it out.”

“Yes, I naturally understand that.”

Nodding, Wei Changtian turned his head and asked: “Has Li Zimu arrived?”

“She has.”

Yang Liushi pointed forward: “She's waiting outside the tea room. This humble servant has already told her the general situation.”

“Okay, thank you for your hard work.”

“...”

As they spoke, the two walked through a secluded path and soon arrived at a remote courtyard located in a corner of the mansion.

Although this was not a secret room, no one usually came here, so at the moment, besides Li Zimu waiting outside the courtyard, there was no one else.

“Young Master, Madam.”

Seeing the two arrive, Li Zimu immediately greeted them and then asked in a low voice:

“Young Master, Madam Liang's side...”

“Yes, she has given birth, a boy.”

“Ah, congratulations, Young Master!”

“Hahaha, alright, let's go in.”

“Yes.”

“...”

From outside the courtyard to inside, it was only a distance of a few dozen steps.

But after walking these dozens of steps, the smiles on the faces of Wei Changtian, Li Zimu, and Yang Liushi completely disappeared, as if the “joy of having a son” never existed.

“Creak~”

The door opened, and the three entered the tea room. The only person in the room immediately stood up.

He wasn't old, estimated to be around thirty years old, wearing ordinary cloth clothes, and his cultivation should be at the fourth rank.

Although he was a member of the Buddhist sect, there wasn't a trace of a monk about him, so he was probably a secular disciple of Lingmen Temple who specialized in doing “under-the-table” things.

“This humble one, Song Pu, greets Young Master Wei.”

Quickly scanning Wei Changtian and the other two, the man preemptively cupped his hands and said: “I have long heard of Young Master's great name. It is my honor to meet you today.”

Well, he's quite polite.

Wei Changtian waved his hand, signaling Li Zimu to close the door, while he walked up to Song Pu, sized him up, and then chuckled: “Brother Song, I'm afraid this isn't the first time you've seen me, is it?”

“Uh, Young Master is perceptive.”

Song Pu was a smart man, knowing that some things were obvious to everyone, and there was no need to hide them.

Therefore, he only paused slightly, and then generously admitted: “This humble one was indeed ordered by the abbot of my temple to follow Young Master all the way from Fengyuan to Shu Prefecture. I hope Young Master will forgive me.”

“Hahaha, it's alright, Brother Song, please sit down.”

Laughing twice, Wei Changtian had roughly figured out Song Pu's measure, so after sitting down, he directly cut to the chase.

Song Pu glanced slightly at Li Zimu and Yang Liushi, who had also lowered their skirts and sat down, but he didn't ask to talk to Wei Changtian alone. He just paused and then replied softly: “To be honest, my temple only found out a few days ago. Once confirmed, we immediately ordered this humble one to inform Young Master.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Wei Changtian narrowed his eyes: “So, Chu Xianping has appeared near Lingmen Temple?”

“That's right.”

Song Pu still nodded generously: “At least this morning, the place where he was staying was still not too far from my temple.”

“Alright, Brother Song, I see that you're a straightforward person, so I won't beat around the bush.”

Nodding slightly, Wei Changtian took out a booklet from his pocket and placed it on the tea table as he spoke.

“Brother Song, this is the second half of the Moon Picking Sword Manual.”

“But I can't give it to you now.”

“It's not that I don't trust you, it's mainly because this thing is too precious. I have to confirm the truth of the matter first, right?”

“How about this, I will immediately send someone to Lingmen Temple, and then have your people take my people to Chu Xianping's hiding place to take a look.”

“As long as my people see Chu Xianping, I will immediately hand over the sword manual to you, and there will be no need for your temple to worry about the rest.”

“What do you think?”

“...”

First send someone to Lingmen Temple, and complete the transaction after seeing Chu Xianping.

For such a transaction where neither party has a basis of trust, this approach is naturally very normal.

After all, under the circumstances where nothing can be confirmed, one can't expect Wei Changtian to foolishly hand over the sword manual on the spot, right?

“What Young Master said is exactly what the abbot of my temple thought.”

Smiling and nodding, Song Pu should have already thought that Wei Changtian would propose this transaction method, so he didn't think too much about it at the moment.

Anyway, Dayan is Lingmen Temple's territory. If Wei Changtian really goes back on his word at that time, they are not afraid at all.

Even in the worst case, they can directly break off relations. At worst, neither party will get what they want.

I'm not afraid that you will break the contract, and you are not afraid that I will break the contract.

Since neither party is afraid of ending up in a situation where they “lose both people and wealth” and both agree to this transaction method, then the next thing seems very simple.

After all, judging from the current situation, what Wei Changtian took out is indeed the real sword manual, and Lingmen Temple has indeed found out about Chu Xianping's whereabouts.

However...

“Young Master Wei, then I will...”

“Uh, sorry, please wait a moment, Young Master.”

Suddenly, Song Pu's voice paused, and then he reached into his sleeve with an apologetic expression.

Wei Changtian exchanged a look with Yang Liushi and Li Zimu, and they all knew that he was sensing the Mother-Son Jade.

Doing this during such an important negotiation process was enough to show that the message was very urgent.

However, the three initially only regarded it as a coincidence.

Until they saw Song Pu's face gradually begin to change...

From surprise, to nervousness, to panic.

When even Song Pu, who had been very calm before, had beads of sweat seeping out of his forehead, Wei Changtian's expression became meaningful.

“Brother Song, what's wrong?”

After another dozen or so breaths, seeing Song Pu take his hand out of his sleeve, Wei Changtian calmly asked: “Has your temple gone back on its word?”

“This...”

Song Pu swallowed hard, looked at Wei Changtian, then at Li Zimu and Yang Liushi, hesitated for a long time, and finally replied with difficulty:

“Young, Young Master, to be honest...”

“Just now, Chu Xianping has already given the complete Moon Picking Sword Manual...”

“One, one step ahead of me, to the abbot of my temple!”