I am the villain in the book

Casually sheathing the Xuantian Sword, Wei Changtian pushed open the door and walked out of the room.

Chen Bo, who had been waiting outside, immediately greeted him and asked in a low voice:

“Young Master, is that death row inmate dead? This humble one will immediately have someone... ”

“Don’t rush.”

Shaking his head, Wei Changtian interrupted, “Chen-daren, go find thirty... no, forty more death row inmates.”

“Forty?”

Chen Bo was a little astonished: “Young Master, you want so many... ”

“What?”

Wei Changtian frowned: “Are there not enough?”

“It’s not that there aren’t enough...”

“If there are, then go do it, and don’t ask questions you shouldn’t.”

“Yes! This official will go and do it immediately!”

“Good, I’ll wait here.”

“Young Master, please wait a moment! This official will bring the criminals here in at most a quarter of an hour!”

Noticing Wei Changtian’s displeasure, Chen Bo immediately left in hurried steps, while the former remained standing at the entrance of the dark room, leaning against the wall and sighing softly.

“Kid, if this old man really has to take your lifespan this time, I wonder if you’d be willing to give it?”

“Heh heh heh! Is that really true? You weren’t this kind of person when this old man saw you last time.”

“...”

The words that the remnant soul had just said kept echoing in his mind, also causing Wei Changtian to once again begin examining his own answer.

To exchange his own thirty years of lifespan for Li Wutong’s safety...

Since when had he started becoming so “selfless”?

If the remnant soul wasn’t just making a hypothetical, but really made this condition, then would he agree?

Actually, this was just a very simple problem of value judgment, with “thirty years of his own lifespan” and “Li Wutong’s life” on either side of the equals sign.

But it was precisely such a simple judgment that made Wei Changtian feel more and more lost the more he thought about it.

He wasn’t just making trouble for himself.

Because as more and more people gathered around him, he would be more likely to encounter similar choices in the future.

And different from the unique Xu Qingwan, Li Wutong’s position in his heart was basically about the same as Yang Liushi, Lu Jingyao, Liang Qin, Chu Xianping, and the others.

Therefore, Wei Changtian needed to figure out what the bottom line was for what he could “sacrifice” for these people.

After all, this time he still had time to think carefully, but he couldn’t guarantee that he would have to make a decision in a split second next time.

Wei Changtian didn’t want to regret it then, nor did he want to act impulsively, so he wanted to make a “plan” in advance... It was just that this “red line” was too vague, and he couldn’t find it clearly.

Sigh...

Slowly exhaling a mouthful of stale air, he helplessly shook his head.

Just as Wei Changtian was about to give up on “self-torture” after racking his brains to no avail, he suddenly remembered Old Zhangtou’s words—

If you can’t see clearly, only your original heart can be trusted.

“Boom!!”

Like a thunderclap exploding in his ears, at this moment, Wei Changtian suddenly understood Old Zhangtou’s intention.

Perhaps, he had been too “rational” before.

He wanted to use the value scale of “worth it or not” to measure everything, and wanted to maximize the so-called “benefits” of every action.

This way of thinking seemed fine at first glance.

But what you need to know is that no one can really calculate every “account” clearly.

Are those so-called “worth it” or “not worth it” really their true value?

“...”

His breathing gradually became rapid, and then slowly returned to normal.

Wei Changtian just stood there straight, but the frown that had been tightly furrowed finally slowly relaxed.

Now he suddenly had a feeling—

That was that he would never hesitate or worry about similar things in the future.

Because, he finally understood the meaning of the sentence: Only your original heart can be trusted.

A quarter of an hour later.

Chen Bo led a few constables and escorted forty death row inmates into the dark room in a mighty manner, and then watched helplessly as the iron door in front of him slammed shut.

“Daren, this Wei-gongzi is...”

A young jailer couldn’t help but ask what Wei Changtian was going to do.

But before he could finish speaking, Chen Bo directly interrupted him:

“Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t.”

“Daren, please calm your anger, this humble one was being nosy.”

The jailer hurriedly lowered his head to admit his mistake: “This humble one is just worried about Wei-gongzi’s safety, after all, a few of these death row inmates are cultivators...”

“Alright, why are you worrying yourself sick.”

Chen Bo glanced at him: “With this group of trash, even if there were a hundred more, they wouldn’t be a match for Wei-gongzi.”

“Yes, yes, yes, this humble one knows his mistake.”

The jailer didn’t dare to say anything more, and just asked in a low voice: “Daren, are we waiting here, or will we come back later to escort the criminals back?”

“Escort them back?”

Chen Bo looked at the iron door in front of him and shook his head thoughtfully.

“I’m afraid there’s no need to escort them back.”

“Ah? What do you mean, Daren?”

“It’s nothing, you guys go, it’s enough for me to stay here.”

“Yes.”

“...”

Just as a group of jailers hurriedly left outside the dark room, an eerie silence fell inside the dark room.

The pungent smell of blood permeated the air, and forty corpses lay scattered on the ground, no longer showing any signs of life.

There were no wounds on the bodies of each corpse, but most of them had withered skin and pale hair, completely different from when they came in.

Chen Bo guessed correctly, these forty death row inmates really didn’t need to be escorted back.

It might even be necessary to escort a few more in.

Because, perhaps it was because these death row inmates were generally not in good health, the remaining natural lifespan of the forty people added up to less than a thousand years.

“Senior, how much more is needed?”

Casually pushing aside a few corpses, Wei Changtian bent down and squatted in front of the Xuantian Sword floating in mid-air: “It should be about enough, right?”

“Almost!”

Having absorbed so much lifespan at once, the remnant soul’s voice sounded very excited: “Nine hundred and ninety-six, only four years left!”

“Oh, I see.”

Wei Changtian curled his lips, got up, and prepared to have Chen Bo fetch another death row inmate.

But just at this moment, the ear-piercing classic villainous laughter suddenly sounded from behind him.

“Heh heh heh!”

“Kid, this old man wants you to provide the last four years of lifespan!”

“Hmm?”

Wei Changtian immediately stopped and turned his head, his expression turning cold in an instant: “Senior, are you planning to go back on your word?”

“Heh heh heh heh! This old man has never been a gentleman!”

The remnant soul’s tone seemed a little smug: “If you’re not willing to give it, then what we agreed on before will be canceled!”

“What? It’s just four years, are you unwilling to part with it?”

“...”

Staring at the Xuantian Sword, Wei Changtian narrowed his eyes: “Then if I give it, but you still don’t keep your promise, what will happen?”

“You can rest assured, this old man wouldn’t be so shameless.”

The remnant soul laughed: “Besides, the Xuantian Sword is now in your hands, and this old man is still counting on you... cough, anyway, this old man will never deceive you this time!”

Counting on me?

Counting on me to do what?

Wei Changtian naturally didn’t miss this half-sentence, but he didn’t immediately ask, just slowly took a step closer, and then calmly nodded.

"Alright, then I'll give you these four years."

"Huh?"

Wei Changtian readily agreed to the new condition, but the remnant soul seemed quite surprised by his attitude.

"Boy, you... you're really willing?"

"Of course."

Wei Changtian casually drew out the Leaking Shadow Blade: "Just fill the纹路 on the sword with my blood, right?"

"."

"Forget it."

The remnant soul's voice was somewhat doubtful, and somewhat deflated: "This old man just wanted to test you again."

"A mere four years, just consider it a bargain for you, boy."

"Alright, it's you who doesn't want it."

Wei Changtian's expression remained calm, as if he really didn't care about these four years of life.

"Since that's the case, can Senior give the order to the Kui Long people?"

"You can. Go out and come back after a stick of incense."

"Okay."

Wei Changtian knew that the remnant soul didn't want him to see how he was sending the message, so he simply turned and left the dark room.

And not long after he left, the纹路 on the Xuantian Sword began to flicker rhythmically.

Long, short short, long long long...

Judging from the frequency of the flickering, this method of sending messages was very similar to the "simple Morse code" that Wei Changtian had devised himself. It was obviously also a "code" that used combinations of long and short signals to transmit information.

As such a mysterious and ancient organization, it was normal for Kui Long to have its own set of "communication codes."

After all, many major forces in this world have established "secret codes" using similar principles, and most of them are confidential. Without a "code table," there is no possibility of deciphering them.

So even if Wei Changtian had witnessed this scene in person, he would not have been able to know its meaning.

However, if it were a veteran telegraph operator from the 1990s in his previous life, he might have felt familiar.

Because the "encoding" used by Kui Long was actually the "Standard Telegraph Code for Chinese Characters," which was widely used at that time.

Half an hour later, Wei Changtian, who came out, went in, and came out again, finally settled a matter of concern.

The remnant soul had already given orders to five second-rank experts belonging to Kui Long, ordering them to immediately rush to Fengyuan, and then quietly take Li Wutong to Shuzhou when the time was right.

The remnant soul didn't say the names of these five people, or where they were at the moment, and Wei Changtian didn't ask.

Anyway, as long as they could get the job done, it wouldn't matter even if the other party was Li Huaizhong.

Of course, that was definitely impossible.

After all, the Kui Long forbade members from participating in secular power struggles, so these people were likely still "Jianghu people" like Wu Tianqing.

"."

"Master Chen, find some reliable people to clean up inside."

Walking outside, Wei Changtian casually said to Chen Bo: "Tell them, no matter what they see, they are not allowed to say it."

"This official understands."

Chen Bo's expression became serious, and after nodding, he mentioned another matter: "By the way, Gongzi, someone from the royal palace came just now, saying that His Majesty wants to see you."

"Oh? Did they say what it was about?"

"They said that the envoy from Da Li secretly arrived in Shuzhou City today, and is now in the royal palace."

Chen Bo replied truthfully: "Accompanying him are the Chief Minister of the Kui Xing Academy, and Shen Ran."

At the Spring Dragon Poetry Competition more than half a year ago, Shen Ran almost humiliated the entire Da Ning poetry circle with his own strength, so Chen Bo naturally knew of such a person, and even knew that he had a "confrontation" with Wei Changtian.

Therefore, when mentioning this name again, Chen Bo couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

However, Wei Changtian's reaction was somewhat beyond his expectations.

"Oh? Shen Ran is here too?"

Wei Changtian was only slightly stunned, and seemed to have no other feelings besides some surprise: "Then what does His Majesty want me to do in the palace?"

"It seems that the Chief Minister of the Kui Xing Academy wants to see you."

Chen Bo was afraid that Wei Changtian didn't know the details of this person, and immediately added: "Gongzi, this person's name is Gui Peian, and he is a second-rank great Confucian scholar of Wendao. He is well-known within Da Li, and is even respected as a Saint by many literati from the three countries of Da Li, Da Ning, and Da Feng."

Gui Peian, second-rank great Confucian scholar, Saint.

Remembering a few key pieces of information, Wei Changtian nodded.

"Alright, I understand."

"Simply put, this Gui Peian is famous for his literary talent, and his strength is second-rank, right?"

"Yes."

Chen Bo asked in a low voice: "Gongzi, do you want to prepare a carriage to enter the palace?"

"Yes."

Wei Changtian didn't hesitate much.

Although he could foresee that once he met this Gui Peian, he would most likely have to answer a bunch of vague questions again.

But since a second-rank Saint had come from afar, it would be too disrespectful not to meet him.

More importantly, Wei Changtian also wanted to chat with Shen Ran.

Ning Yongnian and Bai Youheng, these two Sons of Heaven, could "get" together, so wouldn't it be okay for me to find a Son of Heaven as a helper?

At dusk, Wei Changtian walked into the royal palace with the glow of the setting sun, and went straight to Ning Yuke's study.

Although it was called a study, it was actually a large hall, named "Phoenix Cry."

"This commoner greets Your Majesty."

Cupping his hands towards Ning Yuke, who was smiling and sitting at the head of the table, Wei Changtian turned to look at the few people sitting on both sides.

Besides the two Shuguo officials, there were three remaining, undoubtedly the "envoy group" from Da Li.

The official envoy wearing the official uniform of Da Li.

An old white-haired man in a white robe, with the demeanor of an immortal.

And Shen Ran, whose temperament was completely different from that of the Spring Dragon Poetry Competition.

His gaze lingered on them for a moment, and Wei Changtian politely cupped his hands at the three of them.

"Lord Li, Chief Minister Gui, Gongzi Shen, I am Wei Changtian."

"Hahaha, Gongzi Wei, I have long admired your name..."

The envoy surnamed Li immediately stood up with a smile and returned the salute, inevitably with another round of pleasantries.

Gui Peian waited until the two of them were done with their nonsense before slowly standing up with Shen Ran's support.

"Gongzi Wei, this old man has long heard that you have the grace of a jade tree facing the wind, unparalleled martial arts, and the talent to write poetry in seven steps. Now that I have seen you, I know that these rumors in the streets are not all false."

Damn?

This old man knows how to praise people so well?

Without a doubt, Gui Peian's first sentence caught Wei Changtian "off guard."

He had always thought that the world-renowned great Confucian scholars were all rigid and boring old scholars, but he didn't expect that this one would have such a sweet mouth.

Good heavens, the flattery is too comprehensive!

"Cough, Chief Minister Gui is too kind."

After a dry cough, Wei Changtian was just about to return the compliment with a few words.

But before words such as "You are the one who is famous all over the world" could come out of his mouth, he saw Gui Peian suddenly shaking his head again.

"Alas, just... Gongzi Wei, don't blame this old man for speaking bluntly."

"In fact, after seeing you just now, this old man was somewhat disappointed."

Two in one~