I am the villain in the book

In the following days, Wei Changtian, accompanied by Ning Yu Ke, visited the Bureau of Engineering and Datong City.

As the latter had said, the research and development of the steam engine had already entered the "improvement" stage.

In other words, the Bureau of Engineering was now able to manufacture a machine that could "convert steam into kinetic energy", but there were significant shortcomings in terms of stability, conversion rate, and service life, which needed further improvement.

Wei Changtian didn't know when it would be improved and when a usable steam engine could be developed.

However, he had publicly promised a generous reward, assuring that once the development was successful, all the craftsmen in the entire "Steam Engine Workshop" would enjoy all the benefits of a Senior Third Rank official.

Senior Third Rank was equivalent to a vice-provincial level official in his previous life.

Although it only included the benefits and not the official position, it was definitely an unprecedented feat.

It should be known that these craftsmen were ordinary people with no fame or cultivation, and normally they would not even have the chance to become the lowest Ninth Rank official, let alone the Senior Third Rank.

So this was a complete leap in social class.

Of course, such a promise would certainly provoke dissatisfaction from some "conservative" officials, who felt that no matter how important the steam engine was, Wei Changtian should not disrupt the official system in this way.

However, Wei Changtian didn't care about these opinions, and even felt it wasn't enough.

After all, he was well aware of the epoch-making significance of the steam engine.

Imagine if someone in his previous life could develop controllable nuclear fusion, let alone vice-provincial treatment, they would probably be treated as a national treasure.

In this way, Wei Changtian, overriding all objections, left the Bureau of Engineering after announcing this generous reward, and then went to inspect the second "key project" of Great Shu, Datong City.

It had been less than two years since the completion of Datong City, so naturally, there was no way to compare all aspects of the city with ancient cities like Shuzhou City, which had thousands of years of history.

However, thanks to the extremely favorable "relocation policy", there were already hundreds of thousands of people living in the city.

Among them, there were many demons who had taken human form.

Humans and demons living in peace, if this had been said three years ago, it would have sounded like a fantasy to anyone.

But now, this had become a reality in Datong City.

Under the influence of the public opinion campaign of "Even though they are not of our race, their hearts may not be different", more and more people of Great Shu were beginning to gradually accept the demons.

And after getting along for a long time, everyone discovered that these demons who had taken human form were actually no different from humans.

Sometimes, they were even more like "humans" than humans, at least when doing business with demons, there was never any need to worry about them breaking their promises.

From being feared and avoided, to being apprehensive, to gradually accepting, to becoming accustomed to it...

When the people living in Datong City no longer secretly discussed who was a demon, the city finally lived up to its name.

The smoke from the chimneys at sunrise, the lights at sunset, the vendors wandering through the streets, the bustling teahouses and taverns, everything that should be there was there.

Love, hate, grievances, the myriad aspects of life, everything that could be felt could be felt here.

At this point, Wei Changtian could be considered to have fulfilled his promise to Qingxian, and had truly established a city of "Universal Harmony".

As for whether this concept of "human-demon coexistence" could be extended in the future, and whether humans in other places could accept it as readily as the people of Great Shu, Wei Changtian didn't know.

However, even if it was just Datong City, it was enough from a certain point of view.

At least, people like Wu Tianqing and Yun Lian would no longer have to hide on isolated islands in the future, but could walk on the earth openly.

Time passed quickly, and when Wei Changtian returned to Shuzhou City from Datong, there was less than half a month left until the twelfth lunar month.

There had been no news from Li Zimu since he left, but Qingzhou had taken the initiative to send a message to Wei Changtian, saying that a group of people had arrived in Qingzhou and had set sail.

Presumably, they were going to use the teleportation array located in Qingzhou to go to Great Chu, and then to Lingmen Temple.

Speaking of Lingmen Temple, Wei Changtian had sought out Song Pu again after returning, and asked about the recent situation.

Song Pu said that he had not received any official information from Lingmen Temple recently, but he had heard from a friend in the temple that Chu Xianping seemed to have left Lingmen Temple, and had also taken away several Second Rank high monks.

It was not strange that Chu Xianping had left.

But why could he borrow so many experts from Lingmen Temple? And what was he going to do with such a group of people? Wei Changtian really couldn't figure it out.

Perhaps the answer would only be revealed after Li Zimu investigated.

That was roughly the situation on Chu Xianping's side.

As for Qin Zhengqiu's side, it was even simpler, there was still no news, and no force had come to Wei Changtian again.

According to Liang Zhen, it seemed that even some of the spies in Shuzhou City had recently been withdrawn.

Although there were still many, there were definitely not as many as half a month ago.

Wei Changtian couldn't understand this even more.

After all, why would they suddenly withdraw the spies for no reason?

Could it be that he was no longer worth spying on?

That shouldn't be...

In short, whether Wei Changtian could figure it out or not, the situation was developing in this way.

Apart from that, there were only some scattered trivial matters, which were not worth mentioning here.

The first day of the twelfth month, the Winter Solstice.

In ancient times, the Winter Solstice was generally regarded as a major festival in winter, and there was even a saying among the people that "the Winter Solstice is as big as the New Year".

According to the customs of Shuzhou, mutton was to be eaten on the Winter Solstice, so a strong aroma of meat filled the inside and outside of the mansion early in the morning.

Leaving the dream realm, he yawned and slowly sat up.

Wei Changtian turned his head and saw Xu Qingwan, who had already woken up, tiptoeing around the room, rummaging through boxes and cabinets, like a burglar breaking into a house.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh? You're awake?"

Little Xu comrade looked back, and then continued to take things out of the cabinet: "Aren't we going back to the capital tomorrow? I was thinking of packing things up."

"You can pack if you want,"

Wei Changtian muttered as he got out of bed and started to get dressed: "Why are you being so sneaky?"

"I'm not being sneaky at all."

Xu Qingwan muttered dissatisfiedly: "Aren't I afraid of waking you up..."

Suddenly, Little Xu comrade's voice stopped abruptly, and her movements also paused.

Then, she picked up a beautifully crafted golden hairpin and looked back at Wei Changtian blankly.

"This, this hairpin wasn't lost? I remember you sent a message asking me about it, and I couldn't find it no matter what at the time..."

"Oh, so I helped you find it back."

Wei Changtian looked up and smiled: "I just put it in the cabinet when I came back, I forgot to tell you."

"But where did you find it? I clearly searched the whole room at the time."

Clutching the hairpin to her chest, Little Xu comrade spoke urgently, showing that she was very excited about this recovery of something lost.

After all, this hairpin was her most precious one.

Not because it was expensive... Of course, that was also one of the reasons.

But the main reason was that it was the one she wore when she married Wei Changtian.

So last time when Wei Changtian sent a message back asking her to find the hairpin, she couldn't find it, and she was really worried to tears at the time.

Now that such a precious item had returned, Xu Qingwan was naturally very excited.

Little Xu comrade certainly didn't know what a "twisting and wonderful" journey this hairpin had gone through to return to her hands, and Wei Changtian certainly wouldn't reveal the truth that "someone stole it from you, wanting to use it to threaten me".

Therefore, Wei Changtian just joked with a smile:

"It was stolen by the big ghost."

"Big ghost... How is that possible! I hid it in the hidden compartment!"

"What's impossible, the big ghost is very smart now, Qiaoling said it goes to the kitchen to steal meat to eat all day long."

"That's not the same!"

"Believe it or not, let's go, let's go have breakfast."

"I don't believe it! You, you stop right there!"

"Hahahaha..."

Wei Changtian's laughter and Xu Qingwan's shouts grew smaller and smaller, and soon disappeared into the clear morning breeze.

The warm room was quiet, and every place was the same as when Wei Changtian left a year ago.

Still so familiar.