I am the villain in the book

As dusk approached, Wei Changtian returned to the Mountain God Temple.

Liang Zhen had been waiting outside the teleportation array, and immediately greeted him with urgent questions:

"Changtian, are you alright? Did you instigate the internal strife between Dajue and Ji Country?"

"Uncle Liang, I wouldn't say 'instigate'."

Wei Changtian smiled: "It was merely part of the deal with Yan Huaiqing."

Wei Changtian nodded, as Li Zimu and Tang Chen stepped out of the teleportation array.

"Hmm?"

Liang Zhen was stunned by the sight, his gaze fixed on Tang Chen: "Changtian, where is Young Master Chu? And who is this young master?"

"Oh, this is Young Master Tang Chen."

Wei Changtian casually explained: "Brother Chu stayed at the Zishan Hall, and will return after the Dajue soldiers withdraw from Tianshan."

"I see..."

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Liang Zhen understood that Chu Xianping and Tang Chen had been exchanged as hostages.

Since he already knew that Tang Chen was the culprit who had exposed the spies in the army, he naturally didn't have a good look on his face towards the latter.

"Hahaha, Uncle Liang, let bygones be bygones."

Walking towards the outside of the hall, Wei Changtian said with a smile: "Young Master Tang will need to stay in Liangzhou for some time, so please find a residence for him, Uncle Liang, and arrange for more maids and guards. Don't neglect this honored guest."

Clearly, although Tang Chen was a hostage, Wei Changtian certainly couldn't mistreat him.

After all, Dajue and Da Ning were no longer enemies, so providing good food and drink was the most basic courtesy.

Of course, "personal freedom" was absolutely out of the question.

"I understand."

On the other side, Liang Zhen naturally understood this point, and glanced coldly at Tang Chen, saying: "In any case, Young Master Tang will surely return unharmed."

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

Wei Changtian replied, having already walked outside the hall, surrounded by a sea of torches.

"Uncle Liang, where are Qin'er and Liu Shi now?"

"Oh, they wanted to come to the Mountain God Temple, but I was afraid something might go wrong, so I didn't allow them to come."

Liang Zhen replied from behind: "They should both be waiting for you at home now."

"Okay, what about General Han and Du Chang?"

"They are leading the troops to withdraw from Tianshan, and left not long ago."

Liang Zhen asked: "Do you want me to have them come back?"

"No need, have them go to the state office tomorrow morning. I'll explain the negotiation process to you in detail then."

Wei Changtian shook his head and smiled: "Uncle Liang, please arrange for Young Master Tang to be settled. I'll go back now."

"Alright, hurry back, lest Qin'er and Miss Yang worry too much."

Liang Zhen responded, and immediately had someone prepare a carriage.

Just as the carriage was being prepared, Wei Changtian seemed to remember something, and suddenly turned to ask Tang Chen.

"Young Master Tang, how did you manage to identify all our spies from among 800,000 people?"

"..."

The torches blazed, the night as dark as ink.

Clearly, although Tang Chen had the ability to read minds, he certainly couldn't have talked to 800,000 people one by one to determine whether they were spies.

So he must have had some methods that he didn't know about.

Wei Changtian suddenly remembered this, and asked casually.

But how could Tang Chen possibly answer?

"It doesn't matter."

Smiling, Wei Changtian was not surprised by Tang Chen's silence.

He didn't continue to press the issue, but turned to Li Zimu and said:

"Miss Li, you only have one thing to do for the next few days."

"That is to get this matter clear from Young Master Tang's mouth."

"Can you do it?"

"..."

For a moment, Tang Chen's eyes widened, as if he had misheard.

He had thought that Wei Changtian might interrogate him harshly, or exchange the secrets of those few fortune beasts, or have many strange methods.

But he never expected that Wei Changtian would give Li Zimu such an order in front of him.

Did he really think of himself as an ordinary person?!

Tang Chen was somewhat stunned, and somewhat embarrassed, and quickly took a deep breath to calm his mind.

However, at this moment, he heard Li Zimu answer seriously:

"Don't worry, Young Master, I will definitely do it."

"Okay, that's good. Tell me if you need anything."

"Yes, but I shouldn't need anything..."

"..."

Wei Changtian and Li Zimu completely ignored Tang Chen's existence, and just talked back and forth.

How could Tang Chen endure this scene, but he couldn't explode, so he stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say.

Fortunately, as a carriage slowly drove up, this awkward scene finally came to an end.

"Alright, I'm leaving. You should rest early too."

"Young Master, take care."

"Okay, Uncle Liang, I'm leaving!"

"..."

Under Li Zimu's gaze, Wei Changtian greeted Liang Zhen again, and then got into the carriage and returned to Liangzhou City.

After he left, the smile on Liang Zhen's face gradually faded, and he glanced at Tang Chen with some coldness.

"Young Master Tang, please, this general has already prepared a residence for you."

"Thank you, General Liang."

Although he was very depressed, Tang Chen understood his situation, so he lowered his posture and bowed slightly: "This humble one is extremely grateful."

"Hmph."

Liang Zhen snorted coldly and stopped looking at him, but asked Li Zimu again.

"Miss Li, are you going back to your previous residence? I'll take you back on the way?"

"Hmm..."

Li Zimu pondered for a moment, then looked at Tang Chen and smiled:

"Please help me tidy up a side room in Young Master Tang's residence. I will live with Young Master Tang for the next few days."

"Ah?"

Although Liang Zhen and Tang Chen both knew that the "live together" that Li Zimu said was not that kind of "live together", they still couldn't help but feel surprised.

"Miss Li..."

Liang Zhen pointed at Tang Chen in disbelief, his face full of doubt: "Are you saying you want to live in the same courtyard with him?"

"Yes."

Li Zimu still had a smile on her face: "Is that not allowed?"

"This..."

Liang Zhen knew that Li Zimu should have her own plans, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately didn't say anything more.

"Forget it, then I'll have someone take care of it."

"Okay, thank you, General."

"..."

Liang Zhen glanced at Li Zimu meaningfully, shook his head and walked a little further away, found a personal soldier and began to arrange the accommodation for the two.

At this time, Li Zimu also walked close to Tang Chen and said with a smile:

"Young Master Tang, you also heard what Young Master Wei told me to do."

"I thought that living closer would allow me to complete the task sooner."

"You shouldn't mind, right?"

"..."

Looking at the smiling Li Zimu, Tang Chen felt that anything he said would be wrong, so he simply shut up.

However, Li Zimu smiled even more when she saw this.

"Giggle giggle, Young Master Tang, you are such an interesting person, like a piece of wood, quite similar to Xianping."

"Oh, Xianping is Young Master Chu, you just met him."

"Oh right, he is my future husband."