#107 - Last birthday - I am the villain in the book

After dinner, Yang Liu Shi returned to her room to practice her zither and read.

It's quite something that even a fox has artistic pursuits. It just goes to show how wondrous the world is.

As for Liang Qin, who was still unaware of Yang Liu Shi's "good intentions", the servants said she had returned to the Liang residence, presumably because she was thoroughly angered.

Wei Changtian didn't have the inclination to go and comfort his childhood sweetheart. After assigning A'Chun her cultivation tasks, he also returned to his own room, preparing to sort out the things he needed to do in the near future.

Candle lamps were lit in the spacious inner room, and many of his belongings from his room in the Wei residence were placed around.

These were probably brought from the capital by Yuan'er specifically to help him adapt to the new environment as quickly as possible.

However, no matter how familiar the environment, it wasn't the noisy little courtyard he was used to.

Huh?

Does this mean I now own a house?

Wei Changtian smiled self-deprecatingly, thinking that something he had dreamed of in his previous life was now so easily within reach.

In his previous life, he was born into a family that wasn't particularly wealthy. His parents worked hard for most of their lives, but the growth rate of their wages never kept up with the price of housing, and they couldn't afford to provide their son working in a big city with a down payment for a house.

But Wei Changtian's girlfriend at the time was pressing him hard, so the old couple discussed selling the house they lived in, even if they had to rent, to help their son buy a house first.

Wei Changtian didn't hesitate at all after learning about this. He asked his girlfriend, for the last time, the question he had asked countless times before—

"Can we not get married if I don't have a house?"

His girlfriend replied: "There's no room for discussion. And there's also a dowry of two hundred thousand."

Wei Changtian nodded: "Let's break up."

His girlfriend of over two years got together with a local colleague in less than a month... This is another story, so let's not mention it.

Before transmigrating, he couldn't manage to get a house of his own, and after transmigrating, Wei Changtian had always lived in the Wei residence, never "establishing his own household".

Although he was still standing in the shade of the great tree that was the Wei family, in this Shu Prefecture city far from the emperor's feet, most people probably only knew him as Wei Changtian, the one who "killed the Prime Minister", and not as Wei Changtian, the "only son of the Wei family".

Everything would have to depend on himself.

Stretching languidly, Wei Changtian was just about to call Zhang San in to discuss some serious matters.

But the words caught in his throat as he suddenly paused.

What's the date today?

The fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month?

Damn!

It's my birthday!

Not the previous owner's, but my own birthday...

If I hadn't transmigrated, I'd probably be eating birthday cake with a few buddies right now.

Hmm... or maybe with a new girlfriend.

My parents would definitely have sent a WeChat message early in the morning, saying something like, "Son, you've grown another year older, Mom and Dad will always love you."

And then they would each transfer a two-hundred-yuan birthday red envelope.

Sigh, I've clearly been out of school for several years...

Speaking of... should I do something to commemorate this special day?

There's definitely no cake, but getting a steamed sponge cake or a large steamed bun shouldn't be a problem.

I do have candles, though.

But...

An image of a "large steamed bun with three white candles stuck in it" suddenly flashed through his mind, and he immediately rejected the idea.

If worst comes to worst, should I sing myself a birthday song?

Wouldn't that be a little too sad...

Forget it! Never mind!

Screw celebrating a birthday!

Wei Changtian finally abandoned these random thoughts, took a deep breath, and shouted towards the door:

"Zhang San!"

...

"Young Master."

By the time Zhang San entered, Wei Changtian had already returned to his normal state.

He sorted out his thoughts and slowly said:

"There are a few things I need you to do, but since we don't have enough manpower right now, just take note of them for now. Later, someone from the Co-Prosperity Society will come from the capital, and you can arrange things then."

"This one understands."

Zhang San nodded, and then heard Wei Changtian say, one by one:

"First, that Chu Xianping I met at the Hanging Mirror Division today, I want to know his daily movements. Where he went, who he met, what he did. As long as he doesn't find out, the more detailed the better."

"Second, I'm planning to dig a few secret rooms in this house, as well as a tunnel leading to the outside. Find someone to see how to design it properly."

"Third, we need to find out the situation of all the residents around us, especially the widowed mother and son next door."

"Fourth, prepare some generous gifts for me. I'm going to the Heavenly Net Sect in a few days, uh... and also inquire about the situation of the Heavenly Net Sect, even if it's just a rough overview."

"Got it?"

"Got it."

Zhang San kept in mind the "no task is too small" principle that Wei Changtian had mentioned before, and instead of immediately agreeing, he thought for a moment before saying:

"Young Master, I can't do the first and third tasks alone for the time being, but the second and fourth tasks are no problem."

"Alright, then do those two first. We'll talk about the rest when the manpower arrives."

"Yes, Young Master."

Zhang San bowed and accepted the order: "Do you have any other instructions?"

"No... wait, there's one more thing."

Wei Changtian smiled: "Go get a jar of wine."

...

An incense stick's worth of time later.

No cake, no birthday song, no friends or family.

Wei Changtian leaned against the open window, drinking alone in silence.

Although it was already winter, the coldest time of the year in Shu Prefecture didn't even bring frost, so tonight wasn't too cold, and the gentle evening breeze was just right.

This window faced the front courtyard of the house, and Yang Liu Shi's room was diagonally opposite, with the faint sound of zither music coming from it.

And Yuan'er, who seemed to be idle, was sitting under the eaves in a daze, humming a little tune along with the zither music.

Both were indistinct, but they echoed each other from east and west.

When the zither music was high, the singing was low.

When the singing was far, the zither music was near.

But whether it was the zither music or the singing, there was a strong sense of homesickness in both.

Damn it, it's one thing for Yuan'er to be homesick, but why is Yang Liu Shi playing this kind of tune?

That's not right, even though she's a fox, she also has a homeland and relatives.

Or rather, "fellow demons" would be more appropriate?

Unknowingly, Wei Changtian's thinking had begun to become a little chaotic, as if he were drunk.

In fact, cultivators who had entered the ranks were very difficult to get drunk.

But sometimes, being drunk or not wasn't only related to how much wine one had drunk.

It is said that wine does not intoxicate people, but people intoxicate themselves, and this is what it meant.

He drank one cup after another, not knowing how long he had been drinking like this, when Yang Liu Shi appeared beside him.

She didn't ask anything, just silently accompanied Wei Changtian for a long time, until the latter drunkenly pointed to the round moon hanging in the night sky.

"Do you know what's up there?"

"How would this servant know?"

Yang Liu Shi supported her chin with one small hand, looking at the round moon and then at Wei Changtian, and waited a long time before getting an answer.

"There's nothing there."

"But don't the books say there are fairies on the moon?"

"There are no fairies, it's a lie."

Wei Changtian fell into Yang Liu Shi's arms with a "plop", and asked vaguely: "Do you know why the moon has phases of waxing and waning?"

Yang Liu Shi gently held Wei Changtian and asked softly: "Why is that?"

"Because..."

Wei Changtian buried his face in a soft expanse, his voice muffled.

"Forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

"..."

Yang Liu Shi was stunned for a moment, but soon smiled.

"Young Master, do you miss the capital?"

"I, I'm thinking about Earth..."