Help! I just woke up and was stabbed by a big kid

"Oh?" Gu Yue turned to look at him.

"...Thirty-five. This is the price for an ordinary strong laborer here. If you add five taels, we'll have a deal." The manager said with a heartache.

This Shi Santa is too good to eat! If we delay any further, we will have to pay more than just this little money.

Gu Yue pretended to hesitate for a while, then agreed reluctantly.

The steward took them into the house to sign the contract, which was Shi San's new indenture.

Shi San signed, sealed his name and put his fingerprints on it, and then wrote down the foreign slave number on him, and this person officially belonged to Gu Yue.

The first employee, okay, okay.

Gu Yue patted Shi San on the shoulder: "From now on, just follow me and work hard, and wealth and glory will be just around the corner!"

Shi San...did not react, just stared at Gu Yue, motionless.

Gu Yue started walking, and he followed him.

Gu Yue was a little worried: "Your future duty is to protect me and this person. Our safety comes first, remember! All other tasks come after this. Do you understand? Nod if you understand."

Shi San nodded.

Gu Yue had nothing more to say. Whether he was reliable or not would only be revealed when something happened in the future. There was no point in saying anything now.

He had originally wanted to recruit someone to go back and do accounting for him, but considering that everything was still in the preparation stage and nothing had worked out, he gave up the idea and went home.

There's no use thinking too much.

……

After a day of rest, Wu Feng went out to inquire about some information and learned that Lord Han was preparing to take his men out of the city and his whereabouts were unknown.

So the night visit to the pepper garden was scheduled for the next night.

Gu Xu showed some interest in this matter. Although the reason he gave was to compensate Gu Yue for his losses, there was actually another meaning. Lord Han's affairs involved many people. Such a large foreign merchant who could trade with the capital could not be done by someone without power behind him.

So that night, Gu Yue, Gu Xu, Wu Feng and Wu Yun who were good at operating in secret, plus Shi San who followed Gu Yue closely, the group of five disguised themselves and quietly left the inn.

Regardless of how the other people felt, Gu Yue was excited and nervous. He could personally experience the night exploration plot that he often saw in TV dramas, so how could he not be excited? However, this was very risky, unlike the cosplay ancient experience in the scenic area, which was really a one-life clearance.

Gu Yue was not particularly worried.

Unless they encountered an unexpected situation - the kind of plot-killing incident that caused the protagonist's team to suffer a loss of manpower, usually these actions would go smoothly under the blessing of the protagonist's halo. If they really encountered that kind of plot-killing incident, the first priority for death would definitely be him, Gu Yue.

Therefore, Shi San’s existence is very important.

With his martial arts level, his priority in death is definitely after Gu Yue, but his first mission is to protect Gu Yue. Therefore, even if an unexpected situation really occurs, Gu Yue's role as a cannon fodder will be weakened by this powerful guard, and he might be able to save his life.

Gu Yue was just thinking about it all the way. The group quietly sneaked out of the city from the north gate, rode into the mountains, bypassed the official road and headed towards Taiqing Temple.

On the way to Yuning Mansion, Gu Yue and the secret guards learned some horse riding skills, and now they can control the direction of the horse and make it follow the group.

Near midnight, the five of them arrived outside the wall of Taiqing Temple, near the parking area for horses that came to Taiqing Temple for pilgrimage. The horses were not conspicuous here, because there were many pilgrims who stayed overnight at Taiqing Temple.

Dismount here and walk the rest of the way.

Although Shi San was not very good at speaking, his understanding of the command was not affected. They traveled light all the way, and Shi San was very well concealed, and he could do what Gu Yue asked without any reminder.

He even helped Gu Yue to smoothly adjust his route, and lent a hand as a stepping stone in places that Gu Yue couldn't pass, etc. He was really useful.

"It should be around here." Wu Feng looked up and felt it. The night sky was covered tightly by the tree canopy, and the forest was pitch black. The few people could only see clearly under their feet with the light of the fire.

Even so, Wu Feng did not deviate from the direction. He must have some skill or talent in identifying directions, and Gu Xu and Wu Yun both trusted him.

Gu Yue's method of judgment was to observe the surroundings. The branches near where they were hiding had signs of being broken, and the weeds on the ground were also mostly fallen, so it was not difficult to see that people often passed by. This place was already far away from Taiqing Temple, and even the light of the lanterns hanging high in the main hall could no longer be seen.

"We need to find the pepper garden now. Let's explore slowly." Wu Feng said, "After all, it's not as clear as during the day. It's hard to find it all at once."

The three nodded. Of course Gu Yue listened to him. Although he could see traces of people passing by nearby, he couldn't tell where those traces led to. He still needed people like Wu Feng and Wu Yun who had rich experience in outdoor survival to identify them.

Wu Feng felt it again, and then approached the ground with the fire stick, carefully searching for footprints and tracks on the ground. The trees were sparse, and the treetops were large, so vehicles could pass through.

"Wu Feng, did you see Jiao Yuan in the daytime?" Gu Yue asked in a low voice.

"That's right." Wu Feng squatted and looked at the ground.

"Is there a road from Jiaoyuan leading to the official road?" Gu Yue asked.

"No, the pepper garden is just a clearing in the woods. Even the gate is hidden in the bushes. There is no clear visible road." Wu Feng said: "They probably transport spices by different routes, otherwise it wouldn't be so difficult to find."

Gu Yue pondered. Is it necessary to be so cautious for a spice plantation that is just avoiding taxes? How much tax did he evade?

It always feels a little unusual.

The few of them had to look for the location of the pepper garden while also being on guard against the guards patrolling near the pepper garden, which slowed down the progress a lot.

Shi San followed behind in silence.

After walking about a hundred meters away, Shi San suddenly pulled Gu Yue's arm.

This person still remembered the instructions to "stay quiet" when he spoke, and spoke in a very low voice.

Shi San asked, "Jiaoyuan?"

"Yes, do you know where it is?" Gu Yue did not doubt his ability at all.

"Pepper?" Shi San asked, "Numbish? Fragrant? Round?"

"Yes, it's the round Sichuan peppercorns that we often eat." Gu Yue was very patient.

Shi San stopped talking again. Instead, he turned his head around and took a deep breath, as if he was sniffing something.

Seeing this, Gu Yue also carefully distinguished the smell in the air.

The smell of wood from trees, the special smell of broken plants, the smell of rotten leaves that have fermented for a winter...

Gu Xu seemed to understand something, and he also raised his head and sniffed in all directions.

"Over there." Shi San raised his hand first and pointed to the front left.

Gu Yue hasn’t smelled anything yet!

Wu Feng looked at the traces under his feet and said, "It's 80% possible."