Chapter 1

"Shopkeeper, this is..." Gong Er scratched his head as he looked at the man lying on the wheelbarrow that Shen Yu had brought back.

"I don't recognize it. I just saw it by the water and brought it back." Shen Yu parked the car in the middle of the yard and let go of it. He went straight to the water tank, scooped up a ladle of well water, and drank it down.

As summer transitions into autumn, the lingering heat makes one's throat feel like it's on fire, but this well water is just the right amount of cool water.

"Just doing it? You're pretty strong..." Gong Er muttered, bending down to pull the man. But the unconscious man was as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he almost fell to the ground.

"Just give him a simple bandage. It looks like just a fracture and some superficial injuries. It's not life-threatening. Do as much as you can, and I'll take care of the rest."

"Okay, will applying the medicine for him be paid extra?"

“I’ll count you as…” Shen Yu paused, then changed her words at the last minute, “I’ll count you as half an hour.”

"Okay."

Shen Yu casually picked up a piece of taro and tossed it towards the thatched shed in the backyard. There, a long-tailed macaque was crouching, its arms wrapped around a wooden post.

"Maiya's ready to eat!"

The little monkey named Malt caught it, held it in its arms, smelled it, and immediately buried its head in it and started gnawing on it, its tail still tightly wrapped around the wooden post.

Shen Yu casually wiped her hands, a smile in her eyes, and lifted the curtain to enter the hall.

Noon had passed, and the sunlight slanted across the stone floor, casting dappled shadows. In the lobby, small groups of customers chatted quietly about business or drank wine; the atmosphere was ordinary.

Two guests by the window were gesturing and pointing at the account book, while half a bowl of leftover noodles on the table was still steaming.

At the counter on the right, a tall, thin woman was fiddling with an abacus. Hearing Shen Yu enter, her fingers paused, and she looked up angrily: "So you know how to come back! I've been running around all by myself, cooking and collecting accounts, and I still can't figure it out!"

Shen Yu walked over with a smile: "Here I am. Do you need me to cook?"

"You'll be thankful if you can sort out the accounts! Also, someone just came to ask if we'll still be buying grain tomorrow."

"Okay, buy it at yesterday's price. You didn't change it arbitrarily, did you?"

"Where's Gong Er? Come out and help!" Yao Liuliu shouted at the top of her lungs, but her voice, though loud, was weak and powerless, lacking any imposing presence.

"He was busy in the backyard, and I picked someone up."

"Great! We were just looking for manpower."

Shen Yu stood behind the counter and glanced up at the room. Everything was as usual: the old customers in their usual spots, and the new faces giving her a fresh look. She took it all in.

Another peaceful day! That's good!

After the busy mealtime, Shen Yu finally had time to visit the unconscious wounded patient.

But before that, she had to make a meal for a patient.

She's a pretty girl, but her face turned pale from soaking in the water. She needs to improve her blood circulation and remove blood stasis first.

There just happened to be one black-boned chicken left over from yesterday's stock. It had already been soaked to remove the blood and foam, and was now quietly nestled in the casserole.

She stuffed ginger slices into the chicken's cavity, then added angelica root and red dates, and added water until it covered the ingredients. The casserole was then placed securely on the charcoal stove and simmered over a low flame.

Only after the fragrance filled the air did Shen Yu go to Gong Er's room.

The man was already awake, bound tightly, his eyes slightly wary. When he saw her come in, he tried to get up.

"You have minor fractures in your ribs and lower leg, so don't move around too much," Shen Yu kindly reminded him. However, this was common for patients who had just woken up, and she was used to it. She then introduced herself, "I found you by the Hengxi River. You are currently at the Chang Le Inn in Sanhe Town. I am the innkeeper here. My name is Shen Yu."

"...My name is Qiu Chiyan. Thank you for your kind assistance, Manager Shen. I will definitely..." He instinctively straightened up, only to fall straight down again.

Even simple movements caused him so much pain that his vision blurred.

Shen Yu looked as if she had known this all along. Suddenly, she twitched her nose and fanned the air in front of Qiu Chiyan with her hand: "Can you smell it?"

Qiu Chiyan didn't have the energy to activate his other senses right now, and only belatedly realized it under her guidance.

But it immediately awakened his stomach.

The awkward sounds coming from her stomach seemed quite abrupt in the room. Shen Yu chuckled and said, "Smell it for a while. It'll take a bit longer to stew. Have some yam porridge first to fill your stomach."

The yam porridge was leftover from the pot after mealtime, so it was perfect for him.

Shen Yu approached with a bowl and spoon, and Qiu Chiyan swallowed hard. "Thank you for your trouble, Manager Shen. I can do it myself..."

"If you can raise your arm right now, you'll be impressive."

Qiu Chiyan belatedly moved, and sure enough, the belated swelling and pain reached his brain at that moment.

He had no choice but to obediently accept being fed a meal.

After they finished eating, Shen Yu began to ask some routine questions, such as where they came from, where they were going, and why they were injured.

"...I am a bodyguard from Changfeng Escort Agency. On the way to deliver a package, I was assigned to deliver something alone, but I encountered bandits on the way. The Xinhang Mountain is steep, so I lost my footing and fell down."

"Then, shall I send a message to let them know you're safe and let them come pick you up?"

"...Then I'll trouble you, shopkeeper. Just send a message to Yuebai Rice Shop in town. But we escorts usually have to get on our journey first, and we rarely turn back if we know the person is safe."

That's true... Shen Yu felt she had asked unnecessary questions; all the escort agencies on the market were like this.

"It's alright! You can stay here with me for now, no need to rush to leave. I won't miss your meal."

Shen Yu always came and went in a whirlwind, and Qiu Chiyan couldn't stop her. He wanted to ask her anything, but it was too late.

He lay there alone, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing through the jumbled memories.

I left in a hurry this time, and since I was hiding my identity, I didn't bring the Six Doors' prominent identity token.

That's fine, though. Since I wasn't searched and my identity wasn't discovered when I lost consciousness, I don't have to explain the whole story to strangers.

But the fear is that there might be a problem here, or that someone might track them down and implicate innocent people.

His current physical condition prevents him from doing much, so he can probably only try to glean some information about the outside world from the people at the inn.

However, due to exhaustion, he drifted off to sleep again.

When I woke up again, another meal was served.

And three people beside the bed.

They were very familiar with each other and chatted idly while cracking sunflower seeds around a sleeping body that couldn't move much.

"Oh, you're awake! Come, come, try our boss's cooking. The chicken soup is just right, I'm already craving some." Gong Er eagerly served him some food.

Qiu Chiyan wasn't used to it, but the other party was too enthusiastic and he couldn't resist, so he had no choice but to accept the kindness.

"By the way, I've already been to the rice shop. See if there are any other tokens. I'll send them to your escort agency's hometown so nothing is missed," Shen Yu asked hastily, spitting out the melon seed shells.

"...I probably don't have much left on me."

“That’s true… It’s alright, there are so many people coming and going, there will always be opportunities.” Shen Yu was originally thinking that it would be best to send them away, but it would be fine if they couldn’t.

She hadn't cooked meals for patients in a long time.

"That, that!" Yao Liuliu suddenly patted Shen Yu's arm excitedly, "Didn't they say that the Hundred Gates Sacrifice Ceremony would be held in Sanhe Town? There will definitely be a lot of people there, and maybe we can catch their escort agency's people in the inn."

Gong Er sneered without any attempt to hide his disdain: "What kind of heroes would stay at our little inn? There are only four rooms in total, are you going to cram the whole sect into this place?"

Qiu Chiyan observed that although the other two were Shen Yu's employees, there seemed to be no distinction between them in terms of rank, and Shen Yu did not show any anger because of what Gong Er said.

Shen Yu simply dragged out his words, even somewhat agreeing: "Those who are willing to come here must be from humble families or lone heroes; perhaps that's what makes it more interesting."

"That's true. We only accepted one today." Gong Er spoke out of the blue, suddenly bringing up, "Although the Hundred Gates Sacrifice Ceremony is not until two months later, there are already more people in town recently. Just before closing time, a man carrying a huge bamboo basket came to stay at the inn, saying he would stay for four months."

"Oh wow! A big spender! Take good care of him!" Shen Yu was energized; she had never encountered a guest who stayed for so long before.

Yao Liuliu was also curious: "Did you ask him what he came for?"

"Isn't it because an old itinerant doctor in town was giving free lectures a couple of days ago? He came here because he'd heard so much about him."

"He's quick to find out; I only found out yesterday."

"Who can argue with that? He traveled for most of the day to get here, first went to become an apprentice, found temporary accommodation, and even haggled with me for ages over the rent."

"You gave me a discount?" Shen Yu suddenly stood up and asked.

"Yeah, of course there's a discount for long-stay guests." Gong Er scratched his head. "What, doesn't your place have that rule?"

"Okay, then let's give you a discount." Shen Yu was immediately convinced and obediently started eating sunflower seeds again.

"Um..." Qiu Chiyan interjected quietly from his lying position, "May I ask, why did that old itinerant doctor offer himself as an apprentice for no reason?"

Gong Er: "They said they had a large stockpile of medicinal herbs, and rather than letting them rot in their hands, they should let more people learn medicine so that they could make the best use of them."

"How could a traveling doctor carry so many medicinal herbs with him?"

"I don't know, and I didn't ask for that much detail. What, are you looking for a doctor?"

"...No, no, I'm not..."

Before Qiu Chiyan could even explain, Gong Er grabbed Shen Yu's arm and confidently introduced, "Our manager can do it too! He's quite skilled! Don't worry, it won't kill anyone!"

Something about those words just didn't feel right. Qiu Chiyan raised an eyebrow slightly; it didn't sound like a compliment on someone's excellent medical skills at all.

Shen Yu's arm was pulled away, but her head followed the hand and turned towards him, all for the melon seed in her hand.

He appears to be quite indifferent to external gains or losses.

Qiu Chiyan couldn't figure out what these three people were planning to do with themselves around him.

I observed them for the whole night, and it seemed they were just chatting idly: one minute they were talking about the new tea in town, the next they were talking about the monkeys on the mountain road, their conversations were scattered and without any rhyme or reason.

Tired of talking, the three of them stopped talking, dusted off their clothes, and went their separate ways without uttering a single unnecessary word.

This is Gong Er's room, and he slept right next to the opposite wall.

"Brother Gong..."

"Just call me Gong Er."

"...Okay. Actually, I'm just a little embarrassed. Given my current condition, I'm afraid I'll have to bother you for several more days..."

Gong Er scoffed, "What do you mean? Don't worry, our manager is kind-hearted. He picks up live animals to raise every now and then. Have you seen that monkey in the yard? Oh, you probably haven't had a chance to see it yet. It's been here for over two years. You, just stay put. The manager loves a lively atmosphere."

"...Oh, really...that shopkeeper is so kind and generous..."

"Of course! Actually, I was adopted too, so don't worry. Besides, they're both great cooks, it's a real treat for them."

Qiu Chiyan sized up Gong Er. This man was over thirty years old and had a strong physique, yet he was willing to obediently follow a young shopkeeper, which suggested that he was a kind-hearted person...

Or perhaps they are simply a glutton.

"How about I help you with something once I feel a little better?" Qiu Chiyan suggested after a moment's thought.

"Okay!" Gong Er didn't stand on ceremony at all and jumped out of bed. "Can you do accounting? Even the few of us who work together make mistakes on money every day."