Chapter 1

First, he needed to get a better set of equipment, then he would go to Ye City in style to become a successful person. After receiving the new clothes and shoes, Shan Fei muttered to himself.

He was far from successful at the moment. The equipment he held, if described nicely, was called beginner gear, but if described harshly, it was beggar's clothes—was there any difference between a slave of the Cao family and a beggar?

He had never imagined he would become a slave of the Cao family.

As the seventh-generation single heir of an archaeological family, he had been entrusted with the highest-level order to oversee the most mysterious archaeological excavation in the country in Ye City. He unexpectedly discovered the jade coffin of Nü Xiu, a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. The moment he saw the jade coffin, his worldview was almost completely overturned and rebuilt. He knew that this discovery, while not necessarily the last of its kind, was certainly unprecedented. If it were to be made public, it would surely shock the world, rewrite Darwin's theory of evolution, and even the history of human civilization...

However, before he could announce everything, he was transported to the year 208 AD by the mysterious jade coffin, possessing the body of a slave. They say that when God closes a window, He will surely break your head. And indeed, that was the case. When God closed the window of his life, He also broke the head of this slave.

The slave was covered in blood, barely alive. Just as the people of the Cao family were about to bury him, he woke up. Seeing him suddenly open his eyes, those people screamed even more pitifully than he did.

When both sides finally understood what was happening, he tried his best to convince them that he could still be saved. They abandoned the idea of burying him alive and brought him back to the Cao family estate.

After lying on the hard bed for more than half a month, he finally managed to get out of bed and move around, and he also figured out the situation around him.

His name was Shan Fei, and he was currently living in Xu City—the most peaceful place in the world at the moment. He seemed to have no family, and he had recently been sold to the Cao family as a slave. His master was named Cao Hong, whom he was not unfamiliar with. Cao Hong was Cao Cao's cousin and could be considered a brother to Cao Cao. Anyone who had read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" would know this.

Shan Fei was well-versed in history, but Cao Hong was not currently in Xu City. Historical records only documented major events and did not detail Cao Hong's daily activities. After a rough calculation, Shan Fei felt that his master was likely following his master's master—Cao Cao—and they might be planning to attack Ye City.

While lying in bed, Shan Fei had already made his plans. Once Cao Cao and his men captured Ye City, he would be the first to rush over. During the war, real estate was not valuable, and the wealthy people of Ye City might not necessarily befriend him, but they would certainly be afraid of the turmoil and eager to sell their properties. However, they did not know that Ye City would soon undergo a massive expansion, replacing Xu City as the political and economic center of the Wei Kingdom, with skyrocketing land prices. By taking the initiative, he might even make a huge profit, raise capital, go public, and thus reach the pinnacle of his life.

"I don't want to be a slave, and I don't want to be cannon fodder. I want to be a successful person."

While Shan Fei was lost in thought, just as he was about to change out of his unsuccessful old shoes, he heard the door creak open, and someone called out, "Shan Fei, are you feeling better?"

Looking up, Shan Fei recognized the person as Deng Yi, who could be considered his roommate. The Cao family was large and wealthy, and the treatment of slaves was much better than that of beggars. They were provided with food and lodging, and he and Deng Yi shared a wooden house. Deng Yi was quite righteous, and he had taken good care of Shan Fei during these days.

From Deng Yi, Shan Fei learned that Deng Yi was three years older than him, indirectly revealing his own age.

Deng Yi claimed he was not yet of age, but looking at his face, which could serve as a washboard, Shan Fei felt that the guy was likely pretending to be younger. This guy was clearly not a handsome man, more like a dried-up old man.

Seeing Shan Fei staring at him, Deng Yi walked over and smiled, "You really have a strong will to live. But what did you encounter outside the city that left you covered in blood and almost dead?"

Shan Fei was even more curious about this, but he only knew six out of the seven orifices of this body's past. He could only vaguely say, "I... don't remember."

"I know you have high aspirations," Deng Yi, who seemed to understand Shan Fei better than he did himself, said in a low voice, "Do you also want to do the Cao family's business?"

Shan Fei was slightly stunned and then heard Deng Yi continue, "But that business is a life-and-death gamble. We can't do it. Isn't it better to be a slave in peace? Being a slave in the Cao family isn't bad; we have status and position. Who in Xu City would dare look down on us?"

What a hopeless loser with no ambition!

Shan Fei felt that this guy was born to be a slave and was lowering his own ideals. Before he could argue, a bell rang, and Deng Yi immediately grabbed his bowl and rushed out—the mealtime for the Cao family's servants had arrived.

"Wait for me," Shan Fei, ignoring his ideals, followed in his old shoes. A successful person also needed to fill his stomach first. The light broth and plain food for the past half a month had made him feel like his heart was on fire.

He and Deng Yi, swallowing their saliva, finally managed to grab a large bowl of stewed fatty meat. The Cao family not only provided good food but also had skilled cooks.

The servants, after receiving their food, scattered in groups around the courtyard, eating with gusto. After eating, they would rest under the trees, lying around haphazardly.

In the Three Kingdoms period, slaves were essentially indentured servants of the old society, responsible for farming, fishing, logging, and various other tasks. Their daily workload was not light. However, Deng Yi was not wrong; the slaves of the Cao family did have some status. They often did odd jobs and errands in the estate, which was undoubtedly much easier than the slaves of other families.

After satisfying his hunger, Shan Fei began to consider how to become a successful person again. He looked around and whispered, "By the way, what kind of life-and-death business does the Cao family do?"

Deng Yi was definitely not talking about charging into battle; that wasn't a business. He had a guess, but he wasn't entirely sure.

Deng Yi looked at him strangely and lowered his voice, "Didn't you tell me this? Cao Da Ye is a general, but Cao San Ye does this..." He made a gesture of digging down and then lifting up.

Shan Fei was startled. Before he could ask more, a sudden cheer came from the front courtyard, "The young lady is back."

The slaves immediately became excited and rushed to the front courtyard. Deng Yi also stood up to run, but seeing Shan Fei still sitting there, he pulled him up, "Are you crazy? The young lady is back, and you're not going to welcome her. She has the best heart; if she sees us welcoming her, she might give us some money as a reward."

Shan Fei finally became interested. He thought that in the early stages of a game, players in the beginner village were often short of money. As a beginner in this era, it would be nice to get some capital to buy equipment.

He followed Deng Yi to the front courtyard and suddenly pulled him back.

Deng Yi stumbled and was about to ask what Shan Fei was doing when he also wisely stopped and fell silent. The front courtyard was as quiet as a funeral, and a woman was riding a horse, her slender waist bound, her eyebrows like the spring mountains. She was the first beautiful woman Shan Fei had seen in this era. To be honest, he had seen many beautiful women in his own time, but such natural beauty was rare.

But why did this beautiful woman look so cold?

Was this the kind-hearted young lady, Cao Hong's daughter?

Shan Fei had heard Deng Yi drool over the young lady many times. He knew that Cao Hong was often away on military campaigns, and although he had two sons, the Cao family's business was mostly managed by this young lady.

This young lady was as beautiful as a fairy, kind and gentle, and treated her servants with a pleasant demeanor. Anyone who married such a wife would be considered lucky in their past lives.

Of course, that was what Deng Yi said. Shan Fei knew that Deng Yi might dream of being buried in the Cao family's grave. Today, he finally had the chance to see this young lady and felt that Deng Yi's weathered appearance hid a childlike innocence.

This woman was indeed beautiful, but although Shan Fei's hormones were surging, his mind was not that of a naive teenager. Looking at her face and considering her daily life, he knew that if she were in the modern era, she would be a strong woman who could compete with men. Such a woman would be difficult for even seven children to handle.

It was better to stay away from such a woman.

However, the others thought differently. They were all looking at a sedan chair behind the young lady. The curtain was drawn, and a faint cough could be heard from inside. The young lady's expression seemed to be related to the person in the sedan chair.

No one cheered. A steward approached and said a few flattering words, but the young lady just waved her hand, and the steward wisely walked away. The sedan bearers were about to continue when a violent cough came from inside the sedan.

The sedan immediately stopped, and the young lady dismounted, approaching the sedan and speaking softly. The curtain flickered, and a hand reached out, pointing to one side.

Shan Fei was startled.

He was not startled because the hand pointed in his direction. No matter where the hand pointed, he knew it wouldn't involve him. There were many slaves waiting for a reward, and if there was work to be done, they would do it. From the situation, it seemed he wouldn't get a reward today and would need to find another way to buy equipment. If he didn't want to draw too much attention, he would have gone back to sleep.

As a successful person, he needed to have some insight.

What startled him was the color of the hand.

It was mid-afternoon in early autumn, and the slanted sunlight cast a dark, gloomy shadow on the hand.

Others might not notice or might only think it was an authoritative, somewhat aged and weary hand. But as an outstanding archaeologist and an even more skilled tomb raider, Shan Fei saw much more than the average person.

Seeing the color of the hand, he was 90% sure it belonged to a professional tomb raider, as the color resembled that of corpse infection.

Corpse infection might sound mysterious, but Shan Fei knew it was a microbial reaction that occurred when a body was buried underground for a long time. The microbes infected the tomb raider's hand, causing a stain that was hard to wash off.

Judging by the appearance of the hand, the person in the sedan was either a living corpse or had decades of experience in tomb raiding.

When Deng Yi made the gesture of digging, Shan Fei had guessed he was talking about tomb raiding. He had this suspicion even before he was transported to this era.

According to historical records, Cao Hong was a wealthy man. When Cao Cao was the Imperial Secretary, he would ask the county magistrates to report the wealth of the officials each year. When the magistrate told Cao Cao that Cao Hong's wealth was equal to that of a noble, Cao Cao replied, "How can my wealth compare to Zilian's?"

Zilian was Cao Hong's courtesy name.

In simpler terms, Cao Cao was saying, "I'm definitely not as rich as Cao Hong."

Cao Hong's wealth certainly didn't fall from the sky.

Recalling what Deng Yi had said, Shan Fei immediately thought—Cao Da Ye, Cao Hong, was a general, but Cao San Ye was a tomb raider. Could the person in the sedan be Cao San Ye? Could the摸金校尉 (tomb raiders) and 发丘中郎将 (military tomb raiders) under Cao Cao be related to this Cao San Ye?

The摸金校尉 (tomb raiders) were always a mysterious presence in Cao Cao's army.

At that moment, he had many thoughts. His mind was naturally quicker than others, which was why he had been entrusted with such an important task. The others only saw the young lady pause when the hand reached out, her eyes showing a hint of confusion. Then she turned her slender waist, looked in the direction the hand pointed, and said after a moment, "Who is Shan Fei?"

The autumn wind blew, and everyone's gaze immediately fell on the thin, somewhat youthful figure. They couldn't understand why the young lady, who managed the Cao family's finances, would look for this young man.

Of course, it wasn't because of a romantic interest.

Everyone denied it. This young man was so unremarkable, not even worth being called manure. Could the young lady be looking for him to beat him up? Everyone secretly hoped so.

The young lady, following the others' gazes, also seemed surprised when she saw Shan Fei.

By a woman's intuition, the young man seemed different, but she couldn't pinpoint what made him stand out. It wasn't because of his good looks or his attire, but there was something about him that made him stand out among the slaves. What was it?

The young lady was puzzled, and Shan Fei was also stunned, almost thinking he had heard wrong. But then he clearly heard the young lady say, "Shan Fei, come here."

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New book uploaded. I've been away from Qidian for a long time, and now I'm back, ready to spend days and nights with everyone again. Friends who know the news, please leave a message in the review section and spread the word. Thanks! Mobile users can visit http://m.piaotia.net

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