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Chapter 1114: Gold Mining in the Great Wall

The cold wind was howling, and the morning on the Mongolian grassland was always particularly cold. Zhao Wuji wrapped himself tightly in the fur coat he had taken from the dead soldier, and the white breath he exhaled quickly dissipated in the cold wind. He was so cold in the prisoner camp last night that he couldn't sleep, but compared to those Song soldiers who were killed, he was lucky to be alive.

"Han slave, go feed the horses!" A Mongolian centurion kicked his calf and ordered in stiff Chinese.

Zhao Wuji rubbed his aching back and stood up, cursing in his heart, but he didn't dare to show any dissatisfaction on his face. He glanced at the system interface:
[Current Gold Coins: -7]

[Warning: When in debt, 1 gold coin will be deducted as interest every day]

"Your system is more cruel than loan sharks!" He gritted his teeth, picked up the wooden barrel full of bean feed and walked towards the stable.

The stable was steaming hot, and dozens of war horses were chewing hay. Zhao Wuji scattered beans while secretly observing the surroundings - the layout of the Mongolian camp was consistent with the original description of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes". The towering golden tent in the distance must be where Temujin was. The camp near the river bank was where Guo Jing and his mother Li Ping lived.

"If I can get close to Guo Jing, maybe it will be safer..." He was thinking about it when he heard footsteps behind him.

"This horse has a fierce temper and needs to be fed separately."

Zhao Wuji turned around and saw a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes standing behind him. It was Guo Jing. The young man held a handful of hay in his hand and carefully handed it to a jet-black horse. The horse immediately raised its front hooves and snorted when it saw a stranger approaching, appearing extremely unfriendly.

"Be careful!" Zhao Wuji subconsciously took a step back.

Guo Jing smiled, reached out his hand and gently stroked the horse's mane, whispering: "Xiao Hei, don't be afraid." Oddly enough, the horse gradually calmed down and lowered its head to nibble on the grass in his palm.

Zhao Wuji's heart moved, remembering that in the original novel, Guo Jing's mount was a Ferghana horse, which was later named "Little Red Horse". The black horse in front of him was obviously not one of them, but Guo Jing's talent for horse training was already revealed.

He was just hesitating whether to start a conversation when the crowd performance system warning immediately sounded in his mind:
[It is forbidden to interact with the main characters in the storyline! ]

Zhao Wuji had no choice but to lower his head and continue working, pretending not to see Guo Jing. The young man didn't care either, and after feeding the horse, he turned around and left.

After Guo Jing walked away, Zhao Wuji breathed a sigh of relief, but his eyes fell on a leather bag next to the manger - it seemed to be dropped by Guo Jing. He looked around and saw that no one was paying attention, so he quickly picked it up and touched it, and found a few pieces of silver and a small dagger inside.

[Warning: This behavior may cause a slight plot deviation, and a fine of 5 gold coins will be imposed]

"Is this a fine?!" Zhao Wuji almost cursed, but then he thought, he could still make a net profit of 10 gold coins, which was better than being in debt. He quickly stuffed the purse into his arms and pretended nothing happened.

In the afternoon, the Mongolian camp suddenly became noisy. Zhao Wuji was driven to the river to wash his horse. From afar, he saw a group of cavalrymen galloping towards him. The first one was a burly man with a longbow on his back. It was the archer Zhebie.

"Guo Jing'an!" Zhebie shouted, "Would you like to come with us on the hunt today?"

Guo Jing ran out of the tent with a rare smile on his face. Zhao Wuji knew that this was the plot in the original novel where Zhebie taught Guo Jing archery. He wanted to sneak up on him and see if he could get some advantage, but the system's cold prompt immediately dispelled his idea:
[The main storyline is in progress, no interference! ]

With no other options, he continued to brush the horse, but his ears perked up to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Master Zhebie, I...I missed the target yesterday." Guo Jing whispered, his tone full of self-blame.

Zhebie laughed and patted him on the shoulder: "Archery is like life. It doesn't matter if you miss once. Come, I will teach you another trick called 'linking arrows'!"

Zhao Wuji was eager to learn, but the system restrictions prevented him from secretly learning. He sighed and was about to leave when he saw something flashing in the sun on the riverbank.

He pretended to wash the horse and slowly approached it, and found that it was a gold ring embedded between the pebbles!
[Found "Relics of the Fallen Soldiers", worth 50 gold coins]

Zhao Wuji was overjoyed, and quickly took out the ring and hid it in his sleeve. This was much more profitable than picking up a money bag! However, as soon as he turned around, he ran into a Mongolian soldier.

"Han slave, what are you doing sneaking around like that?" The soldier stared at him suspiciously.

Zhao Wuji's heart stopped beating, but he pretended to be calm and raised the horse brush in his hand: "I'm washing the horse."

The Mongolian soldier squinted his eyes and looked at him, then suddenly reached out and grabbed his collar: "What's hidden in your arms?"

Zhao Wuji secretly thought that it was not good. Just as he was thinking about how to escape, he suddenly heard a shout from a distance:
"General Subietai has ordered all troops to assemble!"

The Mongolian soldier was startled, then let him go and ran towards the camp, cursing. Zhao Wuji breathed a sigh of relief and quickly hid the ring more secretly.

In the evening, a bonfire was lit in the Mongolian camp, and the soldiers sat around to grill meat. As a prisoner, Zhao Wuji could only get a bowl of thin broth. He squatted in the corner, drinking the soup while calculating today's harvest:

[Current gold coins: 53]

【Today’s earnings】

Pick up Guo Jing's money bag: +15 (fine -5)

Discover Gold Ring: +50
Daily labor compensation: +1
"At this rate, it will take a long time to save up 10,000 gold coins..." He rubbed his temples, thinking about more efficient ways to make money.

Just as he was worrying, he suddenly heard a quarrel coming from the edge of the camp. He approached quietly and found that it was two Mongolian soldiers arguing, and several pieces of armor and weapons stripped from the bodies of the Song soldiers were scattered on the ground.

"I was the one who got the sword first!"

"Bullshit! I took it off that Song army captain!"

Zhao Wuji's eyes lit up - a dispute over spoils of war! According to the rules of the Mongolian army, spoils of war belonged to individuals, but if there was no consensus, they would often be sold at a low price.

He touched the gold coins in his arms and came up with an idea.

When the two men were arguing, he approached them and said in stiff Mongolian: "Brothers, why don't you... sell it to me?"

The Mongolian soldier was stunned, then sneered: "Han slave, you have money?"

Zhao Wuji took out a few gold coins and waved them in the firelight. The two Mongolian soldiers looked at each other and finally sold the fine steel sword to him for 30 gold coins.

[Obtain "Song Army Standard Long Sword", which can be sold to the caravan, with an estimated value of 80 gold coins]

Zhao Wuji grinned. He made a net profit of 50 by selling it!

In the dead of night, he lay on the haystack in the prisoner camp, listening to the howling of wolves in the distance, but he felt a rare sense of relief in his heart.

"If this continues..."

He closed his eyes and the smiling faces of Hawaii appeared in his mind.