A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

That same night, in a secluded corner of the supply depot within the core camp of Zhenbei City, stood an old tent.

At that moment, a man reeking of alcohol was leaning back in his chair in the tent, smiling as he looked at the man sitting in front of him.

The man, reeking of alcohol, laughed and said, "Hey, isn't this my brother Liu, the general's personal guard? What brings you here tonight instead of on duty by the general's side?"

A flash of anger crossed the man surnamed Liu's eyes, and he said coldly, "Who's your brother Liu? Don't try to get close to me! Wang Liefeng, I'm here to get my IOU back!"

The man reeking of alcohol was none other than Wang Liefeng, the former captain of the Black Armor Battalion, but now he had been demoted to an ordinary soldier in the quartermaster battalion.

Because of his previous status, no one dared to order him around.

He was happy to have some free time, so he found a tent in a corner of the quartermaster camp and spent his days drinking.

Wang Liefeng slowly raised his head, glanced at the man surnamed Liu in front of him, and sneered.

"An IOU? Sure, you can have it if you return the thousand taels of silver!"

The man surnamed Liu slammed his hand on the table and angrily said, "Wang Liefeng, wasn't it you who set me up for that thousand taels? Otherwise, how could I have owed so much?"

Wang Liefeng looked at the man surnamed Liu with a mocking expression and chuckled, "Brother Liu, you're mistaken. A bet is a bet, and you signed this IOU willingly. I didn't force you!"

"If you think I set you up, we can go before the general and discuss the matter, and see if the general sides with you or me!"

As he finished speaking, Wang Liefeng looked at the man surnamed Liu with a mocking expression, "What? As the general's personal guard, you don't even have this much faith in the general?"

The man surnamed Liu's face turned pale and then red. He dared not argue with Wang Liefeng in front of Yue Zhenyuan.

Yue Zhenyuan hated gambling the most. He had said before that if any of his personal guards dared to gamble, they would be severely punished with thirty strokes of the cane and expelled from the city guard.

Leaving aside the fact that being expelled from the city guard was a consequence he was unwilling to bear, whether he could survive after being severely beaten with thirty strokes of the cane was another matter entirely.

All of this stemmed from an invitation Wang Liefeng had given him for drinks before he lost power, which he accepted in order to expand his network of connections.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Wang Liefeng took advantage of his drunkenness and loss of composure, inviting him to gamble at a friend's casino, and even patted his chest to promise that he would never tell anyone.

He had acted carelessly and accepted Wang Liefeng's invitation.

What followed was a series of calculated maneuvers, and in a moment of blind gambler's madness, he signed an IOU for one thousand taels of silver, attempting to turn the tables.

The result was obvious: he lost all of the thousand taels he had borrowed.

The man surnamed Liu, his eyes red, stared intently at Wang Liefeng in front of him and said in a low voice, "A thousand taels of silver? I can't come up with that even if you beat me to death!"

After taking a deep breath, the man surnamed Liu continued, "How about this, I'll exchange this IOU for a piece of information! Since you're doing this with no initial investment anyway, you can earn even more with my information!"

Wang Liefeng raised an eyebrow, a look of interest on his face, and said with a smile, "Oh? What kind of news is so valuable! Tell me!"

The man surnamed Liu looked at Wang Liefeng warily, shook his head, and refused, saying, "Give me my IOU first. Anyway, I guarantee this information is worth a thousand taels!"

Wang Liefeng stared at the man surnamed Liu for a while, then smiled and said, "Alright, I believe you! I hope you won't disappoint me, otherwise you know the consequences. I'm sure you wouldn't want to see me at General Yue's place."

The man surnamed Liu gritted his teeth again, filled with regret for his momentary lapse in judgment.

After Wang Liefeng finished speaking, he slowly got up, stumbled to a pile of miscellaneous items behind him, rummaged through the boxes and cabinets for a while, and finally took out a crumpled IOU from an inconspicuous wooden box.

Holding the IOU, Wang Liefeng returned to the table and waved it in front of the man surnamed Liu.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar IOU, the man surnamed Liu's breathing quickened, and he reached out to grab it.

Although Wang Liefeng reeked of alcohol, he reacted quickly, snatching back the IOU and sneering, "Don't be in such a hurry, Brother Liu!"

He slammed the IOU onto the table and said with a smile, "Go ahead and tell me. As long as you finish telling me the information and confirm that it's worth one thousand taels, I will naturally return the IOU to you."

The man surnamed Liu took a deep breath, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes as he looked at Wang Liefeng, but after weighing the situation in his mind, he ultimately decided not to act impulsively.

He nodded slowly, then gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, it's a deal!"

As he spoke, the man surnamed Liu took out a package from behind him, slowly opened it, revealing the contents: a handful of fine sand and a piece of iron-black stone.

Wang Liefeng glanced at the fine sand and stones in front of him, then his eyes gradually turned from expectant to cold, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

"Are you out of your mind? Trying to fool me with this stuff? Do you want to die?"

Wang Liefeng gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at the man surnamed Liu in front of him.

The man surnamed Liu's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly said, "I'm not lying to you! Look carefully at what's in the sand? And what's so special about this rock!"

Wang Liefeng frowned, pulled the package in front of him, and first picked up the stone. He felt that it was heavy as a block of iron.

After examining it for a while, Wang Liefeng hesitated and said, "This...this is iron ore?"

The man surnamed Liu smiled and nodded. "That's right, this is iron ore!"

Wang Liefeng casually put down the iron ore and asked excitedly, "Where did it come from?"

"This was found at the foot of the iron mine reported by Commandant Zhao Daxuan."

Upon hearing Zhao Daxuan's name, a flash of resentment crossed Wang Liefeng's eyes, followed by a disappointed shake of his head.

"It's no use. He's already reported to the general and obtained temporary mining rights for that iron ore. What's the point of bringing out this piece of ore now?"

The man surnamed Liu remained confident, saying, "Don't rush, take another look at this fine sand."

Wang Liefeng glanced at the man surnamed Liu with suspicion, then gently bent down to examine the fine sand, and even reached out and fiddled with it a few times.

Under the candlelight, tiny golden sparkles could be seen faintly in the sand!

Wang Liefeng's pupils suddenly contracted, and his heart began to pound rapidly.

He stretched out his slightly trembling hand and searched carefully in the fine sand for a while, finally pinching a grain of gold the size of a grain of rice between his fingertips.

Staring blankly at the golden sand for a long while, Wang Liefeng suddenly looked at the man surnamed Liu in front of him and asked excitedly, "Is this sand from the same iron mine?"

"That's right, this sand was sifted from the stream below that iron mine!"

A look of wild joy flashed across Wang Liefeng's face, then he asked sternly, "Have you told anyone else about this?"

The man surnamed Liu shook his head. "Of course not. I only finally determined what the golden light in this sand is today."

Wang Liefeng burst into laughter, "Hahaha...very good, this gold sand is what will allow you to get this IOU back!"