The North Ridge was a jagged spine of rock and pine that loomed over the Barren Slope. The snow here was deeper, untouched by the sun, lying in heavy sheets over the roots and stones.
Li Wei crouched behind a fallen pine, his breath controlled and shallow. Beside him, Zhao Feng was a statue, his eyes scanning the white landscape with a predator's intensity.
They weren't just hunting for food today. They were hunting for territory.
"The tracks are fresh," Zhao Feng whispered, pointing with a calloused finger. "See the gait? It's limping. Favored the left hind leg."
Li Wei looked. The System highlighted the paw prints in his vision, a faint blue overlay tracing the path.
**[Target Identified: Canis Lupus (Grey Wolf).]**
**[Status: Injured (Old trap wound). Malnourished.]**
**[Threat Level: High. Desperate animals fight harder.]**
"It's the same one," Li Wei murmured. "The one from the ravine. He's territorial. He won't leave as long as he smells the calf."
"Good," Zhao Feng said, a grim smile touching his lips. He pulled a heavy iron cleaver from his belt—a tool he had 'borrowed' from the village butcher. "Less competition for the rabbits."
"No," Li Wei corrected, gripping his own staff, which he had sharpened into a crude spear. "We don't chase him away this time. We take him down. If we let him live, he'll take a calf in the spring. A calf is worth ten wolves."
Zhao Feng looked at Li Wei, surprised by the ruthlessness in the boy's voice. The old Li Wei was soft, the kind who would cry over a broken wagon wheel. This Li Wei spoke like a man who calculated life and death in columns of profit and loss.
"Your call, Boss," Zhao Feng said, the word 'Boss' slipping out naturally.
They moved forward, flanking the ridge. The wind was in their favor, blowing the scent of pine and man away from the wolf.
They found him in a small clearing, tearing at the carcass of a deer that had likely died of exposure. The wolf was mangy, its grey coat patchy, but its jaws were massive, snapping bones with audible cracks.
"I'll flush him out," Zhao Feng whispered. "You wait by the gap in the rocks. When he runs, you strike."
"That's dangerous," Li Wei said. "He'll go for your throat."
"Let him try," Zhao Feng grinned, tapping the rusted cleaver against his leg. "On three."
Li Wei nodded, moving silently to his position behind a boulder. He checked his footing. The ice was slick. One slip meant death.
*Steady,* he told himself. *Rhythm. Patience.*
"HEY!"
Zhao Feng's roar shattered the silence. He burst from the brush, swinging the cleaver wildly.
The wolf spun, startled. Its amber eyes locked onto the large man charging it. Instinct took over. It didn't fight; it fled. It bolted straight for the gap in the rocks—the only escape route from the clearing.
*Now.*
Li Wei stepped out from behind the boulder.
The wolf saw him. It tried to brake, its claws scrabbling on the ice, but its momentum was too great. It snarled, baring yellow teeth, and lunged.
Time seemed to slow. The System flared in Li Wei's vision.
**[Threat Incoming: Evasive Maneuver Recommended.]**
Li Wei didn't dodge. He dropped.
He dropped to one knee, driving the butt of his staff into the frozen ground and angling the sharpened tip up. It was a classic boar-hunting technique from his past life, used by peasants who couldn't afford swords.
The wolf, mid-air, couldn't change its trajectory.
*THUNK.*
The sharpened wood pierced the wolf's chest, driving deep. The beast yelped, a high-pitched sound of shock and pain. Its weight slammed into Li Wei, knocking the wind out of him.
Hot blood splattered across Li Wei's face.
The wolf thrashed, jaws snapping inches from Li Wei's nose. Li Wei held on to the staff with everything he had, screaming in effort.
"Hold it!" Zhao Feng yelled.
He came crashing through the snow. With a heavy, two-handed swing, he brought the dull back of the cleaver down on the wolf's skull.
*CRACK.*
The wolf went limp.
Silence returned to the forest, broken only by the heavy breathing of the two men.
Li Wei pushed the heavy carcass off his legs. His hands were shaking, slick with blood. He stared at the animal. It was beautiful, in a terrifying way.
**[Threat Eliminated.]**
**[Ranch Security Increased.]**
**[Reward: 5 Ranch Points.]**
**[Item Drop: Wolf Pelt (Quality: Good).]**
"Not bad, Boss," Zhao Feng said, wiping sweat from his forehead. He kicked the wolf. "Clean kill. You didn't panic."
"I panicked a little," Li Wei admitted, standing up on shaky legs. He looked at the staff. The wood had cracked under the strain; it was ruined. "My spear is broken."
"We'll make a better one," Zhao Feng said. He grabbed the wolf by the hind legs. "I'll carry this. A wolf pelt is worth a good string of cash in the county. And the meat... well, the dogs can eat it, or we can stew it for a long time."
Li Wei looked at the dead deer the wolf had been eating. "Take the deer hindquarters too."
"Thieving from a wolf," Zhao Feng laughed. "I like your style."
***
When they returned to the village, dragging the wolf and the deer meat behind them, the effect was electric.
The village women, who had been gossiping by the well, froze. Children pointed. Men stopped their work to stare.
Headman Wang, who was walking down the main path, stopped and stared at the bloody carcass.
"Is that... the rogue wolf?" Headman Wang asked, his voice faltering. "The one that killed Widow Zhang's sheep last month?"
"Was," Li Wei said, dropping the hind legs. He was exhausted, covered in blood and dirt, but he stood tall. "It won't be bothering the village anymore."
Zhao Feng dropped the deer meat. "And we brought breakfast."
The villagers looked at the two men—one a scrawny youth who used to be the village joke, the other a notorious thug. Together, they looked like something new. Something dangerous.
Li Wei walked past the Headman without bowing. "Excuse us. We have work to do."
That evening, the Li household was warm.
The wolf pelt was stretched and drying near the fire. The deer meat was roasting on a spit, the fat sizzling and popping, filling the room with a rich, savory aroma that made everyone's mouth water.
Li Wei sat by the fire, cleaning the rusted cleaver for Zhao Feng. His hands were steady again.
His younger brother, Li An, sat beside him, eyes wide. "Brother... you killed a wolf? With a stick?"
"With help," Li Wei corrected, nodding at Zhao Feng.
Zhao Feng sat in the corner, gnawing on a deer bone. He looked content.
Li Dazhuang smoked his pipe, looking at the wolf pelt. It was a symbol. A trophy. For the first time in a long time, the Li family wasn't the one being hunted.
"Tomorrow," Li Wei said, breaking the comfortable silence. "We take the wolf pelt to the county market. We sell it."
"And the money?" Mother Zhao asked, hopeful.
Li Wei looked at the pot of stewing meat. "We buy seeds. And... we look for a bull."
"A bull?" Li Er asked.
"The calf is a male," Li Wei said. "He needs a father. And we need more cows. We have the land. We have the fence starting. Now we need the herd."
He poked the fire, sending sparks flying up the chimney.
"One wolf down. A thousand cows to go."