The night was a suffocating blanket of black, broken only by the roaring orange heart of the bonfire. The wind howled down from the northern ridge, driving needles of ice before it, but the sound of the wind was dwarfed by the growling that emanated from the thorny darkness.
Li Wei stood by the fire, his face half-illuminated, half-shadow. He held a torch in one hand and his coiled lasso in the other.
"Steady," he said, his voice low.
Little Shitou and Da Niu stood behind him, trembling. They held pitchforks and torches, their knuckles white. This wasn't the romantic idea of ranching they had signed up for. This was a nightmare.
"Look at the fire," Li Wei commanded. "Don't look into the dark. They want you to see them. They want you to freeze."
Zhao Feng crouched near the gate of the shed, his rusted cleaver resting on his knee. He was perfectly still, his breathing synchronized with the wind. He wasn't a farmer tonight; he was a soldier again.
A twig snapped to the left.
Then, a blur of grey fur.
It wasn't a direct attack. A wolf dashed out of the brush, snapped at the air near Da Niu's legs, and retreated before anyone could react.
"Hyah!" Da Niu screamed, stabbing his pitchfork into empty air.
"Don't chase!" Li Wei barked. "Hold the line!"
It was a feint. A test. The pack was probing for the weakest link.
Then, the Alpha emerged.
He was a massive beast, scarred across the snout, his fur a mixture of grey and silver. He didn't dart. He walked into the edge of the firelight, his yellow eyes locked onto Li Wei. He didn't see a human; he saw a rival predator.
The Alpha threw his head back and howled—a chilling sound that vibrated in Li Wei's chest.
The signal given, the shadows exploded.
Three wolves broke from the thorns simultaneously. Two went for the fence, trying to dig under the rocks. One went straight for the fire, charging at Shitou.
"Swing!" Zhao Feng roared.
Shitou, eyes wide with terror, swung his torch wildly. The wolf dodged the flame but hesitated. That hesitation was all the opening Zhao Feng needed.
The scarred foreman moved with terrifying speed. He didn't swing the cleaver like a butcher; he thrust it like a shortsword. The heavy blade caught the wolf in the shoulder, throwing it back into the dark with a yelp.
But the fight wasn't over. The Alpha was smarter. He bypassed the fire and went for the shed.
*CRASH.*
The sound of splintering wood echoed from the back of the shed. The wolves were trying to break in to get to the silage and the calf.
"The shed!" Li Wei shouted.
He didn't run. He whistled—three sharp blasts.
From the shadows near the lean-to, Red Wind snorted. Li Wei had left her saddled and bridled, waiting in the lee of the wind.
Li Wei sprinted to the horse. He vaulted into the saddle. The new Western saddle held him firm, the deep seat locking him in place.
"Red Wind, *yah!*"
The mare lunged forward, breaking into a gallop.
To the village boys, it looked like madness. Riding a horse in the dark, near a fire, with wolves everywhere. But Li Wei felt the connection. The saddle gave him the confidence to ride without gripping the mane.
He steered Red Wind around the fire, cutting off the path to the shed.
The Alpha wolf was there, clawing at the logs. Li Wei didn't have a sword. He had a rope.
He uncoiled his lasso. The hemp was rough in his hand.
"Hyah!"
Red Wind swerved, aligning herself with the wolf.
Li Wei swung the loop above his head. The weight of the honda knot kept the circle open.
*Timing. Anticipation.*
He released the rope.
The loop sailed through the smoke-filled air.
It didn't catch the neck—the wolf was too low. It caught the wolf's hindquarters and belly.
"Gotcha!"
Li Wei didn't try to pull the wolf back. He *dallied*—wrapped the rope tight around the saddle horn—and spurred Red Wind forward.
The rope snapped taut.
The physics of the Western saddle did the work. The horn took the strain, not Li Wei's arms. Red Wind, trained by Li Wei to respect the rope, leaned into the pull.
The Alpha wolf was jerked backward off its feet, dragged through the snow and mud like a ragdoll.
The wolf thrashed, snarling, biting at the rope, but the hemp was thick, and Li Wei kept the tension high, dragging the beast away from the shed.
Zhao Feng saw the opportunity.
"Clear the path!" Zhao Feng shouted. He grabbed a burning log from the fire and hurled it at the other wolves harassing the fence.
The wolves flinched from the flying brand.
Li Wei rode a wide circle, dragging the Alpha across the rocky ground. The wolf was dazed, bruised, and choking. Li Wei stopped the horse and shook the rope loose. The wolf scrambled to its feet, limping heavily.
It looked at the horse, the rope, and the man sitting tall in the saddle. It looked at its pack—two wounded, one retreating.
The Alpha let out a low, defeated whine. He turned and limped into the darkness, vanishing into the thorns.
The rest of the pack followed.
Silence returned to the Barren Slope.
***
Li Wei dismounted, his legs shaking slightly as his boots hit the ground. The adrenaline crash was hitting him.
"Boss..." Zhao Feng panted, walking over, his cleaver dripping red. "You... you roped a wolf."
"Roping is for cattle," Li Wei said, trying to sound calm, though his heart was hammering. "I missed the head. It was a sloppy catch."
"Sloppy?" Zhao Feng laughed, a dry, raspy sound. "You dragged the King of the Woods like a sack of grain. The boys... they need to see this."
Li Wei looked at Shitou and Da Niu. They were sitting on the ground, breathing hard, staring at Li Wei with something new in their eyes. Not just respect. Awe.
"Get up," Li Wei said, sheathing his rope. "The night isn't over. Check the shed. Make sure the King didn't kick a hole in the wall."
"Yes, Boss!" Shitou scrambled up, energized by the survival. "Da Niu, move it!"
As the boys ran off, Li Wei walked over to the spot where he had dragged the wolf. There was blood on the snow.
"We need to reinforce the back wall," Li Wei said to Zhao Feng. "They'll be back. Maybe not tomorrow, but when they get hungry again."
"We need better weapons," Zhao Feng said, wiping his blade. "Pitchforks won't hold them forever. And you need more rope."
"I know," Li Wei looked up at the stars. The North Star was bright. "Tomorrow, we go back to the county. We need to buy the neighbors' corn stalks. And we need to hire more men. Just us four isn't enough."
"You have the money?"
Li Wei patted his chest, where the pouch from Master Chen rested. "A little. But we're going to earn more. We're going to start the 'Meat Trade'."
"The Meat Trade?"
Li Wei walked back to the fire. He poked the logs, sending sparks flying.
"Wolves eat meat. People eat meat," Li Wei said. "If we're going to defend this place, we need to make the ranch too valuable to lose. And that means selling beef. Not just breeding."
He looked at Zhao Feng. "We're going to slaughter the old cow. The one that's too weak to work."
"The old cow? But she barely has meat on her."
"She has enough for a stew," Li Wei said. "And we're going to sell that stew to the workers who clear the land. Hungry men pay for hot food. We turn the threat of the wolf into an opportunity. We stay awake, we guard, and we profit."
Zhao Feng shook his head, a grin forming. "You have a mind like a merchant and the hands of a killer, Boss. I like it."
"Get some sleep, Zhao Feng," Li Wei said. "Dawn is in three hours. We have a fence to finish."
***
The next morning, the Barren Slope looked like a war zone. Muddy tracks, patches of blood, and a lingering smell of smoke.
But the fence stood. The King was alive. And the workers were loading logs onto the cart with a vigor they hadn't possessed the day before. They had survived the night. They were part of the team now.
Li Wei sat on the fence rail, watching the sun rise. He held a piece of dried meat in his hand—the first batch of jerky he had experimented with from the previous hunt.
He took a bite. It was tough, salty, and tasted like survival.
**[System Notification: Defense Successful.]**
**[Ranch Security Level: Low -> Moderate.]**
**[Reward: Blueprint - Cattle Chute (Heavy Duty).]**
A chute. A sturdy one. Good for vaccinating, branding, and loading.
"Perfect," Li Wei muttered.
He looked at the road leading down to the village. He saw a cart approaching. It wasn't a villager. It was a merchant's cart, laden with goods.
It seemed the word of the "Wolf Roper of Stone Roll" was already spreading.
The ranch was open for business.