The construction of the ranch house was moving at a breakneck pace, but the peace of the Westland was fragile. It wasn't the heat or the drought that broke the calm this morning; it was the sound of a heavy, rhythmic thumping echoing from the North Ridge.
Li Wei stood on the porch of the half-finished house, sipping a cup of tea. He frowned, listening.
"That's not a woodpecker," he muttered.
Old Zhang came limping up the path from the guard post, his face grim. He held a broken piece of wood in his hand—a splintered survey stake.
"Boss," Zhang said, his voice low. "Someone is on the ridge. I found this near the iron outcrop. And there are tracks. Heavy wagons. Not merchant carts. Military transport."
Li Wei set his cup down. "Military? Here?"
"Looks like it."
Li Wei grabbed his hat. "Saddle the horses. Li An, stay here and watch the herd. If I'm not back by noon, lock the gates."
***
**POV: Li Wei**
The ride to the North Ridge took twenty minutes. The terrain grew rocky and steep, the lush grass of the lower valley giving way to scrub brush and jagged stone. This was the edge of Li Wei's deed—the boundary between the Westland and the unknown.
As they crested the final hill, Li Wei pulled his horse to a sharp halt.
Below them, in the shallow valley where Li Wei had found the iron ore, a camp had been established. Tents made of heavy canvas dotted the landscape. But it wasn't a mining crew. It was a battalion.
Dozens of men in black leather armor moved with synchronized precision. They weren't digging; they were drilling. Spears flashed in the sunlight. The heavy thumping Li Wei had heard was the sound of a battering ram—or perhaps a pile driver—being tested against the rock face.
And in the center of it all stood a giant of a man. He wore no helmet, his hair pulled back into a severe topknot. He was shirtless, revealing a torso crisscrossed with scars, and he was swinging a massive iron hammer against a stake driven into the ground.
"Who are they?" Li Wei whispered.
"The Iron Guard," Old Zhang said, his voice tight with recognition. "Private retainers of the Zhao family. They control the horse breeding in the Eastern Prefecture."
"The Zhao family?"
"General Zhao," Zhang clarified. "A hero of the border wars. He retired last year. The Emperor granted him lands... but I thought it was in the East."
"He moved West," Li Wei realized. "And he's parking his army on my iron."
Li Wei nudged his horse forward, riding down the slope. He didn't draw a weapon, but he kept his posture rigid.
"Halt!" a sentry shouted, leveling a crossbow. "This is a restricted zone by order of General Zhao!"
"I am Li Wei," Li Wei shouted back, his voice carrying over the wind. "This is my land. State your business or leave!"
The giant man with the hammer stopped his swinging. He turned slowly, wiping sweat from his forehead. He looked up at Li Wei on the ridge, his eyes like flint.
"Your land?" the man boomed. His voice was deep, like grinding stones. "Come down, little scholar. Let us discuss the definition of 'yours'."
***
**POV: General Zhao**
Zhao Tie—known as the "Iron Bull" of the army—studied the young man riding into his camp. He didn't look like much. He wore strange clothes, a ridiculous hat, and sat his horse like a nomad, not a gentleman.
But his eyes. They didn't waver.
*He has guts,* Zhao thought. *But guts don't stop a hammer.*
"You claim this ridge?" Zhao asked, planting his hammer in the dirt. It stood as tall as a man.
"I have the deed," Li Wei said, stopping his horse ten feet away. He didn't dismount, maintaining the high ground. "Signed by the Magistrate and filed with the prefecture. You are trespassing, General."
Zhao laughed, a short, barking sound. "Deeds are paper. This ridge is stone and iron. The Empire needs iron for swords, not for some scholar's fence posts. I am here to survey it for the Ministry of War. If there is iron here, it belongs to the State."
"The State taxes the land," Li Wei countered. "It doesn't seize it without due process. Unless the Emperor has issued a requisition order?"
Zhao's eyes narrowed. "I am the requisition order, boy. I served this empire for thirty years. I bled for it. Who are you? A failed exam taker who plays at farming in a drought?"
"I am the man who grew green grass in a wasteland," Li Wei said calmly. "I am the man feeding the city while the merchants hoard grain. And I am the man who will report a retired General for illegal seizure of property if those wagons don't turn around."
The soldiers around them tensed, hands gripping sword hilts.
Old Zhang rode up beside Li Wei. "General Zhao. It's been a long time."
Zhao looked at the cripple. He squinted. "Zhang Hu? The cripple from the Northern Pass? I heard you died in a gutter."
"I'm alive," Zhang said, resting his hand on his sword. "And I'm the foreman here. The boy speaks the truth, Zhao. You want the iron? Buy the land. Or bring a warrant."
Zhao stared at them for a long, agonizing moment. The air was thick with tension. Zhao was a man used to taking what he wanted. But he was also a soldier. He respected the chain of command, and he knew the Magistrate was a slippery enemy to make without cause.
"Buy the land?" Zhao scoffed. "I don't buy. I take." He stepped closer to Li Wei's horse. "But I am a fair man. The Grand Autumn Hunt is in one month."
Li Wei blinked. "The Hunt?"
"The Emperor will be there," Zhao said. "The nobles will be there. They will be hungry for sport. I hear you are raising cattle. Strange beasts."
"They are beef cattle," Li Wei corrected.
"Beef," Zhao spat. "A useless luxury. Horses win wars. Cattle fill bellies. But... the Emperor loves novelty. If your meat is as good as the rumors say, perhaps you can pay for the ridge."
"What are you proposing?" Li Wei asked.
"A contest," Zhao grinned, showing gold teeth. "At the hunt. My best warhorses against your... 'beef'. We supply the main feast. If the nobles prefer your meat, and you can sell enough to buy the ridge from me at a fair price within the month, I will withdraw my men. I will even pay for the iron rights."
"And if I lose?"
"Then you default on your debts, the bank seizes the Westland, and I buy it for a pittance at auction. You leave, and the ridge becomes a mine."
Li Wei looked at the camp, the soldiers, the hammer. It was a trap. Zhao had the money and the political backing to crush him. But he had just given Li Wei a way out—a way that involved Li Wei's specialty: the product.
"Deal," Li Wei said. "But I have a condition."
"Name it."
"If you or your men step one foot into my pastures or touch my cattle before the hunt, I will take it as an act of war. And I will ensure the Inspector knows exactly who poisoned the Emperor's food supply."
Zhao laughed again, louder this time. "You have a sharp tongue, Scholar. Fine. The ridge is yours until the Hunt. But don't disappoint me. I hate boring meals."
***
**POV: Su Qing**
Li Wei returned to the ranch pale but composed. He found Su Qing in the new study, finalizing the layout of the furniture.
"We have a problem," Li Wei said, closing the door.
Su Qing looked up, sensing the shift in the air. "What happened?"
"General Zhao. He's camped on the North Ridge. He wants the iron. He's betting I'll fail before the Autumn Hunt."
Su Qing dropped her brush. "General Zhao? The Tiger of the East? Li Wei, he has ten thousand men at his command! If he wants the land..."
"He gave me a chance," Li Wei said, sitting heavily in a chair. "A bet. The Autumn Hunt. We have to provide the main feast. We have to impress the Emperor and the nobles enough to generate the cash to buy the ridge outright. If we don't... we lose everything. The house, the herd, the iron."
Su Qing stood up. She didn't panic. She walked to the window, looking out at the cattle.
"How much do we need to buy the ridge?"
"He said 'fair price'. For iron-rich land... probably two thousand taels."
"Two thousand?!" Su Qing spun around. "That is impossible! We barely have three hundred!"
"It's not impossible," Li Wei said, though his jaw was tight. "It's just very, very hard. We need to sell meat. A lot of it. And not just steak. We need something spectacular."
He stood up, walking to the window to stand beside her.
"I need to speed up the breeding," Li Wei muttered. "And I need a showpiece. One animal that defines the ranch."
**[System Alert: Urgent Quest Issued.]**
**[Quest: The Emperor's Feast.]**
**[Objective: Supply the Autumn Hunt and earn 2000 Taels.]**
**[Time Limit: 30 Days.]**
**[Penalty for Failure: Bankruptcy and Land Seizure.]**
**[System Store Unlocked: Genetic Modifier Serum (Small).]**
**[Cost: 200 Taels.]**
Li Wei stared at the System screen. He had the money to buy the serum, but it would wipe out their savings. It was a gamble on top of a gamble.
"Li Wei," Su Qing said, touching his arm. "If we must go to the hunt... we need an invitation."
"The Magistrate can get us in," Li Wei said.
"No," Su Qing shook her head. "If we go as supplicants, the nobles will eat us alive. We must go as peers. We need a title. Or a sponsor."
She turned to him, her eyes hard. "I will write to my father. He has been distant lately, influenced by the Elders. But this... this is a chance for the Su family to regain glory. I will convince him to sponsor us as the official meat supplier for the Magistrate's contingent."
"Do it," Li Wei said. "I have a call to make to the System."
He walked out of the study and headed for the pasture. He needed to find the calf.
He found him in the lower pasture—a young steer, born from one of the rescued cows but sired by Blackjack. He was already larger than his peers, his black coat gleaming.
Li Wei leaned over the fence.
"Hey, boy," Li Wei whispered. The steer trotted over, nudging Li Wei's hand.
"You're going to be famous," Li Wei said. He accessed the System shop.
**[Purchase Genetic Modifier Serum? Yes/No.]**
It was their entire war chest.
Li Wei looked at the steer, then at the North Ridge where Zhao's banner flew.
**[Yes.]**
A small glass vial appeared in his hand, glowing with a faint blue light.
"Time to become a legend," Li Wei said. He injected the serum into the steer's neck. The animal didn't flinch. It merely shuddered, and then let out a low, rumbling moo that seemed to vibrate in Li Wei's chest.
**[Subject: Steer "Atlas".]**
**[Genetic Enhancement: Active.]**
**[Estimated Growth: 1.5x Speed.]**
**[Marbling Potential: A5 (Wagyu Equivalent).]**
Li Wei patted the steer's neck. "Grow fast, Atlas. We have an Emperor to feed."