The morning of Lin Xiao's departure was draped in a thin, silvery frost that made the newly finished roof of the Big House shimmer like a dragon's scales. The family stood at the heavy timber gates—gates that Qin Zhan had reinforced with iron bands and the strength of his own hands.
Lin Xiao looked different. He wore a new robe of dark, sturdy cotton, dyed a deep indigo by his sisters. In his arms, he clutched a bundle of scrolls and a small wooden box containing his brushes—the same brushes Lin Yan had bought with the first salt-silver.
"Remember, Xiao'er," Lin Shun said, his voice thick with the suppressed tears of a father seeing his youngest fly. "The ink in your well comes from the sweat of your brothers. Don't waste a drop."
"I won't, Father," Lin Xiao promised, bowing low.
Lin Yan stepped forward. He didn't offer a lecture. Instead, he handed his brother a small, leather-bound pouch. Inside were five silver taels—a small fortune for a student—and a piece of dried, cured meat from the first mountain hare.
"In the Academy, they will judge you by your clothes," Lin Yan whispered. "Let them. But when you are hungry for home, eat this. And remember that the soil of Stone Creek is beneath your fingernails no matter how much you wash. That soil is your strength."
As the carriage from the Blue Clouds Academy pulled away, kicking up the dust of the village road, the family stood in a silence that felt heavy yet hopeful. The "Scholar" of the Lin family was gone, but the "Ranch" was just beginning to breathe.
The Breeding Logic
The departure of his brother left a hole in the daily rhythm, which Lin Yan immediately filled with the cold, hard logic of animal husbandry. He spent his afternoons in the high pasture, shadowed by the Silver Ghost.
The stallion was no longer a ghost. He was a constant, silver presence at the edge of the camp. He would now eat salt directly from Lin Yan's hand, though he still refused the saddle.
"He's a king, not a servant," Qin Zhan observed, watching Lin Yan groom the stallion with a brush made of stiff boar bristles. "You want his blood, but he won't give it to a common mare."
"I don't want common mares," Lin Yan replied.
He had used the System to scan the local "Draft Horses" in the village—short-legged, thick-necked beasts with incredible endurance but no speed. Then, he looked at the Silver Ghost.
> [Breeding Simulation: Silver Ghost x Local Draft]
> Result: 40% chance of 'Iron-Wind' Scout Horse.
> Traits: High mountain agility, moderate speed, extreme cold resistance.
> Requirement: Nutrient-fortified gestation (Alfalfa & Mineral Supplement).
>
Lin Yan began the process of "The Selection." He went to the market and, instead of buying the prettiest horses, he bought three "ugly" mares. They were wide-chested, with hooves like dinner plates and calm, steady eyes. To a casual observer, they were work-slaves. To Lin Yan, they were the perfect "soil" for the Silver Ghost's "seed."
He built the first Reinforced Corral on the middle ridge—a spacious, circular enclosure that allowed the horses to interact without the stress of confinement. It was the first step toward a "herd culture" rather than a "stable culture."
The Dragon at the Gate: Lord He
The quiet work of the mountain was interrupted ten days later by a sound that Stone Creek Village rarely heard: the thunder of a dozen high-quality horses and the jingling of brass bells.
Lord He, the Landlord of the district and a man whose influence reached the provincial capital, had arrived.
He didn't come in a carriage. He rode a chestnut stallion, dressed in hunting silks of emerald green. Behind him followed a retinue of guards and a very nervous Master Wu, the Assessor.
Lin Yan was at the well, washing the mountain dust from his arms, when the party rode into the courtyard. He didn't scramble. He didn't bow his head into the dirt. He stood, grabbed a clean towel, and waited.
Lord He dismounted, his boots clicking on the hard-packed earth. He looked at the Big House, his eyes tracing the smooth lines of the rammed-earth walls. He looked at the "Vitality Chickens," which were now the size of small eagles, and finally, his gaze landed on Lin Yan.
"So," Lord He said, his voice smooth and dangerous, like a silk cord. "This is the 'Mud Fortress' I've been hearing about in the city. And you are the boy who bargains with my Assessor."
"I am Lin Yan, My Lord," Lin Yan said, bowing with the exact degree of respect required—no more, no less. "Welcome to my family's home. The tea is fresh, and the air is clean."
"I didn't come for tea," Lord He said, walking toward the corral. He stopped when he saw the three mares and the way they were being fed—not on straw, but on the dried, high-protein Alfalfa. "I came because Master Lu of the Academy told me that a peasant in my own district is training 'Heavenly Horses.' He says you've introduced a game called 'Grass-Gallop' that makes young men forget their books."
Lin Yan smiled inwardly. The "Slow Burn" of reputation was working. "Master Lu is generous. We only seek to improve the livestock of the district, which, in turn, improves the value of Your Lordship's land."
Lord He turned, his eyes like flint. "Don't play the humble farmer with me, boy. I know a 'Dragon in the Grass' when I see one. You are building something here that isn't in the books. This 'rammed earth'... these 'golden eggs'... and that soldier standing by the gate."
He gestured to Qin Zhan, who was leaning against the wall, his hand never more than an inch from his broken blade. The atmosphere turned cold. The guards behind Lord He shifted, their hands on their pommels.
"He is a worker," Lin Yan said evenly. "And a friend."
Lord He laughed, a sudden, loud sound that startled the chickens. "A worker! You hire a border-hawk to guard a chicken coop. I like you, Lin Yan. You have the heart of a gambler."
He stepped closer, his voice dropping. "But listen well. The world is changing. The Northern borders are restless. The Emperor needs horses—thousands of them. The Manors and the Great Stables cannot meet the demand because their horses are too 'soft,' raised in stalls. If you can truly breed a mountain horse that can survive the frost and run like the wind... I will not only waive your taxes. I will give you the deed to the entire North Slope."
Lin Yan's heart skipped. The North Slope was thousands of acres of prime, untapped pasture. "And the catch, My Lord?"
"The catch," Lord He said, mounting his chestnut stallion, "is that the first fifty 'Iron-Wind' foals belong to my private guard. And if they fail in the first winter... I will take this 'Big House' and turn it into a barn for my hounds."
The Weight of the Deal
As the Landlord's party rode away, leaving a cloud of dust and a heavy silence, Lin Da and Lin Er came out from the shadows of the house. Their faces were etched with terror.
"Fifty foals?" Lin Da whispered. "Yan'er, we only have three mares and a wild stallion that won't let us near his back! How can we give him fifty horses?"
"We don't give them to him today," Lin Yan said, his eyes fixed on the distant mountain peaks. "We have two years. And we aren't going to just 'breed' horses. We're going to build a system."
He turned to Qin Zhan. "You heard him. The Emperor needs horses. Not show horses. War horses. We need to find more mares. And we need to start the 'Mountain Camp' permanently. We can't stay in this valley anymore."
Qin Zhan nodded, a grim satisfaction on his face. "Finally. A real objective. I'll start training the village boys. If they want to be part of the Lin Ranch, they need to learn to ride like the wind and fight like the mountain."
That night, Lin Yan sat in the new house. The 'Under-floor heating ducts' from the System were working, keeping the room a comfortable, dry warmth despite the spring chill. He opened his ledger and wrote three words: THE IRON-WIND ERA.
He wasn't just a farmer anymore. He was a contractor for the Empire. The "Slow Burn" had reached the heart of the forest, and now, the only way was up.
[System Notification: Arc 2 Progress: 100% COMPLETE.]
[New Arc Unlocked: Arc 3 - The Wild Herd's Call.]
[Reward: 1x 'Advanced Horse Training' Manual & 1x 'Iron-Hoof Bull' Location Map.]
Lin Yan closed his eyes. In his mind, he could hear the thundering of thousands of hooves. The cowboy of the Great Yan was about to ride.