The journey back to Willow Village was a test of endurance that made the plowing look like a leisure activity.
Li Wei had no money for an inn, no money for a cart, and certainly no money to buy fodder for a bull of Hei Feng's size. They walked through the night.
The road was dark, lit only by a sliver of moon. Every rustle in the bushes, every hoot of an owl, made Li Wei tense. He was leading a massive animal worth more than his entire village's annual tax contribution, with nothing but a wooden staff and his own wits to protect it.
Hei Feng, for his part, was surprisingly manageable. Once the decision was made to follow, the bull seemed to accept Li Wei as his guide, if not his master. He walked with a heavy, rhythmic gait, his hooves crushing the pebbles on the road.
"Slow down, big guy," Li Wei whispered around midnight, his voice hoarse. He slumped against a large rock by the roadside. "I need to sit. You can keep standing. You have four legs."
The bull stopped. He snorted, blowing a cloud of warm vapor into the cool night air. He lowered his massive head and tore a clump of grass from the side of the road, chewing loudly.
Li Wei watched him eat. The System provided a constant stream of data.
**[Energy Levels: Low.]**
**[Metabolism: High. Requires significant intake.]**
"You eat a lot," Li Wei muttered, unwrapping one of his hard buns. It was stale and tough. He chewed it slowly, his jaw aching. "I spent five hundred coins on you. That's five thousand eggs. Do you know how many chickens have to work to make that many eggs?"
Hei Feng ignored him, focusing on the grass.
"If you don't give me strong calves, I'm turning you into jerky," Li Wei threatened, though there was no heat in his voice. He was too tired for anger.
He closed his eyes for just a moment, leaning his head back against the rock. The sounds of the night—the crickets, the wind, the sound of the bull chewing—became a lullaby.
***
**The Monster in the Morning**
They arrived at the outskirts of Willow Village just as the sun was cresting over the eastern mountains.
The village was waking up. Roosters were crowing, and thin wisps of smoke were rising from the chimneys.
Li Wei trudged down the dirt path, his clothes covered in dust, his eyes bloodshot. Hei Feng walked behind him, a towering shadow.
The first person to see them was Auntie Wang, the village gossip. She was coming out of her house with a chamber pot, intending to empty it in the fields.
She stopped dead in her tracks.
Her eyes went from the dusty boy to the massive, black beast following him. The bull's hump rose like a hill above its shoulders, and its horns were thick and sharp, curving forward like daggers.
"AHHH!" Auntie Wang shrieked, dropping the chamber pot with a crash. "Monster! There's a monster in the village!"
Her scream shattered the morning calm.
Dogs started barking. Doors flew open. People poured into the street, armed with hoes and brooms, expecting a wild boar or a wolf.
Instead, they saw Li Wei leading the Black Bull down the center of the path.
"Don't panic!" Li Wei shouted, raising a hand. "It's just a bull! It's livestock!"
"Livestock?!" Uncle Zhang, the neighbor, stared wide-eyed. "That thing is the size of a small elephant! Where did you get that demon?"
"From the Prefecture Market," Li Wei said, keeping his voice steady. "He's a breeding bull. A high-quality breeding bull."
Hei Feng snorted, tossing his head. The movement caused the villagers to scramble backward, tripping over themselves to get away.
"Get it out of the street!" someone yelled. "It'll gore the children!"
"He won't gore anyone if you don't bother him," Li Wei said, though he tightened his grip on the nose ring. Hei Feng was calm now, but crowds and shouting could trigger his aggression. "Move aside! Let us through!"
He pushed through the crowd, his heart hammering. The fear in the villagers' eyes was real. In this era, a beast this size was a threat. He needed to get the bull behind a fence immediately.
***
**The Father's Shock**
When Li Wei led Hei Feng through the gate of the Li family compound, the reaction was even worse.
Father Li Dazhong was splitting wood in the yard. He heard the commotion and looked up. When he saw the bull, the axe slipped from his hands, burying itself in the chopping block with a *thunk*.
"Wei'er?" Dazhong whispered, his face pale. "What… is that?"
"This is Hei Feng," Li Wei said, dropping his staff. He was so tired he could barely stand. "Our new bull."
Dazhong walked over slowly, his eyes scanning the beast. He had seen oxen before, but this animal was different. It was raw power compressed into muscle.
"Where is the gentle draft bull I told you to buy?" Dazhong asked, his voice trembling. "Where is the animal that could help us plow? You bought… a war beast?"
"He was cheaper, Father," Li Wei lied—well, not entirely. "And he has better genetics. Look at his shoulders. Look at his legs. He is stronger than any ox in the village."
"He looks like he eats people!" Dazhong hissed. "You spent all the money on this? Five hundred coins?"
"Yes."
"Are you insane?! We could have bought two good cows for that price! How will we feed him? He looks like he eats a haystack a day!"
"I'll figure out the feed," Li Wei said stubbornly. "Just let me put him in the pasture."
"You want to put that in with An?" Dazhong stepped in front of him. "He'll kill her!"
"He won't. He needs to meet the herd."
Li Wei didn't wait for permission. He was too exhausted to argue. He led Hei Feng around the house, towards the path up the West Slope.
***
**The Pasture Meeting**
The construction of the bunkhouse had progressed in his absence. The walls were up, and the roof beams were in place. Da Niu and Qin Hu were on the roof, laying tiles.
When they saw Li Wei leading the Black Bull up the hill, Qin Hu nearly dropped a tile.
"By the heavens," Qin Hu muttered. He scrambled down the roof as fast as his bad leg would allow. "Boss, did you rob the Emperor's zoo?"
"Very funny," Li Wei grunted. He walked to the gate of the pasture. Inside, An was grazing peacefully. She looked up and froze.
An had never seen a male of her species this big. She let out a low, uncertain moo.
Hei Feng stopped. He lifted his head, sniffing the air. He caught the scent of the cow.
A rumble vibrated through his chest. It wasn't a growl; it was a sound of deep, primal interest.
"Open the gate," Li Wei ordered Da Niu.
"Me?" Da Niu squeaked, backing away. "He looks hungry."
"He's not hungry for you. Open it!"
Da Niu, terrified of Li Wei's glare, rushed to unhook the latch. He scrambled up a tree nearby to safety.
Li Wei pushed the gate open.
Hei Feng didn't run. He walked in with a slow, deliberate gait. Head high. King of the castle.
He approached An. The cow backed away, nervous.
Hei Feng snorted, circling her once. He nudged her flank gently with his nose.
**[System Alert: Breeding Compatibility Check.]**
**[Male: Hei Feng (High Stamina/Strength Genes).]**
**[Female: An (Recovering/Local Resilience).]**
**[Compatibility: Excellent.]**
**[Projected Offspring: Gen 1 Heavy Draft/Meat Hybrid.]**
The interaction was brief and natural. The tension in the pasture shifted from aggression to domesticity. Hei Feng wasn't there to fight; he was there to claim his harem. He walked to the water trough, drank deeply, and then began to graze on the ryegrass, tearing the green blades up with efficient pulls.
"He likes the grass," Li Wei breathed, sinking to his knees. The adrenaline was fading, leaving only bone-deep weariness.
Qin Hu walked up, staring at the bull. "He's an ugly brute. Scarred up. But… he has presence."
"He's a soldier, like you," Li Wei mumbled, his eyes closing. "Just don't look him in the eye unless you want a fight."
Qin Hu grinned. "I like him already."
***
**The Empty Pocket**
Li Wei slept for sixteen hours straight.
He woke up the next morning in his own bed, the sun streaming through the window. For a moment, he didn't know where he was. Then the smell of manure and fresh hay hit him, and he remembered.
The bull. The money.
He sat up, panic flaring. He checked his belt. The pouch was gone.
He rushed outside. The family was eating breakfast.
"Where is my money pouch?" he demanded.
Father Dazhong looked up calmly. He pointed to the table. "It's empty. You left it on your belt."
Li Wei grabbed the pouch. It was light. Too light. He shook it. Nothing.
"I spent it all," Li Wei said, the reality crashing down on him. "I have nothing left."
"Zero," Dazhong confirmed. "You bought a monster bull, spent everything on travel, and came home with empty pockets. We have exactly twelve coins in the family jar. That is our total wealth until the next batch of eggs hatches."
The weight of it settled on the table. They were broke. If a storm came, if someone got sick, if the taxman came early—they were ruined.
"You took a huge risk, Wei'er," Grandpa Li said, his voice grave. "If that bull dies, or if the chickens stop laying, we starve."
Li Wei looked at his family. He saw the fear, but he also saw the faith. They hadn't sold the bull. They hadn't yelled at him to return it.
"I know," Li Wei said, bowing his head. "But I didn't just buy a bull. I bought potential. In nine months, An will give birth. That calf will be worth more than the bull and the cow combined."
"Nine months is a long time," Dazhong said. "We need money now. The spring planting is done, but we need to buy vegetable seeds for the garden. We need salt. We need oil."
Li Wei stood up. He clenched his fist.
"I'll go to the Fragrant Pavilion today," Li Wei said. "We have eggs. And I have an idea."
"What idea?" Li Hua asked.
"The bull eats a lot," Li Wei said. "The grass on the terrace is good, but it's not enough for a beast that size. I need to produce high-density feed. And to do that, I need resources. I can't wait for the grass to grow naturally."
He turned to Da Niu. "Da Niu! Get the cart. We're going to the riverbank."
"Why?" Da Niu asked.
"To harvest weeds," Li Wei said. "And water hyacinths. And anything green and edible. We're going to make silage."
It was a desperate measure, using weeds and aquatic plants to bulk up the feed, fermenting it to make it digestible. It was the only way to feed a bull of Hei Feng's size without buying grain.
Li Wei looked up at the West Slope. He saw Hei Feng standing on the highest point of the pasture, his black silhouette against the blue sky, bellowing a challenge to the wind.
He had his king. Now he just had to keep the kingdom from going bankrupt.
**[New Quest Unlocked: The Feed Crisis.]**
**[Objective: Produce 500 Jin of Silage/Feed without spending money.]**
**[Reward: Unlock 'Grass Gen II' Seeds (Faster Growth).]**
"No pressure," Li Wei muttered, grabbing a sickle.