The morning after the descent from Twin Pass dawned grey and silent. A heavy mist clung to the valley floor, obscuring the fields and muting the sounds of the waking world. The air was different here—thicker, warmer, and carrying the scent of wet earth and distant smoke.
Li Wei was the first to move. His body ached with a deep, bone-level weariness that no amount of sleep could cure. Every muscle in his back protested as he stood up and stretched. The camp was a picture of exhaustion; the men were curled up under the carts or on piles of straw, their clothes stained with mud and grease.
He walked quietly to the cattle carts. The bulls were the priority. The stress of the descent, the screaming brakes, and the near-vertical drops had taken a toll.
Typhoon, the massive black bull, was lying down, chewing his cud slowly. His eyes tracked Li Wei as he approached.
"Easy, big guy," Li Wei whispered, unlatching the side panel. He reached in, running his hands over the bull's flank. The muscles were tight, knotted like ropes. **[System Alert: Muscle Tension - High. Lactic Acid Buildup - Moderate.]**
"You're sore, aren't you?" Li Wei murmured. He began to massage the heavy shoulder, digging his thumbs into the dense tissue. "We pushed you too hard yesterday."
He pulled out a small bottle of medicated oil—his last reserve from the vet kit. He rubbed it into the bull's shoulders and hindquarters. The animal let out a low, rumbling groan of relief.
"Boss?" Da Niu's voice came from behind. He looked bleary-eyed, rubbing sleep from his face. "Is he okay?"
"He's stiff," Li Wei said, not stopping his work. "If we push them today without warming them up, they'll cramp. We need to walk them. No carts for the first two hours."
"Walk them?" Li Jun groaned, sitting up from his bedroll. "We're so close. Can't we just push through?"
"Arriving with crippled meat is the same as not arriving at all," Li Wei said firmly. "Start a fire. Warm water for the animals. Add a handful of salt to each bucket. And heat up the leftover porridge. We eat, then we walk."
The discipline of the convoy had shifted. In the mountains, they were fighting for survival. Now, in the basin, they were fighting for quality.
***
**The Basin of Plenty**
As the sun burned off the mist, the scale of the capital basin revealed itself.
If Willow Village was a speck of dust, this valley was a jewel box.
The road widened, paved with fitted stone slabs that rang under the iron-rimmed wheels. To the left and right, endless rice paddies stretched out in geometric perfection, irrigated by networks of canals that sparkled in the sunlight. They passed orchards of peach and pear trees, their branches heavy with ripening fruit. They passed silk farms where rows of mulberry trees were tended by workers in clean, hemp clothing.
Li Wei watched it all with a calculating eye.
"Look at the irrigation," Li Wei said to Qin Hu, who was riding his horse alongside the cart. "Those aren't just ditches. They're lock systems. They can control the water level foot by foot."
Qin Hu nodded. "The Capital eats well. The Emperor's granaries are here. This land hasn't seen a famine in fifty years."
"Fifty years," Li Wei muttered. In his village, a season without famine was a blessing. Here, it was a baseline. "The wealth… it's in the infrastructure. We're still using wood and mud. They're using stone and engineering."
It stung his pride, but it also fueled him. He saw the gap not as a wall, but as a ladder. He just had to climb it.
They passed a procession of silk merchants heading south. Their carts were lacquered, pulled by sleek horses, and guarded by men in uniform livery. They glanced at Li Wei's convoy—the battered carts, the dusty, ragged men walking the bulls—and sneered.
"Move aside, bumpkins!" one of the guards shouted, cracking a whip in the air. "Don't block the Royal Road with your strays!"
Li Wei signaled his men to pull over. He didn't argue. He watched the silk caravan pass.
"That's the difference," Li Wei said quietly. "They sell silk. We sell beef. They think they're better because their goods are light and shiny. Ours are heavy and bloody. But let them try to eat a silk robe in winter."
***
**The Health Scare**
By midday, the traffic on the road had increased significantly. They were entering the "Outer Ring"—the cluster of satellite towns and markets that fed the Capital. The road was clogged with vegetable carts, messengers on horseback, and pilgrims heading to the temples.
The heat of the day rose, turning the humid air into a soup.
Er-Gou, walking beside the rear cart, suddenly shouted.
"Boss! The red steer! He's down!"
Li Wei spun around. He sprinted back.
In the third cart, the red steer—a high-energy animal from the emergency finishing program—was thrashing in the straw. His head was thrown back, his eyes wide and rolling. Foam was dripping from his mouth.
"Heatstroke?" Da Niu asked, panic in his voice.
"No," Li Wei checked the animal's gums. They were pale. **[System Scan: Acute Indigestion (Grain Overload).]**
"He's bloating," Li Wei diagnosed. "The high-energy feed we gave them this morning. With the stress of the walk and the heat, it's fermenting in his stomach too fast. Gas is building up. If we don't release it, his diaphragm will crush his lungs."
"Do we have medicine?" Li Jun asked.
"No time. He's critical. Hold him down."
Li Wei pulled his knife. It was a clean, sharp blade, but using it here was risky. He sterilized the tip with a swig of strong liquor from his flask.
"I need to tap the rumen. Da Niu, grab his head. Don't let him thrash."
The convoy stopped right there on the side of the Royal Road. People passed by, staring, pointing, and whispering. A group of soldiers on patrol slowed down to watch.
"Is he slaughtering it?" one soldier laughed. "Right on the road?"
Li Wei ignored them. He located the spot on the steer's left flank—the hollow behind the ribs.
"Hold him steady."
*Thrust.*
The knife went in. Li Wei twisted it. He inserted a hollow reed he had prepared for just such an emergency.
*Hisssssssss!*
A jet of foul-smelling gas shot out of the reed, spraying a mist of green fluid.
The steer jerked, let out a long, shuddering breath, and then lay still. The bloating began to subside slowly.
Li Wei pulled the reed out and quickly packed the small wound with a paste of herbs and clay.
"Give him water," Li Wei ordered, wiping his knife. "Small sips. Walk him slowly. No grain for the rest of the day. Just grass."
He turned around to see the soldiers watching. The one who had laughed looked slightly green.
"Good skill," the soldier said, losing his arrogance. "You a vet?"
"I'm a rancher," Li Wei said. "Cloud Hill Ranch. We're delivering to the Imperial Kitchen."
The soldier's eyes widened. "Imperial Kitchen? You? With these broken carts?"
"The meat inside is worth more than your armor," Li Wei said calmly. "Tell your commander. If you see us on the road, give us space. We're carrying the Emperor's dinner."
It was a bluff—mostly—but the authority in Li Wei's voice made the soldiers hesitate. They looked at the massive, sleek bulls being walked by the dusty men. They saw the muscle, the size.
"Move along," the soldier waved his hand. "Don't block the traffic."
***
**The Wall**
By late afternoon, the terrain flattened completely. The rice paddies gave way to a sprawling sea of rooftops—grey tiles stretching to the horizon. And rising out of that sea, dominating the sky, was the Wall.
It was monstrous. Higher than the hills of Willow Village, built of massive grey bricks, it encircled the Capital like the rim of a giant's bowl. Towers rose every hundred meters, flags snapping in the wind. The Southern Gate was a fortress in itself, a massive archway wide enough for six carriages to pass abreast, guarded by hundreds of soldiers in gleaming iron.
The sheer scale of it made Li Wei feel small. He wasn't just a peasant entering a city; he was an ant approaching a god's table.
"Stop," Li Wei commanded.
The convoy halted at the edge of the "Outer City"—a chaotic maze of temporary shelters, food stalls, and inns that clustered around the walls like barnacles.
"We can't enter now," Qin Hu said. "The gates close at sunset. And with livestock, we need a quarantine inspection pass. If we try to push in now, the guards will just turn us around or make us wait in the holding pens for three days."
"Three days?" Li Wei checked his mental calendar. They had thirty days left. But the cattle were stressed, the men were broken, and the carts were held together by hope and dried mud.
"We need a stable," Li Wei said. "A clean one. Outside the walls. And we need a bath. We can't meet the Imperial Steward looking like we just crawled out of a mine."
He looked at the men. They were staring at the city gates with a mix of awe and fear.
"We made it," Li Wei said, loudly enough for everyone to hear. "We crossed the mountains. We're here. Tomorrow, we enter the city. Tonight, we rest. And we prepare."
***
**The Inn at the Gate**
Li Wei found a large, somewhat reputable inn called "The Traveler's Rest." It had a spacious stable yard, which was the most important feature.
The innkeeper, a round man with shrewd eyes, looked at the convoy with distaste. "Stabling for ten head of cattle? And wagons? That's expensive. I charge five silver pieces per head for the night."
"Five silver pieces?" Li Jun spluttered. "That's robbery! In Willow Village, that buys a house!"
"You're not in Willow Village," the innkeeper sneered. "This is the Capital. Pay or leave. There are a hundred other merchants behind you."
Li Wei stepped forward. He didn't haggle. He reached into his pouch and pulled out the heavy, military-issued token he had kept—the one Mo Lie had left behind, or rather, the duplicate General Teng had given him for the journey.
He slapped it on the counter.
"I'm a supplier for the Northern Frontier General," Li Wei lied smoothly, his voice cold. "These cattle are destined for his table in the city. I'm not paying five silver pieces. I'm paying two. And you're going to give my men a hot meal, baths, and a room. Because if the General's meat is spoiled because of your greed, he won't send a tax collector. He'll send a battalion."
The innkeeper stared at the token. He knew what it meant. Military logistics were untouchable by civilian profiteering. If he pushed too hard and the General complained, his inn could be seized.
"Two silver pieces," the innkeeper swallowed, his demeanor shifting instantly. "And… and the baths are free. Welcome to the Capital, Sir."
Li Wei nodded and pocketed the token. "Stable the cattle. Fresh straw. No mixing with other animals. And I want to inspect the well water before they drink."
***
**Night: The Letter**
After the cattle were settled and the men were washing off weeks of grime, Li Wei sat in the inn's common room. It was noisy, filled with merchants drinking and gambling.
He ordered a pot of tea and a bowl of noodles. It was the first real meal he'd had in days that wasn't dried meat or hard bread.
He pulled out his ledger. He calculated the costs. The cart repairs, the bribes, the tolls, the inn. The margins were razor-thin. The 200-tael reward was shrinking with every mile.
But they were here.
He pulled out a piece of paper and a brush. He wrote a letter.
*To Scholar Li Chen,*
*We have arrived at the Southern Gate. We are staying at the Traveler's Rest. The cattle are alive, though the black bull is stiff and the red steer had a bloat scare. We will attempt entry at the ninth hour tomorrow.*
*I have used the General's token. It bought us a night's peace. I hope your studies go well.*
*I look forward to seeing you.*
*Your brother,*
*Li Wei.*
He called a waiter over. "Deliver this to the Scholar's district inside the city. Ask for Li Chen. There's a copper in it for you."
"I know the place," the waiter said, taking the letter. "I'll find him."
Li Wei leaned back. He looked out the window. The massive walls of the Capital loomed in the darkness, lit by torches that looked like stars fallen to earth.
Tomorrow, they would cross the threshold. Tomorrow, they would find out if their journey was worth the sweat and the blood.
He looked at his hands. The calluses were thick. The scars were new. He wasn't the same man who had left Willow Village. He had forged himself on the road.
"Brother Chen," Li Wei whispered to the fire. "Get ready. The beef is here."
**[Journey Status: Day 12 / 40.]**
**[Location: Capital Outskirts.]**
**[Distance Remaining: 0 Li (To Gate).]**
**[Objective: Imperial Kitchen Inspection.]**