Chapter 87: The Fiery Steed

Li Zhan and his companions exited the village hall and headed straight to the shipyard.

The new shipyard was still under construction, with only rough wooden piles driven into the ground, making it impossible for ships to dock there. For now, all incoming vessels had to moor at the old shipyard.

By the old shipyard, three cargo ships were docked. Old Zhang, a horse trader, stood on the dock gazing at the bustling scene of the Yanhuang village. Seeing Li Zhan and the others approaching, he hurriedly stepped down and respectfully cupped his hands toward Li Zhan.

“Mayor Li, I didn’t expect that in just over half a month, the Yanhuang tribe would have upgraded to a village. Truly a cause for celebration.”

Li Zhan smiled politely and glanced toward the three cargo ships. There were eleven wild horses in total: two ships each had five horses tethered with hobble ropes, while the third ship held a single wild horse, tightly bound in a complex array of restraints, lying firmly within the hold.

Curious, Li Zhan asked Old Zhang, “Why is that one horse tied up so tightly? Is there something special about it?”

Old Zhang glanced back at the horse, shook his head, and chuckled. “Yes, it’s different. That beast has such a fiery temper that it took us a lot of effort to catch it. It kicked and bit, injuring two of my men. I had no choice but to bind it this way.”

Seeing Li Zhan’s expression, Old Zhang continued, “Normally, a horse with such a wild spirit is very difficult to tame. I just couldn’t bear to send it to the horse butcher to be put down, so I brought it here for you to take a look. If you don’t think it’s suitable, I can always send it back.”

Li Zhan examined the horse carefully. Its coat was a blazing red, like glowing embers, with a tuft of white hair the size of a fist embedded on its forehead, giving it a striking, almost artistic beauty. Although tightly bound, it still struggled fiercely, shifting its body so much the entire cargo ship rocked uncontrollably.

After looking it over, Li Zhan didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he turned to Li He and asked, “What do you think? Confident?”

Li He was staring at the wild horse in a daze. With his skills, he could strongly sense that this horse was unlike any other. Although the five wild horses currently being tamed in the village were already above average, when compared to this one, the difference was vast. He felt frustrated with his own abilities; if only his level and skills were higher, he might be able to tame it. As it stood, simply communicating with it was already a challenge.

Startled by the mayor’s question, Li He snapped back to reality and replied honestly, “I’m sorry, Mayor, but I don’t have much confidence.”

Unexpectedly, Li Zhan’s interest only deepened upon hearing this. Though he himself lacked taming skills, he had a simple rule of thumb: the harder a wild animal is to tame, the stronger its inherent abilities. Just like the Battle Wolves before, this wild horse should be no different.

Li Zhan smiled and turned back to Old Zhang. “Very well. I’ll take all eleven wild horses. If you catch any more healthy ones, bring them to me without hesitation.”

Old Zhang was delighted to hear this and quickly helped Li He lead the ten horses into the village’s main stable. The last fiery red horse was carried by a dozen villagers into a separate new stable enclosure.

Following Li Zhan’s instructions, Ruoyan paid Old Zhang nine gold pieces (though the actual value was slightly over eight). Old Zhang gratefully accepted and departed with his three cargo ships back to Danyang.

By the time they returned to the village center, it was noon. Villagers left their posts to start preparing meals. The men chopped wood and fetched water, while the women washed rice and cooked.

Watching the men carry water from the distant riverbank, Li Zhan was reminded of the villagers’ water supply issues. In the old Dark Age, villagers could only use nearby river or stream water, which led to poor health and low work efficiency. Fortunately, the tribe had a missionary who could cast healing spells when villagers fell ill. But now, with the village population swelling past four hundred, a surge in gastrointestinal diseases would overwhelm the missionary’s abilities.

Improving the villagers’ drinking water had become an urgent priority.

Facing the village hall, Li Zhan opened his mayoral menu and navigated through the “Livelihood” options, scrolling down to the “Daily Life” section, where he finally found an option to improve water supply—a well.

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Well [Not Upgraded]

Description: In the feudal era, constructing a well requires 50 units of wood and 5 units of stone. One well ideally supports 50 villagers, with a maximum capacity of 80. Exceeding 80 causes water quality to deteriorate, leading to turbidity, water shortages, or drying up.

Effect: Improves villagers’ health and slightly increases mayoral satisfaction (loyalty).

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Seeing the upgrade requirements—100 wood, 50 food, 10 stone—Li Zhan didn’t hesitate and clicked “Upgrade.” Immediately, a lead-gray well icon appeared at the top center of the screen, with a green line slowly rotating clockwise between the top and center. Wherever the line passed, the icon’s color transformed from lead-gray to vibrant color.

The entire upgrade process took about a minute. When the line returned to the top, the well was officially upgraded. The icon was now fully colored, indicating that villagers could begin construction independently.

Li Zhan summoned the four builders responsible for wooden houses and assigned their afternoon tasks. In addition to the usual wooden houses, they were to build fifteen courtyard-style houses, fifteen quadrangle courtyards, and three riverfront fishing-style houses—all of which would prove useful in the future. Wells were to be constructed at appropriate locations within the residential areas, one well per fifty villagers.

Giving the orders, Li Zhan took a moment to review other options and upgraded a few low-resource projects. Just as he finished upgrading the arrow tower, a notification appeared—Leilong was sending a message.

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Notes:

1. Courtyard-style wooden house: A wooden house with a small attached courtyard suitable for growing some vegetables. Typical feudal-era private landholder housing.

2. Quadrangle courtyard: A large courtyard containing three wooden houses and a gatehouse, with a well inside. Ideal for artisans and small merchants to share.

3. Fishing-style wooden house: Built along the riverbank, about one to one and a half meters above the water, convenient for fishermen’s daily work and mooring boats.

All three new house types have independent kitchens. Each wooden house accommodates two residents.

4. Arrow Tower:

- Description: Upgrading the watchtower requires 350 wood and 50 stone.

- Attributes: Defense building, Attack +7, Defense: Armor 1/Shield 1, Durability: 1500, Observation range: 2,500 meters, Garrison capacity: 5 units, Range: 7 (1 unit = 50 meters), Weapon: Bow and arrow.