King of the Wilderness

Two days later, the sky in Wyoming was a washed-out blue, and the cold air carried a hint of sweetness.

Three pitch-black Ford F-350 heavy-duty pickups, with their massive chrome grilles reflecting the dazzling sunlight, formed a small convoy, slowly driving into the Giant Stone River Heritage Ranch with an imposing aura.

Even Aliya’s brothers, who were used to grand scenes in Montana, couldn’t help but slow down as they passed through the main entrance made of gigantic stones and logs, each showing a solemn expression.

"My God..." Garrett, the second brother sitting in the passenger seat of the first truck, a burly and fiery-tempered pig farmer, rolled down the window, letting the cold wind pour in, but he didn’t mind.

He couldn’t help but whistle long and low, nudging his eldest brother Wyatt in the driver’s seat with his elbow, his voice full of undisguised amazement, "Hey, Wyatt, did we take a wrong turn? This damn well looks like a secret entrance to Yellowstone National Park!"

In the driver’s seat, Wyatt, the eldest brother with a bushy beard and eyes as steady as mountains, the biggest cattle ranch heir of the family.

He silently let go of the accelerator, letting the speed drop to the minimum, his eyes slowly scanning the privately cleared and snow-plowed road winding upwards.

His own ranch was already large enough, with over a thousand acres of premium pastureland, but in his eyes, it had boundaries that could be measured by fences.

Yet the land before him, vast and filled with primal wildness, had no boundaries; it itself was the horizon. This feeling brought him, a man who lived by the land, a sense of genuine awe for the first time.

In the back seat, the twin brother Kley, who was always busy cleaning his cherished Remington 870 shotgun with a piece of deer hide, finally looked up.

His eyes, always tinged with a bit of irreverence and mischief, for the first time showed a glint of true curiosity and shock.

"Is this... is this Aliya’s new home?" he murmured to himself, a playful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "She used to tell me she’d find a city apartment, keep a cat, and roam high-end office buildings with Starbucks every day."

Meanwhile, inside the second truck driven by the third brother Bo, the atmosphere was entirely different.

Bo, a calculating farmer responsible for part of the family’s commercial investments, looked at everything before him, thinking first about costs instead of scenery.

"Just clearing snow from this road every day will burn a lot of diesel, won’t it?" he said to his two wives in the passenger seat, "And these woods and stones, my God, just building this entrance could buy a small plot of land for us in Montana."

He habitually opened Zillow on his phone, trying to estimate the value of this land.

But soon he abandoned the idea, finding only one bar of signal here, and on Zillow’s map, this area was a blank unmarked space.

This meant the value of this land had already far surpassed what the open market could measure.

When the convoy finally reached the slate parking lot at Eagle’s Nest, Lin Yu’an had long been waiting at the giant oak door with Aliya and Emily, along with two babysitters holding babies.

The car doors opened, and a large family full of Western charm appeared before them.

Leading them was Aliya’s father, Robert, a tall, white-haired yet spirited elder. Dressed in a thick Filson wool jacket, his gaze was sharp and commanding.

But when he saw Aliya, that authority instantly melted into the purest fatherly love.

"My little girl." He opened his arms, giving Aliya a solid hug, his voice loud, carrying a trace of barely noticeable tremble.

Next were Aliya’s mothers. Her biological mother, Martha, gentle and kind, reddened her eyes at the sight of Aliya, holding her hand and looking her up and down, constantly exclaiming she was getting thin.

And the other three mothers, gentle and responsible for family education Elizabeth, fiery-tempered head of family finances Catherine, and the youngest Abigail, all gathered around with care, enveloping Aliya in a thick sense of maternal love.

"Dad! Moms!" Aliya responded excitedly, then hugged her brothers one by one.

As all eyes finally fell on the slightly apprehensive yet still elegantly smiling Emily, a warm scene unfolded.

Aliya’s biological mother, Martha, walked up without hesitation, giving Emily an equally warm and powerful hug.

She gently patted Emily’s back, her voice soothing and sincere, "Good child, Aliya told us everything over the phone."

"We’re so glad she has a sister like you by her side. From now on, this is your home, and we are all your family."

"Thank you... Madam Martha." Emily responded awkwardly, all her restlessness and unease dissipating in the warm embrace and sincere words.

"Indeed!" The fiery-tempered Catherine also stepped forward, giving Emily a stronger hug, then stepped back, sizing her up like one of her own calves, her sharp gaze quickly turning to satisfaction.