Castle of Black Iron

Not until roughly three kilometers away from Salvey and his companions did Zhang Tie find them abnormal. If you saw a shoal of golden fish swimming in order in the pond, you would also feel it abnormal.

Similarly, compared to the other pioneers that Zhang Tie had met before, he felt these were too disciplined and good at teamwork. He knew from experience that all pioneers were free-willed. They would form teams sometimes for common benefits, but if you made a comparison between a real pioneers’ team with Salvey’s group, you would see the difference at once. No matter how many real pioneers gathered together, they were just a pile of sand; however, Zhang Tie felt that Salvey’s group was a brick, a shoal of golden fish that could swim in order. This made him feel strange.

Although they looked unusual, Zhang Tie didn’t think too much; he didn’t have that strong of a curiosity to try figuring it out. He believed that everyone had their own secrets. If it had nothing to do with him, he would prefer to ignore them. Who were those guys had nothing to do with Zhang Tie. What really concerned him was that swift attack from Miller the moment he had entered the birch woods.

What if Salvey didn’t shout out at that time...

What if that guy in the shrubs had also followed up Miller by shooting him with an arrow...

Then...

At that moment..!

He might have become a corpse!

Zhang Tie really couldn’t accept this. What made him most offended was that he had survived these ‘ifs’. What if the ‘if’ came true one day? Would he then be killed in such an easy way? Would he then become a corpse? Would he then let his parents suffer like what his eldest brother had done?

After that event of Huck and Snade, Zhang Tie became afraid of death. What was death? Was it endless darkness? Every time he thought of this, the fear would arise from his inner heart.

Did his own fate have to be determined by so many ‘ifs’ concerning others?

Never! Zhang Tie looked calm while running, but he was screaming inside.

‘No one can determine my fate except for me, no… one! If only those really powerful can determine their own fate in this world, then I will choose to be that powerful. I will choose to be more and more powerful..!’

That misunderstanding in the birch forest just now was nothing serious to Salvey’s group, after all, Zhang Tie had left there safely. However, Salvey’s group didn’t know that just because of that ‘trivial thing’ in their eyes, Zhang Tie swore to become a really powerful man so that he would have the ability to control his own fate and life or death. The 15-year old youth finally awakened at this moment, with his heart pounding fiercely.

Only by becoming a really powerful man could he let his parents live a comfortable life.

Only by becoming a really powerful man could he stop his beloved woman from leaving him.

Only by becoming a really powerful man could he master his own fate and prevent others from killing him like a dog.

This was why Zhang Tie wanted to be powerful. It was neither ground-breaking nor great. It was even a bit selfish. However, that was how Zhang Tie really thought. Additionally, these selfish thoughts gradually made him highly spirited. He started to feel really energetic to strive forward...

Zhang Tie then quickened his pace!

……

There were only 4-5 km’s from that birch woods to Zhang Tie’s own base. It only took him a bit more than ten minutes to arrive there by running.

However, Zhang Tie had never imagined that he would meet a friend there. When he arrived at the mountain cave, both him and that guy in the mountain cave became stunned.

“Is that you?” two voices shouted out in unison before bursting out laughing.

It was Blues. Similar to their last meeting, they just exchanged their roles this time. Blues had already used the firewood and grasses fetched by Zhang Tie to burn a fire, and was roasting a savory hare while Zhang Tie was the one to rush in from outside.

“Is this your base?” Blues asked.

“Of course!” Zhang Tie put down his luggage. “That’s my firewood and grasses, haha!”

“You’re really brave to choose your base here! This place is already very close to the Crescent Prairie...” Blues said in awe. “I didn’t dare to choose such a close place my first time here!”

“Crescent Prairie? I’ve just come back from the border over there!”

Zhang Tie couldn’t wait to sit near Blues, since he could smell a thick aroma of the roasted hare. He never imagined that Blues was this good at cooking.

“What were you doing there?” Blues asked out of curiosity.

He then noticed that huge bear trap on his luggage. Blues then picked himself up from the ground near the fire and walked over. Taking up the trap, he took a careful look.

“There are blood stains on it, how did you get this stuff?”

Zhang Tie then told Blues about what had happened to Salvey. Of course, he just briefed it—at noon, when he was coming towards here, he met a pioneer caught in a bear trap. He the sent the pioneer back to his base to converge with his partners before coming back. As for others, Zhang Tie ignored them all as he felt that it was not necessary to share his own boredom and mental experiences with Blues.

Blues really enjoyed Zhang Tie’s story.

The hare was almost cooked as well, and fat enough for two people to enjoy it. Neither of them hesitated. They just both took out their daggers and started to cut off the meat and enjoy it. At the same time, they started to talk about what had happened in the past couple of days. What Blues revealed finally confirmed Zhang Tie’s presumption—Glaze had already become a LV 3 warrior and the first one among all the horny students. He became very well known all over the Wild Wolf Castle.

Hearing this news, Zhang Tie was not too amazed. When Blues told him Glaze was the only student who had entered LV 3 among all the students attending this survival training, he just mumbled inwardly, ‘He won’t be the only one by tomorrow!’

Another Leakless Fruit on the small tree would become ripe by next day.

“What about you? Have you prepared your tools?”

Last time when Zhang Tie had met Blues, the other had expressed that he would like to go back to the Wild Wolf Castle to prepare some items so as to pick up Goose-neck Grass. Blues felt that it was very difficult to capture a live golden wolf and take it to the Wild Wolf Castle 30 km away as an archer, so he targeted the Goose-neck Grass, which was also very valuable.

However, if one wanted to pick up Goose-neck Grass, he had to own a plant-storage container or a special herbal container. Goose-neck Grass was very tender, its neck and roots very fragile and easily broken. If one was careless, he would break or damage it, and once broken or damaged, its effects would greatly reduce, resulting in a low price. So one should never put it casually among luggage.

One had to pull this stuff out of the soil together with its root. The better preserve it was from its root to its neck, the more valuable it was.

Zhang Tie didn’t see any container on Blues or in the mountain cave that could be used to hold Goose-neck Grass.

“I’m looking for someone to make the containers. Speaking of this, I have to thank you. When I went to the Iron Melting Workshop to look for someone to make a medicinal spade for me. Hearing that I was invited by you, the guys didn’t even want my compensation!” Blues said with a big smile.

No matter what, such a feeling of being cared by friends everywhere would be a great feeling for anyone, especially a weird recluse like Blues. This might have even been his first time experiencing this kind of care by others.

“Pleasure, those guys in the Iron Melting Workshop are easy to get along with. If you feel embarrassed, you can just let someone take a wild wolf back to those guys for you if you have any surplus. Seeing the wolf, they’ll definitely treat you as their bosom brother...”

“Fine, got it!” Blues nodded seriously.

“So why did you come back before preparing well...” After saying this, Zhang Tie felt Blues was staring at him weirdly. Scratching his own face, he asked again, “What? Was my question weird?”

“Have you not heard it?” Blues asked weirdly.

“Hear what?”

“Wolves’ Canival!”

“What’s that?” Zhang Tie felt like he was becoming rustic.

“The two moons in the sky control the mating time of the wolves. When the two become full moons, the wolves’ mating time begins, lasting one month; three times a year. When the first night of the full moons arrives, a large amount of wolves will gather together and howl up at them like holding a ceremony. So this day was called Wolves’ Carnival!”

Blues didn’t notice that when he explained it, Zhang Tie’s eyes became brighter at once.

“There are two full moons tonight?”

“Yes!”

“Will there be a lot of wolves?”

“Many, I heard someone saying he saw thousands of wild wolves howling up to the full moons. But our strength doesn’t allow us to venture deep into the Crescent Prairie. Last time when I wandered around here, I found a safe place near where a large group of wild wolves would gather together at night. If my assumption is right, we could enjoy the scene of the wild wolves’ howling to the full moons!” Blues said with a delighted look.

Zhang Tie’s eyes were not just bright this time. Instead, they had become extremely brilliant, like two burning lanterns.

“Blues...”

“What!” Feeling Zhang Tie’s voice becoming strange, he, who was tearing off a hare’s leg, turned his head and found Zhang Tie with his eyes fixated on him, causing him to be startled.

“Did someone say you were cute?” After saying this, Zhang Tie heard a sound of ‘Pi pa’ from the burning firewood.

Blues’ hand shook, and he almost dropped his hare’s leg onto the ground.

“No!” Blues forcefully swallowed his saliva and replied before moving a bit farther away from Zhang Tie out of self-preservation. His were looked weird, and Blues started to wonder if Zhang Tie had a special hobby related to soap![1]

In the mountain cave where only two men were inside, Blues abruptly felt goose bumps rise all over his skin!

“You are cute!” Zhang Tie said seriously.

In the mountain cave where only two men were inside, seeing Zhang Tie’s gleaming eyes, Blues’ face immediately turned white, and he dropped his hare’s leg onto the ground…

[1] A special hobby related to soap refers to homosexuality. When two men fall in love with each other and prepare to make love, one would bend over like picking up a soap...