Castle of Black Iron

Golden Light City was over 2,000 miles away from Youzhou City. It was vast but sparsely populated with beautiful scenery on the way. However, it was not wild. In each dozen miles, there would be a village or inn along the roadside for the convenience of vehicle replenishment. They could occasionally enjoy Hua food with extremely distinctive local features. Since they left Golden Light City on September 21st, Zhang Tie and his dad would drive the touring car alternatively, each one a few hours per day. Whenever they found a fun place somewhere, they would park and loiter over there. Sometimes, Zhang Tie would go hunt some wild animals such as pheasants and made a barbeque on the sightseeing platform of the vehicle. The family enjoyed the trip so much.

On the second day, since they left Golden Light City, Zhang Tie’s mom had completely recovered with higher spirit and greater strength. Watching his mom becoming better, Zhang Tie knew that it was a right trip.

After leaving Golden Light City for 10 days, on the evening of 1st October, their ”Traveller” had reached at plain being less than 200 miles away from Youzhou City.

In the twilight, when they watched the grass waves in the breeze and the wild antelopes eating grass being not far away in the endless prairie, Zhang Tie drove off the highway and parked it at the bank of a shallow river beside the road. The limpid river water could only reach his knees. The river shoal was covered with cobblestones. This place was suitable for cooking food and having a rest.

”Dad and mom, how about sleeping here tonight?” Zhang Tie turned around his head and shouted towards the sound-transmitting brass pipe on his side. Zhang Tie’s family members were appreciating the beautiful scenery on the sightseeing platform at the top of the touring car. When the touring car drove off the highway, Zheng Chenglei, Zhang Chengting and Zhang Chengpei exclaimed in the sightseeing platform.

”Fine, your mom agreed to sleep here tonight!” Zhang Tie’s dad replied through the other end of the brass pipe together with Zhang Chengting’s exclamation.

Previously, Zhang Tie had just seen a sound-transmitting brass pipe in an airship, he had not imagined that there was also such a facility in the touring car. How considerate it was!

Zhang Tie braked on a plain ground over 20 m away from the riverside and adjusted the power boiler to parking state. Closely after that, he opened the door of the car and jumped out of it.

Zhang Tie went to the riverside to check the quality of the river water first. After finding it was clean, he took a barrel from the vehicle and started to fill the barrel with river water for the power boiler of the touring car. If in a motel, he only needed to link the touring car with a water pipe. However, as it was in the wild, he had to lift water from the river. Additionally, they needed water to wash vegetables in the kitchen and cleanse themselves before bed. Water became especially important in the wild.

When Zhang Tie filled the barrel with water, his three sons couldn’t wait to run away from the sightseeing platform and started to catch fish in the river. Zhang Tie’s dad took a fish pole and urged that he would compete with the three kids for catching fish.

It was full of cheers and laughter.

When Zhang Tie charged water for the touring car, he dug a pit on the ground near the touring car to bury the boiler ash. After doing this heavy labor work, the ladies had prepared the dinner. On the sightseeing platform of the touring car, they opened its movable sunroof and watched the beautiful scenery in the distance while enjoying the supper in the pleasant night breeze under the twilight.

The competition between Zhang Tie’s dad and the three kids ended with Zhang Tie’s dad catching over 30 cm-long fish. Therefore, they had one more fresh fish soup.

...

After supper, Zhang Tie washed bowls. After Linda, Beverly and Fiona cleaned the table, he carried a pile of bowls and chopsticks to the riverside and carefully washed them.

Only after a few minutes, ground-breaking clops drifted to Zhang Tie’s ears from the distance of the plain. Zhang Tie was still washing his tableware. Zhang Chenglei, Zhang Chengting and Zhang Chengpei who were playing beside the vehicle were called in the car by Linda and Zhang Tie’s mom.

Taixia Country had a very good security. After traveling for a few days, they had not met any bad people. However, as it was in the wild, they’d better watch out. It seemed that the clops came from a team of cavalries. After hearing the thunder-like clops, the flock of wild antelopes in the distance were scared away in a flurried way.

Only in a few minutes, the thunder-like clops had drawn closer. The clops didn’t stop until they reached the riverside.

It was a team of over 50 Hua cavalries. It seemed that they had long known about this river. They just came here to let their mounts drink water, which were bigger and stronger than iron-horn beasts with a bent horn on their head.

As Zhang Tie washed his tableware, he observed those people and their mounts over 20 m away.

The heads of the team of cavalries were two youths, followed by those ferociously intrepid cavalries. What was more attractive was their mounts which were bigger and stronger than iron-horn beasts with a bent horn on their head. Those mounts looked very mighty.

Zhang Tie knew that this animal was called rhino-dragon horse. It was a LV 6 living being. Like xiphodon, this kind of animal was much more ferocious than iron-horn beasts. However, xiphodon was a carnivore while the rhino-dragon horse was a herbivore, which meant that rhino-dragon horse was more senior. In Eastern Continent, the rhino-dragon horse was the standard mount of Taixia’s cavalries. Except for very few special troops, all the cavalries across Taixia Country rode rhino-dragon horses. Zhang Tie heard that there was a huge military breeding farm of rhino-dragon horses outside Youzhou City. There were 600,000 rhino-dragon horses in the entire military breeding farm. Such a scale could never be matched by Sacred Iceland Kingdom. Many provinces in Taixia Country were feeding rhino-dragon horses. Rhino-dragon horses were also slightly different in abilities in different regions due to different living environments, breeds and lineages. Rhino-dragon horses in Youzhou Province ranked top in the territory of Northeast Military Region of Taixia Country. It was well-known even across Taixia Country.

A common rhino-dragon horse would be worth over 600 gold coins in Taixia Country. Special rhino-dragon horses would be worth more. Rhino-dragon horse was very important in the foreign trade of Youzhou Province. Over 400,000 rhino-dragon horses would be sold out from Youzhou Province every year, which meant a total trade volume of about 300 million gold coins. After arriving at Youzhou Province, Huaiyuan Palace had intended to trade rhino-dragon horse. Until then, Huaiyuan Palace had not gotten through the joints of this business. If Huaiyuan Palace could help Zhang Taixuan win the position provincial governor of Youzhou Province, those problems facing Huaiyuan Palace, especially the source of rhino-dragon horse would be handled immediately.

Zhang Tie and was glancing at those cavalries and rhino-dragon horses on the other bank of the river. Those cavalries were also gazing at Zhang Tie. However, when they caught sight of that touring car and Zhang Tie who was washing bowls on the riverside, they lost their interest in Zhang Tie at once.

”Brother Cangwu. What do you think about the rhino-dragon horse in the military breeding farm of Youzhou Province?” One of the two young men on the other bank asked, which could be clearly heard by Zhang Tie.

”Rhino-dragon horse in Youzhou Province could run 700 miles a day. They’re indeed as excellent as their reputation. Whereas, they were still a bit dwarfed by those in Jianzhou Province, Hezhou Province, Liangzhou Province and Ganzhou Province in speed and endurance. Compared to those in Chuanzhou Province, Tangzhou Province and Yunzhou Province, these rhino-dragon horses don’t take advantage in carrying capacity. If they could be further modified and make a further breakthrough in one aspect, they might enter the list of top horses in Taixia Country!”

”It’s not easy to modify a horse breed. Very few animal controllers could have such a talent. It depends!” The youth sighed.

”Hahaha, brother Tianqi is right. I’m more like an armchair strategist!”

”Brother Cangwu’s opinion goes right to the heart of the matter and matches that of Commander Cheng. If you’re an armchair strategist, the think tank of Commander Cheng would be driven mad.”

”I’m flattered. It’s late. Let’s go back!”

”Fine, the rhino-dragon horses have drunk enough, let’s go back to Youzhou City then...”

The two young men threw another glance at Zhang Tie before turning around the heads of the rhino-dragon horses and leaving, closely followed by the team of cavalries...

Few minutes after those people left, Zhang Tie finished washing his tableware and returned to the touring car with them.

”Hubby, who are they? They look aggressive!” Fiona asked him while patting her plump breasts.

”They might be cavalries in Youzhou City!” Zhang Tie answered.

When he replied, the two youths’ faces flashed across his mind once again. Zhang Tie let out a sigh inside. ’Taixia is really full of talents and resources. It could never be matched by Waii Sub-continent. I met two young Hua knights even when I washed bowls at the riverside. I really have not seen anyone who could promote to knight at such a young age in Waii Sub-continent except for me.’

...

After over 1 hour, that team of cavalries had been over 70 miles away from the riverside. Suddenly the young man called Cangwu grabbed the rein. With a neigh, his rhino-dragon horse suddenly raised high its front legs and stomped onto the ground forcefully. Closely after that, it stopped.

As the other cavalries were very good at horsemanship, watching this young man stop, the entire team stopped in a split second.

”Brother Cangwu, what’s wrong?”

”Nothing, I was just recalling something. It’s okay; it’s okay!” The young man called Cangwu revealed a smile. Without giving any explanation, he continued to gallop his rhino-dragon horse. After exchanging a glance with each other, the others followed him up towards Youzhou City at once.

The scene that Zhang Tie was washing tableware at the riverside always loomed in Cangwu’s mind.

’The 16-year old boy was too calm.’

’That young man didn’t even stand up when he watched us galloping towards him until we left...’

’He just squatted down there...’

’Squatting down there... all the way!’

’This is where the problem lies!’

’Youzhou City is becoming more and more boisterous these days!’

The younger elites of Heavens Fortune Sect sighed with emotions inside...

...

It felt very special sleeping overnight in the wild. In the evening, after closing the sunroof of the sightseeing platform, they could watch the countless stars in the sky as long as they lay in their bedrooms.

There were 4 bedrooms in the touring car, two 2-people bedrooms, one 3-people bedroom and one 5-people bedroom. Zhang Tie, Linda, Beverly and Fiona lived in the 5-people bedroom; his dad and mom lived in the 2-people bedroom while the 3-people bedroom was for the 3 kids.

Zhang Tie put his arms around the necks of Linda, Beverly and Fiona on the bed and watched the stars. Zhang Tie talked about the embarrassing things that he did in Blackhot City and the 7th national male middle school, especially when he went for Ms. Anna, which made the three women giggle for quite a while.

”Well, well, I was doubting how could you be that docile when joining the survival training in Wild Wolf Valley. We thought that you were a gentleman. It doesn’t seem now!” Beverly smiled.

Zhang Tie’s face blushed faintly as he replied, ”Ahem...ahem...I was very innocent at that moment. I indeed had no evil thought!”

”What about now?” Fiona watched Zhang Tie with an enchanted look while her hands started to fumble over Zhang Tie’s body.

As it was turning cold outside, Zhang Tie’s room turned hot...

What satisfied Zhang Tie the most was this touring car’s expert-level sound insulation...

...

On the second day, after catching fish with the three kids in the morning, they set off once again in the afternoon.

When the night fell on October 2nd, they finally arrived at Youzhou City.

Although not being rustic, Zhang Tie was still stunned for quite a while when he caught sight of Youzhou City for the first time.

When people saw a Class A city in front of them since they came to Taixia Country, they would definitely be greatly shocked.

In Zhang Tie’s eyes, Youzhou City was really large.

This was a shocking, magnificent city.

In the nightscape, the shocking light effect of the immortal fluorite lamps on the city walls made Youzhou City a huge fortress made of jadeites...

The airships above Youzhou City were as many as crucians in the river. What a dreamlike, prosperous city!

...