Castle of Black Iron

Yongzhou Province was one of the 36 upper provinces in Taixia Country. It was close to the Qiongzhou Province, the south border of the Northeast Military Region under the affiliation of Westriver Military Region. The central organ of Westriver Military Region was also located here.

Covering 250 million square miles, Yongzhou Province had 8.7 billion population. It had been in peace and prosperity for hundreds of years. Yongzhou Province had 257 Class A cities, the number of which ranked above medium among all the upper provinces in Taixia Country.

Yongzhou Province had 34 prefectures. Luye Prefecture was in the southwest of Yongzhou Province. There were nine famous mountains in Luye Prefecture. There were a lot of tea trees in the mountains. The tea leaves in Luye Prefecture ranked first in Yongzhou Province. The most famous wild spring originated from the Floating Spirit Mountain, one of the nine mountains in Luye Prefecture.

As one of the nine famous mountains in Luye Prefecture, Coiling Dragon Mountain was in the middle of Luye Prefecture, which lasted over 7,000 miles and crossed many prefectures. As its shape was like a coiling dragon, therefore it was called Coiling Dragon Mountain.

Coiling Dragon was odd-looking and beautiful. It was said that Coiling Dragon Mountain had a very good geographical location. It was a golden mile in Youzhou Province. Coiling Dragon Mountain was close to Ailian City, Heguang City, Lvsen City, Poyin City, Tianyuan City and Zeyun City in four directions, which were all Class A cities in Yongzhou Province.

Liuying Town was at the foot of Coiling Dragon Mountain being less than 150 miles away from Zeyun City in the east.

Liuying Town was a tranquil town, which contained less than 50,000 people in total. At the end of May, a news spread over Liuying Town——Young master Cui who had departed over 10 years ago finally came back.

Many young people left home to learn knowledge. Although Cui Li was well-known in Liuying Town, it should not arouse such a shock; especially for a person who had left Liuying Town for over one decade. However, it was said that a meteor landed at his home when Cui Li came back that night while the glow scared his servants and neighbors so much. They all thought that the house caught fire; therefore they prepared to extinguish the fire with water buckets...

However, they found it was Cui Li, the young master of Cui family who came back.

Perhaps kids didn’t understand the abnormal phenomenon; however, old guys who had rich experiences knew that it carried a very special meaning. It indicated that Cui family in Liuying Town might have a Hua dragon——knight!

It was a major event. Even the Tongguang County where Liuying Town was had not got a Hua dragon, not to mention Liuying Town.

Therefore, the entire Liuying Town was shocked. Additionally, this news had aroused the attention of the county magistrate of Tongguang County in only 3 days.

It was the Village Constable Jia of Liuying Town who reported the news to the county magistrate of Tongguang County.

In the backyard garden of the county government office of Tongguang County, County Magistrate Li who had taken this position for 8 years was dumbfounded after hearing the news of Village Constable Jia.

”What? You mean there’s a knight in Liuying Town?” The 60-year old County Magistrate Li with a dignified look hurriedly put down his teacup before turning around and watching Village Constable Jia with widely opened eyes.

It was early June while it was getting hot. After traveling over 50 miles by vehicle, Village Constable Jia’s eyes corners had oozed sweat. His face also looked a bit red.

”Yes, County Magistrate, there’s a knight in Cui family in Liuying Town!” Village Constable Jia hurriedly answered.

”It’s a big surprise. Are you sure?” County Magistrate Li put down his teacup and said with a solemn look.

Watching County Magistrate Li’s solemn look, Village Constable Jia became a bit hesitated as he slightly mopped off the sweat from his forhead and said, ”I’ve asked the neighbors of Cui Clan. They said that Cui Li indeed descended from the sky with light and flame when he came back home as fast as a lightning bolt. It was really terrifying. Additionally, more than one person had witnessed that. They all expressed it in this way. I think nobody else could do that except for a knight! The servants in Cui family were jubilant these days. Someone asked the reason, they said that their young master had promoted to a knight!”

”It seems to be real. I’ve heard about Cui Li before. But how could he promote to a knight so fast? Didn’t you recognize the wrong man?” County Magistrate Li slightly lowered his body with a more solemn look.

”I won’t. I’ve paid a visit to Cui’s manor yesterday. I saw the young master of Cui family and talked with him for a while. Although he had left home for over one decade and changed a bit, I still recognized him. Additionally, he recognized me too. I felt a very deterrent qi on young master Cui, flames flickered in his pupils. Only after talking with him for a short while, I had already felt a great stress.”

Touch his well-maintained mustache, County Magistrate Li thought for a few seconds before replying, ”It seems that I have to pay a visit to this young master Cui in Liuying Town. If Cui family really have a knight, Tongguang County could have the first powerful memorial gateway in my reign. That would be a fine story on everybody’s lips...”

”You’re right, County Magistrate Li!” Village Constable Jia hurriedly nodded, ”I wonder when will you come to Liuying Town, County Magistrate Li. I will make an arrangement for you!”

”Let’s do it tomorrow!”

County Magistrate Li felt pretty thrilled too. After the first powerful memorial gateway was erected in Tongguang County, his name would be bound to it too. After he died, whenever people caught sight of this powerful memorial gateway, they would recall his name Li Chunfeng. He would not regret serving as the county magistrate for so many years.

The officials in Taixia Country were all paid with high compensations for clean governance. Very few of them were greedy for money. Most of them were seeking for reputation. Of course, County Magistrate Li was seeking for reputation.

Li Chunfeng was the only one in Tongguang County who was qualified to make a biography for the powerful memorial gateway of young master Cui, which would be admired by the posterities. As the old saying went, the real heroes should make meritorious deeds, have a good reputation and have proverbs memorized by the posterities. As he could make a biography for the powerful memorial gateway of young master Cui, he would have his ambitious words and feelings memorized by people. In the future, if the knight being publicized by this memorial gateway became famous, more and more people would come here to admire him. Li Chunfeng would become famous too by then. Many of the literati in Taixia Country had become famous by leaving a passage or poem in front of a powerful memorial gateway.

...

On the second day Village Constable Jia left the county government office of Tongguang County, namely on the early morning of June 3rd, County Magistrate Li had changed a fine set of plain clothes and left for Liuying Town.

County Magistrate Li didn’t take too many people with him. He was very lowkey. If the young master Cui was not a knight, it would be a laughingstock for him to pay a visit on a grand scale; if young master Cui was really a knight, it would be a laughingstock for a county magistrate to pay a visit on a grand scale too. Therefore, he’d better be lowkey this time.

When they came to the Liuying Town, Village Constable Jia had been waiting for him on the roadside outside the town.

In order to show his respect, County Magistrate Li directly got off the vehicle outside the town and walked to Cui manor together with Village Constable Jia.

It was highway outside the town while the roads inside the town were all clean slate cement roads; especially those nearby Cui manor were always cleaned by water before dawn by his neighbors.

Cui family was a big family in Liuying Town. The courtyard of Cui manor was at the foot of Coiling Dragon Mountain, which occupied over 5,000 square meters. When they came to the outside of Cui manor, the trees in the courtyard of Cui manor gave them a welcome shade. There was even a tall pagoda tree at the gate of Cui manor, whose crown was as large as a cloud. Its shade could cover 300 square meters.

”Here we are!” Village Constable Jia introduced.

”What an unusual symbol!” Stroking his mustache, County Magistrate Li nodded towards the huge pagoda tree, ”Look at this tree, doesn’t it look like that someone is holding an umbrella for Cui manor?”

”That’s true, the more I see it, the more I find that you’re right!” Village Constable Jia explained as he stepped onto the stairs and knocked at the gate by the copper rings on the gate, ”Bang, bang, bang...”

With a cracking sound, the gate was opened while a 60-year old man exposed his head out of the gate. After that, he slowly raised his head and looked around with poor eyes for a while before figuring out who was knocking at the gate, ”Ahh, Village Constable Jia...”

Village Constable Jia said with a benign countenance, ”I brought the County Magistrate Li to pay a visit to your young master. Is your young master at home?”

”Ahh, what a pity. My young master has just gone up the mountain with Afu to sweep the tomb of the old master and old madam!” The old humpbacked man answered.

Village Constable Jia turned around and looked at County Magistrate Li on his back.

After being silent for a short while, County Magistrate Li asked Village Constable Jia, ”Do you know the location of Cui’s cemetery?”

”Yes, I do. It’s about 5 miles away from here!”

”If so, we don’t need to wait here. Let’s go up the mountain. By the way, we’ll take a look at Cui’s cemetery. I’ve not gone up the mountain for a long time. As the weather is good today, we can get some exercise.”

”Good!”

After telling the humpbacked old man about their choice, Village Constable Jia led County Magistrate Li up the mountain along a path.

”Why is the servant in Cui manor so emaciated?”

”County Magistrate Li, you might not know that. When the old master and old madam were still alive, they were very benign to their servants. They took in poor guys, most of whom were paralyzed. After their death, the young master Cui kept them. Over the past decade, when young master Cui went out to learn skills, these people just stayed in Cui manor, none of them left!”

For the convenience of control, Zhu Liang the fierce wolf selected the underprivileged single ones who were simple, honest and crippled. Amazingly, after decades, this event became the symbol of righteousness and mercy of Cui manor.

”Not bad!” County Magistrate Li nodded satisfactorily...