Castle of Black Iron

On April 16, one day before the Opening Stele Festival, the entire Morality Prefecture of Gobbling Province had been boisterous before sunrise.

Actually, Morality Prefecture was called Safescreen Prefecture before the 687th year of Black Iron Calendar. However, after that year, Safescreen Prefecture became Morality Prefecture, because an earthquake took place in Safescreen Prefecture on April 17, the 687th year of Black Iron Calendar. As a result, Vast Universe Mountain had collapsed, exposing the far-ancient mortality stele, which shocked the entire country.

15 years later, a teenager, who was born on the same day as far-ancient morality stele, realized the truth and cultivated 3 years in front of the stele. He then promoted to a black iron knight at 18 years old. From then on, the far-ancient morality stele became an immortal item in the hearts of many people in Safescreen Prefecture. 30 years later, when the teenager became a middle-aged man, he promoted to an earth knight. Then, the influence of far-ancient morality stele covered the entire Gobbling Province and aroused the attention of all the people across the country. From then on, Safescreen Prefecture gradually became Morality Prefecture. Later on, Meng Shidao started to write books and set up his theory and win popularity across the country. As Gobbling Party gradually came into being, of course, Meng Shidao became the leader of the Gobbling Party.

In the following 200 years, with the increasingly greater cultivation base and meritorious deeds of Meng Shidao, he finally became famous across the country. When Meng Shidao became the crown prince’s teacher and the premier, one of the top three counselors of the state, the influence of the Gobbling Party spread across the country and almost matched that of the top six sects…

Like how natives in Youzhou Province treated Zhang Tie as the pride of Youzhou Province, Meng Shidao was also taken as the pride of Gobbling Province by natives in Gobbling Province. Since the founding of the Gobbling Party, the entire Gobbling Province had been covered with thousands of morality agencies. Each city in Gobbling Province contained dozens of morality agencies. Morality agencies could even be seen in towns and villages outside cities. All the morality agencies were united under the control of the backbones of Gobbling Party. In the beginning, people joined morality agencies voluntarily. Later on, as more and more morality agencies were founded, the influence of the Gobbling Party gradually expanded. As a result, those who didn’t join morality agencies would gradually be repelled by Gobbling Party and morality agencies as heretics. They would have trouble, no matter what they did. On this occasion, those people and families who didn’t want to join morality agencies had to leave Gobbling Province and find somewhere else to live.

During the past over 200 years, with the promotion of Meng Shidao, almost nobody could live in Gobbling Province without joining morality agencies from officials in major clans to small tradesmen and porters.

On April 16, one day before Opening Stele Festival, many capable men had arrived at Morality Prefecture by airboat or airships with piety, as if making a pilgrimage. The entire Morality Prefecture was filled with human exclamations and horse neighs. All the hotels and inns had been occupied. More people were heading for Morality Prefecture from surrounding cities and prefectures, rubbing shoulders and following the steps. As a result, all the official roads had been occupied.

At 1 am of April 17, Zhu Laosan, the boss of a bean curd workshop in the east street of Zhujia Village outside Yellowrock City of Morality Prefecture had got up. After lighting the oil lamp, he woke up his 13-year old son who was sleeping in the same room with him.

“Guangsi, get up…”

The 13-year old boy was having a sound sleep at 1 am. Zhu Laosan called him twice and pushed him by hand before waking him up.

“Ah, papa, what’s up…” Zhu Laosan’s son finally opened his eyes; however, his eyes were sleepy. Therefore, Zhu Guangsi didn’t know why his father woke him up.

“Did you forget what I’ve told you? The Opening Stele Festival starts today. We’re going to “touch the Morality Stele”. We have to arrive at Vast Universe Mountain before daybreak. Hurry, get up. Wash your face and rinse your mouth. Put on the new clothes that I’ve prepared for you!” Zhu Laosan’s tone instantly turned strict. After hearing his father’s strict words, Zhu Guangsi who was usually strictly taught by his father rubbed his eyes and hurriedly got up. He started to prepare for the trip.

Zhu Laosan was a widower. Since his wife died of complications during pregnancy, he didn’t marry any other woman. He and his son survived on the ancestral skill of making bean curds in Zhujia Village.

Last night, Zhu Laosan almost stayed awake. Although he was also lying on the bed with closed eyes, he became sleepless with excitement before attending the Opening Stele Festival.

Actually, since the director of the morality agency in Zhujia Village, also the police inspector of Zhujia Village gave him a piece of big ceremonial plate and told him that he could take his son to “touch the Morality Stele” seven years ago, Zhu Laosan had been sleepless.

Zhu Laosan had been waiting for this day for 10 years. During the past 10 years, he almost donated half of his annual revenue to the morality agency of Zhujia Village in order to get a piece of huge ceremonial plate one day and “touch the Morality Stele” together with his son on the Opening Stele Festival.

Perhaps it was pious and sacred for someone to “touch the Morality Stele”. However, as for Zhu Laosan who lived at the bottom of the society, he joined Morality Agency because all the others in Zhujia Village had joined it. If he didn’t join it, he couldn’t live in Zhujia Village. Even though he sold bean curd, he might also be in debt. Additionally, he might have a lot of trouble. By insisting on accomplishing the rite of “touch the Morality Stele”, he was courageous and realistic. He wanted to take his son to try their lucks. He wanted to scramble for an opportunity for his son to make his ancestors illustrious. But, he didn’t want his son to stay at Zhujia Village and sell bean curd for the rest of his life like him.

Zhu Laosan didn’t attach any extravagant hope that his son was favored by Meng Shidao. Although, 7 or 8 kids would be favored by Meng Shidao annually, given the number of kids who came to Morality Prefecture to “touch the Morality Stele” from the other places across the country annually, the possibility for them to be favored by Meng Shidao was less than 1/10,000. Besides Meng Shidao, the chief directors of morality agencies across the country would also come here on the same day and take back some qualified kids for cultivation.

Zhu Laosan hoped that his son could be favored by chief directors of morality agencies in the other big cities. Otherwise, he hoped that his son could find a reliance in the morality agency of Yellowrock City after coming at with the experience of “touch the Morality Stele” at this young age. As a person who only knew how to make bean curds since young could only try his best to help his son become outstanding in this way.

In less than 30 minutes, Zhu Laosan and his son had prepared it well. They put on new clothes. After taking some food that they prepared last night, Zhu Laosan carried some dried rations and a utility box. After that, he carried a fluorite lamp in one hand and his son in the other before leaving their home.

It was midnight with bright moons and sparse stars illuminating the sky. Meanwhile, the lotus-covered pond near Zhu Laosan’s home was reverberating with the croaking of frogs; crickets were singing in weeds nearby.

When Zhu Laosan and his son left their home, they saw many villagers had prepared to leave their homes too, old and young.

When they spotted Zhu Laosan and his son, many people greeted him as they watched Zhu Laosan with admiration in their eyes. The news that Zhu Laosan acquired a piece of big ceremonial plate for attending the Opening Stele Festival had spread across Zhujia Village. Besides the director of the morality agency in Zhujia Village and Zhu Laosan, only two more families had received one big ceremonial plate respectively.

Watching the admirable eyes and hearing the passionate greetings of those people in Zhujia Village, Zhu Laosan felt inspired. Pinching the big ceremonial plate close to his skin and holding his son’s hand, he walked out of Zhujia Village, chesting out.

Thankfully, it was nice weather today. Even though there was no fluorite lamp, they could also see clearly the road. After a short while, Zhu Laosan and his son had walked out of Zhujia Village and come to a path on a mountain slope outside Zhujia Village which connected with an official road.

From the mountain slope, although it was midnight, they found the entire official road downside there was already brightly lit. It was even more boisterous than the most boisterous night market. So many people were walking on the official road with portable luggage on their backs and lanterns or fluorite lamps in hands, no matter male or female, old or young. Some youths took nothing at all. They just walked on the road jubilantly in groups towards the same direction.

Zhu Laosan and his son also entered the great stream of people and hurried on with their journey.

Zhujia Village was about 33 miles away from Vast Universe Mountain. As long as they kept going, they would almost arrive there before daybreak.

In order to display their piety, nobody took any traffic tools like horses or carriages any more from 60 miles away from Vast Universe Mountain. All of them were walking towards Vast Universe Mountain on foot.

“Papa, my feet hurt…” After walking about 13 miles, Zhu Laosan’s son couldn’t move anymore.

“Take a short break. Drink some water. Then we have to continue…” Zhu Laosan took off the utility box and passed it to his son.

A few minutes later, although Zhu Guangsi had not recovered, he was already encouraged by his dad to continue. When his son really couldn’t walk anymore, Zhu Laosan’s face turned gloomy as he even dragged his son forward.

On the way, Zhu Laosan was tired and thirsty; however, he still arrived at the foot of Vast Universe Mountain before daybreak with his persistence.

The greater part of people who came here stopped around the Vast Universe Mountain. After that, they all gathered on dozens of huge squares over there. Each square could match a large airport in size and could hold hundreds of thousands of people. These squares led to roads towards Vast Universe Mountain. In normal times, there were not so many people on these squares; however, on the day of the Opening Stele Festival, all the squares around Vast Universe Mountain would be fully crowded.

With the big ceremonial plate, Zhu Laosan and his son Zhu Guangsi passed two checks under the admiring eyes of many people and entered Vast Universe Mountain along the well-paved road. After walking another a few miles hardly, they finally saw a 7-mile long team in front of them which was twisting like a boa. The end of the team was right in front of them while the head of the team had come to the back of a mountain ridge.

They were all waiting there. Therefore, Zhu Laosan and his son had to stop there.

All the people here were going to “touch the Morality Stele” when the first ray of sunlight cast on the far-ancient morality stele. As it was still a few hours left from daybreak, they were all waiting there quietly…