Castle of Black Iron
Castle of Black Iron - Chapter 1995: The Enlightening Force

“Ah…” Zhang Tie shouted as he opened his eyes. Then, he found that Tang Mei was sitting right in the opposite. Supporting her chin with one hand, she was watching Zhang Tie with her wide, beautiful eyes out of curiosity as if she had been waiting for him to wake up for long.

Her clothes were as white as snow; her black hair was as smooth as a waterfall. There was a small stove and tea set on the teapoy. Dense tea aroma still existed in the air. They were in a small pavilion that was surrounded by fiery apricot trees.

After opening his eyes, Zhang Tie looked straight in Tang Mei’s eyes.

“What happened? Why am I here? Hasn’t Taixia Country been destroyed? Haven’t I fought to the death in Xuanyuan Hill?”

Zhang Tie still clearly remembered the true feeling when he was shattered in the last collision with the far-ancient morality stele which was under the manipulation of the demon overlord. Zhang Tie even faintly saw his Little Thunder sacrificing with him in a tragic way…

‘Was I having a dream? Was it the world after death?’

At this moment, Zhang Tie felt confused as he became petrified.

“Brother, are you awake?” Tang Mei asked him in a tender voice.

“Where are we?”

“Emperor NvWa’s Palace!” Tang Mei replied as she blinked her eyes.

Pah…

Zhang Tie slapped himself.

He felt the sharp pain immediately. He then ensured that he was not in a dream. Meanwhile, his hand was a bit wet. He touched his face as he found that his face had been covered with tears. Even the front part of his coat had been a bit wet. He then carefully sensed his current state as he found he was in the peak state, the same state when he had just drunk Nine-Heavens Immortal Spring.

“How long has it been?” Zhang Tie asked Tang Mei, confused.

“Not too long, just one day and a half!” Tang Mei replied with a smile.

“I mean what time is it now?”

“It’s September 23, the 3593th year of Emperor NvWa’s Calendar!” Tang Mei said as she gave a piece of fragrant towel to Zhang Tie tenderly, “Brother, I wonder why you suddenly dropped tears just now!”

Zhang Tie didn’t take Tang Mei’s towel, but instead, he became dumbfounded.

‘September 23, the 3593th year of Emperor NvWa’s Calendar?’

‘Isn’t it the first time when I came to Emperor NvWa’s Palace? What happened? Shouldn’t I have already left Motian Realm? Additionally, it should have been dozens of years. I’ve even experienced so many things. How could I go back to Motian Realm after death? And at this time? Was everything that I experienced my hallucination?

Zhang Tie became stupefied for quite a while. Unconsciously, he moved his eyes onto the empty cup on the teapoy in front of him. His heart suddenly palpitated once. After taking a look at the empty cup and Tang mei, Zhang Tie swallowed his saliva and stammered, “What… what… did I drink?”

Soon after saying these words, Zhang Tie suddenly became stunned, because he suddenly remembered that he asked the same question when he woke up in memory. Unconsciously, what was happening now aligned with the former experience in his memory completely.

He still remembered Tang Mei’s answer…

“Nothing. It’s just the tea leaves of far-ancient Enlightening Tree being soaked with Nine-Heavens Immortal Spring…” Tang Mei said briefly.

In an instant, Zhang Tie couldn’t even utter a voice. He felt like catching something in mind; however, he didn’t understand it completely.

“Brother, do you blame me for making you drink Nine-Heavens Immortal Spring?” Tang Mei asked Zhang Tie elegantly as she moved her bright eyes onto Zhang Tie, “But Brother, you’re already a supreme immortal general now. If you don’t drink Nine-Heavens Immortal Spring, you could barely break the barrier between God and humans. If you don’t break the barrier, you couldn’t sense the Realm of Moods or form your first immortal chakra.”

Tang Mei was as same as before, including her behaviors and words. However, at this moment, Zhang Tie had already known that Tang Mei was Emperor NvWa. Of course, he would not feel that someone forced Tang Mei to do that.

“What’s the function of the tree leaves of far-ancient Enlightening Tree?” Zhang Tie asked Tang Mei meticulously.

Not until then did Zhang Tie suddenly realize that he appeared to have very little information about tree leaves of far-ancient Enlightening Tree, as if a mysterious power forced him to forget about the function of the tree leaves of far-ancient Enlightening Tree.

Of course, tea leaves counted the most in tea culture; followed by water. It was common sense. Now that Tang Mei made tea for Zhang Tie with the tea leaves of far-ancient Enlightening Tree and Nine-Heavens Immortal Spring, the importance of tree leaves of far-ancient Enlightening Tree had been evident. However, after waking up, Zhang Tie forgot about this thing. Later on, he appeared to not have a deep impression on the tree leaves of far-ancient Enlightening Tree either. Zhang Tie found it was unusual.

“Brother, did you have a very long dream just now? Was everything in the dream like real?”

‘Is that a dream?’ Zhang Tie was not sure about it till now. Therefore, he could only nod towards Tang Mei silently.

“That’s the function of the tree leaves of far-ancient Enlightening Tree. When you have the tea of far-ancient Enlightening Tree, you will have a dream for 100 years. It’s like real; however, it elapses as fast as a lightning bolt!” Tang Mei watched Zhang Tie as she continued with a smile, “The tree leaves of far-ancient Enlightening Tree didn’t come from Motian Realm. They were actually rarities in Emperor NvWa’s Palace. According to the legend, far-ancient Enlightening Tree was a marvelous tree that existed when the chaos separated into heaven and earth. The tree leaves of far-ancient Enlightening Tree were born with a strong time force. They could help people experience everything and see what’s going to happen in the future in a dream. It’s my gift to you. Don’t you like it, Brother?”

‘It seems that I was having a dream after drinking the tea water of the tree leaves of far-ancient Enlightening Tree. I’ve experienced a long dream which was akin to the reality-based trouble-reappearance situations…’

‘Actually, those things had not happened in Taixia Country yet!’

‘I’m still alive. I’ve not even returned to Taixia Country yet. I could still redeem everything!’

After being silent for a few seconds, Zhang Tie suddenly exclaimed, “Ah…”. Closely after that, he jumped up and shouted. At the same time, he guffawed and dropped off tears. He danced with joy like being mad. After that, he rushed out of the pavilion, running in the apricot trees and guffawing. “Hahaha, I’m still alive; I’m still alive. There’s still time. There’s still time. Hahaha, Demon Overlord, Meng Shidao, let’s see it. Let’s see it. Hahaha…”

Zhang Tie then rushed to the front of Tang Mei with a red face with excitement. Closely after that, he cradled Tang Mei and circled in the air for dozens of times under her astonished eyes. After putting her down, he kissed Tang Mei’s face for more than 10 times as he continued, “Hahaha, that’s my favorite gift. I love it too much. It’s the best gift that I’ve ever received. Thank you. Thank you. You’re my baby! You’re my lucky angel…”

Tang Mei’s face turned into a piece of red cloth immediately. Closely after that, she became this bashful and uttered in a low voice, “Brother…”

At this moment, Zhang Tie had completely forgotten about Tang mei’s identity. He tightly cradled Tang Mei and directly kissed her lips…

…

Seven days later, on October 1st, Zhang Tie returned to Tigerback Mountain with high spirits.

Soon after he watched Bian Heng entering the parlor, Zhang Tie had rushed forward and gave him an embrace. Bian Heng became flurried as he instantly turned gloomy and pushed Zhang Tie away. Meanwhile, he urged, “No! No! I’m not a woman…”

If not know that Zhang Tie’s sexual orientation was normal, Bian Heng might have long driven Zhang Tie away with battle qi.

Zhang Tie moved two steps back as he watched Bian Heng and apologized seriously, “I’m sorry…”

Bian Heng felt odd as he looked Zhang Tie up and down before asking, “What wrong thing have you done to me?”

“Nothing, I just feel that I miss you after leaving you for a few days…” Zhang Tie replied as he shook his head and sat down. In this world, nobody else might know what Zhang Tie’s apology meant to Bian Heng——In that real “dream”, Zhang Tie took Bian Heng to Taixia Country. However, it meant a trap for Bian Heng. When Zhang Tie fought to the death in Xuanyuan Hill, Bian Heng was traveling across the country. If everything in the dream was real, Bian Heng must face a poor outcome after Taixia and Hua people were destroyed. That was why Zhang Tie felt sorry about Bian Heng.

“Tang Mei, it must be related to Tang Mei…” Bian Heng instantly became furious as he suddenly recalled something. After glaring at Zhang Tie ferociously, he gritted his teeth with fury and continued, “I wondered why your face looked such red and energetic like taking philter. You must have a guilty conscience after sleeping with Tang Mei. Therefore, you’re apologizing to me!”

“Ahem, ahem…” Zhang Tie turned solemn immediately as he explained, “Brother Bian, you must have thought too much. I’m here to ask you whether you will leave Motian Realm with me or not…”

After hearing the topic, Bian Heng gradually recovered his composure. After making a glimpse at Zhang Tie, he rubbed his beard with two fingers and said with a serious look, “Erm… I need to think about it carefully. I’m not as smart as you. If you sell me, I might even count money for you.”

Bian Heng wanted to leave Motian Realm with Zhang Tie; however, he felt bashful talking Zhang Tie about that. Of course, Zhang Tie was aware of Bian Heng’s tactic. Zhang Tie laughed inside as he even knew what Bian Heng wanted to say next.

“Brother Bian, what about taking another man with you? Had better be a woman. Because women are always delicate in mind. If you got a partner with you, I might not cheat you easily anymore. How about that?”

Bian Heng widely opened his mouth and eyes as he watched Zhang Tie who was smiling at him as if the latter was a ghost, because he found that Zhang Tie had mentioned the excuse he had prepared well…