On the eighth day of January, after the farewell banquet specially prepared for Tie Huan by the Iron Fist Temple, the Grand Elder of Kongo Temple prepared to embark on the return journey. There was no rain or snow on this day, and the wind was not strong, so it was a good day to go out.

The carriage to the Golden Castle is dedicated to the Rite Pavilion, specially prepared by Dazai-sama Zhuo Xuan, the yellow carriage, on the top is a cyan dragon, which is the mark of the royal court's carriage, and the horses are all horses that are one out of a thousand. In the days when Tie Huan came to the royal capital, except for Xun Zhou, the other cabinets did not come to visit him, and the royal court did not recruit him into the palace. After Zhuo Xuan came by car, he apologized for this somewhat negligent behavior, in addition to the special car, he also prepared plenty of wine, food and various daily necessities in the car, and the sitting and sleeping utensils were all at the VIP level of the kingdom, and specially selected two guards from the Wangdu Military Guard Regiment to escort Tie Huan all the way home.

There was no need to refuse the royal court in such a matter, and although it was not necessary, Tie Huan accepted it in full and expressed his gratitude to His Majesty Long Jun and the cabinet ministers on behalf of Kongoji Temple.

Halfway through the Dragon Hour, the carriage of the Rite Pavilion rushed up the Dragon Avenue, passed through the official road, and turned into the Virtuous King Road on the periphery of the Fuyun Forest in the temple area.

What happened in the more than ten days spent in the royal capital was something that Tie Huan didn't expect when he came. Yesterday afternoon, he went to the Qunying Palace to say goodbye to Mu Rong and Qin Shuo, leaving the dragon would have made him feel relaxed and happy, but now that he had the mission repeatedly entrusted by the Qin family, he felt a little heavy.

This carriage in the Pavilion is different from ordinary carriages and is specially custom-made. There are three compartments in the carriage, the first of which is reserved for the guards. The second compartment is the largest, dedicated to VIPs, specially prepared for a writing desk, the road of the King of Virtue is very smooth, and the wheels of the carriage are also specially made to ensure that there will not be many bumps along the way, and VIPs will feel more comfortable in the car whether they are writing or reading. The third compartment is a small storage compartment for some necessities.

Tie Huan left the window open for a short time and looked at the scenery outside.

After leaving the dragon, the path of the virtuous king will turn into the territory of the Golden Horse Province, and before that, it will form two branches, one of which will go north and lead to the Golden Fort after passing through the Shoal Fort, and the other will pass through Changqiu Town and then enter the Hundred Flowers Province in the south. After coming out of the Floating Cloud Forest, the path of the virtuous king is flanked by empty plains, and a river flows out of the province of hundred flowers, crosses diagonally across the plains, flows to the shoal fort, and then flows into the Immaculate Sea. The river is not deep, the water quality is very good, and when you stand on the holy mountain, it looks like a shining ribbon, and it is called the Jintai River. The area where the Kintai River flows before it enters the sea forms large and small shoals, and the towns built in that area are named "shoal forts".

Due to the existence of the Kintai River, several bridges have been built in this area of Shoal Fort, but these bridges are not too long because the river is not wide. Tie Huan remembers that when he came, the last bridge was called the Fishing Bridge, and there was no one fishing on the bridge, and the fishermen were sitting on the riverside on both sides of the bridge. On his return trip, the fishing bridge became the first bridge he crossed.

He saw the fishing bridge in the distance through the car window, and a dozen or so people were sitting on both sides of the river leisurely fishing, and some places on the surface of the river had formed ice cubes. When the carriage came up to the bridge, he saw a tall man with a hat standing up and seemed to be running towards the carriage, and then the carriage suddenly slowed down and finally stopped.

The shouts of the guards were heard. "Who are you, and what are you going to do when you stop the car?"

Tie Huan got up, walked to the first compartment, and saw the man. The brim of the man's hat was pressed low, and his head was lowered, and although he was unusually tall, he could only see the weed-like beard on his chin, which had obviously not been trimmed for a while, and he was wearing a sackcloth tunic common to the poor, which was not tattered, but had not been washed for a long time, and was stained everywhere. This person wears very little in the cold weather, but his skin is very ruddy, and he doesn't seem to be afraid of the cold at all.

The man stood in front of the carriage and said in a low voice, "May I ask my lord, is there a great elder of the King Kong Temple in the car?"

The guard snorted coldly: "Who is in the car, what does it have to do with you? Get out of the way, don't get in the way!"

The man didn't look like he was going to give way at all, "My lord, I just want to know if there is the Great Elder of Kongo Temple in the car." ”

The coachman scolded impatiently: "What are you, you dare to stop the royal court's car? The lord told you to let you not let you! You are such a cheap bone, you don't know how powerful you don't know if you don't whip a few whips!"

The man did not dodge, but as soon as he stretched out his hand, he grabbed the whip and pulled it so hard that the coachman was almost taken off the driver's seat, and the whip came off his hand, and the coachman clung to the reins so that he did not fall.

When the fishermen on the side of the bridge saw this scene, many people ran over to watch.

The two guards were furious, jumped out of the carriage, drew their long swords from their waists, and surrounded the man, one left and one right.

Only then did Tie Huan speak: "Two adults, don't do it yet, let me ask." He jumped out of the carriage and walked over to the man.

Walking in front of him, Tie Huan found that the man was more than half a head taller than him, strong and strong, so he said to him: "I am Tie Huan of King Kong Temple, what are you looking for me?"

The man suddenly knelt down on his right knee and saluted: "The villain is willing to become a disciple of the King Kong Temple, please take it in by the Great Elder." ”

When the guard heard this, he scolded: "You are full of food and have made a special trip to find trouble!" Just as he was about to make a move, Tie Huan hurriedly stopped: "This is not far from the Iron Fist Temple, why don't you go there nearby, and you have to be a disciple of the King Kong Temple?"

The man was still kneeling, bowed his head and said, "The villain doesn't dare to lie in front of the Great Elder, the villain used to be a disciple of the Iron Fist Temple, but he was kicked out because he violated the temple rules. Now the villain is willing to follow the Great Elder and enter the temple to practice again!"

The guard shouted, "If you can do it once, you can do it again!" Take off your hat and let the Great Elder see how unsightly you are!"

The man hesitated, not moving, and Tie Huan clearly saw his shoulders tremble.

The guard scolded angrily: "Cheap bones, I have to do it!" With a wave of the long sword, he picked the hat to the ground.

The man's head hung lower, and the guard stretched out his long sword, put it on his chin, and said, "Raise your head!"

He finally raised his head, his eyelids still drooping, and looked at the ground, and the coachman and the guard were surprised when they saw the face.

"You, you are ......" A guard looked at him in disbelief, and the man waved his hand and said, "My lord, please don't mention that name!" That person is dead, and now I am a person without a name, if the Great Elder is willing to accept me, please ask the Great Elder to give me a name. ”

Tie Huan said to the guard, "Do you recognize him?"

"Recognize, we recognize it at a glance. The guard hesitated for a moment before leaning close to Tie Huan's ear and whispering a word.

"I see. Tie Huan nodded, "You get up, get in the car, and I'll take you to Golden Castle." ”

The onlookers began to talk to each other, and the man turned his back to them, and they couldn't see his face clearly, but no one dared to rush up to see what was going on.

The man showed gratitude, knelt down on both knees, bowed to Tie Huan three times, and followed into the carriage.

"Sit and say. Tie Hwan entered the second compartment and closed the window.

The man sat down, and even when he sat he was a giant. Tie Huan stared at him and said, "I've heard your name, and although you don't want to mention it now, that duel made me remember you." ”

With a pained expression on the man's face, Tie Huan said, "That's not a shame. Fame is all illusory, and if you care about fame like this, you can't become a real monk. ”

The carriage gradually moved away from the fishing bridge, and Tie Huan's voice became stern: "Hold your chest up!"

The man straightened his back and raised his head.

"Keep your eyes open and look at me. "Then tell me who you are, say your name, tell me how people call you." ”

When the man opened his eyes, the expression on his face became complicated, with pain, shame, and anger all in it.

"I'm Xin Gang, the dueling king of Dragon City!"

Tie Huan nodded, expressing satisfaction: "You are, you are still the king of dueling." There are no undefeated fighters in the dueling arena, and there is really no difference between losing and winning. Your ** can be knocked down, you can be abandoned and ridiculed, it's not terrible. It is important that your will cannot be broken. As long as you agree to the request I have made to you, you can become a disciple of Kongoji Temple. ”

"Great Elder, please speak!"

"First, completely erase the victory, defeat, and reputation from your heart. Second, be in control of yourself at all times. Third, strictly abide by the temple rules of our temple. As long as you do these three points and return to the Golden Castle, you can hold the temple entrance ceremony. ”

Self-control is one of the most important qualities of a boxer. A boxer who is out of control will only become an easier source of qi to find.

"My god is above, Xin Gang hereby made an oath that I will follow the teachings of the Great Elder, never again fight for victory or defeat, abide by all the rules and regulations of my Vajra Temple, and never violate them. If I break my oath, I will become an Immortal and fall into the lower realms!"

"Well, I testify for you before my God, and have heard your oath, and will oversee your future deeds. ”

While the two were talking, there was a knock on the door of the cubicle, and the guard asked outside, "Great Elder, do you hear me?"

Tie Huan responded: "My lord, please speak." ”

"Great Elder, when we left the Great Dragon Avenue, a carriage came after us, keeping a distance from us all the way. When we stopped at the fishing bridge just now, the carriage didn't follow, and we thought it had changed course, but now we see it again. ”

"When we stopped at the fishing bridge, it looked like it was parked as well. ”

"Great Elder, we suspect it's tracking. ”

"My lord, there is a shoal fort not far ahead, and when we get there, we will stop, and we will know whether the car behind us is following us or not. ”

"Then I'll talk to the coachman. ”

Along the way, the carriage of the Rite Pavilion drove over two bridges, and the snow-covered walls of the Shoal Fort were already visible, and the coachman shouted: "My lords, we will be here soon." ”

Fort Shoals is more of a fortress than a town. The barbarians of the north are a constant threat, and although the province of Golden Horse stands in the way of the dragons, the kingdom still needs a barrier to keep the royal capital safe. More than 500 years ago, the fortress was completed and has been standing at the throat of the Virtuous King's Road, and anyone who comes from the Golden Horse must pass through the shoal fort before continuing south.

Strictly speaking, the Path of the Virtuous King does not pass through the Shoal Fort, but passes over its edge. A long stone wall was built outside the walls of the fortress, and at the end of the stone wall was a tall sentry guard, which was manned all year round, and beyond it was a forest and a hill that stretched to the city. A heavy iron gate is designed on the stone wall, and there is a winch switch on this side of the city wall to control the lifting of the iron gate. This is a precautionary measure for a possible crisis, and the iron gate is usually open, after all, this is a traffic artery, and there are many business travelers coming and going.

This design was mainly intended to protect the integrity of the fortress. After all, the Shoal Fort is located on a traffic artery, and if the vehicles and horses passing through the walls of the Shoal Fort are all passing through the walls of the Shoal Fort, then the defensive significance of the Shoal Fort will be greatly reduced.

The carriage of the Pavilion did not pass directly through the stone wall, but turned to the road leading to the gate of the city wall, and the guards of the Shoal Fort saw clearly that it was a carriage from the royal court, and immediately opened the gate and let the carriage enter.

The interior of the shoal fort is very different from the usual towns, there are few pure wooden buildings, and most of them are made of stone, which is to prevent fires. The main passage stretches from the city gate to a tall stone tower, and on both sides are rows of neat and low bungalows, with signboards of stables, taverns, blacksmiths, tailors, and pharmacies concentrated on both sides of the gate, and most of the bungalows behind are the houses of the servants. The fort usually had around 20,000 garrisons, but it has increased recently, so a large number of mercenaries are needed.

Tie Huan didn't plan to stay here for long, he opened the car window and observed the movement on the path of King Xian.

The carriage that followed him soon came into his eyes, and the blue carriage, with ordinary decoration, did not slow down, and passed directly through the gate of the stone wall.