Chapter 5: Hanging Fate Manor

  I’m the oh the best aptitude among this group?

  Raising his eyebrows, An Jing looked around and found that it seemed to be true.

  Stretg acrhly two hundred feet in front of the manor y areeless space—likely inteo guard against wild beasts or malevolent creatures lurking in the mountains. It could also prevent anyone inside from esg too easily.

  Within that clearing stood some twenty or thirty wagons. Farther along in the forest, more wagons from the rge voy were arriving. Indeed, An Jing’s group had only just reached this pce.

  And he was the first to step off any of the wagons.

  “The others are still dazed and unfortable, and they’re probably afraid. It’s normal that they’d hesitate before ing down into a pletely strange, distant, and enclosed enviro,” he thought.

  But then he decided not to keep a low profile.

  “Thank you for the pliment, Sir.”

  He surveyed the manor openly while aowledging the one-eyed rider’s praise. “So this is where we’re supposed to live from now on?”

  The manor, deep in these uninhabited mountains, gave off an eerie feeling. It stood tall amid the surrounding forest and steep ridges, exuding a strange dissonance. Yet the sensation was ly sinister; rather, it was an intimidating grandeur—like standing on the edge of a sheer cliff, peering into the abyss below. Even if there were no ghosts or monsters, one could not help feeling fear.

  An Jing narrowed his eyes and realized that the source of this grim aura stemmed from the pque mounted above the manate:

  Hanging Fate Manor (悬命庄)

  The bold calligraphy radiated a faint but soul-shaking energy.

  “Man is born of the earth but his fate is suspended from the heavens. When heaven ah uheir essehat essence is called ‘man’…”

  A tide of thoughts rose in An Jing’s mind. He murmured quietly, “A person’s fate is given by the heavens, he hangs above…”

  “Heh, so he’s a reader, I see.”

  Notig that An Jing appeared fasated by the manor, the one-eyed leader seemed pleased. He felt as though he’d discovered a treasure.

  This time, during the Frost Camity in the Northern Frohey had dispatched nine separate teams to gather children who met certain requirements—those who had survived the catastrophe.

  Acc to pret, the discoverer of any child who successfully awakened a Heaven-Ordained Fate would earn a substantial reward.

  But such children were extremely rare.

  In past trials, the number of children who truly awakened a Heaven-Ordained Fate seldom exceeded five. The one-eyed leader himself had failed to awaken one ba his own trial.

  Often, a team would collect twenty or thirty children who all met the standard, yet none would awaken a Heaven-Ordained Fate. In that case, besides a routine wage, there would be ra reward for the eeam.

  An Jing seemed different, though.

  He possessed exceptional talent and keen intelligence; he had even bargained with them. To save his mother, he had dared to sell himself, to behead evil refugees for deterrence, and to stand calmly before them.

  He had a sturdy stitution, able to withstand a full quarter-hour of Soul-Calming Inse.

  Now, he was the first to recover from the exhausting journey and the sedative, the first to step into an unknowhout fear, and to look without fling at the two forceful characters—“Hanging Fate”—written by the North Patrol Envoy himself.

  That kind of determination toward himself, a ruthless streak emanating from deep within, coupled with a rare physical aptitude and the audacity to defy fate, gave him a much higher likelihood of awakening a Heaven-Ordained Fate thaher children!

  The one-eyed leader thought bitterly that after so many fruitless expeditions, perhaps luck had finally e his way. At the very least, he had a det ow!

  And if one day that boy attained high status, he might even bee the leader’s superior. Naturally, the man wao treat him well.

  Roughly another quarter-hour passed before other children slowly, hesitantly emerged from the wagons.

  Most of them were timid and cautious. After gng around, they lowered their heads, unwilling to move about freely.

  Standing aside, An Jing calmly ted them. By the time the manor opes gates and several attendants arrived, he had tallied the total. “Two hundred fifty-three…”

  Altogether, they had gathered two hundred fifty-three children during this round.

  A few among them stood out: each was ushered down from a wagon by a group of riders. They wore a uniform style of bck clothing, and these children gave An Jing a distinctly different impression—one of separation from the rest.

  Their status inly higher than that of the riders. Even the one-eyed leader and other voy heads treated them with respect.

  “They’ve already awakeheir Heaven-Ordained Fate?” An Jing specuted. Just then, the great doors of the manor swung open.

  “Deputy Medie Envoy!”

  The person eared was the master of the manor, an old man addressed as the Deputy Medie Envoy.

  He stood ramrod straight despite his pallid plexion and icy gaze. His appearance had the gaunt, withered look of someohe end of life. His white hair glowed faintly green at the tips, the same haunting color that flickered deep in his pupils. A single gnce from him sent a chill through every perso.

  All the voy leaders bowed respectfully, then stepped forward to report the rosters and other matters.

  Ohe Deputy Medie Envoy firmed the numbers, he nodded in satisfa. Lifting his gaze, he swept it over the gathered children.

  Immediately, a strange dread fell upon them, akin to entering a vividly colored venomous creature. Any careless movement, and that creature might pounce. Cold sweat beaded on many brows as they held their breath.

  Yet the old man did not seem i htening them. Quite the opposite—he even forced a smile that could never be called kindly, nodded briefly to the crowd, theured for everyoo file into the manor.

  “First, you’ll wash and put on fresh clothes. Then we’ll take attendand let you eat. Once you’ve recovered, I’ll have people from the medie hall duother examination. After resting a while to firm you all meet the requirements, we’ll begin training aing.”

  Because An Jing had been first off the wagoood at the very front of the group—behind only the five team leaders and the Deputy Medie Envoy. In some sense, he was the “head” of the newers.

  His heightened senses picked up what the Envoy was telling his assistants: an outline ements for them.

  A bath, a ge of clothing, a meal, some rest—and then “training aing.”

  Those steps sounded normal… except for the testing. So this really was some destine anization’s recruitment aion process?

  What exactly would it entail?

  Even as An Jing pohe elderly Envoy abruptly halted and turned around to face him. “This is the oh the best aptitude among them?”

  Startled, An Jing froze a moment before meeting the old man’s gaze. He soon recovered and, without fear, greeted him with a smile. “Greetings, Elder.”

  “Heh.” The old man stared at him, letting out a soft, inscrutable ugh.

  He offered no reply to An Jing’s greeting—only stroked his beard and resumed walking.

  That brief exge made An Jing aware of the many new gazes turned in his dire.

  The other children still had no idea where they were or what awaited them, so it was only natural that they would pay attention to the one singled out as “best in aptitude.”

  They wao see just who was important enough to merit special notice from the master of this manor.

  Indeed, An Jing looked impressive. Though the hardships of his flight from the Frost Camity had left him thin, his skeletal frame was sturdy, holding his posture upright. Seen from behind, he resembled a young, lean tiger or a sleek hunting leopard—worthy of “first pce.”

  However, not all those stares were friendly or merely curious. As everyone knew, once you stood on top, there would always be people eager to take your pce.

  With a sidelong gnce, An Jing caught the hostile or challenging looks from more than a few children.

  “Heh, they’re not all vinced.”

  Sensing all these varied gazes upon him, An Jing raised his brows. He was never one for false humility—merely careful, unwilling to expose himself without reason.

  Before he made a move, he kept a low profile; once he struck, he went all out.

  Now that he had already drawn attention, why not cim the title? Especially since being the top might bring advantages in the uping training and trials.

  He would take things oep at a time and see how it went.

  (End of Chapter)