Night Wander

Zhang Ying was gone.

An Jing blinked, staring at the small room, at his roommate, friend, and follower on his left.

The hunter boy was not in his bed.

His bed was incredibly neat, neat to the point of being unnatural; both the pillow and the blanket were folded so flat they looked like blocks of tofu.

An Jing knew for a fact that Zhang Ying hadn't folded this himself, because that silly kid didn't know how to fold a quilt. He had taught him several times, yet it always ended up looking like a dog's breakfast.

"How is Zhang Ying gone?!"

An hour later, when Cang Linzu woke up and discovered this, he couldn't help but exclaim.

He and Zhang Ying were the best of friends. One was a hunter, the other from a martial arts family; both had practiced martial arts since they were young and were interested in hunting, fighting, and weapons. Although Zhang Ying wasn't as strong as him, he wasn't far behind, especially in archery, where he was arguably the best among all the children, allowing them to learn from each other.

The two of them usually followed behind An Jing, practically inseparable.

"Did he run off somewhere and get locked in solitary confinement?"

Zhan Feng muttered. Although most of the children in Xuanming Manor were more mature than their peers due to their backgrounds as refugees, once they were in a safe environment, some of the naturally mischievous ones would revert to their old ways, running around and getting punished with solitary confinement, even missing dinner.

Zhan Feng cared most about food. Although he was big, he never took risks. Zhang Ying was the opposite; if An Jing hadn't stopped him several times, that kid would definitely have been running all over the place.

"Let's go ask the instructors," Ye Xiuyuan said softly. He was one of the smartest among all the children. He tilted his head slightly to look at An Jing and noticed that the leader of Dormitory A was expressionless, lost in thought, and he already had some ideas in his mind: "Perhaps... he just left."

Left? Could it be... that he was eliminated?

Had the second round of eliminations begun?

A possibility welled up in everyone's hearts, but no one dared to say it out loud. It wasn't until they had searched the entire dormitory and the training grounds without finding a trace of Zhang Ying that everyone had to admit the truth.

Like the apprentices who had left before, Zhang Ying had been eliminated.

He wasn't the only one eliminated, either.

Twenty-seven people were eliminated this time. The number wasn't large, and it included those who performed well and those who performed averagely; the specific criteria remained a mystery.

Before dinner, just like last time, an instructor announced the news to everyone.

"I expected as much."

Ye Xiuyuan sighed. He said he had known the result would be like this, but he had thought he might leave before Zhang Ying; he hadn't expected the hunter boy to be the first to head down the mountain.

"I think I can still be an accountant."

After dinner, during the evening training at the martial arts field, he said to An Jing and the others, frankly speaking his truth: "I'm not suited for martial arts. The recent training has already made me feel overwhelmed. Perhaps one day, I will head down the mountain too."

"I might too," Gu Yeqi sighed. There were a few fewer people in the girls' dormitory as well, including a little sister who had come with her from the refugee camp in Mingshan City. With one less person to talk to, she felt very lonely.

Not to mention, although Gu Yeqi could still handle the current training load, she felt it becoming increasingly difficult, which made her feel anxious, as if she might not be able to keep up with An Jing.

"Zhang Ying just didn't train properly! I told him, martial arts requires practice, not just real combat!"

Cang Linzu was sullen, kicking the dirt under his feet: "Everyone is thinking about leaving. I, for one, hope to stay as long as possible—they always teach real skills. The more we learn, the more we have to rely on after we go down the mountain."

"Besides, it will definitely be harder to get meat once we're down the mountain. Zhang Ying will regret this!"

Having lost a playmate, he could only put on a brave front.

"To be fair," Zhan Feng smacked his lips, savoring the aftertaste of dinner, and said lazily: "That's true."

Ye Xiuyuan and An Jing shook their heads together. He turned to look at An Jing, and the frail-looking youth said with emotion: "Perhaps only Brother An can reach the peak... I hope you won't forget us when that time comes."

"How could I?" An Jing said in a deep voice: "We escaped the Frost Calamity together, trained together for so long, and lived in the same dormitory. We are all brothers; how could I forget?"

In his heart, he actually had many doubts. For instance, Manor Master Yao had been absent all day, and many of the instructors were also missing. Could they all have gone to escort the children down the mountain?

Even he had woken up an hour late; had Zhang Ying been woken up and taken away in the middle of the night? Would he have been so quiet and left without saying goodbye? These were all unknown.

Moreover, today, he hadn't heard the sound of carts going up and down the mountain, nor had he seen any tracks of carts entering or leaving.

Were the eliminated children still inside the manor?

However, these doubts had to be suppressed.

"I've been planning to do this for a while. Manor Master Yao and most of the instructors are away today... I won't sleep tonight; I'll look around the manor. Perhaps I can find those who were eliminated."

An Jing had already made up his mind, but he had to reassure the others: "Everyone, get some sleep early tonight. The better you sleep, the better your energy, and the better your training results will be. That way, none of you will be eliminated."

"Brother An is always so calm... perhaps a bit too calm."

Ye Xiuyuan smiled, his eyes always carrying a hint of melancholy.

After all, a scholar from a well-off family whose life goal was to pass the imperial examinations and enter the capital had been reduced to this state due to natural disasters. With the imperial examinations no longer an option, the best he could hope for in the future was to be an accountant or a manager. Even if he had accepted his fate, he couldn't truly let it go.

"How can I be your senior brother if I'm not calm?"

Unable to stand this attitude of accepting elimination, An Jing gave him a slap on the back of the head: "You're only a kid, why are you so sentimental? It's not like we won't see each other again. What do you mean you're not suited for martial arts? You just haven't practiced enough. Add two more leg-training exercises tomorrow!"

"Eh?!" Hearing this, even someone with Ye Xiuyuan's temperament grew anxious: "Leg training? Two more exercises? That will kill me, Brother! I don't want my legs to be shaking when I wake up the next day!"

"You talk too much, make it three!"

Under An Jing's forceful suppression, time quickly reached the night.

After everyone else was asleep, An Jing, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

There were no instructors patrolling outside today, making it the perfect time for a night excursion.

An Jing walked out of the dormitory silently. With a few leaps, he climbed onto the roof of the dormitory, then made his way to the wall to observe the terrain of the entire manor.

Living in Xuanming Manor in the past, he hadn't noticed it, but now, looking down from a height, he could see that Xuanming Manor was situated between two mountains. The terrain was peculiar. Viewed through the memories of his past life, it seemed to be a unique geomantic formation called 'Twin Dragons Playing with a Pearl', and the manor was the pearl being played with by the dragons of the two mountains, gathering the essence of the surrounding mountain ranges.

Centered on the area where the children lived, there were layers of defensive towers that guarded Xuanming Manor tightly. The entire manor was less like a common estate and more like a small fortress.