The Manor of Hanging Fate

I was the most capable one among this batch?

Raising an eyebrow, An Jing looked around and found that, sure enough, it was true.

A stretch of treeless ground, about two hundred feet wide, lay before the manor. It was probably there to keep wild beasts and evil things from the mountains out—and to stop the manor's residents from escaping.

Two or three dozen carriages stood on the open ground. Many more were approaching through the woods: the very convoy An Jing had been part of.

And he was the first person from any of the carriages to get down.

"The others are still dizzy and feeling unwell. They're also frightened by this completely unfamiliar, distant, and isolated place. It's only natural that they'd hesitate to get out."

That was what An Jing thought, but he didn't keep a low profile afterward.

"Thank you for the praise, my lord."

He openly surveyed the manor before him and answered the one-eyed rider's compliment. "Is this where we'll be staying?"

The manor, hidden among uninhabited mountains, had a forbidding air. It stood tall amid forests and ridges, its incongruity creating not an eerie gloom but a stately menace.

It was like looking down into an abyss from a steep, sheer cliff. Even without a single ghost or monster in sight, anyone would feel afraid.

But when An Jing narrowed his eyes, he realized the source of that forbidding feeling was the plaque above the manor gate.

[Xuanming Manor]

The characters on the plaque were bold and powerful, faintly revealing a soul-shaking Divine Intent that stirred the heart.

"Man is born of the earth, his life hangs from Heaven; when Heaven and Earth unite their energies, they call him man..."

A wealth of information welled up in his mind. An Jing murmured, "Fate is bestowed by Heaven, and so it hangs from Heaven..."

"Ha, you really are a scholar."

Seeing An Jing seemingly captivated by the manor, the one-eyed leader was in high spirits. He felt like he'd struck gold.

For this Frost Calamity in the Northern Frontier, they had dispatched nine teams to gather disaster-stricken children who met the requirements from various locations.

By custom, whoever discovered a child who eventually awakened a Fate Grid would receive a generous reward.

But there were very few children who could awaken a Fate Grid.

In every round of trials, no more than a handful of children had ever awakened one. He himself had failed the trials back in the day.

It was common for a team to gather twenty or thirty suitable children and not find a single one who could awaken a Fate Grid. Aside from their regular pay, the entire team would receive no extra reward.

But An Jing was different.

His talent was exceptional, his mind sharp, and he dared to bargain with them.

For his mother's sake, he dared to sell himself into servitude. He also dared to kill wicked men, using their heads to cow others.

His body was resilient; he had endured a full quarter hour of Soul-Calming Incense.

Now, An Jing had been the first to overcome the jolting and the drug's effects, as well as the fear of arriving somewhere unfamiliar. He had dared to be the first to step out of the carriage and had faced the words "Hanging Fate," written in the Northern Patrol Envoy's own hand, without fear.

That ruthless streak deep in his bones, the merciless cruelty that came from the heart, a body blessed with extraordinary talent, and the spirit to fight Heaven for his fate—all made him far more likely than the other children to awaken a Fate Grid!

The one-eyed leader felt that after years of bad luck, he finally had a sure thing this time!

Not to mention, An Jing might well become his superior one day, so it made sense to treat him a little better.

About another quarter hour passed before the other children began climbing out of the carriages, one by one.

Most were timid and cautious. After nervously looking around, they lowered their eyes to the ground and didn't dare move.

An Jing calmly counted them from the side. By the time everyone had gathered and someone came from inside the manor to open the gate, he had a number: "Two hundred and fifty-three..."

There were two hundred and fifty-three children in this group.

A few of them were different. They were "escorted" out of their carriages by a team of riders, and wore matching black outfits. An Jing sensed something unusual about them, as though they stood apart from the ordinary children.

Their status was clearly higher than that of the riders, too. Even the one-eyed rider, who led the team, treated them with considerable respect.

Have they already awakened a Fate Grid? An Jing wondered, just as the manor gates opened.

"Vice Envoy Yao!"

The person who had arrived was the Manor Master, an old man known as Vice Envoy Yao.

He stood ramrod straight, his face pale and his eyes cold. He had the gaunt, withered look peculiar to those close to death. The ends of his white hair glimmered a dim green, the same light that shone deep in his eyes. Even a casual glance from him made one's whole body turn cold.

All the team leaders respectfully saluted him, then stepped forward to report their lists and other sundry matters.

After checking the lists, Vice Envoy Yao nodded in satisfaction and raised his eyes to scan the children before him.

At once, every child felt afraid. It was the sort of fear one felt upon seeing a brightly colored poisonous creature: the slightest movement, and it would spring into your arms. The children were soon drenched in sweat, not daring to breathe.

But this was only an instinctive show of power. Vice Envoy Yao had no intention of frightening anyone.

On the contrary, he even forced a smile that had nothing remotely kind about it. After nodding at everyone, he waved them into the manor.

"Wash up first, then change clothes. We'll call the roll and serve a meal. Once everyone has recovered, I'll have the people from the Medicine Hall examine you all again... After you've rested for a while and we're sure you meet the requirements, we'll begin training and trials."

Since An Jing had been the first out of the carriage, he stood at the very front of the line, behind only the five rider-leaders and Vice Envoy Yao. In a sense, he was the "leader" of the group.

His unusually sharp senses let him hear Vice Envoy Yao giving orders to his subordinates nearby, as well as the arrangements he had made for them.

Wash, change clothes, eat, rest... then training and trials.

The first few things were all normal. Trials... So this really was the process for a mysterious organization to select its members?

But what exactly did that mean?

As An Jing pondered, Vice Envoy Yao at the very front suddenly stopped and turned to look at him. "Is this the most talented child in this batch?"

An Jing was caught off guard and stared blankly at the old man. But he quickly regained his composure and replied with a smile, unafraid, "Greetings, Elder Yao."

"Heh." The old man stared at An Jing and let out a laugh that was impossible to read.

Vice Envoy Yao never responded to An Jing's greeting. He merely stroked his beard and continued walking.

After this brief exchange, An Jing noticed many more eyes on his back.

The children had no idea where they were or what awaited them, so naturally they turned their attention to the "most talented" An Jing.

They wanted to see who it was that had caught the Manor Master's special attention.

An Jing did look quite good. Though he was painfully thin from a long life fleeing disaster, his frame was excellent and gave his body a sturdy shape. From behind, he looked like a young, lean tiger—or perhaps a nimble leopard. He deserved the title of first.

But not every gaze was friendly or merely curious. Everyone knew that once you became the first, whether you deserved it or not, someone would always want to take your place.

An Jing glanced around from the corner of his eye and spotted several people looking at him with hostility or a desire to challenge him.

"Ha, there are always people who refuse to accept it."

Feeling the many different gazes converging on him, An Jing raised his eyebrows. His nature had never been especially humble; at most, he was cautious and didn't want to expose himself for the sake of an empty reputation.

Before striking, he concealed himself. Once he struck, he gave it everything he had.

Now that he was already exposed, why not claim the reputation too? Besides, if he came first in the training and trials to come, perhaps he'd receive plenty of extra benefits.

He'd take things as they came.