Destiny is ashes

Chapter 5: Xuanming Manor

Am I the best one among this group of people?
Raising his eyebrows, An Jing looked around and found that it was true.

There is a treeless open space of about two hundred feet in front of the manor. It is probably set up to prevent the invasion of wild beasts and evil creatures in the mountains, and also to prevent the people in the manor from escaping.

There were twenty or thirty cars parked in the open space, and many more cars were approaching in the forest. It was the large convoy that he was in.

And he was the first person to get off the car.

"Everyone else was still dizzy and feeling unwell, and they were afraid of coming to a completely unfamiliar, remote and closed environment. It was normal for them to hesitate and not dare to get off the bus."

An Jing thought so, but he did not keep a low profile afterwards.

"Thank you for the compliment, sir."

He looked at the manor in front of him openly and responded to the one-eyed rider's praise: "Is this where we will live from now on?"

The manor located in the uninhabited mountains gives people a creepy feeling. It stands tall among the forests and mountains. The weirdness that makes it out of place is not weird and gloomy, but a kind of grand intimidation.

It's like looking down at the abyss below from a steep and dangerous cliff. Even if there are no ghosts, people will still feel afraid.

But when An Jing narrowed his eyes slightly, he discovered that the source of this eerie feeling came from the plaque on the manor door.

【Xuanmingzhuang】

The words on the plaque are vigorous and powerful, revealing a soul-stirring and shocking aura.

"Humans are born on earth, their lives depend on heaven. When heaven and earth combine their energy, they are called human beings..."

A lot of information emerged in his mind, and An Jing whispered to himself: "Destiny is given by God, so it hangs in the sky..."

"Hey, you're really a bookworm."

Looking at An Jing who seemed to be attracted by the manor, the one-eyed leader was in a good mood at the moment and felt that he had picked up a treasure.

During this frost disaster in the northern border, they dispatched a total of nine groups of people to various places to collect children who met the requirements and were affected by the disaster.

According to convention, the person who discovers every child who eventually awakens his or her destiny will receive a huge reward.

But there are very few children who can awaken their destiny.

Throughout the trials, the number of children who were able to awaken their destiny was no more than one handful, and he himself was also a loser in the trials that year.

There was often a team that collected twenty or thirty children who met the requirements, but none of them could awaken their destiny. Apart from the usual salary, the entire team received no additional rewards.

But An Jing is different.

He was extremely talented, intelligent, and had the guts to bargain with them.

In order to save his mother, he dared to sell himself and kill evil people, using human heads to intimidate others.

His body was strong enough to withstand the soul-soothing incense for a full quarter of an hour.

Now, An Jing was the first one to withstand the bumps and the effects of the drugs, overcome the fear of coming to a strange place, dared to be the first to step out of the carriage, and looked fearlessly at the words "hanging life" written by the Northern Inspector.

This kind of ruthlessness towards oneself, the ruthlessness and cruelty from the heart, the gifted body, and the courage to fight for life against the sky, the possibility of awakening destiny is much greater than that of other children!
The one-eyed leader felt that after so many years of bad luck, at least he had a safe bet this time!

Not to mention, the other party might become his superior in the future, so naturally he should have a better attitude.

About half a quarter of an hour later, other children began to get out of the car one after another.

Most of them were reserved and cautious. After looking around nervously, they lowered their heads and looked at their feet, not daring to move.

An Jing counted calmly on the side. After everyone had gathered and before the manor opened the door, he got a number: "Two hundred and fifty-three people..."

There were 253 children in this group. Some of them were special and were escorted off the bus by a team of riders. They wore uniform black clothes and gave An Jing a special feeling, alienated from other ordinary children.

Their status was obviously higher than those riders, and even the leader like the one-eyed rider was quite respectful to them.

"Have they awakened their destiny?" An Jing guessed in his heart, and the gate of the manor opened.

"Deputy Medicine Envoy!"

The person who came was the owner of the manor, an old man known as the Deputy Medicine Envoy.

He stood straight, his face was pale, his eyes were cold, and his appearance had the haggard and thin look of a dying man. The ends of his white hair were glowing with a faint green light, exactly the same as the light deep in his pupils. A casual glance at him was enough to make people feel cold all over.

All the team leaders saluted him respectfully, then stepped forward to report the list and other miscellaneous matters.

After Deputy Medicine confirmed the list, he nodded with satisfaction. He raised his eyes and glanced at the child in front of him.

All of a sudden, all the children felt a sense of fear in their hearts. This fear was similar to seeing some colorful poisonous creature. If they moved randomly, they would be pounced into the arms of the poisonous creature. They immediately broke out in sweat and dared not breathe.

But this was just an instinctive deterrent, and Deputy Envoy Yao had no intention of scare anyone.

On the contrary, he even forced out a smile that had nothing to do with kindness, nodded to everyone, and then waved his hand, asking everyone to enter the village.

"Wash first, change clothes, and have dinner after roll call. After everyone has recovered, I will have the people in the medicine hall check everyone again... Recuperate for a while, and make sure everyone meets the requirements before starting training and trials."

Because An Jing was the first to get off the carriage, he stood at the front of the queue, just behind the five leading riders and the deputy envoy of medicine, and was considered the "leader" in a sense.

Therefore, his overly keen perception allowed him to hear what the Deputy Medicine Envoy said to his servants not far away, as well as the arrangements he made for himself and others.

Take a bath, change clothes, eat and rest...then it's time for the training test.

Everything was normal before, the trial... As expected, this is the process of selecting members for a mysterious organization?

But what does it mean specifically?
While An Jing was thinking, suddenly, the deputy medicine envoy in the front stopped suddenly, then turned his head and looked at An Jing: "Is this the one with the best qualifications among this group of disciples?"

An Jing was a little slow to react, staring at the old man in shock, but soon, he was no longer afraid and responded with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Yao."

"Heh." The old man stared at An Jing and let out an ambiguous laugh.

Deputy Envoy Yao did not respond to An Jing's greeting until the end. He just stroked his beard and continued walking forward.

After this episode, An Jing noticed that there were many more eyes on him from behind.

Those children had no idea where they were or what they were going to encounter, so they naturally subconsciously paid attention to An Jing, who was the "best qualified".

They wanted to see who was actually receiving special attention from the owner of the manor.

An Jing's appearance is indeed good. Although he is too thin due to a long period of fleeing from disasters, he has a very good skeleton that supports his body shape. At a glance from behind, he looks like a young skinny tiger or an agile cheetah, and he deserves the title of No. 1.

But it's not all good intentions or observations - as we all know, as long as you are number one, whether it is true or not, there will always be someone who wants to take your place.

An Jing glanced out of the corner of his eye and noticed that several gazes were full of hostility or even a desire to challenge him.

"Hey, there are always people who are dissatisfied."

Feeling the convergence of many different gazes, An Jing raised his brows. His original character had nothing to do with humility. At most, he was cautious and unwilling to expose himself for false reputation.

He will hide himself before he makes a move, and then go all out after he makes a move.

Since he had already been exposed, why didn't he want the false reputation? Moreover, if he came first in the subsequent training trials, there might be many additional benefits.

Just do it as you go.

(End of this chapter)