Destiny in Cinders

Zhang Ying was missing.

An Jing blinked, looking left into his roommate's small room, but the young hunter, who was both his friend and follower, was not there. His bedding was impeccably neat; the pillows and blankets were folded into perfect, tofu-like blocks. But An Jing knew Zhang Ying couldn't have folded it himself. The boy simply didn't have the knack for it. No matter how many times An Jing taught him, the result always resembled a rumpled mess a dog had slept in.

"Where's Zhang Ying?" Cang Linzu awoke two hours later and was instantly surprised by what he found.

He got along best with Zhang Ying. They connected over their shared background. One was a hunter, and the other from a martial clan. Both trained in martial techniques since childhood and were passionate about hunting, combat, and weapons. Zhang Ying wasn't quite as strong, but he held his own. He was the group's best archer, so they could learn from each other. The two were usually attached at the hip, following An Jing everywhere.

"Do you think he ran around and got locked up?" Zhan Feng muttered to himself.

The children in Direlife Manor were more mature after living as refugees, but for some, the safe environment brought out their mischievous side. Those who ran wild were confined and denied dinner.

Despite his sturdy build, Zhan Feng cared only about eating and never took risks. Zhang Ying was the complete opposite. Without An Jing's frequent intervention, the boy would surely have run off everywhere.

"Let's ask the instructors," Ye Xiuyuan said softly. As one of the brightest children there, he subtly glanced at An Jing and immediately noticed their dormitory leader's blank expression as he drifted into thought. An idea was already taking shape in his mind.

"Perhaps he just... left," he said.

Left? Was he eliminated? Has the second round of eliminations begun?

A shared suspicion lingered in the air, but no one had the courage to say it out loud. After combing through every inch of the dormitories and training ground and failing to find Zhang Ying, they were forced to confront the truth. Zhang Ying, like all the disciples who left before him, had been eliminated. And he wasn't the only one.

Twenty-seven people were eliminated this round, which wasn't many. With strong performers eliminated alongside average ones, the specific criteria remained a mystery. Just like before, an instructor made the announcement before dinner.

"I figured as much." Ye Xiuyuan sighed. Although he saw this coming, he expected to be eliminated before Zhang Ying. He was surprised the young hunter was sent down the mountain first.

"I think I can still be a bookkeeper," he said frankly to An Jing and the others after dinner, during their training session. "I’ve realized martial techniques aren't for me. The lack of strength I’m feeling in training lately means I’ll probably have to leave the mountain at some point."

"Me too, probably." Gu Yeqi sighed. Several girls were missing from their dormitory including a close friend who had also come from the refugee camp outside Brightmont. Gu Yeqi felt lonely with one less companion. While she could manage the current training load, she also found it increasingly taxing. This worried her, as she feared she might not be able to keep up with An Jing's progress.

"Zhang Ying just won't train properly! I told him that martial training is all about practice, not combat!" Visibly sulking, Cang Linzu kicked the dirt beneath his feet. "Everyone's itching to leave, but I'm happy to stay as long as I can. They teach real techniques here, and the more we learn now, the better off we'll be when we leave. Meat's going to be a rare treat when we leave. Zhang Ying will regret this!" He acted like he didn't care that his friend was gone.

"It's true," Zhan Feng said as he lazily smacked his lips, savoring the lingering taste of dinner.

Ye Xiuyuan and An Jing both shook their heads. The slender boy then turned to An Jing and said, "Perhaps Brother An will be the only one to reach the top... I hope you won't forget us when you do."

"How could I?" An Jing replied, his voice dropping low. "We escaped the snow calamity together, trained side-by-side for so long, and shared a dormitory. We're family. There's no way I could forget any of you."

His mind was full of questions. The vice apothecary was absent all day, as were many instructors. Had they all left to escort the children down the mountain?

Waking up two hours late was one thing, but was Zhang Ying roused and taken away in the dead of night? Would he really leave so quietly, without a single goodbye? These questions remained unanswered.

Furthermore, he hadn't heard any wagons traveling up or down the mountain, nor seen any sign of them entering or leaving. Were those eliminated still in the manor? He was forced to bury these doubts.

I've been meaning to do this. Since the vice apothecary and most of the instructors aren't around today, I'll stay up tonight and search the manor. Maybe I'll find the children who were eliminated.

An Jing had decided what to do, but he still wanted to reassure the others. "You should all go to bed early tonight. The better you sleep, the more energy you'll have and the better your training results will be. That way, we all get to stay."

"Brother An is ever so calm; perhaps a touch too much." Ye Xiuyuan smiled, but his eyes retained a hint of melancholy.

After all, he used to be a wealthy scholar whose life’s ambition was to pass the imperial examination and enter the capital. A natural disaster had led to his current plight, ending his hopes of taking the imperial examination. At best, he would be a mere bookkeeper now. Even if he accepted his fate, he couldn't truly let go of his past.

"How can I be your senior brother if I'm not calm?" An Jing couldn't stand the pessimistic attitude, so he smacked him on the back of the head and said, "You're too young to be this sentimental. It's not like we'll never see each other again. And what do you mean martial techniques aren't for you? You just haven't practiced enough! Make sure you add two more leg exercises tomorrow!"

"Huh?!" His words managed to make even Ye Xiuyuan, a boy of quiet disposition, anxious. "Two more leg exercises? No way, that'll kill me! I don't want my legs shaking tomorrow morning!"

"You talk too much! You've earned yourself three more!" An Jing's powerful presence bore down on them.

Night arrived quickly. When everyone else had drifted off to sleep, An Jing abruptly opened his eyes. With no instructors patrolling tonight, it was the perfect time to go exploring.

Slipping silently from the dormitory, An Jing vaulted onto the rooftop with a few agile leaps. From there, he scaled the wall, taking in the view of the entire manor's layout. He had never noticed it before while living within the grounds, but his current vantage point revealed the manor's awkward and unusual layout. It was situated precisely between two mountains.

Drawing on past-life memories, he recognized the unusual "twin dragons playing with a pearl" fengshui formation. The manor served as the pearl, nestled between the two mountains—the dragons—effectively gathering the essence of the surrounding landscape. Centered around the children's quarters, Direlife Manor was protected by many defensive towers, making it virtually impenetrable. The place felt less like a manor and more like a small fort.