When An Jing, covered in blood, returned to the rider camp, the surrounding refugees immediately parted in fear. The one-eyed leader and the scholar in white, who had already heard the screams, both revealed appreciative smiles.
"Not bad."
An Jing saw that the scholar, whose eyes were as narrow as a Tibetan fox, had a shrewd light in his gaze as he looked An Jing over: "Your performance is even better than we anticipated."
"Your praise is too kind," An Jing slightly bowed, and with a wave of his hand, the one-eyed leader had two riders take An Jing to change clothes and clean his body in the camp.
Shortly after An Jing, dressed in fresh clothes, returned to the rider camp, the number of children collected matched the requirement, and the riders began calling out to prepare for departure.
It was now the setting sun, the dark sun descending behind the mountains, the light behind the thick, leaden snow clouds grew dimmer, and the whole world was a hazy blue-gray.
An Jing stood on the edge of the path by the refugee camp, turned around, and looked up, seeing an endless white wilderness, immense towering mountains, and a great city stretching from the mountain's foot to its waist, surrounded by long rivers.
The magnificent scenery of the Northern Border was indeed the first in Da Chen, and the grandeur of Ming Mountain City was truly deserving of being the biggest city in the Northern Border.
But now, the Frost Calamity struck.
In An Jing's eyes, the mountains covered by wind and snow, with glimpses here and there, seemed to come alive. The deep shadows of the mountains looked like the body of a Demon God, lifting the heavens above, while its feet tread upon the earth. The city's lights transformed into countless indifferent eyes overlooking all beings.
Looking down, parents who had sold their children waited on either side of the path.
They watched their children with either numbness or tear-filled eyes, saying their final goodbyes.
Having regained some strength after taking medicine and eating, Lady An Shen was there too, waiting for her child.
"Jing'er."
There were no tears in the dry eye sockets, and beyond the path covered with Fei Shuang, Lady An Shen met her child's gaze.
"Survive," she rasped out her final advice. At this moment, no matter how strong An Jing was, he could only force a smile: "Mother, you must survive too."
"If I manage to leave, I will go south, to Linjiang, Beirui, Broken Blade Mountain... Mother, survive and wait for me."
"Wait for my return!"
An Jing boarded the carriage prepared by the riders, giving his mother one last look.
The woman stared at the back of the carriage, her lonely figure disappearing into the swirling snow.
Inside the carriage.
Parted from his mother, even An Jing, who had possessed innate wisdom and maturity beyond his years since childhood, felt sorrowful.
But he took a deep breath and suppressed all his emotions, his eyes turning deep and distant.
His mother was a martial artist and had a full meal. Even if she couldn't sneak into Ming Mountain City, just crossing the Huai River checkpoint and heading south shouldn't be a problem.
Broken Blade Mountain was already quite far, and the surrounding area was rich in resources. Even the frost disaster could not affect it, and there might be some relatives to find for support.
—Huh, is there incense in this carriage? Are these people that wealthy?
Well, they even held free medical clinics for refugees, so they're certainly not lacking in resources...
As his thoughts stretched long, when he snapped back, An Jing realized that this carriage seated eight people, which was more spacious than he imagined.
Scanning around, he saw children about the same age as him, both boys and girls. An Jing also noticed the girl who had severe frostbite but was healed by a physician.
It seemed they were grouped by age.
The children, being newly separated from their parents, should have been noisy, yet they all hung their heads, turned their faces, and remained silent.
After all, they were not ordinary children. They were refugees who had survived the Northern Border's frost calamity, traveling through mountains and wilderness with their parents.
The noisy, unruly kids had long since died or were taken away to be eaten.
It's cruel to say, but when it actually happens, how many more words can you use to describe it?
Recalling this, An Jing couldn't help but clench his fists. Resorting to cannibalism was one thing, but some refugees would even steal or hunt other people's children to cook and eat them.
The children, snatched away despite being painstakingly protected and having barely survived, caused even the strongest parents to break down. Those piercing curses and cries echoed for a long time amidst the snow and wind.
At that time, he had to look after his mother. If he had been alone and unburdened, he would have drawn his blade and slain those beasts and scum—all but one escaped him.
Putting his recollections aside, An Jing looked around. The children sharing the carriage with him likely had witnessed such scenes.
After seeing such things, even if they were originally cheerful children, now they all seemed reticent and taciturn.
Once they were parted from their parents, after the initial sadness, their minds quickly shifted to the simplest thoughts.
—Will I have enough to eat for my next meal?
At the very least, I won't be eaten.
Given that, it's better to conserve some energy to prepare for the future 'wealthy family's' inspection.
Smelling the faint wooden fragrance inside the carriage, An Jing listened to the wind outside and recalled the carriage design he had seen earlier.
This was no ordinary cart. It was a sled-like snow-tracked carriage, capable of carrying more people and supplies than a regular cart, especially suitable for travel in snowy terrain.
The horses were also extraordinary, likely the 'Northwest Frost Riders' who were fearless in the face of snow and ice.
Such a carriage couldn't be built on short notice. They must have been prepared in advance. Did these mysterious people foresee this frost calamity?
That's why they were so well-prepared, waiting for nature to weed out those 'lacking the Heavenly Mandate,' and then came to buy survivors like himself, the 'Children of Calamity'?
With these thoughts, An Jing gradually felt sleepy.
Even though his physical constitution was excellent with outstanding potential, he had been hungry for a long time and had just had a big meal. His body couldn't help but generate fatigue as it digested...
"Hmm? This doesn't seem like normal drowsiness?!" At this moment, An Jing finally realized something was off with the incense in the carriage. No matter how sleepy he was, he shouldn't have been unable to control his thoughts like this.
An Jing looked around again, carefully observing, and froze for a moment. No wonder the other children weren't speaking—turns out they were already asleep. He had managed to hold out the longest!
But even he couldn't resist his drooping eyelids and inevitably slipped into a deep sleep.
Outside the carriage.
A rider turned back to look at the carriage, surprised: "Finally fell asleep, that kid. Soul Soothing Incense can make an average person sleep like the dead within two breaths, yet he held out for a quarter of an hour!"
"I now understand why the higher-ups value this recruitment operation so much. The quality of these Children of Calamity is really something!"
"Isn't that right?"
Another rider interjected: "I thought this group of refugees would all be junk, but there are actually some good materials!"
"Quiet down," a more seasoned rider on the side reprimanded with a chuckle, shaking his head: "Those who can't join, they might be our colleagues in the future, and those who do... heh."
The old rider clicked his tongue, speaking meaningfully: "Those martial artists, if they remember your casual disdain and scorn in the future, what do you think your fate will be..."
No further words were needed; the meaningful silence was intimidating enough.
"Understood, understood..." The rider shivered, suddenly waking from his excitement, continuing to maintain the previously silent, emotionless stance.
"Stay focused," the old rider whispered, "Let's keep going and save some energy."
And so, the entire snowy night was silent.
In the days that followed, except when they stopped to camp and eat, An Jing and the other children continued their journey in sleep.
This might have been intended to keep them from knowing how far they were being taken or where they were heading—or perhaps simply for easier management. After all, on such a long journey, it was easier to let them sleep all the way to the end than to take care of them.
During this process, many different convoys gathered from all directions, some coming and others going, with the Scholar in White leaving midway.
But in general, the entire convoy was continuously gathering and growing.
In the later stages, it had become a large convoy with more than twenty carriages.
An Jing also tried to deduce their location, but even he could only ascertain that they were moving southwest and had initially moved out of the range of the Northern Border's Frost Calamity, switching to normal-wheeled carriages.
However, he had no idea which area they had reached within Da Chen's borders.
"The forest back home is a cold temperate coniferous forest, while the last one I saw was a temperate mountainous coniferous forest."
An Jing was unsure. The vastness of Da Chen, beyond his comprehension, was a world of Heavenly Mandate and Martial Arts, of power and longevity: "I suppose we haven't completely exited the Northern Border; is it the border with the Northwest?"
"By the way, the term cold temperate coniferous forest... what did I do in my previous life?"
With such confusion, within the carriage where his sense of time and space was muddled, An Jing could only vaguely estimate.
About ten days later, the carriage carrying the Mysterious Person finally arrived at their destination.
A manor located deep within the forest.
White mist filled the mountains, with a tributary of the Nameless Rivers flowing beside the mountain path, shimmering with glittering light.
As the mountain road continued to extend, the road began to decay, passing through villages not inhabited for days.
Soon, the initially faint traces of human activity gradually gave way to dense vegetation and towering rock formations.
They layered upon each other, forming a maze-like thicket covering the entire range, with small green shrubs like scales of Dragon Snake, growing on the steep cliffs, making these northwestern mountains seem like parts of some gigantic creature.
The mountain road eventually ended.
Before reaching the densest forest, any accessible path abruptly stopped, as if the laborers building the road were powerless against this ancient forest, leaving nothing but narrow mountain paths like veins entering the woods, as the final compromise.
At this point, almost all traces of humanity had vanished, leaving only the most primitive, barbaric scenery remaining.
The carriage jolted along the rugged mountain road.
During the journey, people gradually realized that those who purchased them were likely not house servants of some wealthy families.
Normal prestigious families would not transport them in such secrecy, nor would they place a secret manor deep within such mountains.
In Da Chen, even a three-year-old child knew, never enter the mountains.
In the mountains were spirits, monsters, evil demons, and ancient beasts, and there were countless strange and mysterious places capable of influencing great fortunes, creating many Divine Abnormalities.
Within Da Chen's borders, the mountains had been cleared, at most harboring small new spirits. Da Chen did not discriminate against these spirits, as long as they followed the law, respected humanity, and spoke human language, they were treated equally.
But in the border regions… too many abnormalities, too many monstrous evils, too many people entering, never to return.
When realizing they had entered the deep mountains, any slightly intelligent child had a grim face, knowing they couldn't possibly survive and leave this place alone.
Any organization building facilities in such deep mountains, whether righteous or evil sects, was a secret organization, making it difficult for them to return to the real world with a normal identity.
But no matter what the children thought, this was their reality.
They were already there.
"Get down."
After a long bumpy ride, the carriage stopped, and the rider's voice called out, "We're 'home.'"
An Jing exhaled deeply.
At last, this moment had arrived. He calmed down, preparing to face his future 'home.'
An Jing glanced at the seven others in the same carriage, still dazed, then turned and was the first to step down.
A meticulously organized mountain manor came into view.
But before An Jing could take a closer look, he heard a familiar voice.
"Not bad."
Turning his head, An Jing saw the one-eyed martial artist leading their convoy looking at him.
He laughed gruffly, "You're the best quality among these newcomers."