The Fuhua Clan

Jian Shi was awoken very early in the morning. The sun had barely peeked over the eastern horizon at the time.

The first thing he saw this morning was a young boy. The boy was about nine to eleven years old. He was bigger than a toddler, but still appeared to be prepubescent.

The boy recoiled when he saw Jian Shi's face.

"I didn't shake you hard at all, mister."

"What do you want?" His gruff speech made the boy flinch. Jian Shi knew that he was not a morning person at all, so he tried to soften his tone and asked again.

"Why did you wake me?"

"The Fuhua family is delivering porridge today. You shouldn't miss it." The boy's words puzzled Jian Shi. He had no idea who this Fuhua was supposed to be, but his stomach quickly began to grumble.

He stood slowly and looked around the tent. It was empty. It seems everyone else knew about this wondrous family and their marvelous meals.

'They left really early. Perhaps their porridge is better than the one from those guards last night.'

Rather than remaining curious, Jian Shi focused on the boy that was slowly walking out of the tent. He took a few hurried steps and managed to catch up.

"Hey, thanks for waking me. I would have missed breakfast otherwise."

"You're welcome." The boy shyly lowered his head and responded in a barely audible manner. Jian Shi had to focus his attention to hear the words.

"So why did you wake me?" Jian Shi looked back at the empty tent as he and the boy exited side by side. "Why not go along with your family?"

The boy kept walking while looking down at his feet. Jian Shi did not rush him to answer his question. Sensing the growingly awkward mood, the boy finally lifted his head.

"I'm alone." He responded while looking forward.

'This kid won't look me in the eye.'

Jian Shi decided not to touch on the sensitive subject of family again. He did not know where to go, and he did not want to alienate this newly acquired guide. Hence, he shifted the topic.

"How good is this Fuhua food compared to the porridge last night?"

"About the same."

"Really?" Jian Shi's surprised tone was met with a nod from his walking mate.

"Then why did everyone leave so early? The guards last night said they would come tell us when they were ready for us to go get food."

They walked toward the meal line while they were talking.

The kid introduced himself as Little Bai. Everyone called him that and he did not have a formal name.

Little Bai explained that the Fuhua family would appear from time to time to deliver food. It was rare when they did, and you might not see them more than once every other week.

However, every time they came, they would take a few of the stronger looking beggars with them and provide them with a job.

Little Bai had heard a group of beggars discussing this a few weeks ago. They were arguing over which one of them was most suitable. After all, for a beggar, an opportunity for a job was simply a life saving grace.

This topic of conversation caused Jian Shi to remember the previous evening when he had first arrived at the tent. Most of the people that were huddled together were either elderly, children, or women. Little Bai was closer in age range to most of the beggars compared to the guards.

After Jian Shi had arrived, he had noticed that every adult man that he had passed by had given him a strange glance. He originally thought those eyes were ones of curiosity and investigation.

'It seems I was wrong. They were just checking out the competition.'

It also made sense now why nobody had woken him up. As soon as they heard that the Fuhua clan was present today, they were able to instantly eliminate one competitor by ignoring the sleeping newcomer.

"Why didn't you leave too?" After voicing his realization, Jian Shi asked this question.

"Don't know..." Little Bai shook his head and shrugged his shoulder.

The conversation ended when they arrived at the line. Jian Shi looked at from where the food was being distributed.

At the front of the long line of beggars, a group of five women stood tall – their chins proudly pointed above the foreheads of the slouching beggars.

Four of the women were dressed similarly. They wore long black robes, with leather armor covering their chests and forearms. At their waists, each had a black sheath with a golden hilt inserted into it.

Their long black hair was tied into ponytails behind their heads. A purple headband was wrapped around their forehead to keep their bangs from obstructing their vision.

The woman in the center was different. Firstly, although all five women looked young, the four black robed ladies all appeared to be in their early twenties. They were also flanking the woman in the center, with two at each side.

On the other hand, the lady in the center was much younger. She appeared to be no older than fourteen or fifteen years. She was wearing a long white dress. Above the dress, she wore a black robe similar in appearance to the other four, but it was open in front along the middle.

Although this young lady did not have a sword on her waist, the other four were warily staring at their surroundings. It seemed they were vigilant of her safety.

'They must be her guards. Then that must mean that she is a member of the Fuhua clan.'

As Jian Shi slowly appraised the five women at the front, the line had kept moving. Occasionally, a man would be asked - after receiving a bowl of food - to step to the side and wait.

Order was kept not by the young lady's guards, but by the gruff men that he had seen guarding the tent last night. Little Bai explained that they were the city guards in charge of protecting the residents from the influx of beggars.

As the line moved, there were only four men that had been asked to wait tp the side. They were currently standing next to a couple of city guards.

Jian Shi gave them a quick glance before shifting his attention back to the front. Now, it was his turn.