Shú scurried along the alleyways of Huayin, the city was filled with a strange tension as Mount Hua loomed over the horizon. In a few weeks it was going to be home to one of the most important events in the Murim, The Rising Dragon tournament.

The tournament called on all of the young martial talent in China to prove their worth in a series of challenges, ending with the titular Rising Dragons tournament, the winner would earn renown, rewards, and most importantly the eye of all of China.

Shú was sent to Huayin a week ago to gather more information on all of the potential participants. To prevent what had happened to Baek from happening ever again the Lúse Family needed to recruit powerful martial artists and this tournament was the perfect place.

Since the tournament was intended for young up and coming talents, it attracted many Intermediate Martial Artists looking for a lord or lady to serve. The winner of the tournament was usually considered an Advanced Martial Artist, so getting information early and backing a promising young talent could see your investment returned twofold. 

Shú was hitting a lot of barriers in her search for information, the most talented prospects could usually spot her and shooed her off after a while, and the strategy that had worked previously of promising gold to other beggars and children in exchange for information wasn’t working.

“Strange” Shú thought, it felt as if someone was blocking her off, as soon as she got close to the other beggars, they would turn away or scold her off. “I’ve never known a beggar to turn down gold”

It was getting dark and Shú had just found a small space to sleep for the night when she heard the sounds of a fight around the corner. She peeked over the alleyway to see a couple of young lords bullying an old beggar on the street.

“Oh looks like I’ve got something on my shoe” one of the men laughed as he stepped on the old beggar.

“Leave him alone!” Shú said as she rounded the corner. 

The young men were clearly intoxicated “HUH! What are you going to do about it little boy!” one of them screamed. As they got closer to Shú, the old beggar used the chance to run away into an alleyway. 

As soon as they got close to her, Shú stomped down hard on one of the men’s feet, hearing a satisfying crunch from under her shoes. Before the other could react, she threw dirt from the floor at his face.

The man hobbled on one foot and stumbled backwards, crashing with his friend who was trying to claw the dirt out of his face, they both fell down towards the ground.

Shú ran as fast as she could before the men could recover, she ducked into an alleyway, and began to tremble as she caught her breath. 

She could feel blood on her hands, it was pouring out of her and pooling in the ground, a dead man’s face staring back at her.

She could feel herself begin to lose control, she took a deep cleansing breath, and how Saman Pa had taught her, she began to count things she could see, things she could hear, things she could…

“Now what do we have here?” the old beggar said next to Shú’s ear.

Shú jumped backwards startled, she quickly scanned the man, but he was an old beggar no more, he was clearly the same person but somehow he had changed. His posture and stature had shifted into that of a middle aged man, the wrinkles and grey hair banishing from his face, but Shú could still tell the man shared the same eyes.

“Stay back, I’ve killed before” Shú’s voice trembled as she said it outloud.

“Hu hu hu” the strange man laughed “Oh you have killed, but you don't have the eyes of a killer little girl”

This surprised Shú even more, Lán had been the only person who could tell she was a girl at first glance.

“Who are you?” Shú asked as she raised her hands to defend herself.

“Who are you? I am Shú. Oh no wait, that's you! Hu hu hu hu” the man laughed “Don’t you carry a weapon little girl? The Murim is a dangerous place for beggars like us”

“I don't like weapons, I can do just fine without them” Shú replied, still with her guard up

“Hu hu hu” the man laughed once more, Shú could see an idea cross his eyes. He rummaged behind the dumpster he was standing on and pulled out a bamboo quarterstaff. It was old and covered in scratches and bumps, still it seemed well taken care of. 

He threw it at Shú and she caught it quickly “Good, good. Take it, its a stick not a weapon, it will help you defend yourself”

Shú looked at the quarterstaff, the scratches and bumps were weird and unnatural, she wondered if they meant anything. 

By the time she looked up, the man had disappeared “Hu hu hu” his strange laugh drifting into the night.

The next day left Shú even more befuddled, she remounted her efforts, talking to beggars and street children and this time found that they were way more open to talk to her. It was strange but she was never one to question good luck.