"We're almost there, kids. Just hold on." A woman ran with the crowd toward the north gate. She'd heard there was a safe camp there, and seeing everyone surge in the same direction made her cling to the rumor like a lifeline.
Reaching the gate, she saw lines of guards directing people, pushing the flow forward, stopping fights before they could intensify. They weren't city guards, though, and the sight made her hesitate.
Then she saw a cultivator grab one of the guards by the collar and scream in his face.
"A mortal telling me where to go? You dar-"
Pressure dropped.
The cultivator slammed into the ground like he'd been swatted from the sky. The guard beside him wasn't affected at all. He calmly fixed his collar, then spat near the man's head like this wasn't the first time.
A voice carried from somewhere above. "This is your only warning. Anyone who dares start violence will be bound and dragged away. If you resist, you'll be crippled."
People craned their necks, trying to find who spoke, but no one could making the warning feel colder. The crowd quieted, and whatever foolish ideas had been stirring died fast.
The pressure eased as the cultivator lay unconscious, two guards dragged him away without ceremony. Another guard took the spot and barked, "Keep moving!"
The woman swallowed and tightened her grip on her children's hands. If this place could force even cultivators to behave, then the safety must be real. She hurried forward.
At the front, a guard held a stack of slips and a brush, not bothering to look up. "Name, how many members, including anyone who might arrive later?"
Though she was puzzled at the questions, Guo Linzhi still answered. "Guo Linzhi. It's only me and my two children, Guo Han and Guo Qingqing."
The guard finally glanced up, looking over her and the two small faces at her sides. Then he wrote quickly. She couldn't see what he wrote on the main slip, but he tore off a smaller piece and handed it to her.
[Household: Guo]
[Tent: 428]
---------------------------------------------
[Names]
(Guo Linzhi - Adult)
(Guo Han - Child)
(Guo Qingqing - Child)
"After you pass the gate, keep walking until you reach the tent grounds. Each tent has a sign with its number. Find the one on your card, that tent is yours. Don't lose the slip. It proves the assignment. Guards patrol around. If there's trouble, call them."
He paused, then added, a fraction less harsh, "If you're short on food, head deeper into the camp. The food tables are at the front."
Seeing the woman still standing there, the guard's patience thinned and just as he was about to snap, Guo Linzhi jolted back to herself and hurried through, tugging her children along.
After walking for the time an incense stick would take to burn, she saw the camp.
Tents spread as far as her eyes could follow, some small, some larger, all set in rows with numbers hung from posts. Guards filled the lanes, directing, patrolling, breaking up knots of people before they could turn into fights. She still didn't see the city guards, but the camp ran like someone had planned it long before disaster struck.
Most mortals moved faster the moment they entered, desperate to reach shelter.
Cultivators, on the other hand, wore uneasy expressions. A subtle pressure lay over the area, not crushing, but like a hand on the back of the neck reminding them to behave, and it worked. No one dared start trouble here.
She wove through the rows, got turned around twice, asked a guard, then asked again. And finally found tent 428.
It was a medium-sized tent. For a moment she wondered if assignments were random, then decided it probably depended on household size. Either way, she didn't care. A roof of cloth was still a roof.
Inside, the tent was completely clean and empty.
She slipped off her shoes, then turned back to her children. They'd been quiet for so long she'd almost forgotten how small they were. Their bodies still trembled, fear held tight like a sickness.
Her gaze softened and she pulled them into her arms.
"It's okay, we're safe now, my lovely children."
That did it.
They broke, sobbing hard, letting out everything they'd forced down while running through the streets. The sound should've been loud, but in the tent it felt muffled, private. She held them until their cries slowed into shaky breaths.
When they finally calmed, she guided them deeper inside. "Take off your shoes," she told them gently. "Both of you must be exhausted from all that running, lay down to get some rest."
She'd been worried about beds, but the floor's softness made her feel foolish for it. She patted their heads, smoothing hair back, and kept her voice low. "Sleep. I'll bring us something to eat."
Their eyes fluttered shut.
Only after she heard their breathing become calm did she stand.
She needed food, yes, but she also needed to know who had made this camp, who was holding it together. Not just to thank them, but also to know whether she could trust them.
The royal family? She scoffed. Those people would rather have everyone sit in the mud than offer shelter. And if it were them, the city guards would be patrolling, not ordinary guards like these. She'd even heard rumors they'd fled to a nearby kingdom.
She stepped out and asked a guard for directions. He pointed, and she followed the flow.
The closer she got, the louder it became. Shouts, arguments, babies crying, the scrape of bowls. The crowd tightened until she could barely see ahead, and she ended up joining the line like everyone else.
* * * *
When the sun climbed toward mid-day, she finally reached the front.
Tables stretched left and right, each guarded. Behind them were makeshift kitchens: large iron pans set over fire pits, cooks sweating as they stirred and ladled food. Ingredients sat in heaps, scattered in a hurry.
The man in front of her moved away. She stepped up.
The guard didn't even look at her face. "Hand over the slip you got at the gate."
She offered it up. He didn't take it, only glanced quickly before reaching beneath the table and pulled out cheap bowls, the kind that wouldn't be missed if they cracked.
He turned, walked to the cook line, and scooped rice, a bit of meat, and a handful of vegetables into each bowl. He returned and shoved them into her hands.
"Next."
"Um…" She almost asked who was behind the camp, who was giving out food like this, who was keeping cultivators in line.
Seeing guard's gaze turn impatient made her question die in her throat. She bowed her head and stepped away, deciding she'd ask later.
Walking back quickly, she was careful not to spill anything and reached the tent, pushing inside.
With a dull thud, the bowls slipped from her hands, smashing against the floor.
Her children were gone.