A Changed Life

"Could you spare one for us?!" Nagato kept his head low, his long bangs still obscuring most of his face. Introverted and shy, he couldn't bring himself to say more, even when begging for help.

"Just a little bit is fine. We haven't eaten in almost a day. Please, have pity on us!" A sincere, girlish voice rang out. Konan looked at the stall owner with a pitiful expression, her hands pressed together in a pleading gesture.

The fishmonger was a gaunt man in his forties. The hardships of life and the chaos of the world had given him gray hair long before his prime. Faced with the pleas of the young boy and girl, the fishmonger frowned, a deep crease forming between his brows. Given the current situation in the Land of Rivers, life was not easy for commoners like him. Although these orphans were truly pathetic, the number of homeless people had been rising, and he dared not let his sympathy run wild. If he opened the floodgates here, more orphans and refugees would surely swarm him. In these troubled times, one had to have a hard heart.

"Where would I find fish to give you? Get lost, don't get in the way of my business!" The fishmonger waved his hands at Nagato and Yahiko, signaling them to leave.

Although they had been prepared for the owner's reaction, the gesture—as if shooing away flies—still made Konan and Nagato feel a tightness in their chests.

"What a stingy person!" An annoyed Konan took a step back and raised her voice at the fishmonger.

The fishmonger's expression turned grim instantly, and anger flared in his eyes. As expected, one shouldn't show any sympathy to these stray dogs.

"What did you say? Say that again, you little brat!" The middle-aged man roared as he stepped out from behind his stall. If these two brats didn't run, he would teach them a lesson; he wouldn't hold back, even if one of them was a little girl!

"Hmph!" Konan snorted and made a face at the stall owner. Seeing him start to chase her, she grabbed the stunned Nagato beside her and prepared to bolt.

Watching the fishmonger storm toward them, a flicker of panic crossed Konan's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by composure. She pulled Nagato along, preparing to run while continuing to provoke the owner with her words. Her gaze occasionally darted toward the back of the fish stall, where a figure had been hiding for a long time.

Seeing that Konan and the others had successfully drawn the man's attention, Yahiko, who had been hiding behind the stall's tent, seized the opportunity. He lunged toward the display of sea fish, grabbed the one closest to him, and dashed behind the tent.

Yahiko's movements were incredibly swift. Though he kept his body hunched, his steps were light and steady. The faint sound he made was swallowed by the rain, drawing no attention at all.

"Huff... huff... huff..." After quickly rounding a corner, Konan and Nagato stopped, leaning against a wall with their hands on their knees, gasping for air. Because of Konan's provocation, the petty-minded fishmonger had actually chased them for half the length of the street. It was fortunate that the street was crowded, or they wouldn't have escaped so easily.

Though they had been chased in a sorry state, a hint of joy appeared in Konan's eyes once they caught their breath. Since they had lured the owner so far away, things must have gone smoothly for Yahiko.

"It's about time. Let's go, Nagato, let's head back!" After resting for a few minutes and letting their breathing settle, Konan stretched her arms and called out to Nagato.

"Yeah," Nagato replied. He followed Konan's lead, and the two small figures stepped onto a path leading out of town, gradually disappearing into the curtain of rain.

"Ooh, I'm so full! As expected, the fish Yuehua Ai grills is the best!" Konan rubbed her belly with a look of satisfaction. Although a girl's appetite was smaller than that of boys like Nagato and Yahiko, she couldn't help but eat a little more whenever Yuehua Ai grilled fish. Even though he was young, his grilling skills were truly excellent.

Thinking back to how they had found and taken in Yuehua Ai half a year ago, they all felt it was a stroke of luck. Initially, they had only taken him in out of pity, intending to raise a little brother. They hadn't expected anything from him, but as the four of them lived together, their lives had undergone earth-shattering changes—changing for the better, as if they were living in a dream.

In Konan's heart, she always felt that Yuehua Ai possessed a maturity beyond his years. Unlike the mischief of ordinary children, he was obedient, sensible, and knew how to care for others. When it came to survival, he had experience that far exceeded theirs.

She remembered when they first started begging in town. Although people would occasionally give them something, as the number of orphans and refugees grew, the villagers' expressions turned colder and their attitudes worsened.

Later on, not only did no one help them, but the villagers stopped giving them food even when they begged. For orphans their age, there was no other way to survive but to steal.

At first, their thefts were successful, but as the villagers grew more vigilant, the success rate dropped. Failed attempts, which once resulted in warnings, soon led to beatings. It wasn't just Nagato and Yahiko; even a girl like Konan had been beaten and taught a lesson more than once.

Just as their lives were becoming increasingly desperate, Yuehua Ai joined their group. They had expected life to become even harder, but the arrival of this child changed everything bit by bit.

In the first few days after joining, Yuehua Ai went stealing with them. But Yahiko and the others were shockingly bad at it. Several times in a row, they failed to get food and ended up covered in bruises. Even Yuehua Ai had once been beaten until his backside was swollen.

Yuehua Ai eventually realized that this path was a dead end. He couldn't stand seeing Yahiko and Nagato—rough as they were—get beaten, but it made him especially furious and heartbroken when Konan was hurt. How could they lay a hand on such a cute girl? He was filled with rage but felt powerless. He knew he had to find a way to change their lives.

After spending a week observing the villagers' living conditions and the local geography, Yuehua Ai realized their turning point lay in the river that had washed him there. Having drifted in that water for so long, he knew one thing: there were fish in that river, and plenty of them. The Land of Rivers, with its abundance of wetlands, was perfect for aquatic life.

Fishing was a skill completely unknown to orphans like Yahiko and Nagato, who had lost their parents suddenly. But for Yuehua Ai, who had lived two lives, fishing was no problem at all. He could think of countless ways to catch fish.

When he first proposed the idea, Yahiko had teased him. Yahiko had been to that river and thought about fishing too, but the current was swift, and without tools or skills, it was a bankrupt idea.

Yuehua Ai didn't mind their skepticism, nor would he give up. After scouting the town for three days, he crafted a simple fishing rod. That afternoon, just as the others were worrying about his whereabouts, he walked into their base dragging a carp half his size, leaving the three of them dumbfounded.

After he taught them how to fish, their lives seemed to change overnight.

Of the fish they caught daily, they kept a small portion for themselves, and Yahiko took the rest to town to trade for other food and daily necessities. Although the value of what they received was far less than the market price of the fish, they didn't mind. They were satisfied with their improving lives. At the very least, they were no longer thieves whom everyone wanted to beat, nor were they like stray dogs living in constant fear.

The boys' days were no longer precarious, so they stopped stealing. The reason they went to steal from the fish stall today wasn't a whim; it was mainly to vent for Yahiko. They often used their own catch to trade for supplies, which had affected the fishmonger's business. The owner might not have cared, but his son held a grudge. Since Yahiko was the one who usually went door-to-door to trade, the son had found an opportunity to corner him and give him a brutal beating.

Yahiko was only twelve years old; he had no way to resist several adults. When the others found out, they were filled with indignation and suppressed anger. Eventually, they decided to steal from the man's stall.

But then again, eating food from an "enemy's" house felt quite different from eating one's own!