Chapter 450: Chapter 96: Saving Lives_2
Xuan Yue curiously asked, "What’s this, Big Brother? How do you use a knife without a handle?" She, leaning over Ah Dai, constantly scrutinized the blade which seemed to have little to no offensive power.
Ah Dai gave a faint smile, his gaze fixated on the familiar knife, a wave of nostalgia washing over him. The knife he brought out from the City of Nino was kept as a souvenir at Owen’s house. After Owen’s death, Ah Dai had been in a state of chaos and didn’t bring along this memorable knife. When he later recalled it, he missed it greatly. With a slight flick of his fingers, the knife naturally found its perch sandwiched between the index and middle fingers of his right hand, the edge facing downward. Gazing at the back of his hand, one could hardly tell he was holding anything. "Just watch," Ah Dai gently lifted his right hand wavering it in the air, making his fingers vibrate slightly. Xuan Yue clearly saw a stream of light dancing from finger to finger, streaking across the air and weaving a luminous aura. Realizing that Ah Dai wasn’t using his energy for this, she understood that the stream of light was a result of the swift rotation of the blade. She couldn’t help but exclaim, "Big Brother, your fingers are so nimble! You’re truly skilled in martial arts."
Ah Dai relished the cold sensation of the blade against his fingers. It had been a while since he practiced this finger blade technique, yet due to his frequent control of raw energy, his fingers and wrist boasted extraordinary control. Even without using his energy, he could easily maneuver the cutting edge of the blade with his fingertips. Contrasting his earlier days in Nino Small Town where he was always on edge, he felt much more relaxed now.
The radiance suddenly receded, and Ah Dai opened his palm only to have the blade reappear at the center of it, unscathed despite the rapid movements.
"Big Brother, people studying martial arts have it so good! Being able to control a knife like this with such ease, I can’t do it. I’d likely end up scratching my fingers if I tried," Xuan Yue said.
Ah Dai shook his head, still engrossed by the knife in his hand. "You’re mistaken, little brother. This isn’t something one can master naturally. Even a martial artist needs lots of time to manage a handle-less finger blade properly. It took me over a year to slowly control this, and even that is considered quick." He then pointed towards the young man lying on the bed and smirked bitterly, "His skills probably can’t even match mine. Even Uncle Li, who is a grim and harsh man was astounded by the speed at which I learnt this finger blade technique."
Xuan Yue was taken aback and asked, "Big Brother, is this finger blade technique some profound martial art? You took so long to learn?"
Ah Dai shook his head and replied, "It’s not any profound martial art, but it’s difficult to master. You could say it’s a survival skill."
"Survival skills? Big Brother, could you clarify? I am not able to follow," Xuan Yue said, sensing that this survival skill was closely linked to Ah Dai’s persisting inferiority complex. She glanced at the youngster on the bed, and a thought crossed her mind, astonishing her. "Big Brother, could it be...could it be, this finger blade technique, is...?"
Ah Dai closed his eyes, lightly nodding his head and said, "Exactly, this finger blade technique is a unique survival skill possessed only by thieves. Back then, I practiced this skill for fishing out the loot in order to trade it for a few cold steamed buns to eat. Take a look under your robe’s armpit." Saying this, he pointed at the location on Xuan Yue’s white robe.
Xuan Yue was filled with amazement. A thief? Ah Dai was a thief? Lowering her gaze onto her robe, she moved her arm away to reveal a foot-long tear. As summer settled in and the weather grew warmer, Xuan Yue only wore a chest wrap underneath her robe. The moment the tear was revealed, Ah Dai got a clear view of the white cloth wrapped around her under her robe, leaving him dumbfounded.
Xuan Yue’s face turned red, as she swiftly covered her robe asking angrily, "Big Brother, what...what are you doing?"
Looking at Xuan Yue flushing, Ah Dai murmured, "I...I was just showing you how a thief pilfers things. If you had a money bag around your waist, it would’ve been stolen by now."
While still clutching her ceremonial robe, Xuan Yue looked at Ah Dai in astonishment, "Big Brother, haven’t you been learning martial arts from your uncle all this time? How do you know these thieving skills?"
Ah Dai felt a pang in his heart, and responded, "Learning martial arts from Uncle Owen was something I did when I was in my teens. Before that, I was a thief, a reviled thief. Now you understand why I had reacted so strongly earlier. My memories of life before the age of six or seven are gone, I was an orphan. The only memories I have are from my time growing up in Nino Small Town in the Province of Biluno, the northernmost part of the Tian Jing Empire, where every day was a struggle for food. As the city is located in the far north, it was unbearably cold. Every day, I could only painstakingly sift through the complicated rejects from rich households for food. It wasn’t until I met Uncle Li who took me in and taught me the skills of theft that I was able to survive. The act of stealing in the thief community is referred to as ’fishing’. What I had to do every day was to pickpocket one purse after another and hand them over to Uncle Li. In return, he got me a worn-out cotton jacket and a few dry steamed buns as sustenance daily. Do you know why I respect Master Goris so much? That’s because it’s him who took me out of Nino City, freeing me from the life of a shivering thief, struggling for food and warmth. He brought warmth into my life!" Ah Dai paused, thinking back to the first time he met Goris, his eyes welling up with tears. Yue Yue once mentioned that I have a strong inferiority complex, indeed I do. I think anyone who had a childhood like mine would probably feel the same. I was just a thief! Compared to you who are cherished by the heavens, I am nothing."
