Chapter 104 A Knife Has Many Uses (2/2)

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”Zero, do you know what this is?”

Zero looked up from the fire he was starting. ”It's a knife?”

Puzzled, Zero frowned. The knife was the same old hunting knife that they used to scale fish and disassemble fur from small animals they caught before preparing their meals. There was nothing special about it and Zero knows what it is. So why was Hua Tuo asking him such a fundamental question?

Hua Tuo nodded in approval. Zero was thinking and that was exactly what he wanted. he meditation did some good and Zero was more mature now, taking a step further than seeing things at their face value.

”That's right, Zero. It's an ordinary knife used for hunting and cooking on the field. Do you know what it is used for?”

Zero didn't miss a beat and answered almost immediately.

”Scaling fish, disassembling fur, preparing animals for cooking...”

”That's correct. Now, what can it be used for?”

That question stumped Zero. Wasn't Hua Tuo asking the same thing?

”It can be used for the same things?”

Hua Tuo's eyes glinted and Zero was completely unprepared when Hua Tuo threw the knife in his direction. The knife zipped past him and grazed his ear but landed with a thunk behind him. Hua Tuo's eyes were trained on something behind Zero and the boy turned around slowly only to find a bear frozen in mid movement. The boy yelped and scrambled backwards when the huge bear came falling down in front of Zero. It was only after the bear had fallen that Zero noticed where the knife had landed.

In between the bear's eyes was the small knife that Hua Tuo threw. He glanced back at his teacher wide-eyed and confused. What was Hua Tuo trying to say?

Instead of explaining his actions, Hua Tuo calmly walked over and pulled out the knife, cleaning the blood off it before sheathing it.

”A knife has many uses, Zero. How one chooses to use it is entirely up to them. The same knife can kill and heal in the hands of different people. The same applies to everything. Meditation is good. It helps to clear the mind and allows for deeper understanding. Cultivation is good, it allows for better health and longer life. It makes one physically stronger too if practiced diligently. However, too much meditation makes the body weak and the mind lost. Too much cultivation will impede growth and in turn cause internal harm from forcing the physical limits. You may not realise this but over the past week, you've grown both mentally and physically. A knife has many uses, be careful of how you use it or it may just end up hurting you.”

As they turned in for the night, Zero was left to ponder over the meaning of those words. Hua Tuo didn't comment any further and it troubled Zero. A knife had many uses, what did Zero want to use his for?