Amon was slightly stunned, but after a moment, he nodded his head.
"Good, now pick the candy you want."
This time, Amon didn't hesitate, and he turned to the stall to pick up the biggest apple candy.
When the stall owner saw this, his eyes twitched. He wanted to say something, but Ah Mieu pulled Amon away before he could.
As the two youths walk along the street, their figures cast a faint shadow on the ground from the lights coming from the shops they pass.
Amon, who opened his mouth to eat his apple candy, suddenly stopped and turned to Ah Mieu to extend the apple candy to him before asking.
"Big Brother Ah Mieu, do you want to taste it?"
Ah Mieu, who seemed to be in his thoughts, came to and turned to Amon. Smiling, he suddenly shifted the bamboo food boxes to his left hand and revealed his right hand that was holding three apple candies between his fingers.
"No need, I already have three."
When Amon saw this, his eyes went wide while his mouth fell open from shock.
Seeing Amon's expression, Ah Mieu let out a peal of laughter.
"Big Brother Ah Mieu, you—you stole from the stall?"
Ah Mieu stopped laughing, but an amused smile still lingered on his lips as he waved the three apple candies in his hand and said.
"I did. Do you want to know how I did it?"
Amon's eyes flickered for a moment before he nodded his head firmly and said.
"Yeah, Big Brother Ah Mieu, will you teach me?"
Ah Mieu let out another round of smug laughter before he puffed out his chest and said.
"Little Amon, just follow your big brother and you'll never go hungry again!"
Amon's eyes lit up as he looked up at Ah Mieu, and he responded with a firm nod of his head.
With that, Ah Mieu taught Amon the concept of misdirection and sleight of hand as they walked along the street.
However, it wasn't long before a few more kids approached Ah Mieu. They had been observing how Amon was taken to the stall after begging Ah Mieu for coins, and after hesitating, they decided to approach Ah Mieu as well.
Ah Mieu had already noticed these gremlins, so he had bought twenty buns to share between the dozen or so of them. He also bought a few more pastries from the stalls he passed by.
Soon enough, Ah Mieu was surrounded by a bunch of beggar children, some ranging from as little as five to as old as sixteen.
Like a benevolent monk going on a crusade to help others and spread the teachings of Buddha, Ah Mieu splurged on the items at almost every stall he passed, while at the same time guiding the beggar children in swiping an item or two from those stalls. But even though he taught them how to steal, he emphasized moderation and self-restraint. They should never steal more than they need, or else they would easily get caught and lose a target they could slowly obtain food from over time.
This point of his was especially emphasized when one of the older youths, who was around Ah Mieu's age, was caught stealing four pastries instead of a single one that Ah Mieu had tasked him with.
Luckily, Ah Mieu stepped in to clarify that they were items he would pay for.
After leaving the stall, Ah Mieu harshly scolded the youth and took the chance to plant a seed of fear in everyone's hearts about what it was like to get caught.
However, while Ah Mieu and the beggar children were happily enjoying their stroll along the streets, some of the pedestrians they passed turned to give them disgusted looks. But under Ah Mieu's guide, the beggar children quickly stopped paying attention to those gazes.
As the night deepened and the beggar children got tired, especially the younger ones, Ah Mieu decided to part ways with them.
The last one to say goodbye to him was Amon. Ah Mieu performed a magic trick by having his wooden bowl appear in his empty hands. Needless to say, Amon was starstruck as he had no concept of storage rings.
After giving Ah Mieu a tight hug, Amon tearfully turned around and walked away. From a distance in the crowd, he waved his hand over his head at his Big Brother one last time before running to catch up with the other beggar children.
Ah Mieu waved goodbye with a gentle smile on his face. After watching Amon's figure disappear into the crowd of pedestrians, he allowed his hand to fall to his side. Then, after one final glance at the crowd, he turned around to leave the market street.
However, after reaching the end of the market street, Ah Mieu's hand was suddenly grabbed by someone. This person, without a word, quickly led him away from the main market street and into a secluded alleyway.
"It's you."
Ah Mieu said in surprise while he was being led into the alley. It was the youth who had almost been caught stealing the pastries. Ah Mieu recognized him because he wore a baggy hood that covered his hair and face.
Ah Mieu was not annoyed by the youth's action. Even though he had gone against his words and stolen more than necessary, it was thanks to that he was able to instill the fear of being caught because of greed in the others' hearts.
"Why did you come back? Is it that you wanted to ask me for something?"
Ah Mieu asked curiously when they stopped in the alleyway.
The youth didn't respond and instead glanced at the alleyway entrances to see if anyone was coming this way. After he saw that no one was approaching, he finally faced Ah Mieu.
Seeing his actions, Ah Mieu was intrigued by this youth. While he had been walking around with the beggar children, this youth had never spoken once.
Ah Mieu had also keenly noticed that this youth had been avoiding his line of sight, always walking at the back. As the youth turned to face him now, this was the first time he saw his chin; the rest of his face was hidden by the hood.
Ah Mieu hadn't thought about it deeply then, but now, he was not only intrigued; his heart couldn't help but let out an anxious thump.
After turning to face Ah Mieu, the youth reached up and flipped over the hood to reveal his appearance. Immediately, a bundle of snow-white hair cascaded down the youth's shoulders, while his piercing blue pupils bypassed Ah Mieu's hair and stared into his blue and red eyes.
The moment Ah Mieu saw the youth's appearance, his guess was confirmed to be right, and tears welled up in his eyes as he whispered.
"Elder Brother…"
A smile appeared on the youth's pale face as he reached up and parted Ah Mieu's hair to reveal teary eyes.
Shockingly, both Ah Mieu's and this youth's faces looked identical. The only difference was Ah Mieu's unique pupils, as well as this youth's odd appearance. Not only his hair, but also his eyelashes and eyebrows were snow-white. Adding this with his pale complexion, he seemed to be a fairy rather than a human. But his appearance could be explained by the fact that he had albinism.
Ah Mieu pulled his twin brother into a tight hug, and the tears in his eyes flowed down his cheeks uncontrollably.