Chapter 35: Butchering an Ox (Part 2)

  Several yaks are now lined up in a row, all lying on the ground, constantly mooing and waiting for Qin Yifan's selection. The faces of several barbarian envoys turned iron-blue, looking at Qin Yifan in the arena, wondering what they were thinking in their hearts. But discerning people can guess at a glance that it must not be some happy thoughts. The emperor has already sat down with a smile, happily watching the central venue, and Qin Yifan only stood up twice, each time being a huge surprise. Now, among the entire banquet hall, there are only a few commoners' identities, which makes my China Tianchao occupy an advantageous position in terms of momentum. Even the commoners of my Tianchao are like this, let alone the scholars and officials present. The dignity of Tianchao is already deeply rooted in the hearts of these barbarian tribes, wanting to challenge the dignity of Tianchao here is simply a futile effort.

  Everyone was watching, looking at Qin Yifan to see which one he would choose. The crowd had already made up their minds that no matter what Qin Yifan chose this time, they would grit their teeth and take a bite of whatever he created, even if it was as raw as the barbarian tribes', just to loudly praise him and see where those arrogant barbarian envoys would put their faces.

  Qin Yifan stepped forward and walked in front of the five cows, carefully examining each one. Since they were going to compete, it was only natural that he would choose the best ones, making those barbarian tribes acknowledge their superiority.

  "This won't do!" Qin Yifan shook his head. As soon as the words fell, the ox in front of him seemed to suddenly grow wings and flew out with a loud whoosh. It drew a beautiful arc in the air, crossed over the palace wall, and disappeared into the distance where everyone's sight couldn't reach.

  It turned out that Qin Xiaoling had been following Qin Yifan all along. With a shake of his head, he instantly flung the four-hoofed yak away with one arm. This action made the guests who had just calmed down stare wide-eyed again.

  A single buffalo, weighing over a thousand catties, was lifted with ease, and it was said that her arm had the strength of a thousand catties. Lifting five heads would also be equivalent to having the strength of five thousand catties. But this casual tossing motion made everyone even more incredulous. The distance from here to the palace wall was over a hundred paces, yet with just one arm, she could toss it outside the palace wall - and it was still a buffalo weighing a thousand catties! Could this be considered human? Or was it a woman?

  A few barbarian envoys were almost scared to death, if the Heavenly Dynasty had a few more people like this, would there be any way for their own country to survive? Their own country had lost on the battlefield before, it was not unjust, such fierce people did not even go to the battlefield, if they provoked the emperor and his ministers of the Heavenly Dynasty, the following days would not be easy to get through.

  They looked at each other, and several people had such expressions on their faces. It seems that this time the planned demonstration to save face for the Celestial Empire was a bit self-defeating. If they win big, it's fine, but if they lose and become furious, it won't just be these few envoys who are unlucky. Someone couldn't help but start having some doubts and second thoughts about this action. However, at this point, the arrow has already been shot, and it's too late to say anything now, so all that can be done is to continue watching what happens next.

  Qin Yifan walked up to a cow and shook his head, saying no. Immediately after, the cow was thrown out of the palace wall by Qin Xiaoling. Four cows flew out in succession, and it was really relieving for those who watched. In the end, only the largest and strongest one was left behind.

  Undoing the ropes that bound its four hooves, Qin Yifan watched as the yak slowly stood up and observed the unfamiliar surroundings. It seemed that after being tied up for so long, the yak was still a bit uneasy, constantly circling around and mooing loudly.

  "No matter if it's cattle or other livestock, if they are frightened before slaughter, the quality of the meat will be more or less affected." Qin Yifan turned his head to the chef and butcher from the Fan tribe, saying as if pointing out the obvious: "You shouldn't not understand this principle, should you?"

  As soon as he said this, almost everyone felt that it made sense. How could the chefs and butchers of the Fan tribe not understand? In front of the emperor, how could they still have time to slowly wait for the cow to calm down? Who didn't want to finish their work quickly? Only Qin Yifan had the guts to do so.

  However, at this time, he was teaching the Fan tribe's chefs and butchers on one side, while slowly waiting for the yak to calm down. The ministers around him were not angry at all, nor would anyone pursue the crime of slow treatment of the emperor.

  Just now, Qin Xiaoling's performance has greatly increased everyone's confidence in him. At this moment, even if he wants a certain minister to go down and help, that person will not refuse to cooperate with the butcher as a humble job. Everyone is sitting in their original place, appreciating his performance with great cultural accomplishment. They are leisurely and self-satisfied, greatly enhancing national prestige and momentum, from top to bottom, everyone has the idea of watching a good show, very happy.

  "To get the freshest flavor, cattle not only cannot be frightened but also cannot exercise excessively, with abundant blood and energy. This way, the blood will enter the muscle texture, making it difficult to drain completely." Qin Yifan continued to lecture seriously, seemingly targeting the butcher and chef, but his face was directed at the entire group of envoys: "Raw meat has a bloody flavor, whether it's more or less, which ultimately affects the taste."

  This is not Qin Yifan bragging, in his own territory, Qin Yifan has never been stingy with wild game. During the most diligent period of practice, who would have time for fine cooking? When he caught a wild animal, he would quickly slice it open with extremely fast knife work and hastily finish eating before immediately resuming practice. His experience with raw food was truly rich.

  The yak has begun to get used to the crowd of people here, slowly circling and pacing back and forth, its cries no longer as urgent as before, but rather calm. In the past, these officials had never really seen a living creature about to be slaughtered walking around in front of them.

  Although it is said that a scholar does not need to leave his door to know the affairs of the world, this way of eating raw meat and drinking blood actually has its own techniques, which cannot be recorded in the teachings of the saints. Even those military generals who often go on expeditions, what opportunity do they have to carefully savor the raw meat slices to see where the most delicious ones are? Listening to Qin Yifan's explanation and comparing it with the changes in the beast in front of them, everyone felt enlightened, and his words were not empty.

  Finally, the yak didn't make any other unusual moves and stood in the center of the field, looking around to see if there was any grass. The atmosphere calmed down, only then did it meet Qin Yifan's requirements. Hearing that Qin Yifan wasn't speaking anymore, everyone knew they had to get serious, so they all widened their eyes and stared carefully, afraid of missing something and regretting it later.

  To be honest, everyone is looking forward to what Qin Yifan will do next with great anticipation. After all, he was able to stand out and even let a little girl severely humiliate the powerful warrior of the Fan tribe, so he must have some real skills. Since that's the case, this main character won't be too bad either, it's just unknown how much surprise he can bring to everyone.