Chapter 35: Butchering an Ox (Part 2)

  Before making a move, Qin Yifan beckoned to Lin Qiulü, calling her over. Lin Qiulü was perplexed, wondering why Qin Yifan wanted her help with the "dismantling the cow" performance when he could have easily used his flying sword to cheat. That didn't seem right - she had seen Qin Yifan's knife skills before, and he was only slightly faster than that butcher when handling those game meats. So why did he want Lin Qiulü to come over?

  The autumn dew in the forest is not enough to explain, and others who watch also do not understand. Is it really like the folk saying, one pig killer, seventy-two attendants? Then this butcher's tone is too big, isn't it? Moreover, that is not a complimentary term.

  The cow has fully adapted to being here, the initial restraint and sudden appearance in mid-air followed by landing have completely disappeared, its four hooves standing quietly over there with occasional swishing of its tail and lowing.

  He walked over to Qin Xiaoling and whispered a few words, Qin Xiaoling then walked over to the cow's side, led the yak to the other side, and left the center of the venue. Everyone was stunned, wasn't it supposed to be untied near those already set up frames and wooden basins?

  Lin Qiulü was the same, Qin Yifan reminded her of two sentences, but no one heard clearly. However, looking at Lin Qiulü's wide-eyed and astonished expression, everyone was once again filled with anticipation. What exactly was Qin Yifan doing? He always made people feel itchy and unbearable, yet he refused to say what it was.

  Qin Yifan asked a few more questions, and Lin Qiulü nodded and suddenly smiled. Qin Yifan only left after that. But this time, everyone's curiosity had reached an all-time high, and they couldn't wait to go down and urge Qin Yifan to take action immediately.

  Returning to the center of the scene, Qin Yifan bowed to the Emperor and said: "The common people slaughter cattle, which is a bloody affair, I fear it will disturb Your Majesty. Please grant me permission!" The butchers and cooks of those barbarian tribes all make obeisance before taking action, how can we let them look down on us, the people of our celestial dynasty, as being ignorant of etiquette?

  "Right!" At this time, how could the emperor possibly have any objections? Not to mention whether it was Qin Yifan who took action, but even if someone else were in his position at this moment of universal expectation, they wouldn't suddenly interrupt things due to fear of bloodshed. Moreover, the previous bloodshed had already been witnessed, what's there to be startled about?

  Having obtained the emperor's permission, Qin Yifan finally stood up and walked to the center of the pile of wooden frames, holding that slightly deformed vegetable knife in his hand, nodding at Qin Xiaoling on the other side.

  Qin Xiaoling received the instruction, and according to Qin Yifan's previous order, she started her action. Under the gaze of many people, a fist seemed to lightly hit the cow's head, then suddenly grabbed the bull's two feet, exerted great force, and threw it towards Qin Yifan.

  The massive bull first rose along a beautiful parabola, then, with the momentum of Mount Tai pressing down, it fiercely pounced on Qin Yifan. However, just as Qin Xiaoling's fist had already knocked out the bull, this toss and fall did not scare the bull.

  Everyone's gaze followed the rising Qiniu to its highest point, and then watched as it pressed down on Qin Yifan. At this moment, Qin Yifan's body moved. Like a sword leaving its scabbard, he shot straight at the Qiniu in mid-air.

  A dense, impenetrable flash of the knife, like a flying sword, rolled towards the giant cow in the air. The two sides collided in mid-air, and the knife light wrapped the entire cow inside. All people saw was a flash of the knife blade's reflection, and the huge cow body was no longer visible, only occasionally seeing one scale and half a hoof, is this the state of "no whole cow" described in "Pao Ding Jie Niu"?

  The momentum of the bull's fall seemed to slow down greatly as Qin Yifan jumped up, and even had a tendency to stay suspended in mid-air. The flashing knife light was too fast, and it was impossible to know where the cut was made. The cow didn't make any sound, nor could the sound of the knife cutting through flesh be heard, let alone the sound of the knife hitting bone.

  But anyway, the cow is still falling, it's just that people see what seems to be a freeze frame in slow motion. As the cow falls, people see more and more, but the clearest thing they see is that the whole cow doesn't seem to have changed at all, completely intact.

  Qin Yifan also slowly descended with the fall of Niu Ti, at this moment both feet had already landed on the ground, but the knife was still waving non-stop above his head. The movements in his hands were too fast, and everyone couldn't keep up with their eyes.

  The ox's body was blocked by Qin Yifan's knife-wielding motion on his head and could no longer fall. It kept spinning in the air. The spinning motion had become very slow, making it clearer to see. Everyone looked at Qin Yifan in confusion as he swung his knife towards the empty air, seemingly not touching anything, but the ox was strangely suspended in mid-air, continuously spinning, creating a bizarre scene that left everyone perplexed.

  Only a few of the most skilled martial artists could see that Qin Yifan's almost every knife fell on a certain part of the cow's body, but even if they could roughly see where Qin Yifan landed, they were still very puzzled. Isn't it supposed to be about dissecting the cow? Why is every knife in the same position?

  No one spoke, but everyone was watching intently. Especially those who knew Qin Yifan, including the great general, were secretly observing Qin Yifan's swordsmanship and comparing it to their own in their hearts, wondering if they had a chance to compete with him.

  Qin Yifan finally sheathed his knife and no longer swung it upwards. However, he subtly applied force with his feet, lifting two wooden basins. The kitchen knife had somehow returned to his waist, one hand holding a basin, stretching forward.

  Suddenly, a crisp sound of the wave still on Qin Yifan's head, the bull seemed to split open entirely, and a bloody rain poured down, but in the rapid swing of Qin Yifan's hand, all the blood was caught in one of the wooden basins. And as if at the same time, a bucket of cow urine also fell accurately into another basin.

  With a flick of his hand, the two wooden basins seemed to have grown eyes and landed accurately on either side of the wooden frame. Then, the knife was somehow back in his hand again. A flurry of movements, and all the onlookers saw was a flash of red before their eyes, only to find that the frame now held a neatly stacked pile of cut beef cubes.

  Then, a huge object appeared and stopped on the shelf. When everyone looked closely, they found that it was a complete cowhide with the head and tail intact, exactly the same as the one skinned by the butcher from the foreign tribe not long ago.

  Then, with a crash, something seemed to collapse and fell to the ground. After seeing what had fallen clearly, the onlookers' cries of surprise erupted again. A complete cow skeleton lay there, its white bones bare, without a single thread of flesh attached, because without the connection of flesh, it was unable to maintain its standing state and scattered all over the ground.