Chapter 858: Chapter 857: Emergence (Part 1)
What, what is he doing?
Zhu Qing voiced the question on behalf of the old man, Lan Chuhai, and Lan Fengxian.
Xia Yu didn’t chop the chicken, but instead picked a piece of chicken tail meat left aside earlier, placed it on the cutting board, his gaze sharp, wielding a thin and light slicing knife, slashing rapidly like a shimmering galaxy.
Strips of chicken threads floated away lightly.
About seven or eight seconds passed, Xia Yu exhaled, and his storm-like knife technique abruptly halted, transitioning from motion to stillness as he stood at the kitchen counter, staring at the spread-out threads before him.
“It’s really different now…”
Xia Yu was surprised, his hand gripping the knife handle, loosening and tightening repeatedly.
Based on experience, he felt he should test the knife before officially starting, since who knew what unpredictable effects the greatly enhanced “Divine Hand” might have on his cooking process?
Sure enough.
After testing the knife, the shock and joy within Xia Yu were understood only by himself.
“The control over muscles and strength has risen by a huge step!”
He thought incredulously.
So, with slightly rigid movements, he picked a strand from the pile of chicken fiber threads on the cutting board and sent it into his mouth.
Teeth gently bit down.
Spang!
Like a taut rubber band suddenly snapping, the mouth followed with a tremble.
“Wonderful!”
“It’s this state!”
Xia Yu’s heart added a line: the optimal state of the ingredient.
Why did the improvement in muscle and strength control make the ingredient cut by the same knife turn out so different?
This involves the deep secrets of “knife skills”—
Force!
This force is muscle, strength, and an unexplainable technique.
The old man was just trying to impart the secret of force to his grandson verbally, and his ‘benevolent knife technique’ is not some mystical skill but a technique of force utilization, ensuring clean cuts on ingredients without destruction when the knife falls.
In other words, the “Divine Hand” quietly allowed Xia Yu to touch the deep core of the ‘benevolent knife technique’.
A sudden realization!
“So that’s how it is…”
Xia Yu gripped the knife, his eyes intermittently sparkling, then sharp.
“The ‘Divine Hand’ enhances the micro-control of my strength, impacting my knife skill realm, giving the ingredient’s state a beneficial effect… It’s an indirect enhancement, and the medium is my hand, knife skills!”
Muttering to himself.
“The indirect enhancement is one thing.”
“Moreover, isn’t the most terrifying aspect of the ‘Divine Hand’ in its direct touch, changing the state of the ingredient?”
Seeing Xia Yu with his back to them, talking to himself mysteriously, Zhu Qing stood up to ask, but the old man raised his hand to stop her.
“Don’t disturb him!”
The old man emphasized with a serious tone.
Zhu Qing was taken aback.
“Shh!”
Lan Fengxian also retracted his smile, a solemn expression on his face.
In fact, his eyes showed a hint of surprise.
“Swish, swish, swish…”
The knife flashes Xia Yu generated in seconds were still replaying in their minds over and over.
In the kitchen at this moment, only Xia Qing and he understood what they saw.
If at first, the force of the knife was only sharp and rough in detail, then in a mere three or four seconds, these rough knife skill details immediately vanished for the two Dragon Chefs present!
And then, the knife’s momentum became more rounded, as a whole like a seamless, flawless spinning disk, impervious to water!
The more Lan Fengxian thought about it, the more shocked he was, “This Xia Demon King’s knife skills are completely different from half an hour ago!”
“What’s going on?!”
He couldn’t understand, nor could Xia Qing.
“Half an hour ago, his knife skills were overly sharp, like a novice in worldly society wrestling on momentum, his techniques flawed in detail, but now…”
Xia Qing said quietly.
“Now, they are as skillfully honed as a master with a hundred refined techniques!”
At this moment, a voice came from the kitchen counter:
“Ah, there’s no ingredient left, Aunt Qing, can you fetch a chicken from the storage room for me?”
“Oh, and also bring the recipe’s set of ingredients while you’re at it.”
Zhu Qing was a bit puzzled, “What?”
“I’ll go.”
The old man took a deep look at his grandson’s back and turned away. A few minutes later, he returned with a basket of ingredients to place on the kitchen counter, “All the ingredients are here.”
“Thanks, old man!”
Xia Yu hurriedly pulled out the ingredients.
First up was a whole, smooth chicken, “Garlic Chicken”.
Placing the chicken on the cleaned cutting board, Xia Yu went to the sink, turned on the tap, meticulously washing his hands repeatedly until his ten fingers gleamed with water, then stopped.
Clap!
Watching Xia Yu’s hands gently caress the chicken body, for some reason, Xia Qing and Lan Fengxian both felt their temples throb, sensing an odd premonition.
“It’s started—”
But Xia Yu was lost in his own world, his expression becoming subtle.
Following the culinary intuition of the “Divine Hand”, he took action.
Gently caressing.
The white, delicate fingers stroked every inch of the chicken’s, um, the chicken’s entire body of course.
Then, there was a gentle knead.
Seeing Xia Yu’s deliberate slow pace, the scene seemed soft, and Zhu Qing, who was usually close to Xia Yu, couldn’t help but silently scream in embarrassment, her cheeks flushed with shame, “Yu, what are you doing!”
“Is it necessary to go to such lengths with the ingredients…”
Her words carried a faint hint of jealousy.
The subtext of Zhu Qing’s words was clearly it’s too wicked, switch me in to endure it instead.
Lan Chuhai also watched with eyes glistening.
Xia Qing, Lan Fengxian, however, saw something familiar, exchanging dumbfounded glances.
“Isn’t this…”
“It’s that!”
A complete set of ingredient massage lasted about 5 minutes.
Ding.
The system jolted Xia Yu awake from immersion: “The ‘Divine Hand’ has completed processing the ingredients.”
“Uh, that’s all it takes?”
Xia Yu shook his head, his eyes clearing, withdrew his hands, and observed the chicken on the cutting board.
Only through the naked eye, no change could be seen.
It was still that featherless, smooth-skinned chicken.
The skin and all showed no signs of alteration.
“How about using the Perception Eye or Super Vision to look?” Thinking this, Xia Yu activated the skill, scanning his vision, his pupils contracting.
For a long moment.
Xia Yu finally assimilated the impact the ‘Divine Hand’ had on the muscle fiber structure.
“Was this achieved through massage techniques to relax the ingredient’s structure?”
After a moment’s hesitation, “I’ll try cutting and see!”
Taking the same knife as before, slash.
The chicken was cleaved in two, and Xia Yu stared at the cut surface of the muscle fiber structure, involuntarily gasping, witnessing a smooth and delicate sight, the meat’s cut surface devoid of errant small threads, refined like a work of art.
Too exquisite!
He could hardly believe this was sliced by him.
Next, Xia Yu went on without pause, gripped the knife, slicing the whole chicken into blocks.
With ingredients in the pot, seasonings added.
Lid closed.
On New Year’s morning, the chimney of Xia Mansion emitted cooking smoke.
An hour later.
“Done!”
Xia Yu unveiled the lid and brought the second serving of steamed chicken soup made this morning to the dining table.
“Everyone, give it a taste—”
The hot pot was placed on a bamboo mat, Xia Yu grinned and lifted the lid, several pairs of eyes fixed unwaveringly on the clear broth within.
Zhu Qing opened her mouth, “Yu, just now you…”
“Aunt Qing, let’s talk about it later, for now, taste this chicken soup for me, and see what’s different.” Xia Yu personally ladled a full bowl for Zhu Qing.
“May I have a taste?”
Lan Chuhai suddenly spoke, his eyes clearly expressing hope.
“Of course, sharing is caring!”
Xia Yu placed more bowls on the table.
As for the old man, he didn’t need Xia Yu to pour him soup, he just ladled himself a spoonful and took a sip.