Reborn in Japan as a Chef God-Chapter 978 - 977: Sword Debate (Part 3)

"Not too early, not too late!" Xia Yu gave Ghost Father a thumbs-up for arriving just on time.

Clang!

A few men in black worked together to push a pitch-black cage. The passage leading from the front door to the platform in the square was just wide enough for the cart to pass through. On either side of the road, a group of people looked up at the massive creature inside the cage, their mouths agape: "A camel?"

No mistake.

Tiqie Ji had transported a camel from North America!

This camel was no different in size from an ordinary camel. Its neck stretched upward to about the height of two adult men stacked together.

Its coat was beautiful, a sleek, rich wine-red color.

On the camel’s back were two high, prominent humps, drawing much attention.

"Is this... a Wine Camel?"

The heads of IGO and the Gourmet Society were taken aback.

"A camel?" The Chinese Realm chefs and food critics frowned in unison.

Is there a well-known recipe involving camel meat?

Undeniably, among the eight major Chinese cuisines, from Sichuan to Anhui, the regions are either coastal or central, while camels can only be found on the Gobi Desert in the northwest of the mainland. So, from a traditional culinary perspective, the Han people lack experience and a legacy in cooking camel meat. Unless rooted in the Northwest and hailing from Northwest cuisine, otherwise, bringing a camel in front of chefs would leave them unable to handle even the basic slaughtering!

Familiarizing with ingredients, knowing their properties and characteristics, is the first step to making a delicious dish!

"It’s hard to understand..."

In the live broadcast synced to the Polar Star Dormitory, the long-absent ’Medicine King’ Xingping Chuangzhen stared wide-eyed at the towering, majestic hump creature on screen, mumbling, "Why did the instructor choose such an obscure and unfamiliar ingredient?"

Ichise Hui was there as well, with a grave expression, he agreed, "When facing off against a high-level chef, one shouldn’t rely on luck or take risky routes. One should seize every advantage they have, forge it into a sharp sword, and pierce straight into the enemy’s heart..."

Then he laughed.

"But the instructor chose a ’Wine Camel’ because this fantasy livestock surely has some exploitable advantage. This advantage is significant enough for the instructor to cram studying and understanding the ingredient before the final battle."

Upon hearing this, the people in Polar Star Dormitory, including Xingping Chuangzhen, immediately understood.

"What advantage does the ’Wine Camel’ have?" Yoshino Yuuki asked.

"You’ll see soon enough."

Ichise Hui shrugged.

On screen, the host Qi Qingyan hurried down from the stage to interview Tiqie Ji, who delivered the ingredients to the scene.

Facing the camera, Ghost Father spoke unhurriedly, "Actually, the ’Wine Camel’ is not an extremely rare Forbidden Ingredient. I believe the IGO’s ranch in the Desert Garden also raises quite a few camels. Its meat sells for $10,000 per 100 grams on the market, while the wine stored in its humps, depending on quality and type, the highest grade is approximately worth as much as the ’Miracle Wine’!"

Four walls stirred in uproar upon hearing Ghost Father explain the ingredient.

"The meat is worth less compared to the wine in the humps?" Dojima Yin laughed, "I understand now, the focus is on the wine in the humps. I’m sure our Instructor Xia will make a significant note on this point!"

Shinohara Shigetaro, Liangzi Lina, and Saito Chiyokuro nodded in agreement.

With the chefs’ keen instincts and experience, it was clear that the most valuable part of the ’Wine Camel’ was the wine stored in its humps. Xia Yu wouldn’t have entrusted Tiqie Ji to transport such a large creature from afar simply for the ordinary camel meat, but for the hump wine that might rival the ’Miracle Wine’!

"Help—"

Xia Yu jumped down from the stage, wielding a large machete.

A few men in black led the camel out, as it was domesticated livestock without much wildness, it didn’t resist or struggle much.

As Xia Yu was about to proceed with the live slaughter, Qi Qingyan quickly darted up the stage again, offering the microphone to Mr. Huang, "Mr. Huang, what do you think?"

Mr. Huang smiled awkwardly, forced to respond, "Actually, I’ve always supported young people trying new ingredients in their cooking..."

"Could you talk about the tips for slaughtering a camel?" Qi Qingyan’s eyes glinted with a hint of slyness.

"Uh?" Mr. Huang choked, just about to search his chef’s knowledge for a decent answer, when suddenly a flash of blade light appeared!

Splurt!

The camera zoomed in as Xia Yu approached the camel’s side, feeling along its long neck. At that second, he apparently found the spot to make the cut and locked on. The next second, his right hand swung the thick, long "Greedy Wolf Knife" ferociously.

"Awooo—"

The camel let out a hoarse, low-pitched cry of pain. It remarkably didn’t struggle, leaving the few men in black prepared to restrain the camel dumbstruck. Shouldn’t it have given the butcher a vicious kick to the head in its last moments?

Large spurts of fresh blood gushed out from the base of the camel’s neck.

This spot, close to the body yet still on the neck, in one corner of the square, Jintan Shun and Tulip exchanged smiles, "It’s happening!"

"One cut, severs four pipes!"

The esophagus, trachea, and two blood vessels all severed.

Even with a large basin set to catch the blood, the surge was too much, splattering around and quickly staining the floor tiles red. Xia Yu stood amidst the square saturated with blood as a carpet, his long knife sharp, clothes spotless. This striking contrast naturally exuded an intimidating aura.

"...Demon King!" Many people felt their hearts skip a beat.

Thud!

A few minutes later, the drained camel, its limbs folded, collapsed heavily to the ground, closing its eyes.

The camel’s death radiated a profound tranquility.

Qi Qingyan asked Mr. Huang again, "Mr. Huang, do you see any faults in Chef Xia’s slaughtering technique that you’d like to correct?"

"Cough, cough..."

Having barely composed himself, Mr. Huang was left breathless.

Subsequently, Xia Yu continued to slaughter a goat, a chicken, and a pigeon.

The goat was a ’Rock Alpaca’, a young lamb, not very big, while the chicken and pigeon were ordinary.

After nearly thirty minutes and close to four rounds of slaughter, sweat rolled down Xia Yu’s forehead. Though each time he seemed to cleanly dispose of a live animal with just one cut, the tasks of removing the organs, de-feathering, and bone cutting were indeed physically draining.

Facing the few workbenches with chicken, pigeon, and lamb laid out, and the naked camel soaking in a large basin not far away, Xia Yu took a deep breath: "Let’s begin—"

Clang, clang!

The familiar sound of chains.

Chains were fastened at the base of the camel’s four legs, Xia Yu grabbed the bundles of iron chains with both hands, turning to see the charcoal array set up on the ground nearby.

Tiqie Ji was recruited as a helper, and he directed the men in black to unload bags of charcoal. These coals spread out to cover an area about the size of a room, nearly half a meter thick. Clang, clang, clang, Xia Yu astonishingly moved the carved out, viscera- and blood-removed camel, still weighing over 400 kilograms, single-handedly. Watching this scene made the elites in the square jump, "His, his strength is far beyond an ordinary human’s now!"

Standing at the center of the charcoal fire array, thud, the entire camel was placed on the grill rack before him, Xia Yu shouted to Tiqie Ji: "Start the fire!"

At this moment, Tiqie Ji had just picked up a bottle with a few liters capacity, walked a circle around, and poured golden fat over the charcoal pile. Upon hearing, he stood up, took out a box of matches, and lit them. When a tiny flaming match fell onto the charcoal pile—

Boom!

It was as if a magical fire formation unfolded, instantly enveloping Xia Yu in flames.

Tiqie Ji was pushed back several meters by the tidal wave of scorching heat, watching the flames consume both the boy and the camel. He couldn’t help but laugh low and evilly, "To ignite and roast with ’Morse Oil’... haha, I’m truly doing a bonfire performance with a madman! Interesting!"

The entire square was hit by the heatwave, Dojima Yin’s mouth gaping open, suddenly recalling a training session a year ago. At that time, the culinary demonstration named "Heavenly Hero Grilled Bluefish" truly earned the boy the title of ’Fire Mage’.

Even today,

This bonfire was even more grand and spectacular!

"Buzz, buzz..."

Out of nowhere, a gust of air spread the flames, as some heavy object spun rapidly in mid-air.

Among the seats, a large crowd instinctively leaned back in awe to avoid it.

"The camel, it’s flying!"

Stunned and speechless.