Totem

Everyone’s gazes concentrated on Jiang Nan. For a while, everybody’s expressions expressed astonishment or disbelief, but n.o.body knew what to say.

Such an ordinary slave could demonstrate the speed of a knife work chef at the peak of his occupation?

After several seconds of silence, Weylin was the first to react, and she knitted her brows, saying: “Rodi, for a lowlife like you to slaughter a pig, how much time do you need?”

“Half an hour.”

Jiang Nan didn’t tell the truth. He wasn’t an idiot, and knew that with his ordinary appearance, to slaughter a pig in half an hour was already an inconceivably ‘miraculous’ speed. However, a miracle wasn’t necessarily impossible. Hence, when Jiang Nan said that he only needed half an hour, some people may have been shocked, others incredulous, but they definitely recognized it… Actually, this fact was still believable.

On the other hand, if Jiang Nan had truthfully spoken that he only needed twenty seconds…

The people would think like this: slaughtering a pig in twenty seconds is definitely not something a human can do, Rodi definitely has a loose screw in his head! Under the influence of this way of thinking, people might use any kind of method to investigate. For example, a severe flogging, hypnosis, taking hold of Alisa to blackmail him… In any case, nothing good would result out of him saying so.

The tallest trees of the forest are the first to get ravaged by the wind, Jiang Nan had to hide his ability!

“Half an hour?”

Weylin darted a glance towards Eddy. Wasn’t this person who was considered one of the top four knife work chefs on the continent the one who was known to ‘be able to dismember a pig in half an hour’!

So it turns out… Haha, this woman has a knife work specialist no inferior to you!

Weylin laughed heartily in excitement, but she was a bit skeptical, so she yelled out some instructions: “Bring over a live pig. Rodi, slaughter it here for me to see! Hmph, and let this lowlife Eddy get a look too!”

“Right, right, hurry up and show me!”

Eddy rushed over as though he didn’t even hear Weylin’s insults. He simultaneously ran and dug a *stopwatch out of his bag, putting his finger on the b.u.t.ton in preparation to begin timing.
(*TL: not that I know whether stopwatches even exist, but something of the kind does, regardless of how it works)

Jiang Nan, however, didn’t know of the relationship between Weylin and Eddy, and looked towards the crowd of people in a baffled manner. However, no person was willing to explain what had happened to a slave.

Very quickly, a live pig was brought over and bound onto a wooden stick, and a complete set of pig butchering tools were set beside it.

“Alright, then I’ll butcher it!”

Jiang Nan grabbed a butcher knife and used a speed that seemed incredibly fast to others, but was actually quite slow compared to his normal level by several times, and pierced through the pig’s throat.

Just by seeing this action. Eddy’s eyes had already lit up, “Not bad. You’re quick, you’re technique is precise. Youngster, you are a pig butchering specialist!”

Weylin tilted her chin up and gleefully began bragging, “He’s considered a specialist! What a pity, a pity that several days ago, headquarters took away many of our slaves, of which twenty-something were even stronger than this lowlife, Rodi!”

With Eddy’s expression of praise, everybody already believed Jiang Nan because he really did have the ability to butcher a pig within half an hour. However, a question arose in Weylin’s heart.

This lowlife’s knife work… where did he learn it from?

Weylin immediately asked Rodi him this question, “Rodi, where did you learn your knife work from?”

“My knife work… alright, Miss Weylin, do *you remember ‘Old *Pico’?”
(*TL: I was sorely tempted to put pika because the pinyin is pi ke 皮克… pick sounds lame… picker.. what is that.. pike.. what even)

Weylin’s eyes expressed a vacant look and looked towards Lola. Clearly, she didn’t remember who Old Pico was.

Lola hastily answered: “Miss, Old Pico was also a slave on this farm. In his generation, his family focused on butchering pigs, and he was this farm’s number one knife work chef.”

“My knife work was imparted to me by Old Pico.”

Jiang Nan simultaneously slaughtered the pig and diligently gave them an explanation: “Miss Weylin, there’s some shady business that goes on secretly that you’re not clear on. For example, slaves the butcher pigs, they often use their own knife work and secretly stash away some pig meat… Yes, Old Pico studied and researched an extremely fantastic blade technique for the purpose of stealing pig meat: For every pig he slaughtered, he’d stash away a quarter of kilogram of pig meat!
And three months before, on the night of the Tianyuan Festival, I brought pigs to Old Pico on your orders… On that night, I stumbled across Old Pico’s stolen pig meat secret! Originally, I wanted to immediately report it to an overseer to get a reward, but Old Pico said to me…”

Jiang Nan repeatedly shook his head in frustration, “Old Pico actually enticed me! He said, as long as I kept it a secret, then he would pa.s.s on his blade technique to me. Miss, *you’ve also seen how exquisite Old Pico’s knife work was. Not only would I be able to pilfer pig meat, as long as I learned this blade technique, I had the chance of getting promoted from a pig herder to a pig butcher… This kind of gift was definitely more generous than what the overseer would’ve given me, so I admit, I didn’t resist the temptation. I’ve done wrong…”

“So you just helped Old Pico protect his secret, and he… pa.s.sed on his blade technique to you?” Weylin frowned as she stared at Jiang Nan.

“Exactly so!”

Jiang Nan shrugged his shoulders, his face seeming to say, ‘what I’ve said is the truth. Professor Jiang is a model character, and has never deceived anybody’.

“How about Old Pico? Where is he now? Call him out to verify Rodi’s words!”

“Miss Weylin, I’m very sorry.” Jiang Nan’s grieved expression revealed helplessness, “Half a month ago… Old Pico already died!”

Dead without any kind of verification!

Weylin contemplated for a while, then slightly knit her eyebrows, angrily responding: “That’s not right! Since Old Pico had this kind of blade technique, then how come he never demonstrated it before? Why did he keep parading as an ordinary cook?”

Jiang Nan answered without even turning his head: “These kinds of situations are very common. If you don’t believe me, then *you can go ask Miss Lola.”

Weylin looked at Lola with displeasure.

Lola hastily looked down, “Miss, I don’t dare to lie to *you. These kinds of situations occur very often: many slaves are clearly capable of performing around fifteen tasks worth of labor in a day, but simply demonstrate that they are only able to complete ten… Slaves say that the more capability you demonstrate, then, then the duties *you allocate to them are even heavier. In order to rest more… they, they can’t help but hide their abilities.”

“This is the reason why Old Pico didn’t dare to reveal his knife work!” Jiang Nan spoke: “Miss Weylin, if not for Lola forcing me to the extreme, I wouldn’t have revealed my own knife work either.”

“d.a.m.ned lowlives!”

Weylin pulverized a large rock into fragments in a fit of anger. She had so confidently managed the farm for so many years and possessed plenty of experience, never even thinking that this kind of thing was happening right before her eyes! This… these f***ing b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!

However, after crushing that rock, Weylin had already basically believed Jiang Nan’s lie.

Time pa.s.sed by in minutes and seconds as Weylin asked a few more questions with Jiang Nan answering them one by one. In the mean time, he also finished butchering the pig with a speed that he could barely tolerate.

“Miss Weylin, slaughtering a pig in half an hour, I’ve done so.”

Jiang Nan carelessly threw away the butcher knife and then, as if doing so subconsciously like a habit, he easily took a few fragments of pig meat and stuffed them into his pocket!

A quarter of a kilogram’s worth!

And the remainder of the pig meat had no visible holes or gaps as though nothing had ever been taken.

He had proven his lie that ‘Old Pico’s blade technique’ was for the purpose of pilfering pig meat!

Seeing Jiang Nan’s little gesture, Weylin itched to whip him to death, but she had already thoroughly believed his nonsense!

Therefore, Weylin placed her hands on her hips as she looked at Eddy with contempt, speaking with immense satisfaction: “Eddy, is the knife work of this woman’s slave still pa.s.sable?”

“Far beyond pa.s.sable. This slave’s knife work is already no inferior to mine…”

Eddy licked his dry lips, then belted out laughter as he slapped Jiang Nan on the shoulder: “Rodi is it? Come with me, the Knife Work Feast needs experts like you!”

Knife Work Feast?!

Jiang Nan immediately went blank, “Miss Weylin, the meaning of this mister’s words…”

Weylin didn’t even have the slightest intention of answering. She looked at Eddy in satisfaction and gleefully waved her hand, then turned and reprimanded Jiang Nan, “What are you standing there dazed for! Hurry up and get out of my farm with Eddy, you lowlife. Without his permission, you are not permitted to return!”

Lola also mocked Jiang Nan in a peculiarly: “Rodi, don’t think that just because you have good knife work that your opinions matter! You do whatever the Miss allows you to do, what are you questioning it for?!? Don’t forget, you’re simply the lowest of the lowest of slaves, and you only have a duty to obey orders, not the authority to question things, understand?”
(TL: Wow so p.i.s.sy, someone’s jealous…”

“Alright, I’m a slave, I must unconditionally obey your commands…”

Jiang Nan inhaled a deep breath, “However, Miss Weylin, you must at least give me time to say goodbye to my aunt!”

If he just left now, then when would he have the chance to ask Auntie about the secret of altering the secret manual?!

Furthermore, Jiang Nan had agreed to acquire the map of ‘Mt. Longinus’ for the freak with the hanging eye. If he left with Eddy, then where would he get such a map?