boyutpedia Chapter 82 Looking at the knife
Chapter 82 Looking at the knife
The blade shines again.
The tip of the willow blade sliced diagonally down from behind the fish's head, gliding along the spine with a soft rustling sound, like silk sliding on fingertips.
Take willow branches.
The cut was executed flawlessly from start to finish, leaving a large, perfectly peeled fillet with a bright orange hue and snow-white fat marbling, which landed on the bow plank that Hannah, Ellie, and Harry had washed spotlessly clean.
Flip it over, and make another cut. The second fillet is laid out neatly, and the two fillets look as perfect as if they were pressed out of a mold.
Next comes skinning. The blade is pushed horizontally between the fish meat and the skin, the tip of the blade slightly lifted, and with a silky swift motion, the entire fish skin is peeled off completely, without wasting any subcutaneous fat.
Lucas's movements were so fast they were just a blur. The subsequent removal of red skin and thorns were fluid and graceful.
Even with language barriers and cultural differences, the mermaids were still mesmerized. This proves that when "beauty" transcends national borders and even species, it becomes true art.
"What are they doing?" Ellie was confused but shocked. "There's no way to start a fire on the ship!"
Hannah shook her head, but Harry's eyes lit up: "I remember now! I saw it on TV, it's called—sashimi! Yes, raw fish slices!"
Ellie's purple eyes widened: "Huh? It's still born, isn't it?"
"Eating raw fish and eating raw fish are two different things." Lucas scooped up a handful of lake water and washed Liu Ren clean, explaining as he continued his actions.
"If you eat it raw, the fish has scales, bones, and spines, as well as the fishy smell of the skin, the bitterness of the internal organs, the slime all over its body, the rusty smell of the blood, and the coarse muscle fibers... The natural freshness of the fish is completely lost, which is simply unforgivable!"
"Use the fastest knife to remove all of these in the shortest time, allowing the most exquisite flavors to shine directly on your tongue—"
The willow blade danced at his fingertips, his wrist moving with mechanical precision. Each cut was of the same thickness and angle, breaking down the two large fillets of fish into individual pieces of fish meat, the edges as neat as if measured with a ruler.
No one spoke anymore.
Harry stared wide-eyed as the glasses he'd just found slipped down his nose, but he forgot to push them up. Everyone stared in disbelief at the shimmering light in Lucas's hand, and at the four crystalline flowers that had appeared on the clean plank of the bow.
Flowers made of translucent fish meat.
The belly meat is delicate and fatty, and is the most delicious part. It is cut using a "flat cut" method, with the knife at a 45-degree angle to the fish meat, each slice being 5 millimeters thick, with a smooth, mirror-like surface.
The back meat is firm and has a distinct sweet aftertaste. It is also cut in a "flat" style, but each slice is only three millimeters thick, and the wood grain of the bow of the boat can be faintly seen through.
The tail meat is the most vibrant and flavorful. It is cut using a "slicing" technique, with the knife drawn at an angle, resulting in thin, large fan-shaped slices with slightly curled edges.
The meat close to the bone is the rarest cut. It's cut using a "corner-cutting" method, first slicing it, then cutting it into chunks. These small, cube-shaped pieces have an amazing elasticity and chewiness.
Four groups of fish fillets, cut in four different ways, and each with a different color, glistened enticingly in the moonlight.
Because of different food cultures, the young wizards originally avoided sashimi. But once they had tasted Lucas's food, they had complete trust in his skills and were eager to try any strange food.
Harry felt his mouth watering uncontrollably, and he desperately wanted to grab a piece and taste it. He could even imagine the melt-in-your-mouth texture of the fish.
But Lucas had already gestured for the mermaids in the Black Lake to enter.
"Please try it, my guests."
The mermaid swam to the side of the boat. In his life, prey was meant to be torn apart with his teeth, but these thin slices, with their alluring color and not a single thorn, exuded an irresistible sweet aroma, which made him put aside his suspicions about humans for a moment.
He stretched out his webbed, wet hand and carefully pinched a piece of belly meat.
The succulent fish meat almost slipped through his fingers; he shuddered and quickly put it in his mouth.
Then, his eyes widened, and his vertical pupils suddenly contracted within his cloudy yellow eyes.
In that instant, my rough taste buds were struck by a completely new sensation!
No scales, no bones, no blood... No more violent tearing is needed. The fat of the red-spotted salmon melts gently on the tongue, and a pool of sweet spring water slides down the throat. The rich aroma of the oil rushes straight to the brain.
So smooth, so sweet!
Is this fish? I've been eating raw fish for so many years?!
The impact left him completely disoriented; his body stiffened, even his instinct to float ceased, and then—
With a splash, his entire body sank into the water, water splashing everywhere, his iron-gray arms thrashing about, creating ripples.
The surrounding mermaids, confused and thinking there was something wrong with the fish meat, gleamed with ferocity and raised their spears. The young wizards, regaining their panic, screamed. Hagrid roared and brandished his pink umbrella.
"Pfft!"
The mermaid suddenly leaped out of the water, blocking his companions from approaching. He excitedly slapped the water with both hands, pointed at the sashimi on the bow of the boat, and let out an extremely high-pitched and joyful shriek!
Lucas smiled with satisfaction. Just then—
He suddenly saw a thin, hazy ray of light shoot out from the mermaid's body and enter his own.
Lucas was startled and looked down, instinctively reaching out to touch it, but his hand passed right through it, finding nothing. The light vanished. Only the moonlight, like water, shone upon him, and the lake surface was covered in a silvery frost.
What was that just now?
I felt nothing in my body, neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. Was it just my imagination? Or was it moonlight reflecting off the water?
At this moment, the mermaids holding spears became excited. Looking at the glistening fish meat on the bow of the ship, their mouths watered so much they almost dripped into the lake. They put down their weapons and rushed toward Lucas's ship.
"Gah—hiss!"
But the mermaid suddenly turned around, let out a roar, and stopped all her companions who were trying to approach.
Then, he lowered his head and uttered a strange, long, drawn-out call to the bottomless black lake.
All the merfolk stopped and began to sing in unison, making this call together.
The lake began to churn, and mermaids surged out like a geyser, numbering at least several hundred. Then, the mermaids respectfully retreated to the sides and bowed their heads.
A dark shadow slowly rose from the water.
"Oh, Merlin, it's Mercus!" Hagrid's mouth dropped open.
wow-
Merkus, the mermaid leader, emerged from the water. This female mermaid leader was much larger than ordinary mermaids, with an exceptionally rough and ferocious face, and wore a necklace made of glowing pearls around her neck.
The mermaid hurriedly reported to Merkus, gesturing excitedly, and then pointed to the bow of the ship.
Mercus responded with a puzzled look, and then, accompanied by the mermaid, slowly swam to Lucas's small boat.
She looked down at Lucas and the glistening fish-flesh flowers on the bow of the ship. After hesitating for a moment, smelling the fresh aroma in the air and watching her people jumping excitedly, she finally stretched out her huge hand, picked up a piece of tail meat, and put it into that big mouth full of sharp teeth.
The entire lake was silent, with only the sound of waves lapping against the side of the boat.