Chapter 719: 719
The food and wine served at the imperial banquet were not delicious at all .
It was perhaps Wu Qi's most insipid meal since he came to Pangu Continent . As he stuffed his mouth with meat, he cocked his head and glanced around at the high ministers and dignitaries of Great Yu, his heart filled with mixed emotions .
The imperial banquet of Great Yu had always followed the ancient tradition . Ancient people struggled to survive in the vast wilderness, so naturally, they did not pay much attention to food and drink . What was served at this banquet was really unsavory . Truth be told, all the meats came from a very good source, the best parts cut from seasoned demon beasts, all being excellent ingredients . But, no matter how good the ingredient was, if it were only half-boiled and sprinkled with some salt, served bloody without adding any other condiments, it could never be considered a delicious dish .
With a blunt jade knife, Wu Qi cut through a tough piece of meat cooked like an old cow's hide, then stuffed the bloody tenderloin of a demon beast into his mouth with a big frown on his face . An indescribably foul smell rushed up his nose from his mouth, making him nearly throw up . But, this was an imperial banquet given by the Human Emperor, and throwing up would be rude . So, Wu Qi could only chew on the tenacious piece of meat . His teeth and the tough tendons in the meat rubbed against each other, producing a loud crunch .
All the meats came from demon beasts raised by Great Yu, and had gained sentience and human forms . With their roots as beasts, these demons did not have strong divine power, but their fleshly bodies were amazingly sturdy . And since they had taken human forms, it meant that they had cultivated for at least thousands of years, making their muscles as tough as a steel ingot . Had he not attained a fleshly body that was stronger than these demons, his teeth would have been broken as he chewed through the meat, just like what would happen when an ordinary mortal tried to bite a steel ingot .
In addition to Wu Qi and the other military officers, whose fleshly bodies and teeth were strong enough to attack these meats, a major part of those who had the honor to 'enjoy' this imperial banquet were Oracles and civil officials serving in the imperial court . As feeble as they were, there was no way they could eat the meats of demon beasts . As such, they were served with boiled potatoes and vegetables, which came intact with skins and roots . Like the meats, they were only boiled and sprinkled with some salt .
In short, the dishes served at the imperial banquet were prepared in the exact same way as the ancient people did . Across the table, Wu Qi saw an elderly man in a black robe, who appeared to be a high Oracle, and the big jade bowl placed in front of him, in which were three large boiled cabbages that came in whole along with the roots . They almost seemed like some raw vegetables .
Sitting beneath the thirty-six thousand towering totem poles on the spacious square and shrouded in the gloomy green light, countless ministers and dignitaries of Great Yu were gnawing pieces of bloody meat, their faces stiff and expressionless . The air rang with the loud noises produced when tendons in the meats were bitten off . Between them, Oracles and civil officials in the court assumed solemn airs as they ripped and tore the fist-sized, almost raw potatoes and whole cabbages in their hands with their teeth . If one looked close enough, one could see the glumness in their eyes . Wu Qi felt that it was a grim and bizarre scene, yet somehow full of a sense of absurd comedy .
As Wu Qi was slowly swallowing the meat in his mouth, his eyes caught a short, skinny Oracle sitting off in a corner . He almost burst into laughter when he saw the Oracle grimacing as he grabbed a couple of boiled carrots from his jade bowl and nibbled at them .
So, was this the imperial banquet bestowed by the Human Emperor? It was no wonder Yangqiu Fengbo and the others were so excited when they were talking about the award ceremony, but when it came to the imperial banquet after the ceremony, they each assumed an expression weirder than the other .
The tradition of Great Yu! Wu Qi held back his breath as he tried his best not to laugh .
Since there was no delicious food, naturally there was no fine wine . The wine served at the banquet was made according to the oldest recipes, the sour, low-alcohol wine that ancient people brewed and kept in clay pots with bits of grain sunk at the bottom . It had a strong sour aroma, just like fermented vinegar . Wu Qi could not find a word to describe its taste: sour, floaty, and almost feeling like it was about to explode in his mouth . And, as the wine slowly flowed down into his stomach, he felt as if countless sharp blades were cutting at his throat . It was an unforgettable sensation that made his flesh creep .
All the bibulous military officers had become gentlemen at the imperial banquet . Unless necessary, they would never take a sip out of their wine vessels . But, the elderly man who presided over the banquet, the same old man who had declared the conferral, would propose a toast every ten minutes, and everyone present would have to down the wine in their large wine vessels . It was literally the worst torture in the world .
The elderly man was the high priest of Great Yu, and was responsible for the preparation and conduct of important ceremonies . It was said that each high priest was chosen by lot from the elders of the aristocracy, and strangely enough, their sons and daughters all ended up not being married . Wu Qi had a feeling that such a peculiar phenomenon must have some weird connection with the imperial banquet .
In any case, just by looking at this high priest's twisting expression, and the anger brooding deep in the eyes of all the military and civil officials present, Wu Qi knew that it was a much-hated official post . The problem was that the imperial banquet of Great Yu had a complete set of rituals, and even if one were the most powerful King under the Human Emperor, one was not allowed to leave their seat until it was completed .
Wu Qi sighed helplessly as he swallowed another piece of meat .
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