137 Pig (Part 2)

Regarding the castration of pigs, Zhai Le refused.

Especially since it was a male piglet being castrated.

One was a ninth-rank great physician, and the other was a seventh-rank public physician. These two warriors could handle a thousand-man skirmish together, so holding down a one-month-old piglet was no problem. The only issue was the piglet's ear-piercing screams, which made the two men quite uncomfortable.

Zhai Le turned his face away, not daring to look at the male piglet that was about to be "violated" but remained "unyielding."

Seeing that the piglet seemed to sense what was coming and was struggling with all its might, Zhai Le felt guilty, like he was "helping a tyrant do evil." He muttered to himself, "Ancestors above, this is the first time in my life I'm doing something so 'immoral.'"

Shen Tang, who was about to perform the "surgery," was sweating lightly on her forehead.

But she remained calm and composed.

She said, "You two must hold it down tight, don't let it move. If I cut wrong, it will have to endure another cut."

Zhai Le glanced at the piglet's soon-to-be-lost treasure, his thick eyebrows twitching with nervousness. "Brother Shen, will it hurt?"

Shen Tang considered and said, "It will definitely hurt a bit."

Otherwise, why would the phrase "ball ache" exist?

She had worried about the lack of anesthesia, but then she thought, if pigs are slaughtered without anesthesia, why use it for castration?

Shen Tang laughed, "Can't bear it?"

Zhai Le, resisting the urge to cringe, recited with closed eyes, "A gentleman, seeing it alive, cannot bear to see it die; hearing its cries, cannot bear to eat its flesh. Therefore, he stays away from the kitchen... I just think it's not very gentlemanly to crave its meat and then castrate it."

Shen Tang replied matter-of-factly, "Gentlemen need to eat meat too! The pigs taste better after being castrated. If we don't castrate them, how can we enjoy it? Haven't you read the 'Ode to Pork'?"

Zhai Le: "…Yes, I have."

He had read it, even tried the meat, but found it unappetizing. It was so foul-smelling that it reminded him of a corpse left out for days, with a hint of the soldiers' foot odor in the barracks. He tried it once and never wanted to again. He didn't understand how Su Dongpo managed to enjoy it so much.

Zhai Le protested, "But the 'Ode to Pork' is not reliable! Out of so many literary works, that one misled me the most!"

Shen Tang laughed, "Then you need to learn this castration skill from me, so you won't have to travel miles to eat this delicacy if you miss it."

She picked up a cloth, wetted it, and wiped the area to be cut while Gong Shu Wu watched, his eyes twitching. Shen Tang grabbed the piglet's testicles with one hand, accurately pinching them. The piglet struggled with all its strength but couldn't break free.

Zhai Le: "..."

Shen Tang's grip made his scalp tingle.

The next second, Shen Tang, steady as a mountain, made a swift, clean cut with the thin, sharp knife.

The piglet, pinned to the ground, let out a spine-chilling scream.

The scream seemed to pierce the sky.

Not only did this make Gong Shu Wu's scalp tingle, but it also stopped Qi Shan and the others in their tracks when they heard the news. Their expressions were quite a sight.

Zhai Le's face turned pale as he watched, feeling like his own parts were hurting too. He couldn't bear to look and closed his eyes, using one hand to press the piglet's neck and front legs, and the other to cover its eyes, silently praying, "…Stop crying, it will be over soon, it will be over soon."

He watched as Shen Tang squeezed the piglet's testicles out, hooked her pinky finger into the wound, and swiftly made the cut with her knife.

In no time, two pieces of flesh, looking like peeled fruit, were tossed into a wooden basin by Shen Tang. Since the wound wasn't large, there wasn't much bleeding. Shen Tang lifted the piglet by its hind legs and shook it, prompting another round of loud squeals, showing it was still very lively.

She clicked her tongue in wonder, "Amazing!"

Zhai Le, pale-faced, asked, "What's so amazing about it?"

Shen Tang pointed at the piglet, which staggered but ran off as soon as it hit the ground, "If a person were castrated, they'd be bedridden for ten days to half a month, and unable to walk for one to two months, severely weakened. But look at it, it can already run around with its legs clamped together."

Zhai Le: "…"

Gong Shu Wu: "…"

Qi Shan: "…"

Chu Yao: "…"

So, has Shen Tang really never worked in a castration room before? She didn't look like a novice at all.

Shen Tang went to catch another smaller piglet.

Since it was small, Zhai Le could hold it alone.

After castrating this piglet, she also castrated a female piglet.

Shen Tang became more and more skilled, but the intermittent pitiful squeals attracted a crowd of onlookers, making Gong Shu Wu's men shiver.

Because Gong Shu Wu said, "What are you looking at? What are you looking at? Get back to practice slashing and thrusting, three hundred times each. Anyone who doesn't do well will be brought over here to be castrated."

Everyone: "…"

After castrating a few piglets, Shen Tang let Gong Shu Wu and Zhai Le take over. It wasn't that she wanted to be lazy or found the job dirty, but Qi Shan and Chu Yao's stern expressions were intimidating, making even the battle-hardened Gong Shu Wu uneasy.

Although Gong Shu Wu and Zhai Le were novices at castrating pigs, they were skilled killers with precise techniques. After observing Shen Tang's operations a few times, they had a general idea and managed to perform adequately.

"Sigh, I wonder how many of these piglets will survive."

With limited medical resources and poor hemostatic methods, at most applying some herbal ash without any stitching, she looked at the basin of testicles.

"Hey, should we take this basin to the kitchen?"

Chu Yao's face darkened, "No way."

Shen Tang suggested, "How about giving it to Banbu's men as a treat?"

Chu Yao: "Sure."

Even the smallest bit of meat is still meat, and it would help nourish them.

Shen Tang was pulled away by Chu Yao to wash her hands. She used two soapberry balls made of fragrant spices, scrubbing until her fingers turned white and there was no more smell before stopping.

Lin Feng had been busy all morning, reciting and memorizing the introductory spells while arranging the newly bought people. Seeing Shen Tang still in the village at this time, she curiously asked, "Why aren't you going out today, Langjun?"

Usually, at this time, Shen Tang would be out, mostly to let the pigs out. Langjun couldn't stay in one place for long.

Shen Tang answered awkwardly, "…The piglets are all sick. They probably need a few days to recover before I can take them out again."

"Are they seriously ill? Will it affect the castration?"

Shen Tang: "…It's already done."

Freshly castrated piglets!

The two adult wild boars didn't count, as Shen Tang hadn't planned on when to deal with them yet. After all, surgery on adult pigs posed different risks than piglets.

Lin Feng was surprised, "Already done?"

So fast???

She recalled hearing faint squeals earlier.

Feeling down, she asked, "Why didn't you call me, Langjun?"

Shen Tang: "…"

Wasn't it to prevent Lin Feng from being traumatized?

Shen Tang knew how to console Lin Feng and said, "I'm planning to summarize and write a 'Castration Manual' over the next few days. You can help me with it, and I'll put your name on it too!"

Chu Yao and Qi Shan: How can we believe that Wu Lang/Shen Xiao Langjun is a woman…