The young man suddenly muttered in a melodic way, “Startling changes begin where the masterful hand lands. Carving strokes ripple through the masterpiece a hundred times. This ancient art shall outlast eternity. The raised knife, like a crescent moon, will illuminate the cold spring.” A Mayan bluish glow—the knife—revolved around the plate at a rate which made it hard for anyone to make out its shape. Even though it was hard to follow the movement of the knife, Huo Yuhao could make out the carvings on the cucumbers, which were made with every syllable the young man muttered. Green pieces of cucumber skin were ejected by the knife as they drifted and fell to the side. After the last syllable was uttered, a total of two hundred and sixty-one cuts had been delivered.  A circle of cucumber skin fell neatly around the plate, forming a perfect circular pattern of black and green stripes. The size of the skin fragments were all exactly the same. But what was most astounding was the carving that lay above the circle of skin fragments.

Nine jade-like dragon carvings carved out of cucumber stood proudly at the center of the plate. The carvings were delicate,...