Chapter 390

"You monkey, don't play dumb. I'm asking you — is everything that's happening right now all a setup by you, this monkey?"

That Buddhist disciple, just from the look on Sun Wukong's face, had already confirmed that ever since the Buddhist Dharma Feast began, everything was within Sun Wukong's expectations.

The crowd of celestial officials were left a bit baffled by that Buddhist disciple's roar; they looked at Sun Wukong, then at the Buddhist disciple, and never did understand what was meant.

"Great Chef Sun Wukong, what is the meaning of this? Why would they say you set up a scheme — what scheme?"

Sun Wukong spread his hands. "Lao Sun doesn't know either. Lao Sun just guessed their identities, and they said it was Lao Sun's scheme. Right now Lao Sun still hasn't figured out what exactly happened."

"You monkey are lying! From this dish onward, everything was premeditated by you. You did it on purpose — you deliberately wanted to trick us into eating this dish."

If not for Sun Wukong being surrounded by the crowd of celestial officials, that Buddhist disciple would likely have already rushed over and torn him to shreds.

"Lao Sun still doesn't quite understand your meaning. This dish — it wasn't Lao Sun who forced you to eat it. How did it become Lao Sun tricking you?"

Sun Wukong wore a face full of grievance. "Back then Lao Sun served you the dish and you wouldn't eat, even scolded Lao Sun. Now you want to sneak-eat it, get caught, and still blame Lao Sun. Lao Sun is just a cook — how am I targeting you?"

"It's clearly you!"

"And you still pretend."

That Buddhist disciple, unable to contain his anger, tried to rush over and strike Sun Wukong, but was seized by a celestial official. "Let go of me!"

"It's clearly!"

"It's clearly that Sun monkey using underhanded tricks!"

"Great Monk, your words are wrong. After the Buddhist Dharma Feast ended, Great Chef Sun Wukong went straight to find us — how could he have used underhanded tricks against you?"

A celestial official asked.

"This dish was made by him. If he wanted to use underhanded tricks, would he need any other method?"

That Buddhist disciple was frantic with anxiety, but being restrained he couldn't unleash his magic power, only struggle desperately.

"Your words are quite wrong. What mantra could Great Chef Sun Wukong cast on you? Starting from inside the dish — wouldn't that just confirm his guilt?"

The celestial official thought for a moment, then spoke.

"Yes, yes."

Sun Wukong replied aggrievedly, "Lao Sun already said Lao Sun didn't do anything. Besides, who are you people? Change clothes and Lao Sun doesn't recognize you — why would Lao Sun target you?"

Those words weren't wrong. As things stood, Sun Wukong had no contact whatsoever with the Buddhist sect. To make a Buddhist disciple break precepts over just this point — that truly wasn't a minor matter.

To do such a thing, unless there was deep hatred and great grudge, one wouldn't risk doing it.

"Wrong. It's clearly him who did it."

Since that disciple had already determined a matter, he naturally wouldn't consider anything else.

Moreover, right now so many celestial officials had caught them eating meat dishes on the spot. If they couldn't find someone to vent their spite on, in the end the ones who'd suffer would still be them.

"You say Lao Sun tampered with this dish. Then what do you think the tampering was?"

Sun Wukong felt a surge of inner joy, turned to look at the crowd of celestial officials, and said: "Everyone saw — back then you didn't even touch a spoon, let alone eat. Lao Sun even laid down a restriction there, isolating this dish from you. So you tell me — what tampering could Lao Sun have done?"

"This, I... anyway you just did tamper. Otherwise we wouldn't have come here one by one for this dish."

That Buddhist disciple didn't know how to answer Sun Wukong's words, but he only recognized one thing: that Sun Wukong had tampered inside this dish.

"Fine."

Sun Wukong sighed.

The crowd of disciples looked at Sun Wukong with tense faces. They naturally weren't stupid enough to think Sun Wukong would tell the whole truth.

This Sun Wukong is deceitful and crafty. They just feared what action Sun Wukong might take next.

"Since you've determined a matter, you certainly won't let go."

Sun Wukong said, "But Lao Sun really didn't do anything. Lao Sun's mouth is clumsy — can't out-argue you. But this groundless accusation — Lao Sun can't just let you wrongly blame Lao Sun."

The celestial officials hearing Sun Wukong say this were stunned for a moment. He says his mouth is clumsy, yet half the people present have been wronged by Sun Wukong's tongue. If his mouth is clumsy, then nobody else would know how to speak.

"Say that again!"

"Dare to do it but dare not own it!"

"What are you anyway?"

Sun Wukong spread his hands. "Lao Sun is a monkey — what heaven-offending, reason-harming thing would Lao Sun do? It's you lot who clearly stole and ate a dish you shouldn't have, yet want to pin the blame on Lao Sun's head. It truly makes Lao Sun heartbroken. If everyone is like you, unable to distinguish black from white, then Lao Sun might as well not cook anymore."

Still want to put the spiritual blame on my head, truly makes me heartbroken, if you all are like this, black and white not distinguished, then I might as well not do the Recipe anymore.

The celestial officials who had just been stunned by Sun Wukong hurriedly spoke up for him. Being wronged is fine, but not cooking — that won't do. "Great Chef Sun Wukong, don't say such things. We all understand — this isn't your fault. How could it be your fault? Clearly it's all their fault."

"Exactly, Great Chef Sun Wukong. You didn't do anything. They stole and ate meat dishes themselves. Everyone here saw it with their own eyes."

"Right. Pushing open the door we saw — they were the ones holding the dish sneaking bites. And they lied. Now they actually want to blame Great Chef Sun Wukong. What logic is that? No one forced you to eat. How can it be blamed on Great Chef Sun Wukong?"

Sun Wukong took up the thread. "Right. Even if Lao Sun did put something in this dish, Lao Sun didn't force you to jump over walls, change clothes to pretend to be immortal attendants, say you were looking for Buddhist beads, and then steal the dish. What would Lao Sun have become — able to force you to do so many things?"

Indeed they couldn't. The Buddhist side's people also didn't know how to answer.

After all, each of them had merely smelled the dish's fragrance, been driven by that fragrance to come to the Imperial Kitchen. But all the other things were entirely their own ideas — no one forced them.

But think that way they might, they would never admit it. A Buddhist disciple glared at Sun Wukong. "You've still admitted it. You tampered with this dish. After I went back I kept smelling this dish's flavor. If not for wanting to investigate, how would I have come here? How would I have eaten the dish you made?"

Sun Wukong looked at that disciple with a beaming smile. The other celestial officials also looked at him in shock.

"You lot — why are you looking at me like that?"

"Lao Sun didn't say anything. You just admitted yourself that you couldn't withstand the temptation and ate this dish."

At Chaos Residence, Chen Nuo was just thinking about making the toppings for milk tea. Usually milk tea has pearls or taro balls added, but modern milk tea has so many varieties that just pearls and taro balls would seem too monotonous.

However, Chen Nuo thought: these immortals — just Peach Blossom Brew alone makes them buy without limit. For milk tea, forget adding toppings — even just milk tea with sugar would sell out.

With the materials currently in his hands, making black sugar pearls or milk tea cap was most convenient. Right now there happened to be no guests, so Chen Nuo set about preparing black sugar pearls for the milk tea.

Just as he had the materials ready, Tianpeng suddenly burst in from outside.

Chen Nuo was somewhat displeased at Tianpeng's rashness, frowned at the doorway, and said: "What's wrong? Making such a fuss?"

"Shopkeeper Chen, major trouble!"

"What major trouble?"

Chen Nuo was still angry because Term Bu Hui directly barged into Life after death.

He had been here for so many years and had never encountered any Major Matter; even if something even bigger happened, even if the sky collapsed, he probably wouldn't have anything to do with Chaos Residence.