Chapter 393

Ask, Old Sun is letting you ask.

Sun Wukong laughed: "And everyone here, if you have anything to ask, ask away, don't be stingy with your curiosity, don't wait until you go back and then say Old Sun isn't this or isn't that."

"No, no, nothing to ask."

That celestial official waved his hand.

"Ask."

Sun Wukong let out an angry shout.

That celestial official trembled, glanced at the other celestial officials beside him; they looked at him with nothing but sympathy, yet not one stood up for him. He could only grit his teeth and ask, "Wukong, Great Chef Sun Wukong, why is this dish named like this?"

This question hit the nail on the head; right now, everyone's greatest curiosity is just this dish's name.

"You dare to ask, huh?"

Sun Wukong laughed again.

"Wasn't it you who told me to ask?" That celestial official complained inwardly, then shrank back slightly, "If you don't want to say, forget it—I was just asking casually."

Sun Wukong looked at the crowd and said slowly: "Since I let you ask, I will definitely answer you. I'm just a cook—how did I end up seeming like some fierce demon?"

"Haha, Great Chef Sun Wukong really knows how to joke."

That celestial official gave a dry laugh.

"This Buddha Jumps Over the Wall—my master researched it for a long time before making it. You should know that, right?"

Sun Wukong said: "My master had long wanted to make a world-shaking dish, so you all would know."

"Actually, Manager Chen would already have world-shaking skills even if he didn't make this dish."

A celestial official picked up on that.

"Old Sun also knows that."

Sun Wukong heard someone praise his master and was very pleased, and his attitude toward that celestial official improved a bit.

"My master's skill is universally recognized, but isn't there a saying in the mortal realm: 'Learning has no end'? My master is an ambitious person, so naturally he won't be content with the status quo and stop progressing."

"That's well said. Although I've never seen Manager Chen, from Great Chef Sun Wukong's words, I can tell Manager Chen must be a very formidable person."

Seeing Sun Wukong's expression, that celestial official realized he had hit the mark with his flattery, and immediately went on to praise further.

Sun Wukong laughed and glared at him: "Alright, stop sucking up—let Old Sun finish what he's saying."

"This flattery of mine isn't sucking up—it's speaking frankly."

"After my master made this dish, he told me its name: Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. You just hearing the name can't possibly know how good this dish is, but after I ate it, I immediately understood the name. Not just me—even if the Buddha smelled this aroma, he'd leap over the wall to come eat."

If one only listened to Sun Wukong's words, someone might think he's bragging, but everyone here has eaten the dishes Sun Wukong has eaten.

They know Sun Wukong isn't bragging—this dish is so delicious, having such a name is truly deserved.

"Ah, that's how it is."

After hearing Sun Wukong's words, the celestial officials wore expressions of sudden realization.

"Actually, this dish wasn't named for those precept-breaking monks—it's just an exaggeration. But who could think of such a name? It really did attract these Buddhist monks."

"How? You think stirring up a little emotion makes this go away? I don't care how your master cooks—if it weren't for your little tricks in the middle..."

The Buddhist disciple said, grinding his teeth in hatred: "If it weren't for your little tricks, we wouldn't have fallen for it, you monkey grandson—hand over your life!"

The Buddhist disciple, summoning strength from somewhere, broke free of the celestial officials' restraint, took out his Buddhist beads, and lunged straight at Sun Wukong's face.

This caught everyone off guard—Sun Wukong didn't expect the Buddhist disciple to have such strength, actually breaking free of the celestial officials' magic.

The Buddhist beads turned into a beam of light, enveloping Sun Wukong completely.

The celestial officials were still dazed, only focused on subduing the Buddhist disciple, forgetting to block the beads' power—Sun Wukong was thus struck by the magic.

Over there, chaos reigned, and no celestial official noticed Sun Wukong's condition. By the time they reacted, Sun Wukong had already fainted.

Seeing Sun Wukong faint, the Buddhist disciple gradually stopped struggling, until he was subdued by the celestial officials.

This incident directly alarmed the Jade Emperor and the Buddha.

Over there, talks had already begun; the Buddha calculated once and immediately figured out the origins and evolution of this incident.

But he didn't want to pursue Sun Wukong's responsibility over this—on the contrary, he wanted to use this opportunity to take Sun Wukong away.

"No way, Buddha—this matter hasn't been investigated yet. However Sun Wukong puts it, he's still ours here in the Heavenly Court. You just taking him like this isn't right, is it?"

Seeing the Buddha insist on taking Sun Wukong without discussion, the Jade Emperor immediately stepped in to block him.

If it were any other celestial official facing this, it would be fine—but it's not someone else, it's Sun Wukong.

If Sun Wukong were taken away right then, how would he explain himself to Chen Nuo afterward? After all, Sun Wukong came to the Imperial Kitchen at his own request—even if he really did something wrong, he couldn't just be dealt with so casually.

"This matter is still not investigated."

The Buddha said: "So I'm here to take Sun Wukong back, wait until he wakes up, then ask clearly."

"Improper, improper."

The Jade Emperor blocked: "Sun Wukong is nominally ours in the Heavenly Court, but he's trained under Chaos Residence. If you take him now, what will you say when his master comes demanding him back?"

"His master?"

Just thinking about this made the Buddha a little angry—where did this nonsense master come from, interfering with all his plans? Now he even wants me to look at his face for it—more like, don't even dream about it.

"Yes, his master."

The Jade Emperor also knows the Buddha has opinions about Chen Nuo.

If it were usual, he wouldn't block the Buddha over this—but unfortunately, it's not usual; he's already deeply impressed by Chen Nuo's cooking.

"Well then, you have his master come over—come to my place to demand him."

The Buddha waved his hand, preparing to take Sun Wukong away.

The Jade Emperor immediately used magic to block him.

"Haotian, are you trying to oppose me?"

The Buddha looked toward the Jade Emperor.

Although they both belong to the celestial realm, they are not from the same department, and the two of them are not of equal rank; normally they also show me extra respect—I never expected that because of Sun Wukong, they would repeatedly defy me.

"It's not that I want to oppose you."

The Jade Emperor and Tai Bai exchanged a glance, then took Sun Wukong away.

After Sun Wukong left, the Jade Emperor let out a sigh of relief.

"Honestly, this Sun Wukong is not under my jurisdiction. When he came to the Heavenly Court, he was like this, and when he returns, he should naturally be returned intact. If you have any grievances, settle them with his master later."

"What you say sounds easy, but he made our Eight Buddhist Disciples break their precepts. You want me to settle accounts with him later—this is clearly just shielding him."

The matter has come to this; even the Tathagata cannot dwell on it further. But this Sun Wukong cannot be taken away now, and it will likely be even harder later. It seems his Journey to the West plan will still have to change.

The Jade Emperor on this side refuses to yield, merely using the excuse of settling accounts with Chen Nuo later to keep stalling.

Seeing him like this, the Tathagata also understood the Jade Emperor's position, said nothing more, waved his hand, dispersed his clone, and departed from the Heavenly Court.