Chapter 67

At this moment, the Lingxiao Baodian was solemn and imposing.

All the immortals were watching this monkey.

"Are you the monkey from Mount Huaguo?" Haotian looked Sun Wukong up and down and asked lightly.

"Of course."

Sun Wukong had never seen anything in the Heavenly Court before, and was extremely curious, looking left and right.

"Presumptuous! Seeing the Heavenly Emperor and not performing the kowtow!" Among the celestial officials, Li Jing shouted in rebuke.

He now hated this monkey so much upon seeing it that he wished to kill it.

Sun Wukong frowned, his master had once warned him that besides parents and elders, he should not easily kneel, otherwise his bones would grow weak.

I, Sun Wukong, have no father or mother, only my master, and I will only kneel to my master—humble as I am, forget it!

He coldly chuckled and said: "A defeated subordinate, still daring to speak recklessly!"

"You!" Li Jing's face trembled with anger, he stepped forward and said: "I report to the Jade Emperor, this person disregards the law, his wicked nature remains unchanged; if not disciplined, he will surely become a disaster!"

Sun Wukong said nothing, but watched Haotian with the interest of a spectator, wanting to see what this so-called Jade Emperor would do.

"Born in the mountains and wilderness, unrestrained, unaware of etiquette, I will leniently forgive." Haotian spoke calmly, showing no anger at Sun Wukong's disrespect, and waved his hand to let Li Jing step back.

This little thought of mixing public duty with private grudges—how could Haotian not know?

Then he looked toward Sun Wukong and said: "Although you do not know etiquette, you should still learn it as soon as possible."

"Old Grandson understands." He followed along and casually replied.

Having received the reply, Haotian glanced again at the immortals in the great hall and said: "Now, what positions are still vacant in the Heavenly Court?"

The Mars Star Official stepped forward and said: "I report to Your Majesty, all positions in the Heavenly Court are fairly staffed, except the Imperial Stables, which is still missing an E Ma Wen."

"Monkey, I appoint you as E Ma Wen—how about that?"

E Ma Wen?

Sun Wukong frowned, waved his hand and said: "No, no!"

Indeed, not following the usual pattern!

Haotian was stunned for a moment; logically, this monkey had never seen the Heavenly Court, like a country bumpkin, so he should have just brushed him off casually.

After pondering for a moment, Haotian decided to skip this and directly play his trump card!

"The Peach Garden is currently unattended—go there and take up your post."

How could a mere monkey escape the temptation of one of the ten great innate spiritual roots, the peach?

"I won't go." Sun Wukong shook his head and said.

Unbelievable—he won't go?!

Haotian, holding the memorial, clenched his hand tightly, his eyes showing disbelief, as did all the immortals in the great hall.

Their faces were more or less filled with astonishment—he actually refused again? This is a position that is both leisurely and lucrative!

Moreover, with the upcoming Peach Banquet approaching, the peaches should already be ripe; if one were bold, eating a three-thousand-year-old peach would hardly be noticed.

What a clueless fool!

But if Sun Wukong knew what they were thinking, he would surely be utterly contemptuous.

Looking at peaches? Stealing a three-thousand-year-old peach? Who do you look down on!

I've almost grown tired of eating nine-thousand-year-old peaches!

I now have several in my hand, and my master still has an orchard—who would bother being a gatekeeper!

What exactly is this monkey's situation?

Haotian was now somewhat dazed; he had played his trump card to tempt him, yet nothing worked.

Feeling somewhat helpless, he said: "Then what kind of celestial official do you want?"

Sun Wukong blinked and said: "Is there an official position that lets me cook?"

Upon hearing this, all the immortals were dazed—an official who cooks? What's wrong with this monkey? Did he take the wrong medicine?

No peaches, just cooking?

Haotian's mouth twitched—it wasn't that he refused to follow procedure, but this monkey had never been on the same wavelength as them from the start.

But Haotian also didn't dwell on it; these were all imposed by the Two Sages of the Buddhist Sect, so if the process could be followed, follow it; if not, better not—after all, what needed to be done has already been done.

It's better if this monkey doesn't cause trouble in my Peach Garden; otherwise, if he causes a disturbance, I'll have to answer to Yaochi.

Thinking this, Haotian felt much more relaxed, and looking at this monkey who defied convention, he found him somewhat more pleasing: "Then I appoint you as the chef of the Imperial Kitchen!"

Yaochi had previously complained about the banquet dishes, and he had also paid attention to that.

He remembered the Imperial Kitchen had three standard head chefs, but now only the Kitchen God and the Stove God remained, so the last position was perfect for this monkey, and he wouldn't cause much trouble in the Imperial Kitchen anyway.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Sun Wukong clasped his hands with joy, though he didn't really bow—it was more like a New Year greeting.

As the chef of the Heavenly Court, he could now practice his cooking skills better in daily life.

When he meets his master in the future, he'll still be able to boast about it.

Sun Wukong was happy, but the Kitchen God and the Stove God were anxious.

The two hurried out and knelt, saying: "Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

After bowing, the Kitchen God said again: "I report to the Jade Emperor, the head chef of the Imperial Kitchen must possess superb cooking skills to be competent; the Peach Banquet is already on the agenda, and at this time, letting a mere mountain monkey serve as head chef will cause chaos—please, Your Majesty, reconsider!"

"Please, Your Majesty, reconsider!" the Stove God echoed.

Haotian frowned, carefully considering the Kitchen God's words, which seemed somewhat reasonable.

He did not want his decision to cause any flaws in the Peach Banquet, otherwise Yaochi would surely make him suffer the consequences!

Why not let this monkey try another position?

Thinking this, Haotian opened his mouth to speak, but over there, Sun Wukong could no longer sit still.

"Who are you two? Why won't you let Old Grandson be this head chef!"

The Stove God coldly snorted and said: "Old Master is the Stove God, this one is the Food God, we are the Imperial Kitchen's Head Chefs!"

Sun Wukong laughed lightly: "So it's colleagues, no wonder you won't let Old Grandson take office, you're afraid of losing your posts?"

The Stove God's face skin trembled and he said: "We are this world's Culinary Ancestor, the Culinary Excellence, having served in the Heavenly Court for countless ages, how could we be displaced because of a mere monkey?"

Culinary Excellence? Sun Wukong laughed, how much face does he have to be so confident!

Probably doesn't even have half of Master's level, right?

"Since you can't lose your official hats, why block Old Grandson?"

The two did not reply to Sun Wukong, but looked toward the Jade Emperor and said: "Imperial Report to the Jade Emperor, your subjects discovered a person of extraordinary Culinary Talent in the Mortal Realm, named Zhou Kang, with him we can certainly fulfill the Queen Mother's mission, humbly requesting Heavenly Emperor to issue an Imperial Edict appointing Zhou Kang as Imperial Kitchen Head Chef!"

"So that's how it is!" Sun Wukong sneered, eyes carrying contempt as he said: "You want to pull strings to stuff someone in!"

"Cooking skill is the sole standard to measure a chef, you're a wild mountain monkey, what do you understand!" The Food God's brows tightly furrowed, coldly he spoke.

Understand what?

Sun Wukong laughed, the casualness originally in his eyes at this moment turned into proud arrogance, he said: "Isn't it just cooking skill? Old Grandson will accompany you to the end!"

"What do you mean?" The Food God and Stove God's faces instantly darkened.

Sun Wukong slightly raised his head, the proud arrogance in his eyes not diminishing but increasing.

Master said to keep a low profile, but the cooking skill learned from Master is the pride in his heart!

In this aspect, under heaven besides Master, he Sun Wukong fears no one!