Chapter 75

The abnormality of Haotian was also noticed by Yaochi, who was stunned in her heart, for Haotian was not one to actively indulge in gluttony.

How could this be?

Looking at Haotian's hand that could no longer stop, Yaochi felt doubtful in her heart—was this really delicious?

Driven by curiosity, Yaochi also took a bite, and this was no small matter.

Yaochi directly took the remaining mapo tofu from the maidservant's hand, holding the plate in one hand and the spoon in the other, and began to eat.

Haotian had just swallowed when he wanted to scoop another spoonful, but ended up scooping nothing; upon looking closely, he saw the mapo tofu had already been taken by Yaochi.

"Yaochi, leave some for me!" Haotian's face turned anxious, and he couldn't help shouting.

All the immortals present were stunned, mouths agape, watching the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother wolfing down the food, their hearts shaken to the core.

In these tens of millions of years, when had they ever seen the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother in such a disgraceful state?

Was it all because of this monkey's plate of mapo tofu?

Clearly, it looked no different from what the mortal named Zhou Kang made—how could this be?

This plate of fiery red tofu—what kind of magic does it truly possess?

In the scramble, the entire plate of mapo tofu was quickly completely devoured.

After finishing, they came to their senses; Haotian and Yaochi felt somewhat embarrassed, after all, losing face so badly before all the immortals.

But this plate of mapo tofu was truly delicious.

Haotian composed himself, his expression as usual, as if the person who had just been wolfing down food wasn't him.

Calmly using the napkin passed up by the maidservant to wipe his mouth a few times, then locking eyes with Yaochi, he said: "The victor is Sun Wukong!"

The Tianjing Xianjia had no objections, for it was obvious—just from their demeanor, they were not on the same level.

Meanwhile, the Stove God and Food God were stunned—Zhou Kang had actually lost, and lost in his own specialty!

Precisely because of their expertise, the Food God and Stove God could more clearly discern the difference in quality!

They had eaten Zhou Kang's mapo tofu many times before and could guarantee it should be the most delicious mapo tofu—so why...?

Earlier, while cooking, their attention had been entirely on Zhou Kang's performance, and they hadn't even noticed what the monkey had done.

There must be something fishy here—otherwise, the same dish could never have such a huge difference!

Zhou Kang's eyes turned red, he clenched his fists—his mapo tofu was so perfect, how could he possibly lose!

He couldn't believe it—just a mountain monkey, how could he have such culinary skill!

A conspiracy—this must be a conspiracy!

Anger surged in his heart, Zhou Kang's mind heated, he rushed to Sun Wukong's stove, saw there were still some leftovers, and quickly scooped them up with a spoon.

Upon tasting it carefully, the next moment his whole body was shocked.

Delicious!

Unconsciously, he took another bite... this is!

Zhou Kang finally realized something was off, the anger on his face faded, replaced by a dazed expression.

This monkey's mapo tofu is far better than his—but why is this so!

Same ingredients, same steps, same timing—why is his off by so much!

Wait!

Zhou Kang seemed to recall something, his body trembled, he quickly took another bite, and his pupils suddenly contracted!

The problem is this—it appears in the minced meat!

Mapo tofu balances five flavors: spicy, fragrant, color, hot, and numbing.

But this monkey's mapo tofu is not five-flavor harmonized—it is six-flavor harmonized mapo tofu!

The extra flavor is precisely in this minced meat, and it is crispness!

How is that possible!

Zhou Kang frowned deeply, utterly bewildered—minced meat, no matter what meat is used, no matter how hard it is chopped, will always have tendons, right?

Why would it have such a smooth mouthfeel?

"How exactly did you make the minced meat so smooth in texture?" Zhou Kang shouted loudly at Sun Wukong.

Did you figure it out?

Sun Wukong shrugged, looking at Zhou Kang's current state—originally intending to mock him, he no longer wanted to do so.

"You want to know?"

"Yes!"

"Then I'll tell you." Sun Wukong gave a hehe laugh.

Zhou Kang froze—he had just blurted that out in desperation; normally, such things are not passed on, would he tell him?

"Just open the pot beside you and you'll know."

While Zhou Kang was still doubtful, Sun Wukong spoke again.

Hearing this, Zhou Kang subconsciously did as told.

Only to see the pot contained steamed and boiled soybeans.

It was soybeans!

Zhou Kang's heart jolted—yes, if soybeans are boiled soft, mashed, and added to the sauce, they can give a meaty texture, but...

Zhou Kang furrowed his brows again.

Even if it has a meaty flavor, when added to mapo tofu, wouldn't it still fall apart, let alone form minced meat?

Yet Zhou Kang, no less a culinary genius praised by the Food God and Stove God, upon seeing Sun Wukong's oil on stage, suddenly understood everything.

Just need to fry it once in an oil pot to lock in the flavor—wouldn't that do it?

Zhou Kang's mouth corner twitched into a bitter smile.

"I lost."

The Food God and Stove God, truly top-tier masters of the culinary arts in the Three Realms, reacted quickly, their hearts filled with immense shock.

How on earth did this monkey's brain grow, to actually think of using soybeans as a substitute for minced meat in such an ingenious way?

Moreover, his culinary skills are no simple matter either.

Zhou Kang struggled for a long time, and finally a look of resolve appeared on his face.

He bowed his head toward Sun Wukong, the head he usually loved to raise high, his voice trembling as he said: "I will abide by the agreement, and never again step into the kitchen..."

"Hey, Haotian, am I now the head chef of this Imperial Kitchen?" Before Zhou Kang could finish speaking, Sun Wukong cleaned his ears, looked toward Haotian, and interrupted.

Haotian nodded: "Of course."

"Then can I make a request?" Sun Wukong said fluently.

Looking at the rude Sun Wukong, perhaps because they were used to others' short tempers, Haotian and Yaochi showed not the slightest anger.

Haotian smiled and said: "Go ahead, what do you want?"

Sun Wukong looked at the already heart-dead Zhou Kang, grinned: "This old monkey is now also a head chef, how could I be without a kitchen assistant by my side?"

He pointed at Zhou Kang and continued: "This old monkey thinks he's not bad, so let him be my kitchen assistant."

Zhou Kang snapped back to his senses, pointed at himself in surprise, asking himself to be...?

That bet wasn't...

Haotian and Yaochi were also somewhat surprised.

Yaochi parted her vermilion lips slightly: "You really want to do this?"

Such a bet would then have no meaning at all.

"Of course." Sun Wukong chuckled: "This old monkey wants to compete in culinary skills, nothing more than wanting to prove he has the strength to become head chef of the Imperial Kitchen; the competition enjoys the process of culinary comparison, not to punish others. If it weren't for those two old goods trying to provoke me, I wouldn't have agreed to this bet."

These words made the watching Food God and Stove God break out in cold sweat, their faces also burning with embarrassment.

Upon closer examination, it was still they themselves who looked down on others, casually agreeing for others, which is how they trapped Zhou Kang.

Haotian laughed helplessly: "I never expected this monkey's mind to be so broad."

Although this monkey behaves recklessly, his inner character is nonetheless pure beyond compare.

Haotian dared to assert: if this monkey were cultivated by the Buddhist Sect, he would absolutely not be like this!

Those bald donkeys always speak of righteousness on the surface, but secretly engage in sordid deeds.