Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 371: Master Zhenyuan Racks His Brains
Facing the curious gaze of the divine officials, there was still no sign of the dishes being served. Left with no choice, Master Zhenyuan had to use coughing to cover up, "Ahem, ahem, wait for me a moment, I talked too much just now, and my mouth is too dry, I need a sip of water."
Those with sharp eyes quickly passed a cup of wine to Master Zhenyuan, "Here, here, here’s your drink, quickly have a sip to moisten your throat."
Master Zhenyuan slowly sipped the wine, feeling extremely anxious inside, and even started to pray, Please come quickly, if Chef Wukong doesn’t show up soon, I really won’t be able to wrap up what I’ve said.
Just at this critical moment, several fairies carrying trays began to walk over slowly from the direction of the Imperial Kitchen.
Master Zhenyuan had never felt that the fairies were so beautiful. He pointed in the direction from which the fairies were coming, "Look, the dishes are coming, quickly take your seats, or there won’t be any left."
Although the dishes were supposed to come in an ample quantity, everyone still hurried to take their seats.
Seeing is believing, it’s always best to see with one’s own eyes and taste with one’s own mouth, no matter how good others say it is.
Yang Jian wouldn’t be as easily fooled as the other divine officials. He glanced indifferently at Master Zhenyuan, who was wiping his sweat, and then asked, "Tell me the truth, did you actually never find out the name of that dish?"
Master Zhenyuan had actually found out the name; it was just too embarrassing to say out loud.
Fortunately, the surrounding divine officials had already seated themselves, and their eyes were all fixed on the tray in the fairies’ hands, not paying attention to anything else. That was when Master Zhenyuan dared to tell the truth, "No, I actually did find out."
"Then why didn’t you say it just now?" Yang Jian was a bit puzzled, "You usually have secrets that you can’t wait to tell the world, so why be silent today?"
"It’s not that I don’t want to say it, it’s just that I really can’t bring myself to speak the name," Master Zhenyuan replied.
Yang Jian originally wasn’t very curious, but Master Zhenyuan’s words aroused his interest, "Tell me, what is the name?"
Master Zhenyuan looked around to make sure that no third divine official could hear their conversation, then whispered to Yang Jian, "Never mind you and me, even the Jade Emperor would be startled by this name."
Yang Jian grew even more curious, "Just tell me, stop beating around the bush."
Master Zhenyuan looked around again and then said to Yang Jian in a very low voice, "This dish is named Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."
Wide-eyed with surprise, Yang Jian had intended to repeat Master Zhenyuan’s words to express his shock, but he really couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud, so he forcibly held back his words, and then asked, "Is the dish really named that?"
"It’s true, when have I ever told a lie?" Master Zhenyuan answered.
Yang Jian gave him a look up and down, "You’ve told quite a few lies."
Knowing he was at a loss for a rebuttal, Master Zhenyuan could only say to him, "Let’s not bring up those trivial matters now. What I’m about to say is very important. The name wasn’t given by Chef Wukong."
"His master gave it?" Yang Jian wasn’t surprised that Chen Nuo would give such a name. It would be more surprising if Sun Wukong had given it.
Master Zhenyuan wasn’t very familiar with Chen Nuo, not as much as Yang Jian was, but continued gossiping with him, "I even told Chef Wukong that the name wasn’t very appropriate, and suggested he come up with another. Who knew he would chase me out."
Yang Jian took a sip of his wine, "That’s not surprising. If you weren’t at a Buddhist Law banquet but in my residence instead, I would have thrown you out as well."
"Oh no, General Yang Jian, now is not the time for jokes."
Master Zhenyuan sighed and continued, "You know, privately calling it that name is one thing, but at this Buddhist banquet, if those baldies catch wind of it, we’ll have a real mess on our hands."
Yang Jian gave Master Zhenyuan another look, "The way you say ’baldies’ doesn’t sound any better to me. If it were up to me, I’d give a thrashing to the one who calls them ’baldies’ before I’d worry about the ’Buddha Jumps Over the Wall’ issue."
"I’m not the only one who calls them ’baldies,’" Master Zhenyuan retorted unhappily. "Besides, after all these years, I don’t believe for a second that those monks are unaware of the nickname others have given them, yet no one would call them ’baldies’ to their face."
"True enough," Yang Jian admitted. "But since the dish has been named as such, there must be a reason for it and it doesn’t really have much to do with you. Even if Buddhism gets all worked up over it, the trouble won’t fall on your head."
"It may not be a big deal for me," Master Zhenyuan said worriedly, "but Wukong is the chef invited by the Jade Emperor. If a ruckus does start, won’t it still reflect badly on the Jade Emperor?"
"Then it has even less to do with you," Yang Jian snorted. "You’re not a military general; if a ruckus starts, they won’t need you."
"General Yang Jian, how can you be so unconcerned about the bigger picture?" Master Zhenyuan looked at Yang Jian with an expression of disappointment.
"The Immortal Sect and Buddhism have supported each other and peacefully coexisted for millions of years. If we fall out over a dish’s name, what would others think of us?"
"You’re overthinking it," Yang Jian dismissed the concern. "Just enjoy your meal. Even if it does come to blows, we’ve got the Jade Emperor to back us up. Relax."
Master Zhenyuan glared at Yang Jian, "You’re too laid back. I bet if things do start to go south, it’ll be you military generals who’ll have to clean up the mess first."
"Hmm." Yang Jian, no longer wishing to engage, slowly began to drink his wine.
"Really," Master Zhenyuan sighed again and began drinking his wine as well.
"One just doesn’t know whether this dish is meant to be vegetarian or non-vegetarian. If it’s non-vegetarian, all is well. But if it’s vegetarian, those on the Buddhist side will definitely think we’re targeting them on purpose, making the situation even harder to resolve."
Yang Jian, watching the fairies each carrying a tray, said, "What if both sides have this dish?"
"What do you mean?" Master Zhenyuan looked towards Yang Jian and followed his gaze towards the fairies with trays.
The fairies were each holding a tray with just a small bowl on it, and there were no more than twenty or so divine officials and Buddhists attending the banquet in the great hall.
If the dish were exclusive to one side, they should have finished serving it by now. But with the fairies holding a tray each and more than ten people having been served with more to come, it seems that both sides truly do have the dish.
Yang Jian glanced sideways at Master Zhenyuan, "What were you doing in the Imperial Kitchen? You waited all this time and only found out the name of the dish without even being able to tell if it’s vegetarian or not."
"It wasn’t that Chef Wukong was too tight-lipped—I had to wheedle quite a while just to get the name of the dish," Master Zhenyuan chuckled, but still felt somewhat perplexed.
He had seen some meat scraps in the Imperial Kitchen, which made him wonder: Could it be that, despite the name being the same, the dish served to the Immortal Sect and to Buddhism was actually different? Or could it be that the taste was similar but the ingredients used in the cooking were different?
"What’s on your mind?" Yang Jian noticed Master Zhenyuan’s expression. "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing, just thinking about something," Master Zhenyuan deflected casually. He knew that if he told Yang Jian, he would only be met with more mockery, so it was better to stay quiet.
