Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 381 Sun Wukong’s Plan, Buddhism’s Secret Feast
"Ah? Can’t eat it?" The Immortal Official seemed disappointed. Seeing Sun Wukong’s face darken, he quickly added, "It’s fine not to eat, to be able to see your cooking skills at work even just with our eyes is also quite a treat."
The other Immortal Officials quickly echoed him, "Right, right, right, even if we can’t taste it, it’s nice to just watch the method and perhaps learn something, isn’t that right, God of Cookery?"
The God of Cookery was planning to study the dish’s method when Sun Wukong demonstrated his culinary skills. He thought that even if he couldn’t replicate the exact flavor, it would be quite good to make something similar. After all, although he wasn’t as skilled as Chef Wukong, without him around to compare to, his own cooking was still decent.
"Exactly," they agreed, "it would be great to have a firsthand look at the process. If we can’t feast our mouths, at least we can feast our eyes, right?"
Sun Wukong watched the God of Cookery itching to start and let out a cold chuckle. "Then just wait."
He pushed open the doors to the Imperial Kitchen, leading a group of Immortal Officials inside.
As the Immortal Officials entered the Imperial Kitchen, they felt something odd and asked, "Why is the Imperial Kitchen so quiet? There’s not a sound."
Sun Wukong explained, "Before the Buddhist banquet, I need a few days to prepare. The noise of chopping and the smell of the food would disturb you all, so I cast a spell to isolate the Imperial Kitchen from any noise or scent."
"I see, Chef Wukong, you really thought of everything. I’m quite ashamed of my shortcomings in comparison."
Sun Wukong casually smiled, accepting the flattering words of the Immortal Officials.
This, of course, was all part of his plan; otherwise, the loud voices from outside would have scared off the Buddhist disciple who was sneaking food inside.
"Now that you’re here, follow me. The ingredients are ready inside; as soon as you come in, I’ll start cooking. As I said before, the one who guesses the name of the dish first will get a taste of the freshly made meal."
"That’s absolutely fantastic. Not only do we get to watch the cooking for free, but we also have a chance to taste the dish. We’ll definitely guess well!"
With a smile, Sun Wukong led the Immortal Officials from the courtyard into the house, coming face to face with the Buddhist disciple who was stealing food in the Imperial Kitchen.
Let’s rewind the events by a quarter hour.
"Big brother, is it really okay for us to be doing this? What if we get caught red-handed?"
The two Buddhist disciples had left Buddhism and purposely changed into clothes that looked similar to the Immortal Officials’ robes. At first glance, there wasn’t much difference between theirs and the Immortals’ robes, hardly distinguishable unless one looked closely.
"It’ll be fine, I guarantee it. Nobody will notice," one disciple assured the other.
"Why do my eyelids keep twitching nonstop? Maybe we should just leave," said the other disciple, halting in his tracks.
Looking at his companion, the first Buddhist disciple said, "What are you so afraid of? I’ve thought this through; moreover, we’ve already achieved Buddhahood, why would you still believe in those mortal superstitions?"
His companion seemed nervous, "It’s not that I still believe in those things; I’m just scared. This is against the rules. If another brother sees us and reports us to the Buddha Ancestor, what will we do if we’re expelled from Buddhism?"
"Relax, we’re just looking around, not actually eating anything. Even if we’re caught on the spot, we’ll say the Buddha Beads accidentally fell into this bowl and we’re just looking for them. Just be completely at ease, no one comes here, and even if someone does, they won’t hear what’s happening in here."
His companion looked at him in surprise, "Really, big brother, why are you so certain?"
"Honestly, I wouldn’t take such a risk without doing my homework first. Sun Wukong has long set restrictive spells here in the Imperial Kitchen. Nothing gets out, not the aroma nor the sound, except to Gods and Buddhas who come and go."
"Is that so?" The other disciple was still somewhat incredulous. "How did you find out?"
"You’re really clueless," scolded a disciple of Buddhism, glaring at his companion. "I told you, since I decided to come, I would definitely do my homework. Last time I heard Brother Jin Chanzi mention it, he even said that monkey’s mana was powerful."
"But..."
"Why are you so hesitant!" The disciple of Buddhism looked at his companion in frustration, "Are you coming or not? If you’re not, I’ll go by myself."
"I just can’t take it anymore, that scent of the dish keeps lingering around my nose. I went back to change clothes and take a bath, even sneakily ate a few steamed buns, but the smell just won’t fade away. Tell me, we’ve been practicing fasting, so why do we still feel hungry?"
His companion was also tormented by the aroma, nodding in agreement, "It’s true. If we had any women here, I would’ve asked to borrow some of their heavily scented rouge or powder by now."
"Right, you’re this tempted; are you sure you don’t want to go?" The disciple of Buddhism continued to egg on his companion.
The companion was in turmoil too, the guilt and the fragrance of the dish swirling around his nose, urging him to make up his mind quickly.
He closed his eyes, pondering deeply, and finally made his decision, "Let’s go, Brother, let’s set off now, I really can’t wait another moment."
The two stealthily approached the doors of the Imperial Kitchen. At this hour, the Buddhist feast had already disbanded, and there weren’t likely to be many people around.
Seeing the golden barrier in front of him, the companion asked, "Brother, what is this? How do we get in with this thing here?"
The disciple of Buddhism gave his companion a sly look, "Are you dumb? I really wonder if you’re going to achieve Buddhahood just because you’re too stupid, and Buddha Ancestor pitied you enough to let you become one."
"What do you mean, Brother? If you don’t want to explain, then don’t. But why must you insult me for no reason?"
The companion was a bit angry, "Fine, if you think I’m stupid, then I’ll leave first. You figure things out here by yourself."
"Sigh." The disciple of Buddhism let out a sigh, pulling his companion aside, "We came here quietly, we’re obviously not supposed to go through the main entrance. Let’s get in from here."
The companion looked at the wall, about three people tall, "Get in from here?"
"What else?" said the disciple of Buddhism, "Or should I go call Sun Wukong over to beat his drum and escort us in with a big fuss?"
"That’s not what I meant."
Both of them cast spells, leapt up from the ground, and cleared the wall into the Imperial Kitchen.
Indeed, as the disciple of Buddhism had said, it was extremely quiet here with no sounds, but that unique fragrance was still lingering at the tip of their noses.
"Brother, what’s going on? Logically speaking, if Sun Wukong had cast a spell on this place, I shouldn’t be able to smell anything, but for some reason, I keep catching whiffs of that dish’s aroma."
"I’m in the same boat," said the disciple of Buddhism, rubbing his hands together and pushing open the door inside the Imperial Kitchen.
"Anyway, we’re just here to look. I think it won’t break our precepts. I just want to see if that Sun Monkey has laced the dish with any drugs or incantations, that we can still smell it constantly."
"Exactly, exactly, with all the practice we’ve done, how could we be swayed by a single dish? I absolutely won’t eat it, just want to take a look, only a look."
As they were reassuring themselves in this manner, they made their way further into the Imperial Kitchen, suddenly coming face-to-face with someone inside.
