Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 382 Awkward Encounter

Six pairs of eyes met, and all of them suddenly said in unison, "Amitabha, I can’t find my Buddha Beads, it seems they have fallen into one of the bowls, so I came to look for..."

The words hadn’t been finished when they suddenly froze, the Buddhist disciples took two more steps forward with their companions, and upon clearly seeing the faces before them, they let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh my, really, Brother, I didn’t expect it to be you, why are you here too?"

The fellow disciple coughed, glanced at his companions, and then straightened his expression to say, "I couldn’t find my Buddha Beads during the Buddhist feast earlier, so I thought to see if they fell into this dish, which is why I came to have a look."

The Buddhist disciples were stunned, then exchanged glances with their companions without uttering a word.

Seeing that they remained silent, the fellow disciple coughed again and asked, "What’s wrong? Why have you suddenly shown up here at this hour?"

"Because, the Buddha Beads, can’t be found, so, we came to see if they might be here," the companion replied hesitantly, repeating the rehearsed words they had agreed upon with their fellow disciple.

The fellow disciple was taken aback, then laughed, "Well, that’s quite the coincidence."

"Haha, yes, really too much of a coincidence," the Buddhist disciples and their companion chuckled dryly.

An awkward tension emerged in the air, and no one knew what to say.

The fellow disciple looked at his companions and then said, "This dish prepared by Sun Wukong smells quite nice, huh."

"Right, right, I don’t know how it was made. I was ready to meditate when I got back, but just couldn’t calm down, that aroma just wouldn’t dissipate."

"Indeed, very strange," the fellow disciple replied, "But I saw that the Immortal Sect’s side had clean plates, they even licked the small bowls clean. The utensils they used were cleaner than washed ones, so maybe it’s just that the dish is delicious."

"Yeah, I saw that too, they ate with such gusto, it’s just a mystery what makes this dish so delicious."

The disciples started to discuss the dish with one commenting after another.

After talking for a while, one disciple suggested, "Brother, do you think it’s possible that Sun Wukong has cast an incantation on this dish? Otherwise, it’s just an ordinary dish, how could it smell so good?"

"You’re right," the fellow disciple turned his head, picking up a small bowl from the table, "Actually, when we came, we were also ready to observe this dish closely."

"Based on my guess, Sun Wukong definitely must have tampered with this dish, otherwise how could a dish made only with hands and mortal ingredients attract the palates of the Immortal Officials so much?"

"Exactly, Brother, you make perfect sense. That’s why I plan to take a good look, we must find out what’s so peculiar about this dish, and then show it to the Immortal Officials. Let them understand that Sun Wukong’s cooking is not that great, he’s only sneaky!"

"Right, let’s investigate thoroughly right now."

The disciples spoke with a sense of righteous indignation; mere speculation was no longer enough. They had convinced themselves that there was an issue with the dish and that it was Sun Wukong who had pulled some trickery—they were the ones who were righteous.

This untouched dish lay on the table as each of them picked up a small bowl and stirred inside with a soup spoon.

As time passed, the number of Buddhist disciples arriving at the Imperial Kitchen grew from the original four to eight, each holding a small bowl, observing the oddities in the dish.

Those who had been there from the start took soup spoons and scooped up the mushrooms, bringing them to their noses for a careful sniff.

"This dish really smells so good, and this broth, what is it made from, that it can be cooked into golden-colored soup."

"Yeah, it really smells so good, but fortunately I have strong willpower, otherwise I might have actually tried some."

The spoon that was originally in front of his eyes slowly slid to the tip of his nose, and from there it slipped downward. Just as it was about to touch his lips, his companion suddenly stopped.

"No, wait! This doesn’t seem right!"

"What happened?"

The observing disciples of Buddhism gathered around, "What’s wrong? Did you discover something?"

"Yes, and it is something extremely important," his companion said gravely.

Seeing the serious expression on his companion’s face, the surrounding Buddhist disciples held their breath. They too looked on with solemn expressions, waiting for the astonishing revelation to come out of his mouth.

But all his companion did was slowly raise the small cup in his hand. "Look at this small cup, and then feel your own. There’s a big problem here."

The surrounding disciples were puzzled, touching their own cups twice but still finding no issue.

"This cup is hot, as hot as if it has just come off the stove," his companion announced.

Expecting something monumental, the Buddhist disciples collectively rolled their eyes, "Kid, you really are naive."

"What’s the matter?" the companion asked, completely baffled, "Isn’t it strange? We’ve been away for so long, yet this cup is still hot."

"We are in the Heavenly Court," the senior monk patted the shoulder of his junior, "In our Buddhist sect, we never eat, so it’s no wonder you had this misunderstanding."

"Ah? Why is that?" the companion asked in confusion. "Even in the Heavenly Court, food cools down after a while, which is completely normal, and even here the ingredients are all mundane."

"The Imperial Kitchen naturally has its own magic, and all of us Gods and Buddhas have mana."

"Child, even if the dishes are made with mundane ingredients, in the Heavenly Court they are always enchanted to stay as fresh as if just cooked. If there was no difference between the Heavenly Court and the mortal world, why would so many people strive for Cultivation to Immortality?" the senior monk explained.

Finally catching on, the companion nodded, "I see, so that’s how it is. Here I was, thinking I’d stumbled upon some great matter. It looks like my time of cultivation is still too short. A few more centuries of practice and I will surely reach your level of understanding."

After this little interlude, the disciples once again scrutinized the dishes before them.

In truth, they weren’t really analyzing the food; they were just unbearably hungry, yet their willpower was strong enough to prevent them from eating.

This state of affairs continued, giving them the delusion that they had not achieved Buddhahood but were in the hell realms instead, tormented by seeing delicious food that they could not eat.

One of the Buddhist disciples stirred the soup, and the broth splashed onto the back of his hand. Glancing left and right, he extended his tongue and licked the golden broth into his mouth. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Although it was just a little, the soup’s touch on the tip of his tongue shot directly into his brain and soul.

The disciple felt a bit dazed. What kind of flavor was this? It was incredibly savory; the taste of the various ingredients mixed together was irresistible.

Previously, he had looked down on those Immortal Officials while they were eating, thinking it was just a dish, and they were eating so grotesquely, as though they hadn’t eaten in several lifetimes.

Now, after tasting just a tiny bit of the broth, not even as much as a fingernail, the savory flavor shot straight to his soul, making him wish he could just lift the cup to his lips and pour it in.