Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 416: Revealing Identity, Attitude Changes
"What is your purpose for coming here?" the Mountain God asked Chen Nuo suspiciously.
He could not discern the man’s cultivation level, which meant that the man must have deliberately concealed it. Having come to this mountain and encountered him, could it be that he was interested in something on Mount Taihang?
It was due to a moment of carelessness that the Mountain God guessed his identity. Now, faced with the Mountain God’s questioning, Chen Nuo wondered whether he should tell the whole truth.
Seeing Chen Nuo did not answer, the Mountain God had already taken out his magic artifact, ready to strike at Chen Nuo.
"As I said when I arrived, I just wanted to find a rock to make a pot," Chen Nuo replied.
"There are so many materials for cooking, why do you insist on using stone, and why come to my Mount Taihang? Are you telling me it’s just a coincidence?" the Mountain God questioned.
Chen Nuo let out a sigh, "It really is just a coincidence. The question you’re asking sounds like a vegetable vendor interrogating a customer about why they want to buy vegetables and why they don’t buy from other vendors, insisting on coming to his stall. See if people won’t think you’re crazy."
"You’re being unreasonable," the Mountain God said. "This is clearly different from buying vegetables. Moreover, you’re not an ordinary person, so why pretend to be one?"
"I don’t think I’ve ever said I was an ordinary person," Chen Nuo stated.
Jin Zha and the Mountain God exchanged a look. It seemed that Chen Nuo indeed had never claimed to be an ordinary person.
"Then why didn’t you deny it?"
"Why should I deny it? If I said something, your attitude would be different, and then I might not be able to look for my stone pot," Chen Nuo responded helplessly.
"I really am just looking for a stone, I have no other purpose," Chen Nuo added with resignation.
The Mountain God observed Chen Nuo’s expression carefully but still couldn’t understand why Chen Nuo insisted on coming to his location.
He was still not convinced that this matter was just a coincidence, despite it actually being one.
"Are you a cultivator? Why can’t I see your cultivation level?"
"Really?" Chen Nuo glanced over himself, then laughed and said, "Maybe my cultivation and mana are above yours."
This simple smile was like a stab to the hearts of the Mountain God and Jin Zha. How could he dare to speak such presumptuous words so confidently?
Yet the reality seemed to affirm his statement; if their cultivation was equal to or exceeded Chen Nuo’s, they would have been able to easily discern his cultivation level.
Now that they could not, there was only one explanation: Chen Nuo’s cultivation level was indeed higher than theirs.
"What exactly is your identity? Why have I never seen you before?" Jin Zha asked.
Unlike the Mountain God, Jin Zha was very outgoing, and there were few from beyond the Four Seas he did not recognize.
Furthermore, given Chen Nuo’s high cultivation level, it was unthinkable for Jin Zha not to know of such an individual, unless Chen Nuo was intentionally concealing it.
"I’m just a restaurant owner," Chen Nuo answered, "Besides cooking, I hardly ever go out. If it wasn’t for the need of this stone pot, I wouldn’t have left home."
Hardly ever goes out, high cultivation level, owns a restaurant?
Jin Zha scoured his memory for this information, and there was only one person who matched up.
He had never seen him before, but as soon as he did, he caused a sensation throughout the Heavenly Court; well known by everybody, the owner of Chaos Residence, Chen Nuo.
Jin Zha looked Chen Nuo up and down, the more he observed, the more he believed it was possible. Nezha had met him before and had described him roughly. Looking at him now, this person might indeed be the one.
"Are you the owner of Chaos Residence, Chen Nuo?" Jin Zha asked.
"It is indeed me," Chen Nuo said with a smile.
The Mountain God looked at Chen Nuo. Although he had never been outside and was unfamiliar with the affairs of the Heavenly Court, Jin Zha would often visit him and share some gossip each time.
Lately, what he heard about the most was the owner of Chaos Residence, Chen Nuo.
He had previously complained that one even needed to make reservations to dine at that restaurant, and despite having made a reservation well in advance, he still hadn’t had his turn, wondering how he would ever get a chance to meet the proprietor. And now, to his surprise, he had encountered him here.
"Ah, I’ve long looked forward to this," Jin Zha put away his magic artifact, "I truly apologize for earlier, Taihang, what are you still doing with that old vine staff? Put it down quickly!"
The Mountain God also hurriedly put away his magic artifact, "Sorry, we have been offensive."
"It’s alright, I didn’t clarify my identity to you, so it’s natural for you to be on guard," Chen Nuo said.
Chen Nuo didn’t blame them for turning their weapons on him; after all, he was a stranger to them. It was normal to be cautious when encountering an unidentified person who had trespassed into their territory.
"But Shopkeeper Chen, with your restaurant being so busy, why didn’t you let your staff go in search of a stone for the cookware? Why go find it yourself?"
Jin Zha inquired, "I’ve had my reservation for a long time, and it’s scheduled for a month from now. I didn’t expect you to be here on Mount Taihang looking for stones."
"Describing the specific kind of cookware to my staff would be difficult, I feared they might choose the wrong kind and waste a trip. It would be a waste of time, so it’s more convenient for me to search myself," Chen Nuo replied.
Naturally, Chen Nuo couldn’t reveal that he was actually there to search for an energy ball, so he made up another reason to brush the issue aside.
Moreover, what he said wasn’t entirely untrue; he was the cook, and only he knew exactly what he was looking for.
"Indeed, indeed," Jin Zha expressed understanding.
"I had only heard about how delicious Shopkeeper Chen’s dishes were, but I had no idea they could be that exquisite. Only after seeing you in person and witnessing your skills do I realize how limited my knowledge was. It is because of people like you that so many delicious dishes are known to us," Jin Zha complimented.
Chen Nuo, who was accustomed to such praise, simply nodded smilingly in acknowledgment.
Not being good at sweet-talking, the Mountain God simply thanked Chen Nuo and then started making the cookware with the stone he picked up.
Seeing this, Jin Zha also wanted to help but, being unskilled himself, could only sit and watch from the side.
"Shopkeeper Chen, you mentioned earlier that we couldn’t replicate the flavor of the dishes ourselves. May I ask why that is?" the Mountain God asked while shaping the cookware.
Following the revelation of Chen Nuo’s identity, their way of addressing him also changed, from ’young brother’ to ’you’.
Jin Zha hit the Mountain God on the head with a mace, "You fool, Shopkeeper Chen must have his reasons for saying so."
"Why are you sucking up like that," the Mountain God complained, nursing his head and casting a reproachful glance at Jin Zha.
"What do you mean, sucking up? What you said was just too unpleasant to hear!" Jin Zha glared at the Mountain God, then turned to Chen Nuo, "Shopkeeper Chen, we also had an agreement about some clothes, remember? Even though I know you are a cook, we made a deal, and you can’t go back on your word now, with the Mountain God here as my witness."
It seemed Jin Zha really liked those clothes.
Having already agreed to the deal, Chen Nuo would naturally not break his promise. There was no need to hide anything now, so he directly queried the system.
"How many Merit Points for a sweatshirt and casual pants together?"
"In total, three hundred Merit Points."
That wasn’t too many, and moreover, with the reputation of Chaos Residence well-established, Chen Nuo had already accrued a considerable amount of Merit Points. If he were to convert his Merit Points to money, Chen Nuo’s wealth would be on par with that of a small country.
Given this, Chen Nuo readily agreed to Jin Zha’s request.
