Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 452: Nuwa Enters the Store

"Hmph." Nuwa didn’t intend to fuss over such trivial matters with a mortal, she asked the vendor, "Where is this Mr. Chen in the town?"

"Oh, just up ahead, keep walking straight. There’s a very large sign with the word ’Oil’ written on it." The vendor pointed behind himself, "If there’s a crowd, there might be a queue, and you’ll know it when you get there."

"Alright, thank you." Nuwa nodded at the vendor, then left with Xuan Feng.

As they walked, Xuan Feng cradled the potatoes in her hands, "Your Majesty, the potato this vendor made is quite tasty. Indeed, it’s worthy of Shopkeeper Chen’s teaching. I was wondering, how could a mortal make such delicious snacks? But if it’s Shopkeeper Chen, that’s not surprising."

Hearing Xuan Feng’s title, Nuwa knew where the problem lay. Her phoenix eyes glanced slightly at Xuan Feng, "Don’t call me ’Your Majesty’ outside."

Xuan Feng was taken aback, "Then what should I call you?"

"Call me ’sister’." Nuwa recalled what the vendor had said and thought that being referred to as sisters was indeed a suitable term in the mortal realm. It could both conceal their true identities and prevent misunderstandings from others.

"I will follow Your Majesty’s orders." Xuan Feng nodded vigorously but then realized her mistake and quickly corrected herself, "I will listen to sister."

The two continued on their way. Although the small town appeared simple and honest, it buzzed with many people, lending it an unusual prosperity.

Xuan Feng praised, "This town is far from Chang’an and doesn’t seem to have any special local customs or cultures, so how can it be so prosperous?"

"This place is next to Mount Taihang," Nuwa said. "With the Mountain God of Taihang overseeing, the crops grow normally, yielding twice a year, and with no major disasters or droughts, self-sufficiency naturally leads to prosperity."

"That’s true," Xuan Feng said. "But I see that this town isn’t just self-sufficient. I heard from the snack vendor that the number of visitors to the town has increased, all thanks to Shopkeeper Chen’s merit."

"How so?" Nuwa had only heard the vendor giving them directions, without paying much attention to their conversation.

Xuan Feng had finished the spicy food in her hand, her lips red and a thin layer of sweat on her forehead. She extended her delicate palm to fan herself and then said, "The vendor said that since Shopkeeper Chen opened an Oil Shop here, it has attracted visitors from outside. In fact, they all come for Shopkeeper Chen."

"Shopkeeper Chen is highly skilled. Even in such a small town, he can draw visitors from all around." Nuwa spoke while thinking of Chen Nuo’s cooking skills. He had originally opened a restaurant deep in the Mountain of Mind and Heart, and now the name of Chaos Residence was known throughout the Four Seas. Such a talented individual, naturally shines wherever they go.

"Indeed," Xuan Feng nodded. "Aside from other qualities, like poor judgment, to actually pass over someone as wonderful as you, his skills are beyond question."

"Xuan Feng," Nuwa spoke sternly, "Such matters are not about being looked down upon. Don’t always weave tales about others regarding these things. Feelings are a matter of mutual affection, one that can’t be forced, nor should you belittle him just because he doesn’t like me."

"But I just feel it’s unfair to you," Xuan Feng retorted discontentedly. "Every time this subject comes up, I really can’t hold back my anger. You are Nuwa; how could anyone not admire you?"

"Alright," Nuwa had already spotted the big ’Oil’ sign in the distance, with people queuing up in front. This procession could only belong to Chen Nuo’s shop.

As they approached, the line of waiting customers gradually cleared out.

"How did that happen so quickly?" Xuan Feng couldn’t help but exclaim, "A moment ago, I saw many people standing outside the shop, how could they have dispersed so soon? The shop couldn’t have sold out, could it?"

Her voice was naturally loud, after all, she was the Nine Heavens Mysterious Phoenix. As she spoke, a nearby customer who had just bought oil responded, "Are you also here to buy oil?"

"No, we are..."

Before Xuan Feng could finish speaking, Nuwa preempted him, "Right, we are here to buy oil as well."

"This oil shop is different from others; the oil isn’t ladled out with a typical scoop but instead flows from a designated place called a water faucet, which is much faster than manually scooping it out," explained the passerby.

"Is it really that magical?" Xuan Feng was surprised. "What is this water faucet? Could it be Old Dragon King’s head?"

"Hahaha." The passerby couldn’t help but laugh at Xuan Feng’s words.

Xuan Feng, somewhat annoyed by the laughter, retorted, "What’s so funny? The name suggests exactly that, am I not allowed to think so?"

"You are just too adorable, little girl. I must tell Mr. Chen about this later. His family has a little girl too, just as adorable as you."

The passerby said with a smile, "The water faucet is simply called that; it’s not an actual dragon’s head. But this device works like a sea dragon spouting water, hence the name."

At this point, Xuan Feng no longer wanted to know what the water faucet was; hearing the passerby mention that Shopkeeper Chen also had a little girl, she glanced at Nuwa and then asked, "Is that child Mr. Chen’s own child?"

"Mr. Chen is only in his early twenties, how could he have such a grown child," said the passerby. "The kid usually calls Mr. Chen ’brother,’ so she must be a girl from next door."

Xuan Feng felt relieved and said to Nuwa with a smile, "I thought so, she definitely isn’t Shopkeeper Chen’s child."

Nuwa too felt relieved. Although she thought Chen Nuo wouldn’t have children, she couldn’t be certain; her heart was half hopeful, half disappointed. Now that she heard the passerby’s words, she finally felt at ease and her mood greatly improved.

"Thank you, kind sir, for informing us, we won’t keep you any longer; we are heading into the shop," she said. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The passerby, being a good-natured person, waved his hand nonchalantly in response to Nuwa’s thanks and walked away.

There weren’t many people at the entrance of the shop at this moment. Nuwa composed herself and then walked towards the store.

"Shopkeeper, how do you sell this oil?" Nuwa was very confident in her disguise; she believed it would be very difficult for anyone to recognize her.

Chen Nuo pointed at the sign above, "The prices are all listed up there; tell me which oil you want, and I’ll fill it for you."

Nuwa looked at the four large barrels in front of her. From the outside, nothing could be discerned, but there was a device on the exterior of the barrels, which must be the water faucet mentioned earlier.

"Are there any differences between these four types of oil?" Nuwa asked. "Could you help introduce them to me?"

"Aside from the price, there isn’t much difference." Chen Nuo put down the book in his hand and glanced at Nuwa, "Are you buying oil for cooking?"

Nuwa felt unexplainably anxious from Chen Nuo’s gaze, but Chen Nuo only glanced at her indifferently, as if he were looking at someone else. Nuwa felt sad and disappointed; he didn’t recognize her, and his gaze was no different from that of a stranger. "I am just using it for cooking," she replied.

"If it’s for cooking, any of these would do. The prices are written above. Take a look and decide for yourself. Let me know which one you want," Chen Nuo said. He had looked at her only once but felt something was off about this person; she was different from the other oil buyers.