Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 585 - 584: Sparring Partner, Is This Really Delicious?
"Fine, you can’t be wrong however you put it," Chai Wei conceded, "but could you let me have a go? I’d like to spar with you for a few moves."
Tian Peng had been waiting for Chai Wei to say just that and nodded promptly, "If you’d said so earlier, we could have started by now. Since the young master has made the request, I definitely need to let you. I’ll just rein in my strength a bit..."
Chai Wei began preparing with great enthusiasm; he wanted to experience Zhu Ganglie’s skills.
Tian Peng did indeed hold back, letting him make the first move, then followed up with his own.
The young master seemed adept at throwing punches, but with such a disparity in strength, it was easy for the opponent to catch a weakness.
Tian Peng had initially intended to catch his punch, but this time Chai Wei managed to dodge.
He hadn’t expected that in just a short while, the young master could reflect and change tactics.
It wasn’t just in character that Tian Peng had underestimated him, but in strength as well.
But, after dodging the punch, the young master didn’t think to launch an attack at the same time.
With a Sweeping Leg move, Tian Peng brought the young master down to the ground with incredible speed.
"I let you have one move," Tian Peng said, "How about two? Can we go eat now?"
Chai Wei got up from the ground, "Still a bit off, how can you be so fast?"
"If you had combined an attack with dodging my punch, maybe we could have sparred a few more moves."
"Ah!" After hearing Tian Peng’s words, it dawned on Chai Wei too.
Indeed, he always felt something was off but hadn’t realized it initially—it was this aspect he had overlooked.
Sure enough, a lack of actual combat experience; a few more fights with different people and he would have figured it out.
"No, no, that round doesn’t count, let’s go again," Chai Wei started to quibble.
"What did you promise me earlier?" Tian Peng had anticipated he might quibble and was not surprised that he indeed did.
"Your move was too fast, I lost before I was ready," Chai Wei insisted, "One more round, I promise, this is the last time."
"Didn’t you already promise that?" Tian Peng was not convinced in the slightest, "You lot, spoiled since childhood, can’t be trusted no matter what you say. Anyway, I won’t go another round. If you’re not up for it, then I am leaving."
As he spoke, Tian Peng really started to walk away, and Chai Wei immediately tried to stop him.
"Why are you so stubborn, alright, alright, no practice then, let’s go eat."
"That’s right, the young lad is correct; you really can’t indulge him too much. See, I told you not to indulge him." Right then, a deep voice came from outside.
Chai Wei perked up immediately, "Dad, when did you get here?"
"I heard you brought a friend home, and since I’ve never seen you bring a friend over before, naturally, I wanted to come and see for myself. It turns out he’s quite a character," said Lord Chai Shao.
"Dad, you have no idea, this guy is amazing. I don’t last more than three moves when we spar," Chai Wei hurriedly introduced Tian Peng to Lord Chai Shao.
Tian Peng nodded at Lord Chai Shao, "Lord."
"Of course, I know of his abilities," Lord Chai Shao said.
A few months ago, His Majesty had mentioned to him about a commoner who was exceptionally skilled, with great stature, distinguished charisma, and crucially, only seventeen years old.
He had felt at the time that this person was a talent, but not until he actually met him did he realize that His Majesty’s words were merely an understatement.
This was not just a talent—it would be hard to find a second such individual in the whole wide world.
"Dad, as long as you know how formidable he is, that’s good enough. During today’s exam, I thought for sure I would come out on top, but to my surprise, I actually ran into him." Chai Wei happily introduced Tian Peng to Lord Chai Shao, without showing any disappointment for not securing first place.
If he had to lose to someone, Lord Chai Shao didn’t think there was any shame in it being to someone like that.
Even if he were to compete himself, he may not be able to win against such a person, so there was no dishonor in his son losing to him; in fact, he even felt pride in having faced such an opponent.
"By the way, Dad, I told him I’d treat him to your noodles—could you make a batch of knife-shaved noodles?" Chai Wei requested.
Lord Chai Shao had already prepared the dough needed for the knife-shaved noodles at home, and upon hearing Chai Wei’s request, he laughed and said, "I have everything ready to go, and I guarantee after your friend tries them, he’ll want to eat them again."
Isn’t this just Old Lady Wang selling her melons?
Tian Peng curled his lip—there couldn’t be such a thing as a dish that could make him want to eat it a second time, except for the ones made by Chen Nuo.
After that thought, he realized he had forgotten about Mr. Monkey and mentally added another exception—there couldn’t possibly be a third cook whose dishes would make him crave a second helping.
Nevertheless, since he had been warmly invited, he had to respond with equal enthusiasm and not let the other party feel that he was brushing them off.
The three of them went to the kitchen together, where the servants had already boiled water, and another servant came out from behind carrying a basin of dough.
"This dough hasn’t been made into noodles yet?" Tian Peng was stunned. Could it be that the noodles need to be rolled out on the spot?
"It’s supposed to be exactly this kind of dough," Lord Chai Shao said. "Young master, just watch as I perform for you."
Lord Chai Shao took the dough out of the basin and started shaving noodles with a knife after making a few gestures over the dough.
Tian Peng watched as noodles were shaved from the dough into the pot and was utterly dumbfounded.
All the noodles he had eaten in the past were either made using a mold or first rolled out thin with a rolling pin then cut with a knife.
He had never seen noodles made by shaving them directly with a knife like this. Could they even taste good?
Seeing Tian Peng’s astonished expression, Chai Wei asked proudly, "How’s that? You’ve never seen such a method before, right?"
"I haven’t," Tian Peng replied. "Why not press the noodles with a mold instead of chopping directly with a knife? The noodles shaved this way might vary greatly in size and thickness, affecting the texture significantly."
His point was valid; noodles that varied in size and thickness could have a variety of textures in the mouth, not only affecting the taste but also making it difficult for the flavors of the broth to permeate evenly.
"That’s not something you need to worry about. My dad used to be a regular on the battlefield, slaying enemies with his knife, so this is just a small feat for him," Chai Wei said. "Just relax and enjoy the meal later—I promise you’ve never had noodles like these before."
Did he really need to make such a promise? Tian Peng had never even seen these noodles, let alone tasted them.
Though it all seemed overly fussy, Tian Peng genuinely couldn’t believe that such a method would produce delicious noodles.
He mentally coached himself, hoping that no matter how bad the noodles might be, he must not make it too apparent when he tasted them—he would have to praise them and keep any negative thoughts to himself.
Once the noodles were ready, Tian Peng had made his psychological preparations.
Noodles cook relatively quickly, and in just the time it took to steep a cup of tea, they were done.
Tian Peng gazed at the freshly cooked noodles and didn’t find them appetizing at all.
These noodles were broader than any he had seen before, but that appeared to be the only difference.
"Is it ready?" Tian Peng asked, puzzled.
"Of course not,—the noodles are done, but the sauce is yet to be added," Chai Wei explained.
"Oh, right." Tian Peng nodded.
