Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 64: Captured, Tian Peng Remains Full of Swagger
Even if he had to escape, he had to think of a legitimate excuse. He, Marshal Tian Peng, was a man of dignity after all!
Meanwhile, at Guan River Mouth, Xiaotian Dog sneezed inexplicably and shook his sleek black fur.
"Could the great me, a divine dog, actually fall ill?"
Xiaotian Dog immediately jumped onto the table, picked up the teapot with his mouth, and poured himself a cup of hot water, because even a dog should enjoy life.
On the other hand, before Sun Wukong could say anything, Marshal Tian Peng turned to leave with casual elegance, and his speed increased rapidly!
Whoosh!
"He didn’t catch up, did he?"
After flying for a while and seeing no monkey behind him, Marshal Tian Peng breathed a sigh of relief. That monkey was too damn powerful. He would report back to the Jade Emperor later. For now, it was more important to focus on finding treasures to eat!
Eating was his main mission at the moment!
"Oh, not flying anymore?"
Suddenly, a mocking voice came from above, and Marshal Tian Peng looked up, nearly scared half to death.
There was Sun Wukong, grinning at him with bared teeth.
"How, how did you catch up?" Marshal Tian Peng, frightened out of his wits, stuttered.
Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Secret."
He had already attached his aura to Marshal Tian Peng’s back while using the "Thousands of Threads and Strands" technique. At the edge of the distance limit, he instantly turned into an avatar and swapped places next to him.
It was his own carelessness, whom could he blame?
"Huaguo Mountain is not a place you just come and go as you please," said Sun Wukong.
Accompanied by miserable howls, Sun Wukong, as if grabbing a small chicken with one hand, brought Marshal Tian Peng back to Huaguo Mountain.
The scene was so brutal that all Immortals could hardly bear to watch. Marshal Tian Peng’s tall talk ceased, and the only thought in his mind now was, "Fare thee well, Marshal Tian Peng!"
Seeing Marshal Tian Peng’s fate, Nezha shuddered with fear and couldn’t help feeling relieved. Luckily, he had not spoken nonsense like Marshal Tian Peng.
Palace of the Polestar fell into silence for a moment, but no one blamed Marshal Tian Peng.
After all, everyone had seen the monkey’s defiance of the heavens. He was already beyond the scope of a Golden Immortal of Taiyi.
"My lords, what should we do?" Haotian sighed, breaking the silence.
No one answered.
Haotian frowned and pondered deeply. Buddhism had set the limit – one couldn’t interfere if they were above the level of a Golden Immortal of Taiyi. This would only inflate the monkey’s ego against the Heavenly Court, allowing Buddhism to act opportunistically.
Directly suppressing him with a Quasi-Saint would lead the monkey to believe that Buddhism was very powerful, and he’d grow more respectful of Buddhism.
One must admit, Buddhism had a cunning strategy!
Although this monkey wasn’t the one raised by Buddhism, his strength was terrifying indeed.
Even with his vast experiences, Haotian could scarcely imagine any Golden Immortal of Taiyi on earth who could subdue that monkey.
Looking at the Jade Emperor with a deeply furrowed brow, Gold Star Taibai stepped forward and suggested, "If I may report to the Jade Emperor, how about I make a peace offering and invite that Demon Monkey to assume an official title in heaven?"
As the Jade Emperor’s number one flatterer, Taibai naturally knew Buddhism’s plans.
"Good," Haotian nodded.
At this point, they could only continue to follow the procedure.
"Taibai, heed my command. I order you to make the peace offering to the Demon Monkey. However, since the Demon Monkey is too fierce and probably still hot-headed at this moment, your presence might backfire. Prepare thoroughly and go later!" Haotian said gravely.
What peace offering, backfire? It’s all nonsense!
He had already seen Marshal Tian Peng’s careless demeanor, and how little he regarded the court of the Heavenly Court. This time, he must teach him a lesson!
Moreover, Haotian concluded that the monkey would definitely not kill Tian Peng. If there really had been any killing intent, he wouldn’t have brought him back to Huaguo Mountain.
After the court meeting had concluded, the members of the Immortal Clans dispersed back to their homes.
The Kitchen God and the God of Cookery went their way together. Unlike the Immortal Clans, they didn’t pay any attention to the Demon Monkey. That was for the higher-level Immortals to concern themselves with.
These lower-level Immortals never cared about such matters; what they cared about now was how to develop new dishes.
"God of Cookery, what do you think of that Zhou Kang I brought back?" the Kitchen God asked the God of Cookery who was walking beside him.
At the mention of Zhou Kang, the God of Cookery showed a pleased smile, "Just as you predicted, he really is a fine prospect. With his talent, he can more than carry on our mantle."
The Kitchen God nodded, "That’s good. The boy has a sharp mind. With him here, we might actually come up with new dishes."
The two Immortals chatted and laughed as they made their way to the Imperial Kitchen, where they saw Zhou Kang cutting tofu.
With each lift and drop of the knife, the large block of tofu was swiftly cut into countless small pieces, each exactly the same size.
"Not bad, not bad at all." The Kitchen God couldn’t help but praise him aloud.
"Two esteemed masters!" Zhou Kang, seeing the visitors clearly, quickly greeted them with a bow.
The God of Cookery nodded, smiling, "Good, even though we only had you do menial tasks, you showed no resentment and maintained a level head. That’s the right attitude for someone learning to cook."
Zhou Kang himself felt fortunate. How could a talented chef like him not have any complaints about doing menial tasks? But then he remembered he was now in the Immortal Realm, in the Heavenly Court, and his excitement stopped him from voicing any complaints.
"We plan to introduce you to the Queen Mother after tomorrow’s early court. If your talent can impress the Queen Mother, becoming an Immortal is almost a certainty," revealed the Kitchen God, sharing the plan he had with the God of Cookery.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Kang’s heart leapt with joy, and he thanked them profusely, bowing his head repeatedly.
Becoming an Immortal through cooking, what an honor that would be!
"But remember, you must present your best skill to have a chance at impressing the Queen Mother. You can’t afford any slip-ups!" the God of Cookery warned seriously.
A mere mortal about to meet the supreme being of this world—it was unknown how he would feel or whether he could perform normally.
"I understand, I definitely won’t disappoint you, masters!" Zhou Kang suppressed the excitement in his heart, wishing he could go to the cook-off right now!
He had his signature dish, Mapo Tofu. Surely it would impress the Queen Mother!
Seeing Zhou Kang seemed steadied, the God of Cookery nodded with satisfaction and spoke, "If you succeed, I, as the Kitchen God, will also take you as my disciple to inherit our culinary arts."
"Thank you, master!"
Elsewhere, in Shuilian Cave of Huaguo Mountain, a figure was suspended in the middle of the empty cave, round yet robust in build.
But his face was battered and bruised. Nevertheless, his clothes revealed his identity—Marshal Tian Peng!
Tian Peng felt as if every part of his body had fallen apart. He was full of resentment. That monkey had been excessively harsh!
He hadn’t used a cleaver, but had thoroughly thrashed him with his fists.
Was it necessary to beat him so badly just because he was a bit arrogant and smug? And to hang him up for an entire day?
Once he had the chance to eat and gain strength, he would surely beat the monkey until he saw stars and get his revenge!
Lost in his thoughts, he saw Sun Wukong walk out of the room. Tian Peng quickly started moaning pathetically, looking very pitiful.
Sun Wukong, seeing his condition, let out a teasing laugh. But since he’d already been hanging there all day, he approached and said, "Hey, fatty, you’re the War God of the Heavenly Court, aren’t you? How come you’re so trashy?"
"Or are all the Immortals in the Heavenly Court like you?"
After saying this, Sun Wukong kicked him as well.
"Hey, go easy!" Tian Peng winced in pain.
Once the pain had eased a bit, Tian Peng resumed his bluster, "I was just fooling you. I’m actually the weakest there is. Everyone in the Heavenly Court is a mighty one, any one of them could squish you with just a flick of a finger!"
