Chapter 8 Settling Personal Vendettas under the Guise of Public Duty

"But how shall you all atone for your actions in the Earthly Immortals Realm? I will not tolerate such behavior!"

Haotian's words clearly conveyed his stance.

Tathagata remained silent for a while before speaking slowly, "The monk respectfully adheres to the Jade Emperor's decree. However, the matter of the Journey to the West is of great importance, could we perhaps be granted a three-day extension?"

"Granted!"

Haotian knew he couldn't push too hard, for today's events had not only vented the frustrations in his heart but had also added to Buddhism's troubles, a worthwhile exchange!

With the Jade Emperor's permission, Tathagata heaved a sigh of relief. Without saying much more, he nodded to the Golden Spirit Mother and left with the three Bodhisattvas.

Having her ire yet to subside, the Golden Spirit Mother could only fly back to the Heavenly Court.

"Brother is really something, always in closed-door cultivation, and forever sealing off Guan River Mouth so I can't go out and play!"

"The things at Guan River Mouth are so uninteresting. If I keep staying there, I will go insane!"

The girl clad in a blue dress grumbled to herself while steering her white cloud through the sky.

"Where should I go have fun?"

She murmured to herself, peering below.

Suddenly, she saw a mountain surrounded by immortal qi, lush and verdant, pleasing to the eye.

I might as well go play in this mountain today, and tomorrow I'll have a proper wander around the human realm.

With this thought, the girl silently recited a spell, and the cloud she rode descended smoothly toward the base of the mountain.

"Mountain of Mind and Heart?"

Seeing the inscription on the boundary marker, the girl couldn't help but murmur aloud.

She remembered her brother mentioned that for a hundred years, one must absolutely not enter Mountain of Mind and Heart; yet the girl was not scared, her curiosity was instead piqued even more.

Since I'm here already, there's no reason to leave - I might as well see what this mountain has to offer!

While Buddhism was reeling from the disappearance of Sun Wukong, the instigator of all the trouble, Chen Nuo lay leisurely in his rocking chair.

It was while resting with his eyes closed that Chen Nuo suddenly remembered something – today was the day for a ten-draw lottery.

The items he drew daily weren't that special, leading him to decide to save them up for a bout of ten consecutive draws.

Only being able to cook fried rice wasn't looking good – wasn't that undermining his own signature as the Kitchen God?

He sat up quickly, rubbing his hands together and muttering, "May heaven and earth ensure I draw good things!"

After chanting, he clicked for the ten-draw.

"Ding, congratulations! You have drawn a dozen clucking chicken eggs, a hundred pounds of crayfish, ten bags of flour... fifty pounds of premium beef brisket, and five bags of thirteen spices."

Chen Nuo's face fell instantly. Could this be any more heartless? Was he really so cursed with misfortune?

"And the dish 'Beef Noodles'!"

The final draw concluded.

Holy crap, awesome!

Chen Nuo punched the rocking chair excitedly. Damn, such thrill, a miraculous comeback! Relief spread across his face.

It might not be a high-end dish, but it was at least a dish.

Elsewhere, after the girl entered Mount Fangcun, she spent time admiring butterflies, wildflowers, and the like, wandering around the mountain, until suddenly she spotted a building not far away.

As she got closer, the girl became speechless. A restaurant in the mountains?

Even with her limited exposure to the human race, she knew this common knowledge. What kind of person would open a restaurant in the middle of the mountains?

Seeing the sign only made her laugh. Chaos Residence?

Quite arrogant indeed! Who was she, Yang Chan? Sister of Erlang Shen, Yang Jian. She had seen all sorts of restaurant names and was now curious to see what gave this place the audacity to call itself Chaos Residence!

Stepping through the doorway and seeing the simple decor, Yang Chan felt a bit disdainful.

Plain and uninspiring, devoid of aesthetic – could anything tasty really come out of this?

There was also a short red figure diligently wiping the tables; upon a closer look, it turned out to be a monkey!

"Dear guest, please come inside!"

Sun Wukong also noticed the arrival of the girl and, throwing down his cloth, said cheerfully.

This was exactly as Chen Nuo had instructed him, the right words and etiquette to use when someone arrived.

"Hm? A talking monkey?"

Yang Chan was somewhat surprised but didn't make a big deal out of it, after all, that dog could talk too.

"What do you all have here?" the girl pondered, asking the monkey.

Sun Wukong put his hands behind his back, proudly saying, "We have egg fried rice here!"

Egg fried rice?

Yang Chan was speechless. Just one egg fried rice and you dare to name the place after it?

"Then give me a serving of egg fried rice!"

Sun Wukong shook his head and candidly replied, "I can't make it, my master can!"

He had tried several times to make it himself, but not only was it a clumsy attempt, the resulting dish was barely edible; the gap between his and his master's skills was simply too great.

"Master, master! We have a customer!" Sun Wukong shouted, stretching his neck.

"Got it." A magnetic voice came from the second floor, followed by the sound of someone coming downstairs.

Dressed in fitting white clothes, tall and slender, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, phoenix eyes that were narrow and long, and lips curved in a subtle smile, the man had an air of nonchalance about him.

What a handsome young man!

Even though Yang Chan saw her brother Yang Jian, a famously handsome man in the Three Realms, on a daily basis, she couldn't help but lose her composure for a moment before Chen Nuo.

"What would the lady like to have?"

Chen Nuo looked appreciatively at this energetic and pure young girl, worthy of the Journey to the West, nurtured by Spiritual Energy. The first woman he had met here could outshine all the people from his past life in terms of looks.

The girl snapped back to reality, feeling embarrassed, and quickly put on an act, saying, "What do you all have here, huh!"

"I've told you already, we have egg fried rice!"

Yang Chan turned her head back and glared fiercely at the nosy Sun Wukong, baffling him, as if he were a monk who couldn't understand what was going on.

Seeing the situation, Chen Nuo smiled slightly and said, "We have egg fried rice here, as well as beef noodles."

This woman was also quite lucky, had she come a bit earlier, there would have been only egg fried rice.

"Beef noodles?!"

Sun Wukong was shocked. Had his master been developing a new dish?

Following that was joy, for the more his master knew, the more he as a disciple could learn, right?

"Then give me a bowl of beef noodles," she decided promptly after learning there was another choice.

"Please pay first."

Upon hearing this, Yang Chan reached into the pouch tied around her waist and took out a few copper coins.

Watching as she handed over the few copper coins with her delicate, fair hands, Chen Nuo smiled and shook his head, saying, "We do not accept such currency here. The standard of measurement is based on oneself."

"Based on oneself?" Yang Chan was somewhat mystified.

Seeing her confusion, Chen Nuo led the girl to the counter and pointed to a crystal clear crystal ball, saying, "Put your hand on it, miss, and you will know your own standard of payment."

This was something he had won in a draw from the system over the past month, specifically designed to determine the standard of fees. As for how much, it all depended on one's luck!

"Is it really that amazing?"

Yang Chan murmured to herself while placing her palm on the crystal ball.

Upon receiving the sudden feedback in her mind, her eyes widened in shock. Eating a meal would cost her ten percent of her mana?!

What kind of establishment was this!

Yang Chan's wariness spiked instantly as the crystal ball's involvement with mana meant it definitely wasn't an ordinary item!

She tried to sense it with her mana but got no response at all, as if the man before her eyes didn't exist!

"This person is definitely not an ordinary individual!" Yang Chan thought to herself.