A Clash of Gods - Chapter 138

Chapter 138 An Imperial Chef
Yang Ning walked out of the Brilliance Hall, and Zhenming was still waiting for him outside unexpectedly. It was cold and the road was not clear, but Zhenming was familiar with the path. He walked in the front and led Yang Ning back to the courtyard on Tianbao Peak, keeping silent all the way.

After they entered the room and lit the candle, Zhenming stated, “Ning, it turns out that…you are so powerful in martial arts. You just…just let me win last time.”

Yang Ning could stand out when the Temple of Great Light was in need and prevent outsiders from entering the Purification Building, so Zhenming who took the temple as his home was grateful to him. Meanwhile, Yang Ning could defeat Bai Yuhe at one blow, so Zhenming was in awe of him and thought that he concealed his strength.

Yang Ning laughed loudly. He was clear that this little monk was honest and must be awestruck by him. Then he asked, “Little monk, have you heard of the Baiyun Island before?”

Zhenming replied honestly, “Master talked about it with me, but he didn’t say much. He just said that there are several great masters with unimaginably queer martial skills in the world now, and the owner of the Baiyun Island is one of them. He lives on the Baiyun Island in the East Sea all year round and seldom leaves there…”

“Great masters?” Yang Ning asked in surprise. “What do you mean?”

Zhenming answered, “The great masters are awesome with extraordinary martial arts. Master told me in private that those people are invincible even with a leave in hand, and the abbot is excellent at martial skills, but he is much inferior to those great masters.”

“There are a few of them?” Yang Ning was astonished. “Do you mean that there are other great masters…besides the owner of the Baiyun Island?”

Zhenming nodded. “Master said that there are three or four at least. Besides the owner of the Baiyun Island, Law King chasing the sun on Qinghai-Tibet Snow Mountain is one of them. Master didn’t mention the names of the others, but they must be extremely powerful.”

Yang Ning frowned. “Law King chasing the sun on Qinghai-Tibet Snow Mountain? Where is this guy from?”

“I don’t know, either,” Zhenming responded. “But when Master talked about them, he said that they shouldn’t be in the world.”

Yang Ning smiled. “It’s strange. Is your master jealous of them because he is less powerful than them?”

“Amitabha. Ning, you can’t say that,” Zhenming reminded instantly. “Master doesn’t desire to excel over others. I stay here with him for so many years. He has a pure heart with few desires and just talks about something outside with me occasionally when he is free. Master isn’t jealous of those people. He just said that if a person’s martial skills are beyond the limit of his physical body, he is not a common person but a freak. Such a freak in a world would do more harm than good.”

At the moment, Zhenming furrowed his brows and said in a low voice, “There are people outside.” He got up.

Yang Ning asked, “Did your master come back?”

“If it is Master, I won’t be aware of the movements,” Zhenming explained frankly. “There are few visitors here. I am going out to have a look.”

Zhenming walked out. Yang Ning reached to look for something carefully in his pocket and then looked serious at once.

Today he cut a figure in the Brilliance Hall because the pictures about swordsmanship he got from the old house helped him in the final analysis. He remembered that after he sorted out the dozens of pictures, he brought them with him and returned to the capital. Before he found a place to hide them, he happened to see that Qi Yu and his mother built up the prestige in the mansion of the Marquis of Honor.

Then he drove Qi Yu and his mother out of the mansion and cut off the connection with the Qi Clan. Before he had time to put away the pictures about swordsmanship, his internal injury attacked him, and then he was unconscious.

He remembered that he must have brought the pictures about swordsmanship in his pocket. After he woke up, he was in this room in the temple. He had forgotten those pictures then. Now he remembered them and found that they were not in his pocket and nowhere to be seen.

His heart sank.

At the moment, he heard a voice from outside. “Qi, are you still up? It happens that we have made some midnight snacks and brought them to you.” Zhenbi walked in with a big smile, with the fat monk from the Five Cereal Hall following him. The fat monk had a big food box in his hand and bowed with a smile.

Yang Ning glanced at them and hadn’t expected that the visitors would be the disciples from the Five Cereal Hall. He didn’t get up and just asked impassively, “Aren’t you the disciples from the Five Cereal Hall? What? Haven’t you gone to bed?”

“No, no.” Zhenbi smiled happily. “Qi, you defeated the enemy with your sword today, and all people in the temple feel happy. Perhaps we can’t fall asleep for a few days and nights.” He turned his head and motioned for the fat monk to bring up the food box. Then he sat on the stool across from Yang Ning. Before he spoke, he saw that Yang Ning frowned, so he hurriedly got up and expressed with a smile, “Qi, check what we have brought for you.”

When the fat monk was about to open the food box, Yang Ning raised his hand and said, “Wait a moment!” He looked Zhenbi up and down and then asked, “Zhenbi, what are you going to do?”

Zhenbi answered, “Qi, don’t misunderstand us. We offended you in the Five Cereal Hall today. After we pondered for a long time, we think that we were wrong, so we specially came to apologize to you. You are the heir of the Marquis of Honor and have seen a lot, so you are broad-minded and won’t blame us.”

“Oh!” Yang Ning smiled faintly. “You came to apologize? It’s beyond my expectation.”

Zhenbi smiled. “Qi, have a look first. What have we done?” He glanced at the fat monk, who then took out some dishes one after another. “This is the beancurd and lettuce, and this is the purple-coated green bamboo shoots. Qi, see. This is the mushroom, and this is the kidney bean, agaric, Hydnum. And the last one is called three-colored roll.”

Yang Ning just found that after the dishes were put on the table, the aroma spread. Although they were all vegetarian dishes, he had to admit that every dish was beautiful with a good smell. It was rare that they were brought from the Five Cereal Hall, but the order of the different dishes was still the same.

Zhenming saw that and his eyes widened unexpectedly. He couldn’t help but ask, “Zhenbi, are…these dishes in the temple? Why have I never seen them?”

The fat monk chuckled. “These were cooked by Zhenbi in person. You know what? Even the masters don’t have a chance to eat such dishes at ordinary times unless they stay secluded to cultivate. Then Zhenbi will cook for them alone. The abbot is sitting in meditation these days, and his food is cooked by Zhenbi personally every day. How many years have you been in the temple? Do you qualify to eat the dishes cooked by Zhenbi?”

Yang Ning coughed, and Zhenbi’s face darkened at once. Then Zhenbi cursed the fat monk, “Zhenchi, what nonsense are you talking about? Why can’t Zhenming eat the dishes cooked by me? Haven’t we sent them here now?” He turned to Zhenming, with a pleasant smile on his face. “Zhenming, if you like, I will cook for you frequently in the future.”

Yang Ning knew why Zhenbi had been arrogant before but became respectful now, so he questioned with a faint smile, “Zhenbi, you cooked for us, but I think it is improper. Even the disciples in the Bright Building can’t enjoy such a special treatment. How would we dare to?”

“Qi, don’t say that.” Zhenbi got serious immediately. “If you want to enter the Bright Building, as long as you ask Master Jingkong, he will surely agree with you. He is in charge of the Bright Building, and he can decide if you can enter it. But you defeated Bai at one blow today, and you are even more powerful in martial arts than the disciples in the Bright Building. I think that the abbot will give you another important position.”

The fat monk Zhenchi also laughed. “Qi, please take care of us in the future.”

“It turns out that this is your plan.” Yang Ning giggled. “If the abbot doesn’t give me an important position, won’t you waste your effort this time? In this case, I advise you to take away these things, in case that you get nothing.”

Zhenbi responded in an instant, “Qi, you misunderstand us again. We are just grateful to you for helping the Temple of Great Light out of the predicament, so we specially express our thanks. We don’t have other intentions.” He glared at Zhenchi and cursed him, “Shut up if you are not a good talker. Take care of us? Qi is broad-minded. If he can take care of us, you don’t need to ask him.”

Zhenchi raised his hand and slapped in his own face, saying with guilt, “I am clumsy of speech. Qi, please don’t mind.”

Zhenbi picked up the chopsticks and gave them to Yang Ning, with both hands. He stated cautiously, “Qi, have a try first and check what they taste like and if they are to your taste. If you like them, I will cook for you from today on and tell somebody to send them to you every day, so you don’t need to tire yourself on the way.”

Yang Ning saw the big smile on Zhenbi’s face, and he wasn’t in the mood to bother about too much. He had seen too many fickle people like him who shifted the sail with the wind, and he didn’t need to take it to heart. It was said that you shouldn’t hit a smiling face. The two people flatteringly brought delicacies to apologize to him, and no matter what they intended to do, he didn’t need to embarrass them on the surface. So he received the chopsticks and glanced over the table full of dishes. Then he picked up some randomly and took a few bites.

When the dishes were in Yang Ning’s mouth, it was beyond his expectation that they were beautiful with a good smell, and they tasted wonderful. He ate more and asked, “Zhenbi, were they really cooked by you?”

Zhenbi answered seriously at once, “I cooked every dish personally indeed. Qi, do they taste good?”

“It’s surprising. You left the Brilliance Hall only a little earlier than me. I just came back from the hall, and it was not a long time. How could you cook so many dishes in such a short time?” Yang Ning asked in doubt. “To be honest, all these dishes taste good and the duration and degree of cooking were controlled well. You couldn’t have cooked them alone, right?”

Zhenbi looked complacent and laughed. “Qi, you don’t know that I can cook four different dishes in four pans at the same time, and it won’t delay.”

Zhenchi asked, “Qi, you still don’t know what Zhenbi did before he became a monk, right?” He glanced at Zhenbi, with admiration in his eyes. “Before he came to the temple, he was an official imperial chef cooking in the imperial palace. Later, he served Duke of Huainan.”