Chapter 2122: Divine Official Takes a Disciple
Hua Caili stepped forward and asked with great anticipation, "How does it taste? Did it make you surrender? Uncle Six Laugh, you are the most honored Divine Official, so you must not be stubborn and speak falsely."
Six Laugh Divine Official did not speak, his old eyes slowly losing focus. Then, his sparse hair visibly began to rise, strand by strand standing on end.
"Eh?" This strange phenomenon startled Hua Caili, her delicate lips parting slightly.
Yun Che lightly tugged at Hua Caili's sleeve, signaling her not to speak. But instead, her soft jade fingers gently brushed his palm, secretly conveying affection right under the eyes of a Divine Official.
Six Laugh Divine Official slowly closed his eyes and let out a long breath, a trembling, strange moan.
When he opened his eyes, his gaze still fell upon the ice bowl in his hands. His old eyes seemed covered by a thin layer of icy mist, yet he remained motionless for a long time, as if unwilling... or unable to bear taking a second sip.
Because in his understanding of the culinary path, this was a dreamlike masterpiece that was rarely seen twice in the world, one that would vanish forever once consumed.
He gently pushed the bowl with his old hand, sealing it with a thin layer of Profound Energy. As he turned, his old eyes fixed on Yun Che with a blazing, almost terrifying divine light.
"Boy, who exactly is your master in the culinary path? I have existed for millions of years and never knew there was such an old monster in this world!"
Yun Che quickly replied, "To answer Senior Six Laugh, my master was a man apart from the world, unwilling to associate with the mortal realm. Before his passing, he instructed me never to speak of him to anyone, so..."
"Forget it, forget it, then don't speak." Six Laugh Divine Official waved his hand without any hint of coercion. The divine light in his eyes did not dim but instead grew even stronger: "The old monster is gone, but there's still you, the little monster!"
Before the afterimage faded, Six Laugh Divine Official's withered figure had already flashed before Yun Che, an old hand grabbing his arm at a speed Yun Che could not even react to, as if afraid he might run away. His gaze was blazing like a torch: "Boy, how do you make the Six Laughs Overlooking the World, the Colorful Cloud Soup, and the Shadow Cloud Pastry! Teach me quickly..."
"Ah!" Hua Caili let out a startled cry and hurriedly moved to pull at Six Laugh Divine Official's sleeve, speaking with urgency: "You... don't move so roughly; you might hurt Brother Yun by accident! And... the culinary path, like the Profound Path, has its laws of inheritance. It cannot be easily taught to others."
Six Laugh Divine Official's eyes widened, and he abruptly withdrew his hand, then smacked his own old face with a "smack."
"Right, right, right, right, right!" After slapping himself, Six Laugh Divine Official paced in place with some chagrin: "Look at me, got too excited in the moment, almost broke the taboo. Very wrong, very wrong."
After turning around once, he suddenly thought of something and looked up at Yun Che again, the excitement in his eyes having completely transformed into fervor: "Right! I can become your disciple, then you can teach me!"
Before Yun Che and Hua Caili could react, he had already "whooshed" forward, this time using both hands to firmly grasp Yun Che's hands. The excitement and longing on his old face seemed ready to overflow and become solid: "Boy... no, pfft! Little monster... no, pfft! Little Master! I'll become your disciple right now; you must accept me... Oh right, disciple ceremony, disciple ceremony!"
As he spoke, his body was already quickly lowering, clearly about to perform a kneeling bow.
This unexpected development startled Hua Caili, leaving her dumbfounded, then her face lost color. She hurriedly moved to pull Six Laugh Divine Official back, but she heard the wind howl past her ears, accompanied by a terrified roar:
"Master, you cannot!"
Yuanying Divine Attendant rushed in like a storm, in a most hasty and inelegant manner, and threw himself before Six Laugh Divine Official, using his body to cushion his knees, barely stopping his bowing motion.
"Master, you are a Divine Official of the Pure Land! Under heaven, only the Supreme Abyss Emperor is worthy of your bow. How can you perform such a great ceremony to a junior of a Divine Kingdom? Absolutely not, absolutely not!"
He raised his arms, firmly propping up Six Laugh Divine Official's upper body. As he howled, his demeanor was completely lost, his forehead covered in sweat, only fear remaining.
Six Laugh Divine Official rolled his eyes and kicked Yuanying Divine Attendant flying.
A distinguished existence as one of the Four Divine Attendants of the Pure Land, with the cultivation of the Divine Extreme Realm, rolled away like a ball, letting out an even hoarser howl mid-flight: "Yun... Che..."
Six Laugh Divine Official didn't even glance sideways: "I hate it most when this kid lets out these 'this cannot, that cannot' farts."
Bang!
Yuanying Divine Attendant smashed through the wall and landed somewhere far off on the Pure Land's earth.
Compared to Hua Caili's shock and Yuanying Divine Attendant's terror, Yun Che was remarkably calm. He faced Six Laugh Divine Official's blazing, nearly out-of-control gaze and said slowly, "As they say, the Way has no precedence of age or rank; those who attain it are the teachers. Senior Six Laugh has broad knowledge and sharp eyes. Since you are willing to bow to me as your teacher, it naturally proves that in the culinary path, I indeed have this qualification."
Hua Caili's beautiful eyes widened, but she trusted Yun Che too much to speak out to hinder him.
Six Laugh Divine Official's gaze intensified, his features blooming like withered flowers: "Hahaha! Well said, extremely well said! You, boy... pfft! Look at this old mouth of mine. Little Master just gets more and more agreeable. So, does this mean you are willing to accept me, an old man, as your disciple?"
Yun Che shook his head: "I will not accept."
"Eh..." Six Laugh Divine Official's voice and expression froze simultaneously.
Yun Che bowed respectfully and said slowly, "Senior Six Laugh's unrestrained soul and dedication to the culinary path are truly admirable. However, Senior Six Laugh is a Divine Official of the Pure Land, a status and name of infinite honor. And such honor can sometimes become a shackle, just like now. If you, as a Divine Official, bow to me, a junior of a Divine Kingdom, it will inevitably wound the supreme dignity of the Pure Land. For me, for the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom, it would be the greatest glory, but also the greatest calamity."
"Therefore," Yun Che bowed slightly, "I am filled with fear at such an honor, but I ask Senior Six Laugh to withdraw this grace."
"Yes, yes." Hua Caili's graceful figure flickered, and she stood beside Yun Che, echoing him: "If you really become Brother Yun's disciple, even if Uncle Abyss Emperor is the gentlest, he would likely be angry. And Uncle Meng would lose sleep over it. So, Uncle Six Laugh, just obediently admit defeat. Forget about becoming a disciple."
"Besides, if Brother Yun becomes your master, then his generation would suddenly be much higher than mine. I don't want that."
She stood extremely close to Yun Che, almost touching clothes, and her words were without any hesitation.
Six Laugh Divine Official twisted his mouth, then waved his hand, letting out a vague mutter: "Forget it, forget it. Damn Divine Official, can't even take a disciple... mumble... mumble... pfft!"
When Yuanying Divine Attendant rose and heard this, he breathed a huge sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
As Six Laugh Divine Official's close attendant, he knew his temperament better than anyone. Six Laugh Divine Official had always disdained the identity and prestige of a Divine Official, disdained all customs of rank and ceremony, acting and speaking only according to his own whims, never upholding the dignity of a Divine Official, and often doing things that shocked the world.
Even so, today's scene had nearly scared him to the point of a heart attack; his scalp was still tingling even now.
Hua Caili also breathed a silent sigh of relief, then quickly said, "Then... Uncle Six Laugh should admit defeat, right?"
"Admit, admit, with all my heart and conviction."
Six Laugh Divine Official admitted without any hesitation, because he had already been so eager as to want to become a disciple regardless of status. That was far more than just being convinced.
He leisurely glanced at Hua Caili: "Little girl, you set up this whole act. What you want this old man to agree to is to annul the marriage contract between you and that boy Dian Jiuzhi?"
Hua Caili's phoenix eyes sparkled, and she said with admiration: "Wow! As expected of Uncle Six Laugh. I haven't even said a single word, and you've already seen through it completely."
"Bah!" Six Laugh Divine Official spat hard: "You little girl deliberately made those little glances and little moves just for me to see! You haven't said a word, but your little thoughts are practically plastered right on my face!"
"No... not at all." Hua Caili's supremely beautiful face was full of innocence and docility: "It's just that a girl with shallow experience like me, no matter how much I hide, I certainly cannot fool Uncle Six Laugh's eyes."
"Girl? Hmph."
Six Laugh Divine Official squinted and grinned: "You were before. But look at the way you look at this boy, almost pulling threads. I'm afraid you've already messed around with him, and the little girl has long become a woman."
Yun Che: "..."
Hua Caili's face instantly flushed with rosy clouds, and her body instinctively took half a step back: "Uncle Six Laugh, you... vulgar."
Six Laugh Divine Official snorted: "Done is done, what's there not to admit? The matters of men and women are nothing but two lumps of rotten flesh tangled together. Indeed, it is utterly vulgar, not one bit as elegant as fine cuisine."
"Senior... speaks extremely truly." Yun Che was slightly embarrassed.
Six Laugh Divine Official turned his gaze to Yun Che, a hint of unwillingness still in his eyes about not being able to become his disciple: "You boy... called Yun Che, also the Mengjian Yuan who returned from the dead in the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom?"
Hua Caili opportunely flattered: "As expected of Uncle Six Laugh, you immediately know..."
"Go, go, go, go! In the past two years, the only one surnamed Yun who is famous enough to be named, besides Yun Che of the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom, who else! And with returning from the dead and a perfect Divine Rank, even I, an old fellow who hasn't stepped out of the Pure Land for eighty thousand years, have heard it more than eight times."
"However," Six Laugh Divine Official's tone shifted, his gaze becoming more leisurely: "Although Caili's girl's actions here are bold and audacious, her vision is very good. This boy... besides not being fully grown yet, indeed surpasses Dian Jiuzhi in every aspect. And his culinary attainments are eight million times better than that boy's own old man!"
This was undoubtedly the most pleasant sound Hua Caili had heard from Six Laugh Divine Official today. Half delighted, half eager, she said: "So, Uncle Six Laugh will surely help us, right?"
"Help?" Six Laugh Divine Official half-turned, carefully storing the bowl of Six Laughs Overlooking the World, from which he had only taken one sip, into his personal space: "I accept defeat in the bet, so when it's time to help, I naturally will. But how far this matter extends, I'm afraid you little girl understand at most one-third."
"And even knowing only one-third, you probably only dared to speak openly to me, this old rotten thing. As for 'helping,' I don't have that ability."
"It's fine." Hua Caili smiled especially cheerfully: "Just Uncle Six Laugh agreeing to help is already more than Caili could hope for. I am immensely grateful."
"Your junior is also deeply grateful." Yun Che bowed.
Six Laugh Divine Official opened his mouth as if to say something, but after a slightly complex shift in his eyes, he merely waved his hand and turned his back: "Alright, you've achieved your goal. Go, go."
His mind was still full of the "Six Laughs Overlooking the World," eager to replicate it based on his memory of Yun Che's ingredients and vague techniques.
Having achieved what they came for, and with Yun Che's performance and Six Laugh Divine Official's shock far exceeding expectations, Hua Caili had no reason to stay longer. She quickly responded: "Alright, we won't bother Uncle Six Laugh anymore. After we pay respects to Uncle Abyss Emperor, Brother Yun and I will come see you again."
But Yun Che suddenly spoke: "Senior Six Laugh, may I trouble you for a few more moments?"
"Hmm?" Six Laugh Divine Official glanced sideways but didn't refuse.
Without another word, Yun Che produced a jade slip, pinched profound light in his fingers, and quickly engraved on it.
In the silence, only the chaotic light of Profound Energy and the sound of carving could be heard.
After a long while, Yun Che stopped, closed the jade slip, and respectfully presented it to Six Laugh Divine Official: "Your junior came without a gift on this visit, and was quite uneasy. Please accept this as compensation, and I hope Senior will not disdain it."
Six Laugh Divine Official's old eyes flickered, a guess forming in his mind. Without ceremony, he grabbed the jade slip, swept his gaze over it, and in an instant, his body shuddered and he actually leaped three feet into the air: "This... this-this-this-this..."
Yun Che said unhurriedly: "Senior can rest assured. These recipes... including the 'Four-Color Cloud Soup' and 'Six Laughs Overlooking the World' among them... are not taught by my master, but are my own creations. They involve no taboos of inheritance."
"I will not disturb you further. Your junior takes his leave."
The number of recipes engraved on that jade slip was as many as two hundred.
To ordinary eyes, this might not be worth a glance. But to Six Laugh Divine Official... especially after witnessing Yun Che's culinary attainments, they were treasures among treasures.
"Wait!"
This time, it was Six Laugh Divine Official who called him back. The small jade slip was held in both Divine Official hands, his withered ten fingers trembling slightly: "Yun boy, you want to use this to exchange something from me?"