Celestial Food Stall: I Set Up a Food Stall in Heaven

I sat by the stove, listening to his accusations, looking at the pile of rotten peaches, and recalling Yi Ya's twisted logic of the strong plundering earlier. Finally, I couldn't suppress my anger any longer.

The Heavenly Court used its monopoly to cut off the lifeline of Flower Fruit Mountain, while Yi Ya used his power to harm dragon and phoenix creatures. They are essentially the same.

For their own benefit, the privileged class wantonly crushes and plunders the weak, treating the struggles and life and death of the lower class as insignificant dust.

"Chang Baiwei, you've always been decisive, and you even dare to go against the powerful and influential in Heaven."

Sun Wukong looked at me, a glimmer of hope burning in his eyes.

"Are we just going to stand by and watch us be oppressed like this? That Yi Ya is ruthless; the Dragon and Phoenix Clan is likely to suffer a great calamity!"

I stroked the edge of the stove, my gaze gradually hardening.

If there's no way to avoid it, then there's no need to avoid it anymore.

But I did not answer Sun Wukong immediately.

Instead, he turned around and carefully scraped off the last bit of uncontaminated peach paste from the pile of rotten peaches and sewage destroyed by the talisman, and put it into a small rough porcelain jar.

Sun Wukong was taken aback: "Chang Baiwei, what is this...?"

"Great Sage, the peaches from your Flower Fruit Mountain are being called mortals that defile the roots of immortality."

I put the lid on the jar, my eyes as cold and hard as iron.

"Then I'd like to see how my ancient and extraordinary dishes, made from 'ordinary ingredients,' will shatter their immortal roots one by one at the Peach Banquet."

I put the jar in my arms.

That was a seat reserved for the thousands of peaches of Flower Fruit Mountain at the Peach Banquet.

Sun Wukong suddenly stood up, his golden cudgel flashing, his eyes filled with excitement.

  This book was first published on 101 Reading Network, a highly reliable website offering error-free and orderly reading experiences.

"Fine! I knew you wouldn't back down so easily! I'll cause trouble at the Peach Banquet with you, and let's see who dares to stop me!"

I raised my hand to press down on his restless arm and shook my head.

"This trip isn't about fighting and killing. If Yi Ya wants to compete in cooking, then let's settle it with cooking skills. Let's be fair and square, so that all the immortals in Heaven can see clearly, and those so-called powerful and wealthy people will have no grounds for rebuttal."

Sun Wukong then put away his golden cudgel, clenched his fist, and waited to go with me.

Without further delay, I gathered a few handy kitchen utensils from the food stall and headed straight for the Heavenly Peach Banquet preparation office with Sun Wukong.

The place was already shrouded in celestial mist, and celestial officials from all walks of life were busy preparing for the event, making it extremely luxurious.

Yi Ya stood in the hall, surrounded by a group of immortals, pointing out the banquet dishes, enjoying the limelight.

Upon seeing me and Sun Wukong approach, the assembled immortals instantly fell silent, turning their heads to look at me with amusement in their eyes.

Yi Ya turned around, glanced at me, and a disdainful sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Chang Baiwei, how dare you, a street vendor, trespass on the important preparation site for the Peach Banquet? This is not your dirty little stall, where you can run wild."

"I'm not here to cause trouble."

I took a step forward, my gaze meeting Yi Ya's directly, and my voice, clear and resonant, echoed throughout the entire hall.

"I'm here to settle accounts with you."

The immortals inside the hall erupted in uproar.

"You want to make dried dragon liver and phoenix marrow, using the lives of dragons and phoenixes to gain your own reputation and curry favor with the powerful in the Heavenly Court, and you even fabricate some fallacious argument about the strong plundering. I can't stand it, and I will never agree to it."

Yi Ya's face darkened, and his tone turned cold.

"How dare you! The art of cooking is none of your business, with your unorthodox methods! Dragons and phoenixes are meant for the strong; my actions are in accordance with the will of Heaven. It's none of your place to interfere!"

"To follow the way of Heaven?"

I gave a cold laugh, each word ringing out.

"You're using the guise of Heaven's Way to commit cruel plunder! You're nothing but a beneficiary finding an excuse for your greed! If you want to compete in culinary arts, I'll gladly oblige. Let's have a fair and square contest right here at the Peach Banquet!"

A sinister glint flashed in Yi Ya's eyes.

He originally wanted to use the Peach Banquet to completely defeat me, and now that I've delivered myself to his doorstep, it's exactly what he wanted.

"Fine! You ignorant fool, I'd like to see what kind of trouble your antiquated cuisine can cause. How do you intend to compete?"

"Let's use the Peach Banquet as the arena. You prepare your dried dragon liver and phoenix marrow, and I'll prepare my unconventional and exotic dishes. At that time, let all the immortals in the hall be the witnesses, and it will be clear at a glance whose dish is superior."

I stared at him and, word by word, made a life-or-death bet.

"If I lose, I will cripple my hands, smash the food stall, and permanently withdraw from the culinary world of Heaven, never to set foot in the Heavenly Court again."

These words caused an uproar throughout the room.

The celestial official responsible for recording the banquet menu was so startled that he dropped his wolf-hair brush with a "thud" to the ground, unaware that ink had splattered all over him.

Sun Wukong, in a panic, tugged at my sleeve and whispered, "Are you crazy? You're betting so much, what if…?"

I raised my hand to interrupt him.

Yi Ya could no longer hide his smile and was about to agree.

"Wait a minute."

I stared at him and continued to press him for answers.

"If I win—I want you to destroy that dried dragon liver and phoenix marrow in front of everyone, by your own hands. And..."

I took a step forward, and although the sound wasn't loud, it silenced the entire hall.

"I want you, Yi Ya, to never again touch any dragon, phoenix, or other sentient being as food. I'm betting your culinary skills. Do you dare?"

Yi Ya's smile froze.

The onlookers, who had been eager to participate just moments before, all fell silent.

No one expected that I, an insignificant anti-ancient cuisine stall owner, would dare to force the orthodox culinary god of the heavens to stake an equal amount of my life and fortune.

Yi Ya's expression shifted between light and dark.

He glanced at the gazes of the immortals around him, then at the direction of the Queen Mother's preparations for the palace.

That place was his biggest backer.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and reluctantly agreed.

"Alright! It's a deal! Since you've chosen your own path to death, don't blame me for being ruthless when you lose, making sure you don't even have the chance to set up a street stall!"

The bet has been made.

The surrounding immortals were murmuring amongst themselves.

Some mocked me for overestimating my abilities, some sympathized with my impending self-destruction, and some secretly admired my courage.

But not a single person dared to stand up and speak a word of justice for the Dragon and Phoenix Clan.

Just then, a very faint, almost drowned-out sound came from the corner.

"...What the stall owner said wasn't entirely unreasonable."

I instinctively looked in the direction of the sound. It was the celestial official who had just dropped his pen in fright. He was hurriedly squatting on the ground to pick up his pen, his head bowed low, as if what he had just said was just my hallucination.

His colleague next to him quickly gave him a disapproving look, and he dared not utter another sound.

But I know I didn't mishear.

This seemingly solid Heavenly Court was ultimately cracked by my stubborn rock.

I turned around and pulled Sun Wukong away from the main hall.

Still reeling from the earlier tension, Sun Wukong asked anxiously, "Chang Baiwei, what are we going to use to fight his dragon liver and phoenix marrow? Do you have any better ingredients?"

I didn't stop walking; I just took out the small, rough porcelain jar from my pocket.

It contains peach puree from Huaguoshan peaches that were previously salvaged.

"Great Sage, what do you think makes a dish so unforgettable after just one bite?"

Sun Wukong was taken aback.

I patted the earthenware jar in my arms and said softly, "Yi Ya uses the finest ingredients to cook for the most powerful and wealthy. But the dishes I make are not for 'eating,' but for 'remembering.'"

After saying that, I strode towards my anti-Gucci food stall, which was considered second-rate by the Heavenly Court.

That is my battlefield.

As night deepened, the fire at the food stall burned quietly on the street corner, like an inextinguishable nail driven into the most unseemly corner of heaven.

The countdown to the Peach Banquet has begun.