Beijing Roast Duck Conquers the Heavenly Court

The Food God's sudden movements and godlike knife skills stunned everyone present. This was neither divine power nor immortal magic, but skill approaching the Dao itself. Through years of accumulated experience, the Food God's knife work was even sharper than Butcher Ding dismembering an ox. Only when one's skill reached its utmost could one approach the Dao.

The blade spun nonstop in his hand like a fan. The duck hung in midair as his arm swept around it, and slices of duck meat landed steadily on the plate.

A flash of blade light passed, and the Food God stopped. Exactly one hundred and eight slices—not one more, not one less.

The duck had been carved, and steam and fragrance wafted everywhere.

This knife work did not seem particularly remarkable in the eyes of the Heavenly Court immortals. But without relying on immortal arts, using experience alone, it was a true masterpiece. Seeing how every stroke of the Food God's blade was clean and decisive, the immortals' eyes lit up as they silently praised him.

"Eh, is this roast duck?"

"It is roast duck, but this way of eating it is rather strange. Why did he cut off the skin along with the meat?"

The monkey sniffed it and immediately sprang forward. "Old official, it smells pretty good." With that, he reached out to grab the duck.

"Great Sage, this duck is not meant to be eaten like that."

"Not meant to be eaten?" Sun Monkey froze. I may not have read much, but don't try to fool me.

The Jade Emperor was equally puzzled. Not meant to be eaten? Then how was it supposed to be eaten?

The surrounding immortals were drawn over at once, all utterly baffled. How was it eaten, then?

Everyone was curious by nature, and immortals were no exception.

The Food God smiled faintly. "You eat it like this!" He pointed at the duck meat with skin on the plate.

The Kitchen God curled his lip disdainfully. "Isn't that the same as before? You merely divided it up a little." He immediately began tearing the other man down. I have no new ideas, but do you?

"Old Sun knows." The monkey secretly reached out again.

Smack! The Food God slapped his hand away.

"You're so stingy over a piece of duck. Boring, boring." The monkey grinned and waved at the Food God, but his eyes never left the roast duck. Anyone familiar with Sun Wukong knew exactly what he was like—claiming he did not want to eat it was a complete joke.

"Haha, Monkey, what are you in such a hurry for?" the Barefoot Immortal laughed. He had eaten plenty of roast duck, and this method did not necessarily seem all that impressive, though it certainly smelled good.

"Old Sun has always been impatient." The monkey waved at the Barefoot Immortal without the slightest embarrassment.

"Great Sage, this is how you eat it." The Food God raised a hand, and a large amount of ingredients and seasonings appeared on the table once more.

He took out a thin pancake, added two slices of duck, then scallion segments and shrimp. He drizzled over a layer of brown sweet bean sauce, rolled it up, and handed it over.

It was not just the monkey who was stunned; the surrounding immortals were dumbfounded as well. So it was meant to be rolled up and eaten. Well, that was certainly novel.

The Jade Emperor was completely taken aback. He seemed never to have eaten roast duck like this before. He was immediately intrigued; such an elaborate way of eating it was no simple matter.

The monkey held the wrap and examined it, gesturing uncertainly. "Eat it like this?"

The Food God nodded. Well, they would know once they tasted it.

The monkey took a bite and chewed slowly. The surrounding immortals widened their eyes.

"The monkey seems rather calm. That's unlike him."

"I can't be bothered with him. I'm just curious about this roast duck. This way of eating it is quite fresh."

"Me too. I wonder how it tastes, whether it's the same as what we usually eat."

Sun Wukong flicked his hand and stuffed the rest of the wrap into his mouth. With his cheeks full, he licked the sauce from his fingers. "Old official, wrap another one for me. Old Sun ate too fast and didn't get to taste it properly."

The Food God wrapped another one.

"Old official, wrap another one for me. Old Sun has a big appetite—one or two just aren't enough!" The monkey stared blankly at the Food God, patted him on the shoulder, and began currying favor with him. He had no shame whatsoever, which was simply his usual nature.

The immortals' eyes lit up. They had caught on—the monkey was addicted to it.

"Monkey, slow down. We haven't even tried it yet!" the Barefoot Immortal spoke up.

"That's right. There's only so much duck on one bird, and we haven't eaten any yet!" Erlang God complained with a laughing curse from where he sat at the table.

The Jade Emperor also looked anxious. "My minister, quickly prepare some for everyone."

"This servant understands." The Food God immediately took out several roasted ducks, sliced them, and had the seasonings and pancakes distributed among the immortals.

The Barefoot Immortal copied what he had seen and wrapped one himself. After taking a bite, he said, "Mm, delicious. This is good. The crisp duck skin wraps in all that fragrance, and the skin carries the duck fat. One bite is rich without being greasy. The pancake further cuts through the richness, and with scallions, shrimp, and that sweet sauce—an absolute perfect match!"

"Not bad, truly not bad." Lord Lao stroked his beard, savoring the flavor.

The Jade Emperor took a bite, and a wave of bliss rushed straight to his head. "Good, good, good! My minister, this dish has truly reached the pinnacle of culinary skill. The combination is perfect."

The Queen Mother nodded as well. It had been a long time since she had eaten such delicacies. The crucial point was this style of eating—it was simply unheard of.

"Immortals, have some Peaches of Immortality to cleanse the grease from your palates."

As soon as she finished speaking, she waved her hand, signaling the official start of the Peach Banquet.

Yet the expected scene of everyone biting into peaches never appeared. All the immortals kept their heads down, wrapping roast duck, and paid no attention to the plump, juicy Peaches of Immortality beside them. The Queen Mother was utterly dumbfounded. This was not how things were supposed to go. This was the Peach Banquet—Peaches of Immortality, not ordinary peaches! This made no sense!

When she turned around, even Sun Monkey, who loved peaches most, was hovering beside the Food God without so much as glancing at the Peaches of Immortality. He was usually the one who threw tantrums and clamored for peaches. Had even the monkey changed his nature?

"Great Sage, have some peaches." The Food God was deeply envious, but unfortunately, none were for him.

"Old Sun got sick of those things long ago. Old official, wrap another one for me. Just one more."

Lü Dongbin nodded as well and said to Iron-Crutch Li, "Same here. This roast duck is delicious, and I'm sick of Peaches of Immortality too. I just wonder whether we'll get to eat this again in the future."

"Then next time, we should arrive earlier and petition the Jade Emperor to let the Food God handle it again."

"Exactly, that's what I was thinking too." Nezha immediately chimed in from the side. Peaches of Immortality? Forget it. He was thoroughly sick of them too.

The Food God looked at the Kitchen God's face, dark as the bottom of a pot in the distance, and deliberately taunted him. "Great Sage, the Kitchen God is the head chef this time. He made many delicious dishes."

"Not eating them, not eating them. What rubbish dishes. I've eaten them so often I could spit feathers. How could they compare to your roast duck?" The monkey swallowed the wrap in one bite. "Old official, another one, another one. If anyone bullies you in the future, use Old Sun's name. I'll stand up for you." Sun Monkey had always been straightforward like that. If anyone expected him to spare the Kitchen God's dignity, they could forget it.

"You damn monkey, for the sake of food, you've even thrown away your pride." The Fire Department Star Lord shook his head and laughed as he cursed.

"I just like this stuff. If you think you have too much, share some with me." The monkey refused to let it go.

"No, no, pretend I said nothing. I don't even have enough for myself. Take as much of the other dishes as you want." As he spoke, the Fire Department Star Lord immediately pulled the pancakes and duck meat in front of himself, then shoved the dishes beside him away as if driving off ducks. The Kitchen God's eyes turned green with fury at the sight. Those had been carefully prepared by him, not garbage.

"Old Sun doesn't want them. I don't like eating that stuff."

Watching the immortals throughout the great hall wrap pancakes and toss aside Peaches of Immortality, ignoring his dishes and even disgustedly pushing them away, while showing no regard for even the precious immortal Peaches of Immortality, the Kitchen God's heart turned ice-cold. It was over, completely over. This time, the Food God had truly turned things around.

His heart convulsed violently, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Finding a spot, he tried wrapping one himself. The moment he bit into it, the Kitchen God's eyes turned red. Delicious—damn delicious! The Food God had actually devised such a novel way of eating it? Just how was his brain built? How had he come up with such an absurd idea? Duck wrapped in a pancake?