Against the Gods

Seemingly surprised, Yun Che hurriedly said, “You are exaggerating, senior Liu Xiao. A recipe is ultimately just an object. The same recipe and food ingredients can produce different appearances, aromas, and flavors in different hands. Although they are my gift to you, I am certain that my recipes are beyond honored to have an owner like you.”

With that said, he took one step forward and bowed respectfully. “I bid you goodbye.”

High Priest Liu Xiao watched the duo leave with complicated eyes. After they were gone, his gaze returned to the jade strip and burned with barely concealed zeal once more.

It was at this moment that Divine Attendant Yuan Ying entered the abode in neat attire once more. Wearing a bitter expression on his face, he said, “My master, my liver is still shaking from your latest antics. Can you please sympathize with this poor attendant and not do something this scary ever again?”

High Priest Liu Xiao ignored him completely. He simply stared at the jade strip as if submerged in a sea of dreams he wasn’t willing to awake from.

“That said...”

Divine Attendant Yuan Ying was clearly used to being ignored. He continued talking to himself, “Caili’s matter... I cannot see any way it will end peacefully and without fanfare. It will be a riot the moment it is revealed.”

This comment finally spurred High Priest Liu Xiao into lifting his head and murmuring, “Yun Che, Meng Jianyuan... this boy is seriously extraordinary.”

“Oh?”

Divine Attendant Yuan Ying’s interest was piqued. “This is the first time I heard you giving a junior such lavish praise, master. I’m sure you don’t just mean his culinary skills, right?”

“Of course not.”

“When a God Bearer of the Six Kingdoms of God first meets a High Priest, they usually act reserved, afraid, or excessively respectful. Only a rare few are able to maintain their composure by force, or steer clear from obsequiousness or superciliousness.”

“This boy though, his confidence and composure came from the heart. Even his flattery, every single word of it, was just right.”

He lifted the jade strip he was holding and said, “He gave me this after I promised to help him, not before... Can you tell how big the difference is between the two?”

“When I asked him what he wanted in exchange for this jade strip, his response was both modest and polite. Every single line he spoke was a show of respect and flattery to me. He made it sound like I would be burying it in obscurity if I dared to reject it. However... he never said he didn’t want something in exchange, did he?”

High Priest Liu Xiao narrowed his eyes. “And there is nothing more expensive than ‘free’, is there?”

Divine Attendant Yuan Ying looked thoughtful. “If you know the game he’s playing, then why didn’t you turn him down?”

High Priest Liu Xiao rolled his eyes at him. “Like hell I would! You’ve been my attendant for countless years, so how is it that a boy who only met me today understands me better than you? Do you think it’s even possible for me to turn this down?! This is a priceless treasure! A true priceless treasure!”

Divine Attendant Yuan Ying pressed the tip of his nose. What could he even say to that?

“I wonder who the old monster who taught him is. To think he’s capable of creating a little monster like him in just a century. Even better, this little monster was picked up by Meng Kongchan of all people. This is easily the biggest dogshit luck the Dreamweaver of this generation had stumbled upon, tsk tsk.”

“I wouldn’t say that just yet.”

Divine Attendant Yuan Ying said leisurely, “His Majesty is the one who confirmed the engagement between Caili and Dian Jiuzhi. The entire world knows and has witnessed this. Equally as famous is Dian Rahu’s fiery temper. But worst of all... His Majesty is normally magnanimous to fit the entire Abyss in his chest, but if there is one thing that one may consider His absolute taboo, it would be unfaithfulness.”

He shook his head. “Oh, this is going to be so difficult. Is this what they mean by ‘fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same coin’?”

“What the fart does it have to do with you? Get lost!”

High Priest Liu Xiao could not be bothered to listen to his ramblings any longer and slapped him aside. “Do not delay me from researching this treasure any longer.”

“Er, there’s just one more thing.”

Divine Attendant Yuan Ying hurriedly added, “I’m sure you noticed that Yun Che’s ability to control flames was beyond unusual. It’s on the level where even Lady Ling Xian—”

“I said, getlost!”

An impatient High Priest Liu Xiao launched a kick at Divine Attendant Yuan Ying’s butt. The next thing he knew, he had landed several kilometers away from his original spot. At the same time, High Priest Liu Xiao’s scolding drilled into his ears, “How many times have I told you that one should not bother or be caught up in worldly affairs? Who gives a shit if he’s unusual? You would ignore him even if he were the reincarnation of a Creation God!”

Divine Attendant Yuan Ying climbed to his feet and carefully brushed away the dust on his clothes. Only then did he say slowly, “Yes, yes, this servant will obey your teaching.”

After he said this, the divine attendant’s gaze shifted toward the direction Yun Che and Hua Caili had disappeared into. While perceiving the changes in the air of the Pure Land, he mumbled to himself, “I have a feeling that this Pure Land Meet is going to be a riotous one.”

Inside his divine abode, High Priest Liu Xiao was bending his back and reading the jade strip again and again. His mouth muttered things from time to time.

“The names this boy came up with are surprisingly flamboyant. This is the one part where he’s like a woman.”

“This boy has eyes as deep as the abyss, and a heart as bright as a flame. He got one thing wrong, though. Who could live freely when they are trapped in a false world... still, delicious food is the one thing that never betrays, huohahahaha—burp!”

......

“You’re amazing, Big Brother Yun. I thought you were just a tiny bit better than Uncle Liu Xiao, but to think you would shock him so much his jaw almost hit the floor! He even wanted to become your disciple, hehehe!”

Her joyous laughter was purer and more soothing than even the skylight of the Pure Land. Even the clear wind seemed to be mellowed out by the smile as it sneakily brushed past the curves of the corners of her lips.

Yun Che unconsciously avoided her smiling face and looked straight ahead. He said, “So this is why you took me to visit the High Priests. Aren’t you worried that our affair will be revealed overly early, and your Father and Dreamless Divine Regent will be caught off guard as a result?”

Hua Caili replied without any worry whatsoever, “Uncle Liu Xiao is obsessed with culinary arts and absolutely refuses to get involved in any matter that doesn’t concern his own. Our secret could be a thousand times bigger, and he still couldn’t be bothered to say a single word. The one thing that could move him is culinary art, and it so happens that this is one of your best skills. That’s why I decided that the attempt is worth it. Even if the attempt had ended in failure, he would not have stuck his nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“As for Grandma Ling Xian, there is no one she pampers more than me. She will never do something detrimental to me. Also...”

She snuck a glance at Yun Che and lowered her voice slightly, “In fact, after Uncle Abyssal Monarch bestowed the engagement, Grandpa Ling Xian remarked that the engagement should not have been set before I understood what romance is. She declared that it is difficult to determine if the engagement would be a good or bad thing. She was worried that I may come to regret the engagement, and that the regret may plague my whole life.”

Yun Che: “...”

“As she said, I understood nothing back then. It wasn’t until I encountered Big Brother Yun that I truly understood her words. In my opinion, if Grandma Ling Xian predicted my future and worried about me that long ago, then she must understand my feelings and current situation better than anyone. Out of everyone, she must be the one who is most willing to help us as well.”

“Unfortunately, she just happened to fall ill during our visit... I hope she will recover soon.”

Yun Che smiled and put on a touched expression, “This problem came from me. Honestly, I should be the one to—”

“There is no you and me anymore. There is only us,” Hua Caili interrupted him and declared half-jokingly and seriously.

Yun Che fell silent before nodding his head firmly. “Mm! There is only us now. Besides, we have your Father and the Dreamless Divine Regent to rely on, and High Priest Liu Xiao just agreed to lend us his aid. The future must go smoother than we imagine.”

“Of course it will.” The girl broke into a light smile and looked at him with flowing eyes. There was a moment where she unconsciously stepped closer to him, though her reason immediately took over and pulled her away. To her, the joy of having met and fallen in love with Yun Che and the remorseless resolve to see it fulfilled far exceeded her worries of the future.

High Priest Wan Dao was the supervisor of the core resources of the Pure Land. He was extremely cautious, upright, and plainspoken. Naturally, Hua Caili wasn’t dumb enough to ask for his help.

The Chief Priest was even less of a question. He was the only person Hua Caili feared in the Pure Land. The fact that she could wrangle a promise out of High Priest Liu Xiao was already delightful.

The two of them walked together for a long time before finally, inevitably, Hua Caili reluctantly parted ways with Yun Che. She then returned to Hua Fuchen’s side.

Yun Che was still walking slowly. His eyes were calm as he perceived every wisp of aura and its changes around him. Although the direction he was headed was not the Dreamweave Kingdom of God.

“What are you thinking about?” Li Suo asked suddenly while perceiving his emotions.

His footsteps never stopped as Yun Che muttered in a low tone, “Laugh at others, laugh at yourself, laugh at the past and present; laugh at the heavens, laugh at the earth, laugh at the Buddha.”

The first few lines all bespoke a kind of freedom and unruliness that disdains all things equally, but the last line, ‘laugh at the Buddha’...”

“When Caili and I first met, I already felt that something was off with the quote. Incompatible, to be more accurate.”

“But now that I’ve met High Priest Liu Xiao, I think I’m beginning to understand why he said, ‘Laugh at the Buddha.’”

Li Suo quietly awaited his answer.

Yun Che did not give her a direct explanation. Instead, he gave her an answer with hidden meanings. “A person who looks askance at the vicissitudes of life may not necessarily do so because he has seen through everything and so attained enlightenment and become unfettered from them. It can also be because... the truth is so bleak that he became utterly discouraged and decided to hide from it all.”

“...”

Li Suo thought for a long time before whispering, “You’re saying that High Priest Liu Xiao is the way he is not because he has attained freedom of self, but because he is disheartened to the point that he doesn’t want to interact with the world at all? He is a lofty High Priest. He naturally towers over the heavens and disdains the world. There seems to be no reason for him to act like this...”

“Even if there is, how does it correlate with the phrase, ‘Laugh at the Buddha’?”

Yun Che let out a light chuckle. “What sounds like the most profound words of the sentence may actually be the most blunt. It is exactly what it sounds like. But of course, I could be wrong. This is just our first, terribly shallow meeting after all. I dare not infer anything from it.”

However, Li Suo said, “If your inference is really that baseless, then your heart would not be so heavy. Clearly, you are very confident in your guess, and you are very likely going to use it to your advantage.”

“Oh?”

Yun Che narrowed his eyes slightly before showering her with unreserved praise. “Are you getting smarter, or are you understanding me better, Little Li Suo?”

“...” Li Suo let out a hushed sigh and refused to respond

A long while later, she spoke in her fairy-like, dreamlike voice once more, “At the very least, please do not try to manipulate a True God too soon. It is easy to burn yourself. To a High Priest, you are but an insignificant blade of grass or speck of dust. They don’t even need to use fire. A single spark is enough to burn you into irreversible ash.”

“Don’t worry. I understand.”

Yun Che’s voice was packed with clearly discernible seriousness. “Allow me to emphasize again... and make you a promise, I suppose. I cherish my life a lot.”

It was at this moment that the gentle breeze of the Pure Land suddenly came to a halt, and the world before Yun Che’s eyes dimmed a little. It wasn’t because light had suddenly diminished; it was because his senses had run into a sudden obstacle.

When Yun Che looked up, he saw a row of figures passing through the sky.

It was the unique divine pressure of a Kingdom of God, but it was heavy and oppressive in a way that the Heaven Breaker Kingdom of God and Dreamweaver Kingdom of God could never be. Although they were far, far away, Yun Che could still tell at first glance that the group of a hundred were all women. A single name appeared in his mind in an instant.

It was the name of the most unique, mysterious, and infamous Kingdom of God. It was the one Kingdom of God, Meng Kongchan, Hua Caili, and Hua Qingying all warned him to stay away from: The Eternal Night Kingdom of God!