"I have a dream, that when I fly, the heavens will part for me; when I enter the sea, the waters will divide. All gods and immortals will call me brother..."
"Without obsession, there is no life. What if I desired to be equal to the heavens? Even if this world ceases to exist, my name shall not be forgotten!"
"Molten rock for armor, flames for a canopy. Heaven-shaking, earth-shattering, battling demons!"
The live stream's comment section plunged into a brief frenzy.
Sentences that had once appeared in storybooks, in their dreams, began to emerge. It was excitement, anticipation, and even a summons! A summons to the Monkey King in their hearts, the one who dared to defy heaven and earth, who could travel 108,000 li in a single somersault cloud!
"Streamer, streamer, is that Sun Wukong?"
"!!!"
"My intuition tells me, that's the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!"
It is said that everyone who has heard of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven has a little monkey living in their heart. That little monkey can charge forward, can do anything it wants. No one can stop it!
...
A golden light, a staff. In truth, these could prove nothing. But in the hearts of the viewers, they were the symbols of Sun Wukong.
"..."
In the live stream, that golden light had already vanished into the depths of the Underworld. Jiang Lin withdrew his gaze, not replying to the viewers' excitement and questions. This was because he himself could not be sure. Even though he was a ghost messenger, there were power divisions in the Underworld. What level of strength one possessed determined what they could know and what they could access. This was evident from the 'special missions.' Jiang Lin was not in a hurry about this. As his strength increased, he would undoubtedly learn more. The Underworld's approach was perhaps a form of protection for them.
Throughout history, there had been so many stories about the heavens. If he had the chance, Jiang Lin would quite like to see them.
Returning to the villa arranged by the West Hall, Jiang Lin turned off the live stream. Today's tasks: attend the food banquet, complete daily missions, purchase ghost artifacts... The rest was daily cultivation.
Jiang Lin entered the cultivation room and released the seven-colored egg and the dark green thin slice. He quickly entered a state of cultivation. The West Hall was good in this regard; there was no need to complete tasks to exchange for cultivation cards or anything similar.
Meanwhile, the viewers in the live stream, after an excited discussion about the possibility of the golden light, gradually calmed down. Some viewers who had reacted strongly to the food banquet took this time to rest, perhaps to buy some medicine. Or to find something else to do, lest they have nightmares that night.
Outside the Public Security Bureau.
Officer Lu looked at the growing crowd of viewers outside: "..." Should he invite them in to sit? As the crowd outside grew larger, Officer Lu abandoned this idea. If they came in, there wouldn't be enough space. It was fine for them to bask in the sun outside. However, Officer Lu did not expect that as these people basked, they would start chatting.
What were they chatting about? "Hey, you're also a viewer of the Underworld live stream? What a coincidence, me too!" "Wow, you actually live downstairs from me?" "That's great, we can watch the live stream together from now on." Besides those chatting, there were also those who were "camping."
"Bro, playing games? Want to team up?" After playing, they would add each other as friends. "Quick, quick, fall back!" "Ah! Almost leveled up! What a shame." ...
Officer Lu initially didn't think anything was amiss. It wasn't until he saw more and more people outside and the noise growing louder that he went out to check.
"Good heavens!" Why had the aunties also gathered? The aunties not only gathered but also kept calling their friends to join them. "What are you all doing here? Oh, why are there so many people?" "I don't know, aren't you here to watch the excitement?" "That's great, wait a moment, let's move to the side a bit, so we don't get caught in the crossfire." As they chatted, the aunties began discussing which mall had discounts today, and whose vegetables were freshest.
When Officer Lu came out again, some aunties, impatient, asked: "Officer, what exactly happened here? When will it start?" "Yes, yes, are they going to announce some news?" "So many people made mistakes?" Listening to the aunties' questions, Officer Lu: "..." How was he supposed to answer?
In the end, Officer Lu and his colleagues dispersed the crowd at the entrance. With so many people, anyone would think something major had happened.
...
Chen's Restaurant—
After putting down his phone, Chen Jiaming threw away all the notes he had secretly made. Using ghosts as ingredients, while innovative, didn't seem like a pleasant endeavor. If the dish wasn't made well, they might scare people to death first. After throwing them away, Chen Jiaming breathed a sigh of relief. Now, he wouldn't feel guilty facing his ancestor.
"Boss Chen, can we have some appetizer soup?" As soon as he returned, several diners were waiting at the restaurant entrance. Since receiving his ancestor's dream teachings, Chen Jiaming's soup had become increasingly fragrant. The restaurant's business was also getting better and better. Even the shop owners on this street couldn't resist coming to Chen's Restaurant to satisfy their cravings.
However, after his father passed away, Chen Jiaming had not hired anyone to help. Nor had he expanded the restaurant. Chen's Restaurant was a single establishment. He also limited the number of ingredients available each day. More time was dedicated to learning and refining his culinary skills.
When the few diners first arrived, they were a bit curious: "Why are there so few people eating today?" "Did the sun rise from the west?" "Didn't they say it was a popular spot? I guess the hype has passed." When Chen Jiaming returned, some diners comforted him. "Boss Chen, your cooking skills are impeccable, everyone on this street loves it." "Yes, my wife is almost tired of the dishes I make."
Upon hearing the words "dishes," Chen Jiaming's expression became a little unnatural. "Thank you all, but the restaurant will be closed for a day today, I apologize." Hearing this, the diners were a little confused but didn't ask further. After all, they were either working or running shops nearby, and it was common for things to come up that caused them to delay for a day or two. It was just... a little disappointing.
"Alright, then Boss Chen, you do your thing. We'll find somewhere else." After the diners left, Chen Jiaming looked at the pile of ingredients in the kitchen: "..."
Ugh— Not opening the restaurant was a small matter, but failing to complete the homework assigned by his ancestor was a big deal. What if his ancestor wanted to teach another class tonight? How would he answer? In his dreams... it shouldn't make him feel nauseous, right? Wait, what if strange scenes appeared in his dreams? Chen Jiaming became a little troubled. If his ancestor saw them, he wouldn't be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
"Perhaps, I shouldn't sleep tonight?"
………………
【Mini Theater】
In a residential house. Xia Qingqing, who was almost one year old, had already started learning to speak. Seeing the popular chibi-style beautified food banquet short videos on Douyin, she smacked her lips, "Eat, chi chi~" She grabbed the "jelly" next to her, which was in a daze, and shoved it into her mouth. She mumbled indistinctly, "Mmm mmm mmm (eat ghost ghost)~" Slurp~
Xu Asian/Xu Liu's remnant soul: "?!!!"
A child around one year old likes to put everything in their mouth. But eating ghosts, this was the first time. The more the jelly struggled, the louder the baby's slurping became. Finally, thankfully, the baby's mother arrived in time. Seeing what she was eating, she quickly pried open her mouth to look. "Good girl, you can't put everything in your mouth, you'll get a stomachache." The jelly then seized the opportunity to escape the demon's mouth, along with a coating of drool.
"..."
...
(PS: The domineering sentences about the Great Sage Equal to Heaven in the comment section are from Baidu~ These past two days, Mushroom has started trying to adjust its schedule, aiming for daytime updates~ Early to bed, early to rise, starting with me~ ❀)