Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 552 The Shuang Huang Lian of Journey to the West

Chapter 552: Chapter 552 The Shuang Huang Lian of Journey to the West

"How did the monk get sick?"

"At that time we..."

"He just couldn’t stand the smell of meat and vomited, and then he had a fever the next day. What can be done to solve this?"

Tian Peng was just about to speak, barely starting when Sun Wukong cut him off, finishing the sentence. Now, Tian Peng could only nod in agreement with what Sun Wukong had said.

"I see."

Chen Nuo pondered for a moment. It wasn’t uncommon to feel nauseous and vomit from just a smell, leading to a fever.

"Shopkeeper, can you think of a solution?" Tian Peng asked. "If not, we should seek out Goddess Nuwa. She’s so fond of you; surely she can think of a way to help us."

Sun Wukong slapped a hand on Tian Peng’s head, "I don’t even know what to say to you. Just because Nuwa likes Master, should we always bother her for help?"

"What kind of person is Master? Master is a virtuous gentleman! He would never exploit others."

Tian Peng glanced at Chen Nuo, who was in deep thought, and realized the problem, suddenly having an epiphany, "Look at my brain, thinking too simply only about myself without considering others."

After thinking a bit, Chen Nuo turned to Tian Peng, "Were there many people eating with you at the time?"

Tian Peng nodded, "Quite a few. We’re all rough folks, didn’t think about the monk’s feelings, and just sat him down and finished eating."

Chen Nuo nodded, "So, the monk might have been overwhelmed by the smell of meat due to the crowd around him, making the smell linger and causing this. Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll make a Shuang Huang Lian for him to eat, and that should cure the monk."

"Shuang Huang Lian?" Tian Peng had never heard of this thing and didn’t know what it was.

Sun Wukong also had never heard of it, but he figured that since it was made by Chen Nuo, it must be some sort of food.

It was unclear whether Shuang Huang Lian would be any good, but perhaps it could become one of Chaos Residence’s specialties in the future.

"Shuang Huang Lian is not a dish."

Seeing Sun Wukong and Tian Peng’s anticipating looks, Chen Nuo explained, "It’s actually made from several kinds of herbs. Its main effect is to clear heat and detoxify. You guys wouldn’t like the taste of it."

Chen Nuo was always modest. Now that he himself said it wasn’t tasty, Tian Peng and Sun Wukong were still somewhat incredulous.

"It’s not a dish?" Tian Peng said. "Since it’s a culinary remedy, it must be delicious, right? How can it be bad?"

"What, you don’t believe me?" Chen Nuo asked back.

Tian Peng paused. How could he admit to not believing Chen Nuo? He quickly shook his head.

"No, look at what you’re saying, shopkeeper. I would doubt anyone but you. I was just asking casually. So, this is considered a medicinal ingredient?"

Chen Nuo nodded and took out ingredients like Coptis fruit and Honeysuckle from the storeroom, putting them in a small pot to simmer.

Coptis fruit is bitter. Tian Peng didn’t recognize Coptis, but Sun Wukong did, and he knew as soon as Chen Nuo took out the fruit that it definitely wouldn’t taste good.

Tian Peng was unaware; he still looked eagerly at the soup in the pot as the scent of Honeysuckle spread from it once heated.

The fragrance of Honeysuckle was genuinely refreshing. He thought that, even though the color didn’t look very appealing, the taste must be okay, given that Chen Nuo made it.

Inhaling the scent, Tian Peng found it incredibly pleasant, and just by smelling it, he felt the urge to taste it.

As the small pot simmered above, Chen Nuo went to tend to other dishes, and Sun Wukong, with a mischief in his eyes, teased Tian Peng, "Blockhead, what do you think the taste of Shuang Huang Lian is like, eh?"

"How would I know, I’ve never eaten it."

Tian Peng replied honestly, then added, "But I think it smells pretty good. As the saying goes, a good meal requires good color, aroma, and taste. Since it smells good, it must not be too bad."

Sun Wukong wanted to laugh, fortunate that Tian Peng didn’t know what Coptis fruit tasted like. If he knew, he probably wouldn’t have the same attitude.

"So, do you want to try what Shuang Huang Lian tastes like?"

Tian Peng glanced at Chen Nuo, who was busy working. He really wanted to taste the Shuang Huang Lian, but he felt embarrassed with Chen Nuo there. If it was just Sun Wukong, maybe he would dare to try.

"What are you talking about, Mr. Monkey? The Shuang Huang Lian is something the shopkeeper prepared for the monk; how could I eat it?"

"That’s true, haha." Sun Wukong nodded and pretended to say nonchalantly, "Ah, that’s right. Just not sure if stewing it like this will work. Master, is it ready yet?"

Chen Nuo, standing at a distance, looked into the pot and then said, "It should be about ready. Why don’t you have a taste?"

"I don’t need to taste it; if the master says it’s ready, then it must be," Sun Wukong said.

Tian Peng, hearing that there was a taste to be had, immediately volunteered, "Shopkeeper, let me have a taste."

Chen Nuo, surprised at Tian Peng’s request, gave him a strange look, "You want to taste it? But there’s..."

"Cough, cough, cough."

Before Chen Nuo could finish speaking, Sun Wukong suddenly started coughing violently.

Although Tian Peng didn’t recognize Coptis fruit, he knew about Coptis. If Tian Peng found out it included Coptis fruit, he would certainly not want to taste it.

Then they would miss out on seeing Tian Peng make a fool of himself. To prevent Chen Nuo from saying the name of Coptis, Sun Wukong pretended to cough.

Chen Nuo, who was focusing on cooking, didn’t think in that direction. Hearing Sun Wukong coughing, he glanced over nonchalantly, "What are you coughing for? Got heatiness too? Why not have a drink?"

"No, no, no, I’d rather not. It’s just that Tian Peng just said he wanted to taste what Shuang Huang Lian tastes like, and since he’s actually willing to try, master, just let him taste it," Sun Wukong quickly said.

Seeing Sun Wukong’s smiling eyes, Chen Nuo knew this guy was up to no good—he wanted to play a trick on Tian Peng.

It was just a couple of sips of Shuang Huang Lian with nothing added, no big deal. Since Tian Peng wanted to drink it anyway, he nodded, "Alright, drink up."

With permission granted, Tian Peng grabbed a soup spoon, dipped it into the pot, blew on the hot steam, then poured it into his mouth.

The moment Shuang Huang Lian touched his tongue, Tian Peng’s face turned a wonderful array of colors.

First, it turned red, then purple, his eyes squeezed shut from the intense pain, "What’s in this, why does it taste so awful?!"

"Didn’t I tell you just now? This isn’t supposed to taste good, but you wouldn’t listen and insisted on drinking," Chen Nuo said.

Tian Peng was genuinely at a loss for words. Chen Nuo indeed said it wouldn’t taste good, and he thought Chen Nuo was just being modest. Who would have thought it was actually the truth this time.

"I, I was just curious, that’s all."

Tian Peng scooped a ladle of water from the water vat and gulped it down. After drinking it all in one breath, his mouth finally felt much better.

"As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. Luckily this time it was just Shuang Huang Lian, next time who knows what it could be. You’d better remember this," Chen Nuo said.

Tian Peng nodded hurriedly, "I’ve really learned my lesson now, I’ll heed the shopkeeper’s advice. I’ll pack this up now and have the monk drink it when we get to the station; that should definitely cure him."