Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 152 You choose the path to heaven but refuse to take it, you insist on forcing your way into hell (First update of 5K chapters)
"Inside the competition venue"

Zhu Wuneng stared at the large screen, his face ashen, his hands clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.
Looking at the seven judges in front of him, he felt that they were all crazy!

"Can't they see the true meaning of 'Twin Peaks Pagoda Meat'?"

"Are their tongues just for show? Why can't they taste anything?!"

Zhu Wuneng didn't feel like he had lost; he now seriously suspected that Xia Ming had tampered with his cooking.

"Damn, damn!!!"

Zhu Wuneng took a deep breath, his usually hypocritical demeanor finally crumbling.

His face contorted, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he looked at Xia Ming.

But that fierce look only lasted for a moment. After realizing that it was being broadcast live nationwide, he quickly suppressed his thoughts.

But Xia Ming still detected a hint of resentment in that fleeting look in his eyes.

He frowned slightly. Although he didn't know much about the temple system in the city, he always felt that the various qualities Zhu Wuneng exuded were contrary to those of a monk.

It's not about glorifying it, or bringing up the vague and ethereal concept of self-cultivation.
He just felt that even if a monk had broken his vows, as long as he had lived in the temple for a period of time, his emotions would not be so unstable.

"At least put on an act! Weren't you quite the actor before the match?"

Just as he was beginning to have doubts, Zhu Wuneng bowed to the judges and then turned around to pack his things and leave the venue.

At this moment, several extremely explosive messages suddenly appeared in the live broadcast room.

[Don't be fooled by this Zhu Wuneng! He's not a monk from Jiuhua Mountain, and he doesn't have a certificate of ordination!]

[That's why he looked familiar. He's not a monk; he used to attend "New Western Technical School," where I was his classmate. He got into a fight in the dorm and got expelled!]

Now that you mention it, I remember him too. I enrolled in a "Chinese Cuisine Intensive Training Program" back then, and I even saw him at school!

[This guy is a fraud. My grandfather invited him over for a vegetarian meal. He claimed to be a disciple of Master De Ning from Jiuhua Temple, saying he was there to impart Buddhist teachings and that it would bring merit. He charged my grandfather 6800 yuan for three dishes, and when he left, my grandfather even gave him 900 yuan as a donation!]

I think my grandfather was fooled. Later, he went to Jiuhua to inquire and found out that Master De Ning had never taken on any disciples; this guy's identity was fabricated!

[Holy crap, is this some kind of thrill? I thought the monk who only drank and ate meat was already outrageous, but it turns out he's a fake monk!]

[Nationwide live stream, this is hilarious! I also think this guy doesn't look like a monk. Quick, someone report him!]

[Reported; prompt action recommended!]

When the live stream chat exploded with activity, due to the extremely dense information, the AI ​​control system began collecting key information from the comments section.

After the technical staff behind the scenes of the competition noticed that something was wrong, they immediately contacted the department in charge of the investigation by the competition organizing committee.

This department was specifically set up for people with questionable immigration status.

Its main responsibility is to screen out problematic contestants during the competition who may have misrepresented their age, level, or other issues, and to come up with corresponding solutions.

According to the backend data, Wu Neng is the "Dharma name" he filled in in his personal information, and his real identification information is as follows.
Name: Zhu Yonggang

【Sex: Male】

[Age: 24 years old]

[Address: Chizhou, Da Wan District]

Basic online information indicates that this person has no "criminal record," but just yesterday afternoon, the local "Hat Uncle" received multiple inquiries and accusations that Zhu Yonggang may be involved in "fraudulent activities disguised as Buddhist offerings."

Upon receiving the information, an investigation was launched. After an afternoon of checking, multiple filings were found in the background.

It's important to understand that the competition organizers are not other management departments, so some delays in information flow are normal.

But just now, after contacting the local authorities, they discovered a startling fact.
"Backstage, the corridor leading to the lounge"

Xia Ming and Zhu Wuneng walked towards the players' lounge under the guidance of the staff.

On the way, Xia Ming noticed that Zhu Wuneng's face was extremely ugly, with a fierce look on his face. He no longer had any of the demeanor of a monk.
That means there are surveillance cameras in the corridor and staff members in front of him, otherwise Zhu Wuneng would definitely have pounced on Xia Ming and started punching and kicking him.

After slightly adjusting his body, Xia Ming switched the knife case to his left hand and then blocked his right hand, following Zhu Wuneng about seven or eight body lengths behind him with the case in front of him.

Just as the three were about to reach the lounge, several staff members suddenly walked up to them.

Upon seeing this scene, Zhu Wuneng felt his whole body tense up, and his expression clearly changed from fierce to tense.

Xia Ming, who was following behind, noticed the change in the curvature of his shoulder and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Several staff members saw Zhu Wuneng and walked towards him. Zhu Wuneng seemed to have realized that something was wrong. He suddenly took a step back and then ran wildly in the opposite direction of the lounge.

Seeing this, the staff behind quickly caught up, and at that moment, a sound came from somewhere.

"You can't escape. Come back with us for questioning!"

Upon hearing the word "investigation," Zhu Wuneng felt his brain rush with blood, and his gaze toward Xia Ming was filled with nothing but resentment and malice.

"Damn it, it's you! If you hadn't blocked my way, how could I have been discovered!"

"I'll fight you!"

Knowing that escape was hopeless, Zhu Wuneng was now focused on taking revenge on Xia Ming. In the blink of an eye, he had rushed to Xia Ming's side and kicked him.

"I've been waiting for you for ages!"

Xia Ming was prepared for this, and with a swift movement, he rushed in from the side.

Xia Ming swung the knife box in his left hand and smashed it towards Zhu Wuneng's face. In the instant Zhu Wuneng raised his hand to block, Xia Ming's right hand, shaped like an eagle claw, darted towards Zhu Wuneng's lower abdomen.

Zhu Wuneng did not expect Xia Ming to react so quickly. He was caught off guard and his lower abdomen was grabbed by Xia Ming's claw. At the moment of the claw strike, he felt his blood and qi suddenly surge uncontrollably.

"wrong."

Before he could utter a complete sentence, he felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen.

That feeling was definitely not from an external injury; it was as if someone had ripped his blood out of his abdomen and sucked it away.

Within 4 to 5 seconds, he felt slightly dizzy, which was similar to the symptoms of excessive blood loss.

Zhu Wuneng's expression flashed with surprise. He couldn't understand why he had changed like this in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, in the instant he was stunned and speechless!
Xia Ming's hand had already left his lower abdomen, and then he raised his foot and struck his ankle.

Zhu Wuneng was still in a daze at that moment, and with his lower body unstable, he was directly hit off balance by this blow. He staggered forward uncontrollably and then quickly fell to the ground.

Upon seeing this, the staff behind him rushed over and pinned him down, while Xia Ming nervously took two steps back to the side.

"That scared me to death! Whew!"

Hearing Xia Ming's words, the staff member in charge of the arrest looked up at him.

They never expected that this culinary genius would also possess such skills.

Judging from the smooth way he dodged just now, it's clear he has real combat experience.
However, whether Xia Ming has fighting skills or not is irrelevant to the staff.

At this moment, they took Zhu Wuneng into custody and quickly took him away from the scene. The staff member who was leading the way breathed a sigh of relief and came over.

"I was so scared just now, are you alright?"

Xia Ming shook his head, then glanced back at the staff member who had led the way.

"fine."

"Should I take you to the infirmary?"

"Need not."

Shaking his head, Xia Ming gave the staff member in front of him a deep look, and then smiled.

"Let's go, I'll go back to the lounge first." Hearing Xia Ming's words, the staff nodded and then quickly led him back to the lounge entrance.

He used his "vitality" ability to sense the number of people inside, and after confirming that it was correct, the staff member next to him left.

Xia Ming did not go in directly, but turned around and stared at the staff's backs. His originally calm expression turned slightly gloomy.

Just now, as the staff responsible for the arrest started chasing Zhu Wuneng, a gasp came from the scene.

It was those words, "Come back with us for investigation!" that completely ignited Zhu Wuneng's emotions.

The other staff members probably didn't pay much attention because their eyes were all on Zhu Wuneng, but Xia Ming determined from the general direction of the voice that the sentence most likely came from the staff member who was leading the way.

However, he had just checked and it seemed that, in order to control the impact, the surveillance cameras on this short stretch of road were not lit when Zhu Wuneng was arrested.

In addition, the voice sounded strange at the time, clearly a deliberate alteration of the voice, unlike a normal person's speech.

In other words, Xia Ming currently has no evidence to prove that this staff member made the statement.

"So, were you bribed, or were you specifically assigned this task to deal with me?"

Xia Ming didn't think there was anything wrong with the staff who arrested Zhu Wuneng; otherwise, they could have pounced on him and attacked him in the chaos.

At this moment, he felt it was more likely that the staff member leading the way had taken money privately and then shouted it out on the spot.

"If we think about it this way, using Zhu Wuneng to attack me was also part of the plan."

Xia Ming guessed that Zhu Wuneng must have some criminal record or violated some competition rules to be taken away, which should originally be his own problem.

However, the fact that this problem occurred right after the game ended, rather than earlier or later, warrants serious consideration.

"Is it based on events that would normally occur, and then artificially creating an accident?"

The words "cleaner" popped into Xia Ming's mind, and then his whole demeanor became a bit gloomy.

"Just like a rat in the gutter, never daring to act openly, always striking from the shadows?"

"Looks like I must be quite valuable on certain lists! Otherwise, people wouldn't keep coming to me like this."

Xia Ming frowned, then extended his right hand. At this moment, several wisps of "blood soul" were floating on his right hand, which the surveillance cameras could not capture at all.

Looking at the vitality emanating from the "blood soul" that did not belong to livestock, Xia Ming uttered a sentence indifferently.

"You're choosing the path to hell when there's a way to heaven!"

After saying that, he took a deep breath, regained his composure, and then pushed open the door and went inside.

The people in the contestants' room were filled with mixed emotions when they saw Xia Ming return.

When someone can only be looked up to by others, it must be hard for them to feel good, considering they are their rivals.

Of course, there are always exceptions. For example, Qian Youdao's face only revealed more intense excitement, while Zheng Zeqian next to him was openly sleeping in an extremely inelegant posture during the live broadcast.

Xia Ming remembered that when he watched Zheng Zeqian, he was sleeping four or five times out of ten. He wondered if Zheng Zeqian had a job as a nightclub DJ in addition to his main job as a chef. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain where all his energy went.

Passing through Fang Xu, whose expression was complicated, Xia Ming sat down next to Qian Youdao.

Seeing that he had returned alone, Qian Youdao asked him curiously where Zhu Wuneng had gone.

Xia Ming spoke frankly.

"On the way back, I was taken away for some reason~"

Qian Youdao raised an eyebrow, then took out his phone and seemed to send a few messages to someone. About two minutes later, he looked up.

"No wonder someone online compiled a list of Zhu Wuneng's crimes as a 'fake monk,' which includes posts from Little Red Riding Hood, Kuaishou, Bilibili, and Douyin. If it's true, he's finished."

Xia Ming raised an eyebrow, then took out his phone and started looking through it.

Information is easy to find on Douyin. Just enter the four characters "朱悟能假" and a trending topic will pop up.

I don't know if it was compiled by the "cleaner", but it was no different from checking a household registration book. They basically stripped Zhu Wuneng bare from beginning to end.

According to the above description, Zhu Wuneng's original name was Zhu Yonggang. He dropped out of middle school and sponged off his parents for a year. His family couldn't stand it anymore, so they sent him to "New Western" to learn a trade.

Although it was a vocational school, which is far from a "culinary academy," his family accidentally discovered his innate talent for cooking.

He learned knife skills, especially quickly and accurately.
Thinking that although their child didn't study well, at least he could be a cook and have a skill to make a living, his family was quite happy at first.

However, Zhu Yonggang lived up to his name; although talented, he had a bad temper and often got into fights with others.

Once, during an internal team exam, someone helping him made a mistake by handing him the wrong ingredients, resulting in a poor final score. He blamed everyone else for this, and that very night, a sniper duel broke out in the dorm.
The other person couldn't beat him; he hit the other person on the head with a thick wooden board, causing the other person to bleed from the nose.

After the blood was drawn, the other party immediately filed a complaint with the college. After compensation and mediation, the Zhu family paid the other party's medical expenses, and he was expelled from the college.

After he was fired, his family tried to send him to work as an apprentice in a restaurant, but his personality couldn't handle it, and he failed at several places, leaving his family somewhat helpless.

Just then, his aunt came over and gave his parents a rather "unconventional" science lesson.

The reason he is like this is because his six senses are not at peace. Compared to cultivating culinary skills, he should first cultivate his mind and character.

Although his parents thought it made sense, Zhu was the only son in the family, and his father would definitely not agree to him becoming a monk in a temple.

His aunt said that one doesn't have to be a monk to cultivate one's mind; one only needs to take refuge in Buddhism.

What is "taking refuge"? Simply put, it means that one's heart is drawn to Buddhism, but there are still many practical problems to face. One cannot enter a temple to become a monk, but still wants to cultivate one's mind and accumulate merit.

So they would find a temple, spend a little money to get a "certificate", and with the "certificate", they could participate in the temple's activities. Some temples even offered short-term accommodation, which was equivalent to being a "Taoist layperson".

His aunt said that "taking refuge" only requires observing the "Five Precepts," and eating meat and getting married are not affected. Moreover, if it doesn't work out in the future, one can leave if they really can't accept it.

His father agreed when he heard there were no restrictions.

Faced with his parents' double persuasion, Zhu Yonggang reluctantly agreed to give it a try. His initial plan was to spend a few days in the mountains and then come back, citing that it wasn't suitable.

Unexpectedly, a few days after he converted to Buddhism, he passed by the temple's kitchen and saw a monk preparing vegetarian food.

That knife skill completely stunned him.
Zhu Yonggang is a contradictory person. He has a bad temper, but he is also willing to learn and does not reject cooking skills.

Seeing how skilled the master was, he thought about becoming his apprentice. At first, the master refused, so he came to help every day. Eventually, they became familiar with each other, and the master reluctantly agreed.

However, he refused to accept Zhu Yonggang as a disciple, only saying that he would help in the kitchen and be responsible for the vegetarian meals, and he also forbade him to publicize his Dharma name.

At first, Zhu Yonggang didn't understand, but later he gradually learned from other places that this "Ciwen Monk" was actually the orthodox successor of a branch of Huaiyang knife-making.

He was once a renowned culinary master, but unfortunately, a series of misfortunes befell his family in middle age, leaving him all alone.

He attributed all of this to his past as a chef, during which his subordinates committed too many atrocities. After a final struggle, he shaved his head and became a monk, receiving a proper "ordination certificate".

After becoming a monk, perhaps his mindset improved, or perhaps there really is such a thing as accumulating merit. In any case, he became more and more comfortable, so he returned to his old profession of cooking vegetarian meals for the temple, which can also be considered as accumulating merit.

Zhu Yonggang had been learning from him for three years and had made some progress in knife skills. Gradually, he could no longer stand the rules of "Ciwen".

Because she was a nun, Ciwen did not eat meat, nor did she allow Zhu Yonggang to eat meat or learn to cook meat dishes. At first, Zhu Yonggang listened, but later he couldn't stand it and would hide from Ciwen to eat meat.

In Zhu Yonggang's view, he was a Buddhist monk who had taken refuge in Buddhism and was not bound by any restrictions; he didn't even necessarily have to follow the Five Precepts.

He's been able to stay on the mountain for so many years purely because of Ciwen's skills; he has no desire to become a monk.

Ciwen doesn't care about these things. If you want to learn a skill, you have to follow the rules, otherwise you have no affinity with Buddhism.

Zhu Yonggang had been enduring it all, but one day, he finally managed to cut out the "Thousand-Thread Phoenix Tail" himself. Feeling that he had mastered all the skills of "Ciwen," he became even less concerned about the rules.
In order to make money, he even secretly cooked for worshippers under the guise of monks eating vegetarian meals to stay close to Buddhism.

The craftsmanship is genuine, but the price is shockingly high. However, Zhu Yonggang has a solution: he doesn't make ordinary food, but proper "merit vegetarian food".

To this end, he even packaged himself as a very serious monk. In addition, he was quite handsome, changed his demeanor and style, and boasted that he was a disciple of "Master Jiuhua Dening". Some people actually believed him.

After successfully establishing this "master's vegetarian meal" approach, he gained confidence and became increasingly adept at using Jiuhua Mountain's reputation to promote himself.
The temple, however, maintained a serious demeanor.

But there are no walls that stay hidden forever.
Not long after, a pilgrim who sensed something was wrong came to Jiuhua Mountain to investigate. As he did so, the problem became increasingly apparent.
(End of this chapter)