Queen Mother did not accompany them on the Tour of the Three Realms, unaware of her son's obsession with Magical Treasures and mounts, nor of his criteria for a "master." She even cooperatively remarked, "Of course, Taishang Laojun's Magical Treasures are not only plentiful but each one is exceptionally powerful."
The little one's eyes sparkled brightly: "Wow! I really want him to be my master."
Queen Mother was astonished: "Just a moment ago, you said you wanted Peacock Great King to be your master."
The little one spun around joyfully: "I want many masters—those who are handsome, fight powerfully, play with me, have many Magical Treasures, and mounts, preferably all willing to give them to me."
Queen Mother tapped his nose: "You truly are greedy. Who ever takes so many masters?"
Yun Heng asked: "Can each disciple only have one master?"
Jade Emperor glared at him: "What else? How many masters do you want?"
The little one blinked: "Masters can accept many disciples, why can't disciples have many masters?"
Jade Emperor admonished him: "A disciple must respect the teacher and the Dao, with unwavering focus. If you seek the Dao with divided attention, you will learn nothing."
"I don't care!" The little one again threw himself into Queen Mother's embrace, pleading, "I want many masters, I want many masters!"
Queen Mother rubbed foreheads with him: "That might not be impossible. Once you master all the skills of one master and graduate, naturally you can take another master and continue your spiritual practice."
"Spiritual practice?" Yun Heng immediately denied: "I don't do spiritual practice, I want to eat snacks."
Speaking of snacks, he became excited again: "Eat snacks, eat snacks, I'm hungry, I want to eat snacks!"
Queen Mother was bewildered: "Snacks? What snacks?"
Yun Heng slurped: "Mung bean cake, lotus flower pastry, and glutinous rice ball!"
"Mother, have you eaten them? They are so sweet, so sweet!"
Queen Mother pushed the glazed plate toward him: "Jasper Pool has no snacks, only immortal fruit."
Yun Heng pushed the glazed plate away again: "I don't eat immortal fruit, I want to eat snacks."
Queen Mother picked up an Immortal Apricot: "This thing, mortal realm cultivators need only eat one to greatly increase their cultivation. Yet you refuse."
"I don't want cultivation, I want to eat snacks, I just want to eat snacks."
This little one, when obedient, Jade Emperor and Queen Mother wished to hold him dear to their hearts; when mischievous, he truly was overwhelming, making them wish to slap his little buttocks fiercely.
Jade Emperor stern-faced, glared angrily at his son: "Prince, if you continue to misbehave, I will…"
Yun Heng immediately placed his hands behind his back: "Will you hit my buttocks again?"
Queen Mother asked him: "Father Emperor hit your buttocks?"
Yun Heng nodded: "Yes. It hurt so much, so much! My little buttocks became like peaches."
Queen Mother heard that her son's buttocks were swollen from the old father's beating, instantly feeling her heart tighten, reproachfully glared at Jade Emperor: "Your Majesty, Heng'er is still young. Educate him properly, why must you strike him so harshly?"
Jade Emperor had grievances hard to express—if she had struck harshly, could this little rascal still be so lively?
Yun Heng walked to Jade Emperor again: "Mother, don't blame Father Emperor. It was Heng'er disobedient, so Father Emperor hit me."
He grasped Jade Emperor's hand: "Father Emperor truly cares for me, comforts me to sleep every night, and lets me eat snacks."
The Queen Mother pinched his chubby little cheek: "You're the one who tattled, and you're also the one playing the good guy."
The Jade Emperor scooped the little one into his arms, his eyes filled with affection: "Heng'er is craving something tasty. Father Emperor will think of a way."
This wasn't a big deal to begin with. The Jade Emperor promptly instructed Sa Shoujian, one of the Four Celestial Masters of Tongming Hall, to handle the matter.
Soon enough, Sa Shoujian found the Kitchen God and conveyed the Jade Emperor's wishes. Coincidentally, the Kitchen God had just the right person under him—a newly attained Immortal named Cai Ying, who had once been a royal chef. The pastries she made were so exquisite that even the mortal realm's Emperor praised them endlessly.
Sa Shoujian immediately met this Miss Cai Ying. Though she couldn't compare to the flower-like, moon-beautiful Fairy Maidens of the heavens, she was still a woman of pure and elegant charm. Her expertise was a perfect match, and her skills were quite good.
Celestial Master Sa made the decision on the spot. He brought her before the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother for their approval, and from then on, she would remain at the Jasper Pool, specifically responsible for making pastries for the little Crown Prince.
This delighted Yun Heng immensely. He ate glutinous rice balls for several days in a row, then mung bean cakes for several more days. Later, Cai Ying made new treats: pigskin cakes, Jushengnu, crispy yellow yam, emerald noodle strands…
Later, just eating them wasn't enough. He clamored to go watch Cai Ying make the pastries.
Cai Ying's small kitchen was located in a side hall at a corner of the Jasper Pool. This place was rarely visited, and Yun Heng had never been there before.
On the way to the small kitchen, the little one had to skirt around a cluster of palaces. Yun Heng then realized just how vast the Jasper Pool was—he had never been to this area before.
The little one couldn't read, so he pointed at the plaque on the palace gate and asked: "Sister Ziyuan, what does that say up there?"
Ziyuan hemmed and hawed, unwilling to say, quickly changing the subject: "Crown Prince, I wonder what new pastries Cai Ying has made today. Let's hurry over and take a look."
The little one's attention was diverted by the pastries, and he promptly forgot about that palace.
It wasn't until Yun Heng arrived at the side hall that he learned making pastries was simply kneading all sorts of things together, then putting them into an oven, using the Samadhi True Fire that all Immortals knew to bake the pastries until done—just like alchemy.
"Sister Cai Ying, what's this?"
"This is glutinous rice flour."
"And this?"
"This is white sugar."
"And that?"
"Black sesame, walnut kernels, pine nuts…"
"This oven…"
"That's a pot."
"…"
The Jade Emperor, having finished his celestial duties, finally found some free time and remembered his precious son. Only then did it dawn on him that Yun Heng, this little troublemaker who was always up to mischief, had been unusually calm these past few days, not making a single mistake.
He wasn't just mistake-free; he hadn't even stepped half a foot outside the Jasper Pool. Every day, as soon as he opened his eyes, he would dash to the side hall, clamoring to learn how to make pastries from Cai Ying.
When the Jade Emperor arrived at the Jasper Pool, the little one was rolling up his sleeves and kneading dough, doing it with great flair—except his face was dusted with flour.
Yun Heng held up the glutinous rice ball he had shaped and presented it to the Jade Emperor: "Father Emperor, look! I made this with my own hands. Do you think I did well?"
The Jade Emperor pondered for a moment, then hoisted Yun Heng up and returned to the Main Hall at the front of the Jasper Pool. With a pained heart, he lectured his son: "You are the Crown Prince of the Celestial Realm. What kind of example is it, hanging around the stove all day? Do you want to become a cook?"
Yun Heng asked: "What's a cook?"
"Someone who makes pastries every day is called a cook."
Yun Heng nodded: "Then I'll be a cook."
"You are the Crown Prince!"
"Can't a crown prince be a cook?"
"Of course not!"
Yun Heng sighed helplessly, "Then I won't be the crown prince anymore. I just want to be a cook."
The Jade Emperor was so angry he nearly saw stars, "You unfilial son, you unfilial son!"
Throughout the Three Realms, only Yun Heng, his own son, could infuriate the supreme Jade Emperor like this.
The Queen Mother was delighted and quickly helped the Jade Emperor sit down, handing him a tea cup and patting his chest to soothe his anger, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Heng'er is only three years old after all. Children's words carry no harm, children's words carry no harm…"
The Jade Emperor slammed the tea cup on the table, frustrated at his son's lack of ambition, "You're spoiling him."
"Me, spoiling him?" The Queen Mother was not pleased with this remark, "I wonder who it was that sought out the Immortal Cai Ying?"
"…"
"Ah!" The Jade Emperor sighed helplessly, "We must find him a master as soon as possible. Although three years old is a bit early to begin learning Immortal Arts, at least he can learn to read and write. Even if that doesn't work, having someone to discipline him would be good."
Upon hearing the word "master," Yun Heng chimed in, "Let Sister Cai Ying be my master. I'll learn to make pastries from her."
He dared to mention pastries again. The Jade Emperor was so angry his beard bristled, "What's the use of learning to make pastries?"
Yun Heng answered matter-of-factly, "I love glutinous rice balls the most. When I make them well, I'll let Father Emperor and Mother Empress taste them."
"…"
So the little one was so passionate about making pastries because he wanted to give what he thought was the best to his Father Emperor and Mother Empress.
The Jade Emperor, who had been filled with rage just moments before, felt all his anger dissipate upon hearing his son's words.
That day, the Jade Emperor took Yun Heng to the Lihen Heaven of the Thirty-Three Heavens to visit Taishang Laojun.
As soon as the father and son entered the Doushuai Palace, their eyes were drawn to the Eight Trigrams Furnace operating in the center.
"Wow!" Yun Heng made an exaggerated expression, "What a huge pot."
The Jade Emperor scolded quietly, "That's the Eight Trigrams Furnace."
The little one chuckled, "But it looks just like a big pot."
In front of the Eight Trigrams Furnace sat two Immortal Children, holding Plantain Fans and continuously fanning the flames.
Beside them stood an elderly man in a yellow Daoist robe with white hair and beard—the Supreme Pure Lord of Dao and Virtue, one of the Three Pure Ones.
Taishang Laojun held a gourd in his hand, intently watching the Eight Trigrams Furnace.
Curious, Yun Heng walked forward and first looked at the object in his hand, "What is this?"
Lao Jun replied, "The Purple Gold Red Gourd."
Yun Heng asked again, "What is it used for?"
"To store elixirs."
Yun Heng circled the Eight Trigrams Furnace once and saw Taishang Laojun raise one hand, channeling his magical power. The furnace lid slowly rose, releasing a wave of hot steam. The two children fanning the flames immediately retreated several zhang.
Yun Heng tilted his head, curiously observing them, not understanding why they had retreated.
The little one leaned forward and peeked into the furnace. Aside from the blazing flames, he saw nothing.
So, he asked again, "What is this for?"
Lao Jun smiled, "Opening the furnace to retrieve the elixirs."
As he spoke, the furnace lid had fully opened. The flames inside were still burning, but several golden elixirs gradually became visible.
Taishang Laojun removed the stopper from the Purple Gold Red Gourd and was about to retrieve the elixirs. Suddenly, a small hand reached out from beside him and, without warning, plunged into the Eight Trigrams Furnace, reaching for the golden elixirs amidst the leaping flames.
"Heng'er!"
"Crown Prince…" Seeing that small, tender hand, not only did the Jade Emperor, his own father, feel heartbroken, but even Taishang Laojun was deeply concerned. He hurriedly tried to stop him, saying, "Be careful, it's hot."
"Not hot, not hot," Yun Heng tossed the golden elixir in his hand to him, not forgetting to quickly pop one into his mouth. After chewing twice, his brow furrowed: "A bit bitter…"
By then, the Jade Emperor had also approached, taking his son's hand to examine it carefully. Only after confirming there was no injury did he finally feel relieved.
Taishang Laojun exclaimed in astonishment, "That was the Liu Ding Divine Fire."
The Liu Ding Divine Fire was not only used for alchemy but also for forging magical treasures. Countless treasures that Immortals took pride in would turn to ashes if they entered it.
Even Taishang Laojun used the Purple Gold Red Gourd to extract the elixirs. Yet this little crown prince, with no magical power to speak of, had reached his chubby little hand in and out of the Liu Ding Divine Fire without any harm.
Taishang Laojun looked thoughtfully at Yun Heng: "This is truly a strange occurrence."
The Jade Emperor sighed: "To be honest, I came to the Tushita Palace this time precisely to seek your advice on some matters, Lao Jun."
Taishang Laojun instructed the two attendants: "Go and prepare the ingredients for the next round of alchemy."
"Yes."
The questions the Jade Emperor wished to discuss were not suitable to be raised in front of the child, so he left Yun Heng with the two Immortal Children in the Tushita Palace while he followed Taishang Laojun to the adjacent Eight Scenes Palace.