Bolin and Haishi needed no introductions, as for Ellie, Yang Qing couldn't be bothered with her, the less most knew about her the better.

Meifeng responded in small murmurs to the introductions, her nervousness clear to all. The introduction ended with Gu Xing who still seemed as dazed as she was when they came in.

"What's up with her? Why is she looking at me that way?" asked Meifeng using her palace sense to communicate with Yang Qing.

From the moment they arrived, Gu Xing had been staring intently at her with her eyes flashing with countless emotions that made Meifeng nervous and perplexed as she sensed a tinge of regret within those emotions.

She couldn't make heads or tails of why she would receive such a look from Gu Xing. As far as she could remember she had never interacted with her. Gu Xing had a distinctive aura about her that made it impossible for one to forget ever meeting them, no matter how much time passed.

"She is friends with Lady Gild, and also the guardian of the graveyard located in this range.." answered Yang Qing drawing a surprised yelp from Meifeng, who was unable to hide her emotions from the revelation as she stared wide-eyed at Gu Xing.

"Really?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, really. You really don't know her?" asked Yang Qing.

When he met Gu Xing and mentioned Meifeng, she instantly knew her origin from her interaction with the Lady Gild, and from the way she described it, she had even met Meifeng at some point."Maybe she came before Meifeng unlocked her spirit.." thought Yang Qing.

"I don't know her. I would have remembered her if I did, though there is something slightly familiar about her. Maybe its Lady Gild's aura.." said Meifeng as she slowly grew bolder in her scrutiny of Gu Xing, who was equally staring at her with apt attention.

The interaction between the two was like that of a parent and their child, where the child has not seen the parent for a long time and has even forgotten what they look like but from the moment their sight on them they could sense a familiarity that they couldn't quite explain, while the parent is in surprise at how much the child has changed in their absence.

"You two should talk while we arrange everything. You could both share stories about Lady Gild, and you could even ask her to tell you tales of Adler when he was a cub.." said Yang Qing, trying to stir Meifeng on.

His tactic seemed to have worked as he could see her eyes lighten at the idea. With how much she idolized Lady Gild, Yang Qing was more or less certain that she would be pumped at the thought of hearing and trading her own stories about her.

Yang Qing used the brief momentary pause as Meifeng was lost in her thoughts of the potential stories she would hear, to inform Gu Xing of the plan to have her catch up with Meifeng, which she was all too glad to do.

The duo left a second later when Gu Xing asked Meifeng softly if there was somewhere they could talk in private, to which Meifeng led her behind the trunk she had been hiding from when they came. She was still a bundle of nerves as she almost slipped a few times, but the excitement of hearing about Lady Gild and potentially embarrassing stories about the fire adler bear spurred her on.

With the duo leaving, Yang Qing and the rest went about helping Shi Hai spread about the dishes he had made, while Shi Hai himself started working on a few more dishes that he couldn't do so until the day of the party to avoid loss of flavors.

Low-height tables, futons, and a few utensils were spread about before the group started grouping the dishes from snacks such as panfried dumplings and the like; to meat and poultry; to vegetables and egg dishes like ma po tofu and stewed wintermelon; to cold dishes like winterforest mushroom in chili oil; to seafood and aquatic foods; to soups and finally wines and teas.

Other than the wine and tea, everything else had been Shi Hai's doing. Even covered, one could sense the boundless flavor contained within the pots because of the cooking dao that coated them.

As they were arranging the various dishes around the alcove, Shi Hai had already started a small fire using cinnamon flake wood and a few other precious woods that he would use to add flavor to the meat he was about to barbecue over them.

With the flame already underway, he took out three goats from his storage ring. Their size was that of regular goats, but there were a few things in their makeup that set them apart from regular goats, one of them being their coat which looked to have been made of cindering ash, and the red-orange crystal-

like horns on their heads that looked to have been made from lava.

The goats in question were volcanic crystal ash goats that survived in areas filled with dense fire element energy. Volcanic crystal ash goats were highly valued in the cooking and epicurism community because of the flavor of their meat. Even without doing anything to it which included cooking it, the meat was filled with boundless flavors that would bring even the hardest of men to tears from just a single bite. And also ironically, for a creature that grew in hardy areas, it had the most tender flesh.

Shi Hai's eyes gleamed with excitement as he started skinning it, working his way through processing the three goats. Every single part of the goat was delectable even the hide itself and Shi Hai was going to give those ingredients the respect they deserved. As a cook, there was nothing more shameful than destroying an ingredient.

Once he was done processing them, he ground a few spices and herbs which he meticulously slathered over them before finally, he began grilling them over the incandescent fire he had going.

The moment the meat made contact with the flame and a sizzling sound was produced, gulps could be heard all around from both men and beast with two voices being especially louder than the rest. It did not matter whether you were a glutton,or an occasional eater, even if an immortal was to descend when hit with the tantalizing aroma of the volcanic crystal ash goat, they would gulp just the same.

"How is Shi Hai restraining himself?" wondered Yang Qing as he wearily looked in the direction of Shi Hai who was expertly flipping the meat over as he carefully brushed them with a few sauces here and there, along with one or two condiments.

It had taken a lot of willpower for Yang Qing to not rush over there, and were he the one grilling it, he would have long taken a bite or seventy the instant it was above the flames. Shi Hai being able to remain unmoved and focused was his testament as a seasoned cook.

"Stop moving, will you?" said Yang Qing in irritation as he sat down suppressing something below him that was constantly fidgeting about.

While he knew he was weak against that smell, he knew someone else whose restraint was even weaker than his, so the instant he saw Shi Hai was about to start grilling, he went over to said person, and gently shielded them from themself. It was the least Yang Qing could do, everything else aside, he had cared for that person ever since they were small.

"Ellie, if you don't stop moving, you won't get a share.. How weak-willed are you?" he said as he shot a disdainful glance at the bird below him whilst wiping his drooling mouth with his sleeves.