"The food is ready, dig in!" Yu Jin clapped his hands, a confident expression on his face.
This was meat he had roasted with the First Flame, completely natural and unpolluted. Freshly roasted and kneaded, the taste was superb!
Then he saw everyone shake their heads in unison.
"Wh-what kind of meat is this?" Xiangling was a little bolder than the others. She picked up the sapling she had just discarded and poked the unidentifiable lump of meat in the pot.
The meat lump looked normal; its color was normal, and its smell was normal. But remembering the bizarre scenes she had just witnessed, Xiangling couldn't help but steal a glance at Yu Jin.
What a strange fellow, I must never provoke him in the future! Xiangling warned herself silently.
"What kind of meat? Whatever you want it to be, that's what it is!" Yu Jin looked at his "masterpiece," exceptionally pleased.
Because the presentation this time was simply too good, his best ever!
And what Yu Jin said was not false; the First Flame differentiated all things. This lump of meat truly could transform into anything—provided it hadn't been cooked through.
"How about it? Want to try some?" Yu Jin watched Xiangling's continuous poking and asked impatiently.
"Uh…" Xiangling looked at the shallow cut she had made on the meat lump; the Texture inside were not like any meat she knew.
Recalling the commotion Yu Jin made while "cooking," Xiangling shivered violently, shook her head, and said, "Th-thank you for your kindness, but I'll pass."
Now Xiangling finally understood why everyone avoided her new dish.
"Aiya~, alright." Yu Jin sighed, looking down, and then everyone felt a blur before their eyes.
When they came to their senses, the large pot, the meat lump, everything had vanished.
"H-how amazing!" Xiangling covered her mouth in surprise at Yu Jin's display of skill.
If she had this ability, she could cook anywhere, anytime.
"That's only natural, Mr. Yu Jin is a renowned Adventurer from Mondstadt!" Draff said proudly upon hearing Xiangling's words.
"Dad, you're off-topic. What about the forest?" Diona immediately reminded Draff when she saw him about to educate Xiangling on Yu Jin's deeds.
"Oh? Right, right, right!" Draff reacted, almost forgetting the main business. He cleared his throat and asked Xiangling:
"Xiangling, you said you're willing to promote meat for Springvale to make up for Burning down the forest?"
"Yes." Xiangling nodded.
"You won't put any weird things in it?" Draff looked at Xiangling, asking as if to confirm.
"N-no!" Xiangling hesitated for a moment but finally agreed.
"Good, good, good! Next, we should discuss with those wolves how to draw the boundary, right?" Yu Jin applauded.
If everyone could actively take responsibility for their mistakes like Xiangling, that would be wonderful.
"Draw a boundary with wolves?" Xiangling was full of questions upon hearing Yu Jin's words.
Humans… and wolves need a boundary?
Seeing Xiangling's expression, Yu Jin repeated what Draff had said.
"Wow! It's that serious? I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Xiangling, hearing how serious the matter was, immediately felt another wave of guilt and apologies.
She hadn't expected Guoba's single breath of fire to cause such a huge problem.
"It's fine, it's fine. This isn't our main hunting ground, and people were just scared. The losses are acceptable." Draff waved his hand, saying nonchalantly.
Actually, the losses weren't as light as he made them sound. But seeing Xiangling so actively taking responsibility, and being a Damselette, this matter could be let go.
"By the way, what's with this little fellow behind you?" Yu Jin looked at Guoba, who was bowing and apologizing with Xiangling, finding him very amusing.
He hadn't expected a God to be so cute after its power dissipated; it was somewhat beyond his expectations. Diona next to him was already wide-eyed.
"Him?" Xiangling picked Guoba up from the ground, rubbed his cheek, and said, "He's Guoba, my good friend!"
Guoba, hearing Xiangling's words, also touched Xiangling's face with his hand. For him, Xiangling was also his good friend.
This was not only due to Xiangling's personality, but also largely her persistence in delicious food.
Perhaps only Xiangling, with her idea of making delicious food for more people, would make Guoba, who was once the God of the Stove, Marchosius, follow her continuously.
Even if he had forgotten many things.
"Guoba? Is he a raccoon?" Diona couldn't hold back anymore when she saw Guoba. Her tail behind her wagged constantly, showing her inner excitement.
"I don't know, Guoba is Guoba. Say hello! Guoba!" Xiangling saw Diona's expression and knew what she was thinking.
Xiangling put Guoba down, and then Guoba smiled and waved at Diona.
"Hello, Guoba, I'm Diona!" Diona was beaming with joy as she looked at Guoba waving at her.
What a cute little fellow, as cute as those little cats at Cat's Tail tavern!
"Haha!"
"Hey, your mouth is stretched to your ears."
Yu Jin looked at Draff, who was also smiling, and reminded him.
"Don't mind it, Mr. Yu Jin, it's rare for Diona to be this happy."
"Isn't it because you drink every day?"
"Aiya~, you can't say that. Diona also learned how to mix drinks, didn't she? That shows she still approves of my hobby."
...After a period of rest, everyone finally set off again. After all, they were facing wolves, and although they knew they were more intelligent than ordinary wolves, it was always better to be careful.
Although the trees in front were burnt, Draff, as the chief hunter of Springvale, easily discerned the direction from here.
Soon, led by Draff, a patch of green appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Everyone, stop!" Draff didn't advance further. The area ahead was 100% wolf territory, and it wouldn't be good to be misunderstood.
He took out a stack of medicinal herbs from the leather pouch at his waist and lit them. A peculiar scent emanated, drifting into the dense forest.
"This is a smell wolves like, but it shouldn't be in the jungle. When they smell it, they'll know someone's here."
Draff explained to the people behind him.
As expected, not long after the herbs began to burn, continuous wolf howls emerged from the dense forest.
Then, the dense bushes before everyone's eyes began to sway. Dozens of green lights pierced through the bushes—those were the wolf eyes hidden in the dark.
"Phew—, if it weren't absolutely necessary, I really wouldn't want to confront these wolves." Draff took a few deep breaths. Even for him, who was seasoned, he couldn't help but feel nervous surrounded by the pack of wolves.
"Mr. Yu Jin, are you ready?" Draff looked at the wolf pack gradually emerging from the bushes and turned to ask Yu Jin.
"Don't worry, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!" Yu Jin patted his chest plate, looking full of confidence.
Then, Yu Jin strode forward, walking over with a domineering expression.
Wolves? If it were dogs, Yu Jin might have shivered a bit, but with wolves, they definitely wouldn't have a good time!
"Is this okay?" Xiangling looked at Yu Jin's back and ran to Draff's side, whispering.
These wolves were indeed different from wild beasts; their agile eyes clearly showed they were discussing something.
"Awooo—"
Yu Jin let out a wolf howl. Lumine said it was a ghost howl, but he didn't believe it; whether it was a wolf howl or not had to be heard by wolves.
"Mmm…"
Hearing Yu Jin's ghost howl, the wolves in the pack immediately looked at each other, beginning to communicate in low growls.
[Is this one crazy?]
[What is he saying?]
[Is he talking?]
...Wolf growls, incomprehensible to humans, spread through the pack. But they discussed for a long time without understanding what Yu Jin was doing.
[Where's Razor? He's very similar to humans, get him over here.] An old-looking white wolf growled softly, and then the wolf pack quieted down.
[Coming!] A distinctly different wolf howl came, and then a young man appeared before Yu Jin.
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