Aki sighed with relief once he had gotten a good distance away from the place. Meeting with demonic cultivators had been rather nerve-wracking, even for him. He surveyed the crowds around to make sure no-one was watching, then removed the mask.

Damn what a mess that was. How late am I for my dinner meeting? If my wings are getting cold...

His eyes found a trendy looking café and Aki briefly contemplated getting some tea to calm his nerves, but that would take too long, and he could not risk more delays.

I really could use something relaxing after that ordeal, a cup of nice hot tea would be great. Also, did that woman by the window just wink at me? Sadly, I don’t think I have time for a trendy date.

Sighing, Aki turned around and began to walk aimlessly. His original issue of being lost was still with him, and he did not dare use the [Thread of Fate] again. The skill really had not been too reliable so far. I’ll have to be more careful with using it in the future.

Salvation however arrived as Aki saw a familiar face approaching him from the crowds. He almost wished to weep with joy at the sight of the approaching Winter Gale, but he restrained himself. A sage must remain aloof.

“Ah, master. I thought I sensed you around here, was there some issue with the dinner meeting?” His disciple said. After Aki acknowledged her with a nod, she joined his side, walking along. “I’ve made some troubling discoveries – there may be some demonic cultivator activity here in the city. How should we act?”

Aki sighed again; they were coming to him more frequently with every passing day in this world it seemed. “Worry not apprentice, I have dealt with the matter, and they will not trouble us further.” He took the sack of spirit stones he was holding and handed it to her. “I confiscated these from them, you will safekeep them for the rest of this trip.”

Winter Gale’s eyes shone with admiration. “So that’s what you were doing... You managed to handle them all by yourself? As expected of you master!”

Aki coughed in his sleave, trying to cover up the slight traces of guilt he felt for misleading his disciple. “Well, as you do not need to worry about it anymore, how about you join me in going to the meeting? Let us be off.”

She agreed, and they set off. Aki subtly moved a bit slower than her, hanging back just enough to let her lead the way without showing that Aki did not actually know the way. She pressed on confidently, and the pair arrived at the destination in no time at all. It was a manor-like house with a large yard in front of it – the biggest non-residential space Aki had seen in the city so far.

Disciples in white robes wearing hats which resembled the stereotypical chef’s hats of Aki’s world were standing in a neat row near the entrance gate, waiting to receive Aki. A slightly girthy man stood at their front – emanating the energy of a third realm cultivator. Gotta be the leader of this place.

Aki and Winter Gale stopped in front of him, and the man offered a perfect bow. “Soul Food offers greetings, honoured elder. Preparations have been made as you wished, and the meal is waiting.”

Aki felt his stomach roil with anticipation. He looked at the slight girth the man had on with approval. Never could trust a skinny cook, but this man looks like he knows how to enjoy some food.

“Thousand Lakes offers greetings, let us skip the formalities and get to the meal. I hope we did not cause inconvenience by being late.”

Elder Soul Food rose from his bow and nodded back towards the building. “You are not late at all; it is no trouble.”

Ever polite as always.

Aki and Winter Gale walked into the building, but upon getting inside and to the dining room Aki had to stop and stare for a bit. The table in the centre of the room looked just like the one that had been at the demonic cultivator meeting.

Aki had to reassure his mind for a moment that this time he was certainly in the right dinner meeting. He however could not stop himself from giving elder Soul Food a nervous side eye.

This is the right meeting, right?

He breathed out with relief when a hearty platter of food was carried in as soon as he sat down. Winter Gale sat next to him, while elder Soul food sat on the opposite side of the room. It really did have the feeling of a dinner meeting.

Aki sent out his spiritual sense and noted to his satisfaction that the food held a rich Qi in it – many types that he did not even begin to recognize. His eyes zeroed in as he sensed something chicken wing shaped with just a bit of fire to its Qi.

Could this possibly be? Have I found my hot wings at last?

He waited with bated breath as the dish was set before him and struck as soon as the disciple acting as waitress was out of the way, he took one of the wings and bit into it greedily, allowing the hunger to leak through his sagely mask.

He chewed on it for a bit, felt at the Qi he was ingesting and most importantly, got a good taste of the sauce. Once he was finished, he set the bones down on the plate and closed his eyes. A single tear dropped down from his right eyelid, disappearing almost as soon as it had appeared.

He had tasted spice.

It was not that spicy to be honest, merely resembling the sauces marked as “mild” which he had always used to distain, but now it was like a taste of ambrosia to him. He had lived so many months without a hint of spice – deprived of something he had used to enjoy very consistently.

It was like just a bit of home was returning to him

“Master, are you alright? Is there some issue with the food?”

Shaken out of his holy moment by a concerned disciple, Aki returned to normal.

“Ah, yes, do not worry. I was merely evaluating the level of spirit cooking here.”

Elder Soul Food looked up from his own meal and furrowed an eyebrow.

“Is our [Dao of Cooking] at a level satisfactory to you, honoured elder?”

Aki turned to look at the man. He now knew that these people were capable of utilizing spirit spice of some sort, and who knew what other delicacies they could whip up. Securing this organisation for himself had just become priority number one, so these negotiations would have to be done with care.

If I show them how much value they hold, they may up their demands as much as they dare. I can’t reveal how important they actually are to me.

Aki reset his expression and wiped off some of the sauce that had gotten on his lips. “Your cooking is indeed satisfactory. Have you been informed on my wishes?”

Aki saw a gleam in the elder’s eye. Negotiations had now begun.

“I am curious as to your purpose here. We have not been informed.”

“I am here to make a proposal – I wish to have you Soul Food School join my Thousand Lakes sect.”

Aki saw visible shock passed through all the observers. Good, get them off balance, will make this easier.

“You, elder Soul Food, would naturally become a full elder of the sect, and could maintain a Soul Food Hall, which your disciples would be welcome to join.”

The elder closed his eyes for a moment in thought, then looked at Aki in a judging manner.

“May I ask, why is it that you wish to have our school joined to your sect?”

Aki smiled amiably. “I have a great appreciation for the [Dao of Food] and would be very glad to have some of its representatives in our halls. I think your techniques would benefit us greatly, and-”

Aki leaned in. “Our sect would be very well suited to enhancing your techniques in turn.”

That seemed to spark some interest in the man. “What do you mean by that?” He asked.

Aki took out a jade slip he had prepared for this very purpose and slid it over the table to elder Soul Food. “Our sect is the largest provider of spirit beast materials in the region and has a growing spirit fruit industry too. We are also the foremost forager of spirit fruit and berries in the region, so joining with us would let you have much better access to fresh materials. That jade slip contains more specific information.”

Aki let the man scan the jade slip for a moment before he clapped his hands on the table and continued. “We are also currently developing something very interesting in a secret project.”

Aki gave the man a meaningful look. “How interested would you be in trying to use spirit alcohol in your cooking?”

That again piqued the elder’s interest. “Spirit alcohol? You are developing something like that? That would certainly open many options for cooking...” The man pondered for a moment longer, but then opened his eyes.

“However! There is a certain matter that must be addressed.”

Aki sat back and took a bite of the meal in front of him. He felt a rich qi in the steak, which almost felt like part of the flavour. Looks like we’re finally getting to the meat of the matter.

“Go on, I am listening.”

“In our school, we begin teaching the ways of food cultivation to newcomers from the very start – older disciples are very involved in the whole process.” He began. “However, in your sect, new disciples must manage completely on their own in the outer sect. What would happen to our first realm disciples in an environment like that?”

Aki closed his eyes in thought. The man was talking about things that actually did appeal to him a lot – he had been wanting to establish more structured learning in the outer sect for a while now. Could this possibly be a way to turn this demand to my advantage? After a bit more thought, he finally spoke.

“There is wisdom in your words, and it is something I would be interested in tackling. I’ve been planning on experimenting with disciple-led learning groups, and your first realm disciples could act as a first model for that. I am willing to work out a fitting arrangement for them.”

“Hmm, that is well. Then let us move onto more practical matters...” Elder Soul Food said, and the discussion turned to more precise details. It took them a while to iron out the details, but Aki was enjoying his meal so longer discussions were not an issue.

Eventually a deal was made, and it was decided that the Soul Food School would immediately start preparing for relocation to the Thousand Lakes sect.

Aki walked out of the meeting patting his stomach with satisfaction – all manner of things had been achieved today: Enemies deceived, experiments put in motion and new allies recruited. It was however one thing above all that filled Aki with satisfaction.

At long last, I finally got to have my hot wings!