Chapter 25: Little brother, please have some self‑respect, okay?

Ning Jinli said: "There are countless ways—stir‑frying, deep‑frying, braising, simmering, stewing, etc. —and you also have to add seasonings according to the ingredients and methods; I could talk about it for three days and three nights and still not finish."

She showed a hint of pride on her face: our country is a World‑Class Culinary Great Nation!

The generals were bewildered and asked, "Cooking food is just boiling or roasting… how are there so many methods?"

Ning Jinli replied, "In your era the only cooking tools are copper cauldrons, ceramic jars, steamers and the like; you don't even have woks yet, so of course you can only boil or roast."

She thought for a moment and added, "But that's fine; later I'll send you stir‑fry tools and seasonings so you and the common folk can improve your meals."

"Thank you, Fairy!" the generals immediately knelt and bowed.

"Sigh, I've said it eight hundred times; no need to be so formal with me," Ning Jinli said, truly helpless.

One "Fairy" after another, constantly bowing to her; she really couldn't get used to it.

Xiao Qidi said softly, "Old Village Chief said that in the future they'll build a temple for you, so the locals here can worship you for generations."

Ning Jinli exclaimed, "No, I can't bear that!"

She knew the situation in her heart.

She was just an ordinary modern person, and by chance she was helping these ancient locals.

Moreover, she had also taken the things they gave her and become wealthy.

What merit or ability does she have to be worshipped in a temple…

"Little brother, please don't let them build a temple for me; after we solve the enemy problem, we can develop properly, and I'll keep supporting everyone."

Ning Jinli counted on her fingers, "You see, we still need to plant crops, raise livestock, weave textiles, etc.; first raise agricultural productivity, then we can develop infrastructure—medical care, education, science and technology… there's just too much, we can't waste energy on a temple."

She spoke very seriously, her little mouth chattering nonstop.

Xiao Qidi's gaze fell on her face, and unconsciously he became entranced.

"So, do you understand?" Ning Jinli finished, her big eyes looking at him.

Xiao Qidi was somewhat stunned.

He was so distracted looking at her that he hadn't heard what she said.

"Mm, I roughly understand," he rubbed his nose tip, "The matter of building a temple for you, let me handle it, building it in the name of Xuan Guo."

Ning Jinli opened her mouth, speechless.

He really got nothing, huh?

Sigh, forget it, take it slow; you can't expect a person from over two thousand years ago to grasp all this quickly.

She grabbed a bottle of Coke, unscrewed it, and poured into a disposable cup.

"Little brother, try our drink."

Xiao Qidi lowered his eyes, stared at the dark brown liquid, and instinctively pressed his lips together.

Can this thing be drunk?

It's still bubbling; it won't be poisonous, right?

"Afraid to drink? I'll drink it for you." Ning Jinli gulped it down in one go, then burped.

"Fairy, I want to try," a general said.

The other few also took the disposable cups Ning Jinli handed out.

Seeing other soldiers drinking, they looked very satisfied from their expressions.

"Alright." Ning Jinli immediately poured for them.

The generals wiped their mouths and quickly took a gulp.

"Sss…"

"What is this water?"

"So sweet! But it burns the mouth, burns the tongue! The texture is very strange!"

Ning Jinli giggled, telling them it's called Coke.

"Don't you want to try, little brother?" Ning Jinli turned and asked.

"Huh? Where's the person?"

Looking up, she realized Xiao Qidi had silently walked away.

That tall, upright silhouette exuded a hint of lonely desolation.

She let the generals eat and drink slowly, and got up to follow.

Xiao Qidi walked to a small lake formed by underground spring water and stood gazing.

"What's wrong?" Ning Jinli approached, "What are you thinking about?"

Xiao Qidi lifted his gaze, looking at the towering broken‑rock cliffs dozens of zhang high, "I'm wondering why the Yu Guo enemy forces suddenly attacked and then suddenly withdrew."

Ning Jinli said, "Maybe they just wanted to attack, so they did; they thought they could crush us with equipment and numbers. As for the retreat, they were surely scared off by the blasting noise."

Xiao Qidi slightly frowned, his thin lips moving, "The latter is possible, but the former doesn't make sense."

"Be it storming cities or armies clashing, even an ordinary general, unless absolutely forced, will consider how to achieve victory with the least loss."

"Every soldier under his command, the swords, armor, and horses in the army are vital resources; they must never be wasted."

"Moreover, the one besieging us this time is the Yuguo Border Guard Grand General."

"Knowing this place is cut off from water and food, any general would choose a siege to wear them down, unless they find supplies plentiful, in which case they'd attack."

"Could it be… they had prior intelligence?"

Thinking of that possibility, Xiao Qidi's brow grew even gloomier.

If that's true, either Ba Yong will soon attack again, or they will bolster forces for a safer subsequent strike.

Either way, it's not good.

"How about you pause and rest your mind for a bit? Even just taking a breath is fine; don't push yourself too hard," Ning Jinli said, noticing his increasingly troubled expression and urging him.

Xiao Qidi was slightly startled, "Are you caring about me?"

Ning Jinli was a bit bewildered, "Of course I'm concerned, otherwise why would I say all this?"

"Oh… I get it, are you going to tell me again, 'Miss Ning, please behave'?"

"Alright, alright, blame it on me for being nosy, I'm off."

She turned and tried to slip away.

Suddenly, a large hand tightly grasped her wrist.

She glanced down and teased, "Little brother, please behave, okay?"

Xiao Qidi felt slightly embarrassed.

He didn't know what was happening; just now he had suddenly, uncontrollably, reached out to keep her.

"Sorry, Miss Ning."

He released his hand and said softly, "No one has ever cared about me like this before."

Ning Jinli said skeptically, "You're a king, aren't you? Plenty of people care about you, right? If you think most of those people are only caring out of necessity, at least many of the soldiers here in Lin Xian Village truly care about you."

Xiao Qidi said, "That's different."

Ning Jinli thought for a moment, "That's true, they are subjects, you are the monarch, so… you also have family, at least your parents…"

Before she could finish, Ning Jinli quickly fell silent.

Because she recalled that, according to historical records, Xiao Qidi's parents were not good people.

His childhood and youth were full of misfortune, and the source of that misfortune was his biological parents, which caused his character to develop a twisted, sinister side from an early age…

In that instant.

Ning Jinli felt a sudden, bone‑piercing chill envelop her entire body!

In the scorching midday heat, she broke out in goosebumps all over!

She was tense, her eyes lowered as she stared at the water ahead, daring not to glance at Xiao Qidi's expression at all!

On the water's surface, a vague reflection of Xiao Qidi could be seen, slowly drawing nearer behind her.

Extremely uneasy emotions and wild thoughts filled her mind.

It's over, it's over…

With a careless slip, she mentioned the wrong thing and hit his Reverse Scale!

He won't get angry and press me into the water to drown, will he?!