"What is it?"
"Murder? Arson? Or are we going to raid that Crown Prince's treasury?"
Her face lit up with excitement, as though all Lu Ming had to do was give the order and she would immediately charge into the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace with her umbrella in hand.
Lu Ming gave her a helpless look.
Was this girl's violent streak a little too strong?
"None of those."
Lu Ming pointed at his shoulder.
"I slept in the wrong position earlier. I've got a crick in my neck."
"Massage it for me."
A Li froze for a moment.
Then a radiant smile blossomed across her pretty face.
"Sure!"
"My technique is professional!"
"But if I hurt you, you're not allowed to yelp!"
Lu Ming sat back down, turning his back to A Li.
The girl's warm hands settled on his shoulders.
Her pressure was just right, and her fingers moved with practiced skill.
Clearly, this was not the first time she had done something like this.
"Dean."
As she massaged him, A Li asked casually.
"That Snow Silkworm Xue Qinghe sent over—I heard it's top-grade food."
"The head chef in the cafeteria happens to be on leave today."
"So for lunch..."
She leaned close to Lu Ming's ear, her warm breath brushing against it with a faintly sweet fragrance.
"Shall A Li show you what she can do?"
Lu Ming's body stiffened slightly.
Jixia Academy had three treasures.
Mozi's mechanisms, Zhuang Zhou's dreams, and Gongsun Li's cooking.
The first two cost money. The last one truly cost lives.
The last time this girl had been struck by inspiration and made a "braised carrot banquet," Cheng Yaojin—who boasted skin of bronze and bones of iron—had ended up bedridden in the infirmary for three days.
"Ahem."
Lu Ming cleared his throat, trying