Chapter 121: Sorry for the Long Wait

Tuo Zong thought for a moment, then slapped his thigh and finally recalled a similar situation: "It's just like the lord's city during wartime!"

After the scolding, Tuo Zong still couldn't devise a good plan, especially since the other three leaders remained motionless, so Tuo Zong simply chose not to be the one to step forward.

Later, Tuo Zong covertly sent someone to scout the situation in Xicheng; with a new strong opponent emerging, he also wanted to get a clear picture of the adversary.

During the days they each dispatched subordinates to inquire in Xicheng Qu, the information on the four was simultaneously delivered into Mo Lie's hands.

He sat on a luxurious shark‑silk cooling mat, lowered his eyes to the leather scroll in his hand, covered with Beastfolk script.

East City District leader: Hu Biao, whose Beast Form is a yellow‑black striped tiger.

South City District leader: Fu Lin, whose Beast Form is a brown‑gray viper.

North City District leader: Tuo Zong, whose Beast Form is a black‑pink ostrich.

Central City District leader: Jia Jian, whose Beast Form is an iron‑gray armored hunter.

They all were born in Kuangsha City, and their main forces inherited the power accumulated by their fathers.

Only Jia Jian, ten years ago, served as a secret aide to the Central City leader, earning trust by helping the leader establish a 'Wealth‑Collecting Kingdom'.

Later, Jia Jian used that 'trust' to personally poison the former leader, seized the Central City leadership, and then cemented his position with wealth.

A chill flickered beneath Mo Lie's eyes as his slender, pallid fingers brushed lightly over the document.

"Hmm, the next target is him."

……

They spent day after day soaking in the lettuce greenhouse with Mo Lie, and only after three days did the two finally fill the greenhouse with lettuce.

Lin Manzhi stood up and let out a deep sigh.

Looking at the tender leaves, she thought it was fortunate she owned a thousand‑day Spiritual Field; once the seeds were sown, she could harvest lettuce seedlings shortly thereafter, otherwise starting from germination would be too troublesome.

Now the lettuce greenhouse was finally full; the green leaves planted a few days earlier grew vigorously, showing no wilt, and Lin Manzhi felt a sense of accomplishment looking at the full greenhouse.

She tallied the seed consumption: she bought 200 bags of seeds in the Mall for 2000 coins, and at 300 lettuce seeds per bag, that's a total of 60,000 lettuce plants in the greenhouse!

Staring at the massive lettuce greenhouse, Lin Manzhi thought: "……"

Oops, I got a bit carried away; maybe I planted too many.

Now, no matter how many lettuce Su Li needs, I can supply enough.

After washing his hands, Mo Lie walked over, his gaze landing on Lin Manzhi; a bead of sweat on the side of her face had slightly washed away the spots painted on her skin.

He lifted his hand, and the pale underside of his finger rested against her cheek.

Caught off guard, a faint coolness brushed her warm face, snapping Lin Manzhi out of her lettuce thoughts as she lifted her eyes upward.

His body temperature remained slightly cold, his fingertip soft, pressing closely against her eye as it brushed, as if testing a fragile treasure, moving gently and slowly toward her hair.

Instinctively, Lin Manzhi thought, but as her head tilted outward, her ear brushed the cool, soft finger.

She trembled slightly and exclaimed: "!"

It felt as if she had voluntarily offered her ear for him to toy with!

Mo Lie seemed to discover something new; his dark‑deep‑blue eyes narrowed slightly, his thin lips quirking:

"Don't move."

He gently wiped away the sweat from her face, his hand still hovering, then traced down Little Female's ear, outlining its ripe‑red shape, his voice carrying a faint smile: "Zhi Zhi, your face is a bit dirty."

At that moment, Lin Manzhi's face flushed even more.

She stood there, a hint of shyness in her expression, as if her makeup had smudged and she'd run into a secret crush—an embarrassed, tongue‑tied, nervous feeling of being caught looking foolish.

"It's not dirty… I'm heading to Huang Cai's place today; the spots I painted on my face have started to blur," Lin Manzhi whispered.

Seeing his embarrassed expression, Mo Lie wisely chose not to press further.

He withdrew his hand and, in a serious tone, said: "The roster of male beasts from the various Xicheng factions is out today—over 22,000 robust male beasts. I'll disperse them into squads, have Hua Zheng take them to the desert for training, and I'm heading over now to check."

Mo Lie extended his hand, took the white cloak draped over the wooden rack, lifted it, and wrapped Lin Manzhi within, adjusting the veil on her head.

The snow‑white shark‑silk on her head blocked their sight of each other; Lin Manzhi's lingering unease vanished, and she followed Mo Lie outward.

Mo Lie left to attend to matters; Lin Manzhi exited the lettuce greenhouse without returning to rest, realizing she hadn't seen Huang Cai for several days, so she decided to go now.

She walked while taking several Sand‑tail Grass Stalks from the storage, stuffing them into her waist‑attached leather bag, then turned and headed toward Huang Cai's residence.

Before she could knock, Huang Cai, who was about to leave the house, flung the door open.

Huang Cai saw Lin Manzhi, and a flash of surprise crossed his tired face; he reached out, opened the door fully and exclaimed, "Ah! You finally came; I've been waiting for you."

Huang Cai's complexion looked as terrible as someone who hadn't slept for days, yet at that moment he seemed to force himself to rally.

His brows knit tightly, and a forced smile appeared on his pallid face, indicating he hadn't yet moved past the grief of losing a loved one.

Lin Manzhi stood in the doorway, momentarily unsure how to comfort him.

When Huang Cai saw the female he had taken in at the doorway, an inexplicable emotion rose in his heart, overwhelming the lingering darkness that had weighed him down for days, making his chest no longer feel so painful.

She truly, especially wanted to teach this female how to brew elixirs.

Perhaps the other's accidental eye‑contact was more about giving herself something to do, to distract from her own sorrow; these past days she had been immersed in the grief of losing her Beast Husband son, feeling unbearably painful.

Lin Manzhi looked at Huang Cai inside and replied, "Sorry, I was delayed by matters the past few days, making you wait so long."

Even though she had taken leave from Huang Cai when she couldn't come the next day, she still apologized first upon meeting him again.

The other is a Shamaness who knows elixirs; it's unwise to offend her, lest she refuse to teach me.

Lin Manzhi smiled and asked, "These past days I sent someone to look after you; have you been okay, any incidents?"

Huang Cai frowned and shook his head, watching Lin Manzhi's slow movements in the room; impatiently he seized the leather bag she was holding, pulled her forcefully inside, then turned and slammed the door shut.

She turned, looked at Lin Manzhi and said, "There's nothing else; I only promised to teach you elixir brewing, and you never came, so I thought you didn't want to learn."