Chapter 126: Follow Her! I Can

He reached out, took the small vial in Lin Manzhi's palm, and as he left his fingertip brushed her palm as if and yet not.

Mo Lie's lips curled into a smile: "Zhi Zhi, you always manage to surprise me."

Lin Manzhi withdrew her hand, squeezed her own palm, casually lowered her gaze, and bent down to continue working.

To speak of surprises, Mo Lie is always the one who, unintentionally, says things that even he didn't expect.

When Lin Manzhi and Mo Lie waited for the delivery messenger Hua Zheng to arrive, they washed their hands, while Liu Muqiao and Mu Qian continued planting Lettuce, and they went together with Hua Zheng toward the courtyard exit.

As they stepped out of the courtyard, among the guards posted at the main gate, the leading beast stepped forward from the crowd; he glanced at the leader and Hua Zheng, then looked at Lin Manzhi walking beside him, and an idea sparked.

He walked to the group, bowed his head and saluted, his tone a bit flattering toward Lin Manzhi: "I am Captain Ning Tie of the leader's first squad, rest assured, I will guard this place well and will not let any strange bird fly in."

Lin Manzhi: "Oh, thank you."

"Why, why are you suddenly saying this…"

Beside her, Mo Lie turned his head, his ice‑blue eyes flashing a glance at Ning Tie, who was flattering Lin Manzhi.

He was the former leader of the Iron Claw Gang; after subduing the Iron Claw Gang before the rainy season, he kept Ning Tie, the strongest male beast among the first batch of trained Beastfolk, and promoted him to squad leader among that group.

Mo Lie looked at Lin Manzhi and said in a deep voice, "From now on he'll be in charge of security here; if you need anything, you can directly order him to handle it."

He looked again at Ning Tie, expression neutral, and said calmly, "I trust you know she is more important than me; don't betray my trust."

Being praised in front of the leader's Wife Master means he's considered one of us! Upon hearing that, Ning Tie, as if injected with adrenaline, bowed his head and repeatedly assured excitedly.

Lin Manzhi glanced at the spontaneously trailing Ning Tie, then Mo Lie suddenly grabbed her hand, and she withdrew her gaze from others and followed forward.

After a short while, the group arrived at the main hall on the first floor; Lin Manzhi and the other two entered, while Ning Tie stayed of his own accord at the hall entrance.

Lin Manzhi, being led, sat down at a seat inside the hall; the hall was simply arranged, with a long table and several chairs around it.

Mo Lie lifted his hand, untied the black veil from his head, revealing an exceptionally handsome face, and then sat down beside her.

Hua Zheng stood on the side with a calm expression; once inside the room with no outsiders, his mouth corner split into a joyous grin, he took off the leather bag he had been protecting at his waist and offered it with both hands to Lin Manzhi:

"Master, the sixty thousand Lettuce I brought over, Su Wu Ci was so excited that she accepted them all; before leaving she asked me to convey that she hopes you will continue to increase the Lettuce count, she can take any amount."

That's right, now the two of them split the profit; Su Li doesn't need to pay upfront for raw materials.

Lin Manzhi reached out, took the leather bag, opened it and began counting the gold coins; inside, just like last time, the settlement was for 600 doses of elixir, totaling 1,422 gold coins.

How nice, having a loyal and reliable helper is so convenient.

She looked up at Hua Zheng, about to speak, when a report voice from outside shouted "Requesting audience with the leader!" interrupting Lin Manzhi's words.

While Lin Manzhi was busy tallying this split, Mo Lie and Hua Zheng discussed matters nearby; hearing the outside voice, Mo Lie pulled up the black veil to cover his face and said coldly:

"Come in."

"Leader, the food transport team has arrived." Ning Tie, who entered without avoiding Lin Manzhi, said: "I would like to report to you, should we now arrange for today's food and water to be sent?"

Mo Lie: "Mm."

In the brief exchange, Lin Manzhi understood what they were saying.

After the forces of Xicheng Qu all submitted to Mo Lie, he no longer allowed the various strongmen of Xicheng Qu to act independently, only requiring them to pay some money to the original top‑tier gangs of Xicheng Qu.

Instead, he gathered all the young and strong male beasts from every gang here into one group, turning the scattered, insignificant gangs into a unified force.

They are still in training now; Hua Zheng mostly handles these matters, and this morning she was delayed because she helped with a delivery.

Lin Manzhi saw Hua Zheng stand up following Mo Lie's words, looking like she was about to leave to arrange food for the training squad.

She counted out one hundred gold coins early, placed them on the table in front of everyone, then looked at Hua Zheng, "Boss Hua, these gold coins are for you, you…"

The air grew a bit quiet.

Hua Zheng, a bit taken aback, asked, "Give me?"

Ning Tie stretched his neck to look at the table, then blinked hard, looking shocked, "Ah?"

Mo Lie glanced over lightly, saying calmly, "Take it."

Hua Zheng's golden‑brown pupils widened slightly, "This…"

Ning Tie stared at the pile of glittering gold coins on the table, his eyes bulging, "Sss—… a million Beast Coins!"

So much money!

Seeing Hua Zheng not move, Lin Manzhi said gently, "Take it, from now on for each delivery I'll give you a hundred gold coins, follow me well, and you'll have meat to eat."

Hua Zheng's eyes lit up.

"Every… time?"

Hearing this, he was shocked; even after years as a guard under Mo Lie, the salary from the Lord's Residence had never been this much.

He had seen many treasures; aside from war spoils, even as the second‑in‑command of Xicheng Qu in Kuangsha City, he actually owned little personal wealth now.

Following the master has always relied on devotion to a stronger being; the loyalty implanted since childhood, and he would even die in place of the master.

But now! Hua Zheng took a deep breath, her eyes brighter and more resolute than before.

Following Wooden Female, he also can!

Hua Zheng, with a goofy grin, tucked the gold coins away, even the scar that added to his cruelty now seemed friendly.

"From now on, Wooden Female, you are another master of me, Hua Zheng," he said sincerely.

The Ning Tie who witnessed the whole scene was stunned, almost more excited than Hua Zheng.

Heaven!

This female is so generous, I also want to work with her, also want meat…

Mo Lie quickly glanced at the two.

This look carried a warning of displeasure.

While Hua Zheng and Ning Tie hurriedly turned their heads, feeling that staring at the leader's Wife Master might get them in trouble.

The two passionate gazes on Lin Manzhi finally moved away.

She quickly turned, handed the remaining gold coins in the bag to Mo Lie, "These are your pocket money."