Chapter 143: If I Had Never Met You

Mo Lie lifted his gaze, his ice‑blue eyes casually sweeping over the Little Female's face.

Her pair of blue eyes, more beautiful than sapphires displayed in a case, caught Lin Manzhi's attention, and her eyes widened slightly.

Mo Lie squinted slightly, his voice teasingly playful: "Zhi Zhi, you're a bit inattentive when you look at the ledgers."

Isn't it because you're always flirting with me?

Lin Manzhi lowered her head, her gaze falling on the stack of escort bureau ledgers on the table before her.

She suddenly recalled something and said, "Oh, um, the merchant caravans that come to the Fierce Sand Escort Bureau looking for escorts come from all over the continent, which means our escorts can travel with their clients to various places."

She deliberately softened her voice; discussing business steadied her heart, which had been a little unsettled by the handsome beast husband.

Mo Lie silently curled his lips, lifted his hand, and his fingertips rested on the thin pages of the ledgers, clearly recording each client's destination for the escorts.

"The territories of six lords, including the Sea Tribe's lands—if the Fierce Sand Escort Bureau hadn't received clients from everywhere during this period, I wouldn't have known Kuangsha City was such an important commercial stronghold."

Lin Manzhi followed his slender finger across the thin parchment, then nodded thoughtfully.

Mo Lie's fingertip traced a few continental cities on the thin paper, his gaze landing on the Little Female sitting very close beside him, as if something occurred to him.

He asked, "What are you thinking?"

Lin Manzhi lifted her head, and under his blue gaze gave a faint smile, "Since our escorts can accompany the caravan into other cities, it would be a waste to return without buying some local specialties."

The food and water that are pricey in Kuangsha City are comparatively cheap in other territories.

And the resale business requires no self‑supplied goods nor special effort to enter other cities; the escorts can simply purchase on the return leg after completing their guard.

Mo Lie looked at Lin Manzhi, his eyes deep and dark, "You had the goal in mind ever since you first suggested opening the Fierce Sand Escort Bureau? That way, we won't have to rely on others for food and water."

"Yes, the Rosangya Tribe chief also knows to go to Ansen City for food," Lin Manzhi said with a natural smile, "When we have the chance to enter other cities openly, we'll of course choose the cheaper places to shop."

Mo Lie curled his lips, "Sometimes I feel I'm lucky enough."

Lin Manzhi asked, puzzled, "What?"

Mo Lie: "One must be lucky enough to meet you."

Lin Manzhi looked at him, blinking, "No way… I just said a few words; all of this is your own effort."

Mo Lie let out a light laugh, then suddenly raised his hand, his long pale hand pressing against the back of her shoulder as he leaned forward.

The distance between them shortened; Lin Manzhi instinctively wanted to step back, but the force on her shoulder held her in place, her eyes wide as she stared at his enlarged handsome face.

Mo Lie tilted his head, leaned slightly toward Lin Manzhi's ear, and in a low voice said, "But Zhi Zhi, you solved my most serious food problem; I couldn't do it myself."

Lin Manzhi: "..."

So cheesy—way too cheesy.

Just as Lin Manzhi was forgetting the overly intimate distance because of Mo Lie's mushy words, Mo Lie promptly straightened his posture and stared at her with his deep blue eyes:

"Zhi Zhi, I can't live without you; don't ever abandon me later."

He whispered softly, with a hint of petulance, leaving Lin Manzhi unable to refuse.

Why does Mo Lie now give her a feeling of anxious uncertainty?

In the original book, he never showed such an attitude toward any Beastfolk; he was always an icy face with a heart colder than ice.

So… have you been with Mo Lie all along?

Lin Manzhi cupped her slightly warm cheek and thought, "Oh my, just the thought makes me a little hopeful!"

Mo Lie read her answer from her expression; his eyes, which had dimmed when he heard no reply, now shone brightly blue.

Without a hint of emotion, he drew Lin Manzhi's hand to his lips and pressed it gently.

His slightly cool lips brushed the cold white back of her hand, immersing Lin Manzhi in her own thoughts, as the idea of Mo Lie as her Beast Husband suddenly steadied her.

She looked up, meeting Mo Lie's indescribable gaze, a scorching look that was hard to withstand, and, a little incoherent, blurted, "I, you…"

Lin Manzhi felt herself heating up to the point of bursting into flame, withdrew her hand behind her back, and the cold white back of her hand grew even paler as her temperature rose, the thin skin seeming ready to catch fire.

Mo Lie chuckled softly, knowing that any further teasing would make the Little Female shyly retreat.

He slowly sat upright, shifted his gaze to the paper on the table, his expression unchanged, as if he had just said something ordinary.

A warm, low voice broke Lin Manzhi's bewilderment; he said calmly, "Since we're discussing the future of the Fierce Sand Escort Bureau, I also have something about Kuangsha City to tell you, Zhi Zhi."

Mo Lie leaned his back against the chair, creating space between them, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth, and continued, "My strategy is clear: first seize the Central District by force. That area is Kuangsha City's economic lifeline, controlling over eighty percent of the city's food trade. If we cut off the food supply, the Beastfolk in the other three districts will inevitably lack food."

"This is…"

To take the other three districts at minimal cost, does that mean first cutting off their provisions?

Lin Manzhi's awareness shifted from her heated hand back to the topic he was discussing.

In the original story, Kuangsha City was Mo Lie's sole domain; the forces in the other districts would eventually be swallowed one by one, and the other leaders would meet death.

And the novel barely details how Mo Lie captured Kuangsha City, after all he's just a villain who doesn't like the heroine.

She set down her pen and paper, and, with a slightly surprised expression, looked across, "So the Central District actually oversees Kuangsha City's entire commercial hub."

"I've received reports from my subordinates; there's no mistake," Mo Lie said with a faint smile, "Now our food reserves are sufficient, and the other three factions will lack food during the drought, weakening their forces, so dealing with those three won't cause much trouble."

Lin Manzhi tilted her head, "Capturing the Central District shouldn't be hard for you now; why are you changing your mind?"

"If I hadn't met you, I would have solved everything with slaughter," Mo Lie's eyes held a smile as he confessed his thoughts.

He once treated Ansen City as his own domain, willing to pay any price to protect its subjects, sheltering the weak under his wings.

Until an unprecedented swarm of Exotic Beasts attacked, damaging his Spirit Core beyond repair, preventing him from using his abilities, gradually changing his outlook.

He realized how hypocritical and fickle Beastfolk could be.