Chapter 154: Taking Over

In Kuangsha City, the largest and most luxurious shop, the grand hall on the first floor of Yuequan Lou was dead silent.

"Um… what are you saying?" Hu Pan, the proprietor of Yuequan Lou, asked with difficulty, his sharp face full of disbelief.

Opposite them, Mo Lie and Lin Manzhi sat in this lavish room; behind the jade-and-stone desk were two soft chairs, and he placed Lin Manzhi's hand before him, reluctant to move his eyes away as if admiring a priceless weapon.

Lin Manzhi had to patiently repeat, "What he means is that you are no longer the proprietor of Yuequan Lou; from now on I will manage this shop."

Hu Pan: "…"

As the most loyal subordinate of Jia Jian, the commerce of Kuangsha City has always been entrusted to him to manage, hasn't it?

He looked shocked, turned his gaze toward the bear Xiong Kui standing behind the terrifying aura of the black‑haired beast, and the two locked eyes.

Hu Pan, like a drowning man clutching at a last straw, hurriedly said, "Is this the Leader of Jia Jian's intention? I want to see the leader."

The towering Xiong Kui scratched his ear and said, "Yes…"

Jia Jian has already lost its authority in the iron house, so seeing him is useless.

Thinking as his gaze swept over the only two seated new leaders—the one who happened to be equal to him, a female—he looked at Hu Pan with sympathy and said, "This is the leader's property; whoever the leader gives it to, that person will manage it. You should pack up and leave this place."

Hu Pan's eyes went black upon hearing that; standing in the room, he lowered his head and looked toward Lin Manzhi, who was leaning beside the black‑clad beast, feeling extremely indignant.

What does a female understand!

Females only know how to eat, drink, and play; they can't even tell exotic beast meat from exotic bird meat, let alone distinguish the quality of sea pearls from shark silk, or calculate the daily income and expenses of Yuequan Lou.

The only thing that could match him is probably the benefits of his female status; the beast is somewhat indulgent toward females, so when he negotiates business with the other leaders, it's a bit easier for him than for himself.

In beast form, Hu Pan is a desert fox, naturally cautious and meticulous, and he is deeply dissatisfied that his proprietor status has been stripped.

However, upon seeing Xiong Kui not staying beside Jia Jian but instead lowly following Mo Lie and Lin Manzhi, he vaguely suspected that the Leader of Jia might have been quietly killed, and that the leader of Central City could well be the black‑clad beast before them.

He also wanted to stay like Xiong Kui, fixing his gaze on Lin Manzhi's clear eyes, and thought quickly, "The leader's arrangement is of course fine."

Hu Pan smiled and said, "If possible, I wish to become your subordinate, beautiful female. Please trust me; I have always worked in Yuequan Lou and have ample experience and skill in running it, enough to handle any matter for you. So keep me, and I will surely add countless wealth to the leader's treasury."

Mo Lie left this matter to Lin Manzhi to decide.

He turned his head, raised an eyebrow lightly, and looked at Lin Manzhi beside him: "What do you think?"

After subduing Jia Jian, Mo Lie summoned the Warrior Legion from the camp and handed them to Hua Zheng, quickly deploying troops to replace all the heads of the forces in Central City that were attached to Jia Jian.

No beastfolk dared to resist such a powerful unit, and the operation went smoothly, turning Jia Jian's Central City into Mo Lie's Central City.

Since he now secretly controls Central City, the commercial empire of Jia Jian remains crucial; he replaced the guards of other enterprises elsewhere, and likewise swapped out the leading beastfolk in charge of those industries.

Mo Lie dealt with other affairs with resolute decisiveness; when Lin Manzhi said she wanted to look at Yuequan Lou, he feared that if she worried about everything she would become fatigued.

In terms of making money, Lin Manzhi is no worse than anyone.

But he didn't want her to be so tired.

Mo Lie's blue eyes looked at her with great gentleness.

Hu Pan truly didn't expect this to be decided by Lin Manzhi; it turns out this little female is different from the females bred by Jia Jian…

When he looked at Lin Manzhi again, his gaze was much more serious this time.

Lin Manzhi leaned back against the chair, her long, loose overcoat covering most of her face, and one hand was pulled over by Mo Lie.

It revealed a slender, pale wrist adorned with a glossy string of sea pearls and a bracelet set with deep‑blue gems, each gem the size of a fingernail, shimmering radiantly.

Such sapphires are rare for other females—one is hard to find—yet she has an entire strand to play with, showing how favored she is by the black‑clad beast.

Hu Pan waited anxiously, his heart uneasy.

Lin Manzhi looked at the pleading Hu Pan, thought for a moment, then turned to Mo Lie, "That works too; keep Hu Pan, and I won't need to find another person to run the shop."

Mo Lie gave a "mm", chuckled lightly, sounding not at all reluctant.

"I'll go with your suggestion."

Hu Pan immediately bowed, "From now on I'll follow you and work!"

The transfer of ownership of the flagship enterprise, Yuequan Lou, went smoothly; Hu Pan handed over the spare keys, the inventory list, and the recent ledgers, which Lin Manzhi took.

For now there was nothing to change at Yuequan Lou; after giving Hu Pan a few instructions, she rose with Mo Lie and walked out.

The proprietor's office of Yuequan Lou is on the top floor; as they came down, the female shop assistants inside couldn't help commenting aloud:

"All the guards outside have been replaced today."

"Who is that black‑clad beast? Why is Hu Pan so respectful toward him? And that must be Lord Xiong Kui! He's even walking behind him; his status must be extraordinary."

"He protects that female so well. If only I could meet such a powerful beast!"

The female assistants watched Lin Manzhi and Mo Lie pass by, speaking in low voices; Lin Manzhi only heard vague female murmurs and didn't catch what they were saying.

As for the staff of Yuequan Lou, Lin Manzhi didn't intend to replace any of them; after all, finding female assistants—even those without pheromones—is not an easy task here.

Moreover, females have virtually no combat value or threat; they are among the few who can live peacefully on their own in Kuangsha City, so Lin Manzhi could never consider moving them.

Leaving Yuequan Lou, Lin Manzhi remembered another important matter, turned to Mo Lie and asked, "I'd like to go to the Liuli Workshop now; is that convenient?"

The extraction of medicine from cherry tomatoes is mainly done by Huang Cai; she sometimes does it at home in private, and together they can extract about a thousand doses a day, so the accumulated amount is considerable.

What they lack now are bottles for the cherry‑tomato medicine; according to Huang Cai, the liquid from five cherry tomatoes counts as one dose. Lin Manzhi only needs to commission glass bottles, and then she can pre‑stock them on Yuequan Lou for trial sales.