Chapter 234: Lord of Ansen City

Mo Cang covered his young son's mouth with one hand, appearing to be defending Mo Lie, but actually he was protecting Mo Chi.

He admitted he was somewhat biased; he only had Mo Lie when he was over a hundred years old, and Mo Lie's birth caused his female to die in difficult labor; Mo Lie, as the lord, had been raised in the army since childhood, and he himself had never raised him.

Mo Chi was something he only had when he neared his twilight years; he had personally raised Mo Chi from childhood beside him, and he had already prepared in advance a rich parcel of land in Ansen City as Mo Chi's fief.

If he still had time, even if Mo Lie were alive, he would certainly have chosen to cultivate Mo Chi to become the lord of Ansen City.

Unfortunately… after beastfolk enter their twilight years, they have only about two years of life left, so Mo Cang had no choice but to compromise.

He consoled himself, thinking that compared to after his death, when his territory would be bullied and occupied by other continents, it would be better to pass it on to Mo Lie, at least Mo Lie is of his black panther clan.

He wore an apologetic smile, looked at Mo Lie and said: "He's still just a six‑year‑old cub; don't take his nonsense to heart. The ceremony for the lord's abdication has already been arranged by me not long ago; after the new lord's inauguration ceremony in these few days, once you become the lord of Ansen City, I will take Mo Chi and leave the Lord's Residence, leave Ansen City."

Mo Lie coldly gazed at the intimate father‑son pair before him, his thin lips twitching slightly, a hint of mockery flashing in his ice‑blue eyes: "I understand."

"Hold the ceremony as soon as possible."

He turned away coldly, and the thought he had originally had of introducing Lin Manzhi to his father vanished completely, as if it had never existed.

By then the fallen beastfolk had already recovered their mobility; the Flower Leopard and the beastfolk pulling the cart stood firmly behind, watching Mo Lie walk onto the carriage frame, while Hua Zheng gave Mo Cang, who was holding and comforting Mo Chi, a complex look.

Mo Lie returned to the carriage frame with a blank expression; Lin Manzhi took the initiative to move over, raised her hand and gently embraced his waist, pressing her face against his somewhat stiff, tense chest.

Mo Lie lowered his head, gazing at the little female in his arms; his icy eyes instantly melted like snow under the sun, vanishing completely, his lips twitching slightly as he raised his hand to gather Lin Manzhi into his embrace.

He leaned close to Lin Manzhi's ear, his low voice devoid of any gloom, instead carrying a hint of a gentle smile: "Zhizhi, with you by my side, only you can truly hurt me."

Lin Manzhi raised her head to look.

The black‑haired male beast lowered his head to look at her, his sapphire eyes brighter than the sky, carrying a hint of a smile.

She saw no trace of dejection in Mo Lie's expression, yet she still cooperated by shaking her head, reaching out to actively embrace him, resting her head on his chest, listening to his thumping heartbeat as she said: "I won't hurt you."

No matter whether you have nothing or become a lord of a region, I will never let you be hurt in feelings.

Lin Manzhi added in her heart.

Lin Manzhi also never expected that Mo Cang of Ansen City would suddenly hand over the lordship to Mo Lie like this; after all, in the original story the territory of Ansen City belonged to Mo Chi, who was eight years old at the time and smoothly became lord of Ansen City after Mo Cang's death.

At that time Mo Lie had already become a public enemy of several continents, and he had never thought of coming back to seize that territory of Ansen City.

Meanwhile the five great lords were busy dealing with Mo Lie, that madman, and had no spare attention for a mere infant, so Mo Chi peacefully secured his position as lord of Ansen City.

Now everything is different from the original book, but one thing remains unchanged: Mo Cang still does not love Mo Lie, and Lin Manzhi feels that it is utterly exhilarating for Ansen City to become Mo Lie's territory right now!

It was originally his.

When the news of the new lord spread among the major tribes of Ansen City, the chieftains of each tribe brought tribute and came in droves to congratulate, and the lord's inauguration ceremony was officially held.

Everything had been arranged; Mo Cang brought people to deliver the lord's robes of Ansen City, and by the way explained the procedure Mo Lie would follow when assuming the lordship.

Mo Lie turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Lin Manzhi inside the house, his voice low and decisive, as if there were no room for discussion before others: "I'm taking her with me."

Mo Cang froze.

He followed Mo Lie's gaze over, and only then did he begin to notice the female who had been accompanying Mo Lie, his face showing surprise.

"Take her with me??"

Mo Lie's meaning was…… that when assuming the lordship he wanted to bring this female along?

He even wondered if he had misheard a little.

Lin Manzhi became the focus of everyone's sight.

She rose from the couch, walked to stand beside Mo Lie, their distance extremely close, and even in her tone of refusal there was not a hint of fear: "No thanks, I'm tired."

"Zhizhi, just stay by my side." Mo Lie raised his hand to smooth the thick fur draped over Lin Manzhi, looking at her small face buried in the white fur of the little female, his voice unconsciously softening: "Having you with me puts me at ease."

Mo Cang: "……"

"Who are you? Did my son just get swapped out?"

"Cold and heartless, he's always been icy toward everyone since childhood; how could he suddenly become this gentle??"

"You've already recovered your abilities; this is just a female!"

Mo Cang was still in shock, only hearing Mo Lie's voice return to its usual cold tone, without emotional fluctuation: "It's already late, Father, please go back."

Clearly using an honorific, yet Mo Cang felt as if a patch were missing from the back of his head, a chilly breeze blowing over and making him feel cold.

Ansen City is built in a relatively warm part of the An Sen Da Lu continent, but when night falls the wind that sweeps by feels like a cold blade scraping the face.

After everyone had left, only Lin Manzhi and Mo Lie remained in the room.

Mo Lie lowered his head, gazing at Lin Manzhi's expression.

She had refused his earlier suggestion bluntly, as if she did not want to stand by his side.

Mo Lie remained unmoved.

He took Lin Manzhi's hand and led her to sit on the soft couch, arms open, embracing her together with her fluffy fur, his tone softened with a coaxing nuance: "If you stay with me tomorrow, then tonight I can keep you company in beast form, all right?"

Lin Manzhi blinked: "……"

"Sleep in the arms of the big leopard?"

She shifted her hands beneath her several thick garments, lifted her head, and looked at Mo Lie with a heart‑fluttering gaze.

His body temperature is a bit higher than hers; now, being held by Mo Lie feels like wrapping oneself in an electric heating blanket in winter, and his beast‑form temperature would be even higher, making it incredibly attractive in the cold winter.

Lin Manzhi gritted her teeth and asked: "Just stay by your side?"

Mo Lie: "En."

Lin Manzhi asked: "Do I need to do nothing at all?"

Mo Lie: "En."

Lin Manzhi thought it over; even if she made a fool of herself in a big scene, Mo Lie would definitely not blame her—what others think has nothing to do with her.