Chapter 39: More Destitute Than Expected

Lin Manzhi blinked, almost immediately rose from the bed, her tone bearing no hint of reproach, full of enthusiasm: "Then let's go quickly."

Mo Lie hadn't expected this action.

He had thought Lin Manzhi would, like other females, detest the brutal fights between male beasts, so his earlier words were somewhat more tactful.

"Fine."

Mo Lie stood up, and a series of knife‑sharp throbbing pains radiated from his back and neck throughout his body, yet his expression barely changed.

He walked to Lin Manzhi's front, stopped, lowered his long lashes, gently lifted her Headscarf for her, and casually glanced up at the high‑hanging sun outside.

At that moment Mo Lie slightly furrowed his brows, as if something serious had occurred, causing Lin Manzhi to furrow hers as well, and she asked anxiously, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

She was about to say she'd go herself when she saw the pale‑skinned yet undeniably handsome black‑haired male beast turn his head to stare at her.

He said, "Zhi Zhi, I can't take you now; can you go on your own?"

Lin Manzhi: "……"

Her voice was calm and steady, tinged with helplessness: "I'm not made of tofu; walking a bit is no big deal."

Saying that, she reached out, took Mo Lie's hand, and led him outside; at the doorway she casually hooked the wardrobe shelf and retrieved a freshly washed piece of Coarse Hemp Cloth.

Without turning her head, she handed the sun‑shielding Headscarf backward, whispering, "The sun's strong outside; put this on, or you'll get dizzy from the heat. If you feel bad, you can rest a bit later."

Lin Manzhi walked ahead, the Headscarf draped over her, lifting behind her as she entered the courtyard like a soft wing brushing the air; her black long hair fell to her waist, fluttering in the wind, revealing a slender waist cinched by a belt that glittered dazzlingly in the sunlight.

Mo Lie's deep blue eyes were profound; as Lin Manzhi lifted his wrist, he grasped the jade‑white hand tightly, his voice a few tones lower than usual: "I feel fine."

Lin Manzhi nodded affirmatively, keeping the hand she held with Mo Lie still, and, still uneasy, glanced back at him.

The male beast's face was hidden beneath light‑colored coarse cloth; black tufts of hair lifted slightly at the fabric's edge, his brows and eyes deepened in the shadows, his upright gait appeared no different from an ordinary person.

Lin Manzhi still slowed her pace a little, waiting for Mo Lie to step forward and walk side by side; the two, hand in hand, left their courtyard toward the direction of the lake.

The two male beasts' dwellings were situated diagonally across from her house, separated by a row of buildings; due to the beasts' mutual aversion, there was about a kilometer of space between the courtyards.

That short distance took Lin Manzhi and Mo Lie a slow twenty minutes to reach; they pushed open the unlocked stone gate and entered.

A courtyard with a layout similar to their own unfolded before Lin Manzhi's eyes; the house was filled with the aura of its former owner, which the female Lin Manzhi could not sense.

However, she saw that the single male beast's house was filthy; leftover bones were haphazardly scattered in the courtyard, and fur piled together emitted a foul smell.

The interior was starkly barren, lacking any beds, chairs, or furniture; Lin Manzhi paced around, stood dumbfounded in the empty hall, and exclaimed, "Huh? They have nothing—did their tribe send people to raid them beforehand?"

Mo Lie pursed his lips; he had never cared about loot before, but now he seemed somewhat concerned.

He slowed his steps behind Lin Manzhi, turned toward the male beast's bedroom, and said, "I heard they're running for the warrior position in Ansen City, so they sold everything in the house in advance."

Lin Manzhi changed her stride, followed Mo Lie toward the bedroom, and asked, "Then they should have a lot of Beast Coins, right?"

With hopeful anticipation, Lin Manzhi watched Mo Lie bring over a small box and opened it.

Lin Manzhi's upward‑curved mouth froze; she reached out and counted the Beast Coins inside.

Hmm, over twenty‑thousand Beast Coins—not even enough to cover Mo Lie's medical expenses, let alone purchase more Spirit Core Repair Elixir.

In the world of single male beasts, saving money is unheard of; Lang Cang and Wolf Peak still uphold the tradition of roaming wild and hunting whatever they can.

Adding to that, the tribe's supplies were scarce; Lin Manzhi, following the world's top Supernatural Male Beast here, also befriended the affluent lakeside family Xi Tao, broadening her perspective and leaving her unfamiliar with the tribe's impoverished life.

It was then she realized that the Beastfolk she first saw here were mostly clad in Beast Skin Skirts made from pelts, and some male beasts by the Rock Wall were so starving that their ribs were clearly visible.

"One must think of danger even in peace!"

She restrained the disappointment in her eyes, and with Mo Lie went to the neighboring courtyard to inspect; this time, besides over ten thousand Beast Coins, they also salvaged some daily household items from the Mud Stove.

Lin Manzhi had a slight aversion to dirt; while life could still go on, she didn't want to use items previously owned by other male beasts, so she packaged the household goods from both homes and sold them, earning three thousand Beast Coins.

Wu Ci Ou Ti saw this from a short distance.

As the tribe's sole Shamaness, she had four rather strong guards, but the male beasts of this tribe were so poor that even when injured they wouldn't come to her for help.

And treatment for females was free; she earned little from charging for the elixir, so the Beast Coins Lin Manzhi brought this time amounted to a fortune for Wu Ci Ou Ti.

Therefore, fearing Lin Manzhi would default, she immediately dispatched guards to Lin Manzhi's house to collect the debt.

Fortunately, Lin Manzhi wasn't one to owe money, and she promptly returned the Beast Coins she had just received.

After all that, Lin Manzhi calculated that her household still had about fourteen thousand Beast Coins left.

Lin Manzhi closed the box, feeling a flood of emotions.

This world is so fickle; her family never provokes anyone, yet they still suffer lethal misfortune. Mo Lie was lucky to survive, but his body sustained irreversible damage.

The wealth also shrank by three to four thousand…

Disasters strike indiscriminately over time, so Lin Manzhi could only adopt a more open‑minded outlook.

……

Due to this incident, Lin Manzhi hasn't gone out alone for several days.

The Beastfolk who came to repair the water cellar became fewer; after all, the tribe has only about four thousand Beastfolk, and they can't suddenly muster 'huge funds' to fix a water cellar they've never seen, so they stick to the tribe's ancient water‑storage methods.

However, to Lin Manzhi's satisfaction, this method of repairing the water cellar earned her fifty days' worth of food and increased her household surplus to twenty thousand.

And there's an even better piece of news!

The plot of land in her space finally reached ten harvests and can be upgraded!

Underground, first floor.

Lin Manzhi sat alone in the central house, and the wooden sticks on the wall torches crackled as they burned.