Chapter 153: The Mohists Have No One (I)

After finalizing the accounts, Mo Lan and her two companions walked directly to the Wang Family Pharmacy. The staff there looked grim as they saw them arrive, knowing that this place would no longer be under their control.

"You should have received the notice from the police station," An Feng said, stepping forward to look at the hostile crowd. He gave a contemptuous smile; it seemed Boss Wang really thought quite highly of himself.

Mo Lan and Elder Mo left the dealings to An Feng. Their main purpose was to sign the contract with the person in charge, after which they could leave, and the pharmacy would henceforth be renamed the Mo Family Pharmacy.

"Hmph, don't push the Mo family's luck too far. One day, we will return," one man spat. After saying this, he led a large group away, leaving behind only an elderly man clutching an ancient book.

Mo Lan found these people insufferably arrogant. If she were the type to act recklessly, she would have liked to beat them up just to see if they dared to be so insolent again.

"Elder Mo, please," the man said. He wore antique-style glasses and cradled the book, giving off the aura of a scholar. His manners were indeed refined.

Elder Mo nodded and followed him inside. Although the premises were being handed over, the staff hadn't destroyed anything and had kept everything in its original state. The flowers and plants were clearly well-tended, blooming as vividly as ever.

The man placed the book on the table and personally poured four cups of tea for them before sitting down. He opened the book and handed it to Elder Mo to review.

Elder Mo watched the man drink his tea, then picked up his own cup and sniffed it, but made no move to drink. An Feng and Mo Lan did not sit down at all; instead, they scouted the surroundings, wary of potential traps they might not be aware of.

Though the man acted like a scholar, he gave off the impression of a cunning villain. Whenever he smiled, a strange, sinister glint would flicker in his eyes.

After checking the documents, Elder Mo confirmed everything was in order and free of errors. He handed the contract to the man to review before signing. From this day forward, nothing in this place would have anything to do with the Wang family.

The man signed the papers without even glancing at them, handed them back to Elder Mo, bowed slightly, and walked out with his book in his arms.

An Feng felt the man’s behavior was too casual; he wondered if he had missed a detail. He stepped forward and sniffed the tea; it seemed fine, and the man had drunk it himself. The plants were exactly as they had been on their first visit, but this tea was different.

As Elder Mo confirmed the signatures were legitimate and stood up to leave, he suddenly felt dizzy. With a thud, he collapsed to the floor. Mo Lan and An Feng quickly rushed to support him, looking around with extreme caution.

What happened? Why did he collapse so suddenly? Was someone nearby, or was the house poisoned? Thinking of this, An Feng immediately hoisted the elder onto his back, grabbed Mo Lan’s hand, and strode out.

Mo Lan kept looking back, but she could not find anything amiss. She could not fathom which detail had gone wrong.

They rushed back to the Mo family’s territory and summoned local physicians. One after another, the doctors came and went, unable to identify the problem. They checked for poison and physical trauma, but found nothing.

"We must return to the Mo estate and find Elder Xian immediately; the physicians here are unreliable," An Feng decided. He couldn't afford to wait any longer. He placed Elder Mo in the car and looked at Mo Lan, who followed without hesitation—Qian Yin was with Boss Jin, so she would be safe.

They sped back to the Mo estate, running red lights in their desperation. Throughout the journey, Mo Lan kept checking Elder Mo’s forehead; he had no fever, and it couldn't be mere exhaustion. What kind of illness was this? The elder hadn't been overworking lately, so this shouldn't have happened.

By the time they reached the Mo estate the next morning, Elder Mo still had not woken up. Upon hearing that the old man had collapsed for no reason, Elder Xian dropped everything to examine him. After a thorough inspection, his brow furrowed deeply.

Mo Lan and An Feng stood by anxiously. The others, Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei, also arrived, abandoning their tasks; Elder Mo was different from the others.

"What is wrong with Grandfather?" Mo Lan asked, seeing Elder Xian’s troubled expression. She felt a sense of dread as she reached out to hold her grandfather's hand, staring intently at the elder.

"This is a type of sleeping potion, one I haven't seen in a long time. It’s considered a lost art. Did you eat anything or come into contact with anyone?" Elder Xian turned to look at An Feng. He was helpless against this kind of substance. There was a formula to cure it, but it would take a very long time, and there was no guarantee of waking him.

"We only went to the Wang Family Pharmacy. The plants were the same as before, but the tea was different. I didn't get a chance to bring the tea back, but we didn't even drink it. How could this happen?" An Feng spoke hurriedly, unable to understand.

Elder Xian took Mo Lan’s hand and checked her pulse; she was fine. He then checked An Feng and discovered that he, too, had been affected, though only slightly. As a young, strong man, his constitution was far more resilient than Elder Mo’s.

Elder Xian sighed and let go of An Feng's hand. "An Feng has also been affected. Did you smell the tea? The flowers and the tea must have a synergistic effect. It was smelling the tea that caused this."

An Feng felt a chill run down his spine. The perpetrators had anticipated their every move; if they hadn't smelled the tea, none of this would have happened.

"What should we do? Will Grandfather ever wake up?" Mo Lan panicked. How could this happen? With one member of the Mo family missing, another hot-tempered, and now the elder unconscious, there was no one left to handle the family's affairs.

"I have a formula, but it could take years to treat, and there is no guarantee he will wake up. You must prepare yourself, Mo Lan." Elder Xian looked helpless. Who was spreading such dangerous things into the world?

Mo Lan collapsed to the floor, staring at the silent, sleeping elder. It seemed the Mo family was the first target the "Boss" intended to eliminate. No wonder Qian Yin had mentioned someone paying a high price for the lives of Mo Fan and An Feng. They were clearly the two obstacles the Boss wanted to remove.