Who Has More Money?

January 17th, 351st year of the Great Chu Dynasty.

Chu, the capital, the Zhou Manor.

Zhou Zhuling brandished her longsword in the courtyard. After several months apart, Zhou Zhuling's face had become rosy and radiant, and her body had become much stronger. Her swordplay carried a touch of heroic spirit.

"Brush"

After completing a sword technique demonstration without using Spiritual Power, Zhou Zhuling sheathed his sword.

A maid who had been standing to the side handed over a warm towel. Zhou Zhuling handed the sword to the maid, took the towel, and wiped her face, which was slightly flushed from practicing swordsmanship.

"Sister." Zhou Guanyu's voice came, followed by the sound of footsteps. Zhou Guanyu, dressed in white, appeared in the courtyard.

"Sister, great news!"

Zhou Zhuling put down the towel and slowly walked towards the main hall in the courtyard, saying, "What good news? Has the Zhang Clan agreed to the marriage?"

"My sister is making fun of me again. It has nothing to do with the marriage, but it does have something to do with the Zhang Clan." Zhou Guanyu shook his folding fan and followed Zhou Zhuling into the hall.

"Oh? It's related to the Zhang Clan? Could it be that Miss Liu Ying has returned?" Zhou Zhuling asked curiously.

"Sister guessed half right." Zhou Guanyu smiled mysteriously and said, "Miss Liu Ying has returned to the capital, but there's someone else who came too."

"Just tell me everything at once, I don't want to play games with you," Zhou Zhuling said.

Zhou Guanyu grunted twice and said, "Of course, it's the person my sister has been thinking about day and night! Sigh! It seems my sister isn't really that interested in his whereabouts! In that case, let's leave it at that. I'll take my leave."

After saying that, Zhou Guanyu got up and left.

"Guanyu!" Zhou Zhuling asked from behind with a surprised tone, "You mean the shop owner is here?"

Zhou Guanyu turned around, shrugged, and said, "Yes, the shop owner is here."

"Where is he?" Zhou Zhuling asked happily.

"I saw him at the gate of the Zhang Manor," Zhou Guanyu replied.

"Let's go to the Zhang Manor!" Zhou Zhuling stood up, ready to leave.

Zhou Guanyu stopped her helplessly, saying, "Sister, the resource competition is about to begin in a few days. How can you go to the Zhang Clan at this time?"

After Zhou Guanyu finished speaking, Zhou Zhuling finally realized what was going on. The Zhou Clan and the Zhang Clan family were both descendants of the Twelve Kings. At such a critical moment, they would usually be wary of each other and prepare for the upcoming resource competition. In particular, since Zhou Zhuling was the person sent by the Zhou Clan to compete for resources this time, she naturally couldn't go to another family. If she were to be ambushed, it would affect the rise and fall of the entire Zhou Clan for the next ten years.

Suppressing her urge to find Ma Feifei, Zhou Zhuling suddenly realized something and asked curiously, "When did the shop owner get in touch with the Zhang Clan again?"

Zhou Zhuling and her brother probably know the most about Ma Feifei. Not to mention a top-tier wealthy family like the Zhang Clan, they don't even know Ma Feifei, the city lord of Yuanfang City. Although he owns a magical Bookstore, his social circle is too small, and he doesn't know many people at all.

Zhou Guanyu shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I saw Zhang Yunji from the Zhang Clan among the shop owner's group. I suppose Zhang Yunji invited the shop owner to visit the Zhang Clan."

At this point, Zhou Guanyu seemed to remember something else and added, "And those two idiots we met at the tavern in the capital last time, the ones whose Youthful Appearance Pearl were stolen by the owner."

"What are you talking about? That was clearly a gift from someone to the shop owner," Zhou Zhuling glared at Zhou Guanyu and scolded.

"It's a gift, it's a gift, you're right, sister." Zhou Guanyu clasped his hands in apology.

Zhou Zhuling stopped joking with Zhou Guanyu, walked to the Grand Tutor Chair and sat down, her brows furrowing slightly. She said, "Why would the Zhang Clan invite the shopkeeper to their Zhang Clan at this time?"

In just four days, the once-in-a-decade internal resource battle among the Twelve Kings will begin. At this crucial moment, any situation that arises in any of these families will attract the attention of the others. This is why Zhou Guanyu was able to know immediately that Ma Feifei had arrived in the capital, because the area around the Zhang Clan was already filled with the Zhou Clan spies.

"Who knows? Maybe they want to ask the shop owner for help?" Zhou Guanyu guessed casually.

"Even if the shop owner possesses unfathomable abilities, four days might not be enough time, right?" Zhou Guanyu immediately dismissed his guess.

Four days is too short. Even if the Zhang Clan wanted Ma Feifei to help them improve their cultivation or give them cultivation techniques and martial arts skills, it wouldn't be enough time. Moreover, based on their understanding of Ma Feifei, it seems that Ma Feifei himself is not very strong; what's strong are his bodyguards and the magical books in the Bookstore.

If the Zhang Clan really needs Ma Feifei's help, the only way is to try to understand the books in Ma Feifei's Bookstore on their own. But reading and understanding books takes time; it takes at least two or three days to finish a book, which is not enough time.

Moreover, the Mysterious Bookstore has a rule that books cannot be taken out of the Bookstore. Since Ma Feifei has come to the capital, he naturally wouldn't bring any books from the Bookstore with him.

"Sister, how about we leave a note for the shop owner and invite him to our house?" Zhou Guanyu asked.

Zhou Zhuling was somewhat tempted, but then shook her head. "This period is too sensitive. The shop owner is with the Zhang Clan. If we do this, it might cause misunderstandings with the Zhang Clan. Let's wait until after the resource competition is over."

Zhou Guanyu nodded, and the two fell into deep thought.

Because they wanted to keep a low profile, the Zhang Clan did not give Ma Feifei and his party a grand welcome. Instead, Zhang Tianjiao and Chang Kong, the heads of the Zhang Clan, personally led them to a very high-class courtyard.

But before they could even warm up to their upscale courtyard for three minutes, several uninvited guests appeared.

"Oh, we actually have distinguished guests here." Several richly dressed young noblemen stood at the courtyard gate, looking at Ma Feifei who was admiring the flowers in the courtyard, and said in a mocking tone.

"Look at that outfit, all purple, so flashy," a young man in white mocked.

"Judging from the material of this clothing, it should be made of the fur of Di Yun Beast, right? The fur of a first-tier spirit beast, tsk tsk." Another young man in blue sneered.

"Made of Di Yun Beast fur? Then you can buy it with gold coins, right?" the third young man in black said in surprise. "Can you really wear something bought with gold coins? Hmm, it's not only tacky, but also dirty."

"It's not just dirty, it's downright low-class. That's what ordinary people wear. I never expected our distinguished guest to be dressed so cheaply. It's truly disappointing," the first young man in white continued.

"Perhaps it's because they're too poor?" the second young man in blue said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, esteemed guest, we forgot about that. You might not lack taste, you're just too poor! Haha!" The third young man in black couldn't help but burst out laughing after saying that.

This also tickled the other two's funny bone, and the three of them laughed unrestrainedly in the courtyard.

A series of noisy sounds rang out, and finally the courtyard quieted down.

Looking at the three men huddled together, their faces bruised and swollen from the beating, Ma Feifei sighed, "Still want to jump?"

All three shook their heads.

"Is this outfit tasteful?" Ma Feifei pointed to the purple robe she was wearing.

The three nodded in unison.

Ma Feifei chuckled and said, "You're definitely not convinced, are you?"

The three hesitated for a moment, looked at each other, and finally shook their heads.

"No, no, no, I know you're not convinced." Ma Feifei shook his head, squatted down, and looked at the three of them, saying, "Although I don't know where you two came from, you are, after all, Zhang Clan, and I can't bully you with force. So now I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourselves."

"What opportunity?" the young man in black asked, covering his face, which was swollen like a pig's.

"Slap!" Ma Feifei slapped him across the face, cursing, "You still won't admit it!"

"Don't go too far!" The young man in black, slapped, rolled over, took a few steps back, and pointed at Ma Feifei, saying, "We just don't accept it. Is it wrong to say you have no taste? Is it wrong to say you're poor? You have no taste, you're poor, so why can't people tell the truth?"

"That's right!" Where there is oppression, there is resistance. As soon as the young master in black rebelled, the young masters in white and blue also stood up, and the three of them stood together glaring at Ma Feifei.

Ma Feifei glanced at the three of them in surprise, somewhat taken aback. She hadn't expected these "experienced newbies" to have such backbone. She nodded and said, "Alright, you say I have no taste, you say I'm poor, then let's have a competition, shall we?"

"How do we compete?" the three asked in unison.

"Of course it's about who dresses with better taste and who has more money!" Ma Feifei replied.

"Here's the deal: the three of you come together. If your combined wealth exceeds mine, then it proves you're rich. Also, whoever loses, their entire fortune goes to the winner. That's the wager, no problem?" Ma Feifei said with a sly smile.

Seeing Ma Feifei's confidence, the three of them suddenly felt a little hesitant. They exchanged glances, but in the end, the young man in black was the most stubborn. He hardened his heart and said, "What are you afraid of? I don't believe that a poor guy wearing Di Yun Beast material is a rich man. Let's bet with him!"

"Alright, let's bet!"

So the three of them agreed to their first bet: to see who had more money.

"And what about taste? How will the competition be conducted?" the young man in black asked.

Ma Feifei tilted his head and thought for a moment, then clapped his hands and said, "That's easy. The four of us will each choose an outfit to wear, and then we'll have someone judge whose outfit looks good and makes them look classy. That person will be the winner. How about that?"

"Then who will be the judge?" the three asked.

Everyone has different tastes in clothing, so the person who judges it is especially important.

Ma Feifei hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm new to the capital and don't know anyone here. If I let my people make the judgment, you'll definitely be dissatisfied. Why don't you find someone else?"

The three men's faces lit up with joy, and the young man in blue blurted out, "Then how about Miss Liu Ying be the judge?"

"Yes, let Miss Liu Ying be the judge." The other two echoed.

"Okay, as long as Miss Liu Ying is willing, I don't mind." Ma Feifei shrugged, quite casually.

Seeing that Ma Feifei had agreed, the three of them were delighted. The young man in blue immediately said, "Then I'll go and call Miss Liu Ying over."

Having said that, he hurriedly ran out, leaving behind the two young masters, one in black and one in white.

"And what will be the stakes in this contest of taste?" the young man in black asked with a cunning smile.

It seemed that in their minds, Ma Feifei was destined to lose.

"Let's run around naked!" Ma Feifei said.

"What?" The two young masters, one in black and one in white, didn't quite understand the meaning of this word.

Ma Feifei gestured with his hands and explained, "It means whoever loses has to take off all their clothes and run a lap around this Zhang Manor, okay?"

"This..." The two young masters, one in black and one in white, hesitated.

This is a matter of face, no joke. Running around naked in the Zhang Manor residence would be incredibly humiliating.

"What? Got scared?" Ma Feifei asked, pursing her lips.

The two young masters, one in black and one in white, exchanged a glance, then, with a fierce determination, replied, "Let's compete!"

Ma Feifei clapped his hands, stood up, and said, "Alright, a gentleman's word is as good as his bond. I'll give you one hour to prepare the Spirit Crystal. One hour later, our competition will officially begin!"