"Ugh..."
March 7th and Xing couldn't help but stare at Fu Zhu with disgusted expressions. The two huddled together, covering their faces with their hands and whispering.
"I can't believe Fu Zhu has such a twisted sense of humor!"
"Old bro is the worst!"
Although the two of them looked like they were keeping their voices down, many people in the surrounding area could hear them clearly, to say nothing of Fu Zhu, who was standing right beside them.
Fu Zhu's brow twitched, and he shot the two an exasperated glare.
"Your acting is terrible. You didn't lower your voices at all."
Seeing their act was exposed, Xing and March 7th scratched the back of their heads and laughed sheepishly.
"It's just our Nameless instinct to meddle acting up, old bro."
"If we meddled in everything, we wouldn't need to continue our journey. The Luofu certainly has an endless supply of trouble to get into. But... speaking of which."
Fu Zhu stroked his chin and stared at the Cloud Knight named Sushang for a moment. She had revealed her name during her exchange with Scott, and for some reason, that name sounded familiar, not entirely foreign to him.
Where had he heard it...
Fu Zhu's eyebrows suddenly shot up. He remembered.
Previously, he had asked Dan Heng how he had managed to get onto the Luofu. Dan Heng had recounted the events of his journey, which included his encounters with Sushang and Luocha.
Sushang had provided considerable help in getting Dan Heng onto the Luofu. Looking at it that way, the Express owed her a small favor.
If she hadn't, and Dan Heng had been caught by the Cloud Knights back then, things would have gotten rather awkward.
Having thought it through, Fu Zhu pushed his way through the crowd and walked forward.
March 7th, Xing, and Bailu watched him suddenly push through the crowd and froze for a moment.
Xing asked Fu Zhu in confusion, "Old bro, what are you doing? Getting a closer spot to eat melons?"
"Eating too many melons will give you the runs. Let's go, time to meddle."
Hearing this, a smile bloomed on Xing's face. She turned and exchanged a look with March 7th and Bailu. As she expected, she knew her old bro was just as much of a busybody as she was!
"Wait for me, old bro!"
The three of them quickly followed behind Fu Zhu, slipping through the path he had cleared in the crowd.
Just as Fu Zhu pushed his way to the very front, he heard Scott, with his hands on his hips, laughing boisterously as he threatened the rather uncomfortable-looking Sushang.
"You're the one who said it, and all the good people here heard you! If the Golden Automaton Lane Merchant Association can't repay the debt in three days, you'll have to obediently apologize to me in public and bark like a dog. Do you have any objections?"
"I have an objection."
"Hmph." Scott crossed his arms and snorted coldly. "Even if you have an objection, it's useless! It's written in black and white that the Golden Automaton Lane Merchant Association owes the company this much money, and besides, you're the one who insisted on getting involved in this..."
Scott's words trailed off as he froze. Sushang, who was standing opposite him, had been cowering and hadn't said a word. The voice just now was rough, like a man's, and definitely not Sushang's!
"Who's trying to meddle again?!"
Scott turned his head irritably, wanting to see which idiot was trying to poke their nose into this business, but an arm was already draped over his shoulder.
Fu Zhu rested his hand on Scott's shoulder and pointed at Sushang.
"Just barking like a dog is too boring. Since you're making a bet, you should put something substantial on the line, right? How about this: if the Golden Automaton Lane Merchant Association fails to repay the debt, then just as you said, Miss Sushang will apologize to you and bark like a dog. But if the Association does repay the debt, you can't just get away with barking and apologizing, can you? After all, you're the one who started this. You have to put up something, like, say, reimbursing all the expenses of the Golden Automaton Lane Merchant Association during this repayment period. How about it?"
Scott glanced at the man who had his arm around his shoulder, this "buddy-buddy" type who he didn't even know. Although what he said seemed to have a sliver of logic...
"The hell it does! You're right, my ass!"
Scott furiously shrugged off Fu Zhu's hand from his shoulder and jumped to the side, putting distance between them. He pointed a finger at Fu Zhu and berated him, "Who the hell are you? Why are there so many nosy people everywhere? This has nothing to do with you, so just stay on the sidelines and watch the show!"
Seeing Scott actually pointing a finger at him, Fu Zhu pointed right back, annoyed.
"First of all, this matter is not unrelated to me. Because next, I'm going to help the Golden Automaton Lane Merchant Association pay back whatever debt you're talking about, and all the various things I use in the process will need to be reimbursed by you. Now tell me, is this related to me or not?"
"The hell it is! I never agreed to that!"
"This is getting a little troublesome..."
Fu Zhu scratched his head in frustration. Then, seeing Bailu standing not far behind him, he pointed at her and said to Scott, "Alright then, our side will raise the stakes too. If the Golden Automaton Lane Merchant Association can't repay the debt, she'll bark like a dog along with Sushang. How about that?"
"Huh?" Bailu looked left and right, confirming that there was no one else around her before pointing a bewildered finger at her own nose. "Me? But... I'm just a passerby!"
"She's just a little girl! How could you be so shameless as to use someone else..."
"Scott!"
Before Scott could finish, Fu Zhu cut him off. He pointed at Scott with righteous indignation and said, word by word:
"What I wager isn't about what you want, it's about what I have! And what you wager isn't about what you have, but what I want!"
Holy shit, what an incredible double standard!
This extreme double standard from Fu Zhu actually earned Scott's sincere admiration. This shameless behavior was like the living embodiment of his own family's creed!
"...Fine. On account of your shamelessness, I, Scott, agree!"
Although Scott's words were a bit piercing, he had agreed, and that was ultimately a good thing.
Fu Zhu smiled and snapped his fingers. "It's a deal then. But let me make one thing clear beforehand: the goal of this bet is to repay the debt. The methods are not limited, right?"
Scott pushed the sunglasses on his nose bridge up and let out a sneering laugh.
"That's right, no holds barred... Kid, you seem to know the ropes. If we weren't opponents this time, we might have gotten along quite well."
You little punk who came out of nowhere, I'll let you witness the despicable and shameless methods of the Scott family!
Hearing the other party agree to "no holds barred," Fu Zhu couldn't help but break into a smile as well.
What wonderful words, no holds barred...
Fu Zhu turned to face the person in charge of the Golden Automaton Lane Merchant Association.
"First, let me ask you one thing... can you issue invoices here?"