..
Hong Tailong loved hearing that. With a swish, he scrambled to his feet, rubbing his fists in excitement. "This should've happened long ago."
The two fellows who had spent every day staring at the moon until their eyes turned green nearly had the urge to howl at it a few times. After getting up, they both subconsciously shook their heads, shaking the moon's image out of their minds. Their movements were so perfectly in sync that they patted their butts and slipped away together.
"Shouldn't you change that ragged outfit? You can't win your master's sympathy anymore, so there's no need to keep pretending to be pitiful, right?"
"Ah! Three years new, three years old, then patched and mended for another three years. I'm used to being thrifty. Fine! A poor family needs wealth for the road; when traveling abroad, I can't be too shabby. It doesn't matter if I disgrace myself—no one knows me anyway—but disgracing you, the Dragon Clan's envoy, would be letting Great God Panlong down."
"What the hell does it have to do with my Dragon Clan? If you've got the guts, wear it for the rest of your life and never change."
"I've always been rather respectful toward the dead. I've long admired Senior Wind God's great name, and I'm going there with the heart of a pilgrim. Being too slovenly would be disgraceful. I should change after all! The dead are paramount; one cannot show them disrespect."
"Cut the act. You brat says one thing while thinking another. You've done every good deed and every evil deed—do you think I don't know what's in your heart? You're afraid people will see that you have the face of a thief, that your guilty conscience will give you away?"
"Hong Tailong! What good thing are