Chen Ping'an and Lu Chen walked shoulder to shoulder through the alleyways of the central village, one wearing Thousand-layer sole cloth shoes, the other cotton ten-direction shoes. Their footsteps rustled like fallen leaves touching the ground.
As they passed a house, a mongrel in the courtyard heard them and suddenly woke, barking madly at the gate. Nearby barking rose in all directions, only to quickly subside.
Lu Chen leaned over a wall and imitated a few barks, then raised his hand as if throwing stones. The mongrel in the courtyard whimpered, curling up with its tail tucked in.
Lu Chen shook out his sleeves and hurried after Chen Ping'an, who had strolled to the mouth of the alley and stopped. Rubbing his hands, he said, "Though guarding against hunger year after year and thieves night after night is only human nature, there is really no need for you people to guard against this poor Daoist and Mountain Lord Chen. What do you think, Chen Ping'an?"
Chen Ping'an said, "Sect Master Lu, feel free to gild your own face. As for me, there is no need."
Lu Chen suddenly grinned. "In this world, one dog barks at a shadow, and a hundred dogs bark at the sound."
Chen Ping'an nodded. "Among people, one person speaks falsehood, and a thousand pass it on as truth."
Lu Chen clapped his hands in praise. "Wonderful! We could write that as a pair of black-background, gold-lettered wooden pillar couplets. Later, this poor Daoist will have them properly mounted and place them inside Thousand Swords Viewing Studio, with each of our names as signatures. Plenty to savor there."
Chen Ping'an smiled. "If you can afford to lose that much face, I do not mind."
Lu Chen rubbed his hands and sighed. "A Night Roamer may refrain