Lao Tao patted his clothes. "You want me to get lost? Don't regret it. This is the Hundred Leaf Merchant Association's only chance to rise again."
Old Ghost Ye scoffed. He lay straight down on the ground and pulled grass over himself. "Get lost. Quit wasting your breath."
Lao Tao chuckled. "The Merchant Association's once-every-twenty-years allocation is about to begin. Aren't you going to try for a spot?"
Old Ghost Ye snapped impatiently, "Get lost, get lost, get lost. The Hundred Leaf Merchant Association is long gone. What's there to fight for? Quit coming here to cause trouble. Why didn't you die in Torch City? Why come back to plague me?"
Lao Tao leaned closer. "You really don't want to try? I'm telling you, it's practically guaranteed."
Old Ghost Ye's eyes flew open. Through the dim grass, he stared at Lao Tao. "If you still consider me an old friend, don't drag me into this. Let me spend my remaining years in peace. Dying here would suit me just fine."
Lao Tao sighed regretfully. "You old ghost. You've lost every bit of the ambition you had when you were young. Think back to the old days, when the Hundred Leaf Merchant Association was at its height. You were so full of life back then. I could buy anything I wanted from you, and at a good price, too. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have made it this far. What a pity. What a pity."
"Old man, if you remember what I did for you, then don't drag me into this. Get lost." Old Ghost Ye's voice was low beneath the grass.
Just then, a figure rushed over from the distance, holding a wooden stick and swinging it hard at Lao Tao.
Lao Tao didn't move. He let the