"Brother, slow down with your drinking; no one is competing with you."
After a few gulping sounds, Mahaparinirvana, the Defrocked Monk, had finished two pots of tea clean and then looked at Li Ping'an, foolishly wiping his mouth:
"I traveled all the way from Mount Wutai, braving mountains and rivers, exhausted, hungry, and thirsty, not to mention encountering a bunch of ill-tempered bird-catchers. Today, it's only for your sake that I didn't slaughter them all!"
"Brother, you truly live freely, skilled at saving others but clumsy at strategizing for yourself."
"You, young man, understand me by seeing me just once. You seem to be a person of no ordinary background yourself."
Li Ping'an and Mahaparinirvana spoke intimately while the tea stall owner busily packed up his things, sighing helplessly:
