"Sen Yu!" snarled Zhuo Lan, eyes flaming red as a vengeful spirit's eyes tend to do. "If you admit what you did to me, I'll consider not cursing the next eighteen generations of your family!"

Merchant Sen Yu's face paled. Then it turned red. Then it paled again. Then he started to tremble, and stumbled backwards.

"But...my good friend Zhuo Lan! My good friend!" Sweat was starting to pour down the old merchant's neck. "Is there something I have done to you? You must be mistaken..."

"HA! HA HA! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAAAAAAAH!" Zhuo Lan shrieked hysterically. "Are you serious right now? 'Good friend'? You've done nothing?! Fuck you, you backstabbing, greedy old dog! When you end up in hell, I'll come find you and eat you alive! Or dead, whatever!!!"

I sipped my ginger tea. Hmm. Too spicy. I changed the mixture to contain more honey and sipped again. Mm. Perfect. Dream ginger tea was really a delicacy.

"You know what? I knew you'd never admit to it! HA! Like you would! All you care about is money and staying alive! I'll tell you what you did to me, and maybe it can jog that dusty dog's memory of yours!"

"Mm. Exciting!" I remarked. "Go ahead, vengeful spirit Zhuo Lan."

Zhuo Lan glared at me. Then he took a breath and began to tell his tale of woe...

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Decades ago, Zhuo Lan had been one of the most prosperous merchants on this side of the cultivation world. His wealth had even surpassed that of the Glittering Metropolis of Guāng cè, and he'd gotten it all by selling silk. Silk tapestries, golden silk clothing, silk tablecloths. All kinds of things!

At the time, his city, the city of Guangzhao, had been even more prosperous than Guāng cè. The streets had been paved with silver, pearls, and jade, and the houses were so stunning to look at that it was said you would faint from the beauty of the sight.

Around this time, he met the aspiring young merchant, Sen Yu.

Sen Yu was a merchant in Guāng cè, which at the time was rising in prosperity, but was really nothing compared to Guangzhou. The streets were just paved with stones, and the houses were built of wood.

Sen Yu was a clever young merchant, however, and a charismatic one. He and Zhuo Lan quickly became close and began to make trading deals, aiming to make both of their cities wealthier.

During this time, Zhuo Lan was a sort of mentor to Sen Yu. He taught him what was good to sell as a merchant, what pulled in lots of money — silks, teas, spices — and what things didn't pull money — souvenirs, trinkets, most grown plants. These lessons were very valuable, and Sen Yu took them into account. However, there was one thing that Sen Yu continued to sell, though Zhuo Lan discouraged him from doing so:

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Rat traps.

"No one else on the market sells them, so if I can get more people to know I sell them, I'll have a monopoly! I don't care how I get my money, just that I get it, eh?" Sen Yu always used to insist to Zhuo Lan with a grin as they drank together.

Zhuo Lan thought this was a risky idea, and kept discouraging him. "What — are you hoping there'll be a rat infestation? That market will never become profitable! Aish, young people..."

However, after some time, Sen Yu actually achieved monopoly over the market of rat traps! And he was selling well, too! This was because there was a sudden rat infestation in the neighboring cities to Guāngcè: Guangzhou was among them. The sudden rat infestation caused everyone to flock for rat traps and rat poison, and Sen Yu just happened to have a monopoly on that market.

Quickly, Sen Yu became exceedingly rich, off both the rat trap market and the markets Zhuo Lan had encouraged him to enter.

Strangely, the rat infestation didn't let up, and the worst of it centered around the mighty and prosperous city of Guangzhao. No matter how many rat traps were put down, more rats appeared. No matter how many were poisoned, more came out of the ground. So people kept flocking to Sen Yu to buy, and buy, and buy in the panic.

Slowly, Guangzhao deteriorated as a city. People moved away, not wanting to live in a city overrun by rats. Zhuo Lan's business declined into nothing.

Now, suddenly, Guāng cè was the most prosperous city around. People said the streets were paved with gold now, and what's more, they were rat-free.

Zhuo Lan was...suspicious, to say the least. But he was an honest man who assumed the best of others; he didn't want to assume anything about his friend Sen Yu without confirmation.

Now a rather poor man, he traveled to the metropolis of Guāng cè to find that, indeed, the streets were paved with gold! And, despite its short distance from Guangzhao...there was not a single rat to be seen! All spick and span...

He was starting to get suspicious now. But he wasn't going to assume anything! Nope, not without proof!

However, as he approached the gates of the newly built, great mansion that he was told was the home of the wealthy merchant Sen Yu, he heard voices talking. He recognized that one! It was the voice of his good friend, Sen Yu!

However, just as he was about to call out to his friend, he heard another strange voice. It was low and scratchy, and it hissed like the voice of some demon.

"...and how much longer will the plague of rats last in Guangzhao?" Sen Yu's voice muttered.

Then came the weird, scratchy voice. "Six weeks. Allow me to be free in that city for six weeks...and then I shall sleep again."

Sen Yu grumbled in return. "All right, then. But only six weeks, okay? And then I'm sealing you up again. I'm not working with demons anymore after this. It's too risky."

The scratchy voice laughed. "Heh...once you start, there's no...turning back..."

On the other side of the gates, Zhuo Lan's face was as pale as a ghost's. He turned around and left to run back to Guangzhao. He had to get his family out of there, stat. If there was a demon behind this — forget the Sen Yu part for now — then it was too dangerous for anyone to stay there.

He left too quickly to hear the demon's voice hiss:

"Oh, that's right...I'll poison the rats' teeth starting tonight...kill the citizens faster, heh, heh...bring down the prosperity..."

"What?! You can't! Rats are fine, but poisoning them? Don't you think that's a bit much?!"

"Heh. Aren't you a merchant? Shouldn't you have no heart? I won't kill that many people. Just enough to get their economy totally wrecked..."

"...All right. Just a few, okay? Stop when it's enough!"

"Heh, heh...You got it..."

That night, Zhuo Lan returned to Guangzhao, only to get run over by a new wave of rats and poisoned to death.

Now, Sen Yu was at the top of the merchant world.

And there was no one to compete with him anymore — not a city, and not a former friend.