...
...
In a pavilion hung with white silk banners, a cold wind blew, causing them to flutter.
A woman in white robes was so chillingly serene, she hardly seemed alive.
Her fingers gently plucked at the zither strings, the melody mournful, each note a sob.
As footsteps drew near, she reached out and stilled the strings.
An ethereal voice, as if from another world, came from her lips:
"Have they settled in?"
"Yes."
The old man nodded slightly.
"My Lady, we shouldn't have let them stay."
"It's fine. Rather than get endlessly entangled with them, it's better to let them have a peaceful night's rest."
"Yes."
The old man nodded.
The woman suddenly asked again,
"Where are our guests?"
"I don't know for now, but I expect they will start arriving one after another tonight."
"Good."
The woman sighed softly.
"I have waited for this day for a long, long time...
"So long that I thought I might never see it in this lifetime."
