Eternal Night Sea, Xisang Kingdom.
Chill winds whispered through the streets and alleys. In a fairly tidy courtyard, several ghosts gathered beneath a locust tree, listening to the old ghost seated in their midst talk with spittle flying.
"Not that I'm boasting," the old ghost said, looking animated and rather pleased with himself, "but my eldest became a general of the palace guard last year. That's a post only one in ten thousand can land!"
The ghosts around him listened with longing in their eyes. A Ghost Creature with a head as big as a ball curled his lip. "Isn't a palace guard general just part of the honor guard? It's not some high office. Old Ghost Li, your eldest only got that lucky break because he's good-looking. Do you have to bring it up every day?"
Old Ghost Li glared at him. "Why shouldn't good looks count as a talent? You think just anyone can serve in His Lordship's presence? You need a pure aura, you need..."
Another Ghost Creature, this one without eyeballs, interrupted. "Li Dalang's leave is coming up, isn't it? I heard those on palace duty get a few days home every year."
Old Ghost Li wasn't annoyed at being interrupted. He chuckled and said, "Indeed! Dalang's rotation ends tomorrow, and he'll be coming home!"
He rubbed his hands and stood. "Enough idle chatter. I need to go tidy up and call my second boy over so we can wait for his elder brother together."
"Second boy?"
Big-Headed Ghost froze, then asked in confusion, "Old Ghost Li, since when did you have a second son? We lived in the same village for decades, and after His Lordship came, we all became ghosts together. Didn't you only ever have Dalang, your one and only?"
The other ghosts