A little bedroom in a house by the harbor, with the shutter tightly drawn against the onset of night. Precious Dragon was swinging his legs over the side of the bed.
"Thank you," he said at last.
"Oh, that's all right, dear." Mrs Pa was looking distractedly around her. "I just want to make sure that the place is tidy before we go, although it's not easy to pick things up without flesh . . . . I ought to thank you. I feel as though I've done something constructive, after all these years. And of course, I'm so looking forward to seeing your grandfather again."
"You're sure, now?" he asked her, and she put her hand beneath his chin, tipping his head up.
"Yes, quite sure," she said. She took a last look around. "That should do. Shall we get on with it?"
A little while later, the old lady gratefully accepted the bowl of steaming black tea.
"This is a nice house you have here, Mai."
"It's not so bad," the girl said, deprecatingly. "It's a lot bigger than the old house in Hell. And now that we have all your wedding presents . . .you must have gone to so much trouble." Swiftly, she bent to kiss her mother on the forehead. "Making me feel guilty."
"Things always work out," her mother mused. She had recovered her composure now, and sat sipping her tea. "It wasn't so bad, after all. Dying."
Mai laughed.
"My son usually seems to know what he's doing."
There was a single rapping knock at the door, like a thunderclap. The girl hastened to the door, while her mother gazed around the well-appointed room. The winter rains had stopped now. Outside, through the half-shuttered window, the golden light streamed in across the clouds and carried with it the scent of thousand-flower, almost burying the tang of gunpowder tea in its sweetness. Mai opened the door to the sunlight and someone entered.
"My goodness," Mrs Pa said, after a startled moment. "You've changed again." She set down her cup from a suddenly shaking hand and leaned forward, admiring. "It's a little difficult to get used to," she added, after a minute. Her grandson smiled. From the window, the gilded light fell in banners across the floor, illuminating his scales, round as rice bowls and glistening with rain.