Huaisang shrugs, looking a little distant and sad as he thinks about what he wants. "What I need is complicated and probably impossible. And there's no use asking you for help with it until I have some idea what you can do. So, um. All right."

He calls for Toutong, then, finally, because he knows his attendant is probably stressed out of his mind with worry. The man appears promptly in the entryway, looking skittish and wary at the sight of the spirit.

"It's all right," Huaisang tells his attendant. "This is Dieke. I don't think he's going to eat me."

He gives Dieke a shy pout, hoping that's true. "Well, we should at least have tea or liquor while we talk. Which would you prefer? Do you like it down here or would you rather be somewhere more comfortable?"