A Break from Training

I took a brief respite from my martial-arts training. Seriously, there's only so much you can do before you get fatigued and sore.

I was at that state when I decided to join Lee (who seems to be a fitness freak) downstairs for some R&R with the TV. It was a funny quirk that there was a TV there and no chairs to sit down in. Oh well.

Lee mentioned that the bookshop in the Forbidden City carried a book on martial arts, that I could peruse at my leisure while my body was recovering from all its assorted bumps and bruises. I bruise easily. It's because of my pale English complexion. Thanks a lot, dad (and grandpa).

The marketplace in Shang Simla is a marvel of art and architecture, a veritable feast for the eyes. Sometimes I think if I hadn't become an adventurer, I might have been an architect.

I got to the bookshop a few moments later. The gentleman at the counter (forgot his name) asked if I needed anything. I told him I was looking for the martial-arts manual Lee said they carried it.

As soon as I got to the library in the back of the bookstore, my cellphone rang. It was Zhan. Again. I do have a sneaking suspicion that he is attracted to me, but he is too shy and awkward to tell me. As it was, our conversations were more about martial-arts and other generalities rather than matters of the heart.

I took a slow walk across the square. The square was really a lovely and peaceful place to walk through.

I spotted the fortune-cookie machine to my left and decided to try it out. Hmm, what was the recipe? Of course, it's written in Mandarin so I can't read it. There was, however, a couple of pre-measured scoops of sugar and dough. Apparently they pre-measure these so that tourists and locals trying it out would get the recipe 'just right.' Good thing.

My fortune cookie was done and I read my fortune. "A thrilling time is in your immediate future."
Hmm. I wonder if it meant the quest for the last relic.