'Are we hunting?' The creature asked me.
'No.' I told it bluntly as I pushed open the door to old man Yang's shop. The inside of it was rather sparse with few to no decorations. Shelves lined most of the walls and they were filled to the brim with large jars of the more commonly used items of the store. To the left of the door was a long glass counter that doubled as a paludarium.
The counter held and displayed a pair of Japanese lesser water dragons, some orchids, rocky out crops, dwarf lotuses, and some fish and insects to serve as food for the dragons. The counter was about 20 ft long, by 3 ft high, and 3 ft wide. Where the counter met the far wall, the tank part of it went up to include a mossy water fall. One of the dragons was basking itself on one of the rocks under one of the enclosure's heat lamp while the other was busy chasing the fish.
The wall behind the counter was covered with drawers with a curtained door in the middle of them. There a pair of scales and a mechanical resister on top of the counter. At the near end of the counter, there was a small gate like door that separated the space behind the counter from the rest of the store area.
There were also a handful of small wooden tables coupled with simple and worn chairs. The place was almost completely empty, aside from a sole customer. She was pale with long dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a handful of white scales sprinkling her face and the back of her hands. She was sitting at a table in one of the far corners of the room, sipping her tea and writing in a note book. She looked up from what she was doing when I came in and raised an eyebrow at me before going back to what she was doing. I stared at her for a moment before going over to the counter and ringing the bell that was on it.
It wasn't long after I had rung it, when an old Chinese man appeared from the door behind the counter. He wore dark red robe that was slightly frayed and was decorated with Chinese astrological and alchemic symbols that were embroidered onto it with golden thread. He was thin and about 5'7" with long gray thinning hair, a long goatee, and a long thin mustache. He had jade green eyes in weathered brown face and he stroked his beard thoughtfully when he saw me.
"So...what does the young, yāowù fearing boy seek from me today, hm?" Yang asked in his halting, clipped English.
"A consultation, please." I told him.
"Are you—" he started to ask.
"Yes, I'm sure." I said, cutting him off. I spared a nervous glance at the woman before looking pleadingly at him.
"I see. Then if you will come with me." He said as he went over to the gate and opened it so I could follow him.
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