Two days after having left the dragon's cave, you finally reach the great doors of the city of Hangzhou.
The place is enormous; you've never seen so many people in one place - and you haven't even set foot inside the city yet. But as you stand before its doors, the throng of people going in and out of the city is enough to nearly choke you in humanity.
You finally make your way into the place proper: the streets run from you in all directions, the mass of people moves around you like a river agitated by constant current. The smells of food carts, rotisserie duck, flowers and life club you round the head until you feel almost dizzy. You had never left your village before - welcome to the big city.
You know Mei Mei lives in the western district. Across the street from you is a city map. You pore over it until you find the quickest route west. Once there, it takes only a couple of people to tell you that Mei Mei's boutique is down the street of curios, signalled by a sculpture of the Jade Emperor.
You walk down that street, and suddenly you realise it's become really quiet. Despite the thousands of people traipsing down the main arteries of Hangzhou, this one street is still as the tomb. You keep going, looking at all the doors, until you finally see the small sign: "Mei Mei's Library and Boutique of Curios." You go to grab the handle - and stop.
The door feels warm to the touch, but more importantly, the wood around the handle is splintered. Someone kicked this door in, probably not very long ago too. You frown and get down on one knee to look through the lock.
Inside, you can see broken furniture, overturned bookshelves, extinguished lanterns littering the floors. Books everywhere, displays smashed, little artefacts and curios strewn across the place. Someone's been there, and they weren't friendly. You need to make sure Mei Mei is safe, she's the only lead you have.
To try and knock the door down, go to Chapter Fourteen.
To try and make your way through the window, go to Chapter Fifteen.
YOU ARE READING
The Rains of Sichuan {Choose Your Own Adventure} // Wattys 2019
Aventure"If we want to survive this drought, you will have to make it rain." In this short-and-sweet Choose Your Own Adventure book, you will be taken on a quest to discover why the rains haven't fallen on your tiny little chinese village - and to remedy...
