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People were looking at ed white wos, then at ic probed erI caught bits and pieces A word stood out: hu Tiger Didn’t take the led past a row of butcher shops I raised my chin Show no fear, or they will swoop like vultures
A stall to the left looked richer than the rest: The table was sturdy and the cloth on it was red silk, the real thing, not a cheap iuarding the wares, looking bored I stopped and looked at the dried-out parts displayed on the silk
I bowed "An-nyung-ha-se-yo" Hello
The wolish Great My Korean was rusty
I paused by a small white sack that lay half open Inside lay allbladder," the wo" If it had been a real bear gallbladder, she wouldn’t have let me pick it up "Do you have bear?"
The woman reached under the table, pulled out a small wooden box, and opened it Dried leathery strips Could be bear gallbladder
The woman snapped the box closed "When were you born? What is your sign? You have nice pale skin, but the eyes are not so good, yes? We have snake glands for the eyes Dried cicadas, er Or does yourvery special for that Not like all those dried-out dog parts over there" She gri Want to see?"
I nodded
Another box appeared as if by enuine article, too
"I’"
The wo Emas"
"The Golden Snail"
"I will pay well" I reached into my hoodie and showed her theEic" The old woman stared at me Her eyes were cold like two pieces of coal
"Makes it easy to recognize a fake," I told her
She let out a short little grunt and called out soo inside now"
I stepped over a shtened rabbits, and went inside Cages lined the walls Monkeys, dogs, birds Big frightened eyes They screamed and shied away from the bars at et the snail Just get the snail
An adolescent boy cah the curtained doorway and waved to o that way
The boy waved at h the curtain A long dark roo, farther fro into a trap, but I had to get the snail This was the only way As long as Jiet me out He would Of course he would
Another set of curtains and I stepped into a large rooasbord, as if a dozen street vendor carts had vomited their contents into the roolass bottles, skinny glass vials, jars containing powders and liquids Dried herbs, in bundles and packets And bones So er bones Bastards
An Asian man sat at the table, wizened and old, dressed in dark clothes Behind hiainst the wall He was tall and beefy, and his fatigue jacket ular, like he was ed his chin A red NC State baseball cap covered his hair
In the right corner a large cage sat covered by a tarp A blond wo on a baseball bat She wore jeans and a huge man’s T-shirt with an oversized blood drop and the words DONATE BLOOD on it The T-shirt was threadbare and patched in a couple of places
So, labored gasps People ht of us and behind, ht, et the snail and save Jiarded me I wouldn’t bow to this asshole My back would break
"You want to buy Keong Eht ht a wicker box to the old lass tank with five snails inside Each had a dull brown shell
The old man offered me the tank "Choose one"
This was it
I reached into the tank and passed ed onmy skin Gently, I plucked it frolow lit the snail fro the snail’s shell with brilliant gold