Oriental curiosities
The following evening Colleen Wing, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Misty Knight visit the Oriental Antiques and Curiosities shop.
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"At the back of a deserted alley, a metal sign swung slowly in the wind, its rusted hinges squeaked noisily. On the sign was written 'Oriental Antiques & Curiosities'.
The store's one small window was cluttered with an assortment of knick-knacks -- garish fake jewelry overflowing from ornate boxes, a stuffed owl watched impassively, and two stuffed otters were frozen in play. Hanging above the strange menagerie was a brightly colored paper dragon. Also in the window was a smudged hand-written sign that said: 'Open'.
When Colleen, Danny, Luke, Marc, and Matt entered, a bell on the door chimed merrily. A young chinese man was leaning over the counter watching a dilapidated tube television set. In one hand he clutched a broom. Upon seeing the guests, he tried to stand straight, but his back was horribly disfigured. Painfully, he motioned at the guests, 'Please, Come in! We're open!' embarrassed, the heroes cannot help but stare at the poor young man's grotesquely humped back. The young man's scraggly unkempt hair hung down over his face, partially concealing his ugly visage.
From behind a bead curtain, an elderly voice called out, 'Hsih Feng! Shut up you fool and get back to work.' Hunched over his broom, the young man began to sweep, but kept his eyes fastidiously glued to the television screen.
The mysterious voice then called to the store's guests, 'I have been expecting you. Though you bring evil news, please come in.'"
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Behind the bead curtain, Lee Min sat on a silk cushion. Lee Min appeared to be a wise and humble old man. Spread upon a low table before him was a deck of fortune-telling cards. With his blind eyes staring into nothingness, Lee Min asks the heroes present to be seated on similar cushions across from him. He informs the heroes that his cards had told him they were bringing him evil tidings.
When Colleen and Danny reveal to Lee Min that his crate shipment had been stolen, Min looked sad and hung his head as he said "Alas! My worst fears are true!"
"What was in the crate?" Colleen asked immediately.
"Simple, inexpensive clay figurines of Buddha. Given that someone would steal the crate as soon as it reached the United States leads me to believe that perhaps smugglers might have hidden Opium or some such other drug inside the hollow figurines. Why else would anyone go through the trouble of stealing clay Statuettes?"
"Who are the smugglers?" Matt asks curiously.
Lee then adeptly shuffled the cards and spread them on the table.To outsiders Chinese culture has long been a source of fascination, an exotic merging of ancient and modern beliefs and practices. The Chinese Fortune Reading Cards are based on an ancient Chinese divination system known as the Oracle Bones Script, which in turn has its origins in mysterious Shang Dynasty inscriptions. The Chinese Fortune Reading Cards aims to simplify and modernise a complex system which is reputedly quite difficult to understand. This deck it can be used for straight-up divination (fortune-telling), or as a way of gaining insight into, and understanding of, situations and questions. The advice the cards give is very clear and direct as opposed to a vague and open to interpretation; simply put, the Seeker knows the situation to which the advice must be applied. Whether they choose to do so, or not, is another matter entirely. This is effectively an oracle deck, so it has neither Major or Minor Arcana and is not divided into suits. The deck comprises of 36 cards measuring 95 x 140 mm, which makes it fairly standard size for oracle cards, and considerably larger than your average tarot deck. The card stock is excellent, being light yet sturdy, and quite flexible without being flimsy or prone to peeling or bending. The cards have a smooth glossy finish which facilitates easy handling and shuffling. The print quality is excellent, with clean crisp lines and excellent colour reproduction. Additionally, there are no misprints, no blurred images, and no colour bleeds. The artwork is colourful and rich, featuring images from Chinese mythology, cultural icons, everyday ephemera and magic. These images are superimposed on a background of ancient parchment featuring clouds and stamps or seals (or perhaps chops). The images range from photographs of real objects such as Feng Shui coins, food, Chinese opera characters, statues of Buddha, red paper lanterns, a pagoda, offering candles; popular Chinese cartoon figures, and artwork inspired by traditional Chinese painting techniques (koi, Moon Maiden, fishing scenes). The central image is contained within a circle of traditional Chinese-brush strokes. Below the image is the card's title in English, and above it are Chinese characters presumably giving the same title. In a small red and yellow insert inside the frame is the card's number in bright yellow. The cards have a vivid red border, with a curling yellow frame defining the edges of the illustration. The image on the back of the card – waves or scales, clouds, and geometric designs – in yellow on a red background, is not reversible. However, these cards are not intended to be read in a reversed position. Lee Min held up a card with a white Chinese Dragon shimmering with flames. Cryptically, he said "You must seek out one called The White Dragon, for if you do not, he will poison this city's youth."
"What do you know about a book titled 'A Madman's mutterings'?" Lee was asked by the fascinated Marc Spector.
Once again Lee shuffled his deck of cards, and once again he turned up the card depicting the white dragon wreathed in flame. "It seems The White Dragon is also at the root of this evil."
"Who were the green tongs?" Danny asked.
Lee claimed to know nothing of the assassins that attacked Iron Fist and Colleen on the pier the night prior. "Perhaps they are a rival gang of The White Dragon."
"Who is the Celestial One? When the Tongs attacked us on the pier they asked us what had become of the Celestial one." Colleen asked and explicated.
"Perhaps the name refers to the wise Buddha." Lee Min guessed.
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"As the group passed through the bead curtain on their way out of the shop, Lee Min called after them, 'Find The White Dragon, for he is your true enemy!'
Walking toward the door, Murdock noticed that Hsih Feng was very excited about something on the television. Bending his crooked back, he looked up at the leaving heroes 'He's gonna jump! It's only a few blocks from here, too!'
While the others move closer to get a look, Hsih Feng increases the volume. Murdock heard the shrill voice of the excited newswoman, 'It appears the distraught man is grieving the loss of his wife, police specialists are on the scene, but -- oh my god!!'
Looking at the television, neither Iron Fist nor Colleen can't believe their eyes. Eddie Wong, the owner of the China Star Authentic Restaurant, was dangling from the ledge of a tall building.
As the group rushed through the doors of the building, they could hear Hsih Feng shouting 'That's only a few blocks east of here!'