After their visit to the National Palace Museum, the group of friends decided to head to the famous Shilin Night Market to taste some Xiao Chi, a.k.a. authentic Taiwanese street food.
"OMG, I think I'm getting fat with all these delicious Taiwanese food," exclaimed Claire as she glanced around the stalls, which offered all kinds of tasty food that were tempting her with their aromatic smells.
"Then you should probably go smell some Stinky Tofu. That way, you'll probably lose all your appetite!" replied Blythe jokingly.
"Actually, it's not a bad idea!" answered Jeffrey. "I've heard a lot about that legendary dish, but never got the chance to try it. I'd like to see just how stinky it can be!"
Right after Jeffrey had finished talking, the group of friends passed a food stall selling Sheng Keng Stinky Tofu. Immediately, the pungent smell hit their noses, as if challenging them to taste the infamous dish.
"Whoa, that's totally unexpected!" exclaimed Jeffrey, quite taken aback by the powerful aroma. "Challenge accepted! C'mon guys, there's nothing to lose, let's head in and order some stinky tofus."
The group of friends reluctantly followed Jeffrey into the store with Tiffany holding her nose all the way. Nevertheless, after they've taken a bite of the succulent tofu whilst holding their noses, they were immediately enchanted by its unique taste.
"It's not as bad as I thought, actually!" said Eliza, taking another bite.
"Another bowl of stinky tofu, please!" ordered Tiffany after she devoured her portion.
After having eaten way too much Taiwanese street food for one night, the group of friends decided to split up into groups of two to take a stroll around the night market, then gather at the same place at an appointed time.
"Why am I not with ma Jeffie?" complained Tiffany to Claire as they walked down a street selling jewellery.
"Because neither of you knows how to speak Mandarin!" replied Claire. "Although Taiwanese people generally have an above-average level of English proficiency compared to other Asian countries, it would still be better if you're accompanied by a native speaker."
Just when Tiffany was about to retort, something caught her eye. In a dimly-lit corner of the street was a woman dressed in a red Chinese traditional dress called Qipao, standing behind a wooden table, on top of which was a bottle of ink, a piece of paper and a Chinese calligraphy pen. The woman was smiling at Tiffany and waving at her.
"Hello, miss!" said the woman in Qipao in English. "Do you want to know you fortune? I can tell you your fortune!"
"A fortune-teller!" said Tiffany as she slowly walked towards the stand, as if hypnotised by magic.
"Ignore her, she's probably a fraud!" said Claire as she tried to pull her friend away. Nevertheless, Tiffany struggled free from Claire's grasp and continued walking towards the stand. On approaching the stand, Claire suddenly felt a bone-chilling breeze.
"What's going on? It's 32 degrees and I'm feeling cold!" she thought.
"How much do you charge? I want to know how my relationship with ma Jeffie will progress," said Tiffany as she took out her purse.
"Usually, we charge 500 Taiwanese dollars for fortune-telling, but as I can see, you have a very special fortune," said the fortune-teller, still smiling. "So, I will not charge you!"
Claire, after seeing that her friend was not going to get ripped off, became slightly more relaxed and walked towards the fortune-teller.
"Let me see your right palm," said the fortune-teller to Tiffany, who held out her hand. The fortune-teller stared unblinkingly at Tiffany's palm and then at her face. Only after what seemed like ages did she finally speak.
"I see a cloud. A dark, dark cloud over your face," muttered the fortune-teller in Mandarin. Then, she picked up the calligraphy pen, dipped its tip in some ink and began writing. After she had finished, Claire noticed that the character standing for the word "shadow" has been written on the paper.
"What does this mean?" enquired Claire, who was starting to chatter with cold, despite her not perceiving at sort of fan or air conditioning nearby.
"I see a good thing but accompanied by a bad omen....a disaster is waiting for you in the near future," said the fortune-teller, ignoring Claire and looking intently at Tiffany. "I cannot say any more. All I can tell you is: beware of the shadow!"
After Claire and Tiffany left the fortune-telling stand, they immediately felt the hot breeze of the summer evening on their faces whilst pondering over the puzzling words of the fortune-teller.
~To be Continued~
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