[1766] PEARL OF THE ORIENT - Chapter II

Hello everyone. I'm currently in the query trenches, just about a little over a month in, and I'm kinda in the paranoid phase. I've had my betareaders and all but I still want to know what more people think. Aside from your general feedback, I wanted to know if you guys think my first four chapters are a good enough hook for you to continue reading on.

Here's a repost of my Chapter II. I've cut it down a little bit and rearrange it to see if the emotional throughline is better and that it's foreignness is not too overwhelming. Will post Chapter III sometime later.
[1766] PEARL OF THE ORIENT - Chapter II

Here are the two chapters before that. You don't need to read the prologue to get this one, just Chapter I:
[1155] PEARL OF THE ORIENT - Prologue

[2146] PEARL OF THE ORIENT - Chapter I

Here are the ones I've critiqued:
[[480] Short story : r/DestructiveReaders](https://www.reddit.com/r/DestructiveReaders/comments/1lpm1ms/480_short_story/)

[[1923] FUBAR : r/DestructiveReaders](https://www.reddit.com/r/DestructiveReaders/comments/1loehyv/1923_fubar/)

Thank you very much.