“O-o-ouch…” Rya winced and clutched at his arms tightly. “Shun, can’t you be more gentle?”

 

Shun stopped briefly to catch his breath. “This is my first time doing this, sorry.” He massaged it more slowly, taking extra care to only apply pressure to the most sensitive of areas. “How’s that?”

 

She gasped and arched her back, moaning in pure euphoria with every motion of his hands. “M-more…keep putting your hands in there…oh, yes…”

 

“Should I do it harder?” he whispered softly into her ear.

 

She closed her eyes shut and leaned against his chest in contentment. “S-slowly, please…” 

 

He obliged, rubbing it with his bare fingers in strong rhythmic circular motions. She shivered with pleasure, moaning even louder as he pressed his palms against it.

 

“Ahhn…mnnnnn this is too good…S-Shun, you’re so good at this…”

 

“Really?” He moved on to the next area and massaged it in the same way, gently at first, then applying more pressure with his hands. “But…this is seriously tiring to do, you know?”

 

Rya gasped for breath and held onto his body for support. “D-don’t stop…please, keep going…” 

 

“And stop saying such things, you’re going to give others the wrong idea.” Shun finally let go of her scalp and sat down on the floor with a sigh. “Jesus, do girls with long hair have to do this after every shower?”

 

“Who’s Jesus?” She shook her springy wet hair, sending little droplets of water splashing everywhere. 

 

“My imaginary friend, I suppose.” He began to smooth out the kinks and curls in her hair carefully with his fingers. “How long have you been growing your hair?”

 

“Hmm…I don’t recall ever cutting my hair short since I was young.” She styled her bangs such that they half-covered her hazel eyes and turned to face him. “You don’t like girls having long hair?”

 

He meticulously detangled the ends of her flaxen hair. “I don’t mind, but it seems so troublesome to maintain it.”

 

“Troublesome?” Rya laughed. “Wait till you experience period pains.”

 

“I’m glad that I’m not born as a girl then.” Shun finished combing her hair and stood up. He took the spare clothes and turned to her. “So, what do you want to wear?” 

 

She made a thinking gesture before smiling. “Well, which one do you think will look best on me?”

 

“Is this some kind of test…?” He looked at the clothes for a moment before pulling out a lilac sundress and showing it to her. “I think you’d like this one.”

 

“Ooh, that’s a nice color.” Rya slipped the halter style dress on and tied the straps behind her neck. She turned left and right, causing it to swirl around her hips in an enticing manner. “How does it look?”

 

“...it looks perfect on you.” Shun couldn’t pry his eyes away from her at all. Smiling, he kissed her on her forehead and ruffled her hair gently. “I like it.”

 

*** 

 

The steam from the bowl of fish soup wafted enticingly towards Shun.  

 

“I’m in bliss…” Rya let out a satisfied haaah after taking a sip from her bowl. “Oh, by the way, the man’s name is Li Ya. He’s a fisherman who comes here every morning till afternoon before returning to his home in Shangri-La at dusk.”

 

“His name is Rya?¹Not only is Li Ya pronounced very similar to Rya, the name Li Ya is traditionally used for girls only, hence Shun is confused here.” 

 

“No, not Rya.” She laughed. “It’s Li Ya.” 

 

Li Ya, upon hearing his name, looked up while he sharpened the tip of his spear with a stone. “Hxe mgot bop lip buá, hế gan lày hẳng Shangri-La màn mình?” 

 

“He says that he’ll be going down to the river to fish,” Rya helpfully translated while drinking her soup leisurely. “And he wants to know why we are going to Shangri-La.”

 

“Oh, right.” Shun dug into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled note before passing it to Li Ya. “Do you know where we can find someone named Shihime?”

 

“Shihime?” Li Ya stared at the note and scratched his chin before giving a reply to Rya. 

 

“Shun, he thinks that we got the wrong person.” 

 

“Wrong person? But that name is written on the note, isn’t it?” 

 

She shrugged her shoulders and mumbled something to Li Ya. 

 

A look of confusion washed over his face, and he quickly shook his head before pointing at the note. 

 

“He says that there’s no way we can meet Shihime,” Rya explained with a frown. “Because she lives in the district of Hshiwara.” 

 

Li Ya stood up and searched for a piece of charcoal before sitting back down in front of them. He drew a large rectangle on the floor, then drew six lines such that it was divided into seven equal smaller rectangles. He talked to Rya and nodded at Shun, motioning for her to translate what he said. 

 

“The large rectangle represents Shangri-La, and the small rectangles represent its seven districts.” Rya pointed at the leftmost small rectangle. “This is the North District, the district closest to the Qing River and where Li Ya lives. Then, there’s the Old Bridge District. The third district is the aforementioned Hshiwara. The midmost district is called Central, where the main marketplace is located. Beyond Central is Nine Dragons and Phoenix Districts, the fifth and sixth districts respectively. And the last is the South District, which is currently sealed off and abandoned.”

 

“Li Ya says that because we are foreigners, we are only allowed to enter the North and Old Bridge Districts. To go further inside the city, we need a permit issued by a magistrate.”

 

Shun gave her a quizzical look. “Then why can’t we just get a permit and find Shihime?”

 

“Um…that’s because…” She hesitated and glanced at Li Ya. “He says only locals are allowed to visit the pleasure district in Shangri-La.” 

 

“Pleasure district?” Something clicked in his mind and he widened his eyes in shock. “W-w-wait, why are we meeting a random person inside a red-light district??”

 

Rya shook her head. “Shihime isn’t just any random person—she’s the Tayu Oiran. In other words, she’s the highest-ranking courtesan and holds one of the greatest power and influence over all of Shangri-La.” 

 

“The Tayu Oiran…” Shun blinked in surprise. “But why would Lord Iocus be acquainted with someone like that?”

 

“I have no idea either.” She took the ladle and helped herself to a second helping of the steaming fish soup. “But we can’t simply just waltz in and meet Shihime, that’s what Li Ya wants to tell us.”