In the time that Shun and Rya had spent in the guesthouse, the streets of Shangri-La had gotten noticeably busier and more frenzied. Makeshift food carts popped up along the curbside, swiftly serving hungry passer-bys with steaming bowls of freshly-prepared delicacies. The eager shouts of stall owners advertising their piquant foodstuffs filled the electric atmosphere.
“Giêsu nẫng! Giêsu nẫng!”
“Mgut đêi! Hiên cứu mình ya!”
Unfortunately for Shun, he couldn’t understand a single word. But the tantalizing, irresistible aroma wafting from the stalls was more than enough to draw his attention to his growling stomach. Rya was also visibly salivating as her gaze lingered on the food stalls.
“Shun and Rya must be famished-airsu,” Lian Xin said politely with a tight-lipped smile. “The Tayu Oiran has specially arranged dinner for you two, but I’m afraid we’ll have to reach the Golden Temple first.”
“Talking about the Golden Temple, where is it exactly?” asked Shun.
“There.” She pointed up towards the hill in the far distance, where the mammoth aureate palace stood on its peak.
“Huh?”
“A-are we really walking all the way there?” Rya faltered and clung onto his arm for support.
He felt his heart skip a beat as her body pressed against his side. On second thought, I don’t mind walking the entire distance…
“No, I never said we'll be walking-arisu.” Lian Xin stopped when they reached the end of the street and gestured towards a long cuboidal carriage waiting by the corner. “We’re taking the tram.”
“...um, a tram?” Shun mumbled in mild surprise while he stared at the vehicle. It somehow reminded him of those vintage streetcars they have in San Francisco.
Rya, however, was gawking at it as if she had never seen a carriage without horses before. “W-wha-how-huh?”
“It’s an invention by the Pacifists, so Shun and Rya may not be familiar with it-arisu,” Lian Xin explained as they boarded the tram. “Recently, the Tayu Oiran got approval to build a tramway in Shangri-La, provided that she financed the planning and construction of the entire project. Hence, we are given access to a private tram for our journey-arisu. If Shun and Rya wish to use the tram in future, you can board it for free.”
“W-wow…” He stepped through the entrance and gazed around at the exquisite polished wooden interior, which was softly illuminated by paper lanterns strung along both lengths of the tram. “This is indeed—wait, why is there a cat at the wheel?!”
The orange tabby cat, which was wearing a miniature driver’s cap to boot, turned its tiny head towards him. “Hooman, you got a problem with ‘dat?”
He jumped in shock and hastily backed away. “Y-you can talk??”
“Neko’s our driver. It’s a he, by the way.” Lian Xin smiled in self-satisfaction as she patted Neko’s back lovingly. “Incidentally, all the tram drivers are cats, but only Neko here can speak in human tongues.”
“H-huh…” Shun stared apprehensively at the cat which was giving him a funny look.
Rya had joined Lian Xin in patting and stroking Neko’s silky-soft fur. “Why cats, though?”
“The Tayu Oiran don’t trust men to handle her personal possessions, and most women are already working as courtesans, so we have to settle for domestic cats.” She picked Neko up and hugged it tightly. “Safe to say, it was not a bad choice.”
“Milady, you’re forgetting about your accent,” the cat politely meowed (Meowed politely? Like, how does that even work?).
“O-oh, you’re right.” She put Neko back on his comfy cushion and turned to face the two. “My apologies, I got carried away-arisu. We’ll be setting off for the Golden Temple now.”
With a melodious ‘ding-ding’ chime, the tram glided forward. The common folk along the street all paused to point and wave at them excitedly as they passed by; it looked like even for the locals, riding the tram was something they had never experienced.
“S-Shun, this carriage is moving all by itself!” Rya exclaimed, looking out of the front windscreen like a child on her first roller-coaster ride.
Idiot, that’s nothing to be surprised about. Of course, he kept that thought to himself and joined her at the front of the tram. “Isn’t this awesome? I’ve never imagined something like this exists here in this world.”
“Right? Shangri-La is so amazing,” she breathed.
Lian Xin also came to join them, continuing to play her role as their tour guide. “Right now, we’re entering the second district—Old Bridge District. This is where the first bridge spanning across the Qing River was first built in Shangri-La. Eventually the city expanded and the river was diverted to its current path, but the bridge still stands to this day-arisu.”
“Oh?” Rya leaned forward and pointed eagerly to her right. “That’s the bridge you were talking about, right? Lian Xin, why are there houses built on top of it?”
Shun looked in the direction Rya pointed towards and also spotted the huge ancient stone arch bridge. Along its entire length, narrow two-story shophouses were built next to each other so closely that they looked like a single building complex instead. To think that a mere bridge could give rise to an entire community of residents and businesses; it was definitely something unlike anything he had seen before.
“In the past, only the elite and wealthy were allowed to own land in Shangri-La,” Lian Xin quickly explained. “So, the bridge became the one of the few places where the common folk could build their own houses and settle in-arisu. Till this day, the ‘bridge-settlers’, as we call them in Shangri-La, still continue to live in those houses.”
“Wow, I never imagined this city has so much history to it…”
Lian Xin chuckled. “I didn’t know Rya would be so interested in Shangri-La. Look, Shun is so bored he’s half-sleeping.”
“E-eh, me?” He hurriedly straightened his back and shook his head. “N-no, it’s just, um, I was wondering when we’ll reach…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll ask Neko to drive a bit faster.”
“A bit…?”
Lian Xin leaned in and whispered something into the cat’s ears, which twitched happily in response. She quickly sat down on the nearest bench and motioned for them to hurry up and sit down too.
“Hmm? Wait, what’s wrong—wooAAGHHHHH” Rya tripped forward and nearly face-planted onto the floor if not for Shun catching her at the last moment.
“Jesus, slow down—!”
“Hooman, better grab onto something fast,” Neko said, grinning just like a mischievous cat would before causing trouble. With one trigger-happy paw, he pushed the lever down all the way without hesitation.
“Eek!” Rya hung onto his back for dear life as the tram suddenly shot forward up the steep hill.
“YOU DAMN CAT, THIS TRAM IS GONNA DERAIL!!”
As if in reply, Neko pulled the lever back up all the way. The tram abruptly screeched to a halt, almost sending him together with Rya flying straight into the windshield. The ‘ding-ding’ chime sounded again and the exit door swung open.
“This is the Golden Temple. This is the final stop, thank you for travelling with meow Shangri-La tramways and we hope to see you again.”
“Whew…” Rya said with a happy smile. “That was so fun! Can we do that again, but downhill?”
“How do I lodge a complain, you stupid cat?”
“Come on, let’s go, let’s go.” Lian Xin took their arms and pulled them off the tram. “The Tayu Oiran is already waiting at the entrance-arisu.”
“H-huh?!” They hastily fixed their appearance and spun around in unison.
Before the imposing arched gateway, a girl dressed in a striking emerald-green gown stood gracefully. Her lustrous ecru hair, flowing down her slender back, was adorned with a rose hairpin that matched the color of her dress. Her milky-white skin and her distinctive facial features further accentuated her mesmerizing countenance.
Shihime welcomed their arrival with a flawless bow and gestured towards the palatial golden mansion behind her. “I hope Hasumi has entertained you well, dear guests from the Kingdom of Arcadia. Let’s head inside to my private residence, shall we?”
Her words were polite, yet there was a kind of confidence and haughtiness in her voice which made it immediately clear to Shun she was the person in charge.
Shihime, the Purple Princess1Literal translation of Shihime's name.…I’m curious to find out what kind of person you are.
In that moment, he knew things were going to get much more interesting.
