The main street outside was oddly deserted when they slipped out of the casino; not a single passer-by remained on the sidewalks, and the other shophouses had become silent. 

Neko narrowed his eyes at the unpleasant atmosphere hovering over the district. “Follow me.” 

“Where are we going?” Rya whispered hurriedly as the cat led them through the back alleyways behind the rows of shophouses.  

He didnʼt offer a reply, but stopped suddenly and pointed his paw at a metal door to their right. “Go in. Now!” 

“G-got it.” Shun ran ahead and yanked at the door handle, but the door refused to budge. 

Neko rolled his eyes at him. “Push, boy.” 

Shun gestured at the sign above the handle in indignation. “It literally says Pull here!” 

Neko shrugged. “That is to mislead our pursuers.”

“You…” Finding it meaningless to argue further, he swung the door open with a push, motioning for Rya and Neko to go inside first. 

Once they were all inside the dimly-lit passageway, Neko slammed the door shut and faced them. “Weʼll be going back to my residence from here. Itʼs easy to get lost, so make sure to keep up with me, understand?” 

The two exchanged nervous glances before nodding hesitatingly, unsure where Neko was planning to take them to. 

Seeing their faces, the cat took the liberty to explain briefly as he led them down the steep, cramped stairs. “This is an entrance to the underground tunnels that run throughout the entirety of Shangri-La. Originally, the tunnels were built for clients of Hshiwara courtesans who wanted to get to the red-light district in secrecy, but now itʼs abandoned.” 

“Doesnʼt the Shingri know about these tunnels?” Shun questioned while gingerly finding his way down in the dark. 

“Of course they do.” Neko paused at the staircase landing and grinned broadly. “But if they come after us, Iʼm sure a little illusion magic will do the trick here.” 

“Illusion magic?” 

“Itʼs just a childrenʼs trick with light magic, honestly.” Neko waved his paw, and all of a sudden, the flight of stairs that they just descended seemingly quivered and became invisible. 

“W-woah…” Rya blinked in surprise. “You make it look so easy, Neko.” 

“I have nine lifetimes to learn how to master magic, itʼs only natural.” He cocked his head to the front and briskly trotted down the narrow tunnel wide enough to fit only one person at a time. Without hesitation, they quickly followed after the cat. 

Even though they were deep underground, the air wasnʼt as musty and stale as Shun would have expected. 

“Of course,” Neko answered with a proud grin. “I designed the ventilation of these tunnels myself.”

“You built these tunnels?!” 

“Well, itʼs weird for a cat to go into a red-light district and hook up with a girl in public, isnʼt it?” 

“...thatʼs true,” Rya muttered. 

“Weʼre here.” Neko stopped in front of a flight of stairs recessed into the wall and climbed up two steps at a time. 

When the two finally reached the top of the stairs, they found Neko sitting in front of the closed door with a bored expression on his face. 

Rya glanced at the door. “This leads to…” 

“The library of my house,” Neko said, not making a move to open the door. 

“Hmm?” Shun asked him with a raised eyebrow. “Then, what are you waiting for?” 

“Open the door for me, boy. I have no hands.” 

“...” He pushed the door open, but the door didnʼt budge. 

“Youʼre supposed to pull.” 

“You put the sign to push—” Shun let out a resigned sigh and pulled the door open, which was revealed to be a bookcase modified to become a concealed exit. 

“No wonder, I was so confused because I didnʼt recall seeing a door in the library leading underground,” Rya whispered to him. 

“You can rest here for now,” Neko suggested. “Iʼll have to send a message to Lady Shihime informing her of the Shingri. Donʼt do anything silly, understand?”

He briskly exited the library, leaving Shun and Rya alone to stare at each other awkwardly. 

“Well then.” He shrugged; she copied his shrug and they both burst into laughter together. 

“After all that running around, Iʼm dead tired.” Rya chuckled, shaking her head weakly. 

“Yeah, me too…” Shun lay down on the floor and placed his hands behind his head. “Wanna lie down for a while?” 

Without a word, Rya sat down next to him and rested her head on his chest gently. Feeling her familiar warmth, he smiled and reached his hand out to ruffle her soft flaxen hair—only for a sudden noise to interrupt them. 

Neko huffed as he sauntered back into the library. “I leave you two here for a minute and yʼall are already getting ready, nice.” 

“Nice your mother,” Shun replied sarcastically. 

The cat gave him a sidelong glance for a moment. “Anyways, we will have to wait for Lady Shihimeʼs reply before we can do anything. I donʼt have enough information on hand now to make a judgement.” 

“I-is the situation bad?” Rya asked worriedly. 

“Bad, you say…” Neko coked his head to one side and blinked slowly. “If my suspicions are confirmed by Lady Shihimeʼs reply, then you two have to get out of Shangri-La immediately.” 

Shun narrowed his eyes upon hearing his grave tone. “Get out of here? Do you mean…?” 

Neko only nodded his head curtly. “The Pacifists may be working with the Shingri to capture you.”