The next few hours following Neko’s revelation were especially tense and uneasy. As the sun finally set over the horizon, Neko’s ears twitched and he jumped to his feet immediately.
“My messenger is back,” he said simply before rushing out of the library.
Without hesitation, Shun and Rya hurriedly followed after the cat to the front door. Waiting at the doorstep was a small ginger cat, who meowed happily when it caught sight of Neko opening the door.
“Mm, thank you for your hard work.” Neko whispered an incantation and a plain white envelope materialised in the ginger cat’s mouth. He took it and the ginger cat turned around before disappearing down the path.
No one dared to even breathe as Neko deftly sliced the envelope open with his claws and retrieved the letter from Shihime. His bright eyes glossed over the contents before tossing the letter aside and heading back inside the house.
“What’s the message about?” Shun asked curiously.
“We rendezvous with Lady Shihime at the Golden Temple as quickly as possible,” he explained hastily. “Preparations for your evacuation are already underway as we speak, so hurry and grab what you need before we leave.”
Rya frowned and whispered to Neko, “But won’t the Shingri be…?”
“Lady Shihime wrote that she has personally dealt with them after receiving my notice, so we shall trust her on that.”
Within five minutes, the two had packed up emergency supplies for their impromptu trip; Neko was waiting by the front gate with a carriage ready. With a jerk of the reins, the carriage horses spurred forward along the road towards Hshiwara.
“Look, Shun! The sky!” Rya exclaimed as they steadily approached the bustling red-light district under the cover of night.
Intrigued, he also stuck his head out of the carriage window to look in the direction she was excitedly pointing at. “W-w-woah…!”
Hshiwara was already a stunning sight to behold after sundown, illuminated dazzlingly by the distinctive red lanterns adorning the exterior of every teahouse. But now, the cloudless night sky over the city was set ablaze with countless sky lanterns, floating high above the majestic structure of the Golden Temple towards the twinkling stars. It was simply breathtaking; both of them were mesmerised by the surreal landscape in an instant.
Neko glanced up at the full moon and nodded his head quietly in self-satisfaction. “I’m glad that the Luna Festival is a success this year as well. Please pray to the Goddess that our plan will be one too.”
Shun gawked at the smug cat. “Oi, are you setting up a death flag on purpose?”
“Hmm? What’s a death flag?”
“You—nothing, forget about it....”
Since the main street leading up to the Golden Temple was too crowded for their carriage to pass through, Neko stopped the carriage at a quiet part of the alleyways and they continued the rest of their journey on foot. The festival noise and clatter made it easy for the trio to slip into the compound of the Golden Temple without attracting much attention.
By a side door leading into the main building, a mysterious yet familiar figure stood and greeted them with a polite bow. Her raven-black hair reflected the glow of the red lanterns, forming an ephemeral halo around her small head. A silken black kimono hugged her tiny figure that exuded dignity and elegance.
“It’s my pleasure to meet with Shun and Rya again on the night of the festival, though the timing is rather unfortunate-arisu.”
Shun widened his eyes in mild surprise. “Lian Xin!”
Rya smiled and nodded her head in greeting. “I didn’t expect to see you here all of a sudden, how have you been?”
“I’ve been helping the Tayu Oiran in her private dealings here in the Golden Temple-arisu.” She straightened her back and looked at Neko, lowering her voice down to a whisper as she asked, “were you followed by anyone on your way here?”
Neko shook his head. “I didn’t smell any hooman pursuers, but we should go inside and talk just to be safe.”
Lian Xin gave a slight nod and opened the side door for them to enter. “The Tayu Oiran and Reimiru are currently in the West Pavilion discussing matters regarding Shun and Rya, so I’ll take you there now.”
“Reimiru?” The two gave Lian Xin puzzled glances. “Why is she here with Shihime??”
“Well…” Lian Xin hesitated for a moment, a conflicted look in her eyes. “I am in no position to comment, so you will have to wait for the Tayu Oiran and Reimiru to explain their respective standpoints.”
“I-I see…” Rya mumbled, confusion still visible on her face. Shun sensed that Lian Xin wasn’t comfortable with divulging more information, so he remained quiet as she led them up a series of stairs to the upper floors.
Finally, they arrived at a staircase landing that opened to a beautiful rock garden high above the city, where two rows of bonsai trees and carefully-manicured bushes grew along a winding path cutting across the length of the garden. At the far end was a stone-and-jade pavilion overlooking the shimmering Qing River bathed in the ethereal white moonlight
And three women were seated inside the pavilion; Shihime was sipping a small teacup with Zhu’er kneeling behind her, while Reimiru was sitting restlessly across the table.
“Hasumi, youʼre back.” Shihime placed the teacup gently on the table and stood up gracefully, her exquisite ecru hair flowing down her back. Her teal-blue eyes held the new arrivals in unblinking scrutiny as she stepped towards them. “Good, our two outlanders are present and looking fine. Then, let us begin now.”
