As soon as Shun, Rya and Lian Xin scrambled on board the waiting tram, Neko jumped into the driverʼs seat and jerked the lever forward. 

“Everyone, hold on tight!” he shouted over the shuddering noise of the engine. “There’s not much time left before—” 

A sudden flash momentarily interrupted Neko, followed by a tremendous bang as the sky exploded into bright, vibrant colours. 

“Fireworks!” Lian Xin pointed at the brilliant glittering flowers spreading out high above the city. 

“W-woah…” Shun murmured, his gaze riveted on the cascading trails of light. The majestic firework display was unlike anything he had seen before; it was as if night just changed into day in an instant. 

“Theyʼre…so beautiful,” Rya whispered, hugging his arm as she watched the mesmerising fireworks. 

“Looks like the main event of the festival has begun,” Neko remarked offhandedly. “Hopefully this proves to be an effective distraction.”

The crowd of onlookers gradually became denser and more hectic as they reached the foot of the hill towards the Qing River. Neko stopped the tram and rang the bell loudly. 

“Hmm? Whatʼs going on?” Rya murmured worriedly, noticing that they werenʼt moving forward. 

“Is there something wrong?” Lian Xin quickly asked Neko. 

“Thereʼs too many people around, thereʼs no way for us to pass.” Neko let out a frustrated sigh and turned to face them. “We arenʼt too far away from the border. You three can alight and proceed to the Qing River from here on foot.”

“Got it.” Lian Xin opened the tram doors and glanced back at him with a grateful smile. “Thank you for everything, Neko.”

“Thank you too, Neko.” Rya bowed graciously; Shun bowed together with her as well, deciding to set aside their differences this one time. 

“Take care, milady and you two.” Neko nodded his head and grinned. “Iʼll stay here to slow the Shingri down should those fools come here. Go, now!” 

Without a second glance back, they left the tram in a haste for the Qing River. Hazy smoke lingering from the fireworks filled the air, and if not for Lian Xin guiding them, Shun and Rya would have already lost their sense of direction. 

“The Tayu Oiran gave permission for us to use one of her private boats docked along the bank to cross the river,” Lian Xin told them while they weaved in and out the messy crowd. “I will lead Shun and Rya to the nearest boat.” 

“Sure—” Shun suddenly stopped and frowned. 

“What is it?” Rya whispered in his ear. 

“I…I just suddenly got a weird feeling, thatʼs all.” He shook his head and was about to resume walking when a voice shouted over the din. 

“The Tayu Oiran is passing through! Make way for Shi niang-niang!” 

“Huh?” Lian Xin blinked in surprise as the people in front of them hurriedly moved away from the center of the street, squeezing against the walls as tightly as their bodies would allow.

“Shihime?” Rya gave Shun a confused look. 

“No, thereʼs no way she will be here…” He strained his neck to see above the people in front of them. “Where…I canʼt find—” 

A faint streak of silver among the sea of indistinguishable heads.

Before he could register what just happened, a pair of crimson-red eyes entered his gaze. It was as if time slowed down to a crawl at that moment—a splitting image of Shihime lifted her head to look in his direction, recognition flashing briefly in her eyes before her rosy lips curled into a smirk. 

A silver-haired girl disguising as Shihime…?! 

The girl raised her hand and pointed straight at him. “After them!” 

Rya heard the shout too and froze momentarily before narrowing her eyes coldly. 

“Are they bad news?” Lian Xin asked in a low voice, realising their faces had turned ashen.

He nodded his head hastily and hissed, “she’s with the Pacifists!”

Without another moment’s hesitation, Lian Xin grabbed their arms and pulled them towards the nearest alleyway—but a mass of shadows were already fast approaching them. 

Rya clicked her tongue in anxiousness. “Theyʼre surrounding us!”

Thinking quickly, Shun pointed at the direction where they came from and urged them to hurry. “Letʼs go back to Nekoʼs tram, we can escape on it.” 

Their swift footsteps were muffled by another round of deafening explosions. The flashing of the fireworks briefly cast shadows over them, revealing a single shadow leaping in the air towards the girl beside him. 

“RYA!” He whipped his head back and caught the sharp blade with the butt of his rifle in the nick of time. The sheer impact caused him to stumble backwards and nearly fall. 

“Tch.” The silver-haired girl promptly launched herself off him and made a move towards Rya, but a violent gust of wind suddenly knocked her off her trajectory. 

“Get your asses on board NOW!” Neko hollered over the booming noise, one hand already pushing on the lever. 

Lian Xin was the first to jump into the departing tram and reached her hand out to grab onto Ryaʼs. 

“S-Shun!” Rya frantically stretched her arm towards him as he recovered his balance. 

“Hiiiii-ya!” Taking a deep breath, Shun kicked his feet against the pavement and rushed forward, thrusting his rifle in front of him. 

Rya grabbed hold of the muzzle and with a grunt, she and Lian Xin yanked him inside the tram together. 

For a moment, a tense silence fell upon everyone as they tried to catch their breaths and processed what just happened. 

“T…the Pacifists have infiltrated the North of the city,” Lian Xin finally said. “The South border is the only way out now.” 

“But if we head there right now, we will run into the Shingri for sure,” Rya chimed in worriedly. “We might be able to barge through, but the tram…” 

Shun rubbed his forehead with two fingers. “Are there no other routes this tram can take?” 

“Letʼs worry about a major problem at hand first,” Neko interrupted them sharply. “We have company behind us.”