Xia Hunaao and Mu Zhishui decided to find Lan, who was being punished, to gather some information. Lingzi told them, "According to our shrine's rules, a shrine maiden under punishment cannot communicate with others freely, not even tourists. It would be very troublesome if Sakura found out."
Xia Hunaao stroked his chin, "Is that so? That's quite problematic then."
"Actually, none of us shrine maidens take this rule too seriously. As long as we're not caught red-handed by Sakura, it's fine. I'll keep Sakura busy for you, so be quick."
Xia Hunaao smiled gratefully at Lingzi, "Thank you on behalf of Sakura Bao."
The three parted ways. Xia Hunaao and Mu Zhishui went to find Sakura, who was still sweeping, while Lingzi went to distract Sakura.
Lingzi quickly found Sakura, who was still standing by the entrance, seemingly lost in thought. Lingzi approached her, "Sakura, what are you thinking about?"
Sakura turned to Lingzi, "Lingzi, what did that man say to you just now?"
Lingzi shook her head, "I'm sorry, Sakura. I've sworn not to say anything. You know, we shrine maidens value our vows."
Sakura took Lingzi's hand, "I know. But for the questions that follow, can you tell me everything you can?"
Lingzi nodded, and the two shrine maidens went aside to have a private chat. Meanwhile, Xia Hunaao and Mu Zhishui arrived at the shrine entrance, where Lan was still sweeping in her green shrine maiden attire.
Xia Hunaao and Mu Zhishui approached Lan, "Miss Shrine Maiden, may I ask you a question?"
Lan looked up at Xia Hunaao, then lowered her head to continue sweeping. Xia Hunaao and Mu Zhishui tried every trick they could think of but couldn't get Lan to speak. Helpless, Xia Hunaao left the entrance and coincidentally ran into Lingzi.
Xia Hunaao spoke with a hint of frustration, "Lingzi..."
"Sir, have you managed to find anything out?"
Xia Hunaao sighed, "We forgot one thing. Miyasaki Lan is Miyasaki Sakura's sister. No matter what, she wouldn't dare to overstep her bounds and speak with us!"
Indeed, as the sister of Miyasaki Sakura, the person in charge of the shrine, Miyasaki Lan wouldn't dare to challenge Miyasaki Sakura's authority, especially while she was being punished.
Having found no breakthrough with Miyasaki Lan, Xia Hunaao decided to try a different approach around the shrine.
"Miss Lingzi, do you know if there are any gardens nearby? I'll go take a look, maybe I can find Sakura Hana."
Lingzi pointed in a direction for Xia Hunaao, who then set off to find Sakura Hana. Mu Zhishui and Lingzi, on the other hand, went through the proper procedures for entering the shrine, having forgotten about it in the earlier commotion.
Xia Hunaao left the shrine and headed to a small park not far away. He searched the park thoroughly and finally found a pink shadow under a large tree.
Xia Hunaao called out, "Sakura Hana, is that you?"
Sakura Hana, hearing someone call out to him, floated up to take a look. He didn't recognize Xia Hunaao. Although Xia Hunaao had grown from a small boyish figure to a somewhat handsome young man, it made no difference to Sakura Hana.
Sakura Hana glanced at Xia Hunaao and was about to leave, but Xia Hunaao quickly called out to stop him, "Sakura Bao sent me to find you."
Upon hearing Xia Hunaao mention Sakura Bao, Sakura Hana paused slightly, then prepared to float away even faster. Xia Hunaao quickly sent out his Gugu to intercept Sakura Hana. Startled by Gugu's Ice Beam, Sakura Hana reluctantly landed where he was and watched Xia Hunaao.
Xia Hunaao sat on a garden bench with Sakura Hana in his arms, "Sakura Hana, why are you unhappy? Do you not want to see Sakura Bao? I'll go teach Sakura Bao a lesson, so he doesn't make you angry."
Hearing Xia Hunaao's intention to discipline Sakura Bao, Sakura Hana frantically moved his petals, indicating to Xia Hunaao that he wasn't angry with Sakura Bao. Xia Hunaao gently stroked the two petals that looked like Sakura Hana's hands, "Is that so? Then why did Sakura Bao say you dislike him?"
Xia Hunaao was once again exploiting the information gap to trick the cute little spirit, but his methods were always effective.
Sakura Hana anxiously explained that he didn't dislike Sakura Bao, but he was having trouble accepting that his good friend Lan was being punished by Sakura Bao's trainer.
Xia Hunaao held Sakura Hana, "Really? Then how about this: wait for me here tonight, and I'll secretly bring you to see Sakura Bao, okay?"
"I can see Sakura Bao without your help."
"That's what you say, but don't forget, Sakura Bao has a trainer. He might very well be living in a Poké Ball tonight."
After some thought, Sakura Hana decided to agree to Xia Hunaao's plan to see Sakura Bao.
Having appeased Sakura Hana, Xia Hunaao returned to the shrine to pick up Mu Zhishui and asked Lingzi to leave the door open for them that night. Lingzi considered it for a long time and finally agreed to leave a door open for him. Of course, the main reason was that Xia Hunaao threatened to climb over the wall if Lingzi didn't leave the door open.
A break-in at the shrine would be a huge scandal. Although letting a man in late at night wasn't ideal either.
Xia Hunaao and Mu Zhishui checked into two rooms at a nearby hotel. Xia Hunaao waited idly in the room, while Mu Zhishui was still very curious about Xia Hunaao's intentions.
When Xia Hunaao mentioned breaking into the shrine that night, Mu Zhishui was very surprised and insisted on going along. Xia Hunaao stopped him, "Forget it. Have your family matters been resolved? What's happening tonight is quite dangerous. If you get caught, your family's problems will be even greater."
Mu Zhishui pouted unhappily, "Alright, I'll bear with it a little so as not to cause him trouble."
Xia Hunaao waited for several hours in the hotel. At eleven o'clock at night, Xia Hunaao opened the window and carefully climbed out of the hotel. Looking at the dim surroundings, Xia Hunaao smiled, "This is truly a scene that ninjas love."
Xia Hunaao plastered himself to the roadside and walked along the path towards the garden. On the way, Xia Hunaao saw someone dressed similarly to himself walking down the road.
Xia Hunaao blinked, what was this guy doing? But he quickly realized that this guy was probably up to no good. However, Xia Hunaao couldn't figure out why he was still out at eleven o'clock. Could it be that at this hour, there were still girls he could pursue?
However, Xia Hunaao didn't intend to interfere. He just glanced at the person and was about to leave, but he didn't expect this guy to be targeting him, not a girl.
"Can you do me a favor?"
Xia Hunaao blinked, "What favor do you want me to do?"
The guy pulled Xia Hunaao into the bushes and pointed towards a spot not far away, "Look there."
Xia Hunaao crouched in the grass and looked. He saw a perfectly proportioned female police officer approaching. Xia Hunaao was stunned. He knew that anything could happen in Man Ying, but trying to attack a female police officer directly seemed too difficult.
Xia Hunaao heard the guy say to him, "Later, I'll go out and attract her attention. You just go up and knock her out with a stick. We're in this together, you can't refuse to help, right?"
Xia Hunaao twitched his nose. He had always thought this guy had the desire but not the guts, but he didn't expect him to be so bold.
However, Xia Hunaao nodded, indicating that he was okay with it. As the female police officer got closer, the guy next to Xia Hunaao jumped out and blocked her path. But before he could say anything, he saw the female officer release a strong Mongoose.
The guy who had intended to attack the female officer turned to run, but was caught by the Mongoose before he could move. He looked towards Xia Hunaao, "Why didn't you come out and help?"
The female officer also looked in the direction the guy was pointing, but only saw Xia Hunaao's receding back. Xia Hunaao had no intention of interacting with this female officer; he was busy looking for Sakura Bao.
Leaving the scene, Xia Hunaao arrived at the garden. Sakura Hana was floating by a chair, waiting for Xia Hunaao, but seemed unhappy.
Xia Hunaao walked over, "Sakura Hana, have you been waiting long?"
Seeing Xia Hunaao approach, Sakura Hana turned away. He had made the cute little spirit wait for several hours, and Sakura Hana was angry, the kind that couldn't be easily appeased.
Seeing Sakura Hana throwing a tantrum, Xia Hunaao came over and hugged him, "Alright Sakura Hana, don't be angry anymore. I'll take you to see Sakura Bao."
Upon hearing Sakura Bao, although Sakura Hana was still a little unhappy, he allowed Xia Hunaao to hold him as they left the small park. However, Xia Hunaao still had a question in his mind, "Sakura Hana has two forms. Why are you still able to maintain your Sunny form at night?"
Sakura Hana looked up at Xia Hunaao from his embrace and began to explain that he had eaten something wrong when he was eating with Sakura Bao before, which was why he was like this.
Xia Hunaao nodded. No matter what Sakura Bao ate, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. A person and a Pokémon stealthily approached the shrine gate. Xia Hunaao cautiously looked around and then pushed open the shrine gate.
Looking at the shrine gate, Xia Hunaao was still somewhat confused, "By the way, do the shrines in Man Ying actually have gates?"
Xia Hunaao briefly doubted it before continuing to walk inside. It was almost midnight, and theoretically, the shrine maidens should all be asleep. However, if he took too long, there could still be variables.
Xia Hunaao walked from the gate into the shrine. Unbeknownst to him, as soon as he entered the shrine, two people were watching him in the darkness.