After weeks of travelling, Han Suyin thought that her journey was going pretty well. She found a lot of stores and markets throughout so she bought some new clothes. At one stop of hers, she decided to change her appearance. Although women had more rights in this era, they still weren't equal to men.

Han Suyin knew that if she wanted people to remember her name, she had to be a man, at least in the beginning. After riding on her horse for a bit longer, Han Suyin found an inn where she could get changed. She got off her horse and grabbed the reins. Leading it all the way to the front of the inn, Han Suyin concluded that this place was probably owned by a family.

It was a cozy place from what Han Suyin could see. She wanted to go in and get a room but she didn't want to leave her horse outside unprotected.

"Miss? I don't think you can take that horse with you..." Han Suyin turned to see the person speaking. It was a boy in his teens, average height and build, however, he had a cute smile. The boy was shocked to see a gorgeous woman in front of him.

Till now, all the people that Han Suyin has met didn't judge people by their scars. She knew that once she went to the capital, the nobles would berate her appearance and try to humiliate her.

"Right, um, can you make sure that he doesn't get stolen or run away?" Han Suyin asked the boy. It seemed like he was part of the family that owned this inn.

"I-I'm not sure." The boy said.

Han Suyin took a piece of jade out and handed it to him. "Please? Just for tonight."

The boy was baffled and looked at Han Suyin stupidly. She laughed and went inside the inn.

"Okay, I'll keep him safe, Miss!" The boy shouted.

"Thank you!" Han Suyin shouted back from inside.

Han Suyin looked around the 'waiting area' and saw a lot of paintings, it looked like there were a lot of memories in this place.

"You need a room?" An old man came up to her and asked.

"Yes, I do." Han Suyin replied.

"One night?"

"Yeah."

The man stuck out his hand. "Give me money."

Han Suyin gave him a piece of jade. "I don't have money. Will this do?"

The old man's beard almost fell off looking at the jade. He quickly agreed. "Yes, yes! This will do!"

The man led Han Suyin to a room and left. It was a bit dusty and old, but it was enough. Sitting down on the bed, Han Suyin felt the firm yet soft material, perfect for sleeping. She laid down on it and started talking to Arlo.

'How can I turn myself into a man?'

'I don't know, host.'

'I should be taller.'

'You are already tall compared to the other ladies.'

'I need to be taller.'

'I can give you something that will.'

'Really?'

'Yes, host. But I just found out that you have to compensate for the things I give you.'

'How so?'

'I'm not sure yet, so I can give this to you know and you'll have to do something later.'

'Okay.'

Han Suyin felt something in her shoes lift her higher.

'Are these shoe inserts?'

'Yes they are.'

'So I could've just stuffed something in my shoes to make me taller?'

'Yes. You should walk around.'

Listening to what Arlo said, Han Suyin started to move. She was at least 6'0 or even taller now.

'These are really comfortable and you won't even feel it, host.'

'Fine, you got me. These are really cool.'

Walking in big strides, Han Suyin smiled. She saw a bronze mirror and picked it up. She looked at herself and found it funny. She looked so slim and tall, almost like a ghost. People would run if they saw her.

'Now I need to become more... muscular. I need to have broad shoulders or I'll look insane.'

'Do you want me to-'

'Nope! No thanks, I think I know a way.'

Looking at the bed, Han Suyin smirked and went closer to it. She pressed her hand down on the bed and felt the texture.

Perfect.

She took a blade out of her bag and started to work.

...

After a couple of hours, Han Suyin was finally finished. She looked at what she created and was a bit creeped out at how she managed to do it. She changed out of her clothes, put on the thing she created and then wore another pair of clothes, this time, it was men's clothing.

The difference between men and women's clothing wasn't that much, it was just the design and measurements. Han Suyin gave a good amount of jade to a person for them to give a good quality product. It looked more like the robes which the nobles wore, but practical and easy to move in without exposing anything.

'Wow, host. That's pretty good.'

'Thanks. I had to wrap a lot of cloth around some areas for it to be concealed.'

'I'd believe that you're a man.'

'I wouldn't, well, not yet.'

Han Suyin looked in the mirror once again and saw that her face didn't match her body. It was a pretty androgynous face. It could be a gorgeous woman or a feminine man with some makeup. Han Suyin didn't want to look feminine at all. If she was going to do something, she wanted to do it well.

She had bought some cosmetics on her journey, some village women even swore by those products. Han Suyin took all the things she bought out of her bag and sighed.

This is too much work.

She grabbed the black-brown powder that was famous among the ladies and stared at it for a while, deciding how she would start.

Hmm... sharp.

Han Suyin rubbed the powder between her fingers and saw it blend nicely against her skin. She dabbed her pinky in the powder and took it close to her face. She went to the outer corner of her eyes and dragged the powder outwards. It made her eyes look longer and sharper, more mysterious.

Next, she dragged the powder outwards around the corners of her lips to make it appear thinner. Han Suyin turned her lips red by putting on some rouge. According to the owner of the shop, the rouge was made out of the juice of red and blue flowers. When she wiped her lips, it was stained slightly red and looked like it was the natural colour of her lips.

Han Suyin remembered a certain someone's face while she was trying to change her features. She remembered that the face was well-defined, had a sharp jawline, beautiful eyebrows and an attractive neck.

Attractive neck? Am I really that lonely?

Han Suyin just followed what she could and chiseled her face with the powder, used her fingers to blend it in, sharpened her eyebrows and made them longer and thicker, created an amazing jawline and defined her neck with the same powder.

When she looked in the mirror, she sighed in amazement.

I'm such an artist.

Yawning, Han Suyin kept looking at her face. She didn't want to ruin her makeover but her eyes felt heavy and she eventually fell asleep.

'Host?'

Arlo tried to speak to her. When he was sure that Han Suyin was dead asleep, he made some adjustments.

[Host, you've done a great job, I'm just making sure that it won't come off easily.]

...

When Han Suyin woke up, she picked up the mirror and saw that everything looked the same.

'Don't worry, host. The makeup you bought only comes off with oils, you don't have to worry about it smudging.'

'I know about that, so, what did you change?'

'Well...'

Han Suyin felt her body and sighed. It felt like a real body.

'Don't worry, host. I didn't change your body. I just made your creation more believable incase someone touches you.'

'Thanks, Arlo.'

Yawning again, Han Suyin laid down on the wooden bed. Her body felt like a supporting pillow and Han Suyin fell asleep once again.

Tomorrow is when we begin.