**The Beifong Estate. Roku.**
I was more satisfied than not with the conversation we'd just had. Of course, they didn't believe me right away. Who would blindly trust someone they'd only known for a day? Especially someone spouting "nonsense" about the Great Spirits of Order and Chaos and saving the entire world. If I were Lao, I wouldn't have believed it either.
As he admitted, they wouldn't have even listened past my first few sentences if his grandfather hadn't been fascinated by spirits. Somehow, his grandfather had even visited the Wan Shi Tong Library and met the mysterious owner himself. How could they not believe it when some places were mysteriously unfit for settlement, or when a seemingly peaceful area suddenly saw a string of misfortunes befall its people?
Another point… the Beifong family sponsors the Order of the White Lotus. That means they're aware of the Fire Sages' mysterious affairs.
To keep it brief, he believed in spirits. As for the Great Stand-off between Vat and Raava, he didn't make any bold claims but said that with more concrete evidence, he'd fully support me. He wholeheartedly agreed with my idea to unite the Earth Kingdom.
"A third, or even more, of all the land is essentially yours?" I asked him in shock.
"I wouldn't call it mine," he shook his head, "but they listen to my words," he finished modestly.
Lu, a Beifong orphan, kept his promise and became a wealthy merchant. In his lifetime, he managed to open and maintain three orphanages. With his wife, Wu Mei, another orphanage alumna, they instilled in their children the same values they'd learned in the orphanage. Hearing this, I almost broke into a proud—or maybe foolish—smile. After all, something from my past "lives" still lingered in me, and I was genuinely happy to see how those children's lives had turned out.
As the oldest and most independent, Lu took care of the other children, who grew up to become his pillars of support.
"Our founder created a code of rules that must be followed strictly. One rule states: 'Any orphanage graduate, upon reaching adulthood, can count on a job that provides them with shelter and food!'" he recited with a hint of pride, and he had every reason to be proud.
Apparently, not everyone—or rather, very few—knew the true power of the flying boar, and even I was in the dark, despite having friends in Lao's circle.
The orphanage children knew who to thank for their food and shelter, so the family was always surrounded by loyal people. Currently, half of the family's income goes to maintaining dozens of orphanages across the Earth Kingdom. But it's well worth it!
Several provincial rulers or descendants of orphanage children, or even those who grew up there, know who helped them rise so high.
"Our strength isn't in money. The true strength of our family is our people!" he declared, and it's hard to disagree.
King Bumi of Omashu, the most famous representative raised in a Beifong orphanage, is someone many have forgotten about.
"Or, as Toph calls him, the crazy old man," he laughed, because only Toph could call him that. Bumi considers her his granddaughter, since he never had children of his own.
Thanks to their policies, the family is now at the peak of its power. As a result, there are two centers of power in the Earth Kingdom: Long Feng, who controls Ba Sing Se and its surrounding provinces, where Dai Li agents are most active. The second, unofficially, is the Beifongs with Omashu and a couple of other provinces. There are also several provincial rulers who navigate between factions, acting as a buffer zone.
"One moment," I stopped him, "you still often supply Ba Sing Se with your products and food for free? Am I missing something…"
"Roku," he sighed heavily before continuing, "more than half the people in the capital live on the brink of poverty. I can't stop helping them, just because I have a conflict with their ruler. The people aren't to blame," he said, earning even more of my respect.
"Can I ask an immodest question?" I'd been wanting to understand something for a while.
"You can always ask a question," he smirked, amusingly twitching his long mustache, "but whether I answer depends on how immodest it is."
"How is it that members of your family are still so close to ordinary people?" I finally managed to phrase my question from a stream of thoughts.
"All thanks to the code," he carefully pulled a book from under his cloak. "It even includes a section on raising children. The Founder was very wise, no doubt about it," he ran his fingers over a drawing of a winged boar. "Our fathers, or if there are none, our mothers, must follow a strange tradition every year," he seemed to drift into the past.
"Starting at age eight, my father secretly took me to the poorest towns and villages, where we pretended to be travelers and lived among the locals for a while. Oh, I remember my first experience—two whole weeks in a tiny room in a godforsaken village. To get clean water, you first had to filter it through cheesecloth, then boil it, and only then could you drink it," he began gesturing animatedly, clearly recalling the impact of that first experience.
"I grew up quite spoiled, and I'll never forget the eyes of a little girl who looked at me when I gave her a whole bag of rice," he said wistfully, "I didn't even realize at first that she was a girl," he chuckled bitterly, "filthy, bald, wearing clothes several sizes too big."
"Even back home, I didn't want to eat fancy food. There was a lump in my throat, as if I were taking food from someone on the street… And so it went every year, different places and situations, until my father was sure I wouldn't betray our family's ideals."
"Has Toph gone through this?" I asked next.
"Thank goodness, she doesn't need to," he smiled almost relieved, "Four years ago, she started 'secretly' taking food from the table. At first, I thought she wanted to eat it in her room, though I didn't quite understand the logic when she could go to the kitchen anytime. Turns out, she was sharing the food with the children of our workers who also live on the estate. The food was the same, the only difference was the presentation—it was served 'prettier.' If it's pretty, it must be different," he laughed, apparently those were little Toph's exact words back then.
Telling him that I'd essentially been four people seemed unnecessary for now. Better to let him see it with his own eyes, and all I needed to do was bring Yo to me once.
The serious conversation ended with us agreeing to be allies in uniting the Earth Kingdom. I'd arrived just in time—Lao had long been planning to peacefully take over the other provinces. With his education, he understood that they could only resist the Fire Nation if they were united. He grew especially anxious when Ozai replaced Azulon, as a new ruler always needs to prove their strength. So, Lao was preparing for new attacks.
I managed to reassure him that there would be no raids, or at least no more than usual. Ozai is currently more focused on internal politics, with external affairs taking a backseat.
I casually asked about his guards. He happily shared that two of them were from the Gaoling orphanage, and he'd met Xin Fu as a boy during those trips with his father. Fate brought them together again when an adult Xin Fu needed help. Lao didn't refuse, and in return, he gained a powerful earthbending bodyguard.
"Young Mistress, your mother told you to change into different clothes," we heard Hippo and Toph passing by.
"I said I won't! I need clothes that don't restrict me. Roku promised to fight me!" Toph's stubborn voice echoed.
"I hope you won't refuse to spar with my daughter?" the family head asked me sheepishly.
"I'm all for it," I agreed without hesitation, having already promised Toph the same. "But aren't you worried she might get hurt?"
"As long as nothing serious happens to her," he waved his hand, "let her get bruises and bumps. She's blind, so for her own sake, she needs to be twice as strong as any able-bodied person," he continued solemnly, "anything can happen in life, and if she's destined to be alone in this world, I want her to be as strong and independent as possible."
"Da-ad! Are you coming soon?" we heard Toph shout.
"We're coming already," Lao called back, quickening his pace and leading me along. It's clear who's really in charge here…
On a small platform, Toph stood impatiently, dressed in the same outfit from her adventure with the Avatar.
"Finally! Show me your new moves now," she declared fiercely.
"I'll only watch you!" Lao said firmly, and Toph blushed slightly, clearly wanting to show her parents her progress. "Just don't practice those moves on our guys anymore," he muttered, glancing at "Chunk" and "Hippo," who had fading bruises if you looked closely.
"Young Mistress, you're the best!"
"Soon you'll even defeat King Bumi!" the guys who'd been her practice partners cheered.
"Enough talking! Let's start already!" Toph said, her cheeks pink.
Without hesitation, I stepped into the makeshift arena. We bowed to each other and began cautiously testing each other's defenses. I'll adapt to Toph's earthbending style—let her show her new moves to her father.
"Brace yourself," she warned honestly, clearly not having learned the subtleties of underground fighting from that arena. She announces her attacks, and her moves are too direct, though she's already developed her own style.
For another five minutes, Toph enthusiastically showed everything she could. Seeing her start to tire, I decided to end the sparring.
"You're such a rock head," she said, plopping down on her bottom, exhausted. I'd only taken one hit to the head, breaking a rock with my forehead, and she calls me a rock head!
"You did great, Toph. If you want, we can discuss…" I didn't finish before…
"Dad, can Roku stay with us? I need a worthy training partner!" Toph was already by her father's side, hanging onto his arm.
"Heh, of course, let him stay," Lao didn't hold out long…
"Actually, we should…" I felt a weight on my arm.
"Please," it turns out Toph herself knows how to use forbidden "girl tactics." The funniest part was that her face wasn't looking directly at mine, making her seem even cuter.
"Alright, I'll stay," I said, seeing Lao's expression: "You didn't hold out long, Roku," "but not for long," I tried to justify myself.
"Just stand still for a bit," I asked Toph, placing my hands over her eyes. Oh, this will take more than a week, but it seems curable.
"Toph, I think I can restore your sight," I said, removing my hands from the embarrassed Toph, who wasn't used to men touching her. Lao, who'd been watching my hands intently and even suspiciously, shifted his distrustful gaze to my face.
"Better not joke about that," he said, his voice like steel.
"I'm not joking," I replied just as seriously, "I can heal. Watch," I approached "Chunk," "see this?" I removed the most noticeable bruise from his body. Better to show once than explain.
"Sir! It's really healed, it doesn't hurt anymore!" he pressed on the spot for confirmation.
"I don't promise quick results—it's much more complicated," I warned immediately, "but I won't make it worse. Give me a chance."
"Agree, Dad!" Toph was on my side.
"Fine," he gave in to his daughter's insistence. "But not a word to Poppy yet," he warned, "we barely convinced her to let you train seriously in earthbending."