*Roku. Southern Earth Kingdom. Village of Chin.*
After my visit to this village with Shizuka, life became much calmer. The villagers elected a new leader themselves and… stopped celebrating "Avatar Day." The village lacked little, so we didn't stay long and continued our journey.
According to the map, our next destination was a medium-sized horseshoe-shaped port.
"Be cautious in the port," Lao instructed his daughter. "It's filled with all sorts of scum who don't care about authorities. You might even encounter Fire Nation ships."
"Where do they come from?" Toph tilted her head, curious.
"We barely have our own fleet," he said with a bitter smile. "What little we have can't compare to their steel ships. So everyone turns a blind eye to such things. If the locals started resisting, I doubt they'd fare well…"
The port was exactly as Lao described. Pirates, thieves, and bandits—the whole set—but there were also ordinary people who, upon seeing us, eagerly offered their goods.
"Buy Fire Nation armor, older models, bulk discounts available!" one vendor called out.
"Sir, try fresh Koi fish, straight from Kyoshi Island!" a sly-looking man advertised.
Glancing at his stall, I saw prices three times higher than what Kyoshi Island fishermen usually charged. When I visit the island, I'll tell them to raise their prices. After all, it's a unique product, and someone will always buy it.
"So much water," Toph marveled, frozen at the dock.
"Want to sail on a ship?" Lao asked, noticing her interest.
"Of course!" she agreed without hesitation.
Lao quickly found a medium-sized vessel, more pirate-like than not, ready to take us for a ride for a hefty coin.
"Everything okay?" Lao asked worriedly, seeing Toph cling to him and me.
"Just a bit uncomfortable," she said, looking at the wooden deck. "I'm still not used to seeing the world only through my eyes."
Lao and I exchanged embarrassed smiles. We could have figured that out ourselves.
Soon, she managed to move around on her own, and for the rest of the voyage, she gazed in wonder at the endless sea.
Days passed smoothly, and our caravan's cargo steadily dwindled. In some places, Lao Beifong was greeted like royalty. People shared their troubles with him and invited him as a guest. Toph also drew attention. At first, unaccustomed to so many stares, she hid behind us, looking adorable like a doll. But soon, she happily interacted with locals, proudly smiling when they praised her father.
Funny incidents happened along the way…
"Look at this cutie!" Toph ran up to us, holding a charming saber-toothed moose lion cub.
"What's going on?" she blinked, seeing the caravan guards grow alert and reach for their weapons. "He won't hurt you…"
"He might not, but his mother could," I said, chuckling. Even if she'd been told about animals, she was seeing them all for the first time, so it was no surprise.
"And here's Mom," I said, spotting a massive three-meter hybrid of a saber-toothed tiger, lion, and moose charging toward us. Interesting thoughts about how such a hybrid came to be—someone from the feline family once chose instincts over hunger.
Seeing the crowd, the creature stopped, eyeing us warily.
"Toph, slowly put the cub down," her father instructed. "Be a good girl and return the baby to its parent," he added softly.
"Okay, run to Mom," she set the cub down, but it ran… the wrong way.
A loud roar erupted from the mother's mouth, and the cub froze, wiggling its rear comically. This time, it ran in the right direction. Everything ended well, and the mother calmly retreated.
"Toph," Lao said in that parental tone that promised nothing good, "Where did you find it?" he asked gently.
"Over there, about a five-minute walk," she replied calmly. "Oops," she grinned foolishly. "I was joking. It came to me."
Toph was punished for wandering off while we were busy. Though the punishment wasn't much—Lao simply took away her jennomite candies, which she'd loved since childhood. Judging by her pout, Lao knew exactly where to strike.
Passing near the Great Divide, we met two indigenous tribes of the Earth Kingdom.
"Sir, a large caravan of… strange people is ahead," one of our scouts reported.
"Strange people," Lao mused. "Alright," he decided, "Tell our group to speed up. We'll catch up with them."
"Something interesting is coming," Toph cheered, tired of sitting in the wagon.
Soon, we approached the strangers, whose appearance and clothing left no one indifferent.
"I should introduce us! I'm stronger!" a fierce-looking woman dressed in animal skins argued, waving her arms.
"They'll take you for a monkey. Go wash up instead," countered a slender, tidy old man in white and beige clothing.
The Earth Kingdom is the only nation where you can find clothing of various colors: white, red, brown, and more. Its people see nothing wrong with it. Green is simply the standard introduced by a past king to help identify allies during wartime.
While the leaders argued, their people watched them wearily, as if it were a daily show. An interesting reaction…
Gan Jin and Jang tribes—honestly, I thought they were just a myth… In all my travels, I'd never met them.
"I didn't think they still existed," Lao murmured in surprise. Apparently, I wasn't the only one impressed.
"Who are they, Father? And why is half their group dressed in whatever they could find?" Toph asked curiously.
"These are the Gan Jin and Jang tribes. In ancient times, before the Earth Kingdom existed, our lands were inhabited by many tribes. Only these two have preserved their history and customs to this day," Lao explained. Even I didn't know this—I'd only reached the Air Nomad section in my studies. "Oddly, as far as I know, these tribes have 'feuded' as long as they've existed," he continued. "More accurately, they've rivaled each other. No records show they've shed each other's blood—just vastly different views on life and something tied to the past, seemingly a sacred object," he shrugged. "History tends to grow with fictional details over time. Maybe they fought over a chicken egg," he laughed at his own joke.
"Either way, there's much to learn from them, and I want to befriend them," he said, adjusting his clothes. "I think you'll find it interesting too," he noted our eager looks.
Setting up camp took just an hour. Lao then arranged food for all our new acquaintances. Once everything was ready, he officially invited the tribal leaders and their advisors to our tent.
The Gan Jin representative did most of the talking, while the Jang tribe members occasionally commented but mostly acted as guards.
They didn't hide their plans, saying they'd long considered moving to the central lands of the Earth Kingdom. Fire Nation raids were becoming severe, and they lacked the numbers and earthbenders to resist.
"In the last attack, we had to unite. Otherwise, we wouldn't have survived," the leader of the tidy tribe said, his tone implying, "We were forced by circumstance."
"The tidy one means we set aside our old feud for survival," the Jang leader continued firmly. "Now we're seeking a new home. We've visited several cities, and everywhere, their rulers demand money, our warriors, and even our women!" she slammed her hand on the table, knocking over dishes. "Apologies, I got carried away," she mumbled, embarrassed.
"No worries," Lao waved his hands. "I think I can help you," he smiled like a fisherman whose catch had jumped onto the hook.
"Father gets so strange during negotiations," Toph whispered to me.
Lao persuaded them to travel a bit further to his province, where they'd receive fertile and picturesque lands in exchange for their promise to help in times of need.
We traveled together for a while until our paths diverged.
We didn't forget to visit orphanages, not just the Beifong family's. Lao couldn't monitor every situation, so some orphanages greeted us with dilapidated buildings and dirty children left to fend for themselves. Sadly, not all caretakers were as saintly as the Beifongs. At best, they simply took the money Lao provided.
One case involved caretakers renting out their charges to regular clients—they were essentially giving away children… acting as slave traders and pimps.
It was the first time I saw Lao so enraged. Everyone involved was implicated: the city's ruler, who had a preference for young boys; the caretakers, who received massive sums; Lao's informant, who was supposed to monitor the orphanage but betrayed his friend for wealth and the orphanage's innocent girls.
"And this went on for months, even years…" Lao sat beside me, drained, looking aged, occasionally sipping from a bottle. "It's all my fault. I didn't keep watch, trusted the wrong people," he lowered his head.
"How many people have you given a good future? How many have you saved from starvation?" I lifted his head, looking him in the eyes. "You know how many ruthless people are in this world. I'm sure your ancestors faced terrible things too, but they didn't give up! We'll change this world. Are you with me?" I extended my hand.
"Yes!" he firmly shook my hand. "I have another matter to handle. I'll be back later. Please tell Toph."
That night, I slept in a chair, holding Toph's hand, as she couldn't sleep alone. After all, we didn't know what awaited us, and she'd seen some unpleasant things.
I don't know what Lao's people did to them, but all involved suffered for a long time before they were completely broken. Empty shells, devoid of reason—that's all that remained of them.
I healed all the former and current orphanage residents, though I could only mend their physical wounds. Sadly, some may carry emotional scars for life. While the city still buzzed with news, Lao gathered all the children and adults willing to move to Gaoling, and our caravan shrank again. This time, the Beifong family head decided not to hold back, sending half his earthbenders with them.
Now, Toph and I vetted new caretakers and the entire city government, asking the toughest questions. This became a tradition—in every orphanage, we scrutinized all staff.
As they say, trouble never comes alone…
Before we could recover from the orphanage situation, we encountered a burned village on our path. Judging by its state, the attack had occurred recently, maybe two or three days ago. Charred bodies still lay scattered, some missing limbs.
"I think we should investigate this," I stated the obvious, as Lao's people, like him, thirsted for justice.
We'd likely learn what was happening in this province in the nearest city, which was our destination.