"All right, we can start from here," said Shisui, pointing to a small, crystal-clear pond on the side of a hill where you could see the fish swimming.
"I remember this place. We used to meet here," Azula murmured as she wrapped her arm around her fiancé. He nodded before looking at Petra and Toph, who were stomping their feet and sensing the entire area with their seismic senses.
Aang joined in as well, further practicing his Earthbending in the process. What were the three of them looking for? They were looking to fully sense the surrounding area and determine where the water in the pond was coming from.
"It's over there," Shisui said, pointing to a spot filled with flowers and a large oak tree. When they approached, only Toph flashed a cheerful smile.
"I felt it! It's a small, very deep tunnel, but with some effort, we can clear a path. The problem would be dealing with the water flowing through it. For that, we have you," the young Earthbender said, gesturing toward the Sage, Katara, and Aang, who was scratching the back of his neck.
"Do you really sense something? I can't," said the Avatar, far from convinced by the situation. This caused Toph to slap him on the back of the neck as she laughed.
"Of course! How long have you been studying the mysteries of the earth element? I've been using the earth as my guide my whole life! Those ripples are how I understand the world. Even with the technique I created, I haven't set this ability aside. In fact, I've refined it even further," the young woman replied, stamping her foot several times.
"I had to concentrate a little to sense what Shisui wanted to teach us, but I've got the hang of it now. Oh, by Gaia! Those underground channels branch out everywhere..." Toph murmured, continuing to stomp and using the ripples to 'observe' closely what she had found.
"Phew! It took some effort, but I found it. I can't let you get ahead of me, little Toph," Petra remarked, placing her hand on the young woman's head and ruffling her hair, much to her displeasure.
"No! Do you know how long it takes me to style my hair like this? This beautiful hair hasn't seen scissors in years!" Toph complained, grumbling as she tried to grab Petra's hand. However, Petra was much taller than her and easily dodged her grasp.
"HAHAHAHA! The vitality of youth always fills me with joy when I see scenes like this," said Iroh, laughing heartily and patting his belly, showing none of the ruthlessness of the general he once was.
"And just wait until Terumi is born, old man. If he pulls on your beard, don't come complaining to me," Shisui remarked jokingly. Iroh looked at him with a big smile.
"It doesn't matter. I'll have enough beard for all the little grandnephews and grandnieces you and Azula bring into the world," the old man replied kindly. This caused Shisui to lower his head in embarrassment while Azula looked away, her face flushing.
If there was one person who could elicit this reaction from these two people, it was Iroh, who was quite close to them and understood them well. Iroh saw the two young people's reaction and laughed even harder before looking at Lu Ten.
"Boy, don't let them beat you to it. Find a wife and give me grandchildren!" Suddenly, the old man's pleasant demeanor shifted to that of a typical father eager for his son or daughter to start a family.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I met someone. I hope that after this..." Just as he was about to finish his sentence, several hands lunged toward him and covered his mouth. Those people were Ty Lee, Shisui, and Zuko, who had surprisingly joined in.
"Don't finish that sentence!" Ty Lee exclaimed, shaking her head vigorously as if witnessing something terrifying. This made Lu Ten raise an eyebrow.
"Lu, believe me. Even if it's a bit metaphysical, some things are better left unsaid," Zuko said sternly. He didn't want to see everything ruined just because someone said something they shouldn't have.
"Don't jinx it. Don't ruin this for yourself or the mission, brother," said Shisui, who had activated his visual ability and was scanning his surroundings as if trying to find something.
"What are you looking for?" Asked Suki. Sensing that something had happened that she didn't understand but that might be dangerous, she gripped her metal fans, ready to fight if necessary.
"Lu Ten almost said a phrase that people in stories always say before something goes wrong. It's like a bad omen. It's a bad sign." It's just not good to say things like that!" Ty Lee replied enthusiastically. Although she smiled, her eyes were serious as she considered the matter important.
"Exactly, and in a world with mischievous spirits that think differently from humans, who knows who might be listening to what you say? It's better not to let phrases like that slip out. Luckily, no curious entity has approached us. I guess they don't dare, but it's always good to stay alert," Shisui continued, deactivating his ability and patting Lu Ten on the shoulder.
"Cousin, you almost ruined yourself." Zuko rested his arm on his cousin's shoulder. Though Lu Ten could now speak freely, he didn't dare; he was simply processing everything he'd just heard.
"Well... thanks for that, I guess." Lu Ten replied, placing his hands on the hilts of his swords since it made him feel more secure.
"Okay... Every day, I realize how many things I don't understand about them," Katara murmured to Sokka. He nodded in agreement and let out a mental sigh.
Even though those three hadn't been clear about what they meant, he could sense what they were getting at, like the rest. Sokka was relieved because he was about to say something similar.
The warrior glanced sideways at Suki. Sensing his gaze, she returned his attention with a gentle smile. This caused an even firmer resolve to take root in Sokka's heart. However, now was not the time to think about that. Instead, they had to infiltrate the safest city in the world by unconventional means.
…
"Tell me again, why do I have to be down here, putting up with the heat, the mud, and the bugs in this tunnel?" Ty Lee asked Mai as she walked slowly through a cavern recently created by Toph and Petra.
"I don't know, but I hate being here," Mai replied, shaking her feet with every step and flinging bits of mud and dirt that had stuck to her shoes and pants.
The only source of light in this place came from the fire produced by the four Firebenders among them. Aang circulated the air, refreshing it every so often to keep it cool.
"I didn't expect us to find a natural cavern. It's heaven looking out for us," said Shisui before dodging a clump of dirt Ty Lee threw at him in disgust.
"A centipede crawled down my back, Shisui, A FUCKING CENTIPEDE!" Ty Lee screamed, her voice echoing throughout the cave due to the acoustics. Everyone looked at her.
"Look on the bright side. There are pretty things here," Suki said, pointing to the ceiling where small crystals hung, reflecting the light from the fire they were using for illumination.
"It really is a beautiful sight," Katara murmured. She and Shisui had dealt with the intense water flow at the start of the project, so she was now somewhat exhausted.
"Can you imagine if there were some huge creature around here?" Sokka asked with a laugh, knowing it sounded far-fetched. Sometimes, people should just be a little quieter.
Soon, a scraping sound alerted everyone that something was approaching. A cold, sticky sensation covered the entire cavern, pressing down on them with force. Zuko glanced at Sokka, who looked grim at that moment.
"You blew it," Lu Ten remarked suddenly. The dark-skinned warrior rolled his eyes as he gently twirled his spear, ready to fight if necessary.
"It looks like this is connected to another cave, and some creature must have been using it as its lair. Maybe our voices caught its attention," Iroh said, drawing on his life experience to make that assumption.
"Great! It'd be fun to find them," Toph exclaimed, anticipating the possibility of encountering Badgermoles. However, the presence they sensed didn't seem to be that of those friendly creatures.
"Whatever it is, we'll see," said Azula as she stood beside Shisui. The sphere of fire floating above her gradually transformed into a small, flaming hawk, ready to be launched.
"Humans~ It's been a long time since I've seen you in my domain~" A mature, somewhat sensual female voice echoed through the cave. There was one peculiar detail, though: a constant hissing sound accompanied her speech.
Soon, the entity that spoke those words approached. First, they saw an enormous triangular head covered in white scales, reptilian eyes, and a long forked tongue sniffing the air.
A gigantic serpent! It gave off a subtle spiritual aura, revealing its true nature. This creature had distinctive red markings around its eyes that outlined its features and a small, protruding horn on its head as if it were just beginning to grow.
"Oh! So the legends of this region are true!" Suki exclaimed excitedly, letting her guard down, though she still held her metal fans tightly.
"The story of the White Snake Lady? Do you think it's her?" Shisui asked. He had heard such stories because he had dealt with various spirits during the war, some of which were corrupted by Vaatu.
This is why he became interested in the region's culture regarding spiritual entities. This was common in many places; spirits built reputations, both good and bad.
It was no wonder that Koh was an entity known throughout the world, even though he was tied to a specific location. The spirit before them was similar, only its fame wasn't as widespread or infamous as the face-stealing centipede's.
"Oh~ Humans who remind me of something~ It seems you're exploring around here~? Have humans advanced so much that the surface of the world no longer satisfies you~?" The spirit asked, slowly appraising everyone present and pausing on the Avatar.
"Ah~ Another one of yours~. Are you planning to eliminate me, just like one of your past lives who thought I was upsetting the balance by giving humans rain during times of drought~?" Although the subject she brought up was heavy, the female entity remained calm. A smile even appeared on her enormous face.
"Huh? No, no! Thank you for supporting the humans!" Aang quickly replied, not wanting to cause a misunderstanding by taking too long to answer.
"It seems that with each life, you become a little smarter and more critical~. Let's see~... Oh~! Are you the one who briefly woke me up by draining the water from the area with your light~?" Congratulations!~" The serpent looked at Shisui with narrowed eyes, leaving the sage unsure of how to respond.
"Um, thanks?" Hey, could you help us? By the way, what should we call you?" Shisui's directness made Azula elbow him. However, the waterbender just wanted to quickly finish his raid on Ba Sing Se.
"Be patient, human~. I can help you if you help me with something~. Also, you can call me~... Bai Suzhen.~" The spirit introduced herself, making Shisui smile with excitement.
"Great! Can you guide us to Ba Sing Se without that annoying wall getting in our way?" the Sage asked. Bai Suzhen's slanted eyes narrowed for a moment before she nodded.
"Ah~ Are you going to cause trouble for that annoying little girl covered in blood and madness~? Fine~! In return, I want you to extend spring a little longer here when you're able, okay~?" Bai Suzhen asked. Shisui nodded.
"Alright, as long as it doesn't affect anything else, I can try to do that when I'm able," Shisui readily agreed, seeing no problem with this matter. In fact, he was even a little interested.
Could he really reach that level? It seemed that even a spirit like Bai Suzhen had hopes and expectations for his potential.
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AN: Tomorrow, June 11, is my Birthday (at least in my country when I post this). There are no more chapters this week because of my birthday. :3