After school, Kori followed Kahn out of the school.
She had already obtained her mother's permission, saying she would be playing with Kahn and would return ho later.
This was, of course, just an excuse to keep her mother from worrying.
Thinking about the upcoming action, Kori felt both nervous and excited.
Although she had guessed that the matter Kahn ntioned was not simple, she never expected it to be this complicated.
This was actually a secret commission from the Royal Family.
As a citizen of the Fire Nation, one should contribute to the Fire Nation.
At least, that was how her parents had raised her.
Now, a plan to serve the nation had suddenly appeared before her like a blessing from the heavens, making her heart pound with excitent.
The two did not enter the palace through the main gate.
Instead, they followed the towering wall to a secluded alley beside the palace, where Azula was waiting for them.
"Allow to introduce you."
"This is my friend, Kori, an Earthbender from Yu Dao."
"Kori, this is Her Royal Highness, Princess Azula."
Kahn acted as a bridge, introducing them to each other.
"Your Highness Azula, my na is Kori, daughter of Governor Morishita of Yu Dao."
"It is an honor to be able to offer you my assistance."
Kori bowed respectfully.
Kahn sighed silently beside her.
What a straightforward girl.
She revealed everything the mont she opened her mouth.
"A simple-minded girl."
After making this judgnt in her mind, Azula remained calm.
She displayed an unusual dignity and elegance, truly like a royal princess.
Kahn was almost startled but managed to maintain his composure.
He silently gave her a thumbs up.
When it ca to acting, Azula truly had mastery over it.
Azula smiled at Kori and said:
"Kahn should have already told you the general details of the commission, correct?"
Kori replied:
"Yes."
"Kahn told that this commission from the Royal Family is to find sothing."
"And it must be carried out in secret, not to be disclosed to anyone."
"Not only that."
"You may take a look at this."
Azula took out an edict from her robe and handed it to Kori.
It bore the exclusive seal of the Fire Nation.
Kori had seen such edicts and seals before in her father's study.
This made her even more convinced.
The edict was written from Ozai's perspective to Azula.
It stated that the mission must be kept strictly confidential.
If it were leaked, not only would Azula be punished, but the one who leaked it, along with their relatives, would face severe punishnt, even death.
Seeing this, Kori could not help but shiver.
It seed she was indeed involved in sothing serious.
But she was not truly afraid.
Because it only punished the one who leaked the information, and she believed she would never do so.
So she nodded solemnly and said:
"I understand."
"I will definitely keep it a secret."
"Very good."
"I am pleased that our nation can cultivate such talent as you."
"In that case, please sign the confidentiality agreent."
Azula smiled and praised Kori.
Then she took out a confidentiality agreent, also stamped with a seal, and handed it to her.
Kori checked the contents, found no issues, and signed it without hesitation.
Azula's smile grew even brighter.
"Do not worry."
"Although this mission will not be known to others, the Fire Nation will never mistreat its people."
"Let alone those who render ritorious service."
"We will rember your contributions."
"Yes, thank you, Your Highness!"
Hearing this, Kori beca even more motivated.
Kahn, while sighing at Kori's simplicity, also felt relieved.
There would be no problems now.
Undoubtedly, this was a script designed by him and Azula.
They had disguised their plan as a secret royal mission.
And because Zuko's acting skills were too poor, he was unable to participate in this performance.
However, although the edict and confidentiality agreent were forged and their contents false, the seal was real.
Azula had personally infiltrated the restricted area and secretly stamped the genuine seal.
Kahn marveled at her boldness.
The seal being real ant that the edict and confidentiality agreent could beco real under certain circumstances.
It all depended on whether Kori would abide by the terms of the agreent.
Kahn naturally hoped that these docunts would never beco real.
In any case, now that Kori had signed the agreent and they had their assurance, both of them relaxed.
They then told Kori their true objective.
They were searching for a hidden chamber.
Kori relaxed after hearing this.
This task might be difficult for ordinary people, but for her, it was simple.
To demonstrate her ability, she placed her hand on the city wall.
With a slight sound, a hidden passage appeared before them.
She smiled confidently.
"Your Highness must have co out from here, right?"
Azula and Kahn exchanged glances.
Both of them smiled at the sa ti.
"There's hope."
What Kori did next completely reshaped their understanding.
This was more than just hope.
It was almost unbelievable.
Originally, they could only conduct a blind, exhaustive search.
They might not even find one in a whole day.
And even if they did, it might not be a hidden chamber.
Not to ntion that even if they found one, they would still need to figure out how to open it.
But Kori went straight to the point.
Through Earthbending perception, she filtered out hidden passages and focused only on hidden chambers.
Then she used Earthbending to forcibly open them.
Afterward, she could even restore them to their original state.
It was almost like cheating.
It could only be said that the designers of these hidden chambers probably never expected an Earthbender to appear within the Fire Nation palace.
It was truly unbelievable.
With Kori's help, their progress soared.
They found three hidden chambers in just one afternoon.
Of the three, one was filled with grain.
One was a storage room.
The last was empty and covered in dust.
This indicated that Ozai also had a considerable understanding of these chambers.
Although they still had not found any clues about Ursa, such progress already satisfied them greatly.
Azula praised Kori once again and told them to continue next ti.
After sending Kori off, Azula said to Kahn:
"You have a good friend."
"Have you known each other for a long ti?"
"Not long."
"Just half a sester."
Kahn briefly explained how he and Kori t.
"What's wrong?"
"Is there a problem?"
"Nothing."
"I was just asking casually."
"After all, she was very helpful."
"She is worth a bit of my attention."
Azula said casually.
Kahn could not help but tease her when he heard that.
"If you're truly grateful for her help, then don't pay attention to her."
"I'm afraid she won't be able to handle it."
"Are you looking for a beating?!"
Azula imdiately dropped her composed deanor and revealed her true nature.
—
To conceal Kori's involvent, Azula did not call Mai and Ty Lee during these days.
Kahn thought this was probably a break for them.
Zuko was also sidelined due to his poor acting.
So only the three of them remained active.
But with Kori's Earthbending, the search speed was astonishing.
Finally, after a week, they discovered a clue!
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