On the day Lidon and his group were paraded through the streets, Kahn stood among the crowd, quietly watching the procession.
Lidon's n had not yet reached his position, but the chaotic and noisy discussions around him were already rising without end.
For so unknown reason, the full details of this mission had spread throughout the capital, igniting heated conversation everywhere.
But the more Kahn listened, the more he felt that sothing was deeply off.
The general outline of the event was correct, but the version circulating among the people placed overwhelming emphasis on Azula's extraordinary intelligence and unmatched capability, crediting her alone for the capture of Lidon's forces, while Kahn was not ntioned at all.
The story painted Azula as a princess gifted in both strategy and strength, and the people listening could not help but admire her wholeheartedly.
The thought that such a person was the Fire Nation's princess instantly gave them a strong sense of security.
Of course, Kahn was not entirely absent from the story.
The version spreading through the streets introduced him as Iroh's disciple, then placed every cruel detail of Lidon's torture squarely on his shoulders, emphasizing his ruthlessness to the extre.
???
Although he had indeed arranged the entire plan, his first reaction upon hearing it was that their sche had sohow been exposed.
But after thinking more carefully, he realized this version of events was profoundly twisted.
I'm ruthless, and Azula is intelligent and heroic?
Kahn felt that anyone with even the slightest understanding of the two of them should be ashad to fabricate such nonsense.
Making things up this shalessly—do they have no conscience!?
He knew he was hardly a noble person, but if he were compared to Azula, he would instantly beco a saint.
Just kidding.
Although he did not know who had deliberately crafted this story, he knew without question that both its appearance and its rapid spread had to be connected to Ozai.
That old bastard really did love playing dirty.
It was easy to imagine that once this version spread, the overwhelming majority of Iroh's forr subordinates, unaware of the truth, would have their opinion of him plunge straight into the abyss, perhaps even treating him as a mortal enemy.
At the very least, in the future, if he encountered any of Iroh's forr subordinates, the situation where he could easily gain their trust by simply giving his na, as he had done with Lidon and his n, would never happen again.
This old scher, you truly never do a single thing that resembles basic human decency!
Kahn cursed inwardly, but for the mont he had no way to deal with it and could only take things one step at a ti.
Soon, the procession arrived.
Lidon and his group were tied to prison wagons, each one so weak that they looked as though a gust of wind could knock them over.
But Kahn knew they would not collapse.
At least, not here.
The hardest hurdle was now behind them.
Very soon, they would leave the capital and be sent off to different labor sites.
And at the sa ti, the White Lotus would begin its rescue.
Whether that rescue would succeed, and whether they would survive long enough for it to begin, he did not know.
All he could do was silently wish them luck in his heart.
Regardless, from every possible angle, his mission could now be considered a complete success.
The crushing burden that had weighed on his shoulders for this entire period finally lifted.
As Kahn let out a long breath of relief, his tightly repressed body and mind finally found release.
And at that exact instant, his Spiritbending, which had remained stagnant for so long, suddenly broke through, finally reaching the threshold where he could cross freely into the Spirit World.
Double joy descended all at once.
This was truly what it ant for bitterness to turn into sweetness.
As Kahn sighed with emotion, he also felt, for the first ti in quite a while, a surge of genuine excitent.
Being able to freely enter and leave the Spirit World was certainly delightful.
But that was not the true reason he had worked so hard to improve his Spiritbending all this ti.
The real reason was that with the ability to cross into the Spirit World, he could finally et Iroh there.
His Uncle Iroh.
The dependable pillar he could lean on.
His good master.
A walking encyclopedia.
A master of riddles.
A man with endless hidden cards.
Always reliable.
That handso bald old man was finally making his return!
Clap clap clap clap clap clap.
Thunderous applause tis infinity!
As the old saying goes, a family elder is a family treasure.
And another old saying goes, you only realize what you had after it is gone.
Although he had prepared himself ntally, it was only after Iroh truly left that Kahn genuinely understood how much help Iroh had always given him.
That only made him look forward to Iroh's return even more.
Even though he had warned himself before not to rely too heavily on others, one person's strength was ultimately limited.
Just like this mission.
If not for the White Lotus's intelligence, Azula's cooperation, the trust of Lidon's n, and Wolf's assistance, then no matter how much martial skill or scheming he possessed, he would still have ended up at Ozai's rcy.
A person should neither beco excessively dependent nor cut themselves off completely.
Everything had to be adjusted according to the situation.
Rigid black-and-white thinking was never acceptable.
But I've drifted too far off topic.
In short, although Iroh was now far away, his encyclopedic knowledge, broad insight, and countless still-unknown hidden cards could still provide Kahn with trendous help.
And even if none of those practical benefits existed, simply being able to speak with Iroh when necessary would already be enough to provide peace of mind.
No matter what, the deep bond between them was sothing no one else could replace.
And so, night fell—
Before Iroh had left, the two of them made an agreent.
After Iroh departed, he would enter the Spirit World at a fixed ti every night and wait there for Kahn until they t.
Now, Kahn was finally going to keep that appointnt.
The last ti Iroh brought him into the Spirit World, everything had been a blur before he arrived.
But now, personally using the technique to cross worlds, he experienced far more than before.
The sensation was like sinking into a still lake.
Or like passing through an invisible mbrane.
The entire process felt impossibly long and impossibly brief at the sa ti, carrying a depth that was hard to describe.
But in the end, it all returned to the familiar blur before his eyes.
And when the scenery around him settled, it beca both strange and familiar.
He had successfully entered the Spirit World.
The Spirit World was profoundly mysterious.
Even space and distance beca vague there, and all things seed to answer only to the mind.
Although there was no sign of Iroh anywhere within his sight, Kahn held a single unwavering thought in his mind—to find him.
And that thought led him forward without regard for direction.
He seed to walk for a very long ti.
And yet also not long at all.
The scenery around him appeared to shift several tis.
Then, after passing through a stretch of jungle, his view suddenly opened—
Iroh's figure appeared before him.
"Haha, Kahn, you're finally here!"
The mont he saw Kahn appear, Iroh burst into hearty laughter, his joy obvious.
"Long ti no see, Uncle Iroh."
Kahn walked forward calmly, intending to maintain a composed expression.
But in the end, he could not keep it up and smiled despite himself.
The two shared a long-awaited embrace.
Then they pulled back and looked each other over.
Iroh had not changed at all, which reassured Kahn that this period of exile had clearly done nothing to him.
On the other hand, Kahn, having just returned from this mission, looked far more worn than usual.
That made the smile on Iroh's face fade considerably as he asked with concern:
"What has happened during this ti?"
Kahn scratched his cheek and recounted everything that had happened.
"Nothing much."
"Just ran into a few minor problems..."
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