Chapter 9

Chapter 9 In order to travel from the outer wall into the city, we rode a train along a monorail. When we got off at the Ba Sing Se train station, we stepped out onto a busy platform. My thoughts drifted back to Appa. I'd been so caught up in getting to Ba Sing Se, then in stopping the Fire Nation attack and destroying the drill, that I didn't allow myself time to think about my buddy. But we're here now, where he's been taken, and I promise I'm NOT going to leave this city without him. At the station a woman came up to us and introduced herself as Joo Dee. She already knew who we were. She said it was her job to show us around the city, and so off we went in a fancy carriage pulled by a team of ostrich horses. As we rode, Sokka tried to explain to Joo Dee that we had important information for the king about the Fire Nation. But each time he brought it up, she changed the subject or ignored him. "You're in Ba Sing Se now," she said. "Everyone is safe here." Actually, before I got here Ba Sing Se was about to be invaded by the Fire Nation and their giant drill, but she just won't listen. Ba Sing Se is turning out to

为了从城墙进城，我们乘坐了单轨火车。 当我们在永固城火车站下车时，我们走上了繁忙的站台。 我的思绪又回到了阿柏身上。 我一心只想着去永固城，然后阻止烈火国的进攻，摧毁演习，没有时间考虑我的朋友。 但我们现在在这里，他被带到这里，我保证我不会丢下他离开这个城市。 在车站，一位女士向我们走来，自我介绍说她叫朱迪。 她已经知道我们是谁了。 她说带我们游览城市是她的工作，于是我们坐上了一辆由一群鸵鸟马拉着的豪华马车。 我们骑马时，索卡试图向朱迪解释，我们有关于烈火国的重要信息要告诉国王。 但每次他提起这件事，她要么改变话题，要么不理他。 “你现在在永固城。”她说。 “这里的每个人都很安全。”事实上，在我来之前，永固城就要被烈火国和他们的巨钻入侵了，但她就是不听。 永固城变成了

be a really strange city. There are three different sections: the lower, middle, and upper rings. They are divided by classes; the poorest people live in the lower ring and the richest live in the upper. I don't think I'm comfortable with that. I mean, I grew up listening to the monks teaching about equality and sharing. Anyway, Joo Dee brought us to the upper ring. She pointed out the king's royal palace, and the Dai Li agents around it. Apparently the Dai Li is the cultural authority of the city. Then she showed us our new house. I wasn't planning on staying here long, but she said we have to wait a month before our appointment with the king! We decided we'd spend the time looking for Appa. We had hoped that Joo Dee would leave us alone, but she insisted on escorting us all over. It didn't matter anyway; we didn't get very far. I had such a strong feeling that Appa was there, but nobody we asked seemed to be able to help us find him! After a totally frustrating day, Joo Dee finally dropped us off at our house. We met our next-door neighbor, Pong, hoping maybe we could get some answers from him. He was friendly enough, but as soon as we mentioned the war, he began trembling and looking around to see if he was being watched.

是一个非常奇怪的城市。有三个不同的部分：下环、中环和上环。 他们按阶级划分；最穷的人住在下层，最富有的人住在上层。 我觉得我不太适应。 我的意思是，我是听着僧侣们关于平等和分享的教导长大的。 总之，朱迪把我们带到了上环。 她指出了国王的皇宫，以及戴笠特工的周围。 显然戴笠是这座城市的文化权威。 然后她带我们看了我们的新房子。 我本来没打算在这里待太久，但她说我们得等一个月才能见国王！我们决定花时间找阿柏。 我们本来希望朱迪不要打扰我们，但她坚持要护送我们到处走。 反正也没关系；我们没走多远。 我有一种强烈的感觉，那就是阿柏在那里，但我们问过的人似乎都没能帮我们找到他！在经历了令人沮丧的一天后，朱迪终于把我们送到了我们家。 我们见到了隔壁的邻居Pong，希望能从他那里得到一些答案。 他很友好，但我们一提到战争，他就开始发抖，四处张望，看是否有人在监视他。

"Listen," he said, obviously frightened. "You can't mention the war in Ba Sing Se. And whatever you do, stay away from the Dai Li." Then he ran into his house and slammed the door behind him. No one in this city will talk about anything important. It seems like some kind of conspiracy or something. "We have to see the Earth King," Sokka insisted. "That's the only way to straighten this out." Sokka's right. The king HAS to help us. I'm sure of it. And I'm NOT waiting a whole month in this weird city to see him! A little while later, Katara was reading the paper and discovered that the king was having a party. She suggested that we sneak in and try to talk to him there. So she and Toph get to dress up like fancy society ladies, while Sokka and I have to pretend that we're busboys. The things I have to do sometimes! We snuck in and spotted the Earth King, but on our way to him we were caught by Dai Li agents and taken to a library inside the palace. Then this guy approached me. He said his name was Long Feng, and that he was the grand secretariat of Ba Sing Se, cultural minister to the king, and head of the Dai Li. I asked him why he wouldn't let us see the king, and

“听着，”他说，显然很害怕。 “你不能提永固城的战争。 无论你做什么，都要离戴笠远点。” 然后他跑进自己的房子，砰地关上了身后的门。 这个城市里没人会谈论重要的事情。 这看起来像是某种阴谋什么的。 “我们必须去见土强王。”索卡坚持道。 “这是解决问题的唯一办法。” Sokka是对的。国王必须帮助我们。 我很确定。我可不想在这个奇怪的城市等上整整一个月才见到他！过了一会儿，卡塔拉正在看报纸，发现国王正在举行宴会。 她建议我们溜进去和他谈谈。 这样她和拓芙就能打扮成上流社会的淑女，而我和索卡就得假装自己是打杂的。 有时候我不得不做的事！我们偷偷溜进去，发现了土强王，但在去找他的路上，我们被戴笠的特工抓住了，并被带到宫殿里的一个图书馆。 然后这个人走近我。 他说自己叫龙凤，是永固城的大秘书，国王的文化大臣，戴笠的首领。 我问他为什么不让我们见国王，然后

told him about the Fire Nation drill and the solar eclipse, but he didn't seem to care! He just said that the king had no time to get involved with politics or military activities, which makes no sense! What else does the king DO? All that stuff is his job. ESPECIALLY during a war. He said that silencing talk of the conflict made Ba Sing Se a peaceful, orderly utopia. Talk about crazy—this guy's nuttier than General Fong for sure! Unfortunately, yelling at Long Feng just made him angrier at me. He told me he knew I was looking for Appa, and made it seem like he had the power to help, or to make it impossible.… Does he know where Appa is? I think Long Feng knows a lot more than he lets on. I need to find out what this guy is hiding, but it's going to take a little bit of planning. Right now, I just have to be calm. And now there's this strange woman who wants to escort us home. "What happened to Joo Dee?" Katara asked. "I'm Joo Dee," the woman said, smiling. "I'll be your host as long as you're in our wonderful city!" Just when I thought things couldn't get any stranger. What in the world is going on in this crazy city?

告诉他烈火国的演习和日食的事，但他似乎并不在意！他只是说国王没有时间参与政治或军事活动，这毫无道理！国王还做了什么？ 所有这些都是他的工作。 尤其是在战争期间。他说，对冲突的缄默使永固城成为一个和平、有序的乌托邦。 说到疯狂，这家伙肯定比方将军还疯狂！不幸的是，对龙峰大喊大叫只会让他对我更生气。 他告诉我他知道我在找阿柏，他说得好像他有能力帮我，或者让我找不到他。他知道阿柏在哪里吗？ 我想龙峰知道的比他表现出来的要多得多。 我得查出这家伙在隐瞒什么，但这需要一点计划。 现在，我只需要保持冷静。 现在有个奇怪的女人想送我们回家。 “朱迪怎么了？”Katara问道。 “我是朱迪，”那个女人微笑着说。 “只要你在我们美丽的城市，我就会做你的主人！”就在我以为事情不会变得更奇怪的时候。 这个疯狂的城市到底发生了什么？