Chapter 5

Chapter 5 I need time to think, to plan. We failed at Ba Sing Se, and I have no intention of returning to the Fire Nation with news of another failure. My father gave me far more leeway than he ever gave Zuko, but he is not a patient man. I left Ba Sing Se feeling a little depressed, but immediately felt better when, while traveling through the Earth Kingdom, we came upon more of the fur from the Avatar's beast. Odd that the bison is so far from Ba Sing Se—it must be separated from the Avatar. All at once I feel inspired. We will finally get the Avatar, and I will not have to waste any energy seeking him out: If I can capture his beast, the Avatar will come to me. We followed the trail of bison fur into a thickly wooded area. It led us to a forest stream, where we eventually came upon three girls dressed in bright, colorful ceremonial costumes, standing in the stream bathing the Avatar's bison. This search couldn't have been any easier! I fired a bolt of lightning to announce our arrival. It split a tree and startled the girls. The bison growled and snarled, but I could smell its fear. I

我需要时间去思考，去计划。 我们在永固城失败了，我可不想带着又一次失败的消息回到烈火国。 我父亲给我的余地比给祖寇的要大得多，但他不是一个有耐心的人。 离开永固城时，我感到有些沮丧，但当我们在土强国旅行时，发现了更多神通野兽的皮毛，我立刻感觉好多了。 奇怪的是，野牛离永固城这么远，它一定是和神通分开了。 我突然有了灵感。 我们最终会找到神通，而我不必浪费任何精力去寻找他：如果我能抓住他的野兽，神通就会来找我。 我们沿着野牛皮毛留下的痕迹进入了一片茂密的树林。 它把我们带到了一条森林溪流，在那里我们遇到了三个穿着鲜艳多彩的仪式服装的女孩，她们站在溪流里给阿凡达的野牛洗澡。 这次搜索再容易不过了！我发射一道闪电来宣布我们的到来。 它劈开了一棵树，吓了女孩们一跳。 野牛咆哮着，但我能闻到它的恐惧。 我

waved a handful of its fur in the air. "My, my, you're easy to find," I said. "It's really astounding that my brother hasn't captured you yet." The beast roared as the girls struck warrior poses— with fans! "Who are you, the Avatar's fan girls?" I asked. "If you're looking for the Avatar, you're out of luck," one of them said. "That's okay, any friend of the Avatar is an enemy of mine," I replied as I fired a flaming blast at the girl, but the bison slammed the water with his tail, sending up a huge wave that extinguished the fire before it reached her. While Mai and Ty Lee fought the other two girls, I launched a series of fiery attacks at the beast, and this time I could see fear in his eyes. "Afraid of fire, I see. That's good, you should be," I said, before creating a ring of fire around him. Now the bison was truly terrified. But one of the warriors doused the fire with mud from the stream. Now the animal had a way out. "Go, Appa!" she shouted to the bison. "Get out of here! You have to find Aang. We'll be okay!" The beast took to the sky. I turned my attention to this warrior, and knocked her off her feet with a leg sweep. I learned that these

它在空中挥舞着一把皮毛。 “天哪，天哪，你很好找，”我说。 “我哥哥到现在还没有抓住你，真是太令人吃惊了。” 当女孩们摆出战士的姿势时，野兽咆哮着——还有粉丝！“你们是谁，神通的女粉丝吗”我问。 “如果你在找神通，那你就倒霉了，”其中一个说。 “没关系，神通的朋友就是我的敌人，”我回答道，同时向女孩发射了一枚火焰炸弹，但野牛用尾巴猛击水面，掀起一股巨大的波浪，在火焰到达女孩之前就把火扑灭了。 当麦和泰·李与另外两个女孩搏斗时，我向那头野兽发起了一系列猛烈的攻击，这次我能从它的眼睛里看到恐惧。 “怕火，我明白了。“这很好，你应该这样。”我说，然后在他周围制造了一个火圈。 现在野牛真的吓坏了。 但其中一个战士用小溪里的泥浇灭了火。 现在动物有了一条出路。 “去吧，阿柏！”她对野牛喊道。 “滚出去！”你必须找到安昂。 我们会没事的！”野兽飞上了天空。 我把注意力转向了这位勇士，一脚把她踢倒了。 我了解到

girls were warriors from Kyoshi Island—and quickly a plan took shape in my mind. Ty Lee, Mai, and I returned to Ba Sing Se dressed as Kyoshi warriors. I was amazed at the warm reception we were given. The guards at the outer wall threw open the gates and welcomed us. An elaborately woven carpet was rolled out leading up to the palace. It was a little infuriating that Kyoshi warriors would garner such a welcome, but I will not complain just yet. It's strange to think that all along I had only thought in terms of bigger and better weapons, of more complicated schemes to capture the Avatar. Yet all it takes is the right dress and makeup to open the door to the throne of the Earth Kingdom. And when all is said and done, that's exactly where I'll be seated. The fancy carpet led directly to the king's throne. He stood as we approached. We paused before him and bowed respectfully. "In our hour of need, it is with the highest honor that I welcome our esteemed allies, the Kyoshi warriors!" he announced to rousing cheers and applause from the gathered throng. I bowed again and spoke softly. "We are the Earth

女孩们都是来自虚岛的武士——很快，一个计划就在我的脑海里成形了。 泰·李、麦和我装扮成虚族武士回到永固城。 我对我们受到的热情接待感到惊讶。 外墙的卫兵打开大门欢迎我们。 铺上了一条精心编织的地毯，通向宫殿。 京姬武士受到如此欢迎，这让人有点恼火，但我现在还不会抱怨。 奇怪的是，我一直只考虑更大更好的武器，更复杂的计划来捕获神通。 然而，只要穿上合适的衣服，化上合适的妆，就能打开通往土土王国宝座的大门。 等一切尘埃落定，那就是我的座位。 华丽的地毯直接通向国王的宝座。 我们走近时，他站了起来。 我们在他面前停下来，恭敬地鞠了一躬。 “在我们需要帮助的时刻，我怀着最高的荣誉欢迎我们尊敬的盟友——虚子武士！”他宣布这一消息时，聚集的人群中响起了欢呼声和掌声。 我再次鞠躬，轻声说话。 “我们是地球

King's humble servants." Following a formal welcoming ceremony, we joined the king in his throne room. There, he filled us in on the latest goings-on in Ba Sing Se. "It's been a difficult week. My most trusted adviser, Long Feng, and his Dai Li agents tried to take control of Ba Sing Se from me." Tried? I believe we will have more luck than they did. "It's terrible when you can't trust the people who are closest to you," I said politely. "But there is good news," added the king. "The Council of Generals is meeting to plan an invasion of the Fire Nation this summer—on the day of a solar eclipse, when Firebenders are at their weakest!" Ah, that's their plan! All Firebenders dread the Day of Black Sun. It only comes every few years, but its effects are devastating. And while this news is shocking, I do not allow it to change my expression. Stupid Earthbenders; their plan will never come to pass—now that I am aware of their intentions. The king has also foolishly told me all I need to know in order to successfully overthrow him. The key is the Dai Li. They are the elite members of an agency that keeps order in Ba Sing Se. I will gain control of them and set up a coup from within. And the delicious part is that the king won't even know

国王卑微的仆人。”在正式的欢迎仪式之后，我们来到国王的正殿。 在那里，他向我们讲述了永固城的最新动态。 “这是艰难的一周。 我最信任的谋士龙凤和他的戴笠手下试图从我手中夺取永固城的控制权。” 试过吗?我相信我们会比他们更幸运。 “当你不能信任你最亲近的人时，那是很糟糕的。”我礼貌地说。 “但是有一个好消息，”国王补充说。 “将军会议正在开会，计划今年夏天入侵烈火国——在日食的那天，火宗人最弱的时候！”啊，这就是他们的计划！所有的火宗人都害怕黑日。 它每隔几年才来一次，但它的影响是毁灭性的。 虽然这个消息令人震惊，但我不会让它改变我的表情。 愚蠢的Earthbenders;既然我已经知道他们的意图，他们的计划决不会实现。 国王也愚蠢地告诉了我，我需要知道的一切，以便成功地推翻他。 关键是戴笠。他们是维持永固城秩序的机构的精英成员。 我会控制他们，从内部发动政变。 最妙的是国王根本不会知道

who is taking over his throne! Silly Earth King, you have handed the Fire Nation the ammunition it needs for its final victory. I must avoid eye contact with Mai and Ty Lee. They wear their emotions on their faces more overtly than I do. And I can't risk having the king suspect anything. "Really? Now that sounds like a fascinating and brilliant plan," I replied with a smile. We were led to the palace's most beautiful guest chambers, where I presented my plan to Mai and Ty Lee. "We have been given an extraordinary opportunity, girls. The chance to conquer Ba Sing Se." I can see that I have shocked them. They are loyal companions and fine soldiers, but they lack any capacity for thinking beyond what is right before their faces. "I thought we just wanted to capture the Avatar," Mai replied. "Why settle for the Avatar when we can have the whole Earth Kingdom? For one hundred years we have tried to break into Ba Sing Se from the outside. But now we are here, inside, and we can take the city by ourselves."

谁要继承他的王位！愚蠢的土强王，你已经给了烈火国最终胜利所需的弹药。 我必须避免和麦和泰·李眼神接触。 他们比我更明显地把情绪表现在脸上。 我不能冒险让国王起疑心。 “真的吗?“这听起来是个迷人而绝妙的计划，”我笑着回答。 我们被带到宫殿最漂亮的客房，在那里我向梅和泰·李介绍了我的计划。 “女孩们，我们得到了一个非凡的机会。 征服永固城的机会。” 我看得出来我把他们吓坏了。 他们是忠诚的伙伴和优秀的士兵，但他们缺乏思考眼前事物的能力。 “我以为我们只想抓住神通，”麦回答。 “既然我们可以拥有整个土强国，为什么还要满足于神通呢？” 一百年来，我们一直试图从外面闯入永固城。 但现在我们在这里，在里面，我们可以自己占领这座城市。”