Chapter 47

"You can't imagine how glad I am that you're alive!" Azula said unexpectedly, continuing to lie on my stomach.

"So you're awake. And how long have I been lying here?" I asked her.

"Two days. And before that, your wounds from the lightning took another week and a half to heal."

"And how long have you been here with me?" I asked.

"Almost the whole time. I only left to give orders to the soldiers."

"What about your uncle and brother?" I remembered them.

"Uncle saved Zuko from your lightning by redirecting it back at you, but he exposed his back to my strike. He is chained, as is my brother, and they are kept in separate cells."

"It's good that they're kept apart. What's happening with the city?"

"Everything's fine. The benders and soldiers are establishing order, fighting crime, and the now sporadic resistance. A governor sent by my father should arrive in a few days, and then we'll head back. I've told father about the role you played in capturing the city and the traitors, so a great reward awaits you at home."

"Wow, got it. And what about Long Feng?" I asked, remembering the one I had a deal with.

"Nothing. I haven't done anything with him and was waiting for you to wake up."

"Excellent."

I lay relaxed in bed, pondering what to do next. My body is fine, and I feel no discomfort, so I could get up and go right now. I need to think about what I'll be doing in the near future.

"Garo, how are you feeling?" Azula asked, looking into my eyes.

"Good. Excellent, I'd say. I'm in perfect condition. I could, in fact, get up right now and finish up the remaining tasks."

"So, you're not feeling any discomfort?" Azula smiled.

"Hmm, doesn't seem like it."

"Excellent," Azula whispered, leaning in to stretch towards me.

I didn't resist when she kissed me, placing her hands on my shoulders. On the contrary, smiling inwardly, I responded and embraced her, pulling her closer to me.

"Now you have a different task..." Azula whispered, pausing.

"I don't mind," I said, smiling and pulling Azula to me again...

*****

"Mr. Garo, have you finally recovered from your injuries? I am very glad of that."

"I'm as glad as anyone, Long Feng."

"I have no doubt about that. Mr. Garo, I have fulfilled my part of our agreement with you. And for almost two weeks, I have been waiting for you to fulfill yours. I don't doubt that you simply were not able to do so earlier, so I patiently waited, but now you are in full health, aren't you?" Long Feng asked, quickly getting to the question that concerned him.

"Yes, that's correct, but if I'm not mistaken, there's another part of our agreement that you need to fulfill from your side, or am I wrong?" I asked him, standing up to face him.

Silence hung in the air, and Long Feng looked at me for about ten seconds before finally breaking the silence.

"Yes, you are absolutely right."

He waved his hand, and a Dai Li agent, who had been standing there from the beginning, waiting for a possible command, as had several other agents, pulled out a large scroll and, taking a few steps, handed it to me.

Carefully taking the scroll, I opened it just as carefully. After reading everything written in it, I rolled it back up and tucked it inside my jacket.

"I want to see this in action, to ensure that the information provided is true and not a forgery."

Long Feng took a deep breath and looked at me heavily.

"Mr. Garo, do you not trust me?" he asked.

"No, of course not! Why would I trust you, in your opinion?" I widened my eyes, looking at him.

"Hmm, I was hoping to earn at least a little of your trust."

"I'm afraid that's impossible, simply because it's impossible. I've been deceived once already and I'm not about to fall for the same trick twice. However, I'm still awaiting confirmation of the material written here."

This time, Long Feng did not hesitate and waved his hand again, this time a different one. From a dark corner, another Dai Li agent came out, leading a bound earthbender before him. He pushed the earthbender forward, causing him to fall to his knees, then circled around and began to do everything exactly as shown and described in the scroll.

I carefully monitored both the hypnotized earthbender and the Dai Li agent using all means available to me at the moment. After the hypnotized's full attention was concentrated on the hypnotist and his words, the life processes in his body slowed down slightly. I approached closer and could feel that his blood was becoming enriched with a set of hormones, starting from endorphins and ending with oxytocin and vasopressin. On a physiological level, nothing else happened; the hypnotized entered a trance, and his critical thinking was reduced to the absolute minimum, as low as it could possibly go.

The hypnotic processing of the earth bender continued for another forty minutes, after which it came to an end.

For another fifteen minutes, I made sure of the truthfulness of everything that was happening, talking with the hypnotized and monitoring changes in his state.

The client was hypnotized essentially just to follow orders, but I was immediately warned that making him do something unnatural wouldn't work, as the hypnosis wasn't strong and deep enough to suppress the instincts of self-preservation. As with all other instincts.

I took out a knife, one of a set of four that I always carry with me. I don't use them, but I carry them. Handing the knife to the victim, I looked at him and said,

"Cut off your left hand's little finger."

"What? No! Why!?" he began to resist and shook his head, where his instincts now conflicted with the hypnotic programming.

"Have you forgotten? Calm down. You were just recently bitten in that finger by a deadly poisonous beetle, and now the poison is slowly spreading through your body. But since it hasn't spread beyond the finger yet, you need to cut off the finger to save the entire body. That's the only way you'll survive."

My calm words pacified the victim, and after a brief consideration, he took the knife and swiftly cut off his finger.

Yes, this contradicts the instinct of self-preservation, but not in a situation where preserving it would lead to the death of the entire body. Due to the hypnosis, the body, consciousness, and subconscious believed in this information, and there was no further conflict. In other words, I simply circumvented or even exploited the victim's body's protective mechanism by deceiving it.

"That's all I wanted to find out from you. Indeed, Ba Sing Se holds incredible secrets. Hmm, using some of my abilities, it's entirely possible to enhance the effect of hypnosis or speed up the process... or even both!" I started discussing the thought that had occurred to me with myself.

"Mr. Garo, our agreement..." Long Feng reminded me.

"Yes, of course, come back in two days. By then, everything will be ready. Just don't be late; I don't want to waste more time than necessary," I casually said and waved my hand, walking back to my quarters.

Of course, I hadn't forgotten what I told Azula about this man and wasn't planning to leave him alive. Therefore... tonight, Long Feng will sleep forever, not waking up due to an unexpected stroke. Organizing a delayed death isn't too difficult, the main thing is to do everything carefully so as not to kill on the spot and not let on that you've done anything.

Returning to the temporary residence, where I was also being healed, I went to my room.

Upon entering, I quickly shed my clothes and headed to bed, wanting to rest from Long Feng and the Dai Li... besides...

"You're back already, Garo?" Azula asked me, lying under the covers.

"Yep. Dealt with Long Feng. He won't be bothering us anymore. Today is his last day."

"How merciless you are," she drawled. "Come to me."

"I'm on my way, my princess."

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