The Ultimate Fire Master of Avatar

Chapter 14 The Missing Ershu

"Because of his father?"

Kahn asked, assuming that the complexity Aiolos referred to was the struggle for the throne between him and the Archduke.

Although Zu Kou may be completely unaware of this, as Ao Zai's son, he is already caught in this power struggle and cannot remain uninvolved. Ao Zai becoming the new Fire King will undoubtedly also have an impact on Zu Kou.

Airo nodded, then shook his head, and said, "It's true that he might not be able to get out recently because of his father. But what has a deeper impact on Zuko is probably another issue."

"His mother, Ershu, has disappeared."

"It's gone?"

Kahn paused for a moment, then repeated Airo's words, "Gone? What do you mean?"

Although he had only spent a short time with Ershu when he was at Zukou's house, he had a deep impression of her.

In fact, he was not only impressed by Ershu alone, but by everything that happened that day.

The eccentric Azura, the polite and loyal Zuko, the ever-silent maid, and the strange interactions between Ershu and Azura, Zuko and Azura, Azura's eerie and sinister smile and vicious way of speaking, and Zuko's father, Aozai, who never appears.

Of course, there's also the Fire Control Technique, which was promised to be taught to him but has been delayed until now with no news.

Aside from the last item, Kahn initially didn't feel anything amiss while he was in the thick of it, but later he felt something was off. Upon closer inspection, there was nothing wrong with it, but he had an uncomfortable feeling, a sense of unease, and even a chill down his spine, as if he had glimpsed some kind of taboo, a taboo as deep as the abyss of human nature.

That night, Kahn had a nightmare, and the next morning, news came that Aozai had become the King of Fire.

Kahn then took yesterday's discomfort and nightmares as harbingers of an impending upheaval in the palace and stopped investigating further.

When Airo mentioned Ershu, Kahn subconsciously recalled what he had seen and heard that day, as well as Ershu, who praised him highly and was very friendly.

Ershu, she must be a good person.

Airo took a sip of tea and continued:

"Just as the words suggest, she disappeared. It is said that Ershu mysteriously vanished the day after my father's death."

"Mysteriously disappeared? Could it be..."

Kahn instinctively felt there was a conspiracy, after all, the timing of Ershu's disappearance was too ambiguous, coinciding with the day the old emperor died, the throne changed hands, and Ao Zai was elected. It was hard not to suspect that there was some unspeakable reason behind it.

Of course, this was just his intuitive judgment, without any evidence.

That's how it's always portrayed in TV dramas.

Airo seemed to know what Kahn was thinking and shook his head.

"In short, nobody knows. Nobody knows what happened or what went wrong."

However, he actually had some suspicions in his mind.

There really is a hidden story, and the only person who knows about it is probably his younger brother, Ao-jae.

After all, it was his wife who went missing, so he was definitely the first person to know. Moreover, in the course of handling affairs in the past few days, he never showed any other emotions, as if he didn't care about Ershu's disappearance at all.

Or rather, it was as if everything was under his control.

In fact, he had only recently learned of Ershu's disappearance, because he was completely caught up in the messy affairs of the succession to the throne and was in a very passive position, almost completely at the mercy of Ao Zai. In addition, he also had to deal with his father's funeral arrangements, so he was too busy to take care of himself.

Finally, he emerged from the vortex almost completely naked and disheveled, and only after adjusting his mindset did he relax.

Only then did he remember Zuko and Kahn, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, and prepared to go see them, only to learn of Ershu's disappearance.

It's fair to say that he's completely baffled right now, and everything is just guesswork.

But there was no need to tell Kahn this speculation; it would be too dangerous for him.

So Airo decided to end the topic and said:

"Aside from that, there's nothing else. You'll probably be able to meet him in a few days."

"I see."

Kahn nodded and said, "Zuko must have had a tough time lately."

After all, his father suddenly became emperor and his mother mysteriously disappeared, turning his whole life into a mess. Even adults might not be able to withstand the impact of such a change, let alone Zu Kou, who was just a child. If he were in Zu Kou's position, he would probably be at a loss.

Airo also sighed and said:

"Yes, so you'll need to comfort him properly then."

Kahn nodded, needless to say he would do it, after all, he now regarded Zuko as his own brother.

Speaking of which, there was another child in the same situation as Zuko, Azura.

Azura also left a deep impression on him, probably because it was the first time he had seen a child with such a foul mouth. Of course, she was also very smart, extremely smart, and incredibly powerful with exceptional talent.

I don't know why, but my personality is a bit unpredictable, and there's a strange sense of disconnect between me and others.

Kahn was also somewhat worried about Azura, but his worries were in a different direction than his worries about Zuko.

The concern for Zu Kou was more about his safety. During this critical period of power transition, there was a fear that he might be accidentally killed, after all, he was Ao Zai's only son and the current crown prince.

As for the impact of Ershu's disappearance on him, it is secondary compared to his life safety.

He was worried about Azura, on the contrary, because he felt that given Azura's circumstances, there was no need to worry about her safety. Although this feeling of his was completely unfounded.

In short, he was more worried about the impact of Ershu's disappearance on her.

Although he saw Azura arguing with Ershu most of the time that day, and Ershu mostly scolded Azura, there were some details that also proved the complicated relationship between Azura and Ershu.

He vaguely felt that Ershu might be more special to Azura than to Zuko, which was why he wondered if Ershu's mysterious disappearance would have any impact on her.

As Kahn was pondering Azura's situation, Elo casually mentioned her, "Speaking of which, you must have met Zuko's sister when you visited her last time, right?"

"Azura? Of course, we were playing together that day."

Kahn answered.

Airo was a little surprised: "You guys are playing together?"

He paused, then asked, "What do you think of Azura's personality?"

"Um"

Kahn pondered for a moment, somewhat conflicted, and finally concluded:

"She's a very special girl."

Kahn's answer once again surprised Airo.

"A Special Girl"

Airo repeated it, seemingly lost in thought, then a hint of emotion appeared in his eyes: "Yes, special, truly special. Perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps."

His voice trailed off, and Kahn didn't hear the rest of what he said.

After Ai Luo recovered from his emotional state, he continued: