Entering the courtyard, it was obvious that no one had lived there for a long time.
In front of the house facing the courtyard gate, some of the stone benches and tables had developed cracks.
Years of accumulated leaves had been blown into the corners by the wind, and the flowers, left uncared for, had withered away, leaving only their stalks.
The only saving grace was that the house did not look unusual from the outside.
“Little brother Koda, I’ve made a fool of myself before you.
Actually, this is my fault for not notifying the servants to come and clean beforehand, causing you discomfort.
Actually, Master Lao is currently in business negotiations and hasn’t returned to the family yet, so an audience isn’t possible.
This courtyard was arranged for you by the people I sent, so it’s naturally a bit crude.”
“However, once Master Lao returns tomorrow and I inform him of the situation, you will likely be staying in a place not far from the main courtyard.
The environment there is incomparable to this; you’ll surely be satisfied.
But for tonight, I must ask you to condescend to stay here for a while.”
“No problem, I’m just happy to have a place to stay.”
Koda said jokingly.
If not for the President, he would have had to spend more money to stay at an inn.
Now that he could get a courtyard for free, he naturally had no reason to demand anything from others.
“I’m glad you understand.
Since I’ve brought you here, I’ll go handle the caravan’s affairs.
There are bound to be many issues to resolve after just returning.
The house hasn’t been cleaned yet, but I’ve already sent word; servants will be here shortly.
For now, you can walk around the Northern Family land to familiarize yourself with the environment.”
“If you need anything, you can contact the servants directly, and I will handle it.
Please excuse me while I take my leave.”
With the President’s status, he did not actually need to be so polite to Koda.
But if Koda met the Family Head and became a Guest Elder, his status would change.
Being polite then would undoubtedly leave a much weaker impression.
Few people could resist the treatment of a Guest Elder, especially one for the Northern Family; such cases were almost non-existent.
Not long after the President left the courtyard, a young man dressed as a laborer arrived.
He prepared a pile of cleaning supplies, and after paying his respects to Koda, he entered the house to clean.
“It’s no fun just waiting around like this.
Why don’t we go for a stroll, A Yi?
According to the President, we might live near the main courtyard in the future, so it’s a good time to get familiar with the surroundings now.”
“A Yi I’m going, A Yi”
Koda picked up A Yi from the stone table, putting a stop to her behavior of spinning on her back on the table.
He placed her on the back of his neck and carried her out of the courtyard.
This had always been their daily way of walking, though sometimes he would carry her in his arms, depending on Koda’s mood.
“Looking at this servant’s cleaning speed, we can just come back before evening.
There’s still plenty of time to play around.
Let’s go.”
Not long after leaving the courtyard, he no longer saw the laborers’ quarters.
It seemed they were some distance from the back courtyard.
The back courtyard was the place for handling miscellaneous chores and daily servant work.
As for the personal servants of the master and mistress, they lived in houses closer to the main courtyard to be near their masters and easily summoned.
Stepping onto the smooth stone path, he walked for a good distance.
The tiles on the low walls seemed to be made of jade, and the walls were inlaid with countless pieces of gold.
On top of the gold, unknown gemstones were set.
One could not blame him for his lack of discernment; he had simply never seen such a “luxurious” scene.
The life of the wealthy was truly beyond the imagination of a poor person like him.
Picking a single stone off the wall and selling it would be enough for him to spend for a long time.
The size of the courtyard was also incomparable to the one he was staying in; his could only fit one house, while this courtyard could accommodate at least several hundred people.
There were two people standing guard at the main entrance of the courtyard, which seemed to be the only way in.
Just as he was hesitating whether to enter, someone behind him seemed to call out.
“Hey, you little brat over there, what are you doing?
Acting so sneaky—are you planning something against the Family Head?”
Koda looked back and saw a middle-aged man wearing a small official cap, with a mustache at the corners of his mouth and a tuft of beard hanging from his chin.
At this moment, one hand was behind his back while the other was on his chin as he sized up Koda.
His originally shocked mood calmed down, and he carefully examined the man’s appearance and clothing, trying to discern his identity.
The loose martial arts robe looked a bit wretched on him, especially with those two mustaches, which further emphasized this vibe.
However, the arrogance between his brows was unmistakable.
After ruling out a few possibilities, he roughly had an answer.
“Hello, my name is Koda.
I was invited by the Northern Family to be a Guest Elder.
I’m not very familiar with this area yet, so I came to broaden my horizons.
After all, I’ll be living around here in the future, so I wanted to manage my interpersonal relationships in advance.”
When under someone else’s roof, one must bow their head.
If this were outside and this man dared to slander him like this, Koda definitely would not let him off.
This would not pass without some compensation for mental distress.
But inside the Northern Family, it was better to be humble.
“So it’s Brother Koda.
My words earlier were quite confrontational; please forgive me.”
Upon hearing that Koda was a Guest Elder, he immediately changed his tune.
“Since Brother Koda is here to be a Guest Elder, that means we are colleagues.
Please look after me in the future.
By the way, you can just call me Master Yu; everyone else does.
I’m on my way to give a lesson to the Northern Family’s young lady.
Would Brother Koda like to come and observe?”
“Alright, after you.”
“After you.”
Ever since Koda revealed his identity, this Master Yu had immediately changed his attitude, becoming all smiles and constantly praising him in an extremely sickening way.
The listener was embarrassed, yet the speaker kept rambling on.
Following Master Yu into the guarded courtyard, this was the main courtyard the President had mentioned.
It was indeed luxurious.
After entering, he finally shut his mouth, and Koda was able to have some peace for a while.
Through their conversation, Koda also learned that Master Yu’s identity was that of the earthbending teacher for the Northern Family’s young lady.
It was almost exactly as he had guessed.
In his spare time, he would give private lessons to the young lady, for which the Family Head provided generous compensation. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Back then, the people competing for this job lined up from the Northern Family’s gate almost all the way to town.
In the end, Master Yu defeated countless challengers to secure this high-paying position.
At the mention of this, Master Yu’s mouth would not stop again.
“Brother Koda, seeing how young you are—probably only in your teens—yet you’ve become a powerful waterbender.
You truly have unlimited potential.
When I was your age, I was still playing with mud at home.
Young people nowadays are truly successful at a young age; our generation will soon be surpassed by yours.
Sigh.”
“…” Koda had no idea what to say.
It was his first time meeting someone so talkative; it was really hard to deal with.
“I’m not an earthbender; I’m a waterbender.”
“Ah, there are not many from the Water Tribe left.
No news ever comes from the Northern Water Tribe; they’ve been living in seclusion.
I’ve heard that something bad happened to the Southern Water Tribe near the Fire Nation, and no information has come out either.
You guys are truly mysterious.
The Water Tribe must be having a hard time now too, right?”
He really wanted to tell Master Yu to shut up and just lead the way, but he could also learn a lot of information through the chat.
Being in this dilemma was truly annoying.
With one asking and the other answering, the two slowly walked toward the courtyard of the young lady Master Yu had mentioned.
After entering the main courtyard, there were several inner courtyards inside.
According to his explanation, the inner courtyards were where Master Lao, his wife, and his daughter lived, while the area outside the inner courtyards was where the servants and Guest Elders resided.
After walking a bit longer, the two stopped at a pond.
Looking at the beautiful scenery inside the main courtyard, he could not help but lose himself in thought.
At that moment, Master Yu waved over a female servant.
“You, come here.
Go to the inner courtyard over there and help the young lady out.
Tell her it’s time for the earthbending lesson.
We’ll be waiting for you here by the pond.
Go quickly.”
…
📢 Author’s Note
The full completed version of Avatar:
✅ Part 1 Complete — 110+ Chapters
Follow Koda’s incredible journey as he leaves the mysterious Foggy Swamp, masters the art of waterbending, uncovers ancient secrets, and grows stronger while changing the fate of the world.
🔥 I also have additional 18+ fanfics available for readers who enjoy exclusive mature stories.
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