[BONUS CHAPTER] 18: Chapter 18: Who’s the Spy?
[BONUS CHAPTER] Long journeys were always tedious and mind-numbing, but fortunately, the occupants of this particular carriage were all quite patient.
Ren, needless to say, possessed a mental age far beyond his physical years.
As for the royal siblings, Zuko and Azula, they both had highly competitive and headstrong personalities, unlikely to complain about mere boredom.
Then there was Mai.
The most dramatic expression she ever showed was a fraction of a millimeter tilt to the corners of her mouth, making her ironically the one who enjoyed the quiet atmosphere the most out of the five.
However, Ty Lee, with her naturally energetic and lively disposition, absolutely could not take it anymore.
She rested her head on Mai’s shoulder and mumbled, “I’m so bored.” Then, as if suddenly struck by inspiration, her eyes lit up and she looked at Ren.
“Ren, do you know any fun games we can play?” She asked him because Ren always had a lot of strange ideas.
Surely he could think of something to make the trip less boring.
At that moment, Ren was using recollection to listen to an old stand-up comedy routine in his head.
It had just reached the part where “The master is so soft-hearted, he simply can’t bear to look at poor people…” “So throw them all out!
Get them away from me!!” Hearing someone call his name, Ren paused the routine at once and looked over in confusion.
“What is it?” Ty Lee’s cheek was still pressed against Mai’s shoulder, her big eyes blinking at him.
“Do you know any fun games?
I’m really bored.” A game?
Ren rubbed his chin and thought for a moment.
“How about we play ‘Who is the Spy’?” Seeing everyone’s attention shift to him, Ren continued to explain.
“The rules are very simple.
For the first round, I will act as the game master.
I will think of two items that have very similar meanings, quietly write them down on pieces of paper, and hand them to you.
The paper will tell you what your specific item is.
Three of you will receive the exact same item; they are the guards.
Only one person will receive a different, but similar item; that person is the spy.
Next, you will take turns describing the item you were given without explicitly naming it.
After the first round of descriptions is complete, a voting phase will begin.
Everyone can vote for the person they suspect is the spy, and the spy can use arguments to mislead everyone else.
In short, if the spy is voted out, the guards win.
Otherwise, the spy wins.” After finishing his explanation, Ren clapped his hands together.
“Those are the rules.
Feel free to ask if anything is unclear.” Everyone understood quickly.
As Ren had said, the rules were simple.
The key to the game was figuring out whether you were a guard or the spy.
Only after determining where you stood could you safely plan your next move.
“I have a question.” Azula propped her chin on one hand and looked at Zuko with a lazy expression.
“Zuzu doesn’t really like playing with girls.
If we invite him to join, will it damage his masculine dignity?” Ren nudged Zuko with his elbow.
“Come on, Zuko.
You wouldn’t leave me to fight alone, would you?” Ty Lee also blinked her big eyes and pleaded, “Play with us, Zuko.
It sounds fun.” Azula had clearly expected this result.
She curled her lip and looked at Mai.
“Mai, aren’t you going to say anything?” “I don’t really care either way,” Mai replied, her tone as flat and emotionless as ever.
Ren seized the opportunity to keep the ball rolling.
“Since nobody objects, let’s begin.” He quickly wrote lily and panda lily on the slips of paper, shuffled the four slips thoroughly, and had Azula, Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee each take one.
The words Ren had chosen carried a deceptive layer of difficulty.
Although a panda lily was a type of lily, it grew exclusively along the perilous edges of active volcanic craters, resulting in an incredibly rare, black-and-white flower.
If the spy who drew the panda lily wasn’t sharp enough, they would easily expose themselves.
Once he saw that all four had checked their papers and confirmed their identities, Ren spoke up.
“Alright, let’s begin.
Who wants to go first?” Azula laced her fingers together and studied everyone’s expressions carefully.
Then she said, calm and unhurried, “It’s a flower that symbolizes purity.” Since Ren had said the spy and the guards would receive words with similar meanings, Azula knew she should keep her description as vague as possible.
With Azula speaking first, the turn naturally passed to Mai.
Mai always looked unreadable.
Playing a game like this with her was practically cheating.
“Many couples use it to express love,” she said.
Mai’s answer narrowed the range at once.
Soon it was Ty Lee’s turn.
Usually cheerful and lively, Ty Lee grew nervous under everyone’s attention—mostly Azula’s scrutinizing stare.
“I… um… right.
Its petals have a very special color.” The moment the words left Ty Lee’s mouth, the carriage plunged into an awkward silence.
Everyone exchanged looks and felt, all at once, that this game was a little unfair to someone as simple as Ty Lee.
Seeing everyone go quiet, Ty Lee immediately drooped.
“Um… did I mess it up?” Ren quickly comforted her.
“Of course not.
You’re just not very good at hiding how you feel.
That isn’t a bad thing.” “Really?” Ty Lee asked, unsure.
“Really.
Next round, you can be the host.
I’m sure you’ll come up with something fun.” Ren smiled as he encouraged her.
Ty Lee’s moods came quickly and passed just as fast.
She soon perked up, took the paper and brush from Ren, and nodded.
“Don’t worry.
I won’t let you down.” She bit her thumb and thought hard for a while before finally getting an idea.
Then she quickly wrote popsicle and ice cream on the slips.
Copying what Ren had done earlier, she shuffled the papers thoroughly and let everyone draw one.
Ren was the last to draw.
Flipping his piece of paper over quietly, the word popsicle stared back at him.
He could not help smiling inwardly.
That really does suit Ty Lee’s little sweet tooth.
The weather had grown hot.
Once they returned to the capital, they really could find a cold-drink shop and buy some popsicles to cool off.
Ren gathered his thoughts, considered for a moment, and said, “It’s something people often eat in summer.
It feels cool when you eat it, and the texture is very smooth.” After Ren finished, the turn passed to Zuko.
Zuko folded his arms and spoke in a low voice.
“If the weather is too hot, it melts quickly.
You have to eat it soon.” It was another highly ambiguous description, but Ren still managed to harvest some critical information from it.
If I’m the spy, then Zuko’s description points to something similar to popsicles.
It should be shaved ice, ice cream, or something like that.
Either way, with melting as the standard, ordinary cold drinks can be ruled out.
As Ren thought it over, the turn quickly reached Azula.
Azula’s gaze moved between Ren and Zuko before finally settling on Ren.
After a moment, she rubbed her fingernail and tested the waters deliberately.
“Every time you finish eating one, you’re always left holding a little piece of something in your hand.
And it seems someone here is rather fond of eating them.” …