Compared to the icy Mai, Ty Lee was clearly much livelier.
Her emotions came quickly and left just as quickly.
And since she had already promised Ren she would teach him chi-blocking, she naturally could not go back on her word.
The three of them walked together, with Ty Lee pulling Ren along at the front, excitedly explaining how she had discovered chi-blocking.
Mai followed behind them with both hands tucked into her sleeves, still walking with the proper, measured steps of a young lady.
Ren listened very carefully and soon understood the principle behind chi-blocking.
Normally, every bender needed to use specific movements to communicate with and guide the energy within their body, then connect with the elements outside themselves to produce the effect of bending.
Because of that, aside from the Avatar, other benders’ abilities would be affected by different environments.
For example, Air Nomads would have a hard time making use of their advantages underwater or in narrow spaces, while waterbenders would struggle to display their true strength somewhere without water.
Chi-blocking worked by cutting off the flow of chi through the body’s nodes.
If a person could not guide the chi within them, then naturally they would be unable to command the elements.
Still, at the end of the day, chi-blocking was only a physical technique.
It could only be said to be useful when it caught someone off guard.
Once the opponent was prepared for it, it still could not erase the gap between an ordinary person and a bender.
“Wait, what’s that?” As they were talking, Ty Lee was drawn in by a stall along the street.
Her eyes shone as she watched the stall owner arrange a pile of items.
Ren turned his head to look and understood the trick behind it at once.
He explained, “Oh, a ring toss game.
You pay for a few rings, and if you land one over something, the prize is yours.” Sensing business, the stall owner rubbed his hands together and appeared in front of the three of them as if he had teleported.
Smiling broadly, he said, “This little brother’s got it exactly right.
How about it?
Want to give it a try?” Ren curled his lip and was about to refuse.
After all, the game was an obvious scam.
The rings sold to players were too small to fit over any of the grand prizes.
At best, the few items you could actually win were enough for the stall owner to break even.
But before Ren could say anything, Ty Lee had already stepped up to the stall.
Pointing at the little bear plush in the very center, she said, “Ren, I want that one!” Seeing this, Ren did not dampen her excitement.
Instead, he looked back at Mai and asked, “Mai, do you want to try?” Ty Lee clasped her hands in front of her chest and looked at Mai with anticipation written all over her face.
Mai’s expression was cold, and she was just about to refuse.
But after seeing Ty Lee’s expectant look, she finally sighed.
She took the ring from Ren’s hand, her eyes narrowing slightly.
After carefully comparing the sizes, she realized the ring was a little smaller than the plush.
It would be impossible to drop it over the bear from the front.
However, if she controlled her strength properly and slipped it down over the bear’s ear from the side, there would be no problem.
Ren walked over beside Mai and quietly reminded her, “Do you want me to talk to the owner and get a bigger ring?” “No need.” Mai’s tone carried absolute confidence.
The next second, she gave her wrist a light flick and tossed the ring forward.
Before the stall owner’s expression could finish changing from smug to stunned, the ring caught on the bear’s ear, spun lightly twice, then settled firmly around it.
“Yay!” Ty Lee was the first to cheer, as if she had been the one who landed the throw.
“Miss Mai, that was seriously impressive.” Ren had not expected Mai to have a trick like that up her sleeve.
“Heh.” A faint smile appeared on Mai’s face.
But when Ren turned to look at her, it disappeared so quickly that her usual icy expression had already returned.
For a moment, Ren wondered if he had imagined it.
“This—this isn’t— No, you can’t take that!” The stall owner had not expected to lose money the moment he opened for business.
Seeing that Ty Lee had already picked up the plush, he panicked and quickly jumped out to stop them.
Ren shielded the two girls behind him, looked at the dishonest merchant, and said calmly, “What, you can’t accept losing a bet?” Seeing that the three of them were only children, the fat, round-faced swindler immediately rolled up his sleeves.
“Who knows what kind of trick you pulled?
Today, I’ll teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents!” The instant he reached out, Ren thrust the ring in his hand forward, trapping both of the merchant’s hands inside it.
With a sharp yank, he pulled the swindler off balance.
The man had no fighting skills to speak of, and his entire body lurched forward.
Ren stepped back, stuck out a foot, and tripped him.
The swindler fell flat on his face, eating dirt.
Ren had no interest in getting tangled up with him.
Grabbing the two girls by the hand, he took off running.
“Huh?
Huh—” Ty Lee had not reacted yet before she was pulled forward.
Mai, on the other hand, did react.
But her focus was always in strange places, and she was currently hesitating over whether she should remind Ren to let go of her hand.
The three of them quickly ran out of the street.
Ty Lee bent over, panting hard, before finally coming back to her senses.
“We didn’t cheat, so why did we run?” Mai glanced at Ren, who was still perfectly calm, then leaned against the wall to rest without saying anything.
Ren immediately explained, “Because it would be a lot of trouble.
I hit someone just now.
If he reported it to the guards, then even though we weren’t in the wrong, our families would definitely have to come pick us up, and the school would be notified too.
You wouldn’t want people at school looking at you strangely from now on, would you?
“On the other hand, if we just run, the guards won’t bother with such a small matter.” “Then does this count as fleeing the scene of a crime?” Ty Lee hugged the bear plush, still a little uneasy.
Ren shrugged.
“We’re just avoiding causing trouble for other people.” “Is—is that how it works?” Ty Lee blinked her big eyes and looked to Mai for help.
Mai held her forehead with one hand.
From every angle, Ren was technically right, but somehow, she still felt as if she had become an accomplice helping him lead a child astray.
“Well, don’t worry about little things like that.
It’s getting late, so I’ll take you both home first.” Ren changed the subject at just the right time.
He looked up at the gloomy sky and decided to send the two girls back first.
“Okay,” Ty Lee said obediently with a nod.
As for Mai, unless she had an objection, she rarely volunteered her thoughts.
Ty Lee’s house was closer.
After saying goodbye to her, Ren and Mai continued on their way side by side.
With neither of them speaking, the atmosphere gradually turned a little awkward.
“What you said earlier was just for Ty Lee’s sake, wasn’t it?” Perhaps because of her upbringing, Mai was the first to start a conversation.
“What?” Ren had been thinking about how to use chi-blocking.
It wasn’t until Mai suddenly spoke that he came back to his senses.
“What you said after you pulled Ty Lee and me away,” Mai said, glancing at Ren before looking away again.
“No.
Everything I said was true.” Ren couldn’t understand why Mai thought he had been lying.
Was he really that untrustworthy?
“…Oh.” Mai nodded.
Silence fell between them once more.
Before long, they arrived at Mai’s home.
It was a sprawling estate.
One glance was enough to tell that her family was wealthy.
Ren had completed his mission and was just about to leave.
“Wait.” Mai called out to him.
Under Ren’s puzzled gaze, she hurried into the house, then returned a moment later.
In her hand was a red umbrella.
She handed it to Ren and said, “Be careful of the rain.” “Thanks.” Ren smiled and took the umbrella from her.
Mai really was the perfect example of someone cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
She looked icy, but she was thoughtful in the little things she did.
Mai rested a hand lightly on the doorframe and watched Ren disappear into the alley.
She hadn’t finished what she wanted to say earlier.
She believed the real reason Ren had lied was because his parents were no longer by his side, so he did not want the school to notify his guardians.