aofei is a term referring to organized groups of outlaws in the Earth Kingdom who have sophisticated

codes of honor and conduct as well as intricate traditions. Some daofei had grown powerful enough to
even usurp control over certain areas from local Earth Kingdom officials.[2]

Contents[show]

History

After the famously carefree Avatar Kuruk's untimely death, daofei in the Earth Kingdom grew bolder and
more power-hungry as the inner provinces descended into chaos.[3] The Yellow Necks launched a full-
fledged uprising, devastating large swaths of land in the name of fanatical spiritual beliefs. Their leader,
Xu Ping An, styled himself as the "General of Pandimu",[4] and they became infamous for killing women
and children.[5] The Earth Kingdom Army refused to defend some of the nation's more remote
hinterlands from the rebels, who continued to pillage the Earth Kingdom until their brutal defeat at the
Battle of Zhulu Pass at the hands of Jianzhu.

Xu Ping An was imprisoned and studied by the Fire Nation so they could understand his capacity for
lightning generation, while Jianzhu tortured the Yellow Necks' earthbenders to death and buried the
nonbenders alive in trenches that they had been forced to dig.[6] Although this mass murder suppressed
the uprising, Xu's surviving followers Mok and Wai renamed themselves as the Autumn Bloom Society of
Hujiang and prepared for a resurgence by building a new criminal network in secret.[7]

The Flying Opera Company was a daofei society founded by the renegade Air Nomad nun Jesa and her
earthbender lover Hark.[8] Jesa's flying bison Longyan was crucial to the company's success, enabling
them to swiftly travel around the Earth Kingdom, while Hark's training at the Royal Theater schools in Ba
Sing Se provided the group with performing skills to act as a cover.[1] One noteworthy member of the
society was Lao Ge, who was in fact the notorious assassin Tieguai the Immortal. Jesa grew increasingly
suspicious of the man over time but lacked the courage to confront him.[9]

The society's activities slowed down after the birth of Jesa and Hark's daughter, Kyoshi, though the
parents later decided it would be safer to leave their daughter in Yokoya. The Flying Opera Company
subsequently resumed their activities, with Jesa and Hark recruiting new members such as Lek. The
society was noteworthy for being primarily comprised of benders, unlike most other daofei groups.[10]
However, the Flying Opera Company fell on hard times after Jesa and Hark died of a fever in 311 BG,
with Longyan abandoning them shortly after.[8] With their influence reduced to Chameleon Bay, they
ended up in debt to some of the more unscrupulous figures in the region and accepted the Autumn
Bloom Society as their elders in order to protect themselves.[10]

Three years after Jesa and Hark's deaths, Kyoshi and Rangi became affiliated with the Flying Opera
Company, turning to them while they fled from Jianzhu's pursuit of the newly discovered Avatar. Shortly
after, Governor Deng's police raided the Flying Opera Company's headquarters at Madam Qiji's
teahouse, and the outlaws fled on the sky bison Pengpeng,[9] arriving in their elders' outpost of Hujiang
shortly after. In order to pay off their debts, the Flying Opera Company became involved in the Autumn
Bloom Society's plans to attack Governor Te Sihung's palace.[10]

After the successful assault on the palace, Xu Ping An was freed and declared he would restore the
Yellow Necks to their former glory. However, following the announcement of his plans, Kyoshi realized
her mistake in freeing the daofei leader and challenged him to a duel on the lei tai. Xu accepted the
challenge and managed to stun the Avatar with lightningbending; Kyoshi responded, however, by
entering the Avatar State and killing Xu, putting an end to the attempted restoration of the Yellow
Necks.[4][11]

Within the following year, Kyoshi defeated a band of daofei named the Emerald Claws that had been
terrorizing the peasants of Gintong Province. Afterward, she declared that the land ownership in the
province reverted to what it was before the Emerald Claws began attacking, angering Governor Shing,
who had made use of the attacks to exploit his people into indentured servitude