Lao Beifong

"earth"

- The Avatar has kidnapped my daughter. I want you to do whatever it takes to bring her home.

Lao Beifong was a wealthy figure in the Earth Kingdom town of Gaoling. He was the husband of Poppy Beifong and the father of Toph. Caring deeply for his daughter and only wishing for her safety, he was extremely overprotective of her, and hid her existence from the rest of the world. After the Hundred Year War, he became the business partner of Loban and co-founded the world's first joint venture between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom.

History
After it was discovered that Toph was an earthbender, Lao enrolled her in earthbending classes with Master Yu, though he only allowed her to learn basic forms and breathing techniques. Lao loved his only child dearly, but failed to recognize what his daughter really wanted, believing her blindness made her weak, helpless, and frail. As a result of this, he had her guarded and cared for the majority of the time. However, unbeknownst to him, Toph had excellent earthbending skills.

In 100 AG, Avatar Aang and his friends showed up at his house, desiring to speak to his daughter. Lao asked the Avatar about how much longer the Hundred Year War would last, and recommended Master Yu to him for earthbending training; unknown to him, Toph and Aang were fighting throughout the dinner. The dinner was ultimately ruined when Aang sneezed and airbent all of the plates off the table.

That night, Lao and his wife ventured to the courtyard with Aang's friends and Master Yu, where they discovered that their daughter and the Avatar had been kidnapped, and were to pay ransom at Earth Rumble VI for her return. After returning, they reclaimed their daughter, but the earthbenders insisted on keeping the Avatar. Toph subsequently revealed her earthbending prowess by defeating the Earth Rumble VI competitors who were holding the Avatar hostage, revealing to Lao that Toph was an incredible earthbender. However, his fear for her safety increased rather than being diminished, and decided she would be guarded around the clock, claiming that she had too much time for leisurely activities. This drove Toph to run away from the confines of her home to teach Aang the art of earthbending. Upon realizing she was missing, Lao assumed Aang had kidnapped her, and commissioned Xin Fu, the host of the Earth Rumble VI tournament, and Master Yu, to do "whatever it [took] to bring [her] home", offering a chest of gold as a reward.



Some months after the Hundred Year War, Lao was approached by Loban, who came to him with the offer to start the Earthen Fire Refinery together. As co-owner of the factory, Lao accompanied Loban in 102 AG to Yu Dao in order to meet with the city's government in regards to the construction of a railroad between the city and the refinery. When he returned to the factory, he was shell-shocked to find Toph, whom he had not seen in two years, there as well.

Personality
Lao was a caring and kind man who sought the best for his family, though he could be extremely overbearing, notably to his only daughter, Toph. Ignorant to Toph's true earthbending abilities, he perceived her as helpless and fragile, an image to which, in reality, Toph did not compare in the least. This view remained unchanged even after seeing first hand Toph's undeniable skill. Toph's blindness resulted in his overprotectiveness of her, and she was placed under strict surveillance. His wish to keep his daughter safe often influenced his decisions and contradicted Toph's own desires. It was the culmination of his overprotective nature and his blindness to the truth which galvanized Toph to leave, but even following this, rather than admitting his error, his attitude did not change, as he believed Aang had kidnapped her.

Trivia

 * According to Toph's passport and the fake letter from her mother, Beifong is written as and when succeeding, his full name translates to Old North or Mr. North.