Chapter 10 — General, It's No Time Anymore... My Wife Has Remarried

The road to Ninh Co Thap is even more difficult than I imagined. Foggy, rainy and snowy, the road is thousands of miles away. I fell ill over and over again, but in the end I still gritted my teeth and got through it. In our hearts from beginning to end there is only one belief. Found him. Take him home. Finally, after nearly three months, I reached the legendary place called hell on earth. This place is more desolate than I imagined, and colder than I imagined. Everywhere was a gray color of decay, even the air was filled with the smell of despair. I took Huo Dien's command token and found the general guarding this place. As soon as he saw the order, the prime minister's attitude immediately became extremely respectful.

“Who do you want to find, ma'am?”

“Tham Khoat.”

I read the name that I long to remember day and night.

“The exiled prisoner from the capital came here more than three years ago.”

The Prime Minister frowned and thought for a long time, then suddenly woke up.

“Oh… I remember.”

“There really is such a person.”

"When he was first brought in, he only had half his life left. We all thought he wouldn't survive the first winter."

My heart instantly tightened.

“So… so right now he…”

“It's also strange.”

The general clicked his tongue and exclaimed.

“And yet he still survived.”

“It's just that people are useless.”

“One leg is crippled.”

“One eye… is also blind.”

"Currently in the 'Criminal Barracks' in the west of the city doing some heavy work."

My tears finally couldn't be held back any longer and flowed directly out of my eye sockets. I don't even dare to imagine how, over the past three years, he had to drag such a broken body along to survive in this place. I staggered, walking low and high, following the general, towards the place called "The Prisoner's Bar". There are rows of dark underground tunnels so dilapidated that they no longer have any shape, groups of prisoners with tattered clothes and lifeless faces are hunched over doing heavy hard work in the cold, cutting wind. My eyes searched frantically among the crowd. Then, I saw him. In a hidden corner, a thin figure was bent over, toiling to chop firewood. His left leg clearly could no longer use its strength. On his face there was a fierce scar stretching from his forehead to his chin, completely covering his left eye. He was wearing a tattered prison uniform covered in mud. But with just one look, I still immediately recognized him. It's my Tham Khoat. I completely lost control, cried, called his name and ran straight towards him.

“Tham Khoat!”

The figure suddenly stopped, the whole person momentarily stiffened. He slowly... Slowly turned around. When the only intact right eye saw me, in those eyes that were already numb and numb, an unbelievable light instantly flared up. The ax in his hand made a "clack" sound and fell to the ground. He looked at me, his lips trembling, but he couldn't say a word. I ran in front of him, hugged him tightly and burst into tears.

“I'm late…”

“I'm late…”

His stiff body in my arms softened little by little. He stretched out his hands full of wounds and cold cracks, gently... Gently hug me. His voice was as hoarse as if it had been sandpapered, but it was the most pleasant sound I've ever heard in my life.

“You… why did you come here…”

“I came to take you home.”

I raised my head and looked at him with tears in my eyes.

“Tham Khoat, let's go home.”

He looked at me, his intact right eye filled with tears. He did not ask why we could find this place. Also don't ask about Hoac Dien. He just looked at me quietly, over and over again using his rough hand to wipe away the tears on my face, then nodded strongly.

“Let's… go home.”

I used the money and power that Hoac Dien left behind to erase Tham Khoat's crimes and treat his injuries. Although his leg is still a bit lame, it no longer affects his walking. His left eye could never see again. I don't care. I took you away from that place of ice and snow and returned to the small town of Giang Nam. We returned to that small courtyard and planted flowers and green vegetables in the yard. I reopened my embroidery shop. And every day he sits in front of the embroidery shop, sets up a small chair, and quietly carves wood for me. Sometimes it's a wooden brooch. Sometimes it's a small bird. Sometimes he's a cute, stupid little person. But he was cheerful and tireless. Everyone in town knew that the embroidery shop had a gentle and beautiful owner and a crippled and blind man in one eye. They all said that man was not worthy of such a nice mistress. After hearing that, I just smiled. They don't understand. This man may be disabled. May decline. But he gave us a complete world that no one can replace. It was another beautiful sunny afternoon. I sat under the flower-embroidered hallway, and he sat next to me, quietly sculpting. He suddenly opened his mouth. I replied softly.

“Today I…seems like I can see a little light in my left eye.”

I suddenly raised my head and looked towards his left eye. That eye covered by the scar seemed to actually have a faint reaction. I immediately threw down the embroidery frame in my hand and rushed to hug him tightly.

"Really?"

“Tham Khoat, can your left eye really see?”

He smiled and hugged me. Sunlight passes through the grape arbor in the yard, falling on us. But peaceful. I know, Hoac Dien is dead. All the power, wealth, love and hatred, and all the grudges and resentments he left behind, also disappeared with his death like smoke. And we finally found what we really wanted.

—— Early in the morning there is hot porridge, late at night there is a waiting light, the person in front of you is the person in your heart.

General, his wife has remarried a farmer. This time it's permanent. (END OF FULL TEXT)