Chapter 4 — Her Road Is Still Long

When he helped me stand up, he conveniently brushed away the wet hair sticking to my cheek. The moment his fingertips touched my skin, it seemed he himself paused for a moment, then immediately withdrew his hand.

"Can you stand up? We have to leave here first."

I opened my mouth, but my throat was so sore that I couldn't make a sound. Behind him, the sound of footsteps had become chaotic. Someone shouted loudly:

“Quickly call the doctor!”

Someone shouted again:

“Quickly go tell the old lady!”

Bich Dao's sobbing voice came from the crowd:

“Young lady... why are you thinking so foolishly...”

I suddenly laughed softly. Perhaps that smile was too cold, so Tham Quy Bach looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed even tighter. He offered his hand to help me stand up. My legs were weak, my body leaned towards him. He didn't dodge at all, just reached out to hold my elbow. The hand lifts below the elbow, the force is neither heavy nor light, just enough to support our entire body weight.

“Can you go?”

I nodded slightly. After taking two steps, I realized I was barefoot. The bottom of the monastery is full of mud, feet step on slippery stone steps, both cold and slippery. Tham Quy Bach also saw it. He lowered his head, glanced at the bottom of my muddy feet, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly bent down, pulled my hand and placed it on his shoulder. He lifted the person up horizontally. It's not the kind of hug that carries a sinister meaning between a man and a woman. His arms were extremely steady, and his hands were also firmly held at my sides. His eyes from beginning to end never fell on him. During those few short steps, he walked very quickly but also very steadily, as if he was carrying a bag of rice, completely without any hidden thoughts. I leaned on his shoulder, smelling a faint scent of ink mixed with the fishy smell of lake water. The maids and maids of the Tham residence stood in the hallway, everyone with wide eyes and mouths agape watching the Second Young Master holding the girl's emblem who had just fallen into the water, striding through the corridor around the yard. A voice quietly rang out from within the crowd.

"Isn't that right... wasn't the lady sent to serve the Young Master? Then why..."

Tham Quy Bach's footsteps stopped. He didn't turn his head, but his voice became somewhat colder:

"If you say another word, go to the next room tomorrow to get paid and leave the palace."

The surroundings immediately became quiet. He hugged me and walked through the moon gate, turning into the small courtyard where I was staying. Pushing the door open, he sat me down on a small chair next to the window, then pulled the blanket on the bed to cover me. The entire movement is as seamless as flowing water. Then he took two steps back, standing about three meters away from me. His whole body was still wet, and a small puddle of water had formed at his feet.

“The doctor will be here soon.”

He paused for a moment and then added another sentence:

"You can rest assured and rest. I will investigate tonight's matter thoroughly."

After speaking, he turned around and left. I call him back.

“Second cousin.”

He stopped walking and turned to look back. There were no lights in the room, only moonlight fell through the window. I couldn't see the expression on his face clearly, I could only see him standing at the door, his shoulders wide and waist narrow, like a pine tree soaked by the night rain.

"Have a cold Thank you brother.”

My voice is hoarse. He was silent for a moment then said:

“No need to thank me. I also cannot stand by and watch a living person drown in front of me.”

When stepping through the threshold, there was a very quiet, very quick sentence blown in by the night wind.

“Besides... that person is you.”

On the third day, Tham Thanh Tu arrived. At that time, I was leaning against the head of the bed taking medicine. The medicine was brought by Tham Quy Bach. Bitter enough to numb your tongue, but very effective. The cold air from falling into the water that night had penetrated into my lungs. The doctor said, if it had been picked up a moment longer, it wouldn't have been saving the person, but the body. I drank bitter medicine continuously for two days, only to be able to force down the fishy smell of lake water from my throat. The curtains were lifted and my grandmother walked in first. She leaned on a cane, her eyes were slightly red. As soon as she entered the door, she patted my blanket:

"This child, if there's anything you can't say slowly, you must..."

Before she finished speaking, another person walked in behind her. Cold appearance. Tham Thanh Tu.