Chapter 11 — Mist Peak Rescue Team

The path leading up to the higher cliff — the other branch they had not yet checked — was much narrower than Khanh Van had expected at first glance, and the higher he climbed, the more the rock under his feet became covered with a thin layer of frost, as slippery as oil.

"Be careful here," Uncle Tong said, walking ahead to explore the way with his walking stick, gently tapping on each stone to check its solidity before stepping on it. "The ice is thin, it's easier to slip than I thought."

Khanh Van walked in the middle, Dieu Han walked last, all three moved slowly, each step was placed calculatedly. The trail in this section narrows to less than a meter, on one side was a steep cliff, on the other was a gentler slope but still dangerous enough if someone slips - not as deep as Ham Rong abyss, but enough to cause serious injury if falling at an uncontrolled speed.

"How far is it to the top of the cliff?" Dieu Han asked, her voice already a bit tense as she looked down the slope to the right.

"About another thirty meters," Khanh Van replied, eyes still glued to Uncle Tong's every step in front to learn the safest route.

At that moment, a strange sound rang out from above—a low crackling sound, like ice cracking, followed immediately by a deeper rumble as a thin patch of snow and a few small rocks frozen together suddenly slid down from a ledge above their heads.

"Watch!" Uncle Tong shouted, but his reaction only helped him move aside.

Khanh Van turned around and saw Dieu Han standing right in the path of a small piece of falling ice and snow. The young girl reflexively stepped back, but her foot landed on the thin ice on the rocky ground, and in a split second, she completely lost her balance, her body sliding towards the slope to the right.

"Dieu Han!" Khanh Van rushed forward, but the distance between them, even if it was only a few steps, was enough for her to not be able to reach it in time.

Dieu Han slid down about three meters on the slope before the safety rope connecting her to the main safety latch — which Khanh Van had requested to be attached to each member when going through this slippery terrain — suddenly stretched, jerking her to an abrupt stop. She hung there, one hand clinging tightly to a small tree root protruding from a crack in the rock, her feet kicking wildly to find a grip on the slippery stone floor.

"Are you okay?" Khanh Van shouted down, rushed to the edge of the slope, knelt down to watch.

"I... I'm fine, but my wrist..." Dieu Han gritted her teeth, her voice clearly painful. "I think I got twisted while holding on to the tree root."

"Don't move anymore, stay in position!" Khanh Van turned to Uncle Tong, who quickly removed the coil from his backpack. "Ax the rope to that rock, I'll go down and pull her up."

Uncle Tong worked at a speed surprising for his age, his hands setting up a double anchor point in less than a minute, testing its sturdiness with a sharp tug before nodding to Khanh Van.

"Done! You can go down now!"

Khanh Van attached the seat belt to the belt, checking the carabiner buckle according to the reflex that had been ingrained in her body through hundreds of times of practice - seeing, touching, hearing the sound of the buckle - even though inside her heart was screaming for her to go faster. But she knew, it was in the most urgent moments that mistakes were most likely to be made if you skip basic checked.

"I'm coming down, Dieu Han! Hold tight, don't let go!"

She stepped back down the slope, her feet pressing against the cliff to control the rate of descent, the rope sliding through the belay device in her hands at a steady, controlled pace. In just a few seconds, she reached a position on the same level as Dieu Han, close enough to reach out and grab the young girl's shoulder.

"I'm here. You did well, you've kept it up for now." Khanh Van held Dieu Han tightly, feeling the girl's body trembling in fear and pain. "How does your wrist hurt? Can you move your fingers?"

"I can move, but it hurts a lot when I try to hold tight." Dieu Han gasped, tears welled up in pain, but she still tried to hold back from crying out loud.

"Okay, let's go upstairs first, check more closely later." Khanh Van attached an extra seat belt to Dieu Han's belt, connecting it directly to her own belt. "I'll hold you. Uncle Tong will pull you both up. You just need to hold on to me, no need to use any strength to hurt your arms."

From above, Uncle Tong began pulling the rope through the pulley system he had just set up while Khanh Van descended, little by little, slowly but steadily, bringing both of them up the slippery slope. Every meter he pulled up, he stopped to check and ask about the condition before continuing, not letting any haste creep into the carefully practiced process.

When the two finally reached the safety of the trail, Dieu Han sat down, her good hand holding her sore hand, her breathing still rapid. Khanh Van knelt down next to her, gently examining the injured wrist. Her fingers felt along the wrist bones, looking for signs of deformity.

"There's no obvious sign of a break, probably just a bad sprain," she said, though her voice was still a little shaky from the panic that hadn't yet dissipated. "But we need to fix it, don't let you use that hand anymore."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Van," Dieu Han said, her voice choked. "Because you didn't pay close attention to the ice."

"It's not your fault." Khanh Van grabbed her shoulder, his eyes determined. "Rockfalls are something that no one can completely predict. The important thing is that I had a safety rope, and the rope worked as designed. This is the reason why I never skip the step of attaching the rope, even if it's just a short distance."

She took an elastic bandage from her personal first aid bag and wrapped Dieu Han's wrist in place according to the correct technique, explaining each step as she did so to keep the young girl focused on something other than the pain. Uncle Tong stood nearby, tidying up his equipment. His eyes could not hide his concern even though he tried to maintain his usual composure.

"Miss Van," he said softly, "maybe I should take Dieu Han back so she can rest safely."

Khanh Van stopped for a second, looked at Dieu Han, then looked toward Ham Rong abyss hidden behind a layer of thick fog - the last search direction they had not yet checked, and also the direction she was most afraid of facing.

"Can you go home by yourself, or do you need me to take you home?" Khanh Van asked Dieu Han, tying the last layer of bandage around her wrist.

"I can walk, Ms. Van. My arm hurts but my leg is fine." Dieu Han stood up and tried to take a few steps to prove it, although her face was still slightly wrinkled in pain. "You and Uncle Tong keep looking, I'll go to T7 myself, there I'll meet Mr. Kien's group again."

"No, I'm not going alone," Khanh Van shook her head immediately. "The principle is that no one moves alone on the mountain, even when the situation seems simple. Uncle Tong, you take Dieu Han back to T7 and inform Dac Lam of the situation. I will continue alone to the observation point near Ham Rong abyss, just to get an overview, not directly approaching the dangerous area."

"How can you go alone?" Uncle Tong frowned, his eyes clearly disapproving. "That's exactly what I just said to Dieu Han."

"I know, and I'm breaking the rules just this once, just to observe from afar, not getting close to the edge." Khanh Van looked at him, her voice was determined but not impatient. "If I had taken the extra time to get all three of them back before anyone else could move on, it would have cost me at least forty minutes. Those forty minutes could be the difference between finding them in time or not."

Uncle Tong looked at her for a long time, then sighed, knowing that arguing further would not change the decision that had formed in her mind. "Okay. But you promise me - just observe, don't approach the edge of the cliff alone. If there are any signs, call immediately over the radio, waiting for backup."

"I promise." Khanh Van nodded firmly.

Dieu Han stood firmly, checked one last time that her wrist was fixed, then turned to Khanh Van, her voice still a little guilty. "Miss Van, be careful. Don't let anything happen again today."

"I will be careful." Khanh Van smiled slightly at her, a reassuring smile even though in her heart she was not completely sure about what was waiting ahead. "Return safely. Tell Mr. Dac Lam that I will report every fifteen minutes."

Uncle Tong and Dieu Han began to return along the old path, their silhouettes gradually disappearing after the first bend. Khanh Van stood alone in the middle of the narrow trail, the footsteps of the other two gradually fading away until there was only the sound of the wind whistling through the rocks and her own heartbeat beating faster than usual.

She checked the equipment on her body — rope, anchor, radio, GPS — one by one, then took a deep breath, turned to face the path leading to Ham Rong abyss, a place she had avoided for the past two years, and now had no choice but to step forward.