Chapter 11 — Praying for Tham Yen Tri Binh A

So Lang Yen turned away, clicked his tongue, but dropped his hand. She squatted next to him, pointing to the latest line of words - "Sixteenth battle, won. That pig Tham Yen Tri, I'm not in De Kinh, and I don't know who he quarreled with." She patted that line of words: "This line doesn't count. Just finished fighting, my mind is not clear." Tham Yen Tri tilted his head and looked at her: "So now I'm arguing with you." "...What?" So Lang Yen didn't have time to react. "Didn't you write 'I don't know who he quarreled with'? No one argued with me." He said, "You scold me twice." So Lang Yen looked at him for a moment and then chuckled: "Are you sick?" She stood up, brushed off the stone powder from her hands, walked a few steps and turned around. "Tham Yen Tri, weren't you good at scolding people before? Now that I scold you, do you think my scolding sounds more pleasant than scolding others?" "Yes." He replied. So Lang Yen's footsteps stopped. She continued to walk forward, her ears turning red in the north wind. But the doubts in my heart grew bigger and bigger. If it was before, she said he was sick, at least he would have replied with three more venomous sentences. Now he says "yes". Not to say it, but to admit it. When has Tham Yen Tri ever given up? That night she dreamed. In the dream, Tham Yen Tri knelt in front of a coffin, her forehead resting on the lid, her shoulders shaking. She was floating in mid-air calling to him, but he did not hear. She wanted to clearly see the name engraved on the coffin, but the dream was suddenly interrupted. So Lang Yen suddenly opened his eyes, his heart beating as fast as a war drum. She turned around and sat up, through the gap in the curtain she saw the weak firelight outside the tent. Tham Yen Tri was still sitting in front of the door, holding a rabbit lamp with one ear missing in her hand, not knowing what she was looking at. The image of him kneeling in front of the coffin in the dream overlaps with the back of him sitting outside the door at this time. So Lang Yen suddenly felt something squeezing her heart. "... Tham Yen Tri." The fire shook: "Yes." "Have you ever cried before?" Tham Yen Tri was silent for a long time. For so long that So Lang Yen thought he wouldn't answer, she turned over and pulled the blanket up a little higher. "I cried." Tham Yen Tri's voice came from outside the tent, very light. It was like he had to pick up those two words from a very deep place, the last sound was a bit hoarse. So Lang Yen looked at his shadow on the wall, not moving. She has known Tham Yen Tri for thirteen years and has never seen him blush in front of her. Even when riding a horse, he fell down and broke his ribs, but he never groaned, and when he was beaten with a whip by the Grand Deputy, he never softened his voice. Now he says he cried. So Lang Yen pursed her lips, her voice suddenly lowered: "...Why?" There was silence outside for a moment, then his voice rang out, sad as if he was suppressing something: "For someone." So Lang Yen's heart missed half a beat. She tightened the corner of the blanket, trying to make her voice sound as casual as usual: "Is that the person you came looking for?" "...Yes." His voice became lighter, as if he was hesitating whether to continue speaking or not. "What's wrong with her?" The shadow on the curtain moved slightly. Tham Yen Tri was silent for a long time, then his voice came from outside, short and heavy. "Almost died." Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, "But luckily she's okay now." So Lang Yen's fingers tightened the corner of the blanket. She suddenly remembered the day he appeared in front of the cliff, his eyes red like a rabbit, his whole body skinny. He stood there panting, staring at her face, unable to say a word. She suddenly felt unable to ask more. Ask again, there are some things that can't be hidden anymore. She looked at the motionless shadow on the wall, pulled the blanket up to her chin and closed her eyes. Early in the morning, So Lang Yen as usual patrolled the city wall. When she bent down to check the crossbow at the battlement hole, she stepped on a patch of moss, and her whole body slid outside the citadel.

A hand from behind suddenly grabbed her arm. The power was so great that her bones ached. She was pulled back, crashing into his arms. The heart under the moonlight white dress beat both fast and strong, the hand holding her arm trembled violently. She raised her head. Tham Yen Tri's face was pale and bloodless, her lips were pursed into a line, and her eye sockets were slightly red. He stared at her, but it was like he wasn't looking at her, but through her to see something else. "...Tham Yen Tri, what's wrong with you?" He slowly let go, took a step back, lowered his eyes, his throat moved. So Lang Yen bowed her head and rubbed the red arm he held. She only slipped a little, there was still a step below the battlement hole, she couldn't fall to her death. But even now his whole body is still shaking, his face is as white as a ghost. So Lang Yen remembered what he said last night: he once cried, because someone almost died. She leaned against the apricot hole, crossed her arms, tilted her head to observe his face, deliberately keeping her voice casual. As if joking, but a little lighter than usual. "Tham Yen Tri, why are you so afraid of becoming like this? When I risked my life with the people of Bac Di, I suffered many injuries, and now I'm still healthy as usual. Today you only slipped a little and your hands are shaking until now, what are you afraid of?" Tham Yen Tri did not answer. He raised his eyes to look at her, even his breathing became lighter.