Chapter 23 — Sword God Appears

When the group arrived at Thanh Lang Uyen, the whole small town welcomed them with a bustling atmosphere different from usual. The news that the Ghost Police Department had been defeated, and that the owner of the Nhan Tam Duong pharmacy and her mysterious benefactor had returned safely, quickly spread throughout the streets, causing many familiar people to come to greet them and express their sincere joy. Aunt Ngoc Hien stood in front of the pharmacy door, with tears in her eyes, hugging Dieu Vy, constantly thanking heaven and earth for blessing her niece's safe return.

Even the neighbors, who only knew Dieu Vy through buying medicine, came to inquire, bringing simple gifts such as a few eggs and some fresh vegetables from the garden, showing the sincere affection of the small town people for the gentle pharmacy owner whom they have loved for a long time. There was an old man who had received free medicine from Dieu Vy during difficult days. Now he walked to the place with a cane, holding her hand tightly with tears in his eyes, saying that the whole neighborhood had been worried for her for many days when they heard rumors about strangers pursuing her.

In the following days, life gradually returned to its familiar rhythm. Nhan Tam Duong pharmacy reopened, welcoming familiar patients. Dieu Vy and Xuan Dao were busy together with the work of filling medicine as before, although both of their eyes now had a more mature and calm look compared to the days when they were still afraid of avoiding mysterious pursuers. Bach Trinh also frequented the pharmacy, sometimes helping with some errands, sometimes just sitting next to her and chatting, gradually becoming a familiar part of the life of that small family.

Bach Trinh, during those days, also began to learn about renting a small house near the pharmacy, renovating it a bit to suit daily life, something that during the past eighteen years he never thought he would do. He built a few simple wooden furniture by himself, planted a few flower bushes in the front yard, simple tasks that he was previously only used to doing in the deserted Tuyet Phong Coc, now took on a completely different meaning when done in a place surrounded by familiar people, with the laughter and chatter of the neighbors echoing every morning and afternoon.

One autumn afternoon, when the yellow leaves began to fall on the stone streets of Citadel Lang Uyen, Bach Trinh invited Dieu Vy to walk with him to the riverbank outside the town, where a row of willows hung down on the water, rippling under the setting sun. The two walked together in silence for a long time, enjoying a rare moment of peace after all the turmoil they had gone through together.

"Dieu Vy", Bach Trinh spoke, his voice was unusually serious, making her look up at him with a bit of curiosity. "I have thought very carefully about what you said on the way back from the Tang Phong Mon. About living a life that I truly want, instead of just living for the sake of responsibility or the past." Dieu Vy nodded, waiting for him to continue, her hands clasped together tightly in her shirt, her heart beating so fast that she felt like he could hear it.

"I have decided," he continued, "that I will not return to Tuyet Phong Coc to live in seclusion like before. I have also written a letter to the master of Tang Phong Mon, accepting the position of honorary elder, but will only return to the sect for a few months each year to teach Hidden Wind Sword Technique to young disciples, to avoid letting the sword technique be lost. For most of the remaining time, I would like to stay here, in Thanh Lang Uyen, if you don't mind."

Hearing that, Dieu Vy's heart pounded, but she still tried to keep her voice calm to ask more: "Why did you choose Thanh Lang Uyen? This is just a normal small town, nothing special compared to other places in the world." Bach Trinh looked at her, his eyes filled with an unprecedented and profound sincerity: "Because this place has you. For the past eighteen years, I have lived like a shadow, nowhere is truly home, no one is really waiting for me to return. But since the day I met you again, for the first time I feel the meaning of the words 'return'."

In that moment, the whole sky seemed to calm down, leaving only the sound of gurgling river water flowing through the rapids and the sound of willow leaves rustling in the afternoon wind as the background for what was about to happen. Bach Trinh took a deep breath, clearly feeling the rapid beating of his heart, a feeling of suspense that even the toughest life and death battles in his life had never brought.

He knelt down on one knee in front of her, a solemn gesture that martial-arts swordsmen rarely showed, and pulled out a simple silver hairpin from his body but delicately engraved with the image of a small apricot flower, a gift that he had asked a jeweler in town to make privately over the past few days without her knowing. "Congratulations to Dieu Vy, this one, Vu Bach Trinh, would like to officially propose. From today, I vow to be the one to protect you for the rest of my life, vowing to accompany you through all the storms of life, just like how your father in the past wished me to do if one day he was no longer with you."

The afternoon breeze shook the willows along the river, a few yellow leaves gently fell onto the water, drifting lazily along the current as if carrying the sadness of the past out to sea, making way for a new beginning waiting ahead. In the distance, the sounds of children playing echoed from a corner of the street, mixed with the ringing sound of temple bells signaling sunset, creating a strangely peaceful scene, completely in contrast to the storms that the two had experienced together for several months.

Dieu Vy heard those words, tears rolled down her cheeks, but they were tears of happiness, without any sadness of the past. She held up the brooch with trembling hands, her voice choked up: "Sir... no, from now on, this young lady will call you her husband, okay? I accept your invitation, vowing to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter how many storms I have to face, I will not care."

She remembered everything she had experienced since the first day she met him in the middle of a deserted street at dusk, from the initial fear before the mysterious pursuers, to the trust that gradually grew with each day of companionship, to the deep affection that the two had cultivated together through many life and death challenges. She understood that this predestined relationship did not happen by chance, but was the crystallization of an arduous journey, of a connection that had silently existed since before the two really knew each other, originating from the deep fraternal love between her father and the man kneeling in front of her right now.

Bach Trinh stood up, gently placed the silver hairpin on Dieu Vy's hair, his hands trembled slightly with emotion, a feeling of complete happiness that he had never dared to dream of during nearly twenty years of living in torment and loneliness. The two of them stood side by side under the weeping willows, the sunset dyed the entire river red, like a silent but meaningful witness to the promise they had just made.

The news that the sword god Vu Bach Trinh officially proposed to the daughter of the late Chuc Thanh Phong quickly spread throughout Thanh Lang Uyen, and from there continued to spread throughout the world, being received with warm blessings from everywhere. Aunt Ngoc Hien, when she heard the news, was so happy that she cried. She immediately began preparing for a simple but cozy wedding, inviting all her acquaintances in town to join in the fun. Xuan Dao eagerly helped prepare every little detail, her heart filled with happiness when she saw the sister she always loved finally finding a peaceful place after many ups and downs of life.

Ly Ton Dao also sent a congratulatory letter, promising to personally attend the wedding with a few trusted disciples of the Thanh Van Sect, viewing this as an opportunity to further strengthen the relationship between the two sects that have been close for many generations. To Nhat Hac, despite his old age, insisted on personally witnessing the wedding of the two people he considered his family members, saying that this was the greatest joy he had had after many years of living in grief for Thanh Phong. The whole Citadel of Lang Uyen, in the days of preparation for the wedding, was filled with a rare excited atmosphere, as if all the pain of the previous months had been dispelled by the simple but complete happiness of the talented and beautiful couple who had overcome many storms to be together.