Chapter 10 — The Medicine Bearer Through the Chaos

The Night of Burning Coconut Creek

Seven days after Ms. Khue's funeral, Tinh Yen was still not used to the strange silence in the house where she was now alone. He continued his work of giving medicine to the villagers—mild illnesses left over from the epidemic, a few skin wounds, common colds—trying to do everything she had taught him, even though every time he picked up the mortar to pound the medicine, his hand still paused for a moment before starting, as if waiting for her voice to remind him somewhere behind him.

Lach Dua village, after the epidemic, is now weaker than ever. Eleven people died from the epidemic, twelve of the healthiest men were conscripted two years ago, the rest were mostly old people, women and children. The spontaneous militia team led by Kinh was only a little more than twenty people, crudely equipped with bamboo spears, machetes and a few old bows passed down from previous generations - enough to chase away petty thieves, but not enough to fight off any organized attacks.

That night, there was no moon in the sky, the sea was as black as a sheet covering the horizon. Tinh Yen was sitting next to an oil lamp, reviewing her notes about remedies for skin wounds, when suddenly she heard the sound of alarm bells ringing out from the beach - not the familiar rhythm of the bell to tell the time, but a rapid, chaotic beat, mixed with the sound of people screaming.

"The enemy! The sea enemy is here!"

Tinh Yen jumped up, heart pounding, ran out to the yard and looked towards the beach. In the distance, in the middle of the pitch black night, torch flares began to appear on the water - not one or two familiar fishing boats, but a large fleet of boats, with strange shapes, approaching the shore at a terrifying speed.

He ran quickly into the street, bumping into Kinh who was rushing towards him, holding a bamboo spear, his face pale but his eyes still trying to keep steady.

"Tinh Yen! You have to run now, don't stay here!"

"What about you?"

"I have to stay with my brothers and try to stop them so the villagers have time to escape." Kinh grabbed his shoulder tightly, his voice urgent but determined. "Listen to me, run to the southern riverbank, find old Bay Cheo, he still keeps a small boat hidden in the reed bushes. Go now, don't hesitate!"

"No, I can't leave you behind—"

"Tinh Yen!" Kinh shouted, his voice choked with emotion and fear. "You are the only medicine man left in our village. If you live, then what your grandmother taught will live. I'm not staying here to die, but to give you enough time to run. Go!"

Without waiting for him to answer further, Kinh pushed him hard toward the road leading to the riverbank, then turned around and ran toward the beach, where screams and the sound of clashing weapons began to resound violently. Tinh Yen stood dumbfounded for a moment, watching her friend's back disappear into the darkness, then hurriedly ran home, only having time to grab her medicine bag, notebook, and small photo of her parents on the altar before rushing out the door.

On the run, he witnessed the most horrifying scene of chaos in his life - the thatched roofs began to burn, firelight dyed the night sky red, the shrill screams of people who could not escape in time, the shadows of strangers holding swords and swords rushing back and forth between familiar alleys that he had passed through countless times in his life. The smell of burning smoke and the strong smell of blood began to spread in the air, mixed with the salty air of the night sea.

He ran past Mr. Tu Dien's house and saw him trying to herd his young grandchildren into a cart, his hands shaking but still trying to stay calm and commanding everyone to run towards the forest. He looked up and saw Tinh Yen and quickly shouted loudly.

"Tinh Yen! Run towards the riverbank, don't linger here!"

"Uncle Tu, what about you?"

"I'm old, I can't run as fast as the kids, let me take care of these kids first." He waved his hand and urged it to go, his voice filled with determination even though his whole face was covered in soot and sweat. "Go quickly, child, don't waste Kinh's efforts blocking your way!"

Tinh Yen choked, did not dare to stay any longer, continued running towards the riverbank as Kinh instructed. Along the way, he met more people running in panic in all directions — some toward the forest, some toward the high hills, others, like him, headed toward the river wharf where a few small boats remained.

The southern river wharf was much quieter than the chaotic scene it had just passed through, with only the sound of gurgling water and distant firelight reflecting on the river surface like a burning red silk strip. Tinh Yen rushed into the reeds as Kinh had instructed, searching in the darkness until a hoarse voice rang out, startling it.

"Who is there?"

"Grandpa, I'm Tinh Yen, grandchild of Lang Khue! Kinh told me to find you!"

An old figure stepped out from the reed bush, it was Mr. Bay Cheo - an old fisherman who had lived his whole life attached to the river and coast of Lach Dua, whom Tinh Yen only knew through the few times she brought him medicine to his house to treat rheumatism many years ago.

"Lady Lang Khue..." Old Bay Cheo looked at him for a moment, his eyes blurred by age but still shining with a surprising determination. "Your grandmother once saved my life, now it's my turn to repay the favor. Get on the boat quickly, there won't be any time left."

He quickly pulled the small boat hidden in the reed bushes to the water's edge, pushed Tinh Yen up, and then rowed himself with incredible strength for his age. The boat glided quickly on the dark river surface, gradually moving away from the dock, farther away from the fire that was swallowing the beloved village.

From the middle of the river, Tinh Yen turned to look back. The entire village of Lach Dua was now engulfed in flames, the thatched roofs he had grown up with, the pebble-lined path he had walked with his grandmother up the hill to pick wormwood, the village communal house where the summoning drum had once sounded to announce bad news - all were being swallowed by the flames, the screams and the clash of weapons still echoed across the water, fading with distance but never truly silent in his mind.

"Kinh..." He whispered, tears rolling down his dust-stained face, not knowing if his friend was still alive in the middle of that fire, not knowing if Mr. Tu Dien and the children could escape safely into the forest.

Old Bay Cheo said nothing, just continued rowing steadily, taking them gradually away from the dangerous area, towards the river mouth and then around the coast to the South, away from the area where the pirates were raiding. During that journey, Tinh Yen sat huddled at the back of the boat, clutching her medicine bag tightly in her arms as if hugging the only thing left of a world that had just collapsed, her eyes never taking her eyes off the bright red halo of fire that was gradually shrinking behind her until it was just a glimmer of light in the vast night, then finally completely disappearing behind a headland jutting out into the sea.

It was almost dawn, Mr. Bay Cheo stopped the boat at a deserted sandy beach more than half a day's row away from Lach Dua, where there was a small fishing village still intact, not affected by last night's attack.

"I can come down here now." He spoke, his voice somewhat exhausted after a night of non-stop boating. "I have to go back and see if I can save anyone else. Besides, I'm old, I don't have many regrets in life or death. You're still young, you have your whole life ahead of you, you have to take care of yourself from here on out."

"It's dangerous for you to go back there, you—"

"I lived there all my life, it was worth dying there." Old Bay Cheo interrupted, a gentle but determined smile appearing on his face full of wrinkles and weather. "I remember what my grandmother taught me, be kind, save people when you can. Go, don't look back."

He pushed the boat around and rowed back toward Lach Dua before Tinh Yen could say another word. His thin figure quickly disappeared in the morning mist covering the water. Tinh Yen stood alone on the strange sand, looked until she could no longer see anything, then turned around to look at the horizon where the sun was starting to rise, dyeing the whole sky into a strip of pale pink mixed with ash gray - not knowing if it was the dawn or the smoke remaining from last night.

Fifteen years old, without a father, without a mother, without a grandmother, without a home, not knowing whether her friends were alive or dead, Tinh Yen stood alone on an unfamiliar beach, clutching her medicine bag and notebook - all that remained from a life that burned down in one night. The sea breeze blew, cold even in the middle of summer, carrying with it the last tears it could shed before being forced to learn how to stand alone.

It doesn't know where the road ahead will lead. He only knows that, amidst the ashes of everything he has ever loved, a promise still smolders in his heart like an oil lamp that has never been extinguished on the altar of his grandmother's house - a promise to not let that lamp burn out, no matter how many strange lands he has to go through, how many years of chaos, to keep it burning.