Chapter 16 — The Medicine Bearer Through the Chaos

Person Lying In The Middle Of The Reeds

The sound of war drums echoed from afar like the heartbeat of a giant monster growling among the rolling hills ahead. Tinh Yen and master Lieu Nguyen traveled about a day's journey from Long Mon Pass, stopping at a temporary military medical station set up next to a thin forest, where dozens of wounded soldiers from the recent battle were being carried home, the sound of groans and the smell of blood mixed in the hot air of the late afternoon.

"You follow me closely, don't take your eyes off what I do." The Master instructed, his voice became stern and different from usual, his eyes quickly scanned the long row of wounded soldiers to assess the priority of treatment - a skill he called "battlefield classification", something that Mrs. Khue had never had the opportunity to teach Tinh Yen because Lach Dua village had never directly suffered a large-scale battle like this.

They rushed to work immediately, not having time to rest after the long journey. Tinh Yen learned how to bandage deep wounds, stop bleeding by squeezing arteries, and distinguish between wounds that can wait and wounds that need to be treated immediately to save her life. There were scenes that made him grit his teeth to suppress his nausea - deep cuts to the bone, arrows still embedded in the flesh that hadn't yet been pulled out, young soldiers in their twenties screaming in pain.

Near dusk, when the sunset dyed the sky at the foot of the hill red - not sure if it was the color of the setting sun or the color reflected from a fire on the battlefield - a group of soldiers carrying stretchers rushed into the military medical station, frantically calling out.

"Help! There's someone seriously injured in the reeds. We found them while on patrol. We don't know if it's our army or another, but they're still alive!"

Master Lieu Nguyen and Tinh Yen along with a few other soldiers quickly ran in the direction indicated, across a stretch of wild grass fields to a luxuriant reed field near the stream bank. Among the crushed reeds, a young man lay motionless, his leather armor was torn on one side, blood was soaked in spots on the dark green fabric of his military uniform, his face was pale from losing too much blood.

"Still breathing!" Tinh Yen knelt down, pressed her ear to the man's chest, and heard the faint but still heartbeat. "Master, your pulse is still beating but it's very weak!"

The master quickly examined the wound - a deep stab wound in the abdomen below the left side, blood was still leaking out even though there were signs of partial coagulation, perhaps thanks to the man using a piece of cloth to tie himself up temporarily before falling down exhausted.

"If this wound is not treated immediately, it will become seriously infected and you may die from blood loss tonight." Master spoke quickly, his hands already starting to tear off the torn layer of armor to reveal the wound more clearly. "Carry him back to the station immediately, be careful not to hit the wound too hard."

The man was carried to the military medical station in critical condition, and as soon as he was placed on a makeshift emergency table built with a few wooden planks, master Lieu Nguyen began treating the wound with surprising speed and precision — cleaning the wound with diluted strong alcohol, sewing up each layer of torn tissue with fire-sterilized thread, while Tinh Yen held the tools, soaked up the blood, and prepared hemostatic and anti-inflammatory drugs according to each step the master requested.

"Crush honeysuckle and celandine, apply on stitches to prevent infection." The Master ordered, his voice decisive among the small groans of the patient who was drowsily waking up from pain. "Hurry, I need it right now."

Tinh Yen followed as quickly as possible, her hands not shaking even though this was the most serious surgery she had ever witnessed in her life. It looked down at the man's face lying on the table - even though he was grimacing in pain, the lines on that face still exuded an unusually determined and steadfast look, different from the panic often seen in most other wounded soldiers.

It was nearly midnight when the emergency surgery was completed. The master wiped the sweat from his forehead, breathed a sigh of relief but still did not take his eyes off the patient, continuing to monitor his breathing and facial expression to ensure there were no unexpected complications.

"He is out of danger, but must be closely monitored for the next few days to prevent fever and infection." Master said, his voice was somewhat exhausted after many hours of intense concentration. "Tinh Yen, you stay and watch over him tonight. If anything unusual happens, call me right away."

"Yes, master." Tinh Yen replied, sitting down next to the makeshift stretcher where the man was lying, still holding a damp towel to wipe sweat and monitor his body temperature.

A military medical commander came to check the situation, saw the badge left on the man's tattered military uniform, and couldn't help but be startled.

"This... this is Master Thanh Phong! The second son of Tran Bac Hau!" The commander lowered his voice, his expression both surprised and worried. "Young Master commanded a vanguard team to reconnaissance this afternoon. We thought we were missing in the battle with the Bac Dich cavalry..."

Hearing that, Tinh Yen couldn't help but be startled. The son of Tran Bac Hau - the name that Mr. Do Hac had mentioned with respect in Thanh Duong palace years ago, the family that had guarded the Long Mon pass for many generations - turned out to be the person lying unconscious in front of him, the person that his hands had just wrested from the hands of death with his master.

That night, Tinh Yen sat next to Thanh Phong for many hours, observing every breath and every small change on his face. At times he stirred, groaning softly in delirium, muttering indistinct words — perhaps military orders, perhaps the names of comrades who had fallen in the battle this afternoon.

Near morning, when the dawn light began to filter through the canvas gap of the military medical station, Thanh Phong's eyes slightly opened. He looked around for a moment, his eyes still hazy from the anesthetic and blood loss, then stopped at Tinh Yen's face as she bent down to check the wound.

"Am I... still alive?" His voice was hoarse and weak but still retained a bit of military alertness.

"You're still alive. My master and I treated you all last night." Tinh Yen replied, her voice was gentle and reassuring, her hand still constantly checking his body temperature across his forehead. "Young master, you need to lie still, don't move too much, the wound you just stitched hasn't healed completely yet."

Thanh Phong looked at it for a long time, his eyes gradually became more alert, revealing surprise when he realized that the person who had just talked to him was just a young girl, probably only fifteen or sixteen years old.

"Who... are you?" He asked, his voice still weak but less hoarse.

"I am Do Tinh Yen, disciple of master Lieu Nguyen." He replied, trying to keep his voice calm and professional like his master had taught him, even though he couldn't help but feel a little confused at the attentive gaze of the young man in front of him. "You're lucky the patrolling soldiers found you in time. If it had been another hour or so, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to save you."

Thanh Phong was silent for a moment, his eyes stopped on Tinh Yen's face with an expression that was difficult to name - not quite simple curiosity, but more like a deep recognition, as if he was trying to engrave the face of the person who had just saved his life into his memory.

"Thank you." He spoke with a rare sincerity in his voice for someone accustomed to dry military discipline. "I owe you my life."

"You don't owe anything, sir." Tinh Yen shook her head slightly, remembering what her grandmother and master often taught. "Saving people is the physician's duty, not to ask for gratitude."

Master Lieu Nguyen stepped in to check the wound again, nodding with satisfaction when he saw that the patient's condition was much more stable than last night. He exchanged a few brief sentences with the military medical commander about the need to inform the Tran Bac Hau government that the young man was still alive, to avoid letting his family suffer unjustly bad news.

"You need absolute rest for at least the next five days, avoid strenuous exercise, and eat light, easy-to-digest foods so your body can focus on recovery." Master instructed, his voice was strict as if he was giving orders, not advising. "If you try to return to the battlefield too soon, the stitches may burst, at which point I'm afraid I won't be able to save you a second time."

Thanh Phong frowned slightly, it seemed like the thought of having to lie still in the middle of an intense battle made him uncomfortable, but he still nodded, perhaps out of respect for the doctor who saved his life. "I understand. Thank you, master."

"No need to thank me, thank my disciple." Master glanced at Tinh Yen slightly, his eyes sparkling with discreet satisfaction. "It was his hand that stopped the bleeding right there in the reeds before I could arrive. If I had been a little slower and there had been more blood, no matter how talented I was, it would have been difficult to save me."

Thanh Phong turned to look at Tinh Yen again, this time his eyes carried a different color - not only gratitude, but also a bit of curiosity, as if wanting to understand more about this young girl with extraordinary bravery. Tinh Yen, feeling that gaze, bowed her head slightly and raised her voice in confusion.

"Young master, just rest and get well. I still have to help master take care of the other wounded soldiers." He said, then quickly stood up, looking for an excuse to leave to avoid the eyes that were still following him until he disappeared behind the canvas curtain separating the areas in the military medical station.

Outside the camp, the sound of war drums from Long Mon pass continued to echo, reminding that the war was still raging, and this was probably just the first meeting in a series of great events that were still waiting for both of them ahead.