Chapter 32 — The Medicine Bearer Through the Chaos

Northern Prisoners

The prisoner lying on the stretcher looked much younger than Tinh Yen imagined - perhaps only sixteen or seventeen years old, his face still had immature features under a layer of dust and dried blood, his black hair tied in a braid style typical of the Northern steppe tribes. A deep cut in his left side made him wheezing intermittently, his eyes looking around the quarantine area in panic like a cornered young animal.

"Just let him lie there, who has time to worry about a Bac Dich guy?" Another medic muttered as he passed by, without stopping.

Tinh Yen stepped forward and knelt down next to the stretcher, regardless of the probing eyes from around her. The young prisoner cowered as he saw her approach, his whole body trembling, perhaps having heard stories of the enemy's cruelty during the long nights in his own barracks, and now thought that a similar fate awaited him.

"Don't be afraid." Tinh Yen said, his voice as gentle as possible, even though he knew he probably couldn't understand Dong Lam. She pointed to the wound, then pointed to herself, signaling with her movements that she had come to heal, not harm. "I'm a doctor, I'm here to save you."

The prisoner looked at her for a long time, his eyes still full of doubt, but the pain made him no longer able to resist when Tinh Yen began to examine the wound. She realized that the cut had cut deep into the intercostal muscle, luckily it had not reached the lungs, but blood would still leak out endlessly if not treated immediately.

"Nhuoc Lan, bring the sewing equipment here, and prepare painkillers." She called, immediately starting her familiar work, putting aside all distracting thoughts about the identity of the person lying in front of her.

Nhuoc Lan came to support, although her eyes could not hide her initial hesitation. "Are you sure you should do that? If the soldiers in the barracks knew about it, there might be strong objections."

"I don't care what they think." Tinh Yen replied, still quickly preparing the tools. "My master once taught, the oath of a physician is to save people first, ask about their identity later. If I let a person die in front of me just because he was born on the other side of the border, I am no longer worthy to call myself a physician."

The surgery took place in a tense atmosphere, not only because of the nature of the wound but also because of the constant glances through the tent slits from curious or disgruntled soldiers standing outside. Tinh Yen concentrated with all her might, applying exactly what Ky Ba Nghiem had just taught her - cleaning the wound, suturing each layer of torn muscle, carefully stopping the bleeding before bandaging.

When finished, the young prisoner looked at her with eyes that were less panicked, although still wary. He whispered something in Bac Dich language. Tinh Yen did not understand, but guessed that it might be a cautious thank you.

News that Tinh Yen personally treated the prisoners quickly spread throughout the camp, and the reaction was not as smooth as she had hoped. That very evening, when she was on her way back to her tent to rest, a small group of soldiers blocked her way, led by a soldier with a scarred face and eyes full of indignation.

"Medicine lady, do you know what the North Dich group did to our village?" The soldier said, his voice shaking with anger. "My younger brother died at their hands last year, but now you save one of them as if he deserved to live?"

Tinh Yen stood still, clearly feeling the weight of anger pointing towards her, but she did not back down. "I understand your pain, and I do not mean to belittle your loss." She spoke, her voice calm but firm. "But that prisoner is just a young soldier captured while on a reconnaissance mission, not the one who killed your brother. If I let him die just because he shares the same blood as those who committed the crime, then am I punishing him for someone else's crime?"

"You sound nice, but you're not the one who lost a loved one!" The soldier growled and took another step forward.

"I also lost everything — my parents, my grandmother, my hometown, my master — all because of this war and chaos." Tinh Yen replied, her voice not shaking even though her heart ached when recalling those losses. "But I learned that if I let my hatred guide my hands, I will become the very thing I hate. That is not the path I choose."

The tense atmosphere lasted for a few more moments, until a familiar voice rang out from behind.

"What's up?" Ve Thanh Phong stepped forward, his stern eyes scanning the group of soldiers surrounding Tinh Yen.

The group of soldiers quickly stood at attention, bowed to the deputy general, their anger was temporarily suppressed in the presence of their superior. "Deputy General, we just... just don't agree with the doctor treating enemy prisoners of war." The soldier with the scar on his face replied, his voice softening.

"She followed the rules of war and the professional ethics of a medicine man." Thanh Phong said, his voice was decisive without any hesitation. "Wounded prisoners of war still have the right to be treated. That is something that is clearly stipulated in military law, and is also something that helps us maintain the dignity of a righteous army, unlike what the North Dich does with our prisoners of war. If anyone has any questions, just come to me directly, don't make it difficult for the medical students who are doing their job properly."

The group of soldiers quietly dispersed, although some of them still had some lingering dissatisfaction in their eyes. When there were only two people left, Thanh Phong turned to look at Tinh Yen, his eyes full of worry.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry for being late." He said.

"I'm fine." Tinh Yen replied, although her hands were still shaking slightly from the stress she had just experienced. "Thank you sir for coming in time."

"You don't need to thank me for doing the right thing." Thanh Phong said, his voice softened. "But I'm worried that this is just the beginning. If news about the care of prisoners of war spreads more widely, there may be more harsh reactions from the soldiers who have lost so much in this war."

Tinh Yen nodded, understanding what he just said. She looked towards the isolation area where the young prisoner was recuperating, wondering if the path she had just chosen was the right path, or simply the only path she could accept to live with herself in the future.

In the following days, Ky Ba Nghiem allowed Tinh Yen to continue taking care of the prisoner, although he also told her to be very cautious and always have a guard accompany her whenever she entered the detention area. The prisoner, after several interactions, gradually became less afraid, although he still maintained a certain wary distance. A soldier in the barracks had spent time doing business in the border area, knew a little Bac Dich language, and was sent to act as an interpreter whenever needed.

"His name is Bac Nhi." The interpreter translated again, after a short conversation. "He said, he had never met a Dong Lam physician willing to save his tribe's people. In his homeland, people still say that Southern physicians only treat their own people, but leave Northerners to die on the battlefield."

"Tell him that here, every life is worth saving, no matter where he comes from." Tinh Yen replied, looking straight into Bac Nhi's still cautious eyes.

The interpreter translated, and Tinh Yen saw an indescribable surprise flash across the young prisoner's face, as if those words had stirred something deep in his heart, something that the years of war had made him almost forget could exist between the two sides of the battle line.

Through a few short conversations with the help of an interpreter, Tinh Yen gradually learned more about Bac Nhi's life - he was the son of a small cattle raising family in a remote steppe area, was drafted into the reconnaissance team just half a year ago, never really wanted to take up arms, just hoped the war would end soon so he could return to herding the family's sheep. That story made Tinh Yen feel sad, realizing that behind the title "enemy", there are still people with fear, homesickness, and the desire to survive no different from the Dong Lam soldiers that she still cures day and night.

"Perhaps, this war is not as simple as what people say." She whispered to herself, after an evening of sitting and recording the condition of Boc Nhi's wound, a new question lingered in her mind that she knew she would have to ponder for a long time - about who was really the enemy in a long war that had claimed so many lives on both sides of the border.