Chapter 36 — The Medicine Bearer Through the Chaos

Spring Rain On The Front Line

Spring brought the first rains after a long dry winter, but along with the spring rains, Truy Phong also chose this time to launch another exploratory attack on the western defense line of Long Mon pass, where the rugged terrain made defense more difficult than other areas.

The battle was not as large as the previous winter attack, but it lasted for nearly a week, with small skirmishes continuously breaking out between reconnaissance teams and advance troops on both sides. Thanh Phong, as the new Deputy General, personally commanded this defense line, often having to stay on duty outside the battlefield for many days without returning to the barracks.

Tinh Yen, along with Nhuoc Lan and a small military medical team, was sent to the front lines to set up a field medical station near the combat area, much closer than the main military hospital in the barracks - a decision by Ky Ba Nghiem to shorten the treatment time for serious casualties, based on the experience she had accumulated over the past nearly two years.

"Aren't you afraid of danger being so close to the front line?" Thanh Phong asked, on a rare occasion when he stopped by a field aid station between two rounds of fighting, his body still covered in mud and rain.

"I'm afraid, but I'm more afraid of wounded soldiers dying because they weren't treated promptly." Tinh Yen replied, still bandaging a slightly injured soldier. "If the rescue station is too far away, many people will not be able to survive on the transport route. This is the right choice, even if it is more risky."

Thanh Phong watched her work in the rain, her wet coat clinging tightly to her body, her hands still moving without stopping even after working for many hours. A mixture of admiration and sadness arose in his heart, seeing the girl he loved being involved in no less danger than he himself was on the battlefield.

"If anything happens to you..." He started to speak, but then stopped, as if he couldn't find the words to fully express the anxiety rolling in his heart.

"Nothing will happen." Tinh Yen interrupted, her eyes looking at him full of determination. "I promised myself, after losing my grandmother and my master, I would not let fear stop me from doing the right thing. You too, don't let worrying about me distract you when you are commanding on the battlefield."

A siren sounded in the distance, interrupting the short conversation between the two. Thanh Phong quickly stood up, put his cloak back on, his eyes looked at her for one last moment full of nostalgia before turning and running towards the front line, where the sound of war drums had begun to sound urgently again.

In the following days, Tinh Yen and the field military medical team worked non-stop amid the rain, wind and mud, treating dozens of wounded soldiers every day in conditions much poorer than the main military hospital. She learned how to improvise more flexibly than ever - using rain cloth to temporarily cover wounds when there were not enough tents, using boiled rainwater to disinfect when clean water sources were exhausted, using her own body warmth to warm up soldiers suffering from hemorrhagic shock in the cold of spring rain.

One afternoon, while dealing with a case of seriously wounded soldiers, news arrived that Thanh Phong had led his troops to successfully repel Truy Phong's final attack, forcing the Bac Dich army to completely retreat from the western region, at least until they had gathered enough forces for a larger-scale attack in the future.

When Thanh Phong returned to the field treatment station to check on the casualty situation, he found Tinh Yen sitting against a tree, exhausted after many days of non-stop work, but still trying to record the last cases of the day in a worn notebook.

"The battle is over." He said, sitting down next to her, his voice still a bit hoarse from shouting commands for many days.

"I heard it." Tinh Yen replied, smiling slightly, although that smile carried extreme fatigue. "You're not hurt, sir?"

"Just a few small scratches, nothing significant." He replied, then looked at her for a long time under the sunset that was gradually falling after the rain had just stopped. The sky was dyed a pale orange color mixed with a rare and beautiful pink light in the midst of a tragic battlefield. "Tinh Yen, I want to tell you something before you leave for Yen Phung."

Tinh Yen's heart beat faster, realizing the unusual seriousness in his voice. "Young master, just say it."

"I don't know what the future will be like, I don't know how big the difficulties ahead for my family will be, and I don't know what you will encounter at the Royal Hospital." Thanh Phong said, his eyes more sincere than ever. "But I know one thing for sure — no matter what happens, I will always consider you the most important person in my heart, even though I may not be brave enough or qualified to say it completely right now."

Tinh Yen looked at him, the corners of her eyes were stinging, but she did not let her tears fall, just nodded slightly, squeezing his hand in the sunset sky after the rain. "Me too, young master. No matter what distance lies ahead of us, I will always keep what was between us in my heart, like a light that will never go out."

They sat together like that for a long time, not needing another word, just letting that meaningful silence fill the gap that always existed between them, between a traditional medicine woman and a general from a noble family, between two people whose fates were intertwined in the midst of a chaotic time that promised nothing certain beyond the present.

When night completely fell, the military medical team began to clean up the field treatment station to prepare to withdraw to the main military hospital in the barracks, taking with them wounded soldiers who still needed long-term treatment. Nhuoc Lan came to find Tinh Yen, saw that she was still sitting quietly next to Thanh Phong, so she deliberately stood at a distance, not wanting to break that rare private moment.

"I have to go pack my things." Tinh Yen said, standing up, brushing the mud off her shirt, which was soaked from the rain. "Your Highness should also go home and rest. You must be just as tired as the rest of us these past few days."

"YES." Thanh Phong replied and also stood up, but still lingered for another moment, his eyes following her every move as she packed the medical equipment into a cloth bag. "Tinh Yen, if possible, I want to send you and the military medical team back to the barracks tonight, to make sure everyone is safe through the forest road where there may still be enemy remnants lurking."

"You don't need to worry too much, there are soldiers escorting us." Tinh Yen replied, but inside she still felt warm at that concern.

"I know, but I still want to make sure for myself." He smiled slightly, a rare and genuine smile appearing on his face, which had been solemn throughout the long battle.

The group left the field aid station in the dark, with only torches guiding the way through the forest roads still wet with rainwater. Thanh Phong personally led the escort group, occasionally turning back to check if Tinh Yen and the other medics were okay, even though he himself was equally exhausted after many days of continuous fighting.

On the way, Nhuoc Lan quietly approached Tinh Yen, whispering teasingly. "I see that Mr. Thanh Phong is very different today. He keeps looking at you and can't take his eyes off. What's going on between you two?"

"Nothing." Tinh Yen replied, trying to keep her face calm even though her heart was still troubled by the words Thanh Phong had just said at sunset.

"There's no use hiding it from me. Your face is red." Nhuoc Lan chuckled, even though her voice was somewhat tired after many days of hard work. "I just hope that no matter what happens between you two, you don't let it hurt you. That young man's world is much more complicated than ours."

"I know." Tinh Yen replied softly, looking at the back of Thanh Phong who was steadily leading the group in front, in the middle of the night there was still the moisture of the spring rain that had just ended. "But I've learned that sometimes we don't need to know in advance how things will turn out, we just need to know that right now, we don't regret what we chose."

The group continued their journey back to the barracks in silence, with only the sound of steady footsteps on the wet ground and the chirping of insects in the night, carrying in each person's heart their own thoughts about what had passed and what was still waiting ahead, when the spring of war still showed no signs of ending.