Chapter 40 — The Medicine Bearer Through the Chaos

The Road to Yen Phung

The day Tinh Yen left Long Mon Pass, the sky was blue without a single cloud, completely different from the stormy night last year when she was first taken to the refugee station near Co Lam Pagoda in a state of exhaustion and uncertainty. The late spring sunshine spread a layer of warm golden light onto the rolling mountains surrounding the pass, onto the barrack flags fluttering in the wind, and onto the faces of the people who had become her second family for nearly two years.

The entire military hospital gathered at the barracks gate to see her off, a solemnity that made Tinh Yen emotional. Ky Ba Nghiem stood in the front row, his appearance as serious as usual but his eyes carried a longing that was hard to hide.

"This is my official letter of introduction to Chancellor Kinh Ba Van." He said, giving her a carefully sealed envelope. "I have clearly written down all of your achievements and abilities during your time here, without adding or subtracting a word, because I believe you don't need any hype to prove your worth."

"I would like to thank you, Captain, for everything you have taught me." Tinh Yen bowed her head deeply, her voice choked.

"Don't bow to me anymore. From today, you are no longer my student, but a colleague I am proud to know." Ky Ba Nghiem said, his rare voice carrying complete warmth. "Go, don't let this morning sunlight go in vain."

Nhuoc Lan hugged Tinh Yen, tears welling in her eyes even though she tried to smile brightly. "Remember to write to me, telling me everything that happened in Yen Phung, don't hide anything, including your love story with young master Thanh Phong."

"I promise." Tinh Yen replied, laughing through her own tears, squeezing your hand one last time.

Vu Khac Tuan stood nearby, not saying much, just reaching out to shake her hand in a military style, a solemn but sincere gesture. "Take care of yourself, junior sister. If one day you become a major official in the Royal Hospital, don't forget the cloth-clad men who are still struggling day and night on this border."

"I will never forget." Tinh Yen replied, squeezing his hand.

The small escort group assigned to accompany her - under the orders of Lu Bat, the temporary commander of the camp in Thanh Phong's absence - included four trusted soldiers and a horse-drawn carriage carrying luggage and some precious medicinal herbs Ky Ba Nghiem sent as gifts to the Royal Hospital, as a way to affirm the connection between the border military hospital and the central court.

Before getting on the bus, Tinh Yen asked permission to stop by one last time, to visit Lieu Nguyen's grave on the hillside behind the barracks. She knelt down in front of the grave, now covered with green grass and naturally growing wildflowers, and placed the last handful of dried mint leaves on it.

"Master, I'm on my way." She spoke softly. "I will carry with me everything you have taught me, and I promise, no matter what the truth lies ahead, I will not back down. I will find out who caused all this suffering — to my village, to you, and perhaps, to countless others I don't even know about."

The gentle wind blew across the top of the hill, shaking the surrounding branches and leaves, bringing with it a familiar feeling of serenity, like a quiet farewell from a deceased teacher. Tinh Yen stood up, dried her tears, and returned to where the escort group was waiting.

As the carriage began to roll away from the camp gate, Tinh Yen lifted the curtain to look back one last time - Long Mon pass, with its towering walls, rows of tents close together, familiar faces waving goodbye, gradually shrinking behind, until it completely disappeared behind a bend in the mountain road.

She remembered the night when Lach Dua burned red, when she alone and helplessly watched her hometown engulfed in flames, not knowing what tomorrow would bring. Compared to that moment, this departure was completely different - she was no longer alone, no longer uncertain. In her hand, she carried a baggage of knowledge and emotions built up through many years of hardship: her master's Bach Thao Chan Sutra, a copper card proving her own abilities, Thanh Phong's letters, and in her heart was the promise of a love strong enough to wait through distance and time.

The road to the South stretches through rolling hills, green barley fields in season, and small villages where daily life continues despite the war on the distant border. Tinh Yen sat in the car, occasionally taking out the Bach Thao Chan Sutra to read it again, reviewing the knowledge she would need to use when facing the veteran royal physicians at the Royal Hospital, who certainly would not easily accept a cloth-clothed girl from a fishing village like her.

The first night on the road, when the group stopped to rest at a small roadside station, Tinh Yen sat alone by the campfire, looking up at the starry sky, wondering how far Thanh Phong had gone now, and what he was facing in the capital he had arrived at a few days before her.

She took out half a piece of white crane jade from the red cloth bag, looked at it in the flickering light of the campfire, feeling the weight of an unanswered royal secret lying in the palm of her hand. She thought about the remaining half of the piece, still lying somewhere in the palace, in the hands of someone she never knew, waiting for the day it would be completely put together, along with the entire truth behind it.

"I'm coming, master." She whispered into the quiet night. "Whether there is light or darkness ahead, I will not turn back."

The next morning, the group continued on their way as dawn had just appeared, dyeing the entire eastern sky in a brilliant pink color. Tinh Yen lifted the car curtain and looked ahead, where the road still stretched between lush green hills, leading to a capital city she had never set foot in but had carried in her heart for many months as a promise that was both full of hope and full of uncertainty.

On the way, the group stopped by many villages and small towns where news about the border war and even rumors about the incident of Tran Bac Hau had spread, although in different versions, somewhat embellished through word of mouth. Tinh Yen listened to those stories with a new caution, realizing that even the common people in the countryside had begun to feel the vibrations from the political storm forming in the capital, even though they did not understand the details.

In a small town where the group stopped to rest in the middle of the journey, an old woman selling medicine on the street, hearing that a female doctor from Long Mon pass was passing by, went to the inn to ask to take the pulse and treat her young grandchild who was having an unknown fever. Tinh Yen did not hesitate to accept the invitation, spending the entire evening to examine and prescribe a simple prescription from the medicinal herbs he brought, without charging a single penny.

"You are the benefactor of this old family." The old woman said, her voice choked with gratitude, when she saw her grandchild's fever gradually subside after taking medicine. "I heard people say that you are going to Yen Phung to work in the Royal Hospital. I hope that no matter how high your position is, you will not forget poor people like us."

"I will never forget." Tinh Yen replied, smiling, her heart warmed strangely at that simple message, like a timely reminder of the roots where she grew up, of what is truly important amidst all the calculations and positions of officialdom that lie ahead.

Before leaving the inn the next morning, the old woman put a small package wrapped in rough cloth into her hand, inside were a few dried ginger roots and a handful of lotus seeds from her hometown. "The journey is difficult, you should take it with you for use." She spoke, her voice shaking due to old age but her eyes shining with complete faith. Tinh Yen received it, bowed her head in gratitude, put the small gift in the same place as the other precious relics in her hand, considering it a simple but most sincere blessing for the remaining journey ahead.

In the final days of the journey, as the group began to get closer to the capital, the scenery gradually changed dramatically - the paved roads became smoother, the flow of people passing back and forth became busier, high-rise buildings with curved tiled roofs began to appear on the horizon. Tinh Yen clearly felt the transformation of the surrounding space, as if she herself was stepping through an invisible threshold, completely separating the world of familiar border mountains and the magnificent but trap-filled world of the capital.

Yen Phung is waiting ahead - with its towering city walls, its gilded palace roofs, and hidden deep inside, a network of conspiracies that has silently sowed suffering for many years, waiting for a cloth-clad medicine woman, carrying within her half a piece of jade talisman and an unshakable oath, to step forward to begin uncovering each layer of hidden secrets.