Chapter 74 — The Medicine Bearer Through the Chaos

Hidden Drug Store

The opportunity that Tinh Yen and everyone had been waiting for so long suddenly came on a drizzly morning, when the whole Nghinh Phong citadel was struggling to cope with the second exploratory attack since the night the North Gate fell. During the chaos of the battle, a corner of the grain warehouse near the previously damaged area suddenly caught fire because of a stray fire arrow fired from the North.

Firefighters were mobilized immediately, and in the process of extinguishing the fire, they discovered a secret bunker deep under the ground of the warehouse, cleverly disguised by a layer of wooden planks covered with sandy soil on top. When the cellar door was partially destroyed by fire, dozens of large wooden crates filled with medicine and food were revealed inside, all bearing the seals of the Royal Hospital and various suppliers, which had been carefully hidden for a long time.

Tinh Yen received the news while treating wounded soldiers and immediately ran to the scene with Dinh Ba Kham. The scene before her eyes caused her long-suppressed anger to flare up violently - dozens of boxes of medicine, enough to save countless lives in the past few days, lay silently underground while people and soldiers struggled with extreme deprivation.

"Here..." Dinh Ba Kham said, his voice shaking with anger, standing silently in front of the steaming tunnel mouth. "This is exactly what we've been suspecting all these days."

Ve Khai Trach appeared not long after, his face darkened when he saw the entire scene. He ordered this area to be sealed immediately, sent strict guards, and sent soldiers to arrest Chu Dac Hoanh immediately. There was no reason to wait any longer before this obvious evidence.

But when the soldiers arrived at Chu Dac Hoanh's living area, they only found an empty room, all personal belongings had disappeared, as if he had predicted the day of exposure and had prepared a retreat long ago. A guard recounted that the night before, while everyone was busy responding to Bac Dich's attack, they saw a small group of people leaving the citadel through a side gate that few people noticed, but at that time no one suspected anything because they thought it was just a regular reconnaissance group.

"He escaped." Ve Khai Trach said, his voice full of anger but also mixed with a rare helplessness. "I will send someone to search for him immediately, but in this surrounded situation, the possibility of finding him is very low."

Tinh Yen stood silently at the mouth of the tunnel, looking at the boxes of medicine being carried out by soldiers for urgent distribution to the military medical station. Her heart was both relieved because she finally had all the necessary supplies and bitter because the truth had come too late to save the lives lost in the previous days of scarcity.

The news spread quickly throughout the city, and not long after, Mrs. Cuu Tram also came, standing silently watching the line of people carrying medicine out of the secret cellar, her face was a mixture of joy and sadness. "If this medicine had been distributed even just a few days earlier..." She said, her voice choked up, not finishing her sentence, but everyone understood that she was thinking of those who did not survive the first fever in the refugee camp.

"I know." Tinh Yen replied, her voice also lowered. "But at least, from now on, no one will have to suffer such unreasonable deprivation. I will make sure this medicine is distributed fairly and as quickly as possible."

Ms. Cuu Tram nodded, took Tinh Yen's hand in a silent gesture of gratitude, then turned back to organize her people to receive the necessary medicine. Her bright voice rang out among the crowd as usual, even though her eyes were still watery.

The distribution of medicine took place all afternoon, and for the first time since arriving in Nghinh Phong, Tinh Yen felt a real sense of relief spreading throughout the military medical station - no longer having to calculate each meager dose of medicine, no longer having to choose who gets priority for treatment first due to lack of supplies. Nhuoc Lan and Ton Ba Nghi worked with a heightened spirit, even though everyone knew that this was just a small victory in the midst of a long battle ahead.

While inventorying the materials he had just found, Ton Ba Nghi discovered a small notebook hidden carefully at the bottom of a wooden crate, written in a simple code but enough to hide from untrained eyes. Tinh Yen took the notebook, carefully turned each page, and gradually, with the help of Ngan Ba Thuyen - who had experience decoding some similar symbols in old documents of the Thai Y Vien - they began to piece together part of the content.

"These are records of the actual quantity of materials warehoused, compared with the officially reported quantity." Ngan Ba Thuyen said, her voice trembling as she realized the meaning of the numbers. "The gap is huge, nearly a third of the supplies that should have been distributed have been systematically withheld, since Zhu Dac Hong took office here."

"Is it clearly stated where those supplies are being transferred?" Tinh Yen asked, her heart beating rapidly.

Ngan Ba Thuyen flipped a few more pages, then stopped at the last line of notes, his eyes widened in surprise. "There's a symbol here, a stylized lotus flower, accompanied by a faint line of text... 'transferred by order above, kept strictly confidential'."

Stylized lotus symbol - the same symbol Nhuoc Tran once mentioned in the capital, related to Can Ba Thong's group of trusted mandarins. Tinh Yen felt a cold current run down her spine, realizing more clearly than ever the link between what was happening in Nghinh Phong and a much larger network of corruption, stretching from the capital to this remote border area.

"We need to send this notebook back to the capital immediately." Tinh Yen said, her voice determined. "Along with everything discovered here. This may be the most important evidence ever, strong enough to incriminate Can Ba Thong before the court."

Ve Khai Trach nodded in agreement, immediately ordered the preparation of the most trustworthy messenger, carrying a notebook and a secret letter explaining the entire incident, and tried every way to get through the siege to bring news to Yen Phung as soon as possible, even though everyone understood the danger of that mission while the citadel was being surrounded on all sides.

In the afternoon, when everything was temporarily stable, Tinh Yen went to see Ve Khai Trach again, this time with an unshakable determination in her eyes.

"Sir, now that the evidence is in hand, and the hidden supplies have been found, I think it's time for me to set out to find Thanh Phong." She said. "I can't wait any longer."

Ve Khai Trach looked at her for a long time, then nodded slightly. His eyes contained both worry and a trust that had been reinforced by what she had shown over the past few days. "Okay." he said. "I will prepare everything necessary tonight. Tomorrow morning, you will leave, with the people I can trust most to accompany you on the journey ahead."

He pondered for a moment, then added, his voice heavy. "I will send Deputy General Dinh to arrange a small escort group, no more than three people, carrying the medicine man's neutral flag to avoid misunderstandings with any parties that may encounter on the road. But I must make it clear to you, once I leave the city's control, I can no longer guarantee your safety. This is your own decision, and I respect it, even though I am not without worry in my heart."

"I understand the risks, sir." Tinh Yen replied, her voice determined. "But I believe, this is the only correct path I can take right now."

That evening, Tinh Yen spent most of the remaining time preparing for the trip - a bag of emergency medicine as complete as she could carry, some dry food, and of course, the Bach Thao Chan Sutra and half a piece of white talisman jade that always followed her as silent companions throughout the long journey. She also advised Nhuoc Lan and Ngan Ba Thuyen carefully about running the military medical station during her absence, trying to pass on all the most important experiences and notes in the short remaining time.

"You can rest assured on your journey." Ngan Ba Thuyen said, placing a hand trembling with age on her shoulder. "I will keep everything here, waiting for the day you return, bringing Major General Thanh with you safely."

Tinh Yen nodded, her heart filled with deep gratitude to the people who had stood by her side throughout this difficult journey, before entering the tent to rest for a few rare hours, preparing for a journey that she knew would challenge her in unprecedented ways.