Chapter 5 — The Moon is Quiet on the West River, People Haven't Returned Yet

Ha Dinh Chau quickly organized a funeral for To Le - in the name of her legal husband. He stood quietly next to her photo the whole time, not saying a word. After the ceremony, he held her tablet and sat alone all day, his eyes empty, his expression dull. Even his wrist, which had been bleeding for a long time, was not aware of it. Ha Vi Vi saw that he was injured and was so worried that she wanted to bandage him, but he pushed her down: "Ha Dinh Chau! The person I love is always you! Isn't it good that she's dead? How long are you planning to stay in pain?!" His coldness these past few days made Ha Vi Vi explode, screaming in the middle of the empty room. But he only whispered, as if muttering to himself: "I don't understand anything... A Le was just angry with me so she left. Seven years of love... she blames me, she's hiding... that's for sure..." Ha Vi Vi grabbed his shoulder, shaking him hard as if to wake up a sleepwalker: "Wake up! She's dead! Did you hear?! That day at the lake... she was standing behind that tree! Whatever you said, she heard everything!" Even if she isn't dead… her heart is dead!” That sentence made Ha Dinh Chau stiffen. He held his head, in pain as if he had been struck by lightning. Every sentence, every word that day — Suddenly, like lightning, it hit his brain. What did you say? Saying that I came to To Le just because I was angry with Ha Vi Vi. Saying that he married her just to force Ha Vi Vi to appear. Saying that he arbitrarily changed the good hexagrams to bad hexagrams, to save Ha Vi Vi's body. His head hurt like it was about to explode. She knows it all. She stood there, hearing it all. No wonder why she asked for a divorce. No wonder her eyes looking at him became colder and colder. No wonder why that day... she said: "You make me feel nauseous." Turns out, everything... she knew. Ha Dinh Chau collapsed and rolled on the floor in pain. Ha Vi Vi rushed to hug him, choking: "I... corrected the hexagram 99 times for you... Now that she's dead, we can live well together, okay?" But he didn't hear anything anymore. He pushed her away, like a crazy person, rushed out of the room, running like crazy towards that pile of ashes - where A Le's house used to be. Even though this place now only has ashes, blackened rotten wood and scattered cinnamon petals, Ha Dinh Chau still kneels among the rubble, looking through each piece like a treasure. As long as it was something she had ever touched, even if it was just a half-burnt piece of cloth, he would cherish it like a treasure. Finally, in the scorched corner of the wall, he found a deformed sandalwood box. Miraculously — there were still a few letters inside that hadn't been burned. He trembled as he opened it - each familiar handwriting caught his eye. "Dinh Chau, after training today, I remembered you said you liked cinnamon flowers, so I picked some and dried them to make cinnamon rolls for you." "This time the mission is dangerous, you must return safely. I will wait for you." Each sentence, each word, was like a needle piercing straight into his heart. He remembered... He told Ha Vi Vi: "I came to To Le just because I was angry." He remembers the day she fell into the water, he only saved Ha Vi Vi. He remembers when she heartbrokenly proposed a divorce, he even accused her of "malicious intentions." Everything crashed like a fierce wave, burying him alive in regret. Suddenly, he remembered the document from the previous day in her room — he had seen her sign it then. At that time, he didn't care at all. But now that I think about it... it's absolutely not a normal document. Without hesitation, he immediately ran to the Command Post. As soon as he met the commander, he asked directly: "Commander, before To Le... died, she met you, right? What document did she sign?!" The commander looked at him and sighed: "There are things... that should not be asked." "I must know!" — His eyes reddened, his voice trembling but full of determination. “She can't die

Not so clear!” The commander was silent for a long time, then finally nodded: “To Le voluntarily applied for an undercover mission in the Golden Triangle. The document that day was the mission confirmation. The organization planned to fake her death. Currently - she is carrying a new identity, carrying out a secret mission." "Mission... undercover?" Ha Dinh Chau seemed to be struck by lightning, standing still. He remembered her determined eyes, remembered her cold look, decisively leaving... It turned out, at that time - she had completely abandoned him. "She... how is she now? Is the mission dangerous?” “The mission content is top secret. I cannot reveal more." The commander looked at him and slowly said: "To Le is an excellent soldier. But it's also a woman that you... have betrayed."