Wildfire

At the end of the hour of Mui, the sun was setting in the West, the shadow of the banyan tree had almost covered the entire yard in front of the government house. District magistrate Dinh Thien Vy hesitantly looked along the road leading down to the bank of the Ta Slo River, on the other side was Hang Slo, a market that opened every five days on the fifth and tenth of the month.

One thing he did not expect was that the remote mountainous region had such crowded and joyful markets. He had just said goodbye to several guests who did not speak Kinh fluently, they were village and commune officials of the Northern Catholic Church that he had never set foot in. He sadly remembered the fate that brought him to this land.

Illustration: Hoang Bao

That's right, that year, in the Hoi examination a few years ago, he passed the Phó bảng exam, most of his classmates were appointed to various areas as District Governors and Prefecture Governors. As for him, he followed the profession of teaching children. He inherited the personality of his father, a teacher with a reputation for being virtuous, understanding, knowledgeable, and having wide connections, but unlike his father, he liked to travel far, to explore new lands and new cultures. One afternoon in the 11th year of Thanh Thai (Canh Thin), he was allowed by his father to receive a distinguished guest, a high-ranking official named Hoang who had just been appointed as the Governor of Bac Kan , a newly established province from the land of Thong Hoa and Cam Hoa prefectures (belonging to the 2nd Army of Cao Bang and Lang Son) with some districts of Thai Nguyen.

After that reception, he followed the Governor to Bac Kan, and was appointed as the District Chief of Cho Ra. A strange mountainous district, a large, sparsely populated area with 3 cantons and 22 communes, vast primeval forests and a large and beautiful freshwater lake, called Nam Pe by the natives. But before he could settle down and travel around the mountains and rivers, he was overwhelmed by the tangled affairs of a land far from the royal court.

After the Tianjin Treaty of At Dau year, and the Franco-Qing Convention of At Mui year, Cho Ra was completely under French rule. However, the after-effects of the feudal regime were still heavy, and the remnants of the remaining Black Flag army continued to lurk, causing instability in many villages and communes. Gambling was rampant, dragging in a number of village and commune officials.

The Governor was a very emotional person and understood the land and the internal affairs of Cho Ra. He built a mansion for all three ladies to settle down and make Cho Ra their second home. Encouraged by the Governor, District Governor Dinh Thien Vy took strong action to rectify many cases, many of which were successful, bringing peace to the community in the area.

This morning, he had just finished handling the divorce case that the Chief of the Church had submitted ten days ago. According to custom, divorce is under the authority of the chief of the commune, but according to the chief of the commune's report, the case had many difficult aspects, it was the result of a problem that was spreading like an epidemic in the community, including some communal officials. That problem had caused many people to fall into poverty, many families to break up, many people to become thieves and robbers, and in some places gathered into gangs of bandits and robbers.

He and the judge discussed the litigation situations in detail. It was a civil case, but he used criminal elements to increase deterrence. Looking at the setting sun, he suddenly thought: They must have reached the foot of the wild pass by now, from Nghien Loan in Ha Hieu commune, crossing the pass to Bang Thanh in Thuong Giao commune. The pass was famous for being desolate and dangerous, full of wild animals, even during the day no one dared to go alone except for experienced hunters. He believed in the young man, he was a strong, brave, noble type of person, but he was led deep into the path of gambling and killing with no chance of getting out.

In the early autumn afternoon, the golden sunlight slanted down the road across the mountainside, seemingly disappearing into the forest covering the pass, creating a deep ravine. There were two of them. The man walked in front, holding a machete, occasionally swinging the knife to cut off bushes that protruded onto the road. The girl quietly trudged behind, carrying a “Pac ma” bag on her hip.

They crossed a narrow path of several rocks, then entered the old forest, the space seemed to be completely dark because of the canopy of trees, the sunlight was only bright spots on the ground. Coming to a fairly large piece of land, there was a hollow that protruded like a roof, creating a hole just big enough for two people. The young man stopped:

- Just here tonight.

The girl was bewildered and her voice was trembling:

- Have to stay here overnight? The young man explained:

- We can't go any further, it's dangerous to travel long distances at night. Now quickly chop a few bundles of firewood, the more the better. The girl silently did as she was told. So one person chopped and another gathered dry branches and fresh pieces of wood, leaving the knots intact, and tied them to the bundles of firewood. The boy chopped two pieces of wood as big as his arm to use as a lever, and the two of them struggled to move a large dry tree trunk across the rock cavity. They sat in front of the rock cavity, quickly eating the rice ball they had just split in half. It was completely dark.

The man reached into his pocket and took out a flint, the girl cupped her hands around the tinder, sparks flashed, smoke, a burning smell, the girl bent down and blew softly "phù... phù...", the fire flared up, clearly illuminating their two very young faces. The man quickly took the torch and lit a fire right at the top of the big log. The space suddenly exploded with the sounds of the forest, the flapping of wings of the "thu thi... thu thi..." birds.

The “quacking” of the gibbons calling to each other, the “ai… ai… ai…” like children’s voices echoed from one mountain to another, “Someone’s voice” “that’s the sound of squirrels being chased and eaten by night kites”. The girl was trembling and nestled against the boy. Then everything fell silent; the time it took to boil a pot of water. Suddenly a “..crack… crack… crack” sound arose, regular like human footsteps, the girl hugged the boy’s arm tightly, softly “what is that”, “Don’t be afraid, those are the footsteps of a porcupine”. Then the very loud “crack… crack… crack” of a broken tree branch, “what is that”, “it’s a wild boar, don’t be afraid”. Then “rumble… rumble… rumble” like the sound of buffalo chasing each other “what is that”, “it’s a deer couple chasing each other”.

Suddenly, everything was silent, the wind seemed to stop blowing, sitting there, one could hear the beating of the heart in the chest. The young man suddenly pushed the girl into the cave, using his body to cover the outside, holding a knife in his hand. A strong sour smell wafted in the air, he knew the moment of danger had come. It was the smell of a tiger, no matter how close the tiger was, no matter how cautious he was, he still couldn't hide the smell like rotten sour bamboo shoots, a soft voice whispered into his ear "what is that smell" "don't be afraid". He pulled the rope to collapse the pile of wood onto the fire at the top of the log, a flame flared up, rising high.

Suddenly, on the other side of the fire, two red spots appeared like coal fire, the two red spots suddenly flashed, shining brightly, the distance between the two bright spots was about three fingers wide, the young man suddenly shivered "this Mr. Thirty is about Tai Ngao's age". Instinctively, his mouth made a sound "u..ô.. u..ô.. u.. ô", the girl also joined in, "Úa..úa..úa..úa.." holding the knife, tapping "cốc, cốc, cốc" on the big u tree, the sound like a wooden fish.

On the other side of the fire, two red spots suddenly went out, suddenly flashed, sometimes falling close to the ground, sometimes rising high as if about to jump over the fire. Suddenly, "Boom...Boom..." like a gunshot rang out, coals and fire flew everywhere, lighting up a whole section of the forest... a sudden "whoosh" sound arose, the two bright spots suddenly went out, in the distance a "crack...crack" sound of a broken tree branch could be heard. The young man exclaimed with joy:

- Ha ha, are you scared yet? Then he breathed a sigh of relief, "If the rubber tubes had exploded a little more, I don't know where things would have gone." He suddenly realized that his back was drenched in sweat from the girl hugging him tightly for so long.

The sour smell gradually dissipated. The wind suddenly rose, the forest shook violently, the fire blazed up like a burning field, lighting up the whole forest. Then “Whoosh…whoosh.” objects flew into the fire, struggling, making “choe…choe” sounds. The girl, trembling with fear, “Who threw those things into the fire?” “It’s okay, those are all kinds of birds, awakened by the wind, fell from their night shelter, reflexively flew towards the light, and rushed into the fire, just sit still here!” The boy ran out, quickly caught several birds as big as hens, struggling in the fire. “Here, there’s plenty of meat to eat!”

A sudden downpour came, pouring rain, the two of them were soaked like drowned rats. Luckily, the fire had not yet completely extinguished when the rain stopped. In the middle of the night, the moon rose, shining brightly. The fire was gathered, burning brightly. They turned around the fire, drying their clothes. The man suddenly took off his shirt, his muscular body, his muscles exposed in the flickering firelight. The girl obediently let the man unbutton the buttons on her chest and then bent down. In the blazing firelight, they were naked as when they were first born and cried out to the world. They wrapped around each other, as if they had become one, as if they had never been like that before, they forgot everything in this world, no joy, no sadness, no pain, no anger, no fullness, no hunger... There was only one thing left... love.

The smell of grilled meat was so fragrant that the man tore off a greasy bird leg and gave it to the girl. The girl tossed her long hair behind her, revealing the natural world before the torchlight of the night on the deserted pass. Their eyes met, they held hands.... Then, they fell asleep, the bright moonlight shining, as if watching over their sleep.

The man suddenly woke up, grabbed the girl's arm that was still hugging his chest. The dangerous moment had passed, and now he had time to calm down and think about the events that had happened. That's right, yesterday morning, the District Governor had forced him to the brink of death, at times to the point of heart-stopping, with his tight reasoning that left him with no way to argue. He only asked and answered, not allowing him to beat around the bush. The soldier escorted the two into the court, and since they were civil judges, they were allowed to stand with their hands clasped together to make their submissions. The District Governor said:

- I have received the Chief's application for divorce from the two of you. Now I ask, please listen carefully: the wife answered first, why divorce?

- Yes, yes, he beat me so much, so many times, I can't live with him anymore.

- Are there any injuries to prove it?

- Yes, I have the minutes recorded by the teacher. Currently, my hands are still bruised from the bindings, and the bruise on my eye has not yet faded.

- You answer. Why did you hit your wife?

- Because my wife prevented me, scolded me terribly, and even called my uncle's name.

- You there, answer me, what are you preventing your husband from doing?

- Yes, stop gambling, already lost two fields, if not stopped will lose all fields, no way to make a living.

- So who did you curse, who did you call out, who is your uncle?

- I was foolish enough to call out your uncle's name because he persuaded my husband to gamble and lost two fields to your uncle's house. He continued to question:

- What is your uncle's name? You must state it clearly. If you don't state it clearly, you will commit the crime of slander.

- Yes, your name is, is Thu ra..thu ra.. suddenly there was a "slap" knock on the table, making me startled:

- Say it?

- Yes, it is Mr. Thu Ba Ly.

- Okay, I ask you, do you accept the gambling?

Yes, I accept.

- Did you lose two fields to the land registry officer?

- Yes sir. There was another "slap" sound on the table, he said:

- The court paused for two moments to move on to another episode…

The court reopened, this time more people came to watch, including four soldiers with rulers in their hands, their faces full of murderous intent. Another "slap" sound on the table, the district magistrate solemnly said:

- The judge has just tried a civil case, a divorce case. Through the trial, more details of the crime have been discovered. These are gambling, wife beating, torturing others and insulting the elders of the family, all of which are recorded in the criminal law. The trial according to the criminal law has begun. Two soldiers rushed forward, pressing their hands on the shoulders of the two men:

- Kneel down! Both were stunned and trembling. The district magistrate's words made both of them sweat profusely.

- The couple, who were diligently working on the farm, taking care of their old mother, and raising their young children, suddenly became addicted to gambling, threatening to ruin their family. In addition, the husband also acted violently, beating and tying his wife, causing injuries and causing chaos in the village. As for the wife, in a moment of anger, she insulted the elders of the family, violating the three obediences and four virtues. Through the court, the people involved were revealed, and I will judge another case. Listen:

- Punish the husband 20 meters on the hand that committed the crime. Two soldiers respectfully carried out the table, held the husband's hands down on the table and waved the whip. The wife suddenly cried out and bowed, bowed to:

- Please forgive him, let him work to support his child, I am also partly at fault in this matter. Then she collapsed to the ground. After a while, he said:

- The wife asked for it, so I'm happy for him. So let's leave it at that for now. As for the other woman, the crime of silently insulting her husband and the family's elders, according to the law, she was slapped 10 times in the face. After the "slap". The husband quickly fell to the ground and bowed:

- Please forgive me, I will go home and teach my wife a lesson. Because I lost my property gambling, I put my wife in a desperate situation and had to commit a crime. If I slap her 10 times in the mouth, I'm afraid she will die because the old bruises from my beating are still there. Please take all the punishment. The entire courtroom fell silent at the situation that was happening.

- Okay, the customary law says: Hit the one who runs away, not the one who runs back. Because both of them admitted their fault. I declare:

- Since it is your first crime, you honestly confessed and admitted your guilt, I will forgive your punishment and record it in your criminal record. If you re-offend, it will be added to your record. As for the divorce case, please discuss it carefully, I will give you ten days. But remember, our ancestors have a saying:

Children without mother, cold kitchen and cold door

Children without fathers are likely to become bandits.

Right now, somewhere far away:

Where parents are waiting, waiting

Where the child is sitting and waiting on the doorstep

- Starting tomorrow, if both parties voluntarily withdraw the petition, I will approve it. At the end of the Mui hour, I will meet Tho to get the verdict and submit it to the village chief of the place of residence.

Roadside!

In the back room, the Poet offered a cup of tea and exclaimed:

- I admire you, Brother, for completely mastering the situation. Everything happened exactly as planned. The chief and the local teachers admire you very much. The district magistrate smiled, affectionately looking at the trusted servant who volunteered to follow him up here, sharing the joys and sorrows in this mountainous area:

- It was just as the teacher suggested, “Human nature is inherently good.” That couple was born with inherently good natures. Due to the evolutionary movement of society, they were tarnished, infected with deceitful, murderous, mean, and sly habits in communication. Tonight, we will drive them to the mountain pass to light a fire in the wilderness, hoping that the wild fire, the fire of love, will bring them back to the beginning...

The girl suddenly opened her eyes, it was already bright outside, she quickly put on her dry shirt, reached up to comb her hair, and muttered:

- Oh, I have never seen such a cruel official, pushing people into a situation where they almost got eaten by a tiger. The husband, with an affectionate look:

- Both evil and very deep, so deep that it forced me into a situation where I couldn't leave you. Let's go back to the Palace today!

- On the market day of August 20th that year, the people were whispering to each other about the story of the trial of the District Governor Dinh Thien Vy. It was said that a couple spent the night in a deserted pass, almost got eaten by a tiger, the next morning they returned to the court, withdrew their divorce petition. No one knew who initiated it first, but after that day the deserted pass was called Keo Diep. Until today, more than a hundred years later, the pass road has been widened and paved. How many couples from many generations have passed through here, how many couples understand where the name Deo Yeu - Keo Diep came from. Was it from a difficult disaster?

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-nghe-thai-nguyen/sang-tac-van-hoc/202507/lua-hoang-0680deb/