Chapter 17 : Whose Secrets?

The powdered lime that fell to the ground and stuck to the leaves made it easy for the scouts to follow but as time passed, the white powder began to move away with the wind and eventually disappeared.

The two young men look at each other, as if asking what to do next, Longtae turns and looks around, there is now a faint glimmer of light from the morning sun but when it came to such dense woods, a kid like him after his first year of high school felt just as scared.

"Phii Tian, let's not keep following, a little deeper than this and there is a potential that we might be crossing the Burmese border."

"A little further, I think he must be around here."

Tian doesn't want to surrender easily, he's paid his money to do it, how can he go back empty handed.

"So where do we go next? All traces of lime have disappeared, we're not forest hikers, Phii and there's no compass to tell us where to go, if we go back the way we came, we can still feel our way back to the village."

While Tian's lips were closed in hesitant thought, his eyes suddenly glanced at the bag of lime that he saw the teenager had not thrown away.

"Use this!" Tian grabbed a plastic bag from Longtae's hand and said, "We'll sprinkle lime under the trees regularly along the path we're on, when it's time to come back follow this, we won't get lost!" He excitedly came up with the idea, not caring about his little brother who was on the verge of tears.

Why are you so stubborn!!!

Longtae lets out a million sighed, quickly strides to follow the slender figure, they break branches at regular intervals on the way through, while sprinkling handfuls of lime on the branches, clear sweat quickly breaks out on his skin until he feels hot all over.

The hot weather combined with the severe energy drain of the early morning hours, made Tian feel tired and irritable.

Bastard ghosts! Why is it so hard to find? If I catch you, I'll drag you off to jail to teach you a lesson! He brushed his slender hands angrily through the thick undergrowth in front of him but the image he saw through the open gap made him pause suddenly.

Tian turned round hastily, looking like he's about to shout at someone standing behind him but Longtae rushed in quickly, braces his thin lips and drags the volunteer teacher to sit down and hide.

Ahead is a slope, connected to a large depression that looks quite deep from a distance and the impersonation of a ghost with lime dust on his head and his hands raised in a frequent salute to a group of people dressed in fine collared shirts, is forbidden. Among them is a voluptuous figure, wearing a finger-thick gold necklace and wearing the protective ornaments of dozens of temples, a trait that brought back bad memories for Tian.

Siasakda!

When looking out, he saw piles of raw logs stacked side by side, he couldn't tell what kind of trees they were but could guess, a log with a trunk this big must be decades old.

No wonder, someone else must have been disguised as a ghost to scare the villagers, because they didn't want outsiders to come in and disturb the area until the authorities were aware of it.

"Phii Tian, let's go, just go back to the base, maybe they already know what we've been playing."

Longtae pestered the older man, shaking his arm and telling him to get back before it was too late.

Tian regrets not bringing his mobile phone to take pictures as evidence but that's OK, giving the coordinates should not be difficult to find. He nodded, agreeing with the teenager's reasonable opinion.

But as luck would have it or somehow, as he was crawling around on his knees, the gunman with the rifle watching his surroundings saw something moving through the undergrowth.

He shouted in an incomprehensible language to make the others aware, then immediately aimed his gun and fired, the volunteer teacher and the young student bent down close to the ground to hide, the ballistic shot swept over the side and horribly penetrated the trunk of a large tree nearby.

Thanks to quick reflexes! Tian snapped Longtae awake with a hand to the back, then shouted for him to run and the two men jumped up quickly, braving the bullets coming out of the bushes. Longtae's analysis from what he heard, that the illegal loggers were probably Burmese labourers sneaking across the border to work in Thailand was that within minutes, they had quickly climbed the hill from which they had fled to hide.

It was almost impossible to follow the trail of lime, as they were very close behind and when looking at the teenager's pale face, Tian felt extremely guilty, as he had stubbornly disobeyed the advice given to him to get into such a predicament.

"Longtae. You can follow the trail of lime dust back the way you came, I am going to lure them to the other side…" he said as he turned around while resting exhausted behind the thick trunk of a rain tree.

"How could I leave Phii!"

But if we don't separate, we'll both die!" Tian shouted "You know the mountain better than I do, go back and get help, I can find a way to get away from them on my own."

Longtae bit his lip until it was bloody, he was determined, "P Tian, you promise you'll get away with it until I get help.

"Yes!" replied Tian, pretending to be tough and then smiling with a weary face. "If you don't get away clean, I'm going to die here."

The village chief's son reaches out and squeezes Tian's slender hand, as if it were a man's promise and then turns and disappears behind the trees to hide from the pursuing eyes of the gangsters.

Tian looks up and closes his eyes, taking a deep, silent breath. He was a brave man, so much so that even though he knew he was dying of myocarditis, he went out almost every night for a race to challenge the Grim Reaper to let him take his soul.

But this miraculous return to life frightened him greatly, fearing that without his treatment he would never have had the chance to see the faces of all those who had made him realize his worth as he did now.

The volunteer teacher clenched his fist alone, while shouting in order to divert all attention to himself.

"I'm here, you stupid thing!"

He then threw stones to fool the fools until they lost their way, he escalated the problem again, running and grinding his shoes against the ground until he saw a deep mark, then took off his shoes, jumped on the dry leaves and turned in the other direction.

Tian sat there with his shoes hidden on a rocky ridge between the slopes of the lower cliffs of the confrontation, his new, optimally functioning heart kept beating until he felt angina, he was too tired to move.

The plan that had been devised could now deceive them for a while, he rested his head on his knees, the silence of the forest made his courage wane every moment, his inner remorse was now overwhelming but the last face he saw was that of the tall officer.

The captain had said there were lives to defend the nation, so this time he was willing to come and protect the man who couldn't be bothered to explore was it just because of him?

A loud bang! A loud bang overhead, followed by the weight of a pressed barrel tip, when thinking he could not escape, Tian swallowed a mouthful of giant's saliva.

"Bastard! You're too smart for me, get up!" the thug with the short pistol shouted in Thai.

The young man in Akha raised his hands in surrender, while turning his face, the bearded man danced around for a moment with his eyes scrutinized.

"You're the volunteer teacher who was looking for trouble on that hill? The school's already been burned down once and you're still not learning from it?"

"It's really your doing! Tian shouted angrily through gritted teeth: "Shame on you for bullying even poor children!"

As soon as he was cussed at, Siasakda's subordinate reached out to slap the teacher on the temple with the handle of his gun to teach the ungrateful brat a lesson but the kid who was not afraid to die shouted.

"I am the son of a former deputy army commander! If you hurt me or kill me here, I promise the whole army will come out and knock you down, if you don't believe me, try me!!!"

The thug stopped suddenly and looked in shock at the handsome face of the man who had threatened him, the skin was white and smooth, he looked like the son of a powerful man, the long, thin eyes were as proud as if he had been giving orders from somewhere, the thug's face looked doubtful but he dropped his hand.

"Then take him and let Siasakda decide…", he told the others standing around to grab Tian.

Tian was willing to be taken, for if he resisted now, he would only be hurting himself in vain, at least he could delay until someone came to help him later.

He was grabbed with his hands behind his back and walked with a group of fierce, strong men, along the way Tian asked for all sorts of tricks, as seen in the play, including severe soreness, minor pain, leg pain, exhaustion but this does not make them rest at all, his body is dragged and rubbed until he is back on the lime dusted road.

When he realizes that he has reached Siasakda's lair from here, a sense of desperation sets in, he probably can't use trickery to confuse and delay. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire snapped throughout the forest, the outlaws looked at each other, certain that the sound must have come from the woods.

Tian's heart pounded at the distant sound, his thin lips grinning until the subordinate of Siasakda with whom he had fought, roared at him.

"It must be because of you, you freaking teacher! Where have you been? Where's your friend who came with you?!" He heard the watchman say that two men were chasing him.

"Did you just notice? Idiot! If my friends hadn't run away, would anyone have attacked the base in groups like this?" At these words he was struck so hard on the whip bone by the handle of the gun that his delicate skin broke and bled.

"I should kill you and be done with it!"

"It's too late to kill me, your boss is probably rotten by now."

Tian laughed, causing Siasakda's goons to become enraged, surrounding him and trying to move his feet, as soon as his slender body could break free, he jumped up to avoid the man in front of him.

The fists are tangled but it seems that the new volunteer teacher has the upper hand, he bends down and puts his arm around his head to avoid injury to the most important part, finally, a Thai speaker comes in to stop it.

"Enough is enough, let's hurry to save the master!" Then he pulled on his slender arms, dragging the young man, whose clothes were now full of countless footprints, on out, then the others led the way, suddenly all the outposts movement stopped, they raised their hands high above their heads, the men with weapons in their hands slowly fell to their knees.

"Whatever you are doing stop and kneel!" The leader curses and shouts as he pulls Tian's battered and bruised body, then quickly falls silent as he sees the tips of dozens of gun barrels emerge from the thick woods.

The officers' trademark green camouflage reawakens Tian's lost soul, his eyes swelling into slits as he tries to stare at the soldiers aiming their guns for an attack and when his gaze meets that of the strikingly tall man leading the troops in front of him, Tian feels relieved.

He knew this man would protect him.

But when the assailant pulled Tian violently by the neck and then pointed a gun at his temple, a little joy was cut short.

"Don't come any closer, or this guy's dead!" Tian rolls his eyes in boredom, he spits bloodied spittle in contempt, "Hostage? What a cliché." Siasakda's subordinate's face twisted in anger, except the annoying hostage who didn't even look scared, it also stirred up more anger.

"Shut up! I'll shoot you through the head."

"Come on, A-hole!"

Phupha looked at the two men arguing back and forth, felt his nerves swelling, he pressed the muzzle of his rifle and fired! The trajectory flew straight to the ground near the feet of the assailant and the hostage and they both jumped up at the same time.

"Quiet! Or I'll be rude and shoot your mouth."

Tian looked into those fierce, serious eyes and swallowed hard, he had never seen the wild side of his opponent before and when he did, his knees weakened.

"Your Sia and exhibits have been arrested and seized, you'd better turn yourselves in, the felony is less serious." Those wearing the same camouflage as him but with badges and triangular collars of a different colour, also came forward, indicating that officers from the Forestry Department were also involved in the clean-up operation.

"I don't believe it, turn myself in, I'll go to jail for life."

Captain Phupha was anxious at the clear bruises on the smooth, clear face and immediately shouted, "But if you don't let go of the man, I'll have you executed as a ghost guarding the forest!"

In the young captain's assertive gesture, Tian could sense anxiety and concern. He began to realise that it was not good to let things go on like this, something had to be done to change the situation, even if it was at great risk.

The volunteer teacher took a deep breath, then relied on the moment when the other man was bus talking to the border police's persuasion, held the gun against his head away from his wrist and slammed his elbow into his temple with all his might.

Siasakda's subordinate backed up in shock, so much so that he accidentally pressed his finger to pull the trigger and fortunately, the officers quickly bent down to avoid the trajectory.

But this caused the crouching thugs to come straight at them, an otherwise calm, waiting and alert situation turned chaotic.

Phupha lunged at Tian, who was struggling with him until the two men's guns flew out of their hands, leaving them to fight it out and Tian was able to escape the fray, struggling to crawl behind a large tree for cover.

The tall officer and the gangster take turns punching and kicking each other for several rounds until the accused turned to grab a hand-sized piece of wood to help in the attack, Tian, who witnessed this, raised his hand to cover his mouth and is heartbroken when he saw Captain Phupha miss and get hit hard.

This was no drama, it was real life and he was sure that if this man had been able to hold his own against the thugs like a Thai warrior, his bones would have been broken.

What could a useless commoner like him do to help?

His long, slender eyes caught sight of the outlaw's pistol which had fallen a short distance away, Tian pondered, although he had been to the shooting range with some of his noble friends, he didn't shoot very well, if his hand had missed the captain, it could have been bad but he had no time to think!

His slender hand picked up a reachable branch and reached out for the fallen firearm to bring it closer until he could finally catch it. It's an old revolver, you need to push the hammer before you can pull the trigger, he used to sneak around with his father's collection, it's not too difficult to use, all that's left is to wait for the right moment.

Then the moment came when Phupha stomped his opponent and the two separated, suddenly a familiar shout was heard.

"Captain, get out of the way!"

Phupha bent down instinctively, while immediately turning to the owner of the voice and then he saw Tian standing with his legs spread in a fighting stance holding the gun that had a barrel point.

Tian took aim at the unsteady target, he was not concerned that the gun's recoil would end up bouncing him backwards, it is only the insecurity that makes him fall backwards, then the trajectory turns and hits the thighs of the assailant, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Siasakda's subordinate cried out in anger at the pain and anger of his wound, it's the bastard teacher again! He was so furious that his face went red, he tried to drag his bloody legs to grab the pistol of the man in the melee, then turned the gun towards his enemy and pulled the trigger without aiming.

The tall officer leapt forward, grabbing the troubled boy by his bony waist until he falls and rolls with him. The Tin in his arms felt a flicker of trembling in his embrace, then in a flash he snatched the pistol from his hand and fired the hammer.

It was more accurate with the aid of expert technology, the bullet flew through the air and embedded itself in the thief's chest until he twitched on the ground and roared madly, then fell unconscious.

The government officials were able to control the situation, the criminals were both killed and wounded, the officers and police had a number of injuries too but fortunately there was no loss of strength.

Tian felt the weight of the tall body lying on top of him fall suddenly, the smell of blood was obvious, it seemed close, very close. He reached up and touched his broad back to call out to him, as he didn't seem to be moving at all but was startled by the damp touch of his wet camouflage shirt.

Tian glanced slowly at his rapidly trembling hand, a drop of bright red blood was slowly trickling down.

"Captain!!!" He quickly turned the wounded man over so that he was lying on his knee.

"Gently--" Phupha was in pain.

You're hurt! You've been shot, right, where's the wound?" Tian asked, breathless as a helpless man.

"I'm all right, it's far from my heart."

The young officer smiled softly, as if to reassure him. But the more he saw the sharp, pale face, the more Tian sobbed and joked about dying.

Long, red, thin eyes, clear tears streaming down his face, thin, bony palms clutching the sleeve of a tall captain in heartfelt fear. If this man disappears, what will he do?

The bad things that had happened, had reinforced his realisation, that in the real world, he was just an unsophisticated child, he could do nothing!!!

Phupha raised his trembling hand with all his remaining strength and stroked his fingertips to wipe away the tears running down both cheeks.

"Don't cry, go and get help…", his consciousness is gone but in the realm of consciousness he still hears the wails and screams of his name echoing in the darkness.

I told you not to cry.

It hurts more than the wound, do you know that?

The famous university hospital in Chiangrai began to fill up, the inpatient department was full of beds, the teacher lay with his eyes wide open, feeling kicked and sore all over, lucky to have a wound but no part of his body was broken.

Smooth face now covered with dark yellow antiseptic and bandages, body no less, full of large gecko-like bruises and bruises.

It had been three days since he had lain in the ward waiting to hear from Captain Phupha, on the day of the incident, the unconscious tall man had been carried into the open square by company soldiers and a helicopter had been urgently called to retrieve him, he had been taken to hospital, as had the other more or less injured men.

As it happened, Longtae was a student at the university attached to the hospital, so he could come to him every morning, noon and evening. Fortunately, Tian was resting in a bed next to the window, so he could look at the view and change the mood, otherwise he would have had a breakdown.

His symptoms improved accordingly, no complications, so he was moved to a single room to recuperate but the hospital put up a no-visiting sign, for fear that the patient would not be able to rest.

Although he knew he was safe, he was unsure when he didn't see it for himself, Tian sighed deeply.

"What's wrong with Phii Tian?" Longtae asked after dragging a chair to the bed during his first visit of the day.

The injured man turned to the questioning voice and said "No, I'm just bored... the teenager in the white school uniform looked at Tian in time to realise, "Worried about the captain, are you?"

Tian readily admitted as much, he had no reason to deny that he wasn't worried, after all, the captain had been injured because of him.

"So far, I haven't been allowed to visit, you must be afraid of more than a broken arm from a bullet in the shoulder."

"Don't think too much about it, anyway, the captain is safe now too." Longtae quickly changed the subject, "Dad came down to visit Phii today, he's talking to the treasurer about paying for your treatment."

As no salary is provided for volunteering work, the Sangthong Foundation provides accident insurance for all volunteer teachers, as payment for their time away from prosperity.

"Aren't you going to study then? It's almost nine o'clock." When the volunteer teacher saw the time and asked a question, the young student jumped up from his chair impatiently.

"I have a test today, Phii, I'll go then." He raised his hand and rushed out.

Tian looked at his broad back in his white shirt and black trousers uniform, remembering his university life, really missing it, if only he could go back to studying next semester, his friends would have finished their last year of study.

Biangelae Khama in his novelty brown hunting shirt came in for a visit with a cream pastry, he thinks Tian would have liked it.

"Teacher, how are you, we haven't seen each other for days." The village elder smiled at him as kindly as ever, even though he was the one who had led his beloved son into real danger.

Guilt came to mind, in the past, Tian would probably have just asked. How much money do you want? But now he realizes and remembers, there is something important, if it is lost, no matter how much you beg, it cannot be regained.

The volunteer teacher clasped his hands in a circle and apologised from the bottom of his heart, "I'm really sorry, Uncle Village chief, for taking Longtae that day, if something had happened to my brother, I really don't know what I would have paid with."

Bianglae shook his head without blame, "But if the teacher hadn't decided to risk death alone to protect my son and get hurt, Longtae might not have been able to run away to get help."

"But the soldiers came quickly, I didn't think I could escape."

"The captain had ordered his men to patrol around our village, even though the teacher was missing, he knew about it before he met Longtae."

Tian's eyes lowered, as he thought of the tall officer he whispered: "I really shouldn't have caused trouble, everyone has to suffer so much."

"Who said that, the teacher is brave. If Phii hadn't been suspicious about the marijuana and then followed up until he saw the fake ghost, the villagers would have been living in fear, because the belief in spirits is something we can't live with. As for the officials themselves, they used to be unable to set the point of attack at all, because they had been tricked into conflict by other means."

The thin lips open in a smile, if he knew beforehand that it would make Captain Phupha as deadly as this, Tian did not want to receive praise at all.

"I stopped by to talk to the doctor just now, he allowed the teacher to go home and rest."

"Today?", I haven't seen the captain's face.

The village chief put his face into a whisper and said: "That's the way it is in public hospitals, the teacher. He wants people who are already well to stay too long, there are still many seriously ill people waiting in line to be treated lying down."

For this reason Tian nodded reluctantly, Bianglae Khama went to the doctor for a final physical examination and then asked the nurse to help him change into new clothes, he looked at his bruised face and tired eyes reflected in the bathroom mirror, as if he was contemplating something.

Close again! He'll probably die of depression if he doesn't see the guy.

Tian sneaks his body upstairs to the higher level of the special ward, this floor is more private, so less crowded. As he walked around in his normal clothes, staring at his face, none of the staff were paying attention, in keeping with the style of public hospitals which are always busy, so that no particular room can be attended to.

The door at the end of the room still had a large sign on it, it read "No Visiting." as usual, so much so that it frustrated the visitors, if it were so forbidden, Cinderella could hope to escape with her lover!

He looked to the right and to the left, when he saw that no one was looking, he slowly turned the unlocked door handle and pushed the door open as gently as possible. The first thing he saw is the bed but is shocked that it was empty, the blood on him is cold, so much so that his body trembles.

Not true!!!

"Captain--" whispered Tian, as he looked around the cramped room until his eyes stopped at the scattered balcony door, where the tall man straining to find was standing with his back turned.

In the shadow of the sun, the broad back looks like a mountain that never falls, just like the stolen photo.

First impression photo.

At that moment, his mind went blank, it was as if he had forgotten everything in the world. Tian Fei swooped down and wrapped her arms around his firm waist, the warmth of fresh flesh brought tears of joy to the surface.

The child's cries and the wetness on the back of his shirt brought a smile to the paralyzed face, the officer took the unclipped hand of his arm on the other side and clasped it tightly around his own.

"I told you I was all right, the bullet only went through the shoulder, the doctor stitched it up." In fact, he lost a lot of blood, if he hadn't got to the hospital in time, he could have gone into cardiac shock.

"Who knows, in front of the room posted, no visitors, I thought you were in serious condition." sobbed Tian, as if releasing the stress that had been building up for days.

Phupha said with a soft smile and helplessness: "But it turned out you broke the rules again."

"I have to leave the hospital today, I'm afraid I will never see your face again."

The captain turned backwards and then gently cornered Tian's bruised face with his hand, he gazed into the red eyes.

"Then don't cry, let me see."

Tian raised his hands to support the still pale, sharp face, bruised cheeks, swollen, cracked mouth but still standing, he smiled tearfully and ran his slender fingers over the wound on his cheekbone.

"You are in a bad state."

Phupha bent down, touched his forehead to the other's and stayed there, "You are just as bad."

Both of them laughed, as if they had lifted the mountain that had been piled up in their chests. They say that people have sympathy for each other in times of trouble and it's probably true. Tian had never before felt that life was worth living and wanted to do something for anyone, after coming to Phabandao, everything changed for him.

Sorry, Torfan "your heart, it's all mine now.

The doctors who dealt with the gunshot wound were very pleased with the outcome, because it hadn't even been a week and the patient was able to recover so quickly, if he wasn't really strong, it would have been impossible to get rid of the saline tube in the first three days.

Captain Phupha thanked the doctors and nurses in white dress who came in the morning to check on his symptoms and tell him he can go back to base in a few days to rest, another doctor came in and Wasan in casual clothes came over with the famous marinated duck and rice for his friend.

"I've just seen the doctor and talked about the symptoms, you're as strong as a yellow buffalo". He said, while bending down to adjust the bed so that it was tilted upwards and then took a pillow for his back, so that Phupha could sit comfortably.

"I want to go back to base quickly."

"Do you want to go back to work or see someone's face?" The clever doctor smiled in time.

The young officer struggled to hide his smile, "Stop being a buzzkill, show me what you did for me."

"Okay--" Wasan shook his head in surrender, then as if thinking of something, bent down and picked up a piece of paper with a person's phone number and name.

"The day before, the battalion commander called to ask for the news. When he said he was in a hospital in town after being shot, he asked about Nong Tian, I told my brother he had a bruise and was now back in the village. Oh! The battalion commander told me to ask you to call this man Sie." The so-called battalion commander was the nickname of the battalion commander they belonged to but the soldier with the rank of chief of staff, he had never heard the name.

Phupha paused abruptly for a moment, then picked up a piece of paper and read it, Colonel Peetan, he took a deep breath, as if he knew this day would always come but never expected it to be so soon.

"Lend me your phone."

"The battalion commander said you can call when you're healed."

"I'm healed, really healed--" the wounded man said as if he were telling himself.

Wasan picked up the phone with his mouth shut, then looked at his friend and with great suspicion pressed the number on the paper, he was smart enough to endure the silence first, keeping his curiosity to himself.

The patient puts a new smartphone to his ear within ten seconds. The call is answered, "Hello, this is Captain Phupha Viriyanon, reporting for duty." He hears the caller asking about his injuries before moving back to what is really important.

Phupha listened to everything that was said in silence, as if it were just a voice through his ears and his gleaming eyes glowed as he heard the final command.

"Yes... I'll arrange for him to be sent back." The call was hung up.

Dr Nam looked at his friend whose face had suddenly changed his mood, sighed and said, "You were so happy about wanting to go back to the base, why do you look like you have been eating shit now?

"Nothing." Phupha remained adamant in his denial.

It seems the role of brutality must be played, Wasan picks up his hands and feet close to the edge of the bed and bends close, "Whatever happened, we'd better share secrets."

"Whose secrets?"

"Nong Tian's secrets--" The long, thin eyes shone like a sly fox under the lenses of clear glasses, "Are you starting to get interested?"

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