Translator: Wuxia Dog Editor: Wuxia Dog
“I didn’t expect you to be so impulsive, Sunier.” Han Jin tried to keep his tone calm.
“Not impulsive, but brave! Do you dare challenge a Dragon Knight?” Moxinke interrupted.
“You…” Sunier gasped and said, “Forgive me for my recklessness.”
Han Jin, Moxinke and Cessacioun looked into each other’s eyes. Han Jin said carefully, “And then?”
“Then? What then?”
“Will you make trouble again?”
“You really take me for a fool?” Sunier smiled bitterly. “Guevara is a Dragon Knight, a twelfth-grade individual. How could I challenge him?”
“May I ask what you were doing then just now?” Moxinke asked curiously, scratching his head.
“I… I have apologized for what I’ve done. What else do you want?!” Sunier got angry.
“All right. Nothing else.” Moxinke pulled Cessacioun’s arm in a hurry. “We should leave now,” this said, he winked at Han Jin, indicating Han Jin to stay with Sunier and try to persuade her. However, it was very funny that a careless man like Moxinke was being the matchmaker.
The room turned silent. Sunier was lost as to what she should do. The things that happened that day were so weird that her heart was still thumping and her face still flushed. To prevent any accident while they were in the square, Han Jin had hugged her so tightly under the effect of Spirit Possession Operation that even a couple that was deeply in love would not have done the same. Though she had a strong physique, she still felt out of breath, let alone the others.
Han Jin didn’t know what to say to break the embarrassment while Sunier got even more nervous after seeing that Han Jin did not say anything. She wanted to leave but was stopped by Han Jin, whose arm was blocking the space in front of her.
“What are you doing?” Sunier stepped two steps back involuntarily and asked in a low voice. Thanks to her mask, her flushed face was fully covered.
“That’s not the point. The point is, where do you think you’re going!?” Han Jin said in a serious tone. Sunier had acted too crazy just now so that he was still worried about her. He didn’t even realize how intimate his behavior was and how nervous Sunier was at the moment.
“I’m not going anywhere!” she said, her voice low. “Get out of my way!”
“No.”
“Are you going to get out of my way or not?”
“No.”
Both of them stood still until Sunier realized how foolish she was! There was a window just behind her. Using all her strength, if she turned and jumped out of it, Han Jin would not be able to stop her but instead, she aimed for the door.
It might be that the appearance of Guevara, the Dragon Knight, had shocked her or that all girls just turn stupid and blushed when facing a man that they have affection for.
Sunier was annoyed and snorted. “How dare you to be rude to me?!” this said, she closed her eyes and rushed forward directly.
While Han Jin was still confused about her words, she had bumped against him. Without thinking, Han Jin instinctively grabbed and held her in his arms.
Sunier’s body stiffened. She stared at Han Jin with her eyes wide open. She hadn’t thought that Han Jin had the guts to hug her so blatantly! She should have kicked him away, took out her bow and shot him, but she didn’t. She felt her body soften and hence she couldn’t exert any strength.
Sunier had a slender and soft figure. As she was in Han Jin’s arms, her body fragrance wafted out towards Han Jin’s face. An idiom came to his mind; “To breathe like a lily.” How subtle and sagacious the wisdom of the ancients was in his former world.
But he soon realized that it was inappropriate for him to hug her like this. What am I thinking? He blamed himself. The hug in the square was for the sake of her safety, but what was the reason for him to hug her now in a closed chamber with no others besides them?
Han Jin loosened his hands immediately while Sunier moved back while looking at him quietly. Both of them were quiet for a while. “Why not… have a seat here? It is a mess outside.” Han Jin broke the silence all of a sudden.
“Alright,” Sunier replied, her voice low.
A square table separated the two. Sitting at a distance made Sunier feel safe. She straightened her soft armor calmly and swept across it as if she was flicking the dust off of it. However, she did it repeatedly, which only made her look more nervous than calm.
Compared to Sunier, Han Jin’s conduct was much more proper. He knew the importance of details, after all, he had been professionally trained. Each small movement could reveal one’s true feelings. Thus, he always kept motionless when he felt nervous and even his breathing frequency was deliberately kept constant.
After a long while, Sunier could not bear it anymore. “How long… will we sit like this?” she asked in a tone of blame.
Han Jin made a dry cough. “How about… tell me something about you, like… your past? You know my secrets, may I have the honor of knowing yours?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Anything that you are willing to share… Like that war.” Han Jin tried his best to keep himself natural but the harder he tried, the weirder he looked.
Sunier kept silent for a long time then slowly said, “That was my first time in a battle…”
As the warm twilight rays slanted through the window and drizzled down on Sunier’s body, her long blonde hair looked even softer. She was a little uneasy at first because she had never told anyone about her past, but as time passed, she totally forgot about her surroundings and was immersed in her memories. She talked volubly and poured out everything in her and even her expression got more sincere.
She had comrade-in-arms but no friends. Her elders and brothers hoped that she could be mature and a good commander. Any time she showed any trace of fragility, she would be criticized severely. To avoid letting them down and to keep her own dignity, she always had to hide all her weaknesses. Most of her peers were her subordinates, who longed for her high position and felt proud of each of her successes. She was the hope of all elves in Wild Willow City, therefore, she could never show her daze or pain.
She never got to experience the happiness of sharing her own feelings with others since birth. To share your pain with others, the pain itself could be reduced by half while to share happiness, the happiness would double. No matter how Han Jin was in the past, he was the best audience at present. His good habits formed during his days as a private detective were benefitting the situation. Each time Sunier was about to finish, he would evoke her memories with only some simple words.
Sunier felt completely relaxed. She never thought that she would say so much. She talked about her first battle, her first kill, her sadness, her hesitation, her helplessness, her desperation, her numbness, as well as her happiness and dreams.
She told him that the day she went back to Wild Willow City with the remaining elves, the whole city burst out in tears. Tears couldn’t be helped from pouring down. She told him everything. The heavy toll taken by the Silver Horse Regiment brought heavy losses to Wild Willow City while Dismark’s treachery and exclusive possession of all the fruits of their victory was like salt applied on the wounds of the elves. The elders of the elves even proposed to leave Wild Willow City for other cities of elves in the south.
For the elders, Wild Willow City was just a city, but for Sunier, it was her home where she was born and grew up in. Though she hated Dismark, she knew that if Holy Crown City was occupied, the next one would be Wild Willow City. Thus, she insisted on assisting Holy Crown City when the war launched by Black Raven City broke out. However, her clansmen who hated war extremely disagreed with her.
Elves had their own families. The Silver Horse Regiment was the best troop of Wild Willow City, which was made up of the hope from each family. It was a miserable ending when they were nearly wiped out as it destroyed the hope of millions of families. What was worse was that such disastrous sacrifices brought them no gains. Sacrifice itself was already painful enough while sacrifice in vain was even more heartrending.
Sunier immersed herself in the past while Han Jin listened attentively. Sunier had taken off her mask and she could no longer control her feelings. She cried and laughed. Previously, the smile on her face was like a blooming flower then later the tears on her eyelashes glittered like beads of dew.
Han Jin forgot himself too. He started to express his own views instead of deliberately catering to her.
Such heart-to-heart talk did not always need wine to add to the fun; the right person to talk to was more important.
Sunier didn’t know when she lit up the candle nor did Han Jin. They kept talking until both of them realised that it was already late.
“I talked too much…” Sunier cast a look outside and smiled. “I have shared my secrets… Satisfied now?” She no longer felt embarrassed. On the contrary, she felt warm, as if her heart had been heated by something.
“To be frank, you are not as smart as I thought.” Han Jin let out a slight sigh. “You are eager to do everything well all the time and never told anyone about your hardships or sufferings. Plus, you wear that thing all day long; how would we know what you are thinking of?”
“You…” Sunier was going to retort but suddenly Moxinke’s shout came from outside.
“Dear brother and sister, are you gonna stay inside the room the whole night? I’m going to lose the bet because of you!”
“Moxinke! You rascal rat! You cheated!!!” Cessacioun, a gentleman who had always acted with elegant manners, shouted in an even louder voice than Moxinke. He was obviously enraged.
