Flowers Bloom from Battlefield

Even from outside, Ming Hui and Yan could hear the sound of the slap clearly and loudly. Unknowingly, Ming Hui touched his own cheek as he remembered the day when he told Fan Lanying about his true identity. One of the places she hit the hardest was his cheek.

Remembering Jun Hua identity as a general, Ming Hui was pretty sure that Soujin's cheek must be hurt. Somehow, he felt glad that his girl wasn't a general yet and her strength hadn't risen to that level or he might get beaten until no one recognized him anymore.

Yan looked back with a dumbfounded expression, "Why is the sound that loud?"

"You wouldn't want to know," Ming Hui said with a smirk. Come to think about it, what would happen once Yan knew that Jun Hua is Jun Min? He would surely felt completely embarrassed for losing against a girl.

"Let's leave before he butchers us for intervening."

In this rare occasion, Ming Hui completely agreed with Yan, "That's a good idea."

Inside the tent, Soujin was rubbing his hurting cheek as he looked towards the red face girl in front of him. It seemed, he moved a bit too fast.

"How's the battle?" he asked.

"It's fine, Ye Jiu is really strong, but I caught him off guard with my arrow," Jun Hua answered as she recovered her calm, "Still, he manages to dodge the arrow though I'm sure that he's wounded really badly."

"If the fight goes on, can you defeat him?" Soujin asked again.

"I'm not sure," Jun Hua couldn't be certain that she could defeat him because her ability was still below Soujin. Besides, even after entering the zone she was not certain that she would be able to defeat him, though she would do her best to win.

The two of them have a similar mind on this topic. They know that Ye Jiu was not the type to just give up right away. For him to suddenly retreat back, they were sure that he must be planning something different. The question was what that something would be.

"We will know when it's time," Soujin pulled Jun Hua back to his embrace.

Jun Hua tried to pull back, "Can't you stop it?"

"I don't want to."

"…"

In that awkward position, Jun Hua shifted her feet a bit to allow herself be more comfortable as she spoke, "Do you know about my identity before I tell you today?"

"I don't know."

"You're telling the truth?" Jun Hua's eyes widened. Although by the way Soujin behaved she could guess that he didn't know, she still wanted the confirmation. Hearing that Soujin really didn't know about her real identity made her feeling complicated.

Soujin nodded his head, "If I know, why would I tell Jun Min that I like his sister?"

That was… the forbidden memory for her. That was the moment she wished to never happen because it was highly embarrassing for her to hear something she shouldn't have at the time. However, the milk was already spilled and there was no way she could change the past.

Soujin rubbed Jun Hua's head. Her silky and long hair gave his hand a comforting feeling. He felt that her hair was really soft, which was comparable to the finest silk in the world.

"Your name, is it really Jun Hua Min?"

Jun Hua was stunned before she nodded her head, "Yes. I only found out about it after I heard it from my mother. When my father gave me my name, she secretly added one word to my name in order to allow me to have a different identity in the future."

"Your mother already planned for you separate yourself from the Lin family?" Soujin frowned.

"No, she didn't know. She just wanted me to be able to escape from the Lin family if it's needed. Besides, she didn't really have any plan at the time," Jun Hua smiled wryly.

Her mother didn't really think things through as she only wanted the chance for her daughter to separate herself from the Lin family. As futile as it may be, she could only think of changing her name register and burned half of them to not allow them to know. However, it was this name that gave birth to a different person called 'Jun Min'.

"Did you learn how to fight after you return?"

"No, it's earlier than that," Jun Hua answered. She learned it because of an entirely different reason from what she said to her uncle when she returned to the Jun family residence.

Soujin took hold of her hand. In the very beginning, it was this hand that made the nobles in the Ming Kingdom mocked her. The hand of a lady was not supposed to be rough, but hers was completely rough, the mark of hard work she had done since young.

The hand has become smoother due to the medicine that Jun Hua used everyday. Because she was living as a girl, she chose to let her hand become smoother. Although it was her original intention, there were still some marks left from the time she trained as a swordswoman.

"With such soft hand, how do you hold the sword right?"

"My hand is not completely soft," Jun Hua pulls her hand back, "There is no way it can return to its original condition after being tormented for years."

"I see," Soujin nodded his head.

Jun Hua glanced at Soujin from the corner of her eyes. He had told her about his past before, a story that he never told anyone previously. On the other hand, she was the one hiding about her real identity from him. Although it may be late, she wanted to do the same to him.

"Do you want to know?"

"About?" Soujin peered down. The difference in their height hadn't decreased in the past year. He was still far taller than her.

"My past and the reason I pick up the sword in the first place."

"If you don't want to tell, I won't force you," Soujin knew that she had her own reason for not telling him many things. Obviously, he wanted to know more about her, in fact, he wanted to know everything about her. But if she didn't want to tell him, then he would wait for her to open up to him.

"I want to, but you have to promise me something," Jun Hua said solemnly.

"What is it?"

"Don't laugh at my childish reason of picking the sword."

Soujin wore a strange face for a moment. Seeing that Jun Hua was serious, he nodded, "I won't."

Hearing his confirmation, Jun Hua started to tell the story of her life from the time she was banished from the Lin family.