244: Chapter 244 Reunion!

Her face was extraordinarily pure and elegant, with features like a painting and skin as fair and delicate as white jade. Under the morning light, it shimmered with a soft, lustrous glow. Most striking were her eyes—clear and bright, gentle as water, yet harboring a faint, almost imperceptible trace of resolve.

It was Lu Shiyin.

At a single glance, she saw Ye Changge standing beneath the memorial archway.

That figure in green robes stood tall and straight like a pine tree. His face was handsome, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, and a faint smile played on his lips as he looked toward her.

Lu Shiyin's eyes instantly reddened.

"Changge!"

She practically threw herself into Ye Changge's embrace, her arms tightly encircling his waist as she buried her face in his chest, greedily inhaling the familiar scent of him.

To her, this separation of over a month had felt like years.

Feeling his lovely wife's body trembling slightly in his arms, the softest part of Ye Changge's heart was gently touched, welling up with a pang of bitterness and pity.

He pulled her even closer, resting his chin on the crown of her head and gently nuzzling her.

He understood in his heart that with Lu Shiyin's personality—usually dignified and self-possessed, valuing etiquette above all—she would never have thrown herself into his arms in full view of everyone unless she had truly been worried sick.

This was truly missing someone to the extreme, causing her to lose her composure like this.

After embracing for a moment, Lu Shiyin finally began to come back to her senses.

Realizing that many clansmen were still present, a crimson blush instantly stained her cheeks. She hurriedly let go, took half a step back, and lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Ye Changge, let alone the expressions of the clansmen.

With her head bowed, her fingers unconsciously straightened her lapel, which had become slightly disheveled from her sudden movement, her ears flushed deep red.

Seeing her bashful yet joyful appearance, Ye Changge felt his heart soften even more.

He didn't speak, simply watching her quietly.

Lu Shiyin smoothed her dress and took a deep breath, striving to regain her usual dignified bearing.

However, when she looked up and her gaze fell upon Ye Changge, her beautiful eyes suddenly widened.

Just now, she had been too agitated, her heart and eyes filled only with the fact that "he was back," and she hadn't sensed him carefully.

Now that her mind had settled slightly, she was shocked to discover that the spiritual energy fluctuations Ye Changge was making no effort to hide were thick and majestic, far surpassing before!

That was not the aura of the Foundation Establishment Early Stage!

"Changge, you... you've broken through to Foundation Establishment Mid-stage!"

Lu Shiyin's voice trembled, her beautiful eyes filled with unbelievable pleasant surprise.

She remembered clearly that when her husband left, he was only at the Foundation Establishment Second Layer. In just over a year, he had actually broken through two levels and stepped into Foundation Establishment Mid-stage?

Such cultivation speed was simply unheard of!

Looking at her eyes, which grew even brighter with joy, a wave of warmth surged in Ye Changge's heart.

He nodded, his tone gentle yet frank: "Yes, Shiyin. This trip to the Immortal City brought some opportunities, and I fortunately broke through to Foundation Establishment Mid-stage."

It wasn't that he wanted to show off.

He simply remembered clearly how Lu Shiyin always gently encouraged him to Cultivate hard, hoping he would grow stronger soon so he could lead the Ye Family further.

Now that he had broken through, telling her would surely make her happy.

This was his response to her expectations.

Hearing this, Lu Shiyin could no longer hold back her already reddened eyes; tears burst forth and rolled down her fair cheeks.

It wasn't sadness, but tears of joy.

She looked at the man before her, who was several years younger than her yet already supported the entire Ye Family, her heart full of pride and heartache.

"I knew it... my husband is the most amazing."

She spoke with a sob, her voice choked with tears, yet unable to hide her immense joy.

"This trip... it was dangerous, wasn't it?"

She lifted her tearful eyes and scrutinized Ye Changge's face carefully, as if to confirm whether he was injured or had grown thin.

Ye Changge hadn't expected her to have such a strong reaction to his Breakthrough.

Those tears, that trembling voice, and that undisguised pride and heartache made his heart feel both warm and aching.

He reached out, gently cupping her face, his thumb tenderly wiping away the tears at the corners of her eyes as he said softly, "Shiyin, it wasn't dangerous at all. I just encountered some small opportunities and broke through as a matter of course."

He spoke nonchalantly, as if Foundation Establishment Mid-stage was as ordinary as eating or drinking.

But how could Lu Shiyin believe him?

The path of cultivation was dangerous at every step; how could there be such a good thing as breaking through "as a matter of course"?

She knew he didn't want her to worry.

Ye Changge looked at the woman before him—clearly exceptionally intelligent, yet willing to believe his nonchalant explanation—and felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

He was hiding too many things from her.

He pulled Lu Shiyin back into his embrace, holding her even tighter.

"Shiyin..."

He called her name softly, a thousand words stuck in his throat, eventually turning into a single sigh.

Resting in his arms, feeling the warmth and strength of his embrace, Lu Shiyin shook her head gently.

"No, Changge, I am happy."

Her voice was muffled, yet it carried a hint of a smile.

"Really, I am happy."

Ye Changge released her and looked down into her eyes, which still bore tear tracks but were full of smiles, his heart softening completely.

He raised his hand and again gently wiped away the remaining tear tracks at the corners of her eyes, his movements incredibly tender.

"Rest assured, Sister Shiyin."

He switched to an intimate form of address, his tone certain and serious.

"I believe that you, too, will certainly be able to break through to Foundation Establishment Mid-stage soon."

Hearing this, Lu Shiyin nodded vigorously.

She knew her husband wasn't just placating her; he truly believed she could do it.

This trust was more empowering than any Spirit Pill or medicine.

She took a deep breath, calmed her emotions, and finally fully recovered from her earlier loss of composure.

She looked down at her dress, which had become a bit disheveled from her earlier movements, straightened it carefully, and then raised her hand to tuck back the loose strands of hair at her temples before looking up again.

"Husband, I've lost my composure a bit."

She spoke softly, her voice having regained some of its usual gentleness, though a faint blush still lingered on her cheeks.

"I was just... a bit too happy after seeing you successfully break through."

As she spoke, the corners of her lips curled up slightly, a hint of embarrassment in her eyes.

Hearing her say this, Ye Changge felt even more ashamed.

She explained so cautiously, fearing he might think she wasn't dignified or proper enough.

But how could she know that what he loved was precisely this revelation of her true feelings?

Ye Changge smiled and said no more.

Lu Shiyin rested in his arms for another moment before finally slowly letting go.

She took a step back and lowered her head, beginning to straighten the dress that had become slightly messy from her rushing over.

She carefully smoothed out her water-blue Palace dress, tucked her loose black hair behind her ears, and took out a Silk handkerchief from her sleeve to gently wipe away the remaining tear tracks on her face.

Once everything was in order, she looked up again.

That extraordinarily pure and elegant face had regained its usual dignified gentleness, though her eyes were still slightly red and the corners of her eyes still held a lingering flush, making her seem a bit more delicate than usual.

"Husband..."