Wang Tianhe flinched. Truthfully, he didn't even register the disgust on Rose's face, or maybe he would've understood how far she'd seen through him. The second he heard the words "dear husband" come out of her mouth, his brain short-circuited.
It wasn't just him. Plenty of people who had chased Rose in the past had similar reactions. Hidden killing intent sprouted in their hearts towards the man who had taken the beauty they had their eyes on.
They had been chasing a married woman all this time? It was a tremendous loss of face. Although stealing someone's bride because they were weaker than you was a common occurrence in the martial world, it wasn't something done openly.
The act of doing so was collectively looked down upon by society. If one did so blatantly, they'd definitely lose their standing in the hearts and minds of those around them, becoming trash amongst trash like Wang Ming, the second young master of the Wang Clan.
Those men quickly shifted their attention to Elena. But as soon as they did, Rose pulled Elena close to her.
"My dear second sister, how can you allow me to deal with this trash on my own? As sisters who share a husband, we should unite against external pressure!"
Elena rolled her eyes. Although she was thankful for Rose's help, she was worried about the pressure Damien would face when he arrived.
Unlike Rose, she didn't have the same blind faith in Damien. She simply didn't get the opportunity to see how far Damien's prowess always towered over his peers, so it couldn't be helped.
"Husband, you say? And where is this husband of yours? I'd truly love to meet him." Wang Tianhe spoke with an imperceptible smile. Once again, he was quick to recover from the blows Rose kept throwing at him.
"You don't have to worry about that. You'll definitely see him soon. Actually, there's a 10/10 chance that you'll be killed by him as well. I'm truly looking forward to it."
"Hahaha. I as well can't help but be excited to meet the glorious husband of my lady. After all, someone who could steal the hearts of the two Heavenly Fairies of the Supreme Fairy Paradise can't be a normal person. How embarrassing would it be if he couldn't match up to my expectations? Though, I doubt that'd happen, right?"
Rose snorted. "Your expectations don't matter for shit. Why would my husband be bothered by the words of some trash on the side of the street?"
"Hahahahaha!"
A sudden uproarious laughter filled the air. The surprising thing was, it didn't come from anyone present. Rather, it descended from the sky like heavy rain.
"This is the kind of demeanor a wife of mine should have! Why should she care about the barking of some neighborhood dog who doesn't know the existence of wolves?"
In the sky above the crowd, two individuals materialized. A mystical young man and a white-haired beauty, their appearances alone being enough to cause waves in the crowd below.
Ba-dum!
Rose's heartbeat was almost palpable. The second she heard the voice she could only dream about for so many days on end, she wholly stopped caring about the situation around her. When she looked up into the sky, she couldn't help but swoon.
'How the hell…how the hell could this man become even more handsome?!'
Damien and Ruyue might not have realized it, since they had been together the whole time and surrounded by people who didn't care about their physical appearances, but they had grown far more attractive during their time in the secret realm.
Damien especially, had gotten the supreme treatment of the Primordial Undying Tree, having his body reconstructed by its essence.
His hair shone with a soft luster as it reflected the sunlight, the silver streaks within twinkling like stars. His eyes, after their evolution, gave off a profound aura that seemed to suck one's soul deeper into that swirling pattern of amethyst and red.
His skin had become fairer and far smoother, emanating a rich vitality that seemed to calm one down with a single whiff.
His chiseled face had become more defined, his featured being perfected. Even under the black Celestial Star Palace robes he was wearing, the faint outline of his muscles was enough to cause many young women in the crowd to have their noses bleed.
Rose no longer cared for Wang Tianhe's provocation at all. In fact, she totally forgot his existence. Her body rose into the sky and flew towards Damien's descending figure at maddening speeds.
Damien wasn't in a much better state. The second he saw that single speck of pink among the crowd, his eyes zoomed in and focused wholly on her position. Seeing the pink mass that was about to collide with his body at full speed, he smiled apologetically at Ruyue.
But Ruyue didn't mind at all. In fact, she heavily sympathized with what Rose was feeling. She was also forced to endure a year of separation. Even if that year was filled with excitement that made her forget her longing, the second she saw the man she was longing for, it all poured out like a tsunami.
So she quickly separated herself from Damien and hovered in the air a few feet away, allowing space for the couple to enjoy their reunion.
Bang!
The impact finally happened. Rose barreled into Damien's arms, wrapping herself around his body like a koala. She dug her face into his neck and took a deep whiff of his scent, as if wanting to firmly engrave it into her memory, never to be forgotten again.
And Damien was the same. He spread his arms and caught her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and hugging her deeply. He hurried his face in her hair and closed his eyes.
Finally. It had been so long. So long since the last time they saw each other.
Back then, he had left her so unjustly. Due to his own insecurities, he had left her alone in this strange new world without thinking about her safety or how his decisions affected her at all.
Finally. Finally, he would be able to right his wrongs from back then. Finally, he would be able to spend time with her as he should. Finally, he would be able to treat her as his wife with his whole heart, never to let her suffer again.
"My dear Rose…"
He had so much he wanted to say to her. In the day or so it took for him to teleport from the 3000 Beast Mountain Range to here, he had ruminated over the love-filled words he could say to commemorate their reunion so many times that even Ruyue started to get tired of his sappy speeches.
But now that the moment was upon him, he couldn't get any of those words out of his throat. None of them seemed to be enough to express what he wanted to express. These kinds of feelings, words alone weren't enough to describe them.
So he packed all his feelings into those three words, hoping that she would understand his intent.
And Rose, who was she? The Child of Destiny who could see the inner thoughts of those around her as clear as day, even if Damien could block her ability with his own eyes just as easily, why would he do such a thing to his own wife?
The tone of his words made many in the crowd below inadvertently look at the two with warm eyes. The sentiments he conveyed were clear even to them. But for Rose, it was even clearer. She understood exactly what he was conveying, even more so than he truly conveyed with his words.
She couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks.
Indeed, she was an understanding wife. Back then, Damien had his own problems to deal with. The fact that he had come to speak to her about those problems alone was enough for her.
The Damien she had met back then, the one she had fallen in love with, he was broken. Even though he always put up a strong front, even with the power he had that surpassed all of his peers, he was broken and incomplete. He was always plagued by his inner thoughts, unable to fully enjoy his life.
As his wife, as the woman he loved and the one who loved him just as much, how could she be okay knowing that he was suffering so much inside?
The fact that she couldn't help him at all, the fact that even though he was able to tell her about his problems, he wasn't able to rely on her help to solve them, it truly hurt.
Because she wanted to become the person that could help him bear his burdens, the same way he helped her.
The words he spoke, even if he was simply endearingly calling her name, she could feel his emotion. How apologetic he was, how much he wanted to make it up to her, how much he had been thinking of her during their time apart, how much his love for her was overflowing at this moment of reunion.
She could feel it all. And it was gratifying. It felt like finally, finally, she had earned her place in his heart. Finally, she could become someone he trusted and relied on with his everything. Finally, she had been acknowledged.
And so, she couldn't stop her tears from flowing, no matter how much she wanted to.
Elena watched them with a smile. It was a mix between a sad smile and one filled with joy. She couldn't decide which emotion she felt more strongly.
'When he's done with her, it'll be your turn. Hide that sadness in your smile. He's been missing you too, and he has a lot he's been wanting to say to you. Trust me, I had to bear with him when he was stressing over how to break the subject to you.'
When Elena looked up, she saw the white-haired beauty that had arrived with Damien looking at her with a warm smile. Seeing that smile, a faint hope appeared in Elena's heart.
Ruyue nodded in the air as if to confirm her thoughts, forcing the hope in Elena's heart to grow without her permission. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
They were just words from a stranger. They shouldn't mean much, right? So why was she feeling so giddy?
'By the way, in the future I'll be your second sister, since technically I came first. So don't forget it, dear little sister of mine.'
Elena's eyes widened. Seeing the playful yet slightly competitive expression on Ruyue's face, she almost couldn't stop herself from bursting into a fit of giggles.
The atmosphere that had been filled with tense excitement for the opening of the secret realm had suddenly been painted pink by the arrival of one man.
The focus of the crowd became fixed on the enamoring romance between this man and woman in the sky, a variety of emotions and thoughts flashing through their minds.
But even those who hated seeing the current reunion, the ones who wanted Damien dead so he would no longer be a wall in the path of their conquest, even they decided to keep quiet in the face of such heartfelt emotions.
But not everyone had the same kind of tact.
Wang Tianhe growled through gritted teeth. "So you're the so-called husband? Now that I've seen you in person, I guess you aren't much."
