Upon seeing the inscription on the headstone, Liu Hui immediately recognized it as the one he had erected for Shu Yan.

"But hadn't this entire area been completely destroyed in the great earthquake? How is it possible that I am standing here now?" Liu Hui wondered, startled. On the ground, he spotted footprints and freshly burned paper offerings, clear signs that someone had recently paid respects here.

"Could this be the exact moment Shu Yan was laid to rest? But why am I here? Could that white jade tablet have truly manifested its divine power and sent me back to this place?" Liu Hui mused.

Just then, a large wild peach was tossed directly in front of Liu Hui. Startled, he looked up and saw several monkeys leaping down from the tall trees, squabbling over the peach in front of him as if completely unafraid of Liu Hui. One of the monkeys even drew close to him.

Liu Hui reached out his hand, intending to shoo the monkeys away so they wouldn't cause a disturbance at Shu Yan's grave.

However, the monkey showed no alarm when it saw Liu Hui's hand extending toward it.

Suddenly, Liu Hui's hand passed entirely through the monkey's body. Liu Hui blinked in surprise, withdrew his hand, and reached for the monkey again. The result was the same; his hand passed entirely through it.

Liu Hui could hardly believe his eyes. He immediately shouted and yelled at the monkeys, but they acted as if they hadn't heard him, continuing to play and roughhouse on the platform.

Liu Hui finally understood: he was completely invisible here. He could see everything happening, yet the people here could neither see nor sense his presence. He was observing everything unfolding around him in a strange, ethereal manner.

Having grasped his current predicament, Liu Hui was no longer afraid. He slowly walked to Shu Yan's gravesite, sat on the ground before the tomb, and spoke to the inscription on the headstone: "Yan Yan, I miss you so much! Even though you left me so many years ago, it feels as if you never truly left my heart."

Liu Hui continued to pour out his longing for Shu Yan. He said, "Yan Yan, do you know? In the future, two women appeared by my side. Both claimed to be you, but how could you have become two different people? One of them must be lying. I have returned here now because I need to know what truly happened to you. If you truly haven't died, then you must let me know where you went."

And so, Liu Hui kept speaking of his yearning at Shu Yan's grave. After playing on the platform for a while, the group of monkeys dispersed like startled birds and vanished somewhere.

Time slowly passed. Liu Hui glanced at the sun in the sky and realized it was nearing noon. Just then, Liu Hui suddenly noticed strange clouds gathering in the sky and odd dust swirling in the valley. The forest animals began to shriek loudly; rats scattered in panic, and birds took to the air. A few birds even collided mid-flight and fell onto the platform in front of Liu Hui.

Observing the chaos around him and noting the time, Liu Hui instantly knew that the infamous super earthquake was about to strike. Sadly, lacking any physical form, he couldn't contact anyone near the seismic zone to warn them and help them prepare for the tremors, thereby lessening the loss of life and property.

As anxiety mounted within him, Liu Hui felt the ground begin to shake violently—first vertically, then horizontally. The world transformed into an apocalyptic vision of fracturing earth and collapsing peaks. Next, the front half of the mountain ravine platform before him suddenly split in two, the forward section plunging into the valley below. Shu Yan's tomb was instantly demolished, revealing the coffin within.

Startled, Liu Hui rushed forward to shield Shu Yan's coffin, only to see a massive boulder descending from the mountaintop directly toward it. He hastily tried to block it with his hand but failed. The boulder passed right through his spectral form and violently struck Shu Yan's coffin. The immense impact sent the coffin flying, sliding down the newly formed slope of the broken platform toward the valley floor.

Liu Hui, tense with alarm, floated down after the coffin. Fortunately, the slope created by the fractured platform was not very steep, so the coffin slid down at a moderate speed. However, when it finally struck the rocks at the bottom of the valley, it still produced a resounding bang.

Fortunately, the coffin was sturdy; such a violent impact didn't destroy it. But the lid, which had been secured with iron nails, was jarred open, revealing a large gap through which the situation inside could be vaguely discerned.

The great earthquake raged on, with large rocks and soil constantly falling from the peaks above, though none struck the coffin again. Liu Hui cautiously approached and peered through the gap in the lid. He could clearly see Shu Yan lying inside, her face still covered by the white cloth. But lacking a physical body, Liu Hui could not push the lid open to check Shu Yan’s exact condition.

Under the severe destruction caused by the earthquake, massive amounts of rock tumbled into the valley, quickly blocking the narrow gorge entirely. The sky was thick with dust, and periodic aftershocks struck, creating the feeling that the end of the world had arrived.

Two hours after the main quake subsided, a heavy rain began to fall. The downpour streamed through the gaps in the coffin lid, drenching Shu Yan’s body. Liu Hui watched with a heavy heart, never imagining that even in death and burial, Shu Yan could not find peace.

Soon, an entire night passed, punctuated by frequent, violent aftershocks. The rain poured all night, beginning to trigger flash floods and mudslides in the mountain forest. Because the valley had been completely sealed off by the fallen debris from above, the water flow was obstructed, rapidly forming a barrier lake—a Yanse Lake. The water level in this dammed lake rose continuously, threatening to inundate the area where Shu Yan's coffin lay. This caused Liu Hui unbearable anxiety, yet he had no recourse.

Then, suddenly, a coughing sound echoed from inside the coffin, followed by a hand emerging from within. The moment Liu Hui saw that hand, he felt as if struck by lightning. He had often asked himself whether Shu Yan had truly died; now, he finally knew the answer: Shu Yan had not died. Perhaps the process unfolded as Zege had speculated—Shu Yan had merely been in a state of suspended animation, and after the virus completed its transformation of her body, she revived.

Shortly after being buried, Shu Yan encountered this super earthquake, which jolted her from what should have been deep interment, thus preventing her true asphyxiation. Had her remains been cremated or buried deeper underground, Shu Yan would never have revived.

Liu Hui stared intently at the coffin. Another cough sounded from inside, followed by a clear cry. With this cry, the other hand emerged from the coffin. Together, the two hands forced the lid open, and a person sat up inside.

Liu Hui’s heart hammered. The person sitting up in the coffin was none other than Shu Yan. She was still wearing that pale yellow dress, and the white cloth still covered her face. After sitting up, Shu Yan wept for a while, then stopped. She reached up, pulled the white cloth from her face, and held it in her hand, examining it with curiosity.

Liu Hui looked closer and saw that Shu Yan's face was still a gruesome mess of torn flesh, and the exposed skin on her body was covered in repulsive lumps. Liu Hui instantly recognized this grotesque appearance as Shu Yan's own; it could not possibly be an imposter.

Shu Yan tossed the white cloth aside and looked around, intensely curious about her surroundings, as if she had never seen these things before. After surveying the area, Shu Yan pushed the coffin lid completely onto the ground. Just as she was about to climb out, she bumped into something inside the coffin.

She bent down and retrieved the sealed metal box that Liu Hui had secured. She tilted the iron box curiously, shook it to hear the faint sounds within, and held it close with obvious interest.

Shu Yan slowly stepped out of the coffin, clutching the iron box as she walked across the slick, wet rocks. She seemed fascinated by the environment, behaving as if she were seeing it for the first time. Liu Hui watched, his heart wrenching. Aftershocks were still occurring intermittently, making her walk extremely perilous; several times, she narrowly escaped being crushed by falling stones, yet she showed no fear and made no effort to dodge.

Suddenly, the rain poured down again. Shu Yan didn't seek shelter but instead walked happily into the deluge, even emitting clear laughter. Liu Hui closely followed behind her, terrified that some accident might befall her.

As Shu Yan stood drenched in the heavy rain, some of the grime and filth on her body began to wash away. Suddenly, Liu Hui was startled to see a patch of skin peel off Shu Yan's face and wash away with the rainwater. When he leaned in to examine the spot, he saw smooth, pale new skin emerging beneath where the old skin had fallen away.

Starting with this first patch, as the rainwater continuously scoured her, Shu Yan’s skin began to shed rapidly, revealing the fair new skin underneath—like a complete metamorphosis.

Liu Hui watched, mesmerized. In less than half an hour, under the relentless washing of the rain, Shu Yan’s skin kept falling off, transforming her entirely, as if she were reborn.

Although some stains and residual old skin remained on Shu Yan, not yet fully rinsed away, her appearance had drastically altered. The previous image of bloody ruin had vanished completely, as had the skin covered in repulsive lumps. The current Shu Yan looked barely fifteen or sixteen years old. Her hair and eyebrows had entirely fallen out, leaving her skin exquisitely delicate and fair, like that of a peeled egg. The woman before him was the spitting image of An Qi in her youth.

At this point, Liu Hui could confirm one absolute truth: An Qi was Shu Yan. There was no doubt. Before, he had only felt suspicion during moments of that familiar electric contact, but now, witnessing Shu Yan’s transformation into An Qi with his own eyes, Liu Hui harbored no further uncertainty.

An Qi continued forward in the driving rain, accidentally walking onto the temporary dike of the barrier lake. She staggered across the narrow embankment, causing Liu Hui immense anxiety. Suddenly, An Qi accidentally stepped on a small stone, causing her to fall. The iron box she had been clutching flew from her grasp, tumbling several times before dropping into the barrier lake below.

An Qi paused for a moment, then burst into tears. She stood up, seemingly oblivious to the danger, and prepared to jump into the lake to retrieve the iron box. Liu Hui watched, frantic with worry, but utterly powerless to assist An Qi.

An Qi plunged into the lake water and was immediately submerged. After swallowing a few mouthfuls, she finally understood the danger of the water. She struggled desperately, shouting and crying loudly, but this was a desolate wilderness, and following the earthquake, no one was around to rescue her.

Just as Liu Hui was consumed by panic, An Qi miraculously managed to grab a floating tree branch amidst her struggles. She immediately hauled herself up the branch and onto the dike. Washed clean by the lake water, all the dirt and old skin were finally removed from An Qi’s body. She was now immaculate; if not for the tattered remnants of Shu Yan's dress she still wore, no one would have guessed she had transformed from Shu Yan.

Having barely reached the shore and failing to recover the iron box, An Qi sat on the ground and wept for a long time. Exhausted, she eventually collapsed onto the sodden earth and fell asleep.

Liu Hui watched, extremely distressed. Aftershocks were still frequent, and the rain continued to fall heavily. An Qi sleeping there was utterly unsafe, but he was helpless, incapable of changing anything.

The next morning, An Qi finally awoke. She stood up and walked back to the spot where she had dropped the iron box, pacing back and forth. It seemed she remembered where her important possession had fallen, and she wanted to go down to retrieve it, but the terrifying memory of nearly drowning prevented her from daring to enter the water again.

An Qi continued pacing restlessly on the dike. Suddenly, she sneezed several times and instinctively hugged herself close. Liu Hui knew that after being drenched for two days, An Qi was finally showing signs of catching a cold.

By noon, An Qi still refused to leave the area, perhaps believing subconsciously that the object she dropped held great importance to her. Just as Liu Hui grew anxious, voices talking drifted in from a distance.

Liu Hui was overjoyed and immediately shouted for help at the top of his lungs, but naturally, no one could hear his spectral voice. The voices drew nearer as the speakers approached the bend in the road. Then Liu Hui saw a middle-aged foreign couple rounding the corner. They were searching for a path when they suddenly spotted An Qi pacing alone on the dike.

The foreign woman exclaimed loudly in English, "Heavens! Hunter, look! There’s a little girl over there, standing all alone on that dike—how dangerous!"

The foreign man looked, then immediately hurried over, grabbing An Qi’s arm. The woman followed close behind, pulling An Qi into her arms and draping her own coat over the girl’s shoulders.

At this moment, Liu Hui finally understood the entire sequence of events. These two people who had just rescued An Qi were her future adoptive parents. Seeing them encounter An Qi here confirmed everything that would happen next: An Qi would be taken to America, grow up happily there, until the day she eventually met him.

The dispute between the two women in his time was now settled: An Qi was definitively the true Shu Yan, and the woman claiming to be "Shu Yan" was likely not her. Once this conclusion solidified in Liu Hui's mind, he felt his body lighten, rising upward. He then passed through a thick fog once more, only to wake abruptly, finding himself lying in the bed in the guest room.

Liu Hui swung his legs off the bed and noticed the sky outside the window was just beginning to lighten.

"Was that a dream, or did I truly travel back in time to when Shu Yan transformed into An Qi? If it was a dream, why are my memories so crystal clear? If it wasn't a dream, why does everything feel so illusory, so unreal?" Liu Hui murmured to himself.

"Last night, I desperately wanted to uncover the secret of Shu Yan's death, which is why I kept beseeching the white jade tablet, but I never succeeded. Could it be that my efforts while awake failed, and my subconscious manifested this scenario while I slept?" Liu Hui continued to speculate.

Suddenly, something struck Liu Hui. He reached out from the bed and picked up the white jade tablet, only to find a massive fissure running across its surface. This enormous crack nearly split the tablet in two. He tried to pry it apart with his hands, but the tablet wouldn't budge an inch.

"What is going on? No matter what I did before, I couldn't even scratch this tablet, yet now it has cracked? Did what I just experienced not happen in a dream, but was it real? Did my soul actually return to the past, allowing me to witness the entire process of Shu Yan becoming An Qi? How else can I explain this cracked white jade tablet?" A realization dawned slowly in Liu Hui's heart.

The mysterious white jade tablet must have activated its miraculous function, allowing him to return to the past in spirit form to experience the entire process of Shu Yan transforming into An Qi and An Qi being adopted by her future parents. The massive fissure on the previously indestructible tablet served as undeniable proof.

But why would the tablet's mysterious power suddenly activate? Liu Hui had tried countless methods before and failed to activate it even once. He couldn't even seek advice from Wei Chao, who had once used the tablet, because Wei Chao was already dead; now, everything depended on his own exploration.

If the white jade tablet was indeed responsible, and using it just once resulted in such a significant crack, did that imply the tablet had only one usage left? If that were the case, he absolutely had to cherish this remaining opportunity.