Shen Yi stood still for a very long time, his inner doubts finally overcoming his fear.
No matter what was inside, he had to know, clearly and unmistakably!
Shen Yi lifted his foot and slowly took steps toward the inner room.
Perhaps because the inner room was dark, lit only by candles, Shen Yi could vaguely see the flickering candlelight from a distance.
This scene, once again, overlapped with the one in his dream, only this time there wasn’t "himself" in it, but the silhouette of a monk’s back.
"Shen Yi, the dead cannot be brought back to life..."
"Mr. Shen, Mrs. Shen’s condition is very bad..."
Shen Yi’s mind uncontrollably revisited the nightmares he had had over and over again, her tombstone, and the Rebirth Plaque.
All of it was indicating that Ye Wanwan was dead!
Shen Yi felt like his head was about to explode, he bit down hard on his teeth, cold sweat dripping down his cheeks one drop at a time.
"Patron Shen has arrived," the old monk’s voice was unhurried, bearing a trace of vicissitudes, marks left by the years.
In that moment, Shen Yi didn’t know whether he was in a dream or reality, he stood by the door, gripping the door frame tightly, leaning on it for support so he wouldn’t fall to the ground.
"Won’t Patron Shen come in?" the old monk’s voice rang out again.
Shen Yi didn’t know what kind of courage he mustered to lift his foot and step over the threshold.
As Shen Yi approached step by step, the old monk sighed, slowly stating, "Patron Shen has spent a lifetime of merit to have this opportunity today."
"Given that, Patron Shen should look ahead and no longer dwell on the past."
But Shen Yi didn’t respond; his gaze was fixed on the Rebirth Plaque on the altar, Wanwan’s name clearly inscribed, along with her birth date and the time of her death.
Shen Yi’s eyes reddened, perhaps he didn’t even realize himself that tears were already falling from his eyes.
He wanted to move forward, but it felt as though all his strength had been drained, and he thought that taking one more step would cause him to fall to the ground.
Yet Shen Yi still walked forward, reaching out his hand with extreme caution, his heart filled with immense fear—not fear of not being able to touch it, but afraid that all of this was real!
But the short distance, Shen Yi’s hand eventually reached out, and the Rebirth Plaque, trembled by his shaking hand, was pushed onto the altar top.
As the Rebirth Plaque toppled onto the altar making a slight noise, Shen Yi himself shuddered.
Regaining his senses, Shen Yi quickly picked up the Rebirth Plaque.
"Impossible! Impossible, I must have seen it wrong!" Shen Yi muttered incessantly, convinced that he must have been mistaken, this couldn’t be Wanwan’s!
Tears blurred his vision, Shen Yi couldn’t see clearly but thought it was because the place was too dim and the candlelight flickering, that was why he couldn’t see.
So Shen Yi slightly bent down, holding the Rebirth Plaque next to the light, attempting to look at it carefully!
However, when Shen Yi saw the words on the Rebirth Plaque again, he felt as though he no longer recognized those words.
He kept shaking his head, utterly unwilling to believe what he saw; it was all fake, all of it!