554: Chapter 554 Burying Him Here?

"Qin Wushang!"

The moment he saw those three characters on the massive golden stele, Qin Wushang's brain simply crashed.

It wasn't an illusion, nor was it a hallucination; what was written there was clear as day—it was his own name.

Qin Wushang!

Each stroke was distinct, as if someone had deliberately carved it there, waiting for him to see it.

"Are you dead?"

Beside him, Yao Shinian held her pig-slaughtering knife, tilting her head, her large eyes darting around.

She looked at the golden stele, then at Qin Wushang, then back at the golden stele, and then at Qin Wushang again.

Hmm, he wasn't dead; he was alive and well, still breathing.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting!"

Qin Wushang glared at her, annoyed.

"If I were to die, you would be the first one I'd drag along to be buried with me!"

"That won't do."

Yao Shinian shook her head solemnly, looking as serious as if she were reciting ancestral teachings.

"Father said that only a husband and wife can be buried together when one dies."

"I'm not your husband."

"If you want to marry me, you have to ask Father first."

"..."

Qin Wushang took a deep breath, deciding not to continue arguing with this butcher girl who wasn't quite right in the head.

He flashed forward, rushing to the front of the golden stele at top speed, and raised his hand to touch the three large characters.

A cold sensation came through his fingertips; it was real, not a hallucination.

He scanned it with his Supreme Double Pupils, but couldn't discern anything.

Yao Shinian followed, still muttering, "Father also said that when marrying, you have to look at a person's character, not just their good looks."

"You do look quite good, but your temper isn't very good; you're always talking about dragging people to be buried with you."

"Shut up."

"Oh."

Yao Shinian obediently shut her mouth and, imitating Qin Wushang, reached out to touch the characters on the golden stele.

The glittering massive stone stele was carved entirely from the Stone of the Great Dao of Gold, and every stroke contained a sharp Great Dao of Gold, as if someone had carved it stroke by stroke with a blade, and that sharp Qi still lingered to this day.

Qin Wushang touched it for a long time, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

Yao Shinian also touched it for a long time, even more meticulously than he did, from top to bottom, from left to right, not even missing the corners of the strokes, as if she were checking the fat content of a piece of pork.

"Did you see anything?"

Qin Wushang asked, feeling somewhat curious.

She was so serious, her expression suggesting she knew something.

"Uh... no..."

Yao Shinian shook her head, her hand still resting on the stele, her face calm.

"Then why were you copying me?"

"What a dunderhead."

Qin Wushang rolled his eyes at her.

"Then did you see anything?"

Yao Shinian had learned to be smart this time and retorted.

"No."

"That's not..."

Yao Shinian widened her eyes, her tone carrying a hint of grievance at being wronged.

"You couldn't tell either, yet you criticized me?"

"Isn't that bad?"

"Father said that's not right."

"You didn't see anything either, so how can you call me a dunderhead?"

"Dunderhead means not smart; if you aren't smart yourself, how can you say I'm not smart?"

Qin Wushang raised his hand and patted her head.

Yao Shinian didn't dodge. Dressed in a simple long robe and clutching her pig-slaughtering knife, she looked up at him earnestly, like a mutt being petted by its owner.

She was stubborn, her eyes seeming to question Qin Wushang: How could you call me a dunderhead!

"Although I haven't figured out why this thing has my name on it, judging by the marks, it shows clear signs of decay from the passage of time."

"And this place is special; the influence of time is reduced to a minimum..."

"That means it has existed for an extremely long time."

Qin Wushang withdrew his hand, his tone flat.

"By comparison, I am still qualified to criticize you."

Yao Shinian blinked, not understanding, but feeling like it made a lot of sense.

"Oh."

She nodded and stopped looking at Qin Wushang.

"Qin... Wu... Shang... Could this be a coincidence?"

Qin Wushang whispered, carefully pondering those three characters.

If it were someone else's name, he wouldn't have thought much of it.

But it was his name written there.

He had to be cautious; he had to think about other possibilities.

"It's not; it's definitely you."

Yao Shinian spoke up, interrupting his thoughts with a certain tone.

"Father said that any existence that becomes extremely powerful has its true name on the path of Reincarnation, and those who come later cannot use it."

"Otherwise, it is an offense; this is a rule recognized by the great dao of heaven and earth."

Qin Wushang turned his head abruptly, his Supreme Double Pupils glowing faintly as he met her large, round eyes.

Yao Shinian didn't dodge, staring right back at him with an expression that said, "I'm not wrong."

Qin Wushang asked, "Did your Father really say that?"

"Yes!"

Yao Shinian nodded, counting on her fingers.

"He said it to Grandpa Deaf and Uncle Blind."

"They were drinking at the time, and I was playing with A'Dan nearby; I heard it clearly."

She paused, afraid that Qin Wushang wouldn't believe her, and added another sentence.

"I remembered it; I'm not lying to you!"

"From childhood to now, I remember everything clearly."

After she finished, a silly smile hung on her face, as if she had done something worthy of praise.

Qin Wushang's brows furrowed after hearing this.

Based on past experiences, Yao Shinian said whatever was on her mind and never lied.

The Father behind her must be extremely powerful.

These words were worth believing.

Then, the name on this stele was, in all likelihood, his.

"Past life."

Qin Wushang whispered, his eyes deep as he considered this possibility.

"Everything has Reincarnation... Bingyun, Revered Master... Could there be some connection here?"

He thought of the Immortal Tomb, and the person lying in that immortal coffin.

That person who looked exactly like his Revered Master, Chu Yuehua, and the Seal that only he could approach!

He also thought of the Burial Immortal Platform!

There was also a woman lying at the Burial Immortal Platform who was extremely similar to Mu Bingyun, only she had been infected by Source power and turned into a Source Beast.

Those were likely all his past incarnations.

Then...

Was his past life also called Qin Wushang?

Qin Wushang was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Shinian, has your Father ever said whether a person after Reincarnation is still the same person?"

Yao Shinian was stunned.

She rarely saw him this serious.

Usually, he called her Yao Shinian or "hey," but most of the time he just spoke without addressing her.

Today, he had called her by her name!

Shinian.

No surname, just her given name, as if he were solemnly asking about something very important.

She opened her mouth, unable to react for a moment.

"What? Your Father hasn't said?"

Qin Wushang asked again, his gaze landing on her face; it wasn't as casual as usual, but carried a rare solemnity.

Yao Shinian collected herself and shook her head.

"No."

She continued: "Father never talks to me about these things; I overheard most of them. He only teaches me how to slaughter pigs."

Qin Wushang withdrew his gaze and looked back at the massive golden stele.

The three characters on the stele shimmered in the golden light, the strokes sharp as if cut by a blade, deeply embedded in the gold stone, as if carved there since time immemorial.

Is a person after Reincarnation still the same person?

Were he in his past life and he in this life really the same?

"No... I still have another memory... the memory from Blue Star..."

Qin Wushang murmured, his brows locked tight.

"And that hundred-year memory of courting the goddess... does that count as a lifetime?"

"If it doesn't count, then what is it? A time-space reset? Twisting Karma to start over again?"

While muttering to himself, he walked to the front of the stone stele, his Qi and blood beginning to surge, growing more and more terrifying.

"What are you doing?"

Yao Shinian held her pig-slaughtering knife and looked up at him.

"Moving it."

Qin Wushang stared at the massive golden stele, his expression resolute.

"This thing is like a tombstone; there might be something buried underneath it."

"Ah... a tomb?"

Yao Shinian widened her eyes in realization, then asked solemnly: "Could it be that you want to move it and then lie down? Bury yourself here?"