He had been having that dream since he was very young. In the dream, a woman in a simple green robe danced quietly in front of an ancient Buddha and a dim lamp. In front of the decayed and gloomy temple stood a large stone stele, on which was carved the words 'Reach the Other Shore Early.' In the dark, chilly hall, the wind silently passed through the empty eaves. The girl turned around and gave him a faint smile. Each time, he wanted to see her clearly, but upon waking, the only thing he remembered was the bright red stone hanging over her chest.\ He was the hunter of the mountain. As his ancestors told him, a few hundred years ago, there was a palace in the area at the foot of the mountain, which later perished because of an ill-omened woman. It was said that when she was born, she had a bright red stone about the size of a bayberry in her mouth. 'A doomed soul...' people sighed. He thought that he only dreamed that dream because he had first heard this legend.\ He still made a living by hunting, leaving early and returning late. Every evening on his way home, he would pass by a temple. Because it had long been neglected, the hall was in ruins, and the surrounding walls and ground were overgrown with weeds. He only remembered that when he was little, he had gone in to play, and when his parents found out, they pulled him home by the ears. His parents said it was a cursed place. So he never went inside again. Now, every time he returned from hunting and passed by, he would set down his prey and sit on the steps to rest. There was a large stone stele at the temple entrance, the characters on it now blurred. It inevitably reminded him of the dream he often had and the stele that read 'Reach the Other Shore Early.'\ That winter, the snow was heavy. He had dug traps in the forest early. That morning, he woke very early and left home before dawn. He had a feeling that there would be a good catch today. Passing by the ruined temple, he noticed a line of footprints at the entrance. The footprints led straight into the main hall.\ Who could have gone in? He wondered, stepping forward.\ The footprints were shallow, like wind brushing across sand, lightly marking the snow.\ Perhaps this person had gone in a long time ago, and the heavy snow had covered most of the footprints, so they weren't that clear, he comforted himself.\ The broken walls lay quietly, extending horizontally there. The hall was eerie, exuding a cold, oppressive air. The once-high deities now had shattered faces, looking down. The ever-burning lamps hanging from the beams swayed back and forth in the wind, creaking. The weed-covered floor was already mottled and ruined.He looked around and saw no one. Just as he was about to turn and leave, a slight noise came from under the offering table. He hurried over and overturned the table in one swift move. At his feet was a woman in a white dress, her long hair cascading messily over her shoulders, her bare feet curled up as she hunched her body. Without thinking, he scooped her up in his arms and ran toward the exit. Behind him came the sound of something breaking with a 'crack.' When he looked back, the Buddha statue in the hall had collapsed into a mound of yellow sand.
My name is Naishi. This was the first sentence she said to him when she woke.
He saw a stone tied with blue thread around her long neck, the color vividly red.
She did not tell him about her origins, and he never asked. Every day before dawn, he would still get up early to hunt. She stayed quietly at home, and in the evening, she would go to the temple to wait for him. She always swung her legs while sitting on the stone table that once held the deity statues, quietly listening to the mournful cries of crows and sparrows outside the corridor. Then he would carry her down. As they left the temple gate, she would suddenly stop and say, “You know, You, what words are inscribed on this stone stele?”
He shook his head.
She laughed and said, “Maybe it says, ‘Never Transcend.'”
Then they would return home together.
Smoke began appearing in You's house, You's bed started to feel warm, You's clothes became clean, You began to smile, and the number of animals he hunted increased...
There was a mysterious woman of unknown origins in You's house. The villagers began to gossip. Soon, everyone knew that this woman had a stone on her neck, as red as soaked-in-blood. Panic spread.
That year there was a severe drought; the crops in the fields failed, and even the wild animals on the mountains fled. The oldest headman of the village, leaning on a cane, came with everyone to find You. The villagers surrounded You's thatched cottage so closely there was no space to move. You locked his doors tightly, clutching Naishi, who curled up in the corner. Outside, the villagers shouted in anger: “Burn this woman who brings disaster,” “Kill her,” “Kill this demon…”
Suddenly, You picked up Naishi and kicked open the tightly closed door. The crowd outside was stunned by the sudden scene and fell silent. You shouted in grief and rage, “As long as I'm alive, you will never lay a hand on my woman.”
The villagers looked at one another, and all at once, their gazes turned to the headman.The clan leader glared with bloodshot eyes, trembling as he pointed at You and said, 'She is an ominous woman. She will bring disaster to our entire village. She is cursed.'\ You tightened your hold on Nai Shi and said gently, 'Nai, don't be afraid. I will take you away from here.'\ Nai Shi's eyes welled up. After thousands of years of waiting, wasn't this the sentence she longed to hear? After so many cycles of rebirth to reach this life, wasn't it just to hope for a moment of true togetherness?\ You carried Nai Shi in his arms and walked toward the temple. Behind them, the clan leader's hoarse voice rang out, 'You are going to be cursed. You are destined to be punished.'\ You hugged the person in his arms tighter and strode farther away.\ He brought Nai Shi to the temple where they had met. You said with infinite tenderness, 'Nai, don't worry. With me here, no one would dare to hurt you.'\ Nai Shi lightly nodded, exhausted, leaning against him. You stroked her loose hair and comforted her, 'Nai, I'll get you some food. Stay here. Don't go out. They won't dare to come in.'\ Nai Shi opened her eyes wide in fear, grabbed his hand, and cried until she choked. He cupped her face, brushing away the tears at the corners of her eyes, 'Be good, don't cry. I'll be back soon.'\ When he reached the temple entrance, she suddenly called out to him. She took off the bloodstone, bound with blue thread, from her neck and whispered, 'You, wear this. It's the stone that has followed me since the past life and will bless you in finding me...' She fastened it for him. He comforted her, patting her head, 'Don't worry. I'll be back soon.'\ As he turned, he suddenly saw the stone tablet erected in front of the temple. He remembered that she had said it might have the words 'Never Ascend' engraved on it…\ Nai Shi stood quietly in the hall. The whispering wind carried dust through the air. The long-burning lamp swaying in the wind creaked, its sound echoing throughout the hall. The marble-carved walls had been weathered over hundreds of years, their surfaces mottled and worn.\ Suddenly, outside the temple, chaotic footsteps drew near, accompanied by the snapping of branches and the clamor of a crowd... 'Hurry up, hurry up,' 'Pile some here'... Soon after, smoke poured in. Frantic flames flickered with blue and purple hues, revealing sinister and grotesque faces devouring the weeds on the ground and walls.The magnificent and towering temple was blazing in fierce fire. Nai Shi knew she could ultimately not escape this destined catastrophe. She stood like a phantom in the scorching hall; flames danced wildly around her, rolling, greedily licking her body, scorching her long hair, letting out a hissing, triumphant laugh. She laughed faintly.\ Under the eternal lamp, Buddha said: You must repent.\ She said: I refuse to repent.\ Buddha said: You must forget.\ She said: I refuse to forget.\ Buddha said: Sinful fate.\ She said: I only love him. Can love be a sin?\ Buddha said: You are destined to have no good outcome. This life is only to settle the resentment from your past life, when you painfully loved him, your tears turned to blood-stained stone.\ She said: Please spare us. You are a supreme deity, omnipotent; please guide us to a clear path.\ Buddha said: In this life, you are fated but not meant to be together. A beautiful woman brings disaster, harming the nation. Perhaps in the next life.\ She laughed bitterly: The next life, the next life… Hundreds of years of endless reincarnations, and in the end, we still cannot be together. What good is another life? Please, grant me a slight mercy. I am willing to become a stone by the Naihe Bridge. As long as I can see him in every cycle of reincarnation, I will be content…\ Buddha said: Do you not regret this?\ She said: My mind is made up. I wish to become a blue stone, guarding by the River of Forgetfulness for eternity…\ Guardian\ It is said that in this world, there is a road called the Yellow Springs Road, a river called the River of Forgetfulness, a bridge called the Naihe Bridge, and a blue stone by the bridge called the Stone of Three Lifetimes. The Stone of Three Lifetimes records every person's past and present lives, its surface crimson as blood, with four carved characters: 'Reach the Other Shore Early'…\ Those who are to be reincarnated must cross the Naihe Bridge and drink Meng Po Soup, forgetting their three lifetimes, before entering the cycle of reincarnation anew.\ The Stone of Three Lifetimes stands by the Naihe Bridge, watching those reincarnating in the mortal world, searching through the crowd for a man in white as pure as snow, with a face as sharp as carved by a knife, eyes like lightning, and a red stone the size of a bayberry tied around his neck…