【New Red Mansion】Perfect World

The mist on the banks of the Western Spirit River always carries a sense of mystery and etherealness. When the morning light penetrates the clouds, it weaves a layer of light golden gauze on the water surface. The river water is so clear that you can see the round colored stones at the bottom of the water. They have been immersed in the spiritual spring for countless years, and their surfaces are shimmering with warm pearls. When the water flows through the cracks in the stones, it always makes a tiny ding-dong sound, like the melody in the piano music of "Dream·Unknown".

The Three-Life Stone stands on the shore. The stone is indigo in color and covered with a thin layer of moss, but it does not look slippery, but rather like a layer of emerald velvet. The texture on the stone is winding like veins, and if you look closely, it seems like countless human figures are flowing in reincarnation. When the sun shines obliquely, the stone surface will emit a faint rainbow light, dyeing the unknown fairy grass around it even more beautiful.

Those fairy grasses grow on the rocks, their leaves are translucent, and there are always dewdrops on the tips of the leaves, which refuse to fall even when the wind blows, like tears in someone's eyes. They bloom with white flowers as big as bowls, and the edges of the petals are shining with silver. Occasionally, colorful butterflies stop by, and the scales on their wings fall down, blending with the mist into a hazy light. The entire river bank is so quiet that you can hear the sound of dewdrops rolling down, but there is vitality everywhere, as if even time has slowed down here, silently guarding the fate on the stone and the thoughts among the grass.

A small colorful stone jumped onto the shore, ping-pong-pong-pong, and landed at the foot of the Three-Life Stone, calling out loudly, "Grandma Three-Life Stone!"

"Hey, little stone. What's the matter?" The Three Lives Stone gradually transformed into a human form, an ancient old woman, leaning on a walking stick made of a thousand-year-old tree branch.

The little colored stone also transformed into a human form, a chubby little boy, about five or six years old.

"I heard from Dew this morning that a great god has come to our place. I want to see what he looks like."

Grandma Sanshengshi quickly made a gesture for silence, took the little stone into her arms, and found a stone bench to sit on.

"Shh, let's talk quietly. They have been through a lot and are now resting. Let's not disturb them."

The child immediately imitated the grandmother and asked in a low voice: "Why do they have to go through so much hardship? Isn't life here very leisurely? Every day I just need to take a bath in the water, look at the scenery, smell the flowers, and listen to the gurgling water..."

Granny Sanshengshi smiled mysteriously and said, "That story has to start from a long, long time ago.

A long time ago, the God of Water and the God of Fire fought a war for status. After the God of Water was defeated, he was exiled to the northwest wilderness. The God of Water had nowhere to vent his anger, so he hit Mount Buzhou with his head, knocking the mountain down. Mount Buzhou was originally a pillar supporting the sky, and when it fell, a big hole appeared in the sky, and the water from the Tianhe River flowed down, flooding the villages and farmland.

The goddess Nuwa could not bear to see mortals suffer, so she wanted to repair the big hole in the sky. She refined 36,501 colorful boulders in the Great Wilderness Mountain, and finally repaired the sky with the colorful boulders under the pouring water of the heavenly river.

Legend has it that Nuwa used only 36,500 pieces of five-colored stones to mend the sky, and one piece was left unused and forgotten in the Great Wilderness Mountains. After being tempered by Nuwa, the five-colored stone had become spiritual. It was very sad to see that the other stones had been used to mend the sky, leaving only itself on the ground.

Little Colored Stone asked in confusion: "This colorful stone is so strange. Isn't it good for him to practice with us here? Why are you sad? No matter where he goes, he is just a stone. He is still a stone if he repairs the sky. He is still a stone if he falls into the river. Even if he is hung around your neck, he is still just a stone."

After hearing what he said, Granny Sanshengshi smiled and replied, "That's right, he hasn't understood it as well as our little stone."

Little Caishi was not stunned by the compliment. She continued with her previous train of thought and asked, "What happened next? Continue to tell the story of that great god!"

"When gods do something wrong, they are always punished, and the water god is no exception. So he was demoted to the lower realms, and he must go through a lot of hardships and survive the emotional tribulation before he can return here to continue his cultivation."

Little Caishi opened his mouth in surprise and said: "You mean, the one who came here is the water god with a bad temper?" He thought to himself: I thought it was the stone god left over from repairing the sky?

Granny Sanshengshi nodded: "But don't worry. After experiencing three lives, his temper has been tempered very well."

"Three lives? What is three lives?" Little Caishi can always grasp the key points in Grandma Sanshengshi's words.

"Then you have asked the point. I am the Three Lives Stone that manages the three lives. The three lives are the previous life, the present life, and the next life. And I am the stone that carries fate and destiny and records the reincarnation of all things in the world."

Little Colored Stone couldn't help but pout, "I take back what I said about the Five-Colored Stone. There are differences in being a stone. It's so cool to be a stone like you. When I grow up, I want to be a stone like you that records the reincarnation of all things in the world. It sounds so cool."

Granny Sanshengshi patted the little colorful stone's round head amiably and said, "Then you should practice well. Before, there was a fairy named Jiangzhu who practiced beside me. Now she has also experienced the reincarnation of three lives and returned to the throne. Maybe she will be promoted to the immortal status soon."

Little Caishi's eyes lit up: "Then Granny Sanshengshi, please tell me more about this fairy's story!"

"Oh, I've told you several stories, and my mouth is dry now. Can't you let me rest for a while?"

Little Caishi was in high spirits and refused to comply. She kept shaking Grandma San Sheng Shi's arm and begged.

"Good mother-in-law, just tell me, mother-in-law is the best!"

"All right, all right! Go get me some dew to moisten my throat, and I'll tell you the story of the Crimson Pearl Fairy right away."

The fairy herbs over there had already woken up, and they also wanted to listen to Grandma San Sheng Shi’s stories, so the dewdrops gathered from the innermost fairy grass leaves like on a conveyor belt, and were handed to Grandma San Sheng Shi’s hands one by one.

"Grandma Sansheng Stone, please drink the dew." Everyone said in unison.

Seeing that there were quite a few listeners, Granny Sanshengshi quickly drank the dew, cleared her throat, and spoke:

"A long, long time ago, there was a fairy named Shen Ying who was originally a fairy from the Chixia Palace. He often walked along the banks of the Ling River in the west and found a weak Jiangzhu fairy grass. He then irrigated it with nectar every day to keep it alive.

The Immortal Grass of the Crimson Pearl was nourished by the essence of heaven and earth and nectar, and was reborn into a female body, becoming the Crimson Pearl Fairy. She was filled with gratitude and wanted to find a chance to repay her gratitude…”

Little Cai Shi couldn't help wanting to speak again, but this time he raised his hand obediently, waiting for Grandma San Sheng Shi to call his name.

"What's the matter, little stone? What's your problem?"

Xiao Caishi asked hurriedly, "Grandma, there is nectar and river water everywhere here, why do we need anyone else to water the fairy grass?"