The Granny Meng turned her eyes to the Stone of Three Lives. On the stone, the gilded characters were spinning like golden sand, forming names of different lengths. Every two names were paired and tied together by a red thread.
"Do you know what this is?" Granny Meng slightly lifted her droopy eyelids. The halo from the Stone of Three Lives shone on her face, outlining the vicissitudes of life.
"These should be the names of two lovers, right?"
A faint smile curled up on Granny Meng's lips as she nodded at me. "That's right. As the saying goes, a perfect marriage starts with the Old Man Under the Moon and ends with me. When it comes to me, it means the end of a couple's relationship. However, if their names are on the Stone of Three Lives and the red thread remains unbroken, they can continue their previous bond in the next life."
I could tell there was more to her words. For some reason, I had a bad feeling in my heart.
I didn't want to guess. I just asked directly, "What do you want to tell me?"
"The Stone of Three Lives records the marriages in the Three Realms, whether it's for humans, immortals or ghosts. But your name is nowhere to be found on it."
Hearing this, my soul jolted. This statement was far more terrifying than my days spent on the Naihe Bridge.
"Then... what about Gu Yuan? Is his name on the Stone of Three Lives?"
Granny Meng folded her hands behind her back and replied calmly, "Of course his name is on it."
"Then who is the one paired with him?"
"Why torture yourself? I advise you to let it go at this point." Granny Meng's face was full of sorrow, as if she thought my efforts in the past few days were in vain.
I felt my body trembling. My heart was extremely complicated. I both wanted to know the answer and didn't want to know it.
"Since Granny Meng doesn't want to tell me, I won't force you. I just hope you can help me. As long as Gu Yuan can get through this difficulty, I don't ask to be with him for a lifetime. As long as he's alive, that's enough."
"You're really stubborn." Granny Meng shook her head. She was completely at a loss with me.
She gently swept her palm across the Stone of Three Lives. The gilded characters of Long Yuan appeared on the stone.
Next to Long Yuan's name, another name also appeared. However, this name seemed to be smudged by water, and the words were completely unclear.
"What's going on?" Granny Meng was shocked when she saw this. She quickly raised her right hand and started calculating with her fingers.
Even I found it unbelievable. Could the Stone of Three Lives make mistakes? Why did the name next to Gu Yuan disappear?
"This... this... this is impossible. It seems to be your name. Your fate was obtained by defying the heavens and seizing life, and you were born missing a soul. That's why you're especially attractive to evil spirits. You shouldn't have appeared on the Stone of Three Lives in the first place. Why? What's the reason?"
Granny Meng was muttering to herself. I got really nervous. The blurry name next to Gu Yuan was actually mine. I felt a strange sense of joy in my heart, but I didn't dare to show it. I could only pretend to be stupid.
"Granny Meng, what exactly is going on?"
"Someone deliberately erased Long Yuan's marriage. The Stone of Three Lives has a spirit, and it's impossible for anyone to erase the marriage record. Why did his predestined partner suddenly disappear? I remember the name was two characters long at that time. Now it's obviously been tampered with. The gilded characters seem to be three characters long. It's very likely to be you."
After hearing Granny Meng's words, I looked up at the Stone of Three Lives again. Sure enough, the name next to Gu Yuan vaguely seemed to be three characters long. However, the red thread that tied the two names together was broken.
Granny Meng made a hand gesture and started chanting the Incantation of Three Lives towards the Stone of Three Lives, trying to repair the names on it.
However, no matter how she chanted, the blurry words showed no sign of recovery.
"Granny Meng..."
Although Granny Meng was the guardian of the Stone of Three Lives, her magical power was limited. After trying to repair it twice, she was already exhausted. Her body went limp and she stepped back.
If I hadn't held her, she would have fallen to the ground by now.
"I can't... My ability is limited. I really can't modify it."
I supported Granny Meng and looked up at the words again. A little thought suddenly popped into my mind. I really hoped that, just as Granny Meng said, the three characters were my name: Lan Chiyu!
"Granny Meng, let's put the Stone of Three Lives aside for now. Can you be flexible and give me a bowl of Mengpo Soup?"
"Girl, let me confirm again. What's your name? And what exactly happened between you and Long Yuan?"
I nodded at Granny Meng. "Actually, my name is Lan Chiyu. I'm not from this world originally. There was an accident before, and I possessed the body of a girl named Chi Yu. That's how I met Gu Yuan... This time, I was supposed to share emotions with Chi Yu and couldn't control her body. But I don't know why, suddenly I could control her body again."
I didn't hide anything from Granny Meng. I told her everything I had experienced in detail. Since I wanted to ask her for Mengpo Soup, of course I had to be honest to show my sincerity.
Although Granny Meng had seen many love stories of infatuated men and resentful women, she had a different understanding after I finished speaking.
She opened her palm again and tapped her thumb on the joints of the other four fingers back and forth.
After calculating, she let out a heavy sigh at me. "No wonder the red string couldn't be tied. It turns out it's the Peach Blossom Omen causing trouble."
"Peach Blossom Omen? Did you say the Peach Blossom Omen? The one Long Lin cast on me?" When I heard the words "Peach Blossom Omen", the chaos in my mind completely disappeared, and I became extremely sober.
"Yes, it's the Peach Blossom Omen causing trouble. You said Long Lin, is he the Second Prince of the Celestial Realm?" Granny Meng asked.
"Yeah. He admitted it himself that he cast the Peach Blossom Omen on me. But Gu Yuan said this omen had no effect on him."
"Only the caster can lift the Peach Blossom Omen. No one else can solve it. So the First Prince was lying to you."
Granny Meng answered me directly without any concealment.
"Moreover... it's obvious that the First Prince has deep feelings for you. This true love is no less than your feelings for him."
I shook my head at Granny Meng, indicating that she had made a mistake.
"Granny Meng, you must be wrong. Gu Yuan doesn't recognize me now. The person he is sincerely treating should be Chi Yu, not me. Whether you think I'm selfish or willful, as long as I can get Gu Yuan through this safely, I'm willing for him to forget all his past."
"I'm not wrong. The only person Gu Yuan you mentioned is thinking about and missing is you."
I looked at Granny Meng in confusion. I thought to myself that this was impossible. Gu Yuan didn't know my identity at all. And I had tried to let him know, but every time I was about to say it, my heart would ache as if it was being hollowed out, and the words would get stuck in my throat.
"Lanlan, if I believe that your first encounter was a fateful accident, but when you appeared again the second time, do you still believe it was an accident? What kind of accident would happen again and again?"