"My, mother?" Yu Tanqi couldn't help but be stunned.

Master Wuyou looked at her with a deep gaze, recalling events from many years ago.

"Seventeen years ago, I was traveling and passed by the Huai River. It was the height of summer. A noble lady saw that I was alone and kindly gave me a bowl of water to drink. She also kindly asked me to stay at her house temporarily, lest I faint on the roadside from the scorching heat."

"This noble lady was the daughter of the Xie family in Chen County. At the time, she was married to a young man named Yu and became Madam Yu. Good deeds are rewarded. I was grateful to Madam Yu for providing me with water to escape the summer heat, so I performed a divination for her and discovered that she was destined to have few children. She already had a daughter, not even a year old, who, like me, suffered from congenital deficiencies and would have difficulty growing up healthy."

"Madam Yu doted on her young daughter and feared her daughter would die young, so she often did good deeds, distributing porridge to the people in the city, hoping that God would have mercy on her and allow her daughter to grow up healthy."

"Mrs. Yu prayed to gods and Buddhas everywhere for her daughter's salvation. I couldn't bear it, so I told her, 'What is destined to happen will happen, and what is not destined to happen should not be forced.' In this life, your bond with your daughter is too shallow. You need to face it calmly, and perhaps you will live a long and healthy life."

"But Madam Yu said that her daughter was the fruit of her life, the fruit of her ten months of pregnancy, the child of her and her husband. Even if there was only a glimmer of hope, even if she had to sacrifice her own life for her daughter's, she would not hesitate."

"Mrs. Yu begged me earnestly to help save her poor daughter. She said, 'My daughter is still so young. She hasn't even called me mother yet, hasn't learned to walk yet, and hasn't had time to see how beautiful the world is.' She even knelt down with her daughter, less than a year old, in her arms, begging me to pity her motherly heart and save her poor daughter."

"In the end, I told Madam Yu that there was a way to save her daughter, but it wasn't guaranteed to succeed. She even needed to recite sutras and chant Buddha's name every day in front of the Buddha to let him feel her sincerity. Only then might her wish be fulfilled."

"Madam Yu listened to my advice and began to worship Buddha sincerely every day. She named her daughter 'Tanqi', which means 'sandalwood incense before the Buddha, precious thoughts and beautiful deeds'. Madam Yu's motherly love and sincerity moved the gods and Buddhas, and her daughter did not die. However, the greatest disaster of her life was not over yet."

"Before I left, I told Madam Yu that if she ever felt unwell, she must send her daughter to the Xie family in Chen County. That was the place where her daughter suffered the most, but it was also the place of hope for life."

"Now that I have seen Miss Yu, I know that her misfortune has passed. She will surely live a prosperous and peaceful life for the rest of her life. Your mother, Madam Yu, will surely rest in peace in her grave."

Master Wuyou's voice was slow and low, as pleasant as an old monk telling a story.

There was nothing strange in his eyes when he looked at Yu Tanqi, just as calmly as when he looked at everyone else.

Yu Tanqi didn't expect that Master Wuyou had actually met the original owner's mother. Although she had never seen the original owner's mother in person, through Master Wuyou's description, she could vaguely imagine how touching the original owner's mother's motherly love for the original owner was.

Jiang Shi then said, "Tan Qi, did you hear that? You are the real Yu Tan Qi."

Master Wuyou did not say that she was not the real Yu Tanqi.

Yu Tanqi bit her lip. If she were more selfish, she would naturally accept this identity, completely replace the original owner, and live a good life in this world.

But for some reason, this picture suddenly appeared in her mind.

A beautiful and gentle woman was holding a little baby girl in her arms. Her eyes and eyebrows were so familiar, and she looked very similar to Yu Tanqi at this moment, but more gentle.

She knelt before all the gods, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the hall and begged bitterly.

"Please, save my daughter. She's still so young. She hasn't even called me mother yet and hasn't even had time to learn to walk. Don't let her die. Let her grow up healthy. Even if I have to sacrifice my life in exchange, I'll gladly do it."

This is the purest love a mother has for her daughter.

She had never felt such deep maternal love, how could she not be moved.

How can one feel at ease occupying the body and identity of someone else's daughter, or even taking over everything of someone else's?

Yu Tanqi's eyes and nose felt sore, and he whispered, "But what if the soul in her daughter's body was replaced by another one? Same body, different soul, can it still be the same person?"

She finally spoke out.

Yu Tanqi looked at Jiang Shi and smiled with a look of relief and ease.

In fact, it was already very good. She enjoyed two wonderful years of life. Although she would be reluctant to return it, she would always feel uneasy when she kept it because it was not hers.

People should always live more openly.

Upon hearing this, Master Wuyou asked, "Miss Yu, do you know what a calamity is?"

Yu Tanqi was stunned, then thought for a moment and said, "Is a calamity something that puts a person in a dangerous situation, making it difficult for them to save themselves?"

Master Wuyou nodded: "Miss Yu understands it very thoroughly and it is easy to understand."

He paused, twirling the Buddhist beads in his hand, and whispered, "Kalpa is a Buddhist term for disasters caused by past bad karma. Buddhism emphasizes reincarnation, the cycle of birth and death, and after death, the soul is reincarnated as another person. Buddhism believes that karma is not only a result of this life, but also extends endlessly into the next life."

"Miss Yu, the reason you think you're not the original 'Yu Tanqi' is probably because you carry the memories of your second life. Even though you still have memories of your first life, they're so different that your first life is already a past life experience for you. That's why you don't think you're Yu Tanqi."

Yu Tanqi was a little confused by what he heard. "Master Wuyou, I'm really stupid and don't understand what you are saying."

Master Wuyou looked at her and smiled, "To put it simply, your mother forced you to stay in this world in order to change your fate of dying young.

But everything in the world is subject to karma and reincarnation. If you force yourself to survive, you must endure more suffering. So, in your first life, your soul leaves your body and journeys to another world to endure hardships. That world becomes your second life. Finally, you return to your body in this world, carrying your memories with you. This is your third life, the one in which, after enduring all the hardships, you can finally live out your life in peace.

Yu Tanqi tried hard to understand what Master Wuyou said.

"Master, what you mean is that I have experienced three lives and three worlds, and this life is my third life?"

"That's right."

"Then why don't I have any memories of my first life in my second life?"