Redwood Forest
Qi Diao Yanfei's fingers trembled as they traced the ink, as if she could feel the warmth of the writer through the paper. Three months ago—this date was like a key, unlocking the floodgates of long-buried emotions in her heart.
"What is this?" Jiacuo's voice came from behind her, waking her from her trance.
She quickly closed the notebook and hid it in her arms: "Nothing, just an old diary."
Gyatso looked at her suspiciously, but didn't ask any further questions. He looked around the cabin and touched the dust on the table. "This place has been abandoned for at least ten years. It's impossible that someone lived here three months ago."
Qi Diao Yanfei didn't explain. She opened the drawer again and examined it carefully. At the very back, she found a small metal object. It was a delicate prayer wheel-shaped pendant, only the size of a thumb, but engraved with extremely intricate patterns.
She recognized the pendant. It was a gift from the temple abbot to Tashi Phuntsok during his coming-of-age ceremony. He had said it was a token passed down through generations of reincarnated lama children, said to be made of meteorite iron and imbued with mysterious powers.
However, this pendant clearly disappeared along with him in the sky burial, so how could it appear here?
"We should keep going," Gyatso urged at the door. "We must pass through this redwood forest before dark, otherwise we might get lost."
Qi Diao Yanfei carefully put away the pendant, took one last look at the cabin, and then left with Jiacuo.
As she walked out of the cabin, she noticed a line of small words carved into the inside of the door frame, which she hadn't seen in the dim light:
“Time and space intersect here, and life and death cycle here. — Tashi Phuntsok”
Her heartbeat quickened again. Time and space intertwined? Reincarnation? These didn't sound like words a typical Tibetan Buddhist would use.
Qi Diao Yanfei remained silent along the way, the contents of the notes and inscriptions constantly echoing in her mind. If Tashi Phuntsok was indeed still alive, and had left these clues three months ago, then who was the man who died in her arms eight years ago?
"Look there." Jiacuo suddenly reined in his horse and pointed to a particularly thick redwood tree not far away.
The trunk of the redwood tree was densely engraved with Tibetan characters. Upon closer inspection, Qi Diao Yanfei discovered that the characters formed a complete poem by Tsangyang Gyatso:
“At that moment, I raised the Wind Horse, not to beg for blessings, but only to wait for your arrival.
That day, I built the Mani pile, not for cultivating virtue, but just to throw a stone into the lake of my heart.
That month, I shook all the prayer wheels, not for salvation, but just to touch your fingertips.
That year, I kowtowed and crawled on the mountain road, not for an audience, but just to feel your warmth.
In that life, I circumambulated mountains, rivers, and pagodas, not to cultivate my next life, but simply to meet you along the way.
At the end of the poem, there is a fresh line of inscription, exactly the same as the handwriting in the notebook in the cabin:
"Yanfei, I've been waiting for you here. — Tashi Phuntsok, three months ago"
Qi Diao Yanfei reached out and touched the inscriptions, feeling the rough texture of the bark. At this moment, she was almost certain that Tashi Phuntsok still existed in some form.
"That's impossible," Gyatso shook his head. "These inscriptions appear to be new, but I saw this tree last year during my pilgrimage, and these words weren't on it then."
Qi Diao Yanfei didn't answer. She began to realize that what she had experienced might be far beyond the scope of common sense.
At dusk, they reached the edge of the redwood forest. Ahead was an open valley, and the outlines of the snow-capped mountains in the distance appeared particularly clear in the setting sun.
At the entrance of the valley, they found a Mani pile. This was no ordinary Mani pile, but one made up of countless stones inscribed with scriptures, at least one meter tall.
What is even more surprising is that at the top of the Mani pile, there is a copy of "Poetry Biography of Tsangyang Gyatso" - exactly the same as the one Qi Diao Yanfei carried with him.
She took the book down and opened the cover. On the title page was her familiar handwriting:
"Yanfei, if you find this place, please follow the directions indicated by the Mani piles. Each Mani pile will bring you one step closer.
Remember, time and space are not straight lines, but a cyclical circle. We will meet again.
——Tashi Phuntsok, I will always love you"
Gyatso watched all this, his expression becoming increasingly serious. "Mourner, what on earth is going on? Who is that Tashi Phuntsok?"
Qi Diao Yanfei gazed at the snow-capped mountains in the distance and whispered, "He was someone I thought I had lost forever."
"But he died eight years ago, didn't he?" Gyatso pressed. "You told me yourself that you witnessed his death."
Qi Diao Yanfei stroked the poetry collection in her hands, a complex light glimmering in her eyes. "Yes, I watched him die with my own eyes, and personally delivered his body to the jaws of the eagle. But now... now I have to wonder, maybe death isn't the end."
As night fell, they set up camp in the valley. Qi Diao Yanfei sat by the campfire and took out the "Poetry Biography of Tsangyang Gyatso" that she had found on the Mani pile and read it carefully.
On the last few pages of the book, she found some strange annotations. They were not the content of the poems themselves, but interpretations of the poems, using language and concepts that were different from any Buddhist theory she knew.
Next to a poem titled “Believer,” Tashi Phuntsok wrote (in her own handwriting, she was certain it was his):
"Time and space are relative. The past, present, and future exist simultaneously, just like the cycle of reincarnation described in the scriptures, but it is more complex than we imagine.
If you can find the node of time and space, you can cross the boundary between life and death.
I'm looking for that node to get back to you."
Qi Diao Yanfei frowned. These concepts were too unfamiliar to her, like knowledge from another world.
She continued to read and found a hand-drawn map on the last page of the book. The map marked the route from the redwood forest to the holy lake, with seven mani piles as markers along the way. On the north shore of the holy lake, there was a special symbol with the words:
"The location of the space-time node. On a full-moon night, when the lake reflects the snow-capped mountains, the portal will open."
The date of the map is also three months ago.
"Full moon night..." Qi Diao Yanfei muttered to himself. Calculating the date, there were only four days left until the next full moon.
She had to get to the Holy Lake before then.
The next morning, they continued their journey in the direction indicated on the map. As expected, they found a new Mani pile every few meters, each with a symbol indicating the direction.
These Mani piles look quite old, with moss growing on the stones, but the guiding symbols are newly carved.
“It’s like someone prepared this path specifically for us,” Gyatso commented, his tone tinged with uneasiness.
Qi Diao Yanfei didn't respond. Her entire focus was on finding the next Mani pile, feeling both anticipation and fear—anticipation of finding the truth, yet fear that the truth would shatter her last hope.
At noon, they rested by a stream. Qi Diao Yanfei took out her water bag to fill it up, and suddenly noticed something strange in the stream. Beneath the clear water lay some glittering pebbles.
She picked up a few and discovered that the stones had strange natural patterns that formed Tibetan letters. Putting them together, they formed a short sentence:
Forget-me-not
Gyatso also saw the stones and his face turned pale: "This is... This is my father's handwriting!"
"Are you sure?" Qi Diao Yanfei asked in surprise.
Gyatso nodded vigorously. "I recognize this way of writing. The hook at the end is something only my father knows how to write. He always emphasized this feature when he taught Tsering and me to write."
How could Dorje Gyaltsen's handwriting appear here? He had never left the Khampa family's territory, and this place was three days' journey from the camp.
unless...
Qi Diao Yanfei suddenly remembered a sentence in Dorje Jianzan's letter: "That young man needs help."
Could it be that Dorje Gyaltsen's spirit was guiding them in some way?
The thought made her shudder.
After continuing on the road, Qi Diao Yanfei noticed that Jiacuo became unusually silent, and there was a hint of determination in his eyes.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked finally.
Gyatso reined in his horse and looked her straight in the eye: "Mourner, where do you think the soul goes after death?"
Qi Diao Yanfei thought for a moment and replied, "According to Buddhist teachings, the soul will enter the bardo state and then reincarnate according to karma."
"But what if... what if some people, for some reason, can't enter samsara?" Gyatso's voice was low. "What if they're trapped somewhere between life and death?"
Qi Diao Yanfei recalled her own experience as a sky burial master: "In ancient legends, some souls, due to deep obsessions, are unable to let go of the worries of their past lives. As a result, they become bardo bodies, wandering the human world until the obsession dissipates."
"Obsession..." Gyatso repeated the word, his eyes drifting off into the distance. "For example, responsibility to one's family? Anxiety about an unfinished mission?"
Qi Diao Yanfei suddenly understood what he was thinking: "Do you think your father's spirit is guiding us?"
"It's not just my father." Gyatso's voice was almost inaudible. "That Tashi Phuntsok, if he died eight years ago and left these clues now, then he also..."
He didn't finish his words, but Qi Diao Yanfei already understood what he meant.
If Tashi Phuntsok and Dorje Gyaltsen both exist in the form of souls, then all these seemingly incredible phenomena have a reasonable explanation.
But this "reasonable" explanation made her heart sink to the bottom, because it meant that she would never be able to truly reunite with Tashi Phuntsok - at least, not in the way she expected.
On the evening of the third day, they arrived at the sixth Mani pile. This pile was larger than the previous ones, and was made of alternating black and white stones, forming a spiral structure.
In the center of the Mani pile is a bronze mirror, the surface of which is as smooth as if it had just been wiped.
Qi Diao Yanfei approached the bronze mirror and was surprised to find that what was reflected in the mirror was not her own reflection, but a dynamic scene: a young man standing on the top of a snowy mountain, holding a glowing flower in his hand. The young man's face was exactly that of Tashi Phuntsok, whom she had been thinking about day and night.
"This is..." She reached out to touch the mirror, but felt a cold touch from her fingertips.
The Tashi Phuntsok in the mirror seemed to see her, his lips moving slightly as if he was saying something, but she could not hear any sound through the mirror.
"What is he talking about?" Jiacuo also saw this incredible scene, and his voice trembled with shock.
Qi Diao Yanfei carefully identified Tashi Phuntsok's mouth shape and slowly translated:
"On the night of the full moon... we'll meet at the Holy Lake..."
As soon as she finished speaking, the image in the mirror suddenly disappeared and it returned to its normal mirror function, reflecting her and Jiacuo's astonished faces.
Qi Diao Yanfei took a step back, her heart pounding. The scene just now was too real to be an illusion.
"This is a miracle." Gyatso whispered, his eyes full of awe.
Qi Diao Yanfei didn't answer. She wasn't sure if this was a miracle or some scientific phenomenon beyond her comprehension. But in any case, it proved that Tashi Phuntsok did exist in some form.
That night, they camped next to the sixth Mani pile. Qi Diao Yanfei couldn't sleep, so she sat by the campfire and took out the notebook to read again.
“I came into this world, but I don’t know when or where I am.
Everyone says I've been dead for eight years, but to me, that avalanche was just yesterday."
This made her think deeply. If for Tashi Phuntsok, the deadly avalanche had only happened “yesterday,” but for the outside world it had already happened eight years ago, then time clearly passed at a different speed.
She recalled the "spacetime nodes" mentioned in her notes, and the statement that "spacetime is not a straight line, but a cyclical circle." Perhaps, at a specific place and time, different spaces and times would intersect, allowing those who would otherwise never meet to reunite.
This thought rekindled hope in her heart.
Late at night, Qi Diao Yanfei was awakened by a slight noise. She opened her eyes and saw Jiacuo standing in front of the Mani pile, talking in a low voice to the bronze mirror.
"Father, if you can hear me, please give me some instructions." Gyatso's voice was filled with earnestness. "Is there really any way to lift the blood curse on our family?"
To Qi Diao Yanfei's surprise, the bronze mirror showed the scene again: this time it was the face of Dorje Jianzan, he smiled and nodded, then pointed in the direction of the snow-capped mountains.
"Thank you, Father," Gyatso's voice choked. "I will find a cure, I promise."
After the scene disappeared, Jiacuo still stood in front of the bronze mirror for a long time without moving.
Qi Diao Yanfei quietly closed her eyes, pretending to be still asleep. But her heart was in turmoil. If the soul could really communicate with the living in this way, then could she also communicate with Tashi Phuntsok through the bronze mirror?
On the morning of the fourth day, they set out early to the last Mani pile, which, according to the map, was only half a day's journey from the holy lake.
Along the way, Qi Diao Yanfei noticed that the surrounding scenery began to change. The shapes of the trees became distorted, unnatural cracks appeared on the rocks, and even the color of the sky looked a little strange.
“It feels strange here,” Gyatso said uneasily. “It’s like… this world doesn’t belong to us.”
Qi Diao Yanfei felt the same way. There was a sense of oppression in the air here, as if every step was treading into some forbidden territory.
At noon, they finally saw the seventh Mani pile. This Mani pile was different from any of the previous ones - it was made of crystal-like stones, sparkling with a strange light in the sun.
In the center of the Mani pile, there is no bronze mirror, but a small altar. On the altar lies a sealed letter.
Qi Diao Yanfei picked up the letter and opened the seal. The contents of the letter made her hold her breath:
"My dear Yan Fei,
If you are reading this letter, it means you have come this far and are about to know the truth.
I'm not the simple Tashi Phuntsok you remember. Or rather, I'm no longer.
The avalanche eight years ago did indeed take my life, but at the moment of death, I did not enter reincarnation. Instead, I traveled through time and space and arrived in a completely different world.
In that world, I learned a lot of shocking knowledge: about the nature of time and space, about parallel universes, and about the truth of life and death.
I learned that the universe we live in is like an endless biography of Tsangyang Gyatso’s poems, each page is an independent space-time, but all pages exist in the same book.
Somehow, the pages of the book can flow into each other.
Three years ago, I found a way to return to this time and place, but only briefly. I left those clues, hoping to lead you here.
On the night of the full moon, when the space-time node opens, I will try to travel through time again and meet you.
But there is a condition: the space-time node requires enormous energy to stabilize. And that energy can only come from the power of life itself.
Dorje Gyaltsen's passing was no accident. His life energy helped stabilize the nodes, allowing me to leave those clues.
And now, another life must be sacrificed to bring me back fully.
I know the price is too high, but I have no choice.
At the time and space node on the north shore of the Holy Lake, at midnight on a full moon night, I will try to cross over.
Please come by.
Love you forever,
Tashi Phuntsok
Qi Diao Yanfei's hands were shaking, and the letter paper fell to the ground.
Another life must be sacrificed? What does this mean?
She suddenly remembered the words in Dorje Gyaltsen's letter: "That young man needs help."
There is also a hint from Jiacuo's father in a dream: "Wait for the messenger of death to come, and everything will become clear."
A terrifying conjecture formed in her mind: Could the life that must be sacrificed be Jiacuo? As the heir of the Khampa family, is his life energy particularly suitable for stabilizing the node of time and space?
She looked up at Gyatso, who was examining the Mani pile, and her heart was filled with conflict. If the truth was indeed this, what should she choose? Sacrifice this young man's life for the sake of reuniting with her lover, or give up the only hope she had had for eight years?
"What did the letter say?" Jiacuo noticed her abnormality and walked over to ask.
Qi Diao Yanfei quickly picked up the letter and hid it in her arms: "Nothing, just some instructions."
She couldn't tell Gyatso the truth, at least not now.
Snow-capped mountains shone in the sunlight in the distance, and the outline of the holy lake was already faintly visible. Tomorrow night was the full moon night, and she would face the most difficult decision of her life.
I will not let down the Buddha and I will not let you down - this oath now seems so heavy.
She had let go of the world, but she had never let go of Tashi Phuntsok. But if the price of letting him go was another innocent life, could she still face it calmly?
Qi Diao Yanfei looked at the holy lake in the distance, her eyes filled with determination and pain.
No matter what, she must go to the time and space node to face the person she has been waiting for for eight years.
Then, make a choice based on her conscience.
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