Chapter 554: Four Refuges

"And the little boy and the little girl..."

"The two of them played together, and went to study at the same academy together."

"Gradually, the little girl and the little boy both grew up. The little girl grew more and more beautiful, blossoming into a graceful young woman, with many people who liked her."

"Was the little girl in the story more beautiful than you, young lady?" Xiao Mo asked with a faint smile, a note of teasing in his tone.

"Well..." Tushan Jingci's eyes curved, and she lifted her chin proudly. "As beautiful as me!"

The moment the words left her mouth, the woman noticed Xiao Mo seemed to be laughing at her, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks. She said with mock indignation, "What? Am I not beautiful?"

"You are beautiful." Xiao Mo gave a nod, his tone sincere.

"Truly?" Tushan Jingci leaned in slightly, her eyes looking straight at Xiao Mo, carrying both scrutiny and anticipation. "You are not just humoring me, are you?"

"A monastic does not tell falsehoods." Xiao Mo pressed his hands together, his expression open and candid.

"That is true." Tushan Jingci straightened her slender waist, nodding as though reassuring herself. "You monks generally do not lie."

"So, young lady, what happened to that woman and that book attendant in the end?" Xiao Mo asked, following the thread of the story.

"Well, later on..." A faint, barely perceptible sorrow flickered across Tushan Jingci's eyes, but she quickly pushed it down, and her lovely fox eyes filled once more with a gentle smile.

"Later on, many people did not agree with them being together, but the woman simply liked him, and was absolutely determined to be with him."

"In the end, they overcame every obstacle and truly ended up together."

As she spoke, a note of anticipation rose in Tushan Jingci's eyes, as though describing a happy ending she believed in with all her heart.

"After that, they got married and went into seclusion together in the mountains, no longer concerning themselves with the affairs of the world, and had a whole litter of fluffy little foxes."

"Is that where the story ends?" Xiao Mo asked.

"Yes, that is the end." Tushan Jingci tilted her head slightly. "What is it? You do not like the story?"

"That is not it." Xiao Mo shook his head, his tone gentle. "I just feel that... the story seems a little too simple."

"What is wrong with a simple story? A good ending, is that not the best kind of story there is? Do you not think so, monk?" Tushan Jingci pushed out her lips, a note of mild indignation in her voice.

"The young lady has a point." Xiao Mo lowered his eyes and replied softly, though his calm gaze seemed to be turning something over privately. "Simple can be good too."

"All right, I have finished my story. Now it is your turn, monk." Tushan Jingci looked at him with a bright smile. "Fair is fair. You have to tell me a story too."

"What kind of story would the young lady like to hear?" Xiao Mo asked softly.

"Well..." Tushan Jingci pressed a small finger lightly to her soft pink lips, tilting her head to think it over carefully, then her eyes curved happily as she answered, "Anything at all."

"Then let me tell you a simple story as well." Xiao Mo said with a faint smile.

"All right, all right."

Tushan Jingci immediately sat up straight, her small hands folded obediently in her lap, her eyes fixed unblinking on Xiao Mo, like a child listening earnestly in class.

"You had better tell it well, monk. If the story is not good enough, you will have to tell me another one."

Xiao Mo only smiled faintly, gathering his words in his mind, and began slowly.

"Once upon a time, there was an old monk whose temple was visited by a thief, who stole a few things belonging to the temple. The other monks were furious and wanted to catch the thief, but the old monk, being good-natured, said nothing about it, thinking that what was stolen was stolen."

"But after that first time, the thief came back a second time, a third time, a fourth time."

"The thief kept coming to steal things, and more and more often, until even the good-natured old monk could no longer bear it."

"One day, sure enough, the thief came again, and the old monk was already waiting for him inside the temple."

"Through a closed door, the old monk said to the thief, 'Please reach your hand through the gap in the door. Whatever you want, I will give it to you.'"

"The thief was delighted to hear this, thinking the old monk was truly an easy sort, not only never getting angry at being robbed so many times, but even offering to give him something willingly this time."

"So the thief reached his hand through the gap in the door."

"At that moment, the old monk seized his hand tightly and began beating it hard with a stick, chanting all the while, 'Take refuge in the Buddha, take refuge in the Dharma, take refuge in the Sangha.'"

"The old monk wanted the thief to chant along with him."

"But the thief was stubborn and refused to chant."

"Because he refused, the old monk would not let go, and kept striking his hand, 'Take refuge in the Buddha, take refuge in the Dharma, take refuge in the Sangha.'"

"The thief, in unbearable pain, had no choice but to chant along, 'Take refuge in the Buddha, take refuge in the Dharma, take refuge in the Sangha.'"

"And this is the story of the Three Refuges from the Buddhist scriptures."

Xiao Mo finished, and pressed his hands together.

"The Three Refuges?"

Having heard the story, Tushan Jingci gave a light laugh, her gaze shifting, her voice carrying a note of playfulness and warmth.

"Monk, you have the Three Refuges. I happen to have a 'Fourth Refuge.' I wonder if the monk would like to hear it?"

"A Fourth Refuge?" Xiao Mo's brow furrowed slightly, puzzlement in his eyes, and he asked softly.

"Mm." The woman gave a small nod, her soft pink lips curving slightly. "Here, monk, hold out your hand. I will teach you."

Though a swirl of uncertainty rose in Xiao Mo's mind, he still did as she asked and held out his hand, palm facing up, resting steadily before her.

Tushan Jingci extended her pale, delicate hand, gently gripped Xiao Mo's wrist, and pulled his hand toward herself, setting it firmly on her own soft, smooth thigh, saying gently, "I will say a line, and you repeat it. All right?"

"The young lady may begin." Xiao Mo gave a nod, his tone gentle.

"Take refuge in the Buddha." Tushan Jingci raised her jade-like hand and gave his broad palm a light tap, neither too hard nor too soft, her slender hand sliding across it like silk.

"Take refuge in the Buddha." Xiao Mo repeated it word for word.

"Take refuge in the Dharma." She continued, giving another light tap to his palm, the motion gentle yet carrying a certain stubborn earnestness.

"Take refuge in the Dharma." Xiao Mo repeated again.

"Take refuge in the Sangha." Tushan Jingci bit her lip lightly.

"Take refuge in the Sangha." Xiao Mo's monk's robe caught the faint glow of moonlight.

"Take refuge..."

The woman raised her eyes, those lovely fox eyes reflecting the flickering candlelight, her soft lips parting and closing slightly, as though a thousand words were caught in her throat.

"Miss Jingci."