Chapter 556: Do You... Like Me?

Early morning, the sky just beginning to lighten. Morning practice had just concluded in the main hall of Four Void Temple.

Xiao Mo packed up his medicine box, preparing to head down the mountain to attend to patients.

"Elder Martial Brother, are you heading down the mountain?"

The moment Xiao Mo passed through the front hall, Xu Jing, who had been sweeping fallen leaves and incense ash with his head lowered, looked up, holding his broom, and asked with curiosity.

"Mm." Xiao Mo reached out and gently patted Xu Jing's shaved head, his tone gentle. "The abbot has been busy annotating some sutras these past days and has no time to go down the mountain, so I am taking his place to attend to patients."

"Then, Elder Martial Brother... are you going with that pretty elder sister?" Xu Jing asked again.

Xiao Mo gave a small start, then laughed. "How did you know that, you little rascal? Did the abbot tell you?"

"No, he did not." Xu Jing raised his head proudly. "I guessed it myself."

But very quickly, the pride in his eyes quietly faded, replaced by a note of lingering worry.

"Elder Martial Brother Quyin, these past days, that pretty elder sister has come to find you every single day. Though I have never seen her myself, Xule and Xuchan both say she is exceptionally beautiful, and everyone has been quietly guessing... whether you have fallen in love with that elder sister."

"And they also say you might very well break your precepts and leave the monastic life, going down the mountain to marry and have children." Xu Jing looked at Xiao Mo earnestly. "Elder Martial Brother, is that true?"

"And do you think it is true?" Xiao Mo asked at an unhurried pace.

"I do not believe it at all!"

Xu Jing answered.

"Both the abbot and the elders say that you have deep Buddhist affinity and exceptional understanding, that you are a talent that only comes along once in an age."

"If you were at one of those great temples in the Western Regions, Elder Martial Brother, you could become a Buddha's son! I refuse to believe you would really be captivated by that elder sister!"

"Once you become the abbot of Four Void Temple in the future, I will become an elder! The two of us brothers will build Four Void Temple up together, bigger and bigger, not just here in our own little corner but eventually spreading it across the entire world, so that more people can hear the Dharma."

"Ha ha." Xiao Mo could not help laughing, reaching out to pat Xu Jing's head gently. "You little rascal, you have quite lofty ambitions."

"That is right." Xu Jing gave a proud smile, then quickly turned serious. "But Elder Martial Brother, you absolutely must not be drawn in by beauty and seduced by a woman! Elder Martial Brother Quewu once said something very wise, that women only slow down our sutra recitation."

"All right, elder brother understands." Xiao Mo patted his smooth head with a smile. "I will do my best."

"Monk."

The very instant Xiao Mo's words settled, a light, cheerful voice, clear as a silver bell, drifted in from the entrance of Four Void Temple's front hall.

Xu Jing quickly turned to look and saw a woman dressed in ordinary farm-style linen trousers, moving with light, joyful steps, bouncing happily into the temple.

The woman's eyes curved with delight, radiant and lively.

Those lovely fox eyes brimmed with quiet happiness.

With each light step she took, the high ponytail bound at the back of her head swung playfully from side to side, like the first ray of morning sunlight.

It was plainly the simplest, most ordinary outfit of an ordinary farm girl, unadorned and understated in every way. Yet on her, even this simple clothing looked exceptionally lovely, as though the coarse fabric itself had taken on her radiance.

"Say, monk, are we going to go attend to patients or not? I have been waiting outside for quite a while and never saw you come out." Tushan Jingci stopped beside Xiao Mo, turning her face slightly, her lovely fox eyes carrying a small note of complaint.

"My apologies. Packing the medicine box took a little longer than expected."

Xiao Mo explained gently, then turned to Xu Jing beside him.

"Xu Jing, this is that pretty elder sister you have all been talking about these past days."

"Miss Jingci, this is my young junior brother, Dharma name Xu Jing."

"My... my respects, lay benefactress." Xu Jing quickly straightened his small frame, pressed his hands together, and gave a proper, formal bow.

Though Xu Jing was no more than eight or nine years old and had little particular opinion about women in general.

He could confidently say that this elder sister before him was without question the most beautiful lay benefactress he had ever laid eyes on.

"My respects to the little monk." Tushan Jingci gave a small nod, then quickly turned to Xiao Mo and urged him along. "It is getting late. Master Quyin, let us hurry along."

"Mm." Xiao Mo gave Xu Jing a couple more instructions, then turned and left the temple together with Tushan Jingci.

Xiao Mo walked straight ahead, his stride steady and unhurried.

Tushan Jingci walked at his side, her pale, small hands clasped behind her back, her steps light, turning her face toward him now and then to ask something, her voice full of undisguisable cheer.

Xiao Mo simply answered in a warm tone, offering the occasional response, unhurried.

Tushan Jingci sometimes covered her mouth with a quiet laugh, and when she looked at his profile, those lovely fox eyes filled with an undisguisable tenderness.

The trees rustled overhead, birds called, and the mountain wind swept past, casting the two shadows, one tall and one short, gently onto the stone steps, overlapping for a moment before slowly separating again.

Xu Jing watched the two of them walking away together, and could not help scratching the back of his shaved head, looking thoroughly puzzled.

Even Xu Jing himself could not quite say why, but somehow he felt that his own elder martial brother and this lay benefactress looked especially well-matched standing together.

Walking down the mountain path.

As they walked, Tushan Jingci spoke softly to Xiao Mo about which households they needed to visit that day, what symptoms each patient had, and which household's condition was more urgent, requiring priority.

Fortunately, most of the households they were treating that day had minor ailments, such as bruises, sprains, or colds with coughing, nothing especially difficult.

Xiao Mo led Tushan Jingci from one household to the next.

Most families, upon seeing a monk from Four Void Temple arrive, could not help but let out a collective sigh of relief, the anxious weight on their hearts easing at once.

During the examinations, Xiao Mo also followed the abbot's instructions, patiently explaining the causes of each ailment and the principles behind the medicine combinations to Tushan Jingci as he treated each patient, teaching her the medical arts so that this young lady might one day be able to support herself.

By lunchtime, Xiao Mo had originally intended to simply eat a few dry cakes and be done with it but Tushan Jingci had already prepared a food box in advance, and with a bright smile she brought out several small vegetarian dishes, setting them between the two of them.

"How is it? I wonder whether this little woman's cooking suits Master Quyin's taste?"

Tushan Jingci looked at Xiao Mo with full anticipation.

"Mm... the young lady's cooking is genuinely impressive."

Xiao Mo gave a nod, his tone even, though a barely perceptible surprise hid in his eyes.

The Jingci of the past, to say nothing of cooking, could not even light a fire without getting herself covered in soot from head to toe yet he had not expected that after all these years, Jingci's cooking would have improved so dramatically.

"If it is good, eat more."

Hearing Xiao Mo's compliment, Tushan Jingci quickly began transferring dish after dish of food from the box into Xiao Mo's bowl, chopstick by chopstick, as though she wanted to pour the entire box in.

"And if you like it, I could make this for you every day, would that be all right?" She paused her chopsticks, testing the waters.

Xiao Mo only lowered his head and said nothing, eating his meal quietly, as though he had not heard a word.

"Hmph." Tushan Jingci pushed out her lips and murmured softly, "Fool."

Xiao Mo heard it, but still gave no answer, letting the soft, petulant word be carried off by the mountain wind, as though it had never happened.

Over the days that followed.

Every morning, once Xiao Mo finished morning practice, he would shoulder his medicine box, walk out through Four Void Temple's gate, and attend to the villagers seeking medical care and Tushan Jingci would arrive early at the temple gate every single day, waiting with a bright smile for Xiao Mo to come out.

The two of them spent nearly the entire day together, inseparable.

As the sun gradually set and dusk settled in, Xiao Mo would walk the woman back to the small courtyard where she lived, then return to Four Void Temple.

The season deepened into midsummer, and the weather grew hotter by the day.

Walking through the mountains, the two of them often stopped at a clear spring to wash their faces and cool off but whether washing her face or drinking water, Tushan Jingci always seemed a bit too "unrestrained" about it.

The spring water slid slowly down the woman's pale, smooth cheeks, over her white chin, past her delicate, lovely collarbone, and finally disappeared between the high curves of her fullness.

Sometimes she would even stick out her pink tongue and lightly lick her moist lips, or pull at her own collar slightly, deliberately revealing a hint of pale skin.

Xiao Mo always looked away, not daring to look too long and seeing this, Tushan Jingci would always show a satisfied smile.

Occasionally, when they passed by a stream and no patients were urgently waiting, she would sit at the water's edge, dip her pale, small feet into the water, point her jade-like feet, and kick up splashes of water toward Xiao Mo again and again.

When the splashes kicked up by her feet accidentally landed in Xiao Mo's mouth, he would spit the water out continuously, looking somewhat flustered.

Watching him like this, the woman's laughter grew even happier.

These quiet, beautiful days continued for about half a month.

If it were possible, Tushan Jingci genuinely wished she could live like this forever.

Only...

What frustrated her considerably was that she had already exhausted every method she could think of to "seduce" Xiao Mo yet this foolish monk remained entirely unmoved but she could clearly sense that he did like her.

"Ah!"

Half a month later, one day, as Tushan Jingci was walking beside Xiao Mo through the mountains, she suddenly cried out.

By the time Xiao Mo reacted, Tushan Jingci had already fallen sideways onto the ground.

A snake shot swiftly into the underbrush.

"Miss Jingci, are you all right?" Xiao Mo hurried over.

"Of course I am not."

Tushan Jingci raised her face, those lovely eyes already brimming with tears, a crystalline shimmer welling up.

She lifted the hem of her trousers slightly, revealing her pale, slender ankle, on which two small puncture wounds were visible, the surrounding skin taking on a faint purplish tinge, and said with a tone full of worry, "Monk, was that snake... poisonous? Am I going to die?"

Xiao Mo bent down and examined the wound carefully. "This humble monk did not get a very clear look, but poisonous snakes should be uncommon on this mountain. The young lady need not be too alarmed."

"Uncommon does not mean none exist..."

Tushan Jingci's voice carried a note of tears, and she looked at Xiao Mo with pleading eyes.

"Monk, could you... could you suck the poison out for me? In all those storybooks, that is how they always write it. Once the poisoned blood is sucked out, everything is fine."

"There is actually no need for that kind of trouble." Xiao Mo's tone was gentle and patient. "I can teach the young lady to press on a few pressure points, and the poisoned blood will naturally be forced out that way, which would be much safer."

"No, no." Tushan Jingci leaned against a tree, breathing faintly, her chest rising and falling dramatically, her voice growing weaker. "I have no strength left in my whole body right now. My head is spinning. I could not possibly learn something like that now. Monk, just do it yourself."

"This..." Xiao Mo hesitated. "I would need to touch the young lady's foot, and that would be... rather improper."

"If it is you, it is fine." Tushan Jingci's face flushed slightly, her voice so soft it was nearly inaudible. "Please, hurry... you could not just stand there and watch me die of poisoning without helping, could you?"

Looking at Tushan Jingci in this state, Xiao Mo felt a quiet inner sigh. "Then this humble monk... will beg your pardon."

He crouched down slowly, carefully lifted her small foot, and rested it on his knee, then gently removed the embroidered shoe on her foot.

The woman's pale, delicate toes were revealed, each one like a crystalline grain of rice.

Beneath the pale skin of her foot, a faint translucent whiteness and a soft blush of pink showed through.

The full curve of her heel and the delicate hollow of her sole together traced a perfect, gentle line.

Even with a thin sheen of fine sweat on her sole, there was not the slightest unpleasant scent. If anything, a faint, elegant fragrance like wildflowers lingered instead.

What ordinary woman's feet could possibly look like this? Only a cultivator could be this pure and flawless, untouched by any trace of impurity.

Looking at Jingci's affected show of weakness, he could not help giving a quiet shake of his head. She really did seem to fear that he would not catch on.

"Monk, stop staring..." Tushan Jingci gently poked Xiao Mo's stomach with her toe, urging him on. "Hurry and draw out the poison."

"I ask that the young lady be patient a moment."

Xiao Mo came back to himself, reached out and pressed three pressure points near her ankle, then pressed his fingers together against her calf, pushing slowly downward from above, drawing the poisoned blood out little by little then Xiao Mo took out an herb he carried with him, crushed it quickly in his palm, and applied it gently to the wound on her ankle.

Once he had put her shoe back on her, Xiao Mo raised his head and asked, "Would the young lady like to try standing and walking?"

"It hurts too much. I cannot stand at all." Tushan Jingci shook her head, her expression full of quiet grievance. "Monk, carry me home."

Xiao Mo found himself briefly at a loss for words.

"What is it?" The woman's bewitching fox eyes seemed to spin into threads of silk, winding around Xiao Mo layer by layer. "You have already touched my foot. Would you really refuse to carry me now? And this is not the first time you have carried me either."

Looking at Jingci's satisfied, smiling face, Xiao Mo understood in his heart that if he did not carry her, she was not going to walk anywhere and so Xiao Mo could only crouch down before Tushan Jingci.

At that moment, the woman seemed suddenly no longer to feel any pain at all, throwing herself onto Xiao Mo's back without hesitation, even rubbing her cheek lightly against it.

Xiao Mo carried Tushan Jingci step by step down the mountain path.

Tushan Jingci, as though nothing at all were wrong, hummed a light tune softly, her shoeless foot swinging in the summer sunlight, giving off a faint glow.

The woman plucked a blade of reed grass and used it to lightly tap Xiao Mo's smooth, shaved head, over and over.

"Monk." After a long while, the woman called out softly, those lovely fox eyes filled entirely with his image.

"Is there something the young lady needs?" Xiao Mo asked gently.

"Mm... actually, it is nothing much." Tushan Jingci's tone carried a note of playfulness. "It is just that I suddenly remembered a story you told me before."

"A story?" Xiao Mo asked with puzzlement. "I wonder which one the young lady means?"

"The one about the monk carrying a woman across a river."

Tushan Jingci reached out and touched Xiao Mo's smooth head, slowly telling the story.

"An old monk was traveling with a young monk across the land, and along the way they came to a river. Standing by the riverbank was a woman, hesitating, unsure how to cross."

"The old monk, without a word, walked forward and carried the woman across the river, then set her down gently and continued on his way."

"The young monk grew puzzled the whole way, and finally could not help but ask, 'Master, did you not break your precepts just now? Why did you carry a woman?'"

"The old monk smiled gently and answered calmly, 'What I carried was clearly a Buddha. Where was there any woman in that?'"

"Ah, that story." Xiao Mo remembered it now. "But I wonder why the young lady suddenly brought it up?"

"Because..."

Tushan Jingci's eyes curved into two lovely crescent moons, her voice soft as the wind.

"When you told me this story, you said it this way, that because the old monk held the Buddha in his heart, he saw the Buddha in everyone, and so what he carried was also the Buddha, and that is why the old monk carried the woman across the river without a second thought."

"But the young monk, because he cared about that woman, worried that carrying her would corrupt his own Buddhist heart, and so he did not dare carry her."

Tushan Jingci looked quietly at Xiao Mo's profile, a faint smile rippling in her eyes.

"But you, the last time you carried me, you hesitated."

"This time I was bitten by a snake, and I asked you to help draw the poison out, and you hesitated again."

"And when I asked you to carry me just now, you were still hesitating."

She paused briefly, her voice growing softer still, resting her head against Xiao Mo's shoulder, her long lashes fluttering in the breeze like the gentle beating of a butterfly's wings.

"So tell me, monk..."

Tushan Jingci brought her soft, tender lips close to Xiao Mo's ear, her warm breath drifting quietly into his heart, spreading in ripples, one ring after another.

"In your heart, are you simply never able to see me as a Buddha?"

"Are you afraid that... the moment you get close to me, it will corrupt your Buddhist heart?"

Her voice grew quieter and quieter, until it was little more than a breath, yet every word drilled into Xiao Mo's ears with perfect clarity.

"You..."

"Do you like me?"