Humanity suffers, and the Buddha is merciful.
Song Yinghuai rolled the Buddhist beads on his wrist in the water. Knowing that she was deliberately approaching him, he miraculously didn't get angry.
Caiyu was good at gauging people's reactions. Hearing that his tone was gentle and he showed no anger, she got bolder and retorted,
"My lord, this servant thinks your words are wrong."
Song Yinghuai was sitting cross-legged in the water. He looked up in surprise.
"Shariputra once said to the Heavenly Damsel of Flower-Scattering that all Dharmas have no fixed form, neither male nor female, and all women are the same. Although they appear in female form, they are not really female." Caiyu threw back the words Song Yinghuai had said to Concubine Yao in the Evening Fragrance Pavilion earlier. "My lord is a Buddhist practitioner. How can there be a distinction between men and women in your eyes?"
Song Yinghuai was at a loss for words again. He was a bit surprised at this girl's quick wit.
After a while, he hooked his lips in a half-smile. "You're quite clever."
"This servant doesn't dare." Caiyu showed her sly side in front of Song Yinghuai for the first time and said with a smile, "This servant has heard that if the Buddha loves you, He will let you go through all kinds of hardships and taste all the flavors of the world. Just as the saying goes, the Buddha is merciful. Only by being reborn in the fire can one attain Nirvana and find self - pleasure."
"My lord has been practicing Buddhism for six years. If you only hide in this spotless Pure Land of Bliss, how can you be reborn in the fire and gain enlightenment to become a Buddha?"
Song Yinghuai's temples throbbed at her rapid - fire words. He raised his hand to pinch the space between his eyebrows and said, "What do you want?"
"My lord, let this servant scrub your back!"
Caiyu knelt on the bank. She picked up a soap bean, wet it, and then slowly rubbed it.
Song Yinghuai looked over. Dense foam gradually emerged from her fair palms. Her hands were like white jade, as smooth as mutton fat, and her fingers were as slender as scallions. The soap bean in her palm exuded a seductive charm as she grasped it, as if what she was holding was not a soap bean but...
A wave of heat rose from Song Yinghuai's abdomen. His eyes darkened. He quickly rubbed the Buddhist beads on his wrist, and his eyes were once again covered with ice and snow.
Caiyu waved to him. "Since there is no distinction between men and women, in my lord's eyes, this servant is just an object. Or, perhaps my lord's level of spiritual practice has not reached that height, and in your eyes, this servant is a woman..."
"Then this servant is willing to become the hardship on my lord's path of spiritual practice and the fire before my lord's Nirvana."
"My lord, turn around."
Song Yinghuai gave a cold smile and turned around as she wished.
Her fingertips began to crawl across his back, soft and boneless. Her palms carried a gentle warmth, truly a thousand times more delicate than a back - scrubbing towel.
Song Yinghuai was facing away from her. He felt as if clusters of flames were leaping on his back as her fingertips moved. The hot spring water was bubbling and gurgling.
The Buddhist beads hidden in the water in his hand spun extremely fast, and the string was almost broken by him.
Caiyu's voice was like that of a demon. "My lord, turn around. This servant will wash the front for you."
The Buddhist beads in Song Yinghuai's hand in the water suddenly tightened. He closed his eyes tightly. When he opened them again, his clear eyes were covered with a hint of ambiguity. Then he turned around.
The moonlight in front of him was pale and hazy. She knelt in front of him. Due to the height of the stone steps, she was looking down at him at the moment.
He could even see the alluring scenery under her sheer gauze dress.
Her lips were as red as blood due to the steam of the hot spring. Perhaps because of the heat and thirst, her light - red tongue unconsciously moistened her lips.
Song Yinghuai's eyes suddenly darkened.
Caiyu's charming and long eyes curved into a half - moon. "My lord, does it smell good?"
As she spoke, her body bent slightly, almost touching Song Yinghuai's chest in the water.
"What smells good?" Song Yinghuai didn't lean back to avoid her. He let her thin gauze rub against his skin. He seemed to be completely infatuated with her and asked hoarsely.
"The newly made soap bean! It was specially made for my lord by the Condensed Fragrance Pavilion in Yanjing. It was just sent to the mansion today. I heard it was made from the bark of the Bodhi tree. It's most suitable for my lord's spiritual practice." Caiyu looked at him with her big watery eyes and giggled coquettishly.
"Very good." Song Yinghuai smiled wickedly and praised sincerely, "It has a very light fragrance, different from other soap beans."
Caiyu chuckled. "Rarely does my lord praise the new soap bean so much. Then, is this servant also different from other women, so that I've caught my lord's eye?"
"You are indeed different from other women."
Song Yinghuai lowered his eyes and looked at her little hand fidgeting on his chest. He murmured in praise but didn't take any action.
This little goblin would do anything to seduce him.
If she hadn't thrown a sleeping drug at him the first time they met, he might really have fallen for her tricks.
Caiyu was clever. Seeing that Song Yinghuai only talked but didn't act, she felt that she hadn't succeeded yet, so she added more fuel to the fire. "This servant's massage skills are also different from others."
Her fingertips continued to gently circle and then continued to move down. Her eyes were full of charm and a smile. Between the mist and water, her charm was overflowing, as if she was always seducing and tugging at the man's nerves.
The man still had a faint smile on his lips, but his eyes were burning as he stared at her. He slowly leaned forward, one hand propping on the white marble bricks, and stood up from the water. The water level just reached his waist, covering the most alluring part.
Song Yinghuai looked down at her from a high position. He held her tender hand that was in front of his abdomen and pulled her towards him.
Caiyu's upper body was forced forward. Her nose almost hit Song Yinghuai's well - defined cheek. Her heart skipped a beat, and a silent and ambiguous atmosphere spread in the air.
Caiyu met the man's pupils.
The cold and frosty bottom color of his eyes contained a faint killing intent, which suddenly cooled her burning heart!
She bit her lip tightly. Her heart was beating so fast that it almost jumped out of her chest. Her fingers slipped out of his palm and slid into the water along his abdominal muscles.
It was an all - or - nothing move!
Suddenly, Song Yinghuai raised his hand and grabbed her fidgeting little hand. All the Buddhist beads on his wrist broke, and one by one rolled into the bottom of the pool. "That's enough! Don't go too far—"
Before he could finish his words, Caiyu let out a scream and fell into the pool from the bank with the force of his tug!
Song Yinghuai:...
The killing intent in his eyes was dispelled by her sudden fall into the water.
"Help!" Caiyu was floating and sinking in the pool. "My lord, save me! I can't swim!"
Since he was thirteen years old, this was the first time Song Yinghuai had been so angry.
It was bad enough that she was glib - tongued, but she was also full of tricks.
Why did he feel a bit of softness in his heart just because of her appearance?
Was it really because his spiritual practice was not enough?
He cast a cold glance and watched Caiyu performing in the water, remaining unmoved.
But then Caiyu stopped struggling and fell straight to the bottom of the pool.
The white mist in the water was even thicker, and it was impossible to see the scenery clearly. Caiyu curled her lips in the water and reached out her hand to grope around.
She didn't believe that she couldn't catch that slippery snake!
Seeing something in front of her, Caiyu summoned up her courage and reached out her hand. Suddenly—
Her scalp ached sharply. She was grabbed by the hair and lifted out of the pool. It was as if a drowned cat was grabbed by the scruff of the neck and pulled out of the water.
Caiyu winced in pain. She raised her hand to protect her long hair. When she opened her eyes, she met Song Yinghuai's angry eyes.
Caiyu let out a soft cry and sobbed, "My lord, this servant was so scared! I thought I was going to die..."
Song Yinghuai remained unmoved. He grabbed her hair and shook her a few times, ready to throw her out.
Caiyu tightly grasped his strong forearm. "My lord, the Buddhist precepts forbid anger!"
Song Yinghuai:...
He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and dragged her out of the water by her hair.
Caiyu felt like a rag being dragged out of the water at the moment. She was in a complete mess.
Failure.
Song Yinghuai got out of the water and put on his plain gauze Buddhist robe. A cool breeze blew, and the anger or the lustful fire that had risen earlier dissipated a lot.
He turned around and said, "You—"
Then he was stunned into silence by the scenery in front of him.