"May I ask if the young benefactor is available? Could I invite the young benefactor for a cup of tea?" The simple - clothed old monk had a kind smile on his face, and his eyes seemed to shine as he looked towards Shen Li.
Shen Li was equally interested in this monk. She was eager to know how he had known about her inner conflict.
She nodded and said to the old monk, "Then I'll trouble the master."
The simple - clothed old monk took a step back, making way at the entrance of the Buddhist hall. He made a gesture of invitation to Shen Li. Shen Li bowed to him and said to Jiaoyue and the other two behind her, "You wait for me outside first. I'll be back soon." Then she walked into the Buddhist hall.
In this grand hall stood the golden statues of numerous Buddhas and gods. Behind them were large red curtains. Ordinary people had no idea what was behind the statues.
Shen Li entered the small door and walked ahead. After passing through a rather long stone - paved corridor, she saw a square small room.
The door of the room was open. On the wooden round table, there was a chessboard. There was nothing else.
Shen Li stood in front of the door and observed the surroundings. She found that at the end of this corridor, there was only this small room, and there was no other path leading elsewhere.
"Please come in, young benefactor!"
This time, Shen Li didn't hesitate. She stepped into the small room, and the monk followed her in.
The room wasn't large. Even with only two people in it, it didn't feel very spacious. There were very few items in the room. Apart from the long table, there were only two round wooden stools, and besides the chessboard, there was nothing extra.
"Miss Shen, please take a seat!"
Shen Li had been observing the chessboard with her head down. When she heard the monk's words, she was so surprised that she suddenly looked up.
Just as she was about to say something, she saw a young novice monk come in with a tea tray. Shen Li had to suppress her doubts for the time being. She sat on the stool and watched the novice monk put down a white porcelain teapot and two equally white, plain teacups without any decorative patterns. He poured a cup of tea for each of them.
The refreshing fragrance of the tea immediately wafted over. Shen Li took a light sniff and felt a refreshing and overflowing aroma. From her nose to her chest, she could feel a faint coolness. Even without tasting it, Shen Li thought that in this scorching summer, just smelling the tea fragrance and then sipping a few sips of fragrant tea would be a great pleasure.
Shen Li involuntarily took two more deep breaths and closed her eyes to enjoy it.
"Miss Shen, you might as well have a taste. See if you like it." Just now, Shen Li had been so intoxicated by the tea fragrance that she had closed her eyes and was slowly savoring it. The simple - clothed monk didn't interrupt her. He waited until Shen Li opened her eyes before speaking.
Shen Li's mind gradually cleared up. She picked up the teacup and softly said, "Thank you, master!"
Although it was a cup of hot tea, it seemed to carry a coolness when it entered her mouth. It was refreshing and made her whole body's senses be magnified. She could slowly feel the changes in her body.
After just one sip, Shen Li felt that her mind became clear and her senses were magnified.
"Good tea!" After just one sip, Shen Li didn't stint her praise.
Hearing this, the simple - clothed monk didn't say a word. He also picked up the teacup and sipped the tea gently.
For a moment, both of them were silent, savoring the tea carefully. The small room was filled only with the fragrance of the tea.
After finishing a cup of tea, the simple - clothed monk put down the teacup. With a faint smile on his face, he looked at Shen Li and said, "Young benefactor, don't you have anything to ask me?"
"Master, don't you have anything to tell me?" Shen Li didn't answer but instead asked a question.
"Haha, the young benefactor is really interesting!" The simple - clothed monk picked up a black chess piece from the chess box and placed it on the chessboard.
"Master Taixu is also very interesting!" Shen Li also took out a white chess piece from the chess box in front of her and placed it on the chessboard.
"Miss Shen is truly intelligent!" After Master Taixu finished speaking, he placed another chess piece. "Then, Miss Shen, why don't you guess what I'm going to talk to you about today?"
"Since it's the master who invited me here, I think I don't need to guess. When the master wants to say something, he will surely tell me. If the master doesn't want to say it, even if I guess correctly, it doesn't make any sense." After Shen Li finished speaking, she also placed a chess piece.
"Hahaha! What Miss Shen said is right! What I want to say, I will surely say. There's no need to waste effort guessing."
Master Taixu had a smile on his face all the time. He and Shen Li played chess back and forth, neither giving in to the other.
"I yield!" After placing the last chess piece, Master Taixu's smile became even broader.
"Master is being modest! The master's chess skills are far above mine. If the master hadn't let me several times, I'm afraid I would have lost before the fifteenth move!" Shen Li looked at the criss - cross chess pieces on the chessboard and said.
"Hehe! I'm afraid the truly modest one is the young benefactor. To be honest, in this game of chess, I didn't let the young benefactor a single move. I put a lot of thought into each move."
"However, although my chess skills are better than the benefactor's, when it comes to the means of planning and strategy, I'm far inferior to the benefactor." Master Taixu pointed to a white chess piece on the chessboard and said, "In this seemingly unremarkable place, the benefactor set a trap from the very beginning. I didn't notice it at first and almost fell into the trap!"
Shen Li also looked at the chess pieces she had placed. She shook her head regretfully and said, "No matter how good a chess piece is, if the trap it sets fails to play its role, it's a useless piece and has no meaning to exist."
"Anyway, it has failed after all!"
"What the young benefactor said is wrong! The chess piece is a good one. It's just that the person who planned put it in the wrong place." As Master Taixu said, he picked up that chess piece from the chessboard and placed it in another position on the chessboard.
"Maybe, if we change its position, it can play its role again. Sometimes, if we change our thinking and shift our attention to other places, there may be different results."
Shen Li looked at the chess piece that had been replaced on the chessboard and didn't say a word for a moment. In her heart, she couldn't help but admire Master Taixu. Just because of the change of one chess piece, her previously dead game situation had been solved again. Moreover, on this chessboard, her white chess pieces even faintly had the momentum to surpass the black ones.
"Master, you have different insights into people and things. It's really admirable." Shen Li wasn't unaware of the implied meaning in Master Taixu's words, but she had her own thoughts and things she wanted to do. She wouldn't change easily just because of a few words from others.