Guanyin's Tears

Chapter 5

A gust of cold wind blew by, and a sense of trepidation crept into his heart. However, the trepidation vanished immediately. He quickly walked to the door, closed it, and locked it. After testing it and confirming that the door was indeed locked, he returned to Chen Jie's seat with a sense of relief, took out a screwdriver from his pocket, and inserted it into the latch on Chen Jie's drawer...

"Squeak—" The hoarse yet clear sound of the door opening came again. Zeng Hai slowly raised his head. The door opened again, but it was pitch black outside, and there was still no one in sight. He felt a sense of unease and became frightened. He pulled out a screwdriver and quietly walked towards the door—

"Bang—" The wall lamp suddenly shattered, plunging the classroom into darkness in an instant. Zeng Hai felt an urgent need to urinate.

In the darkness, he saw a ball of blue flame slowly moving, moving... above the classroom.

The most vivid feeling was that something was rubbing back and forth on his neck, damp and cold, soft and rough... He wanted to move but his whole body was ice cold.

"Squeak—crack—" The door slowly closed.

More blue flames appeared in the classroom. By the light of the blue flames, he turned his neck backward, and a face with contorted facial muscles was slowly licking his neck with a long tongue...

A warm flow came from his crotch, and he opened his mouth wide but couldn't make a sound—

It was past ten o'clock at night. Zhu Zhi stood not far from the old locust tree. The illusion of Li Yan earlier was clearly the old locust tree's doing, but it disappeared after Zhang Li left. He looked around again; there was nothing else unusual, but a blue glow emanated from the roof of a nearby school building, very eerie in the darkness. The light also carried a sinister aura. He frowned. Could it be this old locust tree again?

He pondered for a while, but couldn't figure it out. At that moment, the blue light gradually disappeared. Zhu Zhi touched the fluorescent bead on his wrist and decided to go down to the tree to take another look.

As soon as he stepped into the shade of the tree, he noticed that the darkness beneath seemed much denser, and that darkness seemed to be flowing around, like tentative tentacles; the branches and leaves of the old locust tree also seemed to begin to sway.

Zhu Zhi vigilantly sensed all the changes. Although the Buddhist beads on his wrist could protect him from being sensed by ghosts and evil spirits, he was still extremely cautious.

As Zhu Zhi slowly approached the tree trunk, a musty smell mixed with fragrance wafted over. Relying on the faint light from the beads on his wrist, he saw that there was a cave in the artificial hill next to the tree trunk. After hesitating for a moment, he still groped his way in. The musty smell mixed with fragrance was very strong in the cave. The cave was narrow, but not very dark. The cave walls seemed to have a pale green fluorescence, much like the light of gemstones in myths and legends.

It felt like he had been walking for a long time, but the cave seemed unchanged, still with no end in sight, and the musty smell seemed to be getting stronger. Zhu Zhi stopped. He didn't know whether to continue, because he felt that the distance he had covered far exceeded the length of the artificial hill.

Just as he hesitated, a faint, indistinct sound of a woman crying came from the depths of the cave.

Zhu Zhi's heart tightened, and he groped his way forward again—

The pale green light on the cave walls seemed to flicker, beautiful yet eerie.

As he went deeper, the cave seemed to grow larger and larger, the light became brighter and brighter, the fragrance mixed with the musty smell grew stronger, and the crying gradually became clearer.

Zhu Zhi carefully looked around. The cave walls had become much smoother, and the space had opened up considerably. Although it was summer outside, it was very cold inside. Yet, there were some unknown flowers and plants growing scattered throughout the cave. At that moment, he couldn't help but think of the saying, "All things cannot grow without sunlight," and the plants in this cave... he was speechless.

The Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist shimmered with a faint glow, and he felt as if his whole body was glowing.

The sound of crying reached his ears clearly, sorrowful and mournful. He moved forward gently, and after walking about a hundred meters, another world appeared before him:

The ground was covered with beautiful pebbles. Beside two side-by-side carved pavilions stood a large grove of low bushes. Within the grove, an irregularly shaped circular river flowed in a loop around a small patch of protruding green space, the water splashing against the edge rocks with a rhythmic sound. A woman in ancient attire sat cross-legged on the green space, weeping. A single red lipstick stood out starkly against her pale face. Several white flowers were tucked behind her ear, and her long black hair cascaded down to the ground.

She wore a wide-sleeved robe of light yellow silk trimmed with gold, with embroidered patterns on the collar, sleeves, front, waist, and hem... Judging from her attire, she should be a woman from the Song Dynasty, no, she should be a ghost from the Song Dynasty!

The moment the thought of a "ghost" crossed Zhu Zhi's mind, he felt a chill run down his spine.

He shifted his gaze to the upper wall of the cave, where hundreds of gemstones were inlaid, shining brightly and illuminating the cave as if it were daytime.

The woman stopped crying, stood up, and her slender figure drifted across the river, settling down in a pavilion beside the woods. Although Zhu Zhi had his Buddhist prayer beads, he still dared not approach. He carefully examined the gemstones on the cave wall; they were arranged in a "Three Rings Covering the Sky" pattern. This pattern, used in ancient times to quantitatively describe the cosmological system of the "Covering the Sky" theory, was applied by Taoists in magic as the "Returning Heaven Array," capable of mimicking the life and death of the universe and keeping time and space outside the array. If it truly was the Returning Heaven Array, anyone undeserving to rashly enter would surely be annihilated.

She sat for a while, then slowly floated towards Zhu Zhi...

It was an absolutely beautiful face, with skin as white and delicate as a baby's, arched eyebrows like mountain peaks in the rain, a pert and exquisite nose, and cherry-red lips slightly parted. Those bright eyes were like two spring lakes, as if they could overflow with water with a single blink.

Zhu Zhi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

She paused in front of him, and his heart raced. He glanced at the prayer beads on his wrist; they still glowed faintly. Thankfully, she didn't notice him and continued drifting towards the cave entrance. He slowly followed. But the woman vanished as if she had evaporated. Zhu Zhi had no choice but to continue feeling his way forward through the cave. The cave grew narrower and narrower, and the walls were no longer as smooth as when he had come. After walking for what felt like an eternity, the entrance remained nowhere in sight. Suddenly, he thought of the circular river inside—the passage might also be a loop! He might be trapped in a cycle!

Zhu Zhi calmed his slightly tense emotions, sat cross-legged in the passageway, and began reciting the Lotus Sutra in his mind. He resigned himself to fate. A long, long time passed, and all was quiet except for the occasional musty smell that wafted into his nostrils. Slowly, the strange odor disappeared. Then, the chirping of a few crickets reached his ears…

five

Wednesday morning

Wang Hongbing, who was fast asleep, was woken up by being pushed. He opened his eyes groggily and saw Zeng Hai shoving him.

"What? What time is it?" he grumbled at Zeng Hai, "I'm so sleepy, I want to sleep, stop messing around." Zeng Hai acted as if he hadn't heard his grumbling, continuing to push him without saying a word. Wang Hongbing sat up and said impatiently, "What are you doing?"

“Come on, I’ll take you to see your jade.” Zeng Hai said to him in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Wang Hongbing was taken aback, then jumped up and followed Zeng Hai out of the dormitory.

The sky was overcast with a faint glimmer of dawn.

When Zhu Zhi opened his eyes, it was pitch black all around. A few slivers of gray light coming through from behind him allowed him to vaguely see that there was a staircase next to him. It was very quiet, and a cricket was singing a loud song.

He looked around and determined that he was in a stairwell. A few slivers of gray light were coming through a dilapidated window with a pile of rubble around its edge.

He opened the window and peeked out. It was still a hazy gray outside, not fully light yet. Judging from the dim light, it must be around three or four in the morning. Below the window was a patch of overgrown wasteland, only about two meters from the window.

He crouched low, preparing to jump out of the window, when suddenly, footsteps approached. He quickly pulled his head back. If he were discovered now, he'd be in deep trouble, and Zhu Zhi would likely be charged with attempted theft. Thinking this, he moved further behind the pile of rubble, listening carefully to the sounds outside. "Zeng Hai, what are you doing here? It's so close to the old locust tree, I'm a little scared. Didn't you say you'd take me to see jade? Why are you here?" It was Wang Hongbing's voice. "Okay, I'll show you right away." It was Zeng Hai's voice, but it sounded awkward, as if...

"So, the jade is with you? How did it get to you?... Wait, it really is my jade! How did it end up with you?... What are you going to do?" Wang Hongbing seemed to have seen the jade, but his last sentence seemed to carry a hint of fear.

"I'm not doing anything, I just need your blood, I just need to borrow a little bit of your blood~" Zeng Hai's voice was mixed with a sinister laugh.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhi's heart skipped a beat. He quickly moved to the window, slowly poked his head out, and was startled by what he saw outside:

Zeng Hai slowly walked towards Wang Hongbing, who was holding something in his hand. As he backed away, he shouted, "Zeng, Zeng Hai, you, you're crazy, you, you're crazy! Someone—" Before Wang Hongbing could finish speaking, he suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Upon seeing Wang Hongbing fall, Zeng Hai laughed wildly: "I've finally got what I wanted, I've finally got what I wanted—haha, haha—".

Zhu Zhi was secretly anxious. He didn't know what Zeng Hai was up to, but he dared not speak rashly. Suddenly, he noticed the pebbles beside him, and an idea struck him. He quickly picked up a stone and threw it hard at Zeng Hai outside the window. The stone hit Zeng Hai heavily, making him stagger. He slowly turned around, looked up at the window, and immediately turned back away…

Zhu Zhi hurriedly jumped out of the window, and after regaining his footing, punched Zeng Hai in the back of the head. Zeng Hai's figure swayed, then slowly turned around, his face showing no pain, only numbness; his empty eyes seemed not to have seen Zhu Zhi at all. He still looked up at the window, and slowly, a semi-transparent figure emerged from Zeng Hai's body. That figure snorted hatefully and floated towards the window—

Zhu Zhi looked at Zeng Hai lying on the ground: his face was pale, his eyes were wide open, and he was clearly... Zhu Zhi didn't dare to think any further. He ran to Wang Hongbing's side, picked him up, hurriedly chose a direction, and ran as fast as he could.

After running for a while, Zhu Zhi, panting, raised his head to take a closer look at the surroundings and determine which route was the shortest to the dormitory.

The first thing that caught his eye was that old locust tree! He turned around alertly, but there was nothing unusual behind him. The abandoned experimental building still stood quietly, but the winding path proved that everything that had just happened was downstairs in that seemingly quiet abandoned experimental building.

Could that abandoned laboratory building be the source of that cloud of mist? And what was that thing that just overflowed from Zeng Hai's body? It certainly wasn't that ghost from the Song Dynasty! Could there be another ghost? Zhu Zhijue's legs felt a little weak. He gritted his teeth, lifted Wang Hongbing on his back with all his might, and without thinking too much, hurriedly ran towards the dormitory.

Just as he was lifting Wang Hongbing up, something fell from the unconscious Wang Hongbing's hand and rolled a long way. Although it made a "thud" when it landed, Zhu Zhi, who was rushing away, did not notice it.

The entire campus was still immersed in the tranquil morning light. The jade stone that rolled out of the unconscious Wang Hongbing's hand was the one he had already sold. Not long after the jade stone hit the ground, as if sensing it, the old locust tree, which had been quiet, began to feel uneasy. Its leaves rustled and its branches began to twist toward the spot where the jade stone had landed. The twisting became faster and faster, and soon it was almost touching the jade stone. Meanwhile, Zeng Hai's figure was also running stiffly toward this side. Although his steps were a little stiff, his legs were still moving very fast.

Just as the old locust tree's branches were about to touch the jade, a wisp of white smoke emerged from them, revealing a woman in ancient green robes. Her long, flowing hair swayed slightly, and a neat fringe adorned her two buns. A beautiful and excited smile graced her vivid face as she looked at the jade. She elegantly extended a hand from her sleeve—a skeletal hand devoid of flesh and blood! But just as she was about to pick up the jade, a "thump" resounded, and something landed on it—Zeng Hai's body. A slightly plump, semi-transparent figure emerged from Zeng Hai's body, laughing wildly: "The jade is mine! Mine! You old ghost who hasn't even crossed the Bridge of Helplessness, wanting something for nothing?! Get lost! Go back to your lair! Otherwise, I'll make your soul vanish!" With that, the figure began to spin rapidly, growing thinner and thinner until, like an arrow, it pierced through Zeng Hai's body—

The woman didn't answer, her slightly twitching lips revealing disdain.

With a whoosh, the rapidly twisting branch shot through Zeng Hai's body almost simultaneously with the slender figure. In an instant, it twisted out of the branch and disappeared without a trace; the woman also gracefully entered the trunk of the old locust tree with a wisp of white smoke.

After a long while, Zeng Hai slowly got up, groping around on the ground, crying out in despair and resentment, "Impossible! This is impossible! The jade is mine, mine! Give it back to me! Give the jade back to me! Give it back to me!"...

At this moment, Zhu Zhi had already knocked on the door of room 501 in the boys' dormitory.

Upon opening the dormitory door, Zhang Li was surprised to see Zhu Zhi looking somewhat disheveled and Wang Hongbing, who was unconscious, on his back.

"So early? What's wrong? What happened? What's wrong with Hongbing?" Zhang Li asked as he helped Zhu Zhi get Wang Hongbing into bed. Zhu Zhi sat on the edge of the bed and patted Wang Hongbing's head. Liu Li, Chunlai, and Jiang Bing, still half asleep, scrambled off the bed and surrounded Wang Hongbing.

“Hongbing should wake up soon, but Zeng Hai might have been killed.” Zhu Zhi’s words were startling.

Zhang Li, Liu Li, and the others all looked at Zeng Hai's bed at the same time, only to find it empty!

After hearing Zhu Zhi's words, Chunlai stammered, "Ah, murdered? Someone died? We must report it to the police immediately! Report it to the police!"

Zhu Zhi sighed: "How do we report this? Zeng Hai might have been killed by a ghost. Will the police believe that?"

"Brother! Tell me quickly, tell me what happened? How did Zeng Hai get killed?" Liu Li interrupted Zhu Zhi anxiously.

Swallowing hard, Zhu Zhi began to describe in detail everything he had heard and seen. When he talked about Zeng Hai's empty eyes ignoring his existence, he revealed the Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist and said in a deep voice, "When I wear these prayer beads, only ghosts and evil spirits cannot sense my presence. But Zeng Hai cannot see me at all, which means he cannot sense me either!"

Everyone couldn't help but exclaim "Wow!"

“In other words, he is already a ghost or evil creature!” Zhang Li’s voice was somewhat hoarse.

Zhu Zhi nodded heavily and continued, "Yes, and I could only watch helplessly as that thing leaked from Zeng Hai's body, because Zeng Hai's body could only be called... a corpse! In order to prevent Wang Hongbing from being harmed, I had no choice but to carry Wang Hongbing away..."

After saying that, Zhu Zhi swallowed again.

Zhang Li listened in a daze, Jiang Bing sat there blankly as well, and Liu Li smacked his lips and said, "I wish this were a dream, what's been going on these past few days? You know, Zeng Hai—? How could that be! He sold me a pair of shorts yesterday!"

Chunlai gripped the object she had been holding tightly and hurriedly interjected, "Report it! Report it quickly! Someone's been killed! Report it..."

"Ouch!" Wang Hongbing groaned from the bed. Startled, Chunlai flung away Wang Hongbing's hand as if it were a hot potato. Zhang Li and Jiang Bing immediately turned to look at Wang Hongbing, who withdrew his hand: "Who? What do you want?"

Before Chunlai could speak, Wang Hongbing suddenly sat up as if he had remembered something, and shouted, "Where am I? Where is Zeng Hai?!"

Zhang Li hurriedly got up to pour water, and Zhu Zhi patted Wang Hongbing, whose eyes were searching around, and calmly said, "You're in the dormitory, it's okay, we're all here for you!"

After Wang Hongbing calmed down, Zhang Li handed him a glass of water.

Jiang Bing then recounted to Zhu Zhi the strange events they had encountered on the road the previous afternoon. Zhu Zhi frowned; things didn't seem so simple!

"Alright, since someone has died, let's report it to the police!" Zhu Zhi said to the group.

six

As dawn broke through the horizon, the sky gradually brightened.

The morning air is wonderful; as the saying goes, "The day begins in the morning."

Diligent students usually get up early to study and memorize.

Deep within the campus, amidst blooming flowers and lush vegetation, several pavilions and artificial hills create a tranquil atmosphere. The lotus blossoms in the pond exude a delicate fragrance, making it an ideal learning environment. Nearby, a very old and beautiful locust tree offers cool shade, a popular spot for students to memorize vocabulary and practice pronunciation. But this morning, only one person was under the old locust tree; everyone else had walked away, with only a few nosy students standing a short distance away, pointing and whispering.

Because that person kept frantically pounding on the tree trunk, shouting hoarsely, "Give me back the jade, you witch! Give me back the jade, you witch! Give it back! I'm going to destroy your lair, haha, I'm going to destroy your lair!..." He was a complete madman!

Chen Jie got up early too. Wearing a long white dress, she strolled alone through the flowerbeds between the dormitory buildings. The roses were all in full bloom, their rich fragrance filling the air. In the middle of the flowerbeds were rows of wooden shelves displaying many flowers: purple bamboo orchids, pomegranates, jasmine, roses, hibiscus, and more… The fragrance was even stronger, but Chen Jie had no mind to appreciate it. She walked slowly, her mind filled with Wang Hongbing's thin, angular, reddish-brown face, his rough hair, thick eyebrows, and dark eyes; sometimes his focused expression in class, sometimes his averted gaze when they met. Could it be that she really had fallen for Wang Hongbing, as that voice had said? The thought made her pale face flush.

But what was that sound? Was it really coming from the old locust tree? And will we see that woman in ancient costume again today? Does that woman in ancient costume really exist? Or is it just a mirage, an illusion?

Zhang Li, Jiang Bing, Zhu Zhi, and Wang Hongbing left the dormitory, leaving only Liu Li and Chunlai inside. Chunlai was reciting Buddhist scriptures. Liu Li slowly walked to the balcony, thinking about the events of the past few days. It was all so strange! He wasn't familiar with Zhu Zhi, but Zhu Zhi wouldn't lie. Could Zeng Hai really be dead? The scene of him selling him the shorts yesterday was still vivid in his mind, but now? He felt a lump in his throat. Could there be another? Who would be next? Thinking about this, Liu Li felt incredibly anxious, as if five buckets of water were hanging from his chest! His mind was a complete mess.

"Damn it! Stop thinking about these troubling things!" Liu Li comforted himself. He turned his gaze to the flowerbed downstairs. Looking down from the fifth floor, it was truly beautiful! Especially on summer mornings, the green lawn looked like wet green cream, as if it would flow out of the flowerbed at the slightest touch. The flowers on the flowerbed, glistening with dewdrops in the morning sun, displayed their colorful faces.

For a moment, Liu Li felt much more at ease. A few people were strolling around the flowerbed, and soon his gaze was fixed on a figure: beside the wisteria-covered trellis, amidst the vibrant colors of the flowers, a girl in a white dress was walking slowly. The long white dress hugged her slender waist… This girl was Chen Jie, whom he had secretly admired for so long. She outshone all the flowers! A ripple of emotion stirred in Liu Li's heart, and his heart began to beat faster. Then, she gracefully sat down on a stone bench, her long hair casually draped over her shoulders, strands swaying gently in the breeze…

A surge of emotion welled up within Liu Li, coursing through his veins. He could hear the heavy thumping of his own heart. His mind was filled with images of Chen Jie's bright eyes, like cold stars shrouded in mist, surrounding him from all sides. He wished time could stand still, so he could look at her without restraint, even if only from afar.

At this time, Zhu Zhi and Wang Hongbing had already arrived at the Public Security Bureau.

At the Municipal Public Security Bureau, a middle-aged man with a beer belly, who appeared to be a leader, was questioning Wang Hongbing: "What's this about you again? Do you think we're not busy enough? A murder case? You think it's a murder case, so it is? What are we supposed to do then? A college student, right? So what if you're a college student? I think I told you yesterday that you have a very close connection to the murder case at Hengsheng Jade Shop, you know? That case alone is enough to put you in jail for life! And now you're reporting another murder case!..."

Wang Hongbing didn't argue. He simply couldn't understand the logic behind this. How could someone like this be a criminal police officer!

Zhu Zhi frowned, a hint of helplessness in his eyes: "Officer, let's describe what we've seen. Human life is at stake!" The middle-aged man finally stopped his lecturing, paused, and cleared his throat: "My surname is Wang, I'm the captain of the city's criminal investigation team. Just call me Captain Wang. Okay, tell me quickly: the scene of the incident, the time, the characteristics of the deceased..."

After listening to Wang Hongbing's general description, Captain Wang turned his gaze to Zhu Zhi: "You're Zhu Zhi?" Zhu Zhi nodded, inwardly realizing something was wrong. Based on Captain Wang's logic, he would surely assume he was the murderer. Taking advantage of Captain Wang's inattention, he mouthed "Don't speak" to Wang Hongbing, then turned to Captain Wang with an extremely unnatural smile: "Captain Wang, it's like this, I urgently needed a book, but Wang Hongbing borrowed it. I was afraid they wouldn't be able to find it this morning, so I arrived at school very early. On the path near the dormitory, I saw, uh, I saw Wang Hongbing and Zeng Hai walking towards the laboratory building together, so I followed them. They were walking very fast, and when I found them, they were both lying on the ground..."

"Oh—? Really? Tsk, tsk, you stumbled upon all these coincidences. Then why did you only carry Wang Hongbing back? More importantly: how are you so sure Zeng Hai is dead?" Captain Wang interrupted Zhu Zhi with a cold laugh.

Zhu Zhi was dumbfounded. He knew perfectly well that his words were full of holes, but if he said that Zeng Hai had been dead for a long time, it would be even more unclear. "Uh, uh, at the time, his face looked like he was dead. He probably died of a myocardial infarction..." "'Looks like he was dead,' 'looks like' and you came to report it? Oh—, you even know that he died of a 'myocardial infarction'? You know quite a lot! What else do you know?" Captain Wang was indeed convinced that Zhu Zhi was the most suspicious, and asked a few questions naturally and critically.

Zhu Zhi understood that Captain Wang had become suspicious of him, so he didn't answer, but he felt relieved.