Guanyin's Tears

Chapter 12

"Is she still monitoring you? What happened between you two?" Zhang Li asked.

“Of course she’s not spying on me anymore.” Zhu Zhi smiled, a hint of smugness in his eyes. “She trusts me a lot now! That time, I went to check on things under the locust tree…”

"Damn it! This kind of woman is so boring!" Wang Hongbing said with disgust, interrupting Zhu Zhi.

Zhu Zhi looked at Wang Hongbing in surprise. Zhang Li, Liu Li, and the others also stared at him in astonishment. Why was this guy swearing?

"You've fallen for it again?" Chunlai stared into Wang Hongbing's eyes and waved his hand back and forth. "You can see that, right?"

Wang Hongbing then realized his blunder, his face flushed red, and he gave an awkward laugh: "I, I just thought... let's go find the old lady who bought the steamed buns." He unconsciously changed his address from "grandma" to "old lady."

“Okay, let’s go together. Too many people might not be a good thing,” Zhu Zhi said, standing up.

When Wang Hongbing and Zhu Zhi appeared at the school gate, the old woman was sitting next to the steamed bun basket staring at the gate. When she saw Wang Hongbing, she didn't greet him but just laughed to herself.

"Grandma, I... I don't want to buy steamed buns. I want to ask you something." Wang Hongbing walked up to her, scratched his head, and said politely.

The old woman was still smiling, and she had already stood up: "Child, it's good to see you, it's good to see you. I can guess what you want to ask me."

Wang Hongbing and Zhu Zhi exchanged a glance: Really? They guessed what we were going to ask?!

“Your purse is amazing, Grandma,” Wang Hongbing said.

Upon hearing the word "purse," the old man's face turned serious: "Where's the purse?"

Wang Hongbing took a purse out of his pocket and handed it to the old woman: "Here it is, Grandma."

"Something must have happened to you. Tell me about it in detail, from beginning to end, okay?" the old man said in a deep voice after looking at the purse.

Wang Hongbing sighed and repeated the scenes from his dream and his awakening to the old man again.

After listening to Wang Hongbing's account, the old man picked up the basket of steamed buns and said, "I know what you want to ask. Come home with me, and I'll tell you everything when we get there."

Zhu Zhi took the basket of steamed buns from the old woman. "Grandma, let me carry it. You lead the way." The old woman didn't refuse. She remained silent the whole way, as if deep in thought.

After walking for a long time, a small, earthen house that looked completely out of place with the surrounding residential buildings appeared in front of Zhu Zhi and Wang Hongbing.

"This is my home," the old man said, pointing to the small house.

I stepped into the small room, head bowed. Besides a table, a cabinet, and a bed, there was almost nothing else inside. The setting sun slanted across the peeling paint of the windowpanes, its rays filtering through the broken glass and painting the faded blue curtains a deep red. The shadows of trees swayed and danced on the curtains, sometimes hazy, sometimes clear, sometimes sparse, sometimes dense, like moving, ever-changing patterns in a painting.

“I raised my son, but he doesn’t support me. He’s getting old and doesn’t go back to his hometown anymore. I can still see my son and granddaughter here! I’ve lived here for almost twenty years.” The old man said, tidying up the bed. “Sit down, there’s no stool. After my husband died, I’ve been living alone ever since.”

Zhu Zhi placed the steamed bun basket on the table, a wave of sadness washing over him. How could a son be like this? Did this son have any conscience at all?

"Where does your son work?" Zhu Zhi asked.

The old woman pursed her lips: "This is what I wanted to tell you. I was always afraid he would harm people, but I never expected him to still do it." Who is this "he"? Her son? Zhu Zhi and Wang Hongbing were both wondering.

“My son’s name is Yin Lei. Our whole family knows Gu magic and Taoist magic. Although many schools have lost their techniques, our Yin family has not. My husband and I passed on all our skills to our son. But who knew…” Tears welled up in the old woman’s eyes. “My son is a bad person. He used what he learned to bewitch young women and ruined many girls. My husband and I talked to him about it, but he didn’t listen at all. He even beat his father!” The old woman wiped away her tears. “After he got married, his wife gave birth to a daughter. We thought that he would finally behave himself. But when our daughter was three years old, he actually kept a prostitute outside! He also ruined two fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls!” As the old woman spoke, her lips began to tremble, clearly angered by the past. “So, he wanted to divorce my kind daughter-in-law. She agreed and left home alone with Xiao Chenya, my little granddaughter…” The old woman cried.

"Grandma, Grandma, don't be sad! It's all in the past!" Zhu Zhi comforted the old woman, wondering if Xiao Chenya was the same Chen Ya as before. Wang Hongbing also felt a pang of sadness; how could a woman raise a child alone after leaving home?

The old man didn't stop crying, saying between sobs, "It's all because we were too selfish! We couldn't bear to let him go to jail, after all, he's our son!" The old man wiped his cloudy eyes with his hand, "After his father found out about this, he used witchcraft to remove his manhood, so that he could never ruin a girl again! He, he, he killed his father!" After the old man finished speaking, he seemed to see the past again and burst into tears, his white hair sticking to his face in a mess of tears.

Seeing the old woman's heartbroken state, Zhu Zhi angrily cursed, "He's a beast! Grandma, you should take him to court! A son like that is worse than a dog!"

"How could he kill his own father?! He's worse than a beast!" Wang Hongbing cursed.

The old man wiped the tears from his face with his clothes: "For twenty years, I've lived alone like this, without even anyone to talk to. He's dead now, but he's trying to possess another body! He's dead, but his soul is still here, and he wants a complete body again! He wants to harm people again! He wants to harm you! Child!" The old man grabbed Wang Hongbing excitedly, "Child, it's true, he wants to harm you! This time, he wants to harm you. The other day you said you encountered a ghost wall, it wasn't a ghost wall at all, it was his witchcraft! He left a mark on your neck, and he can find you through that mark. I was afraid that telling you the truth would scare you, so I pretended you were sweating and used a red cinnabar to wipe the mark off! I thought that way, he wouldn't be able to find you, but who knew..." Tears flowed from the old man's cloudy eyes again.

Zhu Zhi was a little confused. Even after the old woman talked for a long time, he still couldn't confirm that her son was—

"His jade shop..." the old man continued.

Zhu Zhi hurriedly interrupted the old woman: "Grandma, is the owner of Hengsheng Jade Shop your son?"

The old man nodded: "Yes, my granddaughter has changed her surname to Chen Ya now, not Yin Chenya! Our Yin family has no descendants!" The old man started to shed tears again.

Zhu Zhi and Wang Hongbing were greatly surprised. Chen Ya was Boss Yin's daughter?!

"He gave me money, so was there a mark on the money?" Wang Hongbing suddenly realized and said, "Zeng Hai was killed by him. The money Liu Li gave Zeng Hai was the money I took from the five thousand yuan he gave me and secretly put into Liu Li's pocket!"

The old man looked up: "Why would he give you money? He never even gives me a penny!"

“He sold him a piece of jade called ‘Guanyin’s Tears’!” Zhu Zhi replied.

"Ah? 'Guanyin Tears'? 'Guanyin Tears' that can bring someone back to life?" The old man panicked. "You mustn't let him succeed! Otherwise, who knows how many more girls will be ruined! Using 'Guanyin Tears' requires a blood sacrifice! Perhaps he hasn't found a blood sacrifice yet." Wang Hongbing felt a chill run down his spine, his body trembling slightly. Liu'er had said that he was the blood sacrifice! The old man didn't notice Wang Hongbing's change and continued, "You must quickly get the clothes he wore in life, smear them with dog blood and fluorescent powder, and burn them. That will dissipate his soul in the mortal world." The old man wiped away his tears and took out a white porcelain bottle from the cabinet. "This is the fluorescent powder, boy, you take it." The old man stuffed the fluorescent powder into Wang Hongbing's hand. "Be quick!"

twelve

Chen Ya, dressed casually, arrived at the Hengsheng Jade Shop, where Zhu Zhi was waiting at a distance.

"I want to see your boss's wife," Chen Ya said to the shop assistant after entering the store.

Several waiters looked her over, exchanged somewhat ambiguous glances, and didn't say anything. One of them gestured with his mouth to a door at the back of the shop.

Chen Ya walked over, opened the door, and found herself on another floor. One of the rooms had a light on, and the door was labeled "Manager's Office." The curtains and drapes were drawn. Chen Ya peeked through the gap in the drape and saw what appeared to be a woman and a man flirting.

Chen Ya pulled her head back, hesitated for a moment, but still knocked on the door.

"Come in!" came a seductive voice.

Chen Ya opened the door and went inside. The woman was lifting her already short skirt and rubbing it against a young man's leg. Chen Ya coughed, and the man looked up. Seeing someone come in, he quickly straightened his clothes and hurriedly left.

The woman turned her face, her thin gauze top revealing a black bra. Loose fat on her lower abdomen was visible outside the gauze. A lip-shaped ornament adorned her crimson lips. Her face was covered in thick foundation, like a mask.

"I want to see the boss's wife!" Chen Ya said.

The woman's eyebrows, tattooed like large black worms, were raised, and her eyes widened as she sharply scrutinized her, her contempt tinged with hostility.

"Who are you?" She straightened her clothes and asked angrily, "Can't you see I'm busy? What do you want with her?"

"I'm the shop owner's daughter." Chen Ya was somewhat annoyed; this woman was quite rude. "I need to see the owner's wife."

“Oh,” the woman’s eyes darted brazenly over her. “You’re his daughter? I never would have guessed! He can have a daughter, and such a young and beautiful one at that!” Her icy face thawed, a smile spreading across her face, full of hypocrisy and sarcasm. “What are you doing here? This shop is just an empty shell. Your father was a drug addict, he’s dead, but he’s drowning in debt.”

For a moment, Chen Ya was both amused and exasperated. She simply had no idea what this woman was thinking. Did she think she was here to claim the family fortune?

"Excuse me," she said, trying to remain calm, "is the landlady here?"

"That's me! What's the matter?" The woman looked up, fiddling with her bright red nails.

Oh! Xiao Yiyun choked up. This is the landlady? The woman who made her father abandon her mother? She's a complete old hag, she's not even as good as her mother's little toe!

“Oh,” she murmured, unsure of how to address her.

"Just call me Miss Deng, stop calling me 'boss lady.' It makes me feel old!" The woman shrugged and blinked her eyes flippantly, giving Chen Ya goosebumps all over.

“Miss Deng,” she said bluntly, “I want a few of my father’s clothes.”

"Oh!" The woman paused for a moment, then coldly snorted, "His things were all burned! He's dead, there's no way he'd have any clothes left!"

What a firm and decisive refusal! Chen Ya was stunned for a moment, then immediately enraged: "Miss Deng, as his daughter, I only want one piece of clothing from him, even if it's a tattered piece!"

“Well—” The woman’s eyes darted around, and she smiled maliciously. “Alright, as you wish. I’ll go inside and look for it.”

A moment later, the woman came out, carrying a pair of underwear. "Oh my, it's such a coincidence that my daughter is here. There's still a pair of underwear here," she said, throwing the underwear at Chen Ya's face. "Here you go. I have something to do, so I can't keep you company any longer." After saying that, she raised her head, wiggled her hips, and went upstairs.

Although Chen Ya turned her head away from the underwear, anger burned in her heart. She really wanted to strangle this woman! To curse her to death! "You, you..." Chen Ya bit her lip, but couldn't utter a word.

She picked up the underwear, folded it, held it in her hand, spat at the upstairs window, and quickly left Hengsheng Jade Shop.

When Zhu Zhi saw Chen Ya walk out of the store, seemingly without any clothes in her hands, his heart sank.

"Chen Ya, what's wrong? You don't have it? Or are you not going to give it to me?" Zhu Zhi went up to her.

Chen Ya rolled her eyes at Zhu Zhi: "Why don't you go yourself! Make me suffer! I knew this woman was no good!" As she spoke, Chen Ya shoved the underwear in her hand into Zhu Zhi's arms, "Here's what you wanted."

Zhu Zhi unfolded it and burst out laughing: "She, haha, she only gave you this dress!" Chen Ya cursed angrily: "That despicable slut!"

"Stop scolding him. These are his undergarments; I think they'll look better this way!" Zhu Zhi stopped laughing and said seriously, "Chen Ya, don't you think you're being a little... a bit..."

“You’re wrong. He never raised me or cared for me. To me, ‘father’ is just a word. He’s just a stranger to me! Besides, he’s done all sorts of bad things!” Chen Ya said calmly. “My sadness is because of my mother, and I’m wearing mourning clothes to respect her wishes.”

Zhu Zhi breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. Without further ado, let's burn it!"

During the lunch break, Wang Hongbing received a letter from home. The letter mentioned that thanks to the more than two thousand yuan he sent home, his father's leg was cured, and now the family is doing well; his father can even eat two eggs every day...

Wang Hongbing was surprised. Because of Boss Yin's mark, he hadn't sent the thousand yuan he planned to send home. He hadn't sent any money home at all!

He ran to Zhang Li's seat and told him about the strange thing. Li Yan laughed beside him, "What's so strange about that? Chen Jie sent it back to you! She's done so much for you, and you haven't even thanked her!" Wang Hongbing blushed. Zhang Li also laughed and said, "Yes, Chen Jie took care of you for two days and two nights in the hospital! Following the wishes of your village committee, she even helped you apply for a tuition reduction, and instead of thanking her, you called her and yelled at her! You should really thank her!"

Wang Hongbing was filled with remorse and regret. He didn't even know how he got back to his seat. He stole a glance at Chen Jie, who was deep in thought, her expression a mixture of bewilderment, melancholy, tenderness, and loneliness—a subtle, almost unconscious sadness. She looked a bit like E'er. E'er? Wang Hongbing closed his eyes. "You must take good care of Miss. You must rekindle your romance with her!" Liu'er's words echoed in his ears again. When would he see E'er again?

Wang Hongbing shook his head, telling himself to stop thinking about E'er and to thank Chen Jie and apologize. He would return the money to the owner after Zhu Zhi burned Boss Yin's clothes.

He wrote a note.

Chen Jie:

Excuse me, may I treat you to a meal?

After writing it, he felt it wasn't right, so he crumpled the note into a ball and stuffed it into his pocket. After thinking for a moment, he wrote another note.

Chen Jie:

I was rude when I called you that day, I'm sorry. I'd like to talk to you after class, is that okay? I'll be waiting for you at Yonghe Garden.

Wang Hongbing

After writing it, he handed the note to Liyan and asked her to pass it on. Liyan smiled mysteriously, and Wang Hongbing felt his ears burning.

After receiving Wang Hongbing's note, all of Chen Jie's sadness and grievances vanished completely, and her previously sorrowful expression disappeared. A shy smile appeared on her face, her heart suddenly raced, and her cheeks flushed. Wen Xin teased, "It's just a note, are you excited? Or shy?" Chen Jie playfully pinched Wen Xin, "Shut your mouth!"

Finally, class ended, and Wang Hongbing slipped out the back door. He didn't go to eat; he ran straight to Yonghe Garden. When Chen Jie saw Wang Hongbing walk out the back door, she hurriedly went into the restroom. In the restroom, she tidied her hair and straightened her skirt in front of the mirror.

The sky was a clear, bright blue, illuminated by the sun. A few white clouds drifted lazily across the horizon, carrying a sense of comfort, freedom, and unbridled joy. Chen Jie looked up at the sky, at that beautiful blue, and her steps quickened involuntarily. A girlish joy and shyness welled up inside her. A smile of happiness and bliss, the joy of first love, graced her lips.

As she entered the Lotus Pond Garden, she immediately spotted Wang Hongbing sitting by the flower bed. This time, she felt awkward. How could she greet him? Saying "Hey, I'm here?" wouldn't be appropriate; saying "Hello, is there something you need?" would be too stiff…

Wang Hongbing looked up and saw Chen Jie. He blushed, but still stood up: "Chen Jie!"

Chen Jie felt her face burning hot. She forced a casual tone and said, "Oh, you're here early!" But inwardly she was annoyed. Wasn't that obvious?

"Yes, I'm waiting for you." Wang Hongbing scratched his head. "I wanted to thank you. You sent money home, right?"

"It's nothing, don't be so polite!"

Wang Hongbing nervously rubbed his hands: "That day, when I called, my attitude was bad, were you angry?"

"No, why would I be angry?" Chen Jie smiled, she calmed down a bit, and her face no longer felt hot.

"I was so grateful for your care when I was sick!"

“It’s nothing,” Chen Jie looked up. “Don’t be so polite.” She paused, then mustered her courage and said again, her tone much softer, “I, I really enjoy taking care of you!” After saying that, she felt her face burning and her ears burning intensely.

Wang Hongbing froze, his face instantly turning red. She likes taking care of me? He rubbed his hands until they ached, unable to think of anything to say next. "I, I…,"