Guanyin's Tears

Chapter 13

Chen Jie boldly raised her head and looked at Wang Hongbing: "How about you treat me to some steamed buns to show your gratitude?"

"Then, then, let's go to the cafeteria for cooking." Wang Hongbing said, blushing. This was the first time he had ever invited a girl to dinner.

"Then, let's go to the cafeteria," Chen Jie said, turning around with a sweet smile. In that instant, she suddenly saw a woman in ancient costume standing under the shade of a tree beside the flower bed, like a sculpture. Her red lips were slightly parted, her delicate eyebrows arched upwards, and her eyes were like autumn water and morning stars. So ethereal, seemingly untouched by worldly concerns. Sitting there, she was dignified, noble, quiet, and elegant. So pure and tender, like a lotus bud emerging from the water, untouched by worldly dust.

Chen Jie was stunned. Who was she?

Seeing Chen Jie stop moving, Wang Hongbing turned around and followed her gaze. It was E'er!

"E'er!" Wang Hongbing cried out and ran over. In an instant, E'er vanished. "E'er, E'er..." Wang Hongbing called, but E'er seemed to have evaporated, disappearing without a trace. Chen Jie stared in astonishment at everything that had happened before her. Did he know her? Was she the "Miss" the woman in green had mentioned? Was her name "E'er"? Was she human or a ghost? What was their relationship?

Dejected, Wang Hongbing returned to the cafeteria with no appetite, and Chen Jie was also in no mood to eat. Too many questions confused her, and his silence made her feel extremely embarrassed.

"Well then, you don't seem to be in a good mood. Next time, I'll treat you," Chen Jie forced a smile. Wang Hongbing nodded absentmindedly.

When Wang Hongbing returned to the dormitory, Zhu Zhi was already there. Upon seeing Wang Hongbing, he excitedly exclaimed, "Hongbing, it's all done! The clothes are burned!"

There was no joy on Wang Hongbing's face; he nodded stiffly.

A strong wind blew through the night. Wang Hongbing lay anxiously in bed, Liu'er's words echoing in his ears. After a long while, he finally fell into a deep sleep.

The rain was torrential; raindrops the size of beans fell rapidly, slamming against the glass with a loud "pitter-patter."

Awakened by the sound of rain and thunder in the early morning, Wang Hongbing got out of bed. Everyone else in the dormitory was still fast asleep, but a strong sense of unease kept him from falling asleep. He tiptoed to the balcony and gently closed the glass door. It was already getting light. He stood on the balcony and looked down at the flowerbeds below.

E'er! She stood there beside the bamboo grove, braving the rain. Her long, trailing skirt covered her feet and shoes, and she was soaked to the bone. Her long, beautiful hair clung to her clothes like black silk.

"E'er!" Wang Hongbing blurted out!

He probably only took a minute to run down from the fifth floor.

"E'er!" Wang Hongbing murmured, the raindrops hitting his body, feeling cold. Soon, Wang Hongbing's messy short hair was soaked through by the rain, shining black, and his young and energetic face was full of anxiety and heartache.

Beside the bamboo grove, there was no sign of E'er.

Wang Hongbing frantically weaved through the bamboo groves and flowerbeds. The edges of the bamboo leaves scratched his skin painfully, and the thorns on the rose and Chinese rose branches mercilessly pierced this intruder who had dared to trespass into the flowerbeds.

"My lord, were you looking for me?"

To Wang Hongbing at that moment, the voice was like heavenly music! He wiped the water from his face and turned around. E'er! Her delicate and beautiful face held a sorrowful smile, her dark, misty, and timid eyes clearly oblivious to the chill of the rain and fog. She stared at Wang Hongbing, her eyes gentle as water! She stood there, her wet clothes clinging to her thin and lonely body, the rain and fog weaving a hazy net behind her. Wang Hongbing straightened up and softly called out, "E'er!" His nose stung, and he suddenly pulled E'er into his arms! Water streamed down his face, indistinguishable between tears and rain.

"My lord, I, I..." E'er's voice rang in his ears. Wang Hongbing listened greedily to every word E'er said. "My lord, I..." E'er seemed to hesitate.

Wang Hongbing raised his hand, wanting to stroke E'er's hair, but he touched nothing. He hurriedly opened his eyes and found himself still in a hugging position. E'er was gone!

"E'er! E'er!..." he roared, and knelt down.

Chen Jie sat up in bed. She had a dream in which Wang Hongbing was holding her hand and walking with her on campus! But suddenly, Wang Hongbing shook off her hand and ran into the darkness, calling out, "E'er! E'er!"...

Through the windowpane, she saw the rain still falling outside. Gazing at the crisscrossing raindrops, she suddenly thought of the woman in ancient costume who appeared in the flowerbed almost every morning. Was she E'er? Was she still there? Thinking of this, she got out of bed.

"Why are you up so early? It's not too late to go to class at 7:30, it's only 5:30 now!" Wenxin said with her eyes still closed when she heard Chen Jie get out of bed. Liyan, however, was fast asleep.

"I'm not getting up now. I just want to see how heavy the rain is," Chen Jie said softly.

She opened the door, and the wind blew raindrops across the balcony, sprinkling them onto her nightgown.

"Such a loud rain! Close the door quickly, Miss Chen!" Wen Xin shouted.

"What's all the noise about? Go to sleep, go to sleep!" Liyan mumbled sleepily, burying her head in the soft pillow.

Chen Jie glanced quickly at the wisteria vines where the woman in ancient costume often appeared, but it seemed empty. She hurriedly closed the balcony door.

Lying on the bed, Chen Jie stared at the treetops peeking out from the balcony. They swayed gently in the rain, and a single, solitary yellow flower hung from one of the drooping branches, giving it a fragile and delicate appearance. Chen Jie sighed. Wang Hongbing, Wang Hongbing, Wang Hongbing—that name filled her heart! But what about him? What happened to him…? Ah! E'er?!

At night, the pure white moonlight shone on the campus, giving people a sense of holiness; the morning's downpour left no trace.

Sitting in the study room, Wang Hongbing was restless and agitated. Why did E'er always avoid him? He could almost still feel the traces of E'er's petite body nestled against him in his arms. He seemed to see E'er's faltering, withered back, imagining her in pain, every expression piercing his heart, imagining her sorrowful eyes. He couldn't concentrate on a single word in his book! He scribbled randomly on the paper, remembering Liu'er's words: "Young Master, my time is running out. You must promise me you'll treat Miss well..." Liu'er was gone. Then, E'er must be very lonely. Where was the lonely E'er now? He thought of E'er's timid gaze. Who would keep her company? E'er, E'er...

"We can sense Guanyin's tears to find you..." Liu'er's words echoed in his ears again. Holding the "Guanyin's Tears" in his hand, he thought of the old locust tree. He wanted to go see E'er, regardless of whether she was a person or a ghost! He put down his pen and prepared to go out.

The sound of writing behind her was constant; Chen Jie could sense that the man sitting behind her was restless or preoccupied. The chair creaked; he must have stood up. She didn't move, but she could almost see him turn and leave his desk.

The sound of a chair being pulled out echoed clearly in her mind. Then, footsteps began to sound again; he went out. Where was he going? It was so dark outside! Was he going to find that "Miss E'er"?

She took a deep breath. The English textbook lay dull and lifeless on the table, its pages covered in messy blue lines. She flipped through the pages haphazardly. The English words on each page looked like countless tiny insects crawling across them.

After a while, she turned around. There were a few pieces of paper left on the empty seat. She picked them up. The paper was almost entirely filled with the words "My E'er" along with words like "Reunite" and "Heartache".

Chen Jie seemed to hear a crisp sound inside her body, like a piece of paper being torn apart...

After leaving the study room, Wang Hongbing walked towards the old locust tree. The moonlight was bright, but it was pitch black under the tree, and the surroundings were eerily quiet. Wang Hongbing began to feel that something was following him. He turned around, but there was nothing there. He patted his head, thinking that he was probably just too nervous. Now it was E'er, not Liu'er who was scaring people! What was there to be afraid of? He reassured himself.

He opened his hands, letting the "Guanyin Tears" lie quietly in his palm, silently chanting, "E'er, come out, come out, E'er, can you sense me? E'er..."

Suddenly, Boss Yin's translucent blue figure appeared on the tree trunk: "Haha, haha, you never dreamed I'd be here, did you? You wanted to burn me to death? Dream on! The Heaven-Returning Formation is truly safe! Haha..." Boss Yin laughed loudly, his distorted face extremely ferocious.

Wang Hongbing clutched the Guanyin Tears tightly in his hand, his voice trembling as he asked, "What... what do you want to do?"

"What do I want? Haha, haha," he laughed again, "I want your body now! Your body! You think you can get your hand out of my hands with that old geezer's help? Haha, dream on! I have two 'Guanyin Tears' now! Haha!" He stared at Wang Hongbing with a twisted expression and said fiercely, "Come on, you!" He reached out, grabbed Wang Hongbing's neck, and dragged him forcefully towards the tree trunk. Wang Hongbing didn't have time to dodge, hurriedly closed his eyes, and thought to himself: It's over, I'm doomed, I'm going to be hit and killed!

After a gust of wind, he didn't hit a tree trunk! He opened his eyes and saw the cave. The ground was still covered with beautiful pebbles, and the irregularly shaped circular river was still flowing, its water splashing against the rocks at the edges, making a rhythmic sound. The gems on the cave walls gleamed alluringly.

E'er's skirt seemed to be torn. She leaned helplessly against the cave wall. When she saw Wang Hongbing, her eyes showed surprise and concern: "My lord..."

"Haha, little beauty, are you calling me?" Boss Yin laughed wildly. "Once I'm back to life, I'll take good care of you. I'll let you start over. You're a natural beauty! Haha..." As Boss Yin spoke, he reached out and lightly touched E'er's breasts.

"Stop!" Wang Hongbing screamed. E'er retreated in terror.

Boss Yin turned his face around, licked his lips with his red tongue, and said fiercely, "Getting impatient? Come on, come on, I'll kill you right now!" With that, he reached for Wang Hongbing's chest—

E'er hurriedly reached out and forcefully removed a gemstone from the cave wall. Suddenly, the ground shook violently, and Wang Hongbing instinctively grabbed the cave wall for support.

"Ah?! No—" Boss Yin looked at the shaking ground and screamed in terror. He lowered his hand, which had been reaching for Wang Hongbing's heart, and hurriedly turned around to look at E'er.

Wang Hongbing breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up, his gaze quickly searching for E'er. E'er stood weakly in the pavilion, clutching her chest, her brows furrowed, holding a dazzling gemstone in her hand. She must be in pain again. Wang Hongbing felt a surge of anxiety. He glanced sideways at the wicked Boss Yin. Suddenly, he noticed cracks appearing on his blue-glowing body. He was reaching out with a ferocious expression to snatch the gemstone from E'er's hand. E'er didn't flinch; she shoved the gemstone into her mouth and swallowed it whole! Her small mouth gaped open in shock. Boss Yin pointed at E'er in astonishment, screaming in terror, "No—! No—! You're insane, you filthy bitch! I…" His dying scream was accompanied by a loud "bang"—Boss Yin's translucent body shattered like a balloon, the blue hue of the shattered bubble vanishing in a flash!

Wang Hongbing watched this scene in astonishment.

Turning his head, he saw that E'er's clear, gentle eyes were filled with longing, sorrow, and a tenderness that could melt anyone's heart. She gazed quietly at Wang Hongbing. Her small, rounded lips parted slightly, and her voice, as melodious as a nightingale's song, was completely unpretentious: "My lord, my lord, how I long, how I long to grow old with you! My lord, how I long for you to hold me again! Hold me..."

Overwhelmed with heartache and tenderness, Wang Hongbing wanted to run forward and embrace E'er! But at that moment, it seemed as if a transparent yet solid barrier stood before him, preventing him from taking another step!

"Boom—" Hundreds of gems instantly detached from the cave wall, turning into powder that fell like a meteor shower, accompanied by specks of light! E'er raised her arms, tilted her head back, and began to dance amidst the swirling powder. A chilling coldness, like a snake, pierced Wang Hongbing's heart. Reluctance welled up within her.

In the rain of gems, within the halo formed by the scattered lights, E'er spun endlessly, spinning... her eyes filled with tenderness and despair as she treaded a mournful melody.

Tears flew from her beautiful, star-like eyes! One by one, grain by grain.

A sorrowful yet beautiful song rang out:

"Golden hairpin, rosy face, a brief encounter amidst the flowers."

Knowing my heart, moved by your compassion, this love must be questioned by Heaven.

Incense swirls like tassels, wax turns into tears, just like the feelings between two people.

The mountain pillow is greasy, the brocade robe is cold, and I wake up to find the night watchman's drum almost empty. The night watchman's drum almost empty…

"E'er! E'er!..." Wang Hongbing felt his heart being slashed open bit by bit by a knife! He reached out, wanting to touch that delicate, exquisite, cold and beautiful body; he wanted to hold onto that E'er who had suffered for a thousand years! But his feet seemed to be rooted to the ground, and his outstretched hand could only weakly open its five fingers.

As if hearing Wang Hongbing's call, E'er smiled, her lips parted with a helpless sadness. That beautiful face, that smile with tears in her eyes, was like a delicate mimosa after the rain, making one feel sorry for her!

As she spun, the embroidered skirt billowed out, red ribbons fluttering in the air, shimmering with the light of jewels. E'er was like a fairy scattering flowers, dispelling the sorrow that welled up in her eyes, the tears hanging from her long eyelashes, and the ultimate expression of heartbreak!

Slowly, slowly... the gemstone powder fell away, and E'er's figure became as faint as a wisp of cloud, as ethereal as a ghost, yet she continued to spin, spin...

Past and present lives flashed before his eyes like lightning. Wang Hongbing looked up to the sky and cried out, "E'er!" Tears streamed down his face.

The next morning, early risers and students discovered that the abandoned laboratory building had collapsed...

end

Early summer ten years later...

Mount Putuo, according to legend, is the sacred site of Guanyin, one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in my country, and a famous island scenic tourist destination.

Zhu Zhi, Wang Hongbing, and Zhang Li stood on a high mountain peak, gazing at the sea. Although the sea wind howled and the turbid waves surged, there was no sense of raging storms. In the distance, islands floated on the sea, with white sails dotting the water, creating a very beautiful scene.

Zhang Li was very excited. He turned his head and glanced at Hongbing: "Hongbing, it would be great if you brought Chen Jie over too!"

"Where's Liyan? Why didn't you bring her along?" Wang Hongbing smiled, giving an irrelevant answer.

Zhang Li looked blissfully happy: "She's about to give birth, so she's considered an older mother! How could she possibly be out hiking! And you two? It's been so long, have you and Chen Jie gotten married yet?"

Wang Hongbing sighed deeply: "I haven't contacted her since graduation, a year ago! She probably went abroad?"

"Oh? Sigh! You don't even know how to pursue a girl!" Zhang Li sighed as well. "I heard from Liyan that she's never married. I thought she was dating you!"

"Why don't you contact her?" Zhu Zhi asked, puzzled. "Chen Jie is such a wonderful girl! Don't you still remember that E—"

“Let’s go take a look at Puji Temple!” Wang Hongbing interrupted Zhu Zhi.

Putuoshan, with its numerous historical sites and exceptional beauty, is virtually unique in China. Its stunning natural scenery and rich Buddhist atmosphere lend it a mystical aura, and it is this very aura that draws countless tourists, making them linger and become completely captivated.

There were many people at Puji Temple, and many people were kneeling and worshipping under the golden statue of Guanyin.

Seeing the golden Guanyin statue, Zhu Zhi felt a surge of emotion. He glanced at Wang Hongbing, who was lost in thought, and asked, "Hey, Hongbing, are you thinking about your Guanyin tear?" Wang Hongbing lowered his head and gave a wry smile, "Of course I am. But it's all in the past!"

After praying to Guanyin, the three of them took a walk on the island. The island was lush with trees, its forests secluded and beautiful, featuring camphor trees, podocarpus, ginkgo, and albizia, among others. There were many tourists on the island, including quite a few stunningly beautiful women. Admiring beautiful women is almost a man's nature, and Zhu Zhi and his companions were no exception.

Soon, a woman leaning against a ginkgo tree caught their attention: a wide-brimmed white hat with small floral patterns covered her forehead, and a few strands of dark hair peeked out from under the hat, swaying gently in the wind. She wore a red V-neck blouse with white flowers, and a white silk skirt printed with lilies, the naturally flowing hem accentuating her beautiful hips; the hem of the skirt swayed in the wind, revealing her long, shapely legs and white strappy high heels. She had a small waist, a graceful chest, and a white scarf around her neck, which fluttered gently in the breeze.

The three slowly moved their eyes upwards, focusing on the face. Wang Hongbing stared intently, momentarily breathless! —Chen Jie!

(over)