水聲如夢，人影如幻，一段奇遇映照慾念與虛實交錯。
Water whispers like dreams, where desire and illusion intertwine.
中文
有一書生，姓王，遊學途中，偶經一處山間幽谷。此地清泉潺潺，林木蔥蘢，四下無人，唯聞水聲清越。王生久行疲憊，遂於溪畔歇息。
正當他俯身掬水之際，忽見水面微動，似有異物浮現。頃刻之間，一女子自水中緩緩升起。其人肌膚如雪，長髮披肩，衣裳濕潤，緊貼身形。她立於水中，目光幽幽，似笑非笑。
王生驚而不懼，反生好奇。女子忽張口，一道清水自唇間噴出，如細泉飛濺，晶瑩剔透，在日光下閃爍異彩。王生見之，既驚且迷，竟不覺後退。
女子笑曰：「君遠道而來，可願與我同戲水中？」聲音柔媚，似有引誘之意。王生心神動搖，竟忘其怪異，緩步入水。
水涼刺骨，卻又令人沉醉。女子在水中游動如魚，忽遠忽近，時而回首，時而消失。王生追逐其影，越入越深，水勢漸急。
忽然，他腳下一滑，整個人墜入深潭。水中暗流湧動，四周漆黑無光。他掙扎之際，忽覺有人拉住其衣袖。抬眼望去，卻非女子，而是一具蒼白如屍的面孔。
那「女子」已變，雙目空洞，口中仍噴水不止，卻帶腥寒之氣。她冷笑道：「凡見我者，無一可返。」隨即猛然將他拖入更深之處。
危急之中，王生忽想起師長曾言：「異境之遇，多為心魔，當守本心。」他強忍恐懼，閉目不視，口中默念經文。忽覺水勢漸弱，那抓住他的力量亦隨之鬆開。
當他再睜眼時，已躺於溪畔，衣衫濕透，四周寂靜如初。陽光依舊，流水依舊，唯無女子身影。
王生驚魂未定，倉皇離去。此後再不敢涉險奇境。有人聞其事，或言水妖惑人，或言心念所生。然山谷之中，至今仍有水聲潺潺，如笑如泣，似在低語：「見水之人，當問其心。」
English Version
A traveling scholar named Wang once passed through a secluded mountain valley. The place was serene—clear water flowed gently over stones, and lush trees whispered in the wind. Exhausted from his journey, he knelt by the stream to rest.
As he reached for water, the surface rippled unnaturally. Slowly, a figure emerged—a woman rising from the stream itself. Her skin was pale as porcelain, her long hair clung wet against her body, and her eyes shimmered with an unreadable light.
Before he could react, she parted her lips—and a stream of water flowed outward in a delicate arc, sparkling in the sunlight like liquid glass. The sight was both mesmerizing and deeply unsettling.
“Traveler,” she said softly, “will you not join me?”
Her voice was gentle, inviting, almost hypnotic. Wang felt his caution slip away as he stepped into the cold water. The chill bit at his skin, yet something compelled him forward.
The woman moved effortlessly through the stream, gliding just out of reach. Each time he drew closer, she drifted away, smiling faintly. Drawn deeper and deeper, Wang suddenly lost his footing and plunged into a dark pool.
The current seized him.
As he struggled, a hand caught his sleeve. Relief surged—until he saw her face.
It had changed.
Her eyes were hollow, her skin deathly pale, and the water still pouring from her mouth carried a foul, icy stench. She smiled—a terrible, knowing smile.
“No one who follows me returns.”
She dragged him downward.
In that moment of terror, Wang recalled a lesson once given: illusions prey upon the unsettled mind. Gathering his will, he shut his eyes and resisted the vision, reciting words to steady his heart.
The grip loosened.
The water calmed.
When he opened his eyes again, he lay on the riverbank beneath the same gentle sunlight. The stream flowed peacefully, as if nothing had happened.
But Wang left at once, never to return.
Some say he encountered a water spirit that lures the unwary. Others believe the vision was born from his own desires. Yet those who pass that valley still hear the water’s voice—soft, endless, whispering:
“Before you follow… ask what you seek.”
