Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  “Sorry Mr. Zhang, I don’t know how to treat diseases or calcium stones in the body. You should go to the hospital if you don’t feel well. My uncle must have been drunk when he told you that I could treat diseases. Please don’t take his words seriously,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

  His uncle looked embarrassed when he heard Wang Yao’s words. Now he had pissed both Mr. Zhang and Wang Yao off.

  Wang Yao’s uncle had told his boss that Wang Yao was able to treat diseases including stones in the body after several glasses of drinks. He also exaggerated the effect of the decoction Wang Yao gave him. He told his boss that the decoction cured his gallstones immediately and there were no side effects. He didn’t expect his boss to keep his words in mind. Mr. Zhang had kidney stones. He didn’t pay much attention to the problem until the pain had started to affect his daily life. He had visited the hospital numerous times to have the stones removed, and the process was not pleasant. It suddenly occurred to him one day that Wang Yao’s uncle mentioned how his stones were removed. So he asked Wang Yao’s uncle to take him to Wang Yao. Wang Fenglei didn’t dare to turn down his boss’s request. He thought maybe his nephew had gotten the magical herbs again.

  That was why this awkward scene had happened.

  “I’m sorry for wasting your time, Mr. Zhang,” said Wang Yao. He was still quite firm this time, leaving no room for his uncle.

  “Haha, that’s alright, I just took the opportunity to relax!” Mr. Zhang’s face changed for a second and then returned to normal.

  “Yao, you……” said Wang Yao’s uncle.

  “Uncle, I can’t do anything about it,” said Wang Yao. He didn’t know what else he could say to his uncle. After all, he was his father’s youngest brother, a family member. But Wang Yao knew he had to be firm.

  “That’s fine, we can just forget about it. Fenglei, are you gonna leave with me or stay a bit longer?” said Mr. Zhang. He was still smiling, but awkwardly.

  Wang Yao’s uncle knew his boss was not happy.

  “I’ll go with you,” said Wang Yao’s uncle.

  “Okay!” said Mr. Zhang.

  Wang Yao’s uncle left with his boss. Wang Yao’s family saw them out. Mr. Zhang’s face changed immediately after he got in the car.

  “I’m sorry, boss,” said Wang Yao’s uncle.

  “Fine, don’t talk about it anymore!” Mr. Zhang waved his hand impatiently. His face was sullen.

  Mr. Zhang was convinced that Wang Fenglei lied to him about Wang Yao and wasted his time. This was unforgivable.

  Wang Yao’s uncle knew he was in trouble and his career would probably go nowhere in the future. He didn’t say anything. The atmosphere was awkward in the car.

  Wang Yao was chatting with his family at home.

  “Yao, you could have just cost your uncle his job!” said Zhang Xiuying.

  “Well, I can’t do anything about it. He shouldn’t have lied, and I can’t lie to his boss. In addition, I don’t have a medical qualification, so I will be in big trouble if I prescribe herbs to his boss,” said Wang Yao.

  Dissolving stones was not too hard for Wang Yao. Cooked stone flower could easily dissolve stones in the body. Stone flowers could be exchanged for with reward points. But Wang Yao’s uncle was the problem. If Wang Yao agreed to treat Mr. Zhang and cured him, his uncle would tell more people about his ability to treat diseases. So he decided to nip the whole thing in the butt.

  Wang Yao’s mother didn’t say anything more. His father was just smoking.

  “I’m not going to step in,” said his father after a while.

  “Okay,” said Wang Yao. Anyway, from now on, his youngest uncle would not be happy with him and his family as what happened would affect his career and his family life. The relationship between his family and his uncle’s family would be affected too, all just because his uncle couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

  Wang Yao had told his uncle numerous times not to tell other people that he could treat disease. But his uncle had been ignoring him.

  It gave Wang Yao a big headache.

  Well, forget about it!

  “Mom, I need to go to Dao City in the next few days. Could you and dad help me look after the herbal field?” asked Wang Yao when he was having dinner with his family.

  “Sure, but why do you need to go to Dao?” asked Zhang Xiuying.

  “I’m going with a friend,” smiled Wang Yao.

  “Friend? Female or male? Is it Tong Wei?” asked Zhang Xiuying immediately.

  “No, I’m going there with Tian Yuantu,” said Wang Yao.

  “I see……” Zhang Xiuying sounded disappointed……

  The sky was high and far at night. The moon was shining, but there weren’t many stars.

  Wang Yao drove back to the hill fast. He sat in front of the cottage and looked up at the sky as usual. The wind was not too chilly on the hill.

  The weather should be good tomorrow.

  He phoned Tian Yuantu the next day to tell him that he was happy to visit his friend’s son in Dao City. Tian Yuantu was very glad to hear it and told Wang Yao that he would contact his friend immediately to make a time to meet.

  After Wang Yao had finished his conversation with Tian Yuantu, he received a call from Zhou Xiong. Zhou Xiong said something interesting on the phone. He asked Wang Yao if he was interested in learning Chinese martial arts.

  Wang Yao actually expressed his interest in learning Chinese martial arts to Zhou Xiong after Zhou Xiong told him that he won the fight against four men. Wang Yao didn’t expect Zhou Xiong would take it seriously.

  “Yeah, I’m still interested!” said Wang Yao. He thought it was not a bad thing to learn Chinese martial arts. It was always good to learn something new.

  Zhou Xiong and his son came to Nanshan hill few moments after speaking to Wang Yao on the phone. Wang Yao didn’t expect him to be so keen.

  In fact, Zhou Xiong had his reasons for doing so. Firstly, he was really appreciative of Wang Yao. His son had been much better both physically and mentally during the last few months following Wang Yao’s treatment. It made Zhou Xiong hopeful of a full recovery, and Wang Yao didn’t even mention the fee. So he kept in mind what Wang Yao said about Chinese martial arts the other day. Secondly, his son liked going to Nanshan hill; he said the atmosphere on the hill made him relaxed.

  “Gosh, you came so fast!” said Wang Yao with a smile.

  “Yeah, I really appreciate your help with Kang’s illness, and you didn’t even charge any money. I don’t have anything special to give you. I happen to know a bit of Chinese martial arts. I’ll teach you if you want to learn,” said Zhou Xiong honestly.

  Wang Yao was touched to hear it.

  There was vacant land in front of the cottage and next to the herbal field. The land was not huge, but it was big enough for Zhou Xiong to teach Wang Yao martial arts.

  “I started to practice martial arts in Cang province since I was a child. I’ve practiced Chinese boxing including Tong Bi, Ba Gua, Ba Ji, and Xing Yi. Which one do you want to learn?” Zhou Xiong changed into a totally different person when talking about martial arts. He suddenly became confident, positive and keen.

  “Can you provide more details as I have limited knowledge of martial arts,” said Wang Yao.

  “Sure.” Zhou Xiong took several steps backwards to keep himself away from Wang Yao and his son, and then he started to move.

  “The keys of Tong Bi are your arms for sure. You put all your strength in your arms as well as focusing on your hands, eyes, body, and legs,” said Zhou Xiong while he was demonstrating Chinese boxing to Wang Yao. His body moved very fast. He changed from one posture to another and made loud sounds.

  “As for Ba Ji, in ancient China, Emperor Wen relied on Tai Chi to rule the country while Emperor Wu used level eight to rule the country. When practicing Ba Ji, your strength can reach all directions around you and can reach really far. Therefore, it is a tough and violent boxing style,” said Zhou Xiong while his movements changed into a more fierce style of martial arts. He extended his movements to a much larger scale.

  “As for Ba Gua, it emphasizes the movements of the hands and feet. It’s a combination of excess and deficiency,” Zhou Xiong’s movement changed again. His body appeared to be lighter. His palms turned up and down, like a hopping ape or a crawling snake.

  “The last one is Xing Yi. Your body moves straight forward or backward at an extremely high speed. It is like lightning and thunder, or like the bursting banks of the Yellow River!” Zhou Xiong’s movement suddenly became faster and tougher. His body went forward and backward repeatedly.

  Zhou Xiong really opened Wang Yao’s eyes. Although Wang Yao didn’t know much about Chinese martial arts, he could tell from Zhou Xiong’s movements that he was very good at it. His movements were well organized, and the strength that came out of his hands and feet was tremendous. Wang Yao presumed that anyone who got beaten up by Zhou Xiong would be seriously injured. Zhou Xiong’s movements were more than a style—they were useful.

  “What do you think? Which one do you want to learn?” smiled Zhou Xiong after his demonstration. It was not a show-off. Zhou Xiong simply wanted Wang Yao to get a good idea of the different styles of Chinese martial arts so that Wang Yao could make a choice.

  “Let me think about it,” said Wang Yao.

  Each style of Chinese martial arts Zhou Xiong demonstrated was different from one another and had nothing to do with Natural Classics he had been reading. Only eight trigrams was remotely related to Natural Classics. Wang Yao didn’t know which one to choose.

  “Do you practice Tai Chi?” asked Wang Yao.

  “Tai Chi?” Zhou Xiong paused.

  “Yes, but I don’t practice Tai Chi often,” Zhou Xiong continued.

  “Can you show me?” asked Wang Yao.

  “Sure,” said Zhou Xiong.

  Zhou Xiong started to demonstrate Tai Chi to Wang Yao. His movement was slow and appeared to be soft, like running water. However, the energy it conveyed was tremendous, like a flood; once touched, it would break out fiercely.

  “I want to learn this!” said Wang Yao.

  Wang Yao thought Tai Chi suited him best.

  Zhou Xiong was slightly surprised by Wang Yao’s choice. Although Tai Chi was the most well-known Chinese martial arts nationally, people practiced Tai Chi only to improve their health. Tai Chi was never supposed to be a method of attacking. However, at the very beginning, Tai Chi was used for attacking and killing.

  “So you just want to improve your fitness?” asked Zhou Xiong out of curiosity.

  “And defend myself,” said Wang Yao with a smile.

  Wang Yao didn’t need Tai Chi to improve his fitness. He had Natural Classics. The method of inducing and the philosophy it contained was the best way to improve fitness. He just wanted to learn the skills Tai Chi contained and how to use his strength in the cleverest way. The breathing exercises he had been practicing made him much stronger than average people. A strong adult couldn’t even get close to Wang Yao if he tried to fight Wang Yao. But Wang Yao didn’t control his strength well. He was like those in Kung Fu novels who had great Qi but didn’t know how to use them.

  “Defense is sometimes the most efficient attacking method. It’s the spirit of Chinese martial arts,” said Zhou Xiong with a smile.