Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  “Are you hurt?” Tong Wei recovered from her shock and looked at Wang Yao concernedly. At the same time, she reached out to examine his arms. The size of the rock was not small and weighed at least a few hundred kilograms. He must have mustered great strength to push it away; it would be inevitable for his arms to get injured.

  “Damn, did you see that?!”


  “A martial arts expert!”


  “Did you take a video of that?”


  “This needs to be posted online; it will definitely go viral!”


  The bystanders who had witnessed the startling incident before were all shocked beyond words.

  The rock that had rolled down earlier appeared to weigh at least a few hundred kilograms. Coupled with the force of the rock rolling from a high place, for it to be diverted from its path so easily by a person—this was something that could only be seen in the movies. It was remarkable that it was witnessed in real life.

  Detecting the fervent stares of the bystanders, Wang Yao and Tong Wei felt uncomfortable and quickly left the place.

  “You know martial arts?” when they reached a secluded area, Tong Wei asked. The scene earlier had given her a huge shock. If it were not for Wang Yao’s timely intervention and astonishing action, she would have been in deep trouble.

  “I know a little,” Wang Yao smiled and replied.

  “You know a little, and yet you display such amazing ability? What martial art was that?”


  “Tai Chi. This move enables me to accomplish a great task with little effort by using clever maneuvers,” Wang Yao replied casually. He had only just learned Tai Chi. In fact, he had not yet mastered the move that he mentioned earlier. However, earlier, in the heat of the moment and desperation, he had simply used his exceptional strength and inner Qi. It also helped that he had been practicing Tai Chi daily the past few days.

  “Astounding!” Tong Wei’s eyes brightened. She discovered her classmate had become more mysterious and this added to his charm.

  The two of them took the morning to trek the hills. Although the scenery was average, they had a great time.

  Lunchtime came very quickly. There was a small hotel on the hill, and there were not many people at the restaurant in the hotel. The two of them ordered a few dishes. Although these dishes were said to be wild vegetables and free-range chicken and fish, the taste did not appear like that, and the price was not cheap. It was evident that such a place was not banking on repeated customers.

  After having their lunch, the two of them rested a bit and went down the hill, intending to go to Wang Yao’s herbal field. When they reached the town, Tong Wei asked Wang Yao to stop for a bit. She then got out of the car and headed to the town’s biggest supermarket to buy some presents.

  “What are you doing, you don’t have to.” Wang Yao shook his head……

  When he got home, he found that his home looked different. It was sparkling clean, and his parents had put on new clothes. It seemed that all this was done specially to welcome Tong Wei.

  Is there a need to do all this? Wang Yao silently grumbled.

  “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Wang,” Tong Wei greeted them naturally and in a poised manner.

  “Hi, what a lovely girl; you don’t have to bring me presents!” Zhang Xiuying brought Tong Wei into the house, held her hands and asked her many questions. She was very warm towards her. In Wang Yao’s mind, he had never seen his mother act so warmly towards himself and his sister. His father, Wang Fenghua stood on the side, looking buoyant.

  They chatted for almost an hour; his parents basically ignored him the whole time.

  “Mom, Tong Wei wants to go to Nanshan hill.”


  “Okay, take her,” Zhang Xiuying said and smiled cheerfully.

  “Shall we go?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Okay.”


  The two of them left the house and took the main path in the village that led to Nanshan hill. At that time, there were a number of villagers who were chatting and coming down from the hill. When they saw Tong Wei, they were all stunned; especially the younger guys who looked like their eyes were about to pop out.

  “So beautiful!”


  “This village hasn’t seen such a pretty girl in years!”


  “This is Wang Yao from Fenghua’s family right? Where did this guy find such a pretty lady?!”


  Under the envious and jealous eyes of the villagers, Wang Yao took Tong Wei up Nanshan hill to the area that he rented.

  “These were all planted by you?” Tong Wei asked as she looked at the sea of green herbs.

  “Yes. There was more, but I’ve recently harvested some, so this is what’s left.”


  “What’s with this dog?” Tong Wei found that no matter where she walked, Wang Yao’s dog followed her closely. It also looked at her with suspicious eyes, like it was guarding against a thief.

  “You mean San Xian? What’s up?”


  “Nothing much, just that the way it looks at me is a little weird. Maybe I’m imagining it?” Tong Wei smiled and said.

  “You’re not. He behaves like that whenever a stranger comes. Don’t take it to heart.”


  “Okay.”


  Tong Wei looked at the herbal field for a bit and then walked around the area.

  “You rented this hill?”


  “Yes, I use this side mainly. The other side is too steep and full of rocks. I haven’t thought about how to make use of it,” Wang Yao said.

  “You normally stay on this hill?”


  “Yes, I spend the bulk of my time here,” Wang Yao remarked. “I stay overnight too.”


  “You stay here alone at night on this hill?”


  “Yes,” Wang Yao responded confidently.

  “Aren’t you afraid?”


  “At first, I was a little afraid but eventually, I got used to it. Besides, I have San Xian and Da Xia’s company,” Wang Yao replied.

  “San Xian is the dog. Who is Da Xia?”


  “I forgot to introduce you; this is Da Xia.” Wang Yao pointed to a dark speck high up in the sky. Vaguely, the silhouette of a relatively big-sized bird could be seen. It could be that it had detected Wang Yao below it and was swiftly descending.

  “Da Xia!” Wang Yao shouted towards the sky.

  Caw, the bird called.

  That is……an eagle?

  The eagle in the sky descended to a height and then slowed down. It then landed on a rock not far away from Wang Yao.

  “This is Da Xia.” Wang Yao smiled. He walked to the side of the eagle and reached out to pat its feathers. The eagle looked like it enjoyed itself.

  Tong Wei’s beautiful eyes were full of astonishment. Her red lips were agape, and she looked pretty and adorable.

  “You reared an eagle?”


  “I didn’t rear it; it just lives here,” Wang Yao explained.

  Tong Wei had only seen people who reared eagles in the movies. She did not expect to witness a person like this in real life, and this person was her classmate.

  “Come into the cottage.”


  “Sure.”


  “Da Xia, goodbye.” Tong Wei faced the eagle and waved her hands in its direction. Da Xia ignored her. In the eagle’s eyes, a pretty lady meant nothing.

  “What tea would you like to have?”


  “Anything.”


  “I planted some tea and asked a tea master to hand process it recently. Do you want to try it?”


  “Sure!” Tong Wei said and smiled.

  Wang Yao had kept a portion of the tea made for himself. He opened the packaging and took some tea out to make a pot of tea.

  As soon as Tong Wei entered the cottage, Tong Wei glanced around the small cabin. There was a bed, a desk, a chair with a back, some coffee tables and a few stools. There was also some firewood and a pot. The cottage was spick and span.

  “Try it and let me know how it tastes?” Wang Yao poured a teacup for her.

  “It’s so aromatic!” Tong Wei took a small sip and exclaimed. “Apart from tending to these herbal fields, what else do you do?”


  “I read, practice Tai Chi and decoct medicine.”


  “Decoction? You have medical skills?”


  “Yes.”


  “You are full of surprises!” Tong Wei smiled and said.

  When the sky darkened, the two of them went down the hill. Wang Yao’s parents had prepared a table of dishes. His sister had also come home. His parents had called her after Tong Wei came to their place.

  “My sister, Wang Ru. This is Tong Wei.”


  “Hello.” The Wang Ru at present was dignified and poised, looking every bit like an elder sister.

  The whole family enjoyed the meal, especially Wang Yao’s mother, who kept giving Tong Wei food.

  After dinner, Tong Wei stayed in the house for a while and then Wang Yao drove her to her place in Lianshan. He met her parents, chatted and stayed there for a while. When he departed, Tong Wei walked him downstairs.

  “Your mom is unwell?” when they were downstairs, Wang Yao enquired. Earlier in the house, he could tell that Tong Wei’s mother’s breathing was erratic, her complexion was not good, and her spirit was flagging. Her eyes also looked dimmed and lacked luster.

  “Yes, it’s an old ailment. Hey, you have medical skills, could you help take a look at my mother?”


  “How about tomorrow? I guessing your mother has already taken her medication for the night?”


  “Yes, she takes it after every meal, especially at night.”


  “In that case, tell your mother that I will come tomorrow to see her.”


  “Okay, that’s a deal.” Tong Wei saw him off and then turned to head upstairs.

  “That is the young man who came to help out when I was hospitalized?” After Tong Wei returned home, her mother asked her.

  “Yes, it’s him.”


  “He looks dignified. What does he do?”


  “He cultivates herbs.”


  “Okay.” Her parents did not make any further comments. Tong Wei told her parents that Wang Yao would come the next day to take a look at her condition and asked her to wait for him and not go out. Her mother agreed.

  When Wang Yao returned home, his parents did not rest. His mother peppered him with multiple questions, asking him if he went to the girl’s place, how was the girls’ parents’ attitude towards him and so on. It took a while before Wang Yao could get rid of her and departed.

  When he was on the hill, Wang Yao examined the sky as usual and recited a chapter of the scripture before resting for the day.

  The next day, after finishing his chores on the hill, Wang Yao drove his car in preparation to see Tong Wei’s mother since this was agreed on the night before.

  When his car had reached near the center of the village, at the area where the military unit’s house was, he saw a few familiar people—it was the branch secretary and the chairman, accompanying a middle-aged man who had the charisma of a boss. They were looking at something. On the road, a Benz was parked. As the village road was quite narrow and could only accommodate two cars, and the Benz took up a part of the road, Wang Yao had to drive very slowly. At the same time, he rolled down his car window as he saw that the branch secretary and the people with him were looking in his direction.