Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  In a moment, Wang Yao’s mother returned with a big bowl of noodles and walked into the living room.

  “Here, eat.”


  “Thanks, Mom.”


  It was a simple bowl of noodles, cooked plainly without any special ingredients, but Wang Yao found it delicious. One big bowl of noodles was thus finished just like that.

  “How was the patient’s treatment?” Zhang Xiuying asked, smiling.

  “It was alright; there was some improvement,” Wang Yao replied, drinking a cup of water.

  “Are you going back to the hill tonight?”


  “Yup.”


  After spending some time with his parents and giving them a massage to stimulate their blood flow, Wang Yao left for Nanshan hill. The time was about 8 pm.

  It was the end of May, and the days were getting hotter. The village people enjoyed hanging around outdoors after meals, just chit-chatting.

  Wang Yao headed to the south end of the village. He did not recognize many people in the village and did not have many frequent interactions with them. Nonetheless, everyone that he recognized, he would greet. Anyways, these people were all his elders.

  “Going to the hill, Yao?” asked Wang Fengming.

  “Hi, Uncle Fengming.”


  “It’s already late; are you going to the hill at this time?” Wang Fengming asked again.

  “Yeah, I’m used to it.”


  Wang Fengming was with some other people. He didn’t introduce them, and Wang Yao didn’t ask either. Wang Yao continued on his way to Nanshan hill.

  “Isn’t that Wang Yao? What time is it now? What’s he going to the hill for?”


  Many people, in fact, everyone in the village had heard of Wang Yao. Perhaps, this was because he had once attempted suicide by drowning in the river, or because he had bought the most expensive car in the village. Or, perhaps it was because rich folks were always coming to the village to look for him. However, the fact that he would return to Nanshan hill every night after dinner was not known by many.

  Most people would only be interested in gossiping about interesting things. Few would pay attention to small things like this.

  “Perhaps he’s just out for a walk?”


  “Wow. It’s already so late and dark outside. He’s got guts.”


  “I heard that he often spends the night on Nanshan hill.”


  “Is he not scared of ghosts?”


  No one in the village would go up Nanshan hill at night. Nobody, except for those two from before who were up to no good and who nearly crippled themselves from falling into a drain.

  Wang Fengming laughed, knowing the truth but deigning from commenting.

  That young man is a top achiever. You guys just have no idea.

  The frogs in the well will never truly know how broad the sky is!

  After exiting the village, Wang Yao did not use his martial arts skills, but instead, leisurely strolled up the hill. As he walked, he admired the quiet scenery. The hill was much quieter than the village and also a lot more cooling.

  The mountain—it stood there quietly, and the trees, they shook with the breeze.

  The dog on the hill started barking as soon as it heard its owner returning. It wagged its tail in excitement.

  “San Xian, did anything happen on the hill today?”


  Woof woof!

  “That’s good. Nothing is good.”


  One man, one dog—they slowly climbed the hill. The eagle perched on a nearby tree flapped its wings and called out.

  “Hello, Da Xia,” Wang Yao said, waving towards the tree.

  On the hilltop, the light of a lamp lit up. It was a speck of yellow light amidst the vast darkness.

  Under the light of the lamp, at the table, Wang Yao sat writing down his experiences and takeaways from the trip to Cangzhou.

  On this trip to Cangzhou, he had learned a lot and gained a lot, especially from the conversation with Sang Guzi. Just like the saying went, hearing one line from the sovereign beats reading ten years of books. Master Sang’s lifetime of experience was more valuable than any wealth. Wang Yao sat there writing until deep into the night before turning in for the night.

  The next morning, just as the sky grew bright, Wang Yao was up.

  Climbing the hill, breathing and practicing martial arts—everything was as per normal.

  After returning to his cottage, Wang Yao took some time to tidy up the herbal fields.

  He decided that today, he would not go anywhere. He would just stay on the hilltop in peace and quiet.

  His friends did not know that he had returned from Cangzhou back to Lianshan, so nobody called him.

  Solitude, peace, and quiet on the hilltop—how nice!

  Around evening, he received an unexpected phone call. It was from Tong Wei. She was preparing to go to France for a month, as per her company’s arrangements.

  After hearing this news, Wang Yao was silent for a while, harboring complicated feelings in his heart.

  “Hey! Are you listening to me? This chance is rare to come by; I really think it would be a pity to let it go,” Tong Wei said through the phone.

  “As long as you like it,” Wang Yao replied.

  Since the other party was keen, Wang Yao decided he would support it as best he could.

  Although Tong Wei was going to a foreign country many miles away, in today’s world, communication had been made very convenient. It was also not difficult to take a trip to another country.

  “It’s just going to be a month. I’ll be back soon.”


  “Are you going to come back before you leave?”


  “Yeah, I’ll be back to visit during the dragon-boat festival.

  “That’s great.”


  After hanging up, Wang Yao felt a sudden sense of loss.

  Suddenly, he took out a book of Taoist Classics and read through it in silence, reading until the sour feelings faded away. Then, as he put down the book, he suddenly had another thought.

  Am I really becoming a mountain hermit, all by my lonesome self?

  Once this notion surfaced, it was hard to get rid of it.

  At this moment, in a study room many miles away, a charming girl gazed up at the ceiling.

  “Is this really for the best?”


  Tong Wei did not want to go out of the country that badly. Her feelings weren’t actually that strong. However, when she thought of her relationship with Wang Yao, for some reason, she felt that there was some kind of barrier between the two of them that she couldn’t get past.

  They seemed like lovers but were clearly different from normal lovers.

  This time, she wanted to test Wang Yao’s attitude, to find out her position in Wang Yao’s heart. If he really cherished her, he wouldn’t let her go so easily. The result was that she was worried but also happy. When Wang Yao heard the news, he had been silent in shock for a while. This showed that she still had a place in his heart. However, Wang Yao immediately said that he would support her. Was this really support, or was it something else?

  In that brief span of time, Tong Wei’s mind ran through many possibilities.

  In all honesty, Wang Yao was truly supporting her, yet he also could not bear to let her go.

  The sky outside gradually darkened, and another day passed by……

  In Lianshan county, Wang Mingbao, Wei Hai, and a few others were gathered together.

  “Where did Dr. Wang go? When is he coming back?” Among these people, Wei Hai was more concerned about Wang Yao’s whereabouts. He couldn’t help it; he was a patient waiting for Wang Yao to treat him. Now that he was on the verge of recovery, he became even more anxious.

  “He went to Cangzhou and will be back shortly.”


  “Yeah, he had me prepare a batch of herbs before he left. It’s ready right now, and I’m just waiting for him to come back,” Li Maoshuang.

  “What has Tian been busy with recently?”


  “He’s been busy with work. His company is going to get a public listing soon. I saw him a few days ago, and he looks much thinner than before,” Wang Mingbao said.

  “Ha! What public listing? How big does he want to go before he’s satisfied? It’s so tiring, isn’t it better to be like us, drinking tea and talking, passing the days happily?” Wei Hai said.

  “You’ve seen through the truth of things. Tian isn’t like you.”


  “Once his health gets affected, then all those won’t matter,” Wei Hai said. He took another sip of tea. He had really seen through it all.

  “Okay okay, stop talking if you don’t have anything nice to say.”
……

  Lianshan County, Jiahui Group’s office.

  The general manager’s office light was still on, and Tian Yuantu was leafing through the company’s financial records.

  Ringgggg! The phone on the table rang. He picked it up and saw that it was his wife calling.

  “I’ll be back soon; don’t wait for me.”


  Another half an hour later, he had finished looking through that document and picked up another one.

  Knock knock knock. There was a knock at the door.

  “Enter.”


  A graceful looking woman pushed open the door, walking in with a lunchbox in her hand.

  “Jiahui, you came?” Tian Yuantu immediately put down the documents he was holding and took the lunchbox from his wife.

  “You haven’t eaten, right?”


  “I ate a bit,” Tian Yuantu said, smiling.

  “The food is still warm. Quick, eat it.”


  “Okay.”


  Tian Yuantu wolfed down all the food prepared by his wife. Obviously, he was starving.

  “The work is almost done. All this work, are you really supposed to do it all by yourself? Can’t you hand it to your employees?” Yu Jiahui asked.

  “I’m the last line of checks. This is very important; it affects our company’s future development,” Tian Yuantu responded.

  Yu Jiahui didn’t lecture her husband any further, instead choosing to stand there quietly.

  After finishing his meal, Tian Yuantu continued busying himself. Every now and then, his wife would help him get water and arrange the documents, just like a secretary.

  “Why don’t you go back first?” Tian Yuantu said, looking away from his work for a moment. The gentle look in his wife’s eyes made his fatigue fly away.

  “We’ll go back together.”


  “Okay, then I’ll stop here for today,” Tian Yuantu replied, smiling gently.

  The instant he got up, Tian Yuantu suddenly felt the world spinning. His vision grew dark, and he stumbled forward, unable to stand straight.

  “What’s wrong?” Yu Jiahui asked. She rushed forward to support him.

  “Nothing much, I just got up too quickly. It made me a little dizzy,” Tian Yuantu laughed as he reassured his wife.

  “You’ve been tiring yourself out recently. Go home and rest. Tomorrow, go to the doctor to get yourself checked.”


  “Okay.” He was very obedient towards his wife……

  The night was quiet.

  In his cottage on Nanshan hill, Wang Yao was reading a book. This was a book he had read many times —the Catalogue of Magic Herbs. In it, documented hundreds of varieties of licorice roots and their various functions. Many of them were no longer found in the world.

  “What a pity!”


  Wang Yao sighed.

  There were some herbs in there that could cure Zhou Wuyi’s illness. Unfortunately, the price was so high to the point that Wang Yao could not even accumulate the points needed to trade for those.

  Just these herbs alone are already valuable beyond measure. What about the medicines made from these herbs?