Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  There were a lot of villages in Lianshan where all the residents were at least 50 years old. Not many young people were willing to live in the countryside.

  “To be honest, I have considered moving out myself,” Wang Jianli said after keeping silent for a moment.

  “What would happen to the village if you left?” Zhang Xiuying asked.

  Wang Jianli had been the secretary of the village for more than 10 years. He had earned himself a good reputation among both his superior and the villagers.

  “I’ve discussed this with my wife. We’ve decided to stay in the village, unless they arrange for every one of us to move out,” Wang Jianli said. “What about you guys?”


  “We’ll stay here, too,” Wang Fenghua said.

  He had also discussed this with Zhang Xiuying. They wouldn’t leave, even they were the only family left in the village.

  “Good,” Wang Jianli said with a smile.

  He was trying to get as many villagers to stay as possible. After all, their village still existed. They had lived in it for decades. They didn’t want to leave.

  Wang Jianli had a long chat with Wang Fenghua and Zhang Xiuying.

  He had visited a number of houses in the past few days. He started with people who had a big impact on the village.

  “I don’t think many people will stay here after this,” Zhang Xiuying said.

  “Probably,” Wang Fenghua said.

  Wang Yao kept silent. In fact, he preferred to be surrounded by less people. Less people meant less trouble. Of course, he couldn’t let his parents know his thoughts.

  He left home at 9 p.m. and walked toward Nanshan Hill. It was very quiet in the village. He couldn’t even hear dogs barking. A lot of villagers had killed their dogs because they didn’t want to get infected.

  Hmm! Wang Yao turned around to look at his village as he reached the south side.

  The atmosphere of the village had changed. The whole thing felt unreal.

  The next morning, Wang Yao had a visitor at the clinic. Since the quarantine had been dropped, Pan Jun had decided to visit.

  “Hello, Master,” Pan Jun said.

  “You are not on duty today?” Wang Yao asked.

  “No. Are you available today?” Pan Jun asked.

  “Yes, take a seat,” Wang Yao said.

  He made Pan Jun a cup of tea. They sat and chatted.

  “I heard the detox for the disease was created by you,” Pan Jun said.

  Everyone in the hospital had been talking about the recent outbreak of the disease. The key person was Professor Wu from Beijing, but the center of focus was the detox.

  “Yes,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

  “You are amazing,” Pan Jun said with sincerity.

  “Not really. I was just lucky,” Wang Yao said.

  Pan Jun told Wang Yao what had happened at Lianshan People’s Hospital. A few doctors had been infected by the horrible disease. Fortunately, the detox had been invented. Although the infected doctors would recover eventually, they were still scared.

  Wang Mingbao soon arrived while they were talking.

  “Hi guys! I am finally here,” Wang Mingbao said.

  He had been calling Wang Yao all the time lately. After all, he was concerned about his fellow villagers in his hometown.

  “Are you OK?” Wang Mingbao asked.

  “I’m fine. We are all fine,” Wang Yao said.

  “I just bumped into several villagers on my way here. They told me a lot of people here want to move out,” Wang Mingbao said.

  “They are right,” Wang Yao said.

  “Why do they all want to move out? I think our village is really a nice place to live,” Wang Mingbao said.

  Wang Yao didn’t go into details. He didn’t ask Pan Jun and Wang Mingbao to stay for lunch, either. Wang Mingbao went to his grandparent’s place.

  Wang Yao visited Xishan Hill by himself in the afternoon. The atmosphere around the pits was still depressing, even though it was not as bad as before. However, the danger still existed.

  I have to get it sorted out completely.

  In a courtyard inside the village, Chen Zhou didn’t feel well.

  “Ouch!” He held his head with his hands. He suddenly had a headache. “Sis!”


  “Yes?” Chen Ying asked.

  “I have a headache,” Chen Zhou said.

  “Is it bad?” Chen Ying asked.

  “I have a bad feeling. Can you ask Dr. Wang to come here?” Chen Zhou asked.

  Wang Yao was walking around Xishan Hill. He was planning to do something about the deadly areas. He had thought about different ways to fix the areas. His phone suddenly rang.

  “Hello, Chen Ying,” Wang Yao said.

  “My brother has a headache. He said he’s worried about having a psychotic episode,” Chen Ying said.

  “OK, I’m on my way,” Wang Yao said.

  He quickly left Xishan. After a few hops, he arrived at the foot of the hill. He soon arrived at the house Chen Ying and her brother rented.

  “How are you feeling?” Wang Yao asked.

  “I have a headache,” Chen Zhou said.

  “Let me take a look.” Wang Yao checked Chen Zhou’s pulse. “Hmm?”


  Wang Yao sighed.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Chen Ying anxiously asked.

  “Don’t worry,” Wang Yao said.

  A meridian in Chen Zhou’s head had started to move again. He found this problem when they were all in Beijing. However, he couldn’t find what caused it. Now, the problem had started again.

  Wang Yao kept observing the meridian in Chen Zhou’s head. It kept changing its position.

  “Does it hurt?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Yes,” Chen Zhou said.

  “Try to bear with the pain,” Wang Yao said.

  “OK,” Chen Zhou said. He clenched his teeth. His forehead was sweating.

  Time passed slowly. Chen Ying was very worried.

  The change of the meridian continued. It was like paper being cut by a pair of scissors. Suddenly, the change stopped. It was like a person plowing was stopped by a big rock.

  Something strange happened. The meridian in disorder started to return to its original position since it couldn’t complete the repositioning. This process also caused severe headache. It was as if there was a worm drilling inside the head.

  Chen Zhou tried very hard to put up with the pain. He clenched his teeth.

  The pain disappeared after the meridians returned to their original position.

  “Gee!” Chen Zhou was breathing heavily. His clothes were drenched in sweat.

  “Has the pain gone?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Yes,” Chen Zhou said.

  “You should be fine now,” Wang Yao said.

  “What happened to him just now?” Chen Ying asked with concern.

  “One of the meridians in his head tried to reposition itself. I believe this is the cause of your brother’s condition,” Wang Yao said. “But, you don’t need to worry too much. The meridian has gone back its original position.”


  “You mean it self-corrected?” Chen Ying asked.

  “Yes, exactly,” Wang Yao said. He was also surprised by Chen Zhou’s condition.

  “Will Zhou have this problem again?” Chen Ying asked. She thought her brother had fully recovered, so she didn’t expect the disorder would happen again.

  “It’s hard to say,” Wang Yao said. “I think it was a good sign that the meridians could self-correct its position.

  “Don’t worry too much about me, Sis.” Chen Zhou tried to comfort his sister. “I feel much better now.”


  “Right, don’t worry too much. The interval between his episodes has been increasing,” Wang Yao said.

  “OK. We have to stay here for some time then. Sorry to bother you,” Chen Ying said.

  “You are welcome to stay,” Wang Yao said.

  He stayed at Chen Ying and Chen Zhou’s place for several hours to make sure Chen Zhou was OK before leaving for Xishan Hill again. He had a good look at the deadly areas before going home.

  After dinner, he went back to Nanshan Hill. He didn’t go to sleep until midnight.

  Wang Yao got up very early the next morning.

  “San Xian, come with me,” Wang Yao said.

  Woof! Woof! San Xian was very happy that his master needed him.

  A man and a dog followed the path west to walk toward the north. Wang Yao walked fast. The uneven path didn’t slow him down. San Xian followed him closely. In one hop, San Xian and Wang Yao were several feet away. San Xian looked even bigger and more like a lion.

  Soon, a man and a dog arrived at one of the deadly pits covered by lime powder.

  Woof! Woof! Woof!

  Apparently, San Xian didn’t expect his master to take him to the deadly area again. The place made him uncomfortable.

  “Don’t worry, San Xian.” Wang Yao gently patted the dog. “Do you think there is a problem here?”


  Woof! Woof! Woof! San Xian indicated Wang Yao was asking him something that was no longer a secret.

  “Let’s go and check the other pits,” Wang Yao said.

  A dog and a man visited all the deadly areas on Xishan Hill. At last, Wang Yao stopped in front of a big rock.

  Woof! Woof! Woof! The dog was barking fiercely. He was very unsettled and started to walk in circles.

  “Is something wrong?” Wang Yao asked. “Does this rock have a problem?”


  He walked toward the rock.

  Woof! Woof! San Xian was barking even louder. It was as if he was warning Wang Yao not to get too close to that rock, which could be as dangerous as a big bomb.