Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  “It’s my dad’s funeral today.” Wang Fengyi tried his best to make such an excuse.

  “You are such a good son,” said the family members of the patients staying in the same room.

  “Let’s go!” Wang Fengyi got out of the hospital bed, attempting to put up with the pain.

  His wife was confused. She thought maybe her husband had really changed. Wang Fengyi never visited his father except during Chinese New Year. He never bought anything for his father. He just took some eggs and noodles from his own house to his father once a year. How could he suddenly become a good son?

  Wang Fengyi stumbled out of the hospital feeling dizzy and went back to the village.

  Meanwhile, his siblings were still on Dongshan Hill.

  All the villagers buried their loved ones on Dongshan Hill. More than one Feng Shui master had recommended Dongshan Hill as a suitable place to bury loved ones.

  The paper money was burned into ashes while firecrackers made loud sounds. Wang Fengyi’s siblings were crying.

  Wang Yao looked at Dongshan Hill from atop of Nanshan Hill.

  “I’m sorry. I hope you’ll rest in peace,” he said in low voice.

  He began to read a piece of scripture.

  People gradually stopped crying and left Dongshan Hill, accepting that an old man’s life was over.

  When Wang Fengyi arrived home, his siblings had already returned. They were surprised to see him.

  “Fengyi, how come you are back?” Wang Fengji asked. “Are you alright now?”


  “Not really. Where is Dad?” Wang Fengyi asked.

  “We’ve buried him,” Wang Fengji said.

  “What!” Wang Fengyi’s eyes dulled as he slumped to the ground.

  “I heard Wang Fengyi cared about nothing, including his parents, but it seems he hasn’t lost all his conscience,” a villager said.

  “Yes, he got out of the hospital for his father when he was still sick,” another villager said.

  The villagers suddenly changed their view about Wang Fengyi.

  “Fengyi, go inside to have a rest,” Wang Fengji suggested.

  Wang Fengji and the other siblings prepared some dishes for all the family members they invited to the funeral. Wang Fengyi was lying on the bed. He still felt dizzy and sick.

  “Fengyi, would you like to eat something? I’ll bring some food for you,” Wang Fengji said.

  “I’m not hungry. Don’t worry about me.” Wang Fengyi shook his head.

  In reality, he had not come back for his father’s funeral or because he found his good conscience to be a prodigal son that returned home. He returned home because he was sick. He knew his sickness was caused by Wang Yao. He heard Wang Yao was an extraordinary doctor and that people from all over came to see him for treatment.

  Wang Fengyi came home for treatment. However, he had just gone to Wang Yao’s house and caused trouble the day before. He didn’t have the courage to see Wang Yao now.

  Not many people could be that shameless, including Wang Fengyi. However, he had been feeling terrible the whole day. He couldn’t bear it anymore. He was happy to do anything, even apologize or bow down to Wang Yao to get treatment. His self-esteem was nothing in comparison to the horrible feeling. He wished he was dead. He couldn’t care less about anything else.

  Of course, for Wang Fengyi, both self-esteem and health were important.

  “What? You are going to apologize to Wang Yao?” Wang Fengji was surprised. He knew his youngest brother was very stubborn, so he didn’t expect Wang Fengyi to admit his wrong doings. “Why?”


  “What did you say? I can’t hear you,” Wang Fengyi said loudly.

  Apart from feeling a headache and sick, Wang Fengyi’s hearing was also affected. He couldn’t hear properly even if a person spoke loudly or stood right next to him.

  “I just asked you why,” Wang Fengji said.

  “Because what I did was wrong,” Wang Fengyi said loudly.

  Even the guests in the dining room could hear him.

  “What he did was wrong?” a guest asked in confusion.

  “Is it Wang Fengyi? He regrets what he has done?” another guest asked.

  All the guests were quite confused. After they left, Wang Fengji took Wang Fengyi to Wang Yao’s house to apologize.

  Wang Fenghua and Zhang Xiuying were surprised to see Wang Fengyi. They didn’t expect him to come apologize to them the next day. The change was quite sudden considering that he had been so rude the previous day.

  “Yao is not at home. Can you please wait for a while?” Zhang Xiuying asked.

  They waited for 30 minutes before Wang Yao came down from Nanshan Hill.

  “I cannot treat you,” Wang Yao said as he took a glance at Wang Fengyi.

  “Yao, please,” Wang Fengji said.

  “Uncle Fengji, I’ve told you, I can’t treat him,” Wang Yao said.

  He had to do something to make Wang Fengyi remember that he should never mess with his family. Otherwise, he wouldn’t stop making trouble.

  “I’m sorry, Fenghua, Xiuying, Yao. What I did yesterday was completely unacceptable. I know you are all kind people. Please forgive me!” Wang Fengyi was almost in tears. He was so uncomfortable that he wished he was dead. He almost knelt down.

  “Don’t!” Wang Fenghua stopped him. “Yao?”


  “Dad, I can’t treat him,” Wang Yao said.

  His parents had a soft spot for their fellow villagers, but he didn’t. He wanted Wang Fengyi to suffer for a few days so that he wouldn’t forget it the rest of his life.

  Eventually Wang Fengji and Wang Fengyi left with nothing.

  “Sh*t! That little bastard!” Wang Fengyi was so angry he started to curse as soon as he walked out of Wang Yao’s house.

  Of course, Wang Yao could hear him. I am right. He hasn’t suffered enough.

  “Gee!” Wang Fengyi suddenly held his head with his hands.

  “What’s wrong with you now?” Wang Fengji asked.

  “I have a really bad headache,” Wang Fengyi said.

  He had a sudden sharp pain across his head. His headache was initially caused by Wang Yao’s lion roar. Fortunately, Wang Yao didn’t use all his strength. Wang Fengji needed to rest and calm himself down. Anger would only stimulate the blood flow and make his symptoms worse. Being upset with Wang Yao didn’t do any good to him.

  “I have to sit down,” Wang Fengyi said.

  The humming sound came back.

  Wang Yao returned to his clinic after Wang Fengyi and Wang Fengji left his house. Before long, his clinic was quite busy. Most of his patients were elderly people with minor issues.

  Wang Yao upgraded as he wished. He was rewarded a skill and a bag of licorice root seeds.

  The licorice root was tournefortia. Its seedling looked like a miniature orchard. The color of its stem was red, and its stalk was green. It had white and purple flowers.

  It could remove pathogenic factors from the heart and abdominal area, as well as get rid of five types of jaundice, resolve the toxins in the blood, and facilitate urination. It was of medium quality.

  Wang Yao applied the skill to the technique of brewing decoctions. Suddenly, he was infused with a large amount of knowledge of herbs, including the nature of different herbs, yin yang and five elements and their relationships, and the combination of herbs. He felt his knowledge had reached a higher level. He had a deeper understanding of the use of different herbs.

  It was like a winding path leading to a secluded spot or the top of the mountain. He took a big breath. It was not easy to move every step forward. It would be more and more difficult to upgrade in the future.

  It started to get dark outside. In a Western style restaurant in Lianshan town center, a couple were sitting next to the window talking to each other. They seemed to be in love.

  The food and drinks in the restaurant were expensive, even though the food didn’t taste good at all. Most of the customers were young couples in love.

  “Why aren’t you eating?” the young woman asked with a smile.

  “I just want to look at you. You are beautiful enough to feast my eyes,” the young man said.

  “Stop!” The young woman’s face turned red. Young women liked to be flattered by the person they liked.

  “Would you like to watch a movie after dinner?” the young man asked.

  “Sure,” the young woman said.

  Many couples like to go watch a movie after dinner. After, they would have a chat in a cafe. It was almost a routine.

  The movie was not very interesting. The cinema was tiny. There were not many people at the theatre, only three young couples. Two couples were hugging and kissing and completely ignored the movie.

  The young man gently held his girlfriend in his arm. His hands started to move around her body.

  “You are bad!” His girlfriend giggled in low voice.

  “Aha!” The young man laughed.

  They went back to his apartment after the movie and spent the night together. They made love. They couldn’t get enough of each other.

  However, the young man suddenly felt a sharp pain across his lower belly after sex.

  “Ouch!” He screamed.

  “What’s wrong?” the young woman asked anxiously.

  “Nothing, it’s just a stomachache. Maybe it’s because I had a few drinks tonight,” the young man said.

  “I see, I’m tired. Shall we sleep?” the young woman asked.

  “OK.” The young man held his girlfriend in his arms. He couldn’t fall into sleep. He thought about Wang Yao’s advice.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have too much sex……

  In Lianshan People’s Hospital, Wang Fengyi was laying on the hospital bed vomiting.

  “Look at you! I told you not to go and you didn’t listen. See? You are getting worse!” His wife was grumpy.

  Wang Fengyi just sighed. He didn’t even have the strength to argue with his wife. He had a bad headache and was really sick. He had been vomiting and felt very weak. One small movement would exacerbate the symptoms.