Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âSorry Mr. Zhang, I donât know how to treat diseases or calcium stones in the body. You should go to the hospital if you donât feel well. My uncle must have been drunk when he told you that I could treat diseases. Please donât take his words seriously,â Wang Yao said with a smile.
His uncle looked embarrassed when he heard Wang Yaoâs words. Now he had pissed both Mr. Zhang and Wang Yao off.
Wang Yaoâs 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 didnât expect his boss to keep his words in mind. Mr. Zhang had kidney stones. He didnât 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 Yaoâs uncle mentioned how his stones were removed. So he asked Wang Yaoâs uncle to take him to Wang Yao. Wang Fenglei didnât dare to turn down his bossâs request. He thought maybe his nephew had gotten the magical herbs again.
That was why this awkward scene had happened.
âIâm sorry for wasting your time, Mr. Zhang,â said Wang Yao. He was still quite firm this time, leaving no room for his uncle.
âHaha, thatâs alright, I just took the opportunity to relax!â Mr. Zhangâs face changed for a second and then returned to normal.
âYao, you...â said Wang Yaoâs uncle.
âUncle, I canât do anything about it,â said Wang Yao. He didnât know what else he could say to his uncle. After all, he was his fatherâs youngest brother, a family member. But Wang Yao knew he had to be firm.
âThatâs fine, we can just forget about it. Fenglei, are you gonna leave with me or stay a bit longer?â said Mr. Zhang. He was still smiling, but awkwardly.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Wang Yaoâs uncle knew his boss was not happy.
âIâll go with you,â said Wang Yaoâs uncle.
âOkay!â said Mr. Zhang.
Wang Yaoâs uncle left with his boss. Wang Yaoâs family saw them out. Mr. Zhangâs face changed immediately after he got in the car.
âIâm sorry, boss,â said Wang Yaoâs uncle.
âFine, donât talk about it anymore!â 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 Yaoâs uncle knew he was in trouble and his career would probably go nowhere in the future. He didnât say anything. The atmosphere was awkward in the car.
Wang Yao was chatting with his family at home.
âYao, you could have just cost your uncle his job!â said Zhang Xiuying.
âWell, I canât do anything about it. He shouldnât have lied, and I canât lie to his boss. In addition, I donât have a medical qualification, so I will be in big trouble if I prescribe herbs to his boss,â 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 Yaoâs 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 Yaoâs mother didnât say anything more. His father was just smoking.
âIâm not going to step in,â said his father after a while.
âOkay,â 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 uncleâs family would be affected too, all just because his uncle couldnât 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!
âMom, I need to go to Dao City in the next few days. Could you and dad help me look after the herbal field?â asked Wang Yao when he was having dinner with his family.
âSure, but why do you need to go to Dao?â asked Zhang Xiuying.
âIâm going with a friend,â smiled Wang Yao.
âFriend? Female or male? Is it Tong Wei?â asked Zhang Xiuying immediately.
âNo, Iâm going there with Tian Yuantu,â said Wang Yao.
âI see...â Zhang Xiuying sounded disappointed.
...
The sky was high and far at night. The moon was shining, but there werenât 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 friendâs 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 didnât expect Zhou Xiong would take it seriously.
âYeah, Iâm still interested!â 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 didnât 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 Yaoâs treatment. It made Zhou Xiong hopeful of a full recovery, and Wang Yao didnât 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.
âGosh, you came so fast!â said Wang Yao with a smile.
âYeah, I really appreciate your help with Kangâs illness, and you didnât even charge any money. I donât have anything special to give you. I happen to know a bit of Chinese martial arts. Iâll teach you if you want to learn,â 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.
âI started to practice martial arts in Cang province since I was a child. Iâve practiced Chinese boxing including Tong Bi, Ba Gua, Ba Ji, and Xing Yi. Which one do you want to learn?â Zhou Xiong changed into a totally different person when talking about martial arts. He suddenly became confident, positive and keen.
âCan you provide more details as I have limited knowledge of martial arts,â said Wang Yao.
âSure.â Zhou Xiong took several steps backwards to keep himself away from Wang Yao and his son, and then he started to move.
âThe 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,â 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.
âAs 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,â said Zhou Xiong while his movements changed into a more fierce style of martial arts. He extended his movements to a much larger scale.
âAs for Ba Gua, it emphasizes the movements of the hands and feet. Itâs a combination of excess and deficiency,â Zhou Xiongâs movement changed again. His body appeared to be lighter. His palms turned up and down, like a hopping ape or a crawling snake.
âThe 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!â Zhou Xiongâs movement suddenly became faster and tougher. His body went forward and backward repeatedly.
Zhou Xiong really opened Wang Yaoâs eyes. Although Wang Yao didnât know much about Chinese martial arts, he could tell from Zhou Xiongâs 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 Xiongâs movements were more than a styleâthey were useful.
âWhat do you think? Which one do you want to learn?â 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.
âLet me think about it,â 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 didnât know which one to choose.
âDo you practice Tai Chi?â asked Wang Yao.
âTai Chi?â Zhou Xiong paused.
âYes, but I donât practice Tai Chi often,â Zhou Xiong continued.
âCan you show me?â asked Wang Yao.
âSure,â 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.
âI want to learn this!â said Wang Yao.
Wang Yao thought Tai Chi suited him best.
Zhou Xiong was slightly surprised by Wang Yaoâs 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.
âSo you just want to improve your fitness?â asked Zhou Xiong out of curiosity.
âAnd defend myself,â said Wang Yao with a smile.
Wang Yao didnât 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 couldnât even get close to Wang Yao if he tried to fight Wang Yao. But Wang Yao didnât control his strength well. He was like those in Kung Fu novels who had great Qi but didnât know how to use them.
âDefense is sometimes the most efficient attacking method. Itâs the spirit of Chinese martial arts,â said Zhou Xiong with a smile.