Chapter 370: Water in Beihai

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Why is it strange?” Chen Ying hurriedly asked.

“It’s hard for me to say,” Wang Yao replied after thinking for a while. He had yet to figure out the cause of Chen Zhou’s illness.

“Did your brother like to read martial arts novels a lot when he was little?”

“Yes. He liked it very much,” Chen Ying answered.

“Did he also practice martial arts when he was a child?”

“He did, but he stopped after he was injured.”

“Injured? Where was he hurt?”

“His neck.”

“Neck?” Wang Yao remembered where the distorted meridians were. “When was it?”

“It happened when he was seven,” Chen Ying responded.

“When did he get this strange illness?”

“He got it when he was 10.”

“Okay.”

It seemed like there was no connection between them. After all, these two incidents occurred three years apart.

After coming out of the treatment center, Wang Yao treated Chen Ying to lunch. They chose an authentic Jiangnan restaurant.

There were all kinds of restaurants in Jing City. Although Wang Yao was a Northerner, he had a special liking for Southern cuisine. He liked it even more after he ate some exquisite Huaiyang dishes.

There were no decent Huaiyang restaurants in Haiqu City. After all, the demand there was much smaller. Furthermore, Huaiyang dishes were rather high-end and the price was quite steep. However, it was different in Jing City. Everything and anything could be found here. There was food that you could only dream of. There was nothing that you could not eat.

“Do you like to eat Huaiyang dishes?” During this period of time, Chen Ying also had a certain level of understanding towards Wang Yao’s living habits, especially when she was the one preparing his daily diet.

“Yes. I quite like it,” Wang Yao replied with a smile.

“I’ll cook Huaiyang dishes for you every day then.”

“You don’t have to. You can just cook anything. The dishes that you cook are delicious,” Wang Yao answered.

“Thank you.”

The decoration in the restaurant had some charm of Canal Town in Southern China. The dishes took longer to come out, but they were very delicate and exquisite. The taste was good as well.

After lunch, they did not go back in a hurry. Instead, they went to Beihai Park.

Being the most famous park not only in Jing City, but possibly even in the country, Beihai Park was indeed a very wonderful place. There were mountains and water, as well as quite a few places of interest and pure nature. Many people visited this place.

“Was this place a royal garden during the Ming and Qing Dynasties?”

“Yes.”

“The ancient emperors really knew how to party!” Wang Yao said somewhat passionately.

“Yeah. Beihai Park was once part of the royal gardens,” Chen Ying replied.

There were a few royal gardens in Jing City. The largest and most famous had been destroyed by a fire. It became an eternal resentment.

There was a lake with quite a large surface area in the park.

It was drizzling.

Wang Yao looked at the ripples on the surface of the lake. He seemed to have something on his mind.

Seeing that he was lost in thoughts while looking at the lake, Chen Ying, who was to the side, did not disturb him. She just stood quietly.

Wang Yao suddenly hit upon a wild idea. He thought of releasing his neixi and trying to establish a certain connection with the rippling lake through the channel of the air dynamic. He succeeded. If the previous Qi in the heaven and earth was said to be a thin gauze, then the lake was a thick cotton cloth. It was easier to be felt, but it was also more difficult to be controlled.

Rise!

Wang Yao tried it out and there was a ripple. It was tens of centimeters high. Soon, it fell.

This?!

Chen Ying who was by the side was startled to see the scene.

This is a coincidence, right?

She looked at Wang Yao who was beside her.

It rose again!

This time, Wang Yao gently pushed his hands outwards.

Swoosh.

There were waves on the surface of the water not far away.

It isn’t a coincidence!

Chen Ying was completely astounded.

What was this? Was this a supernatural ability, or had his achievement in martial arts reached a certain level where human and nature had become one? Could he already use the mighty force of nature as a support?

This won’t do. Something is still lacking. I’m not skilled enough.

After experimenting for a few times, Wang Yao gave up.

Looking at Chen Ying who was stunned by the side, Wang Yao asked with a smile, “What’s wrong?”

“Sir, what’s this?”

“Kung Fu.”

“Is this considered Kung Fu too?!” Chen Ying exclaimed. In her opinion, this was closer to Taoism.

“Yes. You can communicate with the heaven and earth when you’re in the depths,” Wang Yao replied calmly.

In theory, the primary purpose of Kung Fu was to strengthen one’s physical health. Fighting was only its secondary use. It was a form of Taoism, when one was at the profound level. While strengthening one’s body, one would be able to resonate with the heaven and earth at the same time.

“I didn’t expect you to already be at this level.”

It was not that Chen Ying had never seen an ace in Kung Fu. She had once met a person who was called a master. However, she once thought that such an achievement, which was to communicate with the heaven and earth by waving one’s hands, would only appear in martial arts novels or movies; she didn’t expect to see it with her own eyes here. Moreover, it was such a young man who had done it.

His real age was probably younger than that of hers. Even if he started practicing martial arts in his mother’s womb, it could only be little more than 20 years. Many people had been practicing Kung Fu for more than 20 years, but they only had superficial knowledge. However, he had already reached such a profound level. It seemed like prodigies really existed in this world.

“Let’s go elsewhere to have a look.”

“Okay.”

Both of them walked around Beihai Park. They were people who knew Kung Fu. Moreover, the environment here was quite good because there was a lot of water. The air was a little moist and it was not as dry as other places. These puddles of water could not change the dry climate of the entire Jing City.

It was already near evening when the two of them left.

Not bad. This time, Wang Yao had another gain. He was in a very good mood.

“What would you like to eat tonight?”

“Anything.”

“Huaiyang dishes?”

“It’s okay. It’s not necessary. You can just cook simple dishes. My mouth isn’t picky,” Wang Yao replied with a smile. “If you cook well now, I’ll be spoiled. No one will cook such delicious dishes for me when I go back home.”

This was a joke. In Dao City, he had tasted Tong Wei’s cooking. It was quite good as well.

“Don’t leave then,” Chen Ying responded with a smile.

In fact, the main task that was allocated to her by the Su family was to take care of Wang Yao’s daily life, as well as to provide help which was within her power. At the same time, they also gave her a task that was probably impossible to complete, which was to persuade Wang Yao to stay in Jing City without causing any antipathy for as long as possible.

Both the Su family and the Guo family hoped that such a young man with extraordinary pharmaceutical prowess could stay and serve them.

Haha. Wang Yao only laughed.

Was Jing City good? Of course it was good. The medical care, education and the various infrastructures here were undoubtedly the best in the entire country. Otherwise, there would not be a large number of Jing City drifters. Their dream was to stay in Jing City, but Wang Yao did not particularly like it here.

It was too big and prosperous. It lacked a sense of tranquility and nature. Perhaps this was because he had studied The Natural Classics and preferred to be close to nature, such as being on Nanshan Hill.

The sky had already darkened when they returned to the small courtyard.

Chen Ying cooked a few side dishes very dexterously and she cooked a pot of congee.

It was a simple meal and Wang Yao ate very happily.

“Sister Ying, where else have you been, apart from Jing City?”

Both of them chatted during dinner.

“Hu City, Linan, Ji City…” Chen Ying mentioned the names of a few cities. She had been to many places in the early years.

“Oh,” Wang Yao responded. “Maybe I should travel around too.”

…

In the treatment center where Chen Ying’s brother was.

“Is there still no sign of a onset of his illness?”

“Yes, there isn’t. His spirit is very normal.”

“That’s weird!”

Chen Zhou’s attending doctor felt puzzled already. Half a day had passed and there was no sign of an onset of Chen Zhou’s illness. This was really abnormal. He knew quite a bit about this patient. He would be awake and sometimes, he would fall ill and fall into a world of dreaming. Over the years, the longest time recorded that he could stay awake was an hour and 17 minutes, and this was after taking the appropriate medication. However, that day, he had been awake for more than eight hours.

“Who has he seen today?”

“His sister came. Chief Fu has even specially arranged a private ward for him.”

“Sss. Continue to observe him.”

“Does he still need to take any medication?”

“No. Wait till he falls ill.”

“Okay.”

That night, Chen Zhou did not fall asleep. He was afraid that he would fall into a complicated dream, and that after he woke up, he would forget who he was again! For him, this lucid state was extremely hard to come by.

“Sister, I really hope that I can stay this way forever,” he said softly.

…

In the small courtyard, Wang Yao recorded the treatment that day, as well as the unique sensation he felt in Beihai Park.

Early morning the next day, Wang Yao got up. He practiced in the yard.

His practice at that time was mainly on the communication with the heaven and earth, which was supplemented by Chinese boxing. He practiced from dawn until the sun rose.

By the time he finished his practice, Chen Ying had already prepared breakfast.

“Sir, what plans do you have today?”

“I’ll go have a look at Miss Su’s illness,” Wang Yao replied.

“Okay. I’ll inform Madam immediately for her to be prepared.”

The Su family usually had some visitors, but Song Ruiping told Chen Ying before that if Wang Yao wanted to go over, Chen Ying had to inform her in advance. She would decline to meet some guests and entertain Wang Yao alone as much as possible.

The both of them went out after breakfast.

“Oh right, is it Tai Chi that you’re practicing?” Wang Yao asked Chen Ying while walking. He had also taken a detailed look when she was practicing Kung Fu in the yard.

“Tai Chi, as well as Tan Tui and Qin Na,” Chen Ying answered.

“What about the Kung Fu of breathing?”

He discovered that Chen Ying’s breathing had a special rhythm. It was one way when she was practicing martial arts and there was another way in her daily life.

“I incidentally got it. It’s from Emei,” Chen Ying replied.

“Oh.”

He knew a bit about martial arts. He had heard the Zhou family mention about it when he was in Cangzhou. The factions mentioned in novels were also not something that was non-existent. Factions like Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Qingcheng, and Kongdong indeed existed and they had their own outstanding abilities. However, ordinary people did not know about it. They would not easily reveal it either.