978 Interesting

When they got into the car, the middle-aged woman asked, "How are you feeling, Xiao Rui?"

That young man was silent for a bit before replying, "Good actually."

"Huh!?" The middle-aged woman was stunned.

"I mean it," the young man said. "I really feel good now. I'm feeling warm all over, and I seem to have regained some strength."

"Great! That's just wonderful!" The woman was very happy to hear that.

"Dr. Wang sure is good."

They found the best place to stay in Lianshan County's town center.

The young man laid on the bed but did not sleep. Although he was tired, he thought about many things. He had seen a great many specialists and experts, and he had been through various treatments the past few years. Nobody knew his illness better than he did.. What he had been through that day proved to be the most effective in the shortest amount of time. He profoundly felt changes to his body.

He thought the experience was all very surreal.

"I might actually get cured this time," the young man said.

The hope in him that was about to be extinguished had been reignited.

There was hope. Even though it might not have seemed significant, there was still hope.

The next morning, the sky was rather cloudy and dark.

"The weather is changing." Wang Yao looked up in the sky.

"Is it?"

"Yeah, there will be snow around 1 p.m.," Wang Yao said as he checked his phone.

"Really!?" Su Xiaoxue chuckled and said, "But I checked the weather forecast last night, and there was never any mention of snow."

"There will be snow," Wang Yao said with a grin.

"Come on, let's get inside the clinic and have some tea."

The two of them entered the clinic.

"Have you been feeling bored for the past few days?" Wang Yao asked.

"Not at all," Su Xiaoxue said with a smile.

"Well, how about we go outside for a bit in the afternoon?" Wang Yao asked.

"There really is no need for that. I'm feeling just fine being around you."

"I'd take to you to see a place in the afternoon," Wang Yao said. "It's a place with rocks everywhere."

"Sure."

Wang Yao's parents had been busy the whole morning cooking many nice dishes for lunch. Since Su Xiaoxue was around, his mother had been making a variety of dishes. She made it a point to never repeat any of those dishes. The extent of her effort made Su Xiaoxue feel somewhat embarrassed.

"That's really no need to cook up so many, Auntie." Su Xiaoxue had repeated that line more times than she bothered to count.

"Oh, it's fine," Zhang Xiuying said. "Do you like them?"

"Yes, I like them very much," Su Xiaoxue replied. "I've actually gained weight from eating them."

"Oh what nonsense. You don't look fat at all," Zhang Xiuying said with a grin.

"Sure, I'll be right there."

After lunch, Wang Yao chatted with his parents for a bit before heading out with Su Xiaoxue. Once they hit the main street, they drove out of the village and headed north.

"Where are we going?" Su Xiaoxue asked.

"Didn't I tell you that I'd be bringing you to see rocks?" Wang Yao chuckled.

The car was on the road for about 15 minutes before hitting the dirt again. There were on a small road that was less than 10 feet wide. He pulled over at a wide space by the roadside.

"What do you think of this mountain?" Wang Yao pointed at a mountain not far away.

"Rocks are indeed everywhere!" Su Xiaoxue was stunned upon looking at the mountain before her eyes.

The mountain was formed purely of rocks. One only found an occasional pine tree growing out of the cracks between the rocks and little else. There were no other trees around, and there was no dirt either.

"Well, let's go and have a closer look," Wang Yao said.

"Sure."

At the foot of the rocky mountain, there was a wide-open space. Once winter came, most of the area was empty. There was nothing there, not even obvious roads.

"Come on, I'll give you a lift," Wang Yao said.

"Wait, what!?" Su Xiaoxue was dumbfounded.

"Here we go."

Wang Yao carried her on his back. They went below the rocky mountain with just a few leaps.

Looking up from the foot of the mountain, they found the mountain to be rather interesting. There were rocks everywhere. There were blocky ones, round ones, and ones of irregular shapes. The entire mountain consisted of nothing else but those rocks.

"How about we take a look up there?" Wang Yao asked.

"Sure."

"Don't rush into it," Wang Yao said. "Do you remember the footwork I taught you?"

"I do," Su Xiaoxue replied.

"You can try them up here."

"On the rocks?" she asked.

"Yes," Wang Yao replied.

"I'll demonstrate. Pay close attention."

After he spoke, Wang Yao began to move. He leaped between the steep rocks like he was a nimble monkey. He was halfway up the mountain within the span of several breaths. He looked down and checked Su Xiaoxue out. He was able to reach the peak in no time if he so fancied. However, he was interested in teaching something interesting to Su Xiaoxue.

"Come on up," he said. "Take your time."

"Alright, I'll try," Su Xiaoxue replied.

She took a deep breath and leaped over 9 feet high. She landed on a rock, stomped down, and jumped up again. She repeated that several times. Suddenly, she slipped. She lost her balance and was about to fall. A force instantly pulled her up. She was able to stand still. She turned around. Before she knew it, she saw Wang Yao standing before.

"Well?"

"Don't rush with your initial steps," he said. "Take your time with it."

The two of them then leaped about between the rocks. Before long, they had managed to get to the peak.

The wind on top of the mountain was chilling.

"Are you cold?" Wang Yao asked.

"Cold? Not at all." Su Xiaoxue felt rather warm from all that jumping moments ago. She was quite excited. The experience had been thrilling.

"Do you like it?" Wang Yao asked.

"Very much so."

"Well, I'll take you to another interesting place."

Wang Yao walked to the front. As they walked, snowflakes started falling from the sky.

"Man, it really is snowing." Su Xiaoxue checked the watch on her wrist. It was about five minutes past 1 p.m.

"Gosh, you are something else."

"Oh, this is nothing," Wang Yao said.

He made it a habit to watch the weather in the herbal field out of boredom. He had gotten really good at doing so. The sky did not seem to have any discernible patterns, but it was actually filled with intricate mysteries. Once a person was into it, they fell in love with watching the sky. It was because of those intricacies that Wang Yao checked the sky above every day.

"Wind, rain, and snow have their own signs," Wang Yao said as he pointed at the snowflakes falling.

The two of them walked in the snow on the steep rock cliff.

"We're here," Wang Yao said.

There was an irregular empty space encircled by several huge rocks at the peak.

"Come on." Wang Yao waved at Su Xiaoxue.

After getting into that area, Su Xiaoxue was shocked to find that there was no wind.

"Is there no wind here at all?"

"Doesn't it feel surreal?"

"Quite so, I'd say."

"Those rocks don't look like much on their own, but, in conjunction with the hills around the area, those rocks block all wind blowing from the north, west, and east," Wang Yao said.

"Oh right, and the south too. Look at that place from here. You'll find wind from the south is blocked as well."

"Is that to say that this is some sort of shelter from the wind?" Su Xiaoxue asked.

"It basically is." Wang Yao smiled and said, "I've been here a few times in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. You find no wind here in whichever season you come. This is a pretty strange place."

...