The gate. Swung open.
The camera crew followed them in. What they saw inside the courtyard was shown to ten million viewers right away.
Everything was quiet.
The entire livestream chat was silent for three seconds.
The courtyard was paved with stones that looked like jade. There were flowers in the corners that glowed and made a mist. A big tree in the center gave shade. Its leaves shone like gold in the sun.
Under the tree a young man in clothes was lying on a chair made of bamboo with a book over his face.
Next to him a big black dog was eating something that looked like a root.
"Oh my god " a viewer typed. "Look at the dog! It looks like a wolf!"
"Look at the chair! It is made of expensive wood! It is worth a lot of money!"
The noise of the crew woke the man.
Chen Qing slowly removed the book from his face. Sat up. He moved slowly and lazily. He looked at the people who had entered his home with eyes.
At that moment the camera zoomed in on his face.
In the studio the number of viewers suddenly went up.
• "He is so handsome!"
• "Is he an actor? Which company does he work for?"
• "He has no makeup on! His skin is better than Su Yes!"
• "He looks like a god!"
Director Wang was surprised by how looking Chen Qing was but he wanted to use the location for his show. He stepped forward.
"Hello we are filming a show. Your house is very nice. We want to rent it for a month. How much do you want? Five thousand? Ten thousand?"
Director Wang took out some money feeling generous. In this village ten thousand was a lot of money.
Chen Qing looked at the money at the dirty shoes of the crew on his clean floor.
He did not look happy.
"Get out " Chen Qing said quietly.
His voice was not loud. It felt like thunder to everyone.
"What?" Director Wang was surprised.
"I do not like noise " Chen Qing picked up his teapot. Poured some tea. The tea was green. The steam made a shape, like a bird before it disappeared.
". " Chen Qing pointed to the gate. "You are scaring my chicken."
Everyone looked. A colorful rooster was standing on the wall looking down at them.
"It is a chicken..." Lin Feng said.
Suddenly the rooster flapped its wings. A strong wind swept through the yard.
"Ahhh!"
Lin Feng and Director Wang were blown backward. They fell out of the gate and rolled down the stone steps.
Chen Qing took a sip of tea without looking at them.
"Close the door on your way "
Outside the wooden gate everything felt really weird. Director Wang was sitting on the ground rubbing his hip. Lin Feng was trying to fix his hair, which was a mess after that strong wind blew by.
Lin Feng looked scared. He asked "What just happened? Did that chicken really attack us?"
Director Wang got up. Brushed off his pants. He saw that the camera was still filming so he had to pretend like nothing was wrong.
He said loudly so everyone watching could hear, "It was a strong wind that comes from the mountains. The air here can be really unpredictable. It just happened to blow at the time the chicken flapped its wings. It was a coincidence and it is all about science."
The people watching the livestream had different ideas.
* "Are you kidding me Director? That chicken looked at you like you were nothing before it flapped its wings!"
* "I watched the video again. The wind started blowing right when the chicken moved its wings."
* "I love that guy. He just said 'get out'. The Director fell down."
* "I want to see the guy again. Do not film these people film the hermit instead."
Teacher Huang was standing a little back so the wind did not blow him away. He was thinking deeply about what happened. He has been in the entertainment business for a time and he knows people who practice martial arts. The "feeling" he got from the man behind the gate was really scary.
Teacher Huang whispered to Director Wang "Lets not make him angry. The sun is. We need to set up our tents."
Director Wang was not listening. He looked at the shack down the hill then at the flat area outside Chen Qings gate.
"We will set up our camp here " Director Wang said, pointing to the area. "The view is nice. We will put our tents right outside his door."
He had a plan to get the handsome hermit to come out. That man was now the interesting thing about the show.
Inside the yard Chen Qing did not care about all the noise outside.
[Ding! You successfully defended your territory.] [Reward: High-Grade Spirit Spring Water that never runs out for the kitchen.]
Chen Qing. Said, "This is perfect timing, for dinner."
He walked to the corner of the yard, where a bamboo pipe was now flowing with clear water. He took a sip. It was sweet and refreshing. It made him feel better away.
"Tonight I will make Bamboo Rice " Chen Qing said to himself.