[Comprehensive] The Light Chaser

There is rare shade in the mountains in July.

Liu Sheng sat in the cave with a tennis racket for a while, and finally walked out with the racket out of cleanliness.Their luggage was locked in the wooden house, but they kept two sets of tennis shirts for washing.There is a stream and a spring on the mountainside, which do not blend together.The spring is where they draw water on weekdays, and the creek is where they wash.

The afternoon practice ended very late, but as soon as it was over, some people went to take a shower with a change of clothes.Liu Sheng glanced at their process of fighting like a water fight, but he still couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart.

To wash, or not to wash?

A serious question.

He rested for a while after dinner, and the feeling of sweat sticking to his body became increasingly unbearable in the cave.And the night in the mountains is cool, the feeling and smell of the original sweat drying up really made him...

Going to take a shower now, probably there is no one there, right?

It's not that he's afraid of being seen, it's just...

Yagyu took his clothes and held a tennis racket (why did he bring a tennis racket, are you brave enough?) and walked to the stream, hesitated for a moment or crossed his hands and took off his clothes.

He soaked his clothes and jumped into the creek in his gym shorts.

cold.

There is a big temperature difference between day and night in the mountains. Running around in the sun during the day made his heart beat faster and he was dizzy, but the temperature at night had to be burrowed into a sleeping bag. Without a cover, he would definitely catch cold.

So is water.

When there is still a little sunshine, the stream water is relatively warm, right now...

Liu Sheng gritted his teeth: He still can't accept that in broad daylight, in front of the public, there are people playing water fights next to him... so let's say it's night.The water is cold, just bear with it.

Crash.Crash.

He splashed water on himself while scrubbing the clothes he had taken off.

A day and a half ago, they were sent to the foot of this mountain and asked to climb up. They experienced many things on the way, and finally met a few junior high school students who acted as their "special training" coaches.

They claimed to be members of the national youth team, and they were asked by the coach to "bring new players". Their tone was quite proud, and they also had the ability to be proud.

Naturally, everyone was not angry at first, but everyone in the early years was hit back by a ball - it was a real hit, the kind that hit the stomach.The leader, who called himself Byodoin, looked the same as someone from a social organization, with murderous looks in his eyes, and the fat man behind him with a big physique and a naive look...

Whoa, whoa.

Yagyu thought of their crashing training during the day.

It's not how difficult the training program is, but the psychological pain of being trampled on, being despised, and overly heavy basic exercises.

Swinging the racket a thousand times, not being able to rest until it is finished, running back and forth up and down the mountain, and "cutting firewood" for no reason.In the end those matches were used to cook for them.

Yes, cooking, here you have to cook by yourself.

The iron pots in the locked warehouse on the mountain were still covered with dust, and they wiped them with rags before putting them on the fire.Although the school has organized excursions and camps, it is not that I can't cook, but...

Liu Sheng gave himself another handful of water.

With such a thing as soap and shampoo, why not buy some convenience ingredients? !

Bread, instant noodles, lunch meat, anything is fine, why do they have to "hunt" by themselves?Is there anything to eat on this mountain?Aside from those wild berries, aren't small animals like rabbits scared away by the sound of hitting tennis balls?

And if it's a large beast...

Thinking of this, Liu Sheng suddenly became more nervous.

Those seniors seem to be saying that there are wolves in the mountains...

sough.

The sound of branches and leaves being stepped on.

Liu Sheng frowned and turned around.He stepped back to the bank, clutching the tennis racket he had brought with him.

He looked at the slightly swaying bushes.

what is itrabbit?Or a hedgehog?

swoosh~

A white shadow flashed by, and Liu Sheng showed a startled expression: Dog?

He couldn't help turning his head sideways, his eyes following that strange white shadow.

Fluffy, ears still shaking slightly——

fox?

The fox's yellow eyes glanced at him, and disappeared into the bushes.

Liu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to let go of the racket when he heard a voice: "Liu Sheng, what are you doing?"

!!!

Yagyu picked up the tennis racket and threw it where he heard the sound.

Then a tennis ball hit the racket.

The racket fell to the shore with a clang.

"Huh, it's so dangerous."

Liu Sheng turned his head to the side, his face stiffened.He stretched out his hand to cover his naked upper body, but felt that such behavior was very inexplicable.

"My Lord, why are you here?!"

Nioh swears that this is the most flustered voice he has ever heard since he met Yagyu.

Wow, almost broke the sound.

He smiled, walked closer, stepped on the stones in the stream, crossed the stream, and picked up Liu Sheng's racket.He put the racket with a bit of water and dust beside Yagyu: "Partner, this is not something that can be thrown around casually."

Liu Sheng: "..."

Liu Sheng wanted to take a good bath.

But a person squatted on the bank watching him with an obvious "malicious" smile, how could he continue to wash.

He wiped the soap hastily, and without standing up, he let the running stream wash away the foam from his body.As for the dirty clothes, they will be delivered to the cabin and someone will wash them.

This place is not completely closed to the outside world. They only took a car for about ten minutes that day, and the distance to the training camp was unimaginably close.

So if this is the case, why not give them some food and insist on cooking for themselves? !

He stepped out of the stream, wrung out the tennis shirt he had washed in the water, dried himself with it, and changed into clean clothes.When changing his pants, he paused and turned his back.

"What are you afraid of? It's not like you haven't seen the locker room of the club." King Ren tilted his head.

Willow thought how could this be the same? !How can social offices and open-air seats (Nioh: Did you use the term incorrectly?) be the same? !

Seeing that he was really angry, King Ni stopped teasing him.

He stood up straight and waited for Liu Sheng to change his clothes before he followed Liu Sheng.

Liu Sheng calmed down for a while, and repeated his question: "King Niwang, why are you here?"

"Me? I took a big adventure at night and discovered a new world~" Nioh laughed, "Did you have fun here, Yagyu?"

Willow "..."

Sorry, I want to push you into the stream next to you to wake up now.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

There is no reason to blame King Ni, although this guy is indeed annoying, but in the final analysis, he is too sensitive today.Because of the experience on this mountain and also because of this scene.

"Go back if you have nothing to do, Nioh-sama." Liu Sheng said, "Or, you were thrown here too?"

"'Lost'? It seems that you have a lot of resentment."

Liu Sheng snorted and did not answer.He turned a corner and walked up the mountain to bring the dirty clothes there.The distance from the streamside to the top of the mountain is not too far, but it takes half an hour to walk all the way.Liu Sheng walked for a while and found that King Ni was still following him, so he couldn't help frowning and turned around: "Are you planning to follow me all the time?"

"I'm a little curious." King Ni looked back calmly, "Where do you sleep? In a tent?"

"...No, it's a cave."

"This mountain has caves?"

"There are beasts on this mountain." Liu Sheng said coldly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the howling of wolves was faintly heard.He paused, thinking about it.

"Oh, there are beasts on this mountain, I know now," Nioh said.

And the howling of wolves was getting closer.

Nioh was about to take out the racket, but Yagyu suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"What are you still standing here for, run away!" Liu Sheng growled.

King Ni was stunned for a moment, followed Liu Sheng's strength and ran forward, after a few steps he realized, what do you want me to run?Only wolves.The wolf demon has beaten a few of them, ordinary wild wolves...

Hoo ~ hoo!

The sound of a tennis ball breaking through the air.

The tennis ball, which seemed to be hitting straight in the face, passed precisely through the gap between the two of them.

Then Nioh turned his head, just in time to see the tennis ball hit the eye of a jumping wolf.The wolf let out a whine and disappeared in an instant.

……disappear?

It's... that thing from yesterday?

King Ren frowned slightly.

He felt the hand loosen his wrist.

"It's gone?" Liu Sheng asked.

King Ni could hear the uneasiness in Liu Sheng's voice, so he turned his head and raised his hand to pat him on the shoulder: "Let's go."

Liu Sheng: "..."

"It's too dangerous," he whispered.

Nioh should have teased him, for example, did you remember to give me a hand in a critical moment?What a nice guy.Another example is that you are so afraid, are you still that "gentleman"?

But seeing Liu Sheng's pale face, he didn't say a word.

He raised his head, facing the place where the tennis ball came through the air.

"Little devil, I told you that the mountains in the middle of the night are dangerous, but you still..."

The sound stopped abruptly.

The person who came out from behind the tree snorted, "It's you again?"

King Ren supported Liu Sheng, tilted his head: "What's wrong with me?"

"People at the bottom of the mountain don't always run into the mountains. If you like this place, I can tell the coaches and let them send you here." Byodoin said coldly.

The corner of Nioh's mouth curved down a bit: "Send it? I'm not a cargo."

"But in my eyes, boy, you—"

Snapped!

The movement of the swing is fast, and the same is true of the tennis ball.The ball was even faster and heavier than the one hit at the wolf.

Nioh only had time to turn his head, and the tennis ball brushed past his cheek.

He stretched out his hand and wiped it, it was slightly stinging.The smell of blood was obvious in the clear mountain wind, or maybe he couldn't help but use his spiritual power to feel the smell of blood.

"It's the third time." King Ni stuffed his finger into his mouth and sucked it.He tasted his own blood.Looking up at Byodoin, he raised his lips again: "Senior, don't you like me?"

Byodoin held the racket and sneered.

He didn't speak any more, just turned around and went back to the forest.

King Ren breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Sheng beside him had long been unable to react to the development of the matter.

"You know that senior?" he asked.

King Ni hummed: "He is the Phoenix of Byodoin Temple, you already know it."

"That's right, but..."

"Did I say that I think he and Yukimura are a bit like that?" Nioh clicked his tongue mockingly, "Young and ignorant and blind, Puri."

Liu Sheng: "..."

King Ni doubted that Byodoin would guard the cave where Yagyu and the others lived.He has so far been unable to take the Court of Justice.To be precise, Byodoin's tennis strength is much stronger than him.

Leaving aside the strength of his spiritual power (after all, he has never seen Byodoin go all out), how to use spiritual power in tennis is far inferior to Byodoin.

I am three years younger than him.Nioh thought.

He turned his head: "Are you okay?"

Liu Sheng hummed.

"Then can you go back by yourself?"

"……nonsense."

"Then I'll go back first?"

"Let's go." Liu Sheng shook off King Ni's hand, "It's already late, don't you have access control?"

After all, King Ni made a circle and followed Yagyu for a while.He saw Liu Sheng walking into the cave from a distance, and there were still a few familiar people sitting in the cave, so he went down the mountain again in the dark.

When he looked at it from a distance, he could still feel the murderous aura of Byodoin Temple.

He wondered why this person was so murderous?Why are you so irritable?

When he returned to his room, he thought regretfully that it was a pity that this "expedition" had ended in such an anticlimactic manner.

A few days later, he sneaked out every day to find a place where he could be alone to study in Honmaru as usual, and completed his work as a detective in the spirit world nearby.The white fox probably really took his question that day to heart, and gave him a card the next day.

When Nioh received the card, he was stunned: "Huh?"

"Didn't you urge you to pay your salary?" The white fox tilted his head and opened and closed his eyes, "I've given it to you, don't urge me."

Nioh: "...So if I don't ask you, I won't give it by default, right?"

"Children's wages should be kept by parents."

"Then you have the ability to give this card to your mother." King Ni retorted directly.

The white fox was silent for two seconds, then flicked its tail: "Now it's for you."

Nioh: "..."

He also wanted to go to Houshan to complete his visit work, but failed.The white fox no longer let him go to the back mountain.

"You have a lot of unfinished work. Just pay attention to your work when you get paid. There are many monsters in Tokyo who need help." White Fox said.

King Ren told Natsume this matter selectively and half-truthfully.

Natsume, who keeps in daily contact with him, is still returning the names of the monsters.He comforted King Ni: "Well, Mr. Fox is right. There are many monsters who need help, and what we can do is only what we can do."

Nioh: "..."

The three views are different, so we can't have a good chat.

Taking the arrogant laughter of the beckoning cat as the background sound, Nioh and Natsume exchanged a few words and then hung up the phone.

It wasn't common for him to keep in touch with someone he didn't really know very well.But just one side, Nioh saw through Natsume's gentle nature.If he agreed to contact and then forgot, Nioh thought, such a gentle person would probably suffer retribution for doing such a thing to such a gentle person?His instincts have always been good.

Another two days of training during the day and working at night.

On the fourth day of the training camp, coach Ryuzaki suffered a heart attack during practice.She just collapsed suddenly on the tennis court.

"Coach Ryuzaki?!"

The hospital's diagnosis results came out quickly, and she had to miss the next selection.But before the rest of the Ryuzaki team had time to panic, Coach Kurobe announced the news in the cafeteria.

"You will have a new coach." Coach Kurobe said, "Definitely qualified."

new coach?

The middle school students looked at each other in blank dismay.

On the fifth day of the training camp, it seemed that there was no difference from the previous few days.

It rained a little in the early morning, and the air in the morning brought more moisture.Nioh timed himself while doing basic training with a tennis racket.

He is counting his time limit.The day before, he lasted until the last hour and used his spiritual power to catch up with the progress, which means that today he is likely to complete all the training with only his own physical strength.

It sounds incredible, no one's physical fitness has improved so quickly.But he did.

There is a reason for this.There must be a reason.

Still not enough pressure.

King Ni thought, perhaps the persecution of himself was too little.

He always thought that he had trained a lot and he had worked hard enough.He also did win the Kanto Contest, which changed the ending of the dream that I don't know if it's true or not.

Is this enough?

The Kanto Tournament is just a pre-match. Tennis has always been stronger in Kansai than in Kanto.Is he going to use such a lazy attitude to deal with the next national competition?

He couldn't help but think so.If he thinks this way, it will be a little comforting when he is panting until his chest hurts.

Run back and forth, leapfrog, lunge and squat.

The sun gradually came out, drying the remaining water stains on the court.

The sound of cicadas came faintly, one after another.

blah blah blah.

Some abnormal footsteps sounded from far to near, which sounded like the sound of people running.Many people who were swinging their rackets stopped, trying to figure out where the sound came from.

Where does it come from?

nearer, nearer—

Hey!

The sound of footsteps stopping at the same time.

The expressions of the players who were practicing in the arena froze when they raised their heads.

This is……

"Coach!" At the strongest side of the team that suddenly appeared on the sidelines of the court, Sanada saluted the coach.

"Oh, are you back yet?" Coach Saito walked down from the high platform.

He got closer and closer, but turned a corner when he reached the front of the team.

And within his line of sight, a few strangers who had been behind the team came up, wearing strange sportswear.

"coach."

"Who is that? What about the hair...and the beard..."

Nioh heard whispers.

He thought it was true that Byodoin's beard was getting longer and longer.

He still remembers the appearance of the Byodoin Temple at the shrine when they first met, and now he is almost ten years older than that time.

It's weird how this guy grew up on the same trajectory as Sanada.he sighed.

"Everyone." Coach Kurobe was already standing at the front of the team, with his back to the tennis court of the training camp, "You all return to the team now."

"Return to the team?"

"If I were to number them, it would probably be Group F." Coach Saito raised his eyebrows and said, "A, B, C, D."

He backhanded around the court behind him.

"Of course, this is not an established group." Kurobe half turned and pointed to the field behind him, "The specific rules of the game will be discussed after you have lined up."

"The others are too. Today's training is temporarily suspended."

What happened?

What new ways did these two coaches come up with?

Everyone on the court thought so.

Then Coach Saito returned to the high platform again.

He held a megaphone: "Now, I announce that the mid-term ranking battle will be officially held. Redefine the quotas of each group: Group A, 4 people, Group B, 5 people, Group C, 5 people, Group D, 5 people , Group F, 18 people. The transposition rule is, based on the current group, challenge directly. Everyone has a chance to challenge once, the winner enters the corresponding group, and the loser loses the chance to comeback if he has already challenged. If you have not challenged before, you can come back and challenge. The rules of the challenge are singles, one round system, four courts to challenge at the same time. The challenge time starts at [-] o'clock in the afternoon. Do you understand?"

Silent.

Coach Saito raised his eyebrows: "Do you understand?"

"...Understood!"

At noon, the members of Lihai University who finally got together began to discuss this "mid-term challenge".

"In the afternoon... hey, forget it." Marui sighed heavily.

Liu shook his head: "Mrs. Wen, there's no need to be so pessimistic."

"Then tell me, who are you going to challenge?" Marui turned his head sideways.

Liu smiled: "Start the challenge from group B, you may have already come down when it's my turn."

"willow!"

"Okay, stop joking." Yukimura put down the chopsticks in his hand, "How have you been these few days?"

He was asking about the ones who had just come back.

From the looks of it, they worked a lot harder than those who stayed in the training camp.for example--

Nioh glanced at Yagyu.He didn't see clearly when he went to the back mountain at night, but now he noticed the excessive redness on the back of Liu Sheng's neck.

"Are you sunburned?" he asked.

Liu Sheng hummed, "It's not serious, it's fine."

"I have sunburn ointment there," Liu said.

They still returned to the topic of "challenge".

"Classification." Yukimura narrowed his eyes, "It's not like before, each group is divided equally. However, there are 9 people in Group A and Group B, will the last one lose?"

"This is probably the purpose of the coaches." Ren Wang dragged his voice, and said with a bit of yin and yang, "From the beginning, let us 'cannibalize each other', then the complicated and heavy training, and then start the direct training in the second half. Strength qualifying. We are now completely following their pace."

"But I did work harder because of the pressure." Liu said.

So several people in Lihaida exchanged a knowing look, and began to eat seriously.

"King Ni, don't be picky."

Nioh who tried to put carrots on Bunta's plate next to him: "...puri."

"Speaking of which, who are those people who came back with you?" Liu asked.

Sanada's chopsticks paused: "..."

"It's the coach." Yukimura spoke first.

He raised his lips and smiled shallowly: "They are the special coaches that the coaches call. I'm not wrong."

"...They are indeed in charge of our 'special training'." Liu Sheng said in a subtle tone.