When Tang San returned to the Shrek Academy, it was already evening.
He was carrying the muddy shoes, and the thin edges of the soles rubbed against his forearms, making them feel cool.
The Eight Spider Lances on the back is still feeling dull, and the Soul Power that was stolen from the wind baboon is dormant in the meridians docilely and strangely, like a handful of warm ashes.
The sound of practicing shouts came from the wall.
The roar of Dai Mubai, the whirring of Ma Hongjun, and the sound of Oscar chanting the Sausage spell penetrated the eardrums clearly.
Before, he would have stepped in immediately.
But now, he just wanted to stand in the shadows, hiding the mud all over his body, the cold water vapor, and the unfamiliar throbbing in his heart.
He looked down at his hands.
The scab from the tiger's mouth is still there, the fingertips are stained with the fine sand at the bottom of the waterfall, and there are reddish blood stains between the fingernails.
Push the door open and go in.
The first person to greet us was Xiao Wu.
Her eyes were red, and she obviously hadn't slept. She walked quickly to him,
Looking up and down at his soaked clothes, muddy ankles, and pale face.
She reached out to touch his arm.
Tang San took half a step back.
It's not a big step, it's an imperceptible half-step.
The heels scraped against the ground, making a soft sound.
Xiao Wu's hand froze in mid-air.
"Third Brother, where were you yesterday?" Her voice trembled,
"We've been looking for you all day."
"It's okay." Tang San changed his shoes to his other hand and carried them, "I'm going to practice."
Five understated words blocked all inquiries.
Xiao Wu slowly retracted his hand, and the light in his eyes dimmed.
Yu Xiaogang walked over, frowning, and her eyes fell on his chapped lips.
"You left suddenly after the ring. What happened?"
Tang San raised his eyes and looked at the teacher he always respected the most.
"Lost." He said, "Adjust your mentality."
Dai Mubai came over with clenched fists and wanted to say something, but when he saw Tang San's empty eyes, he swallowed the words that came to his lips.
Tang San ignored everyone's gazes, picked up his shoes, turned around and walked into his room, closing the door gently.
The door panel blocks out all sounds from outside.
He slid down with his back against the door panel and buried his face in his knees.
It's not that I'm not sad, it's that I don't dare to let others see me.
He slowly raised his hand and pressed his fingertips on the back of his heart.
The outline of Eight Spider Lances trembled gently under the skin, with a hint of scarlet aura.
After a long time, he stood up and walked to the window.
The sun shone in and fell on half of his face, while the other half was hidden in shadow.
There were footsteps outside the door, very light, stopping at the door.
"Third Brother."
It's Xiao Wu.
Tang San did not answer.
"Are we still playing in the promotion round?" she asked.
A hair rope was stuffed into the crack of the door. It was pink and frayed. It was the result of wearing it every day for six years and holding it quietly for two years, leaving old marks.
Tang San looked at the hair rope and did not move.
He remembered leaving it under his pillow, thinking she didn't know.
"I wore it for six years, took it off for two years, and have been hiding it until now."
Xiao Wu's voice came from outside the door, muffled through the door panel,
"You gave it to me. I stopped wearing it a long time ago. I brought it here today not to pester you.
I'm telling you, I'll remember it."
He still didn't answer.
"It's up to you whether you want to be beaten or not," she said.
"But if you want to fight, don't be sneaky. I'm watching."
The footsteps were far away.
Tang San squatted down and picked up the hair rope.
After sitting for a long time, I tied it back on my wrist, tightening it so tightly that it cut into the flesh, like a silent strangulation mark.
It's not a promise, it's a pledge.
In the next few days, Tang San resumed training.
Arrive at the training ground on time in the morning and practice sparring with Dai Mubai.
Clear Sky Hammer was smashed down, Dai Mubai was hard-connected with White Tiger Protective Barrier, and it was knocked back several steps.
"Okay, mistress, are you back to your best condition?" Dai Mubai shook his numb hand.
Tang San took Clear Sky Hammer back, the tiger's mouth was cracked, and blood seeped into the texture of the hammer handle.
He didn't stop and hit it again.
"Come again."
Dai Mubai was stunned for a moment and looked at his tiger's mouth.
Blood was already flowing down his wrist and dripping on the shoe.
"Your hand..."
"Come again." Dai Mubai said no more.
In the cafeteria, Tang San ate normally and even joked with Oscar.
The Sausage in Oscar's hand fell to the ground. Tang San bent down to pick it up, handed it back, and curled his mouth.
Oscar took Sausage, looked at Tang San's back, and muttered,
"Mistress just... blinked twice?"
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at it,
"You saw it wrong."
"Maybe."
In the preparation room before the game, Tang San sat in front of the tactical board all night.
The paper is filled with the moving trajectories of Feng Xiaotian, densely packed.
Dai Mubai pushed the door open and came in, wanting to tell him to rest, when he saw a line of words exposed at the corner of the paper.
It's not a tactic, it's a word that fills a whole page, quickly.
Dai Mubai said nothing and gently closed the door.
The promotion round begins.
The first game is against the Barak Academy.
Tang San is on the court, Clear Sky Hammer is on the shoulder side.
The opponent's captain is Soul Ancestor, Martial Soul Mountain-Suppressing Ape.
The referee calls start.
Tang San rushed forward and struck three times, and the opponent retreated to the sidelines.
On the fifth hammer, the opponent flew out of the ring.
He put away the hammer, turned around, and walked back to the aisle, without looking at the auditorium the whole time.
The second game, against the Plant Academy.
The opponent's control system, the vines wrapped around the ankles, Tang San jumped up, Eight Spider Lances popped out, pierced the vines, and the poison was injected back.
The opponent's face turned green and he raised his hands to admit defeat.
He sheathed the spear and found that the tip of the spear was trembling. It was not him who was trembling, but the spear itself.
He tightened his grip and took it back.
The third game, against the Thunder Academy.
Yu Tianxin, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Dragon Transformation versus Disorder Splitting Wind, the hammer and the dragon claw collided together, and sparks splashed on their faces.
The eighteenth hammer, Yu Tianxin retreated.
Tang San wanted to chase him, but his feet softened, he knelt down and stood up again.
My knee is bleeding. I scratched it on broken ice just now and didn't pay attention.
He walked off the stage, and the hair rope around his wrist was embedded in his flesh, making it painful.
The fourth game, against the Godwind Academy.
Feng Xiaotian stood opposite the ring, and the shadow of Gale Twin-Headed Wolf had two heads behind him.
Level 46. His wings have changed. They don't have the light feathers from the exchange competition. They are just wings made of cyan Soul Power. They are very thin, fast and very stable.
"Tang San." He said, "I have been waiting for this for a long time."
Tang San didn't say anything. He tightened his grip on the hammer handle. The scab on the tiger's mouth was cracked again and became sticky.
He turned back and looked at the Shrek rest area.
Xiao Wu was sitting there, with a shallow mark still left on her wrist, an old mark left by wearing it for too long in the past six years.
When she saw him turning back, she was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
Tang San turned back, and the hair rope around her wrist tightened a little more.
"Start."
Feng Xiaotian did not fly immediately.
He was testing on the ground, and the wind blade brought by the wolf's claws cut into Tang San's waist.
Tang San turned sideways and swept the hammer across. Feng Xiaotian stepped away and rushed forward again.
His speed is faster than that in the exchange competition, but it is not the kind of flamboyant speed, but the speed of gliding close to the ground.
Tang San's hammer hit it, and everything it hit was an afterimage.
. The third hammer failed, Feng Xiaotian had circled behind him, and the wolf claws tore three bloody marks on his back shoulder.
Tang San frowned, Eight Spider Lances popped out and stabbed backwards.
Feng Xiaotian is already flying.
He is circling in the sky, and Tang San is chasing him on the ground.
The hammer hit the bluestone table, making holes.
The tenth hammer, Tang San's breathing became heavier.
Feng Xiaotian flew higher, the sound of its wings flapping was like a buzzing.
Tang San looked up at him, and the sun shone from behind Feng Xiaotian, causing him to squint his eyes.
He remembered the way Chen Jieqi stood in the light.
On the fifteenth hammer, Tang San's foot sprained.
It was not that he was attacked, but that he stepped into the hole that he had created before.
Disorder Splitting Wind's rhythm was interrupted for a moment, but Feng Xiaotian did not miss this moment.
He swooped down from a high altitude, and the two-headed wolf's sharp claws tore through the air and struck directly at Tang San's chest.
Tang San raised the hammer, but the hammer was too heavy. The momentum of the fifteenth hammer was still there and could not be withdrawn.
Feng Xiaotian's claws hit the hammer, and Tang San's whole body was thrown away, and his back hit the ground with a dull sound.
He spit out a mouthful of blood. Feng Xiaotian fell to the ground and was not pursued.
He looked at Tang San, frowning, "You are more anxious than during the exchange game."
Tang San did not answer.
He stood up holding the hammer, his knees shaking.
He wanted to continue, but the hammer shook in his hand, as if he couldn't hold it.
Feng Xiaotian flew up again. Tang San swung the hammer, but the afterimage was not hit.
My back felt cold, the wind blade cut open my robe, and blood seeped out.
He turned around, Feng Xiaotian was already on the other side, and the wolf claws slapped on his wrist.
Clear Sky Hammer took off his hand, flew out, and hit the bluestone table with a muffled sound.
The hammer was still spinning, like a top, and slowly stopped.
Tang San looked at his hands, they were empty, and the blood from the cracked jaws was flowing down between his fingers and dripping on his shoes.
The shoes were still dirty, mud and blood mixed together.
Feng Xiaotian fell in front of him, the wolf claws pressed against his throat without stabbing him.
"You lost."
Tang San said nothing and walked down the ring with steady steps, even more steady than usual. Because he couldn't shake.
Xiao Wu was watching. He passed by the Shrek rest area without stopping.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xiao Wu stand up. She opened her mouth but made no sound.
Tang San Continue walking, enter the passage, open the door of the lounge, and close it.
As soon as the door closed, he leaned against the wall, his hands shaking, his legs shaking, and his whole body shaking.
He untied the hair rope from his wrist and tied it for too long, leaving a red mark on his skin, like a wound.
He didn't take it off, he just loosened it and tied it back again. The debt was not paid yet.
In the fifth game of the promotion round, Shrek abstained.
Tang San sat in the lounge until dark without turning on the light.
He didn't notice that in the corner of the shadow, the outline of Eight Spider Lances was gently stirring under the skin, and the scarlet at the tip was a little darker than yesterday.