Living in Tokyo, all I want to do is laze around.

The evening breeze was somewhat cool.

Mrs. Hanamaru just asked where the two of them went.

"Can I hug you?" Uesugi Kai suddenly asked, looking at Hanabi Hanabi's still slightly flushed face.

"Kai-kun, you want to touch my waist again..."

Hanabi Hanabi saw through his intentions and whispered, "Why does Kai-kun always like to touch Hanabi's waist?"

"You can't rub my face, you can't touch my chest, you can't touch my legs, so of course you can only put your arm around my waist."

Kai Uesugi maintained his smile, "Kai-kun really wants to marry Hanabi soon."

"Why does Kai-kun always want to get married..." Hanabi Hanamaru felt that he would say something different from last time.

“I want to sleep with Hanabi in my arms,” Kai Uesugi said, pulling down one of her hands and running his thumb across her soft, delicate skin. “Hanabi is so soft and warm. If I sleep with her in my arms, I won’t think about too many things.”

“Kai-kun used to sleep with Hanabi in his arms.”

"Last weekend?"

“No…” Hanabi Hanamaru shook her head.

Uesugi Kai suddenly smiled, "That was so long ago."

"Yes," Hanabi Hanabi replied softly, "Back then, Kai-kun was still Kai-nii..."

###Chapter 126 Staying in the Bamboo Forest###

The following Monday, the weather was sunny.

Last night was truly awful.

With her bow bag slung over her shoulder, Uesugi Kai walked listlessly across the damp ground to the training camp assembly point at the school gate.

He was also carrying a black suitcase filled with clothes.

"Uesugi, something seems off about you?" Aoyuya asked as she helped him put his luggage into the school bus.

"My head is a little dizzy," Uesugi Kai said lazily as he took the kimono pouch off his back and put it inside.

Rather than being lazy, he looked sickly.

Kai Uesugi suddenly sniffed.

"You caught a cold?" Qing Youya asked.

"A little."

"Then how about we postpone the training camp? Let's get better first."

"No need." Uesugi Kai, with her eyes half-open, waved her hand in refusal.

Qing Youya also carefully examined his tired face. "It's okay to rest for a day or two. We can practice our shooting techniques on our own first."

Kai Uesugi yawned, his eyes still sleepy. "It's just a mild cold, nothing serious, some medicine will do."

"I feel sleepy now after taking the medicine."

"Are you sure there's no problem?" Out of concern, Qing Youya asked again.

“No problem,” Uesugi Kai waved his hand wearily. “I’m not weak.”

"alright."

After boarding the bus, Kai Uesugi leaned against the window and dozed off for a while. Once all the members of the archery club who were participating in the training camp had arrived, the bus drove away from Shinjuku.

The tall buildings along the way receded into the distance through the glass, appearing blurry in my vision.

The reinforced concrete buildings were replaced by low-rise bungalows. Uesugi Kai, who was sleeping, didn't know how long the car had been driving. She only felt that after she fell asleep, her position had been moved.

Stretching, Uesugi Kai got out of the car after Sugita Sohei woke him up.

The delicate bamboo leaves rustled softly, and the swaying green bamboo covered the surrounding area.

All I could see was green.

Not far away, Chitose Mai was squatting under the bamboo with Sakurai Fuko, taking a selfie.

Most of the archery club members participated in this training camp, although there weren't many.

"Where is this place?" Uesugi Kai looked around, the fresh air making him more awake than before.

"Didn't you see the messages in the group?" Sugita Sohei said.

"I didn't see it," Uesugi Kai said.

Sugita Sohei didn't waste any words, "Kurokawa."

"Kurokawa?"

Uesugi Kai glanced at the blue sky; it must have been just past noon. "How did we end up in Kumamoto Prefecture?!"

"Near Kurokawa Station, next to Tama."

"..."

Sugita Sohei continued, "Please ask Ogasawara Norishi here to help train everyone's shooting techniques."

The bamboo near Ogasawara Estate is very tall, over ten meters, so straight and neat that it only curves downwards at the top.

The path through the bamboo forest was winding and long, with dappled sunlight occasionally filtering through the gaps, shimmering like fine gold dust around the archery club members.

The sunlight made the green leaves translucent, and their faces were tinged green by the dense shade.

The air is filled with a cool breeze, making this a rare summer retreat.

Ogasawara Tokikiyo was the owner of this manor. He had thick, sharp eyebrows and gray hair, and his first impression was that of a rigid and stern old man, like their math teacher.

But in reality, this eighth-dan master was very approachable and even personally went out to welcome everyone.

The club members who participated in this training camp, carrying bow bags that were more than 2 meters long, nodded and greeted the eighth-dan master in front of them with curiosity.

"Teacher." Among the group, only Sugita Sohei's form of address was somewhat unique.

Dressed in a pristine white archery uniform, Norishi Ogasawara waved his hand dismissively, his tone casual, "Don't be so formal. Didn't I often tell you about 'learning Zen and understanding the mind'?"

"Eat when you're hungry, sleep when you're tired, and keep a calm and peaceful mind without any worries."

"Understood." Sugita Sohei raised his head.

"This must be the Uesugi you often mention, right?" Ogasawara Tokikiyo smiled kindly at Uesugi Kai behind him. "You can tell from his demeanor that he's a skilled archer."

Uesugi Kai nodded slightly and greeted him again, "Ogasawara Norishi."

"Just call me teacher, like Shuping."

Ogasawara Tokisei looked at the archery club members and said, "You'll be learning from me for a while now, like I just mentioned, 'learning Zen and understanding the mind.' No need to be stiff, just relax."

Everyone responded politely.

As noon approached, Ogasawara Norishi did not rush to begin the arrow-passing ceremony, but instead invited everyone to have lunch at his manor surrounded by bamboo groves.

Although it is called a manor, only the Ogasawara couple actually live there.

They do everything themselves; according to Mrs. Ogasawara, when the archery club members arrive, they are busy and at ease.

"Did Professor Ogasawara ever believe in Buddhism?"

Meals were also very casual, and Uesugi Kai could always hear Zen-like words coming from this old man's mouth, but his decisive style of doing things was completely unlike that of a temple monk.

“No,” Sugita Sohei put down his bowl and chopsticks, “it’s just that the teacher likes to say these things.”

“It sounds like it has a Buddhist connotation,” said Kai Uesugi, shoveling rice into his mouth.

Sugita Sohei didn't refute anything, after all, it was a fact: "Kyudo and Buddhism have a deep connection, and the Chikurin school is a prime example of this."

"What school of thought does Ogasawara-sensei belong to?" Uesugi Kai picked up a piece of tofu and ate it with rice in one bite.

The old lady's cooking skills are quite good.

Sugita Sohei glanced at him upon hearing this and lowered his voice, saying, "Ogasawara school."

“Oh,” Uesugi Kai realized, “no wonder it sounded so familiar.”

in the afternoon.

After the archery ceremony presided over by Norishi Ogasawara, his minor cold had improved considerably.

After warming up, everyone read aloud from "The Method of Archery" and "The Meaning of Archery" in the Book of Rites, and then began practicing.

The rustling bamboo in the temple grounds, the elegant greenery all around rising and falling with the chirping of some unknown bird.

The five members of the team first demonstrated their shooting techniques, and then, surrounded by the other members of the archery club, received guidance from the eighth-dan master.

Ogasawara Tokikiyo closely observed everyone's every move, occasionally reaching out to correct any unnecessary actions:

"The archery technique has eight steps: stepping, positioning, preparing the bow, raising, drawing the bow, meeting, and releasing. Remember to begin each step with an inhale, maintain the breath in a low position, and end with an exhale, ensuring your breathing is natural and in place."

Gently pat Higashii Eiji's abdomen to signal him to contract.

"Focus your attention, and after inhaling, gently exhale downwards to expand your abdominal wall as much as possible."

“Relax,” Ogasawara Tokikiyo said calmly, pinching Hirata Masanobu’s muscles, which were tense from drawing the bow. “Maintain a rhythm between the eight sections, and keep your breath even so that your movements don’t become stiff and unbroken.”

......

The afternoon was all about correcting shooting patterns and rhythm.

Despite repeated adjustments, the group still couldn't grasp the key points. Ogasawara Norishi remained patient and polite, ending today's training session.

The air was thick with mist and steam.

Uesugi Kai leaned against the heated stone, her face flushed, and she breathed a sigh of relief with her eyes closed.

"Hu~~"

The manor in the bamboo forest even has a hot spring.

Feeling a little dizzy from being in the water, Uesugi Kai picked up her phone and started a video chat with Hanabi Hanamaru.

The video call connected quickly.

On the other end of the phone, Hanabi's face was flushed and she was covered with a blanket, squatting on the bed, her little nose twitching.