Chapter 63

The most famous beach in Brazil is in Rio de Janeiro, especially Copacabana Beach.

It is a world-renowned tourist destination and one of the most popular beaches.

However, Rongguang is not going there.

Instead, he is heading to Santos, a city seventy kilometers from São Paulo.

This city is home to the world-famous Santos Football Club, the home team of the "King of Football," Pelé.

It also has many beaches.

However, the beaches in Santos, whether it's Praia de Paranaguá or Praia de Santos, cannot compare to the beaches in Rio de Janeiro...

"Wow, the sea! Amazing! The sand is white!" Rongguang, a boy from the mountains, was stunned by everything he saw on his first visit to the beach.

He even picked up a handful of sand and examined it carefully.

In the sunlight, the sand grains sparkled like diamonds.

Although it couldn't compare to Copacabana Beach, this beach was enough to impress Rongguang, who had seen little of the world.

There was a sandy beach at the lakeside park, but it was artificial, and neither its size nor the quality of the sand could match a real beach.

Rongguang had always thought beaches were like that, but he was still amazed when he saw the real thing.

The azure sea waves gently lapped at the beach, like a gentle hand caressing a woman's skin.

The sound of the waves was constant but not noisy, more like a low murmur, the voice of the sea.

Rongguang had never seen the sea up close before. He had been in Brazil for almost half a year and had never been to a beach, so he was deeply moved when he saw the blue sky, white clouds, and the white sand.

He even ran straight into the sea, shouting and waving his arms.

There were many tourists in bikinis on the beach, but no one gave Rongguang a strange look—such excitement was common.

The old sage did not stop Rongguang and began setting up a tent, which would be their accommodation during Rongguang's special training.

Brazil has high prices, and with Rongguang's frugal mindset, he chose to save money by buying a camping tent and bringing a lot of convenient food. However, he wouldn't be too careless about food; there were many food trucks and small shops nearby, so he wouldn't have to eat bread and cold sandwiches every day.

The old sage thought Rongguang would play on the beach for a while before coming back, but he saw Rongguang return quickly.

Facing the old sage's gaze, Rongguang scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed: "Uh... I can't swim..."

***

The tent was set up, but the old sage did not let Rongguang rest until the next day to prepare for the training.

Instead, he started the training immediately!

He took Rongguang to the crowded beach.

Although it was winter and not as busy as in summer, there were still many people enjoying the sun, as it was a weekend.

Weekends in Brazil are often spent like this, with the beach being their favorite vacation spot.

There is a nine-lane highway from São Paulo to Santos, divided into three sections. On weekdays, six lanes lead to São Paulo, and three to Santos. On weekends, it changes to six lanes leading to Santos and three to São Paulo...

Why is this?

Because Santos has beaches.

This shows how much Brazilians love beaches.

It happened to be a weekend, so there were many people on the beach.

Some were sunbathing, some running, some playing soccer and volleyball—a type of volleyball played with the feet instead of hands—and some swimming and playing in the water. So no one paid attention to Rongguang and the old sage.

The old sage picked up a branch from somewhere and drew a line on the beach.

He then pointed to the distance.

"Do you see that?"

He asked.

Rongguang looked.

"I see it, Brazilian women are so open! Aren't they cold?"

Rongguang saw a group of women in bikinis playing in the water, and with their movements, their chests were like waves... undulating!

Women of various skin tones playing on the beach are a famous scene in Brazil.

"Idiot! What are you looking at?!" The old sage finally couldn't help but scold him. "That!"

He raised the branch a little higher.

Rongguang finally saw a lamppost a bit further away.

Many beaches in Brazil have lighting similar to sports fields, allowing people to play on the beach at night.

"Is it a light?" he asked uncertainly.

The old sage nodded. "Starting from your feet, run to that lamppost and back."

The straight-line distance from here to the lamppost wasn't far, about two kilometers.

But the beach was curved, so the actual distance might be about 3.5 kilometers one way, making it 7-8 kilometers round trip, or even more, as the estimate might not be accurate.

It just looked far. If the weather wasn't good and the lamppost wasn't large, it might not be visible.

Without a word, Rongguang was about to run.

But just as he started, the old sage called him back.

"Carry me on your back and run." The old sage put his hands behind his back, the sea breeze blowing his beard and clothes, and his expression was serious.

Rongguang was stunned for a moment but didn't say much. He ran back and squatted down.

The old sage lay on his back, and Rongguang lifted his thighs and stood up.

His feet sank slightly into the soft sand.

The old sage, though not heavy in appearance, was actually quite substantial!

Rongguang felt the weight from his back to his feet.

Then he started to move.

With the sudden addition of several dozen kilograms and the soft sand, Rongguang ran very slowly, each step sinking deeply into the sand and kicking up a lot of sand. To avoid tripping, he had to lift his legs higher, which slowed him down.

The old sage, lying on Rongguang's back, tapped his head and said, "Faster."

So Rongguang had to speed up. But this made it harder to lift his feet, and he often dragged them along the ground, kicking up a lot of sand.

"Lift your feet. The sand is hitting my face, ugh ugh..."

Rongguang had to lift his legs higher, but this slowed him down again.

"Faster."

"Lift your feet."

"Faster..."

"Lift your feet..."

***

A woman in a bikini was lying on the beach, sunbathing. It was mid-afternoon, the best time for sunbathing, as the sun was at its strongest and the temperature was high. In winter, it would get cold in two hours when the sea breeze picked up. So this was the best time for sunbathing, and the worst time for someone to disturb her.

Suddenly, she felt a lot of sand fall on her back and head, sprinkling her almost all over, even on her buttocks.

It completely ruined her mood!

She angrily raised her head, determined to find out who was playing a prank and teach them to respect women!

But when she looked up, she was stunned and forgot to confront the person.

In front of her, a young man was carrying an elderly man with white hair and white clothes, running past her with his legs raised high!

His legs were like the propellers of a ship, lifting and kicking up a lot of sand, which flew in all directions.

Her mouth dropped open, and even when sand fell into her mouth, she didn't react.

As a citizen of Santos, she came to this beach every weekend when the weather was good to sunbathe. She had seen many different people here.

There were those playing soccer, those playing footvolley, those walking their dogs, dancing samba, surfing, swimming, walking, jogging... but she had never seen anyone carrying another person and running on the beach with their legs raised high!

What was he doing?

Was this a performance art called "Young Man, Run Towards the Sunset"?

She lay on the beach, head raised, eyes wide, and watched the strange sight until the man gradually disappeared...

***

Soon, many people on the beach saw the strange sight of a young man carrying an elderly man and running.

They looked at Rongguang with curiosity, surprise, confusion, and even amusement.

The beach had all sorts of people, but Rongguang was unique.

Rongguang didn't care about their gazes; he had seen such looks before.

He carried the old sage and ran a round trip with his legs raised high.

By the end, his legs were almost too tired to lift, and his speed had to slow down.

He felt his lungs burning.

Rongguang's physical condition wasn't bad, but when he reached the end, he collapsed on the beach, not caring if he knocked the old sage off.

He lay on the ground, panting heavily.

Running 7-8 kilometers with someone on his back was already exhausting, especially on the beach. The soft sand made it hard to push off, and the sand around his feet added resistance, requiring more effort.

Even without carrying someone, it would have been tiring, let alone carrying a person weighing several dozen kilograms!

The old sage didn't fall. As Rongguang lost balance, he jumped off lightly, as if weightless, and landed on the ground.

"Rest for fifteen minutes. This was just a warm-up."

Running 7-8 kilometers with several dozen kilograms on a difficult beach... and this was just a warm-up!?

Lying on the ground, panting heavily, Rongguang already felt the difference in this special training...