HTCYH Ch 3

Chapter 3: Craving Flesh

Tu Si wrapped himself entirely in his tendrils and hung from the ceiling beam, creating a safe and warm sleeping pod.

Night had fallen. Within the cocoon, Tu Si drifted in and out of sleep. The unfamiliar surroundings made him remain on alert—he never fully fell asleep. So, the faint creak of the door opening brought him to instant wakefulness. He didn’t leave the tendril cocoon but instead expanded his perception, letting every tendril gain tactile awareness, quietly sensing his surroundings.

It was strange. The door had opened slightly. Tu Si could feel the night wind blowing in from outside and hear the rustling of leaves beyond the door, yet he couldn’t sense any creature approaching. Was it just the wind blowing the door open?

Tu Si parted a small opening in his cocoon and peeked through it—his body tensed in horror. The previously airtight room, completely sealed by his tendrils, now had a beam of moonlight illuminating one corner due to the open door. Standing precisely in that lit corner was a woman in a crimson dress. The reason the tendrils hadn’t sensed her was because her feet weren’t touching the floor—her red embroidered shoes hovered five centimeters above the ground. From a distance, she looked like she was standing.

But that wasn’t the most terrifying part. The most horrifying was her head. Though her face was painted in lavish makeup, her expression bashful and demure, with a stunning peach blossom ornament on her forehead, her entire head was upside down—her chin pointed upward, the top of her skull downward. Her neck was torn in half, completely ripped open, with strands of muscle barely holding her head in place. The head wobbled precariously, as if the fragile threads of flesh could snap at any moment, sending her head tumbling down onto Tu Si’s tendril-covered floor.

Aside from fear, the sight also made Tu Si feel nauseous. He immediately cut off all tactile connections from the tendrils in the room. He had no desire whatsoever to feel the texture of that dangling head.

And so Tu Si remained curled up in his cocoon, watching the headless female ghost the entire night. Only when the sky turned red and golden sunlight replaced the silvery moonlight did her inverted head get fully illuminated. She seemed pained by the sunlight, covered her eyes with her hands, and quietly sobbed as she left Tu Si’s room.

Even after the ghost vanished, Tu Si did not emerge from his cocoon. He waited until he heard bustling voices outside before finally retracting all his tendrils and opening the cocoon. He stared blankly at the spot where the ghost had disappeared. He could sense that she held no malice—she had seemed more like she was crying for help. But Tu Si had not intervened. In dangerous environments, kindness was not a virtue.

Only after processing his slight guilt for turning a blind eye did Tu Si turn to the mirror to tidy up. After finishing his grooming, he stepped out of the room.

As soon as he exited, he saw that the ornamental peach tree in the center of the courtyard had been burned down, leaving only a charred trunk and several twisted, sharp branches. These branches pointed toward every room in the courtyard like countless knives. Atop the withered trunk was a body—none other than the burly man who had quarreled with him the previous day.

The man had been impaled through the abdomen by the tree trunk, his body splayed atop the branches, face up. Blood trickled down the grooves of the trunk. The bottom portion had oxidized into black, while the upper blood was still fresh and bright red. The trunk formed a gradient from black to red.

Tu Si hadn’t slept all night, and the door had been left open. Yet he had heard nothing. As he stared at the corpse in the tree, he noticed that the man’s death eerily mirrored the way he had smashed the puppet boy yesterday—even the distorted limb angles were nearly identical. Was this a condition of death?

Even though Tu Si had known the game was dangerous, filled with lethal traps and taboos, the sight of this bizarrely killed man brought a chilling reality. No matter how often one witnesses death, it always leaves a visceral impact.

“Did his death have anything to do with you?” A husky female voice sounded behind him, startling Tu Si. He had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed someone behind him.

But it wasn’t entirely Tu Si’s fault—the emaciated girl behind him must have had some kind of special skill or technique. Her footsteps made no sound, and her presence was so faint she could be easily overlooked. That unnatural lack of presence was likely intentional.

Tu Si calmed his racing heart and looked into the girl’s eyes, replying with a question of his own: “Why do you think it has anything to do with me?”

“He wanted to kill you. More precisely, he wanted to rape and then kill you. Wei Zhuang was already extremely violent and unstable. After entering the game, he became completely unhinged—burning, looting, raping, pillaging—he did it all. His death doesn’t surprise me. I just wanted to ask if you rid the world of a menace.” Her voice was husky, as if her throat had once been injured. Some words were unclear, and her tone was monotonous, almost mechanical. Tu Si had to focus to catch her full meaning.

Once he understood her, Tu Si folded his arms and smiled. “The one hanging there is Wei Zhuang? From your description, he does sound like human scum. But I’m probably not much better—I wouldn’t go out of my way to eliminate evil. I had nothing to do with his death.”

The girl chuckled. “Anyone who joins this game isn’t a good person. Solo players often become supply bags for the Player Organization. Be careful. You made a smart move picking the Bureau to gain favor.”

With those words, she turned and walked away coolly. Her sudden friendly warning reinforced Tu Si’s stereotypical belief that women were innately kind. It was a dangerous assumption, but compared to direct harassment and malice, he preferred to be calculated against by someone like her.

Only when her figure disappeared behind the second gate of the courtyard did Tu Si turn and head off to explore elsewhere. Even his supposed teammates from the Player Organization didn’t care enough to retrieve Wei Zhuang’s corpse—there was no reason he should.

Walking along the courtyard path, Tu Si multitasked—half focused on the layout and plant arrangements, the other half flipping through the bronze mirror to check for any new missions.

Mission Three: Free Exploration. Find Map Clues. (0/3)

Tu Si grimaced at the task. He hated free exploration. Wandering aimlessly made him easily distracted—he’d end up studying weird things. Just like now, staring at the plant arrangements in the courtyard, he felt something was off. Plants from vastly different climates were placed together—sun-loving chrysanthemums planted alongside shade-loving peace lilies. Not only was it visually jarring, but the plants wouldn’t thrive. So Tu Si crouched down and began digging up the peace lily to relocate it.

As Tu Si once again forgot his location and immersed himself in flower arranging, a gentle voice called from behind him: “What are you doing?”

Startled, Tu Si turned around to find the gentle and refined Wuming standing not far away, watching him curiously.

Tu Si looked from Wuming to his own dirt-covered hands, a little embarrassed. Worrying about a shade-loving peace lily getting sunburned—in a horror game—would make him sound like a bleeding-heart lunatic. But that’s exactly what he was doing. So, faced with Wuming’s question, he came up with a somewhat logical excuse: “The plant layout here seems off. I wanted to see if there were any clues hidden in the soil.”

Wuming raised his brows. He picked up the peace lily Tu Si had dug up, examined it for a moment, then said, “Indeed. Peace lilies prefer shade. But this patch is wide open with full sunlight. Not ideal for planting here.”

Tu Si nodded repeatedly, then took the peace lily and planted it by a wall. Wuming didn’t question him further and even helped him replant the flower.

Once the task was done, a wooden basin suddenly appeared in front of Tu Si, filled with clean water. He looked at Wuming in confusion.

Wuming smiled faintly—his expression as gentle as a spring breeze. Tu Si’s mouth went dry. The scent wafting from Wuming, the clean and tender flesh beneath his skin—it made him crave. He’d be perfect for boiling or sashimi.

“Wash your hands. It’s a pain if you get dirt on your clothes. It’s not easy to find clean outfits here.” Wuming’s timely voice, cool and clear, snapped Tu Si out of it just in time. A second later, and Tu Si might have leaned in for a bite.

Tu Si swallowed and returned a dazzling, seductive smile. Then, bowing his head obediently, he washed his hands.

With his head lowered, Tu Si perfectly missed the glint of coldness that flickered in Wuming’s eyes.