HTCYH Ch 28

Chapter 28: Brother

Later, Wuming and the young girl talked a lot more. Normally, Wuming wasn’t someone who spoke much, but perhaps out of pity for the girl, he patiently answered her endless stream of questions. Whenever he saw her confusion, he would tell her little stories, gently guiding her to think on her own.

Tu Si looked at the girl sitting close beside Wuming, eyes sparkling as she listened intently to his stories. His heart warmed, and he thought that if Wuming were ever thrown into a kindergarten, he would definitely make an excellent teacher. Truly, this genius was versatile in everything.

As the sky grew darker, Wuming finished the last story and summed it up:

“All right, it’s getting late. That’s the end of today’s story. Time to go find Xiao Mi.”

Xiao Mi was the name the girl had given to the child. Even though Tu Si had explained to her that humans couldn’t give birth to cats, the girl still refused to change the name. She wanted her child to be as free as a kitten. Neither Wuming nor Tu Si tried to stop or correct her again. After all, wasn’t the name “Xiao Mi” itself a form of blessing for the child?

The sun set, and the sky instantly plunged into darkness without any transition. Tu Si pulled out his phone, switched on the flashlight, and illuminated the cave. It was empty. Feeling the presence of Wuming’s avatar in the self-built house, Tu Si sighed softly, stood up, and limped toward it, scrolling idly on his phone along the way.

Mission One: Return to the house for the night. (Completed)

Mission Two: Mystery of identity. (Completed)

Mission Three: Freedom.

Character Profiles:

• Liang Tiancai: Male, student at XX University. Courageous and cunning, mingles in both underworld and normal circles, unbeatable at gambling. 
• Li Chun’er: Female, admires Liang Tiancai, vain and greedy. 
• Yang Chengji: Male, childhood friend of Liang Tiancai. Useless coward, bullies the weak but fears the strong. 
• Cao Jiang: Male, Liang Tiancai’s roommate. A nerdy top student, easily deceived into debt, suitable as a scapegoat. 
• Cui Ruxue: Female, Liang Tiancai’s current girlfriend. Dutiful and obedient, but too old to show off. 

Tu Si read Li Chun’er’s description and couldn’t help but laugh. He wondered how furious Fang Xia would be if she saw such a biased evaluation. Clearly, this was Liang Tiancai’s own subjective assessment.

Liang Tiancai considered himself courageous and resourceful—and in some ways, he was. From killing his “wife” to seize the child, to refining a Kuman Thong*, and manipulating scapegoats, it was clear that he truly was daring. He was a perfect seed for cultivating as a demon—ruthless, inhuman, remorseless, wicked to the core.

Tu Si limped out of the forest and saw Wuming running toward him in visible anxiety. Watching Tu Si stroll casually, scrolling his phone as if his injury meant nothing, made Wuming frown. Yet he didn’t scold him—only asked with concern:

“You didn’t run into any danger, did you?”

Tu Si shook his head.

Wuming added: “Are you tired? Do you want me to carry you?”

Tu Si noticed that ever since he’d gotten injured, Wuming had treated him with excessive care, almost as if he were a fragile porcelain doll. Tu Si couldn’t quite understand. Was this because Wuming blamed himself—thinking Tu Si’s injury was the result of his own planning mistake? If a captain drained himself with such self-blame, it wouldn’t be good for the team. Caring for teammates was one thing, but overprotection and guilt were another.

So Tu Si said with a serious face:

“Captain! My injury isn’t your fault! I wasn’t careful enough, that’s why I got hurt. You don’t need to be so cautious with me. Because of my carelessness, I slowed down the whole squad. You should be disciplining me, not treating me like porcelain. And did you really leave the self-built house just to come pick me up? Why are you so sentimental? During missions, the task should always come first! Injuries and deaths are unavoidable.”

Wuming froze for a moment, then looked at Tu Si, grabbed him, and suddenly hoisted him onto his back. With a faint laugh in his voice, he spoke so only Tu Si could hear:

“Hey! You little grass spirit, standing there like that—honestly, you look more like a soldier than me. We are soldiers, yes, but more importantly, we are resources carefully cultivated by the nation. Every life in our squad is extremely precious. In the most dangerous environments, kindness isn’t about being a saint or treating everyone equally—it’s about calculating interest, allocating resources. You can save more people, so you’re more valuable. That’s why I treat you differently. Understand? It’s like the trolley experiment: one person on the track, a hundred in the car. Who do I save? If it’s Fang Xia on the track, I’d save the hundred. But if it’s you, I’d save you—because in my assessment, Fang Xia doesn’t have the ability to justify sacrificing a hundred lives, but you do. You can save thousands. As captain, I am both an executioner and a machine that makes cold evaluations. So don’t think too highly of me. Your injury was related to my decision-making. My attitude toward you now is both compensation and apology.”

Tu Si burst into laughter:

“If Fang Xia heard that, she’d be heartbroken.”

Wuming replied:

“You’re forgetting again that we’re soldiers? Fang Xia wouldn’t be heartbroken. She’d gladly give her life if it meant saving others.”

Tu Si lowered his head into Wuming’s neck, inhaled his scent, and muttered unhappily:

“Spit it out! Don’t you dare curse Fang Xia like that. Listen—if I’m around, Fang Xia won’t die! I swear I’ll protect Fang Xia, Ke Xian, Xu Jinyan, and Sister Ai Lin! If you won’t save them, I will! I’m not a regular soldier—I’m selfish! A hundred strangers mean nothing compared to them!”

Wuming didn’t scold him, only said:

“With that kind of mindset, you’ll never get promoted beyond intern status.”

Tu Si kicked his leg playfully:

“Then I’ll stay an intern forever. I’ll be the logistics for Team One—while you all go out to save others, I’ll save you.”

Wuming’s voice softened noticeably:

“Lived so long, and you’re still this childish. What about that young bride-like girl we took in—will you save her too?”

Tu Si immediately perked up:

“Of course! Poor kid! I still think Liang Tiancai’s death was far too easy! He deserved to be cut into a thousand pieces!”

Wuming chuckled lowly:

“Mhm. Maybe one day.”

Tu Si’s eyes widened:

“He’s not dead? He’s the boss? Figures! Trash like that—of course a ‘god’ would favor him!”

Wuming didn’t answer. He carried Tu Si back to the self-built house and set him on a creaky chair. Then, picking up an urn from the altar, he opened it. In a flash, the young bride-like girl darted out, cheering excitedly:

“I can feel Xiao Mi’s presence! It’s here! But… it also isn’t. It feels like it’s everywhere at once.”

Wuming nodded:

“Correct. Xiao Mi is here. But you won’t see it today, because my teammate has stalled the plot. He hasn’t completed Liang Tiancai’s mission yet, so he hasn’t met the Kuman Thong*. That’s why we can’t see Xiao Mi either. But now, I’m certain—our escape and the final boss fight are tightly bound to the storylines of the others. The more achievements and items they gain, the easier our clearance becomes. And Ai Lin’s Vajrapāṇi Heart Mantra really is effective. Look at the shrine.”

Tu Si followed his gaze. Inside the shrine stood a serene statue of Vajrapāṇi Bodhisattva.

The statue had a high nose and thick lips, crowned with a three-leaf tiara, the crown ribbons and long hair draping over the shoulders, decorated with flower-shaped earrings. With broad shoulders and a slim waist, it sat in a half-lotus pose—right hand holding a vajra club, left hand resting at the waist. The figure was upright and strong, adorned with necklaces, armlets, bracelets, and a belt, all decorated with beaded patterns. The bodhisattva wore a sash across the chest, and a skirt as thin as cicada wings, etched with geometric designs. The lotus pedestal beneath was wide and plain, its simple style highlighting the statue’s elegance.

Tu Si blinked, then reached into his pocket beside his dagger and pulled out a yellow talisman. On it were inscriptions forming a transliteration: Om. be- dza -ba-ni-hum-pei.

He stuffed the talisman back without a word, fiddling with his dagger, raising an eyebrow at Wuming.

Wuming grinned, then turned to the girl, drawing her attention:

“Want to learn the hand gestures for the Vajrapāṇi Heart Mantra?”

Tu Si didn’t know what Wuming was planning, but he certainly wouldn’t object. He nodded obediently, and the girl’s eyes lit up as she nodded quickly too.

Wuming pressed his little fingers together, curled his ring fingers inward to touch, raised his middle fingers together, extended his index fingers forward apart, and pressed his thumbs on his right ring finger before holding the gesture at his chest. Then he chanted:

“Ba-li. Hung. Om. Be-zha. Pei.”

The girl mimicked the gesture and chanted along:

“Ba-li. Hung. Om. Be-zha. Pei.”

Wuming nodded approvingly:

“Very standard!”

Then he lowered his gaze to Tu Si, who was sitting with the same posture. Kneeling slightly before him, Wuming reached out to gently adjust Tu Si’s extended fingers. Smiling indulgently, he said:

“Not mad anymore, right? Yesterday I really wasn’t using you as bait. I actually turned back to try to save you, but I was too late. Baby, I didn’t mean it. Now that your leg is injured, I’ll be your legs from now on. Don’t push me away with that cold ‘captain-only’ talk, okay? Of course you’re more important than the game.”

Tu Si stiffened, instinctively leaning back, but then forced himself to hold steady. His reply came out stiff:

“Captain… you’re overthinking. I… I’m not mad.”

Wuming quickly cupped Tu Si’s hands in his own, tugging him forward with a grin:

“Why are you still calling me ‘captain,’ then? Still upset?”

Tu Si’s scalp prickled. He knew Wuming was acting, but didn’t know how to respond. If not ‘captain,’ then what? After a long struggle, he squeezed out one word:

“Really not mad anymore… brother…”

Wuming trembled at the soft “brother,” covering his face as low laughter spilled out. Tu Si, thinking Wuming was embarrassed, felt his own shame dissolve. Switching to a playful, syrupy tone, he continued:

“I know my brother only wants the best for me! Really~ As long as brother takes me through the game, nothing else matters. I love brother the most~~~”

Wuming’s shoulders shook even harder. Finally, after a while, he reached out to ruffle Tu Si’s hair roughly, then stood tall again:

“My baby is so understanding. Don’t worry—brother will definitely take you through this game.”

Footnotes:

1. Kuman Thong (古曼童) – A child spirit figure from Thai folklore, often created through occult rituals, believed to bring wealth or protection. In fiction, it’s usually portrayed as eerie or cursed. 
2. Vajrapāṇi (金剛手菩薩) – A powerful Buddhist bodhisattva symbolizing strength and the protector of Dharma. Often depicted holding a vajra (ritual weapon). 
3. Trolley experiment – A classic ethical thought experiment: choose between letting a trolley kill one person vs. saving them but sacrificing more. Used here to show Wuming’s cold, utilitarian logic.