HTCYH Ch 24

Chapter 24: Extreme Escape

On the first night after entering the game, while knowing nothing at all, everyone’s instinct was to maintain stability. Apart from the storyline, no one would dive too deep into exploration. So, even after combing through every memory, the clues they could gather were just scattered fragments.

The useful pieces Tu Si had managed to put together were only these:

From Fang Xia’s account, it was revealed what kind of family environment Liang Tiancai had. His father, who died young after contracting a disease from prostitution. His mother, useless but overly indulgent toward her child. And a pitiful girl who had been bought as a child bride. Liang Tiancai looked down on his mother and despised the child bride even more.

Xu Jinyan’s version further confirmed the fact that Liang Tiancai was pure scum. Not only did he look down on the child bride, he even abused her, forcing her into sexual transactions to earn money.

In Ke Xian’s timeline: Liang Tiancai was already in university, dabbling in gambling and prostitution. The “guaranteed win” in gambling indirectly confirmed that he had obtained or created a Kuman Thong.* But when Liang Tiancai brought Ke Xian back to the village, it seemed he wanted him to observe, or maybe even to sell, this so-called deity of “guaranteed win” (most likely the Kuman Thong).

The doubts about buying a Kuman Thong were resolved in Ai Lin’s timeline. She said that Liang Tiancai was a devout Buddhist, vegetarian, and his offerings were to the proper deities of Mahayana Buddhism.

This explained the sudden appearance of Vajrapani Bodhisattva.** Vajrapani belongs to the category of Dharma protectors, which meant the Kuman Thong must have turned on him. Liang Tiancai chose to betray Buddhism and invite Vajrapani for protection.

As night drew closer, everyone grew restless and anxious. Ironically, the one in the most danger—Tu Si—was the calmest, smiling as he comforted everyone:

“Don’t worry! Special recruits like me all have unique skills, not that easy to die. And besides, isn’t the captain here to shield us? Even if you don’t trust me, you’ve got to trust the captain, right?”

These words were enough to reassure Fang Xia, Ke Xian, and Xu Jinyan—who all blindly idolized the captain. They even had the mood to banter with one another.

Ai Lin, however, looked increasingly grim, always frowning at Wuming. Yet every time, Wuming returned her glare with a carefree grin, which made Ai Lin roll her eyes dozens of times.

Night fell. The house grew dim, and the old bayonet-style glass light bulb overhead flickered twice before going out completely. Two seconds later, it lit up again. The chatter instantly cut off. And at that very moment, Tu Si suddenly saw a tall figure appear before his eyes.

Tu Si tipped up on his toes, flipped backward, and retreated one meter. The spot where he had just been standing was smashed into a crater by the vajra club of a two-meter-tall Vajrapani Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva’s arm movements were jerky and sluggish, grinding out a harsh stone-against-stone sound with every motion.

The Bodhisattva was slow, but the black snake coiled around his right wrist was unnervingly quick and agile. Just as Tu Si dodged the heavy strike and straightened up, the snake snapped forward, sinking its fangs into his left ankle. The sharp pain was followed by a rush of liquid being injected from the snake’s teeth into his body.

The same nauseating stickiness as when he had absorbed the strange flower orb began to spread through his body. Without hesitation, Tu Si drew his obsidian dagger from his chest and sliced off all the flesh and bone around the bite. Using his right hand to prop against the ground, he rolled aside, then pushed off with his good right leg, darting away just in time to avoid the snake’s follow-up strike. From the ceiling above, countless tendrils stretched down, binding the Bodhisattva’s raised left arm that held the vajra club. The Bodhisattva’s sheer strength made the bindings useless for restraint, but they slowed the blow just enough for Tu Si to slip past his left side and bolt out the door.

The Vajrapani Bodhisattva crashed through the door after him, beginning the chase.

Tu Si didn’t dare look back, sprinting recklessly toward the thickest grove of trees. His left leg was losing all strength, stumbling with every step. In desperation, he lashed out his whip to hook onto a treetop and let his arms yank him into the air. Swinging from tree to house using countless tendrils, he wove desperately through the village.

Only when the grinding stone noises of the Bodhisattva faded did Tu Si risk a glance behind. Seeing no sign of pursuit, he still refused to relax. He spread out a web of tendrils within a 10-meter radius as a detection barrier—any living creature entering would fall into his perception.

After securing the perimeter, he finally dared look at his left foot. From the wound, thick black liquid was endlessly oozing out. Whenever his tendrils tried to bind the injury, they instantly sizzled, blackened, and rotted away like being dipped in sulfuric acid, dissolving into the black fluid.

Tu Si could feel the black liquid creeping upward against the flow of his blood, crawling toward his thigh. Without hesitation, he raised the dagger and slashed at his upper thigh, severing the entire leg.

Sweat drenched his forehead, and he collapsed to the ground. Yet his face remained expressionless. Only when he saw clear green fluid seeping from the stump instead of black did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. Tendrils wrapped tightly around the wound until the flow stopped.

But dizziness soon swept over him, his vision splitting into double images. He didn’t dare let up. More tendrils surged out, wrapping around the severed limb like tissue paper around a leaking balloon, swelling larger and larger, racing against the outpouring black liquid. Finally, when no more black seeped out, he shoved the pulsing tendril-ball with his right leg, kicking it dozens of meters away.

The effort left his vision washed out in white. His mind stayed alert, but his body refused to respond.

With no choice, Tu Si shut down four of his senses, leaving only touch. Tendrils cocooned lightly around him, and he slipped into a half-conscious state.

He didn’t know how long had passed before his tendrils sensed a living being approaching. Tu Si instantly snapped awake. Having recovered a bit of strength from resting, he cautiously reopened his vision.

The whiteness faded partially. Still, everything was blurred like extreme nearsightedness. Guided by the direction of his tendrils, he saw a vague human figure. Tu Si propped himself against a tree trunk, dragging himself upright.

One thick tendril slithered outward, stretching hundreds of meters until it found a crevice in the rocks. It burrowed in deep—that was Tu Si’s ultimate survival method. If all else failed, he could abandon this body, sever the connection, and hide his true form. It came with a heavy cost, but at least he could live.

The figure drew closer. Tu Si’s heartbeat quickened when he saw the familiar military uniform. He stayed perfectly still, tendrils tense, ready to cut the cord and fake death if necessary.

When the man finally came close enough, Tu Si saw his face clearly—it was Wuming.

Tu Si stared at him, unrelenting. The tendrils didn’t retract, poised to sever at any wrong move.

He saw Wuming’s mouth move, as if speaking, but he couldn’t hear. His hearing was long gone. When Wuming reached out to support him, Tu Si’s tendrils coiled tightly around his wrist—part restraint, part test. If Wuming dared break free, Tu Si would feign death instantly.

Expressionless, Tu Si glared at every one of Wuming’s actions. When the hair-thin tendril tightened around Wuming’s wrist, Wuming immediately froze, raising both hands to show no threat. Slowly, he opened his palm, revealing a gourd-shaped medicine bottle.

Tu Si looked from the bottle to Wuming. Wuming nudged the bottle slightly toward him, offering it.

Tu Si remained still, staring for a long moment. Wuming knelt quietly on the ground, holding up the bottle with a gentle smile, waiting patiently for Tu Si’s decision.

After a pause, more tendrils climbed up Wuming’s arm, wrapping around the bottle. They popped the cork and dumped everything into Wuming’s palm. More than ten smooth, sesame-sized pills rolled out.

The tendrils shook the bottle violently, confirming it was empty. Then they tossed it far away. More tendrils then swarmed over Wuming, some prying at his lips. Wuming pressed his lips together, but the tendrils forced and slapped at him, trying to push inside. Other tendrils stopped, watching in silence as one particularly stubborn tendril smacked insistently at his mouth.

Tu Si frowned and rasped hoarsely, “Come back!”

Hearing his broken, off-key voice, Wuming realized Tu Si’s hearing was impaired. Yet the rogue tendril only grew wilder, drilling toward his mouth.

Wuming glanced at the rest—tendrils standing stiff like antennae, peering at him. He couldn’t help but laugh lowly, then parted his lips slightly. Instantly, the rogue tendril dove into his mouth, writhing on his tongue. Seeing this, the other tendrils exploded in excitement, wriggling chaotically as if they too wanted to dive inside.

Even Wuming was startled, hurriedly yanking the tendril out of his mouth while tilting his body back. He stretched out his palm with the pills, speaking words Tu Si couldn’t hear, but the panic and helplessness on his face were clear.

Amused by his flustered expression, Tu Si’s eyes curved slightly. Summoning his focus, he warned the restless tendrils, and they instantly drooped, subdued. The rogue tendril that had been in Wuming’s mouth was seized, tied into countless dead knots, and finally restrained.

Once the large swarm of tendrils retreated, the two coiled around Wuming’s wrists loosened, moving instead to scoop up the pills in his palm. One tendril carried a pill to Wuming’s mouth. Wuming opened up, letting it drop the pill onto his tongue before swallowing. Another tendril wiggled like it was hyping itself up, then absorbed a pill, waiting a few seconds before curling and uncurling repeatedly like a little whistle, full of energy—showing it wasn’t poisoned.

Finally reassured, the rest of the tendrils carried the remaining pills, feeding them one by one into Tu Si’s mouth.

notes:

* Kuman Thong (古曼童) – A Thai occult charm said to be created from the spirit of a stillborn child. Believed to bring luck and wealth, but considered extremely dangerous and taboo.

** Vajrapani Bodhisattva (金剛手菩薩) – A fierce guardian figure in Mahayana Buddhism, protector of the Dharma, often depicted wielding a vajra (thunderbolt club).