As soon as he could, Chen rushed to the hospital, where he found his younger cousin sleeping soundly in bed.

"It's such a relief. Luckily, he is so young and strong that he can withstand an injury like this," says Chen.

He explains, "We kept in touch via cell phone all through the night. He told us he was fine, but how could we set our minds at rest for even one second without checking on him in person?

"If something really bad happened to him, how would I have faced our grandma?"

Actually, the 76-year-old woman remains blissfully unaware about the drama her grandsons have endured.

"If she knew, she would have suffered an attack of her old illnesses," believes Shi, who waves a firm "No" to the suggestion then Chen talk to her.

"So, here's the deal. She's gonna playing mahjong as usual, and I will stay here to recover. I will live each day happily from now on," adds Shi.

And then he says carelessly, "About what happened that night. It's over for me. It had no impact on me at all."

Even this remarkable comment elicits little reaction from Xiao He. Listening to Shi's lofty talk, the Yunnan native has remained quiet all along with no expression on his thin dark face.

It's about noon time and the temperature in the room is up to 25 degrees Celsius. He's hair is sticking to his forehead with sweat, but he has been required to keep his movements to an absolute minimum until his wounds have healed.

"It's unbearable that I am only allowed to lie down. I can't feel my feet," he says.

The freshman in tourism management was on his way back to college in Dali, some 300 km from Kunming, with a classmate on Saturday night, when he was wounded.

His classmate, Xu Qichao, stayed in Kunming to take care of him in turns with He's father.

"He's getting better. At least he is able to chew food without feeling pain now," says Xu.

The patient himself declined to talk about the bloodshed.

"I won't think about that night, what little I can remember of it," says He, his brow furrowed. "What I want more than anything is to recover as soon as possible so that I can go back to my college and stay there quietly."

He and Shi's reaction toward the trauma they have gone through provokes concern from Li Jinman, a psychological consultant.

"They have chosen to wipe out the nightmarish memory. It's a classic manifestation of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and needs to be addressed with professional assistance," according to Li.

"There are various PTSD symptoms. Some patients may behave surprisingly okay, while others may be depressed," she notes. "It's like two faces of sorrow buried deep down somewhere in their heart."