Courtyard House: My Long and Hard Body Makes Me Play with All the Women in the Courtyard

"You say you are me," Ji Yan asked through gritted teeth, "Then tell me... what did you ultimately become? Did you manage to grasp the future you wanted to grasp?"

The opponent paused, and the flames weakened slightly.

“I…” Ji Yan hesitated for a second.

In that instant, Chenxi seized the opportunity to dodge tactically, flipped over on the wall, and precisely struck three nerve connection points on the opponent's waist. The movement was smooth and swift!

"You've lost," she said calmly. "No matter how many reasons you give, you can't cover up one thing."

"You are not happy."

A boy's voice came from the air: "Oh~ This is truly a poignant scene."

The man in black staggered and fell to his knees, the flames in his eyes flickering: "How could this be... I will not fail... I am... the only possibility..."

His body slowly turned into a cloud of dust and eventually disappeared, leaving only a half-page of a torn book on the ground, which turned slowly in the wind.

Chu Mo kicked the tattered book away and said angrily, "Damn, how come this guy looks exactly like my brother?"

“Because this is one of the possible outcomes in the future.” Su Ting leaned against the wall, panting, his face pale. “If we take any wrong step, we will end up like him.”

“That means we must keep moving forward.” The woman in white robes stroked her arm, her gaze resolute. “Even if we’ve lost those powers now.”

"Of course!" Chenxi nodded. "Otherwise, why would we go through all that trouble to come to the top of this godforsaken tower? Just to drink tea and enjoy the scenery?"

Everyone smiled upon hearing this.

Ji Yan slowly sheathed his blade and said in a low voice, "I will come to the end."

Just as the atmosphere eased slightly, the boy reappeared, this time standing at a corner at the end of the stairs, looking thoughtful.

"The name you'll encounter next... is the one you least want to face."

He gently turned the pages of the book in his hand and read out three words:

"Xie—Qing—Wu".

A familiar voice suddenly rang out from the tower, tinged with mockery and sarcasm: "Oh, you bunch of bastards... you're still alive?"

Everyone froze instantly.

Ji Yan's hand tightened suddenly.

"……impossible……"

"How could he..."

Chu Mo muttered, "Damn it... that guy shouldn't have come back to life."

A figure emerged from the darkness, wearing a tattered gray cloak and sporting a familiar smile.

That was Xie Qingwu, their old friend—who had also been their betrayer.

Xie Qingwu leaned lazily against the wall, one hand in the pocket of his cloak, as if he had never left or betrayed anyone.

Chapter 1091 Stop Talking Nonsense

"What? You look like you've seen a ghost. You guys are pretty good at having fun, you've almost climbed through the tower."

The woman in white's pupils constricted, and the gun in her hand was almost dripping with water. "You're dead... We saw your ashes in the desolate cemetery!"

Xie Qingwu shook his head slightly. "Sigh, to be honest, all of you guys are still a bunch of mush. Can someone tell me that seeing 'living' people in a place like this is abnormal, but seeing 'dead' people is the right thing to do?"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Chu Mo rushed forward, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. "You dare to come back?! We almost died in the Nether Sea Rift Abyss because of your betrayal, and you're here laughing like a woman?"

Ji Yan raised his hand to stop him: "Wait."

His voice was calm, but his eyes were sharp as ice picks. "Is he real... or some kind of illusion or reflection? Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment."

Xie Qingwu spread his hands, "Of course it's the real me. Look, I'm still carrying that familiar cigarette you all know."

He took out a black cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it with practiced ease.

Chenxi frowned and said in a low voice, "Something's not right. When he destroyed his dragon core on Obsidian Island, he burned away his internal organs—it's impossible for him to recover."

Su Ting squinted, observing the spatial fluctuations around him. "If he really is resurrected... then it's not a natural phenomenon, but something man-made. There's someone here... who wants us to see him."

“Smart.” Xie Qingwu’s lips curled slightly. “But I’m just passing by today and have some good news to share with you all—for example, Ogrius planted a time bomb in the second level, which will explode in thirty-three minutes. Whether it will blow up your dilapidated staircase… depends on his mood.”

“How could you possibly know about Augris?” Ji Yan said coldly.

“Because he was there, and we had a drink together.” Xie Qingwu exhaled a puff of white mist, his gaze as deep as the night. “He said something that I remember very clearly.”

Everyone stared at him in silence.

He spoke in a low voice, “'They must confront the deepest rifts in order to truly see each other’s souls.'

A gust of wind swept through the narrow staircase, as if in response to the statement, lifting the hems of everyone's clothes and strands of hair.

"You're standing on this path now," Xie Qingwu's tone suddenly became more serious. "There's no turning back. Continuing upwards only leads to the abyss and the truth. Stop? Heh... do you think this tower will allow you to stop?"

Ji Yan took two steps forward. "Why us? Why do we have to look back at those broken pasts again and again?"

Xie Qingwu slowly suppressed his smile, a complex and unfathomable emotion appearing in his eyes.

"Because fate is never fair. Since it has chosen you, it wants to see if you can tear up its script."

Chu Mo suddenly sneered: "Damn, this sounds just like the villain in those melodramatic fantasy dramas. Who the hell are you, the lackey behind some crappy god's throne?"

Xie Qingwu wasn't angry. She simply pointed a finger at his nose and said, "I'm not a pawn of either side. I'm not the person you thought 'completely disappeared,' nor am I the person you wanted revenge on but couldn't bring yourself to do it. I'm just Xie Qingwu, your past and also a part of your future."

After he finished speaking, his figure began to fade away as if it were an illusion.

"Wait a minute!" the woman in white shouted. "You said you knew about the bomb that Augris planted... then why didn't you detonate it? Whose side are you on?!"

Chapter 1092 You Can't Do That

Xie Qingwu turned his head, a hint of something indescribable flashing in his eyes. "Did I say which side I'm on? Sorry, I didn't. I just... haven't decided yet whether to let you all live to reach the top."

"You can't do this!" Chenxi shouted urgently. "You know better than anyone what we've carried and what we've lost!"

He took one last look at Ji Yan, a look that seemed to stretch across lifetimes.

"Then you must prove it's worthwhile to walk this path."

As soon as he finished speaking, he completely vanished into thin air.

After a moment of deathly silence, a mechanical roar came from the rooftop—like some kind of huge gear slowly turning.

"Damn it." Su Ting immediately activated the remaining data terminal in his hand, his face showing a solemn expression. "What Xie Qingwu said is very likely true. The entire building is starting to collapse... and the energy readings have started to show a countdown mode—less than thirty minutes left."

“Then we’ll just have to run.” Chenxi coldly drew her crossbow. “But this place, where you can stand and talk comfortably, can’t possibly be destroyed so easily.”

The woman in white gritted her teeth and whispered, "Xie Qingwu... has appeared again... Is he here to save us or to trick us again? This bastard is always unpredictable."

“No matter what,” Ji Yan turned to look at everyone, “Now that we’ve come this far… we won’t stop. Whether it’s a game or fate arranged by someone, I don’t believe any ending can be imposed on me.”

Chu Mo snorted heavily: "That's right, I didn't climb up here to give people a bad ending! Keep going! Cut down anyone who gets in my way!"

The group climbed the stairs again. But just as they were about to step onto the third spiral staircase—

"Oh? Looks like the game difficulty is going to double again this time."

The boy's voice rang out again.

This time, however, there was more than one voice.

Another unfamiliar but crystal-clear voice followed his last sentence:

"Then why don't I join... this journey?"

Everyone's hearts were shocked.

A new figure emerged from around the corner, his face hidden in the dim light, only his eyes were visible—sharp, calm, and full of killing intent.

He stepped out slowly, holding a broken sword that gleamed with a blue light in his hand.

The next second, the boy smiled and tilted his head:

"Let's get to know our new player—Lo Ember Dust from the 'Abyss of Eternal Sin'."

The person in the darkness chuckled softly: "You five... have lived much longer than expected."

The storm struck again, sandstorms whipping across everyone's faces. And this tower seemed to be only now revealing its true fangs.

Luo Jinchen—you really came.

The boy leaned against the wall, a meaningful smile on his face. "I thought you'd be a little late in appearing."

"The mission priority has been adjusted." Jin Chen responded coldly, his fingers lightly tracing the edge of the broken sword, the blade gleaming with a black light that seemed to devour the light. "'The Tower' is paying too much attention to this group; the higher-ups think it's time to intervene."

Chen Xi frowned slightly, her gaze locking onto Jin Chen's eyes. "You're here for us?"

"To be precise... it's all about their future." The boy tilted his head and chuckled. "Especially that Ji Yan—he carries a heavy burden of fate. And you, the runners-up, are just tools to push him to the end."

Chu Mo roared and punched the stone pillar: "Fuck fate! I'll say it again, anyone who dares to use me as a tool, I'll cut off all ten of their fingers!"

Chapter 1093 You're Here to Kill Us

"Your emotions are quite intense," Jin Chen sneered. "It seems the legendary manic state before losing control is real."

"You're the dog!" the woman in white robes shouted angrily. "Are you here to kill us? Or to help them? Stop playing mysterious!"