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

After a few seconds of silence, Jin Chen finally spoke: "There are only two things I need to do—stop them from reaching the top, and end this game myself."

Su Ting said in a low voice, "So who exactly are you? Why can you control this tower? Are you in cahoots with Xie Qingwu? Or... is he also part of your plan?"

"There are too many questions; I can't answer them all." Jin Chen slowly drew his sword. "The only thing I can tell you is... from now on, with every step you take upwards, someone will be waiting for you."

The boy patted him on the shoulder, his eyes filled with excitement, "And they're all people you know~ or rather, the kind of familiar faces you least want to see."

Ji Yan narrowed his eyes and asked in a low voice, "What do you mean? Are you planning to use old enemies to wear us down?"

Jin Chen nodded. "That's right. Because only in this way can you understand one thing—past scars never truly heal."

Chenxi gripped her weapon tightly, her voice calm but wary, "What exactly do you want? If we're just experimental subjects, why not just eliminate us? Why force us to come this far?"

"That's the fun part." The boy smiled and twirled around. "The more you struggle, the more you suffer, the more convinced you are that you can change everything, the closer the truth gets to exploding. Then, let's see who can hold out until the end~ Isn't that a satisfying plot?"

"Screw your plot twists!" Chu Mo glared angrily. "What kind of ridiculous setting do you think you're talking about? Let me tell you, I'm not one of those obedient protagonists in a novel. I'm a thug who's going to tear the script to shreds!"

Jin Chen was not provoked; instead, he revealed a half-smile.

"Thugs or heroes... you are nothing but ants trapped in the cycle of reincarnation."

The woman in white suddenly spoke up: "And who are you then? You live like a maggot in the abyss, yet you dare to stand here and judge us?"

Jin Chen's gaze suddenly darkened.

The air suddenly became colder.

Just as everyone was preparing to get into battle stance—

"stop."

A familiar voice suddenly broke the silence.

Xie Qingwu's figure reappeared, a few steps behind Jin Chen, smoking a cigarette, his expression unchanged.

"Don't rush into a fight." Xie Qingwu smiled faintly. "What you said earlier was right. They are trapped beasts, but no one is allowed to move until the cage is opened."

Jin Chen turned slightly to look at him, his brows furrowing.

"You want to protect them? But the instructions from above are very clear—they cannot proceed."

Xie Qingwu exhaled a puff of white mist, "I have other ideas."

“You’re always like that,” the boy said, pursing his lips. “You take matters into your own hands and then mess everything up.”

“This time is different.” Xie Qingwu’s gaze fell on Ji Yan, his tone unusually gentle. “I just want to take a gamble.”

Jin Chen stared at him for a moment, then finally snorted and sheathed his broken sword. "Let's see how long you can protect them."

"Thank you," Xie Qingwu said with a smile.

Jin Chen and the boy turned and left, their figures gradually disappearing at the end of the steps, leaving behind only a suffocating atmosphere.

The sound of gears turning came from the rooftop, and the storm grew even fiercer.

Chapter 1094 How Much Do You Know?

"What on earth is going on?" the woman in white robes couldn't help but ask. "Weren't you dead? Why are you... hanging out with them?"

“I’m not with anyone,” Xie Qingwu said, spreading his hands. “I just chose to stand outside this crack and watch how you try to get through.”

"Stop keeping me in suspense." Ji Yan stepped forward. "How much do you know? Whose pawn are you? And why do you keep appearing and disappearing?"

Xie Qingwu looked at him, something flashing in her eyes.

“I am an observer,” he said. “Someone who once walked the same path as you, but ultimately had to deviate from it.”

"Nonsense!" Chu Mo shouted. "If you were truly a bystander, you shouldn't have interfered in all of this!"

"I also wanted to stand by and do nothing," Xie Qingwu chuckled softly, "but... fate wouldn't allow it."

Ji Yan clenched his fists. "Then tell me, where does this road ultimately lead? What ending did you foresee? Can you stop it?"

Xie Qingwu stared at him, remaining silent for a long time, as if considering whether to say those words.

However, the next moment, his eyes suddenly flickered.

"We're almost there," he said.

Everyone was stunned.

"What do you mean?"

Xie Qingwu slowly took a step back, his figure blurring again.

“Remember this,” he said. “Don’t trust anyone’s memory, not even… don’t trust your own eyes.”

Then, it disappeared completely.

The wind howled incessantly inside the tower.

"What does he mean?"

No one spoke.

Only from the depths of the tower came the heavy sound of new gears, like the tolling of a clock signaling the end of fate.

Su Ting glanced down at the terminal, his expression growing even more grim. "Augris has twenty-five minutes left. And Xie Qingwu's appearance just now... might really mean some kind of turning point."

“No matter what,” Ji Yan looked up at the stairwell above, “we don’t have time to stop.”

He turned and scanned everyone. "Are you all ready?"

Chenxi nodded slowly, "Let's go, the darkness ahead will not leave us a way."

The woman in white took a deep breath. "Then... let's kick it open!"

As I took my first step, the steps trembled once more.

A storm rages, and fate turns its page.

Further ahead, in the darker, deeper corner, a figure slowly raised a spear, silently awaiting their arrival.

She whispered:

"Welcome to the battlefield of memories, little ones."

At the corner of the stairs, dim light spots spread across the wall like a spiderweb. The air was thick with the smell of mildew and rust, and the shadow holding a gun stood motionless at the corner.

"The little ones?" Ji Yan repeated softly, his tone slightly heavy. "You know us?"

No one responded.

Only the crisp sound of metal striking the ground pierced the deathly silence. Everyone stopped in their tracks.

The woman in white whispered, "Is it an illusion? Or a trap... or perhaps... a memory?"

“Memory doesn’t speak.” Su Ting frowned as he stared at the figure. “But she clearly spoke just now.”

Ji Yan stepped forward, raising his hand in a defensive stance: "Who are you?"

The gun barrel trembled slightly, then slowly rose—pointing directly at Ji Yan's chest.

In an instant, the air seemed to freeze, and the wind in the entire tower suddenly stopped.

Immediately afterwards, a powerful suction force erupted from the front, like a ferocious beast suddenly opening its mouth!

"They're here!" Chenxi roared. "Attention everyone—!"

Chapter 1095 Damn it!

Before the words were even finished, the dark figure had already transformed into a bolt of lightning and pounced, its spear slashing horizontally as if tearing through space!

Chu Mo roared and charged forward: "Damn it, do you really think I wouldn't dare to chop a woman?!"

The two forces collided, and the shockwave exploded, sending bricks flying and several people being thrown back several steps by the blast.

When the dust settled, everyone could see the woman before them clearly—

"How could it be you?!" The woman in white robes' pupils contracted, her voice filled with shock and disbelief.

The woman was clad in old-fashioned armor, with a sharply defined face and a piercing, cold gaze.

Ji Yan gritted his teeth and spat out her name:

"Ye... Zhaoling!"

Ye Zhaoling did not respond to anyone's words. He raised his spear again and uttered only one cold sentence:

"Come on, let me see how much you've improved in these five years."

"Hey! Are you kidding me? Isn't this the senior who beat us all up like dogs back then?!"

While frantically dodging the fierce attacks, Chu Mo couldn't help but curse loudly.

"Now she's showing up again and wants to hit us?! Has she lost her mind?!"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Chenxi flung out a dagger, wrapping it around his side in an attempt to restrain him. "Her attacks possess an alien power; we can't block them head-on!"

"Of course I know this isn't a normal fight!" Chu Mo roared as he fled for his life. "She had the 'Nether Thunder'! How could that kind of devilish thing that can shatter souls still be around today!"

Meanwhile, Su Ting was rapidly analyzing the environment and quickly recording the terrain changes into the terminal:

"This space... seems to be resonating with some old footage. If my guess is correct, this place is a replay of our first experience entering the Orgrim Trials."