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

"You just don't want to accept it." Lin Yin gently shook her head, the golden light flowing like a river over her body.

She slowly reached out and pointed to Su Ting's chest:

“Every time you enter a dream, you find a new self. You think it's a change in your inner self, but actually... it's your true self gradually reviving.”

Chapter 1197 Nightmare Was Created

“You were once the true ruler of this world.” Her voice was low and firm, “but because of you… nightmares were created.”

Su Ting took a step back abruptly, his heart feeling as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

“You… are talking nonsense.” His voice trembled slightly, but it still carried a struggling determination. “I can’t be that kind of person… I can’t be… the source of the nightmare.”

"You think nightmares are the enemy, but they're just your shadow," Lin Yin said softly. "They're the part of yourself you're unwilling to acknowledge."

“It…is just a part of you.” She reached out, as if to touch his face, but then stopped in mid-air.

"You're afraid to open that door because you know that behind it... is your everything."

Su Ting remained silent.

He looked down at the golden key in his hand; the key, which had originally gleamed with a warm light, was now icy cold.

Su Ting slowly walked to his side and whispered:

"Su Ting, no matter what's behind the door, what I want to know is... do you want to open the door now?"

Su Ting closed his eyes, and after a moment, slowly opened them.

"I want to open the door."

His voice was soft, yet incredibly firm.

Lin Yin looked at him, a faint smile appearing on her lips:

“You know… once you open the door, you might lose the Lin Yin you are now.”

"You may lose all your current memories."

"You may never be able to... return to the world you used to live in."

Her eyes were gentle and deep, like a still lake, encompassing yet unfathomable:

"But I still want to ask... are you going to open the door?"

Su Ting remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

“I want to know the truth,” he said.

Lin Yin smiled, but there seemed to be something more to that smile.

She reached out, her fingertips lightly touching the key in his hand, and gently turned it—

The golden gate emitted a deep rumble, as if a long-dormant giant had been awakened.

Su Ting looked at the light spilling out from the slowly opening door, a resolute glint in his eyes.

"The door really opened."

Lin Yin murmured softly.

But at that very moment, her voice changed again—

“Su Ting…”

That was her own voice.

She looked at him with an unprecedented tenderness and reluctance in her eyes.

"If you really choose this path... promise me one thing."

Su Ting looked at her and nodded gently.

"what?"

She reached out and gently took his hand, her voice as soft as a leaf drifting in the wind.

"No matter who you become after you open the door, remember... I once loved you."

A faint smile appeared on her lips, but her eyes welled up with tears.

Su Ting's pupils trembled slightly.

And the next moment——

She suddenly looked up, and that golden light reappeared in her eyes.

"Welcome to...the real dream."

The gate burst open with a roar, and a golden wave of light shot into the sky, engulfing everything.

And her last words seemed to come from a distant place—

"You... are the real nightmare."

Golden light swept in like a tsunami, leaving only a blinding white expanse in the world, erasing even time and space. Consciousness seemed to be endlessly cycling between collapse, reconstruction, and collapse again. Every thought was stretched into countless threads, intertwining, becoming chaotic, and so chaotic as to drive one almost mad.

When the light faded, Su Ting found himself standing in nothingness. Beneath his feet was a mirror-like surface of water, beneath which churned golden whirlpools, seemingly capable of devouring all memories and souls. He glanced down, and within those whirlpools floated fragments of the life he once thought belonged to him: the real world, his desk at home, the hot soup his mother was making, Lin Yin's smile…

Chapter 1198 This is the Origin of Dreams

But that smile, underwater, seemed fake, with a strange twist.

He abruptly looked away, a chill running through him.

"Where...is this place?" he whispered.

A familiar voice came from behind, but it carried an unprecedented coldness and authority.

"This is the origin of dreams."

Su Ting turned around.

Lin Yin stood there, her robes fluttering, a golden halo surrounding her. She was no longer the gentle, tender woman from before, but rather like a deity looking down upon all living beings.

“You said… that after opening the door, I might lose my current memories.” Su Ting looked at her, his voice low, “But now… why can I still think?”

"Because you haven't 'awakened' yet." Lin Yin approached slowly, her eyes as deep as a galaxy. "True awakening is recognizing your identity, your past, and your responsibilities."

"And this journey... you have to walk it yourself."

"Who exactly was I in the past?" Su Ting gripped the key in his hand tightly. The key had returned to warmth, as if responding to some kind of resonance in his heart.

Lin Yin didn't answer immediately, but instead reached out and gently touched his brow with her finger—

In an instant, a myriad of memories flooded his mind:

He stood atop a massive clock tower, watching the cracks in the world spread out like a spiderweb.

He was once the world's most powerful dream walker, controlling the rules of dreams, but he touched a taboo in his attempt to prevent the birth of nightmares.

He sealed a part of himself away from reality, becoming an ordinary person in order to escape his past.

Lin Yin was his last fragment of emotion, left in his dreams to await his return and awakening.

The truth exploded in my mind like thunder.

Su Ting suddenly opened his eyes, and instead of confusion, they were filled with an unprecedented clarity.

“So… I am the origin of nightmares,” he murmured, “but… I can also end them.”

Lin Yin smiled slightly: "You finally remembered."

"Then tell me, Lin Yin... who are you?" Su Ting looked at her, his eyes filled with probing and complex emotions.

A barely perceptible struggle flashed across Lin Yin's face, then she said softly:

"I am your obsession, the reflection of Lin Yin who doesn't want to lose you."

"I... am not the real her."

Su Ting felt as if something had struck his heart, causing him so much pain that he could barely breathe.

He opened his mouth, but found his throat too dry to speak.

Lin Yin slowly raised her hand, pointing to a palace-like structure not far away. The palace was woven from countless threads of nightmares, with a fragment of memory hanging from each thread.

"There... is the other half of your soul that you once lost."

She whispered:

"Only by finding it can you become your complete self."

Su Ting stared silently at the palace.

“What will happen if I go in?” he asked in a low voice.

Lin Yin chuckled: "You might die, or you might find everything you truly want."

She suddenly reached out and gently grasped Su Ting's hand.

In that instant, the warmth in my palm felt real, yet it also felt as if it would shatter at any moment.

"Promise me, once you go in, don't look back."