Courtyard House: Starting with handing over the keys, the state helps me abuse birds.

The courtyard house was unusually quiet during the day.

Jia Zhangshi, who usually loved to join in the fun, was unusually quiet in the courtyard, not cursing; Liu Haizhong didn't stand around gesturing and pointing fingers; even the Third Uncle didn't come out to quibble over who had used an extra ladle of water.

There was an indescribable smell in the air.

Like a muffled thunderclap suppressed before a storm.

Xie Weihong didn't leave the house all day.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, his breathing long and even. The rebellious life essence within his body seemed to be alive, slowly merging with his meridians. With each breath, a faint cracking sound came from his bones, as if an old shell was being broken inch by inch, and new life force was growing beneath.

[Cultivation level is stabilizing...]

[Current Realm: Second Stage Perfection]

[Warning: The hostility level in the host's environment is rising continuously. Please escape immediately.]

The system's mechanical voice was calm and restrained.

Xie Weihong didn't even lift her eyelids.

He had sensed it long ago.

The "malice" in the courtyard is like a few sticks of incense burning in the dark night; even though no one is speaking, they are burning silently in the same direction.

Everyone's after his room.

Night fell.

One by one, the lights went out, and the courtyard house seemed to sink to the bottom of a well.

Until the early hours of the morning.

The moon was obscured by clouds, leaving only a blurry outline.

At that moment, two hunched figures appeared at the entrance of the alley outside the courtyard.

An elderly deaf woman, leaning on a cane, stood in the shadows. Though her ears were clearly deaf, her eyes shone with an alarming brightness. She tilted her head, as if listening to the wind, but in reality, she was staring intently at the doors and windows of every house.

Not far away, Jia Zhangshi huddled against the wall, arms crossed, silently cursing, her fleshy face trembling slightly in the moonlight.

"hurry up……"

"What are you dawdling about...?"

They were on lookout duty.

Meanwhile, in the shadows on the other side of the courtyard, five figures quietly gathered.

Silly Pillar.

Yi Zhonghai.

In the bangs.

Yan Bugui.

Xu Damao.

Five people, each clutching a piece of hemp rope, the rope gleaming grayish-white in the night, like snakes that couldn't wait to coil around.

Sha Zhu's Adam's apple bobbed, and he lowered his voice: "Old man... are you really going to do this?"

Yi Zhonghai walked at the very front, his steps incredibly steady.

He did not answer immediately.

He stopped when he reached Xie Weihong's door, and gently exhaled, as if he was composing himself.

"Pillar."

"Think about it, if he really brings those things back up, will we still have any good days?"

Sha Zhu was taken aback.

Yi Zhonghai's voice was unhurried, yet it carried an undeniable "for your own good" tone.

"If anyone investigates his parents' affairs, who will be investigated first? The people who handled the matter back then."

"At that time, no one in the compound will be able to escape."

Liu Haizhong nodded vigorously from the side, lowering his voice, "Right! They might even betray us later!"

Yan Bugui's eyes darted around quickly, and he gripped the rope in his hand even tighter: "Besides... the way he looks now is really weird, he doesn't seem like a good person."

Yi Zhonghai then turned around, looked at the three of them, and a secret fanaticism flashed in his eyes.

That wasn't hesitation.

It was a must-win situation.

"Don't be afraid, I've thought everything through."

He raised his hand and made a "le" gesture.

"Go inside, take action immediately, don't give him a chance to react. If he's dead, say he was mentally unstable and committed suicide out of guilt."

"The rope, the location, the story—everything is ready."

"I'll clean up the mess."

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai was completely different from the "highly respected old man" he was during the day.

There was not a trace of remorse in his eyes.

There was only one kind of almost pathological self-confidence—

Once this is done, all the troubles will disappear.

The door was gently pushed open.

There is no lock.

This made Yi Zhonghai's lips curl into a smile; he really was that naive kid.

It was very dark inside.

There was a figure on the bed.

With his back to them, he breathed evenly, as if he were fast asleep.

Sha Zhu breathed a sigh of relief and was about to walk forward when Yi Zhonghai stopped him.

"I'll do it."

He stepped forward, looked down at Xie Weihong on the bed, and even felt an absurd sense of superiority.

So what if you're unorthodox?

In the end, aren't you still lying on this bed, waiting for me to clean up the mess?

He slowly lifted the rope.

At that very moment, the person on the bed suddenly opened their eyes.

In the darkness, those eyes shone with an inhuman brilliance.

"Gentlemen, coming to my house in the middle of the night with ropes, are you here to take my measurements, or are you planning to find a place to bury yourselves?"

The air froze instantly.

Sha Zhu let out a "whoop" and almost threw the rope away.

Liu Haizhong's legs buckled, and he crashed directly into the door frame.

The old man's face was deathly pale, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Only Yi Zhonghai.

He froze for a moment, then forced himself to calm down, suppressing the panic in his eyes.

impossible.

He had clearly confirmed that Xie Weihong was fast asleep, so how could she wake up at this critical moment!

It was perfectly safe.

Just as he forced himself to adjust his expression, preparing to "explain"...

[System Warning!]

[Six powerful demons have been detected attacking the host. Please escape immediately!]

The mechanical sound echoed in Xie Weihong's mind.

Xie Weihong slowly sat up, her gaze sweeping over the faces of the four people one by one, finally settling on Yi Zhonghai's face.

He smiled.

That smile was understated, yet it sent chills down your spine.

Yi Zhonghai.

"I heard everything you said outside the door."

"Don't you think...?"

"If I die, will this courtyard return to a place where you're in charge?"

Yi Zhonghai's throat moved.

the first time.

He felt a genuine sense of fear in front of this "boy he had controlled his whole life".

And that night.

It was destined not to end quietly as he had planned.