Chapter 21: Rose Manor (20) Time Paradox

The moment Qi Si plunged the blade into Chang Xu’s neck, Zou Yan’s eyes widened.

Her expression froze in that instant.

Or rather, the movements, developments, and expressions of every person, thing, and object in the entire space froze at this very moment.

A long stagnation spread wantonly until a certain point, when the hands of the grandfather clock in the corner suddenly began to reverse with a “tick-tock.” The rusted brass gears turned in the opposite direction, and the rust dust shed during wear adhered back to its original place.

The pendulum tapped lightly, the chime echoed, and the blood splattered on the shirt precipitated from the fibers, dispersing into a pale pink mist in the air. After condensing into blood droplets, it crawled back into the hideous wound on the corpse’s neck.

The pool of blood hanging like a waterfall on the steps trickled upward, shrinking into a small puddle before flowing back into the blood vessels. The crimson line of the wound vanished without a trace, and the flesh returned to being fair and smooth.

The corpse kneeling on the ground stood up in a bizarre posture and retreated step by step along its previous trajectory, just like a movie playing in reverse.

Qi Si watched as the color of a living person suffused Chang Xu’s pale face from blood loss. The tall, thin figure stepped up the stairs like a walking corpse and disappeared around the corner of the staircase.

The vines crisscrossing the hallway shrank like they were dehydrating, twisting and curling back onto the ceiling, then retracting toward the walls on both sides, snaking back into the shadows between the crevices of the stone walls.

The sound of rain and wind quietly stopped at some point, and the air was filled with the smell of water and floral fragrance.

Qi Si found himself unable to move; only his thoughts could drift freely in his mind.

Zou Yan in front of him was equally immobilized, except for her right hand, which was covered in vines and still twitching unwillingly.

“Is it because she hasn’t completely turned into a Ghost that only her right hand, which belongs to the eerie, can move?”

Qi Si noted this discovery in his mind.

After deciding that the standard answer was hidden in rule 7—【Only Ghosts can kill humans; please firmly believe you are human】—he began to think about what would happen if a human killed a human.

It was known that after Zou Yan obtained the quatrain clue from Chang Xu, she immediately conducted an experiment to verify it, triggering a time reversal.

In other words, the trigger condition for time reversal was not harsh; it was even within easy reach.

At the same time, from the instance’s background story, it was known that Annie killed the man who deeply loved Anna and made a deal with the god, starting a three-day time loop.

By analogy, the switch to trigger time reversal was very likely related to “murder.”

If a human kills a human, time will reverse to an hour ago, bringing the dead back to life. Only by letting a player die at the hands of something eerie will the time reversal mechanism not be triggered.

Therefore, “Only Ghosts can kill humans.”

Regardless of whether this was the case, Qi Si intended to try killing someone. After all, he was a person with strong practical skills and a spirit of experimentation.

As early as when he entered the old woman’s room and learned the clue that “Ghosts are not affected by time reversal,” Chang Xu was already a dead man in Qi Si’s eyes.

Because of this, he had told Chang Xu part of the truth in a manner akin to a self-exposure, treating it as a pre-death puzzle reveal.

“Currently, it seems that the victim and uninvolved bystanders will not have memories of the time reversal; otherwise, there’s no way to explain why I have no impression of the first round of the game.”

“Besides Ghosts, the one who can keep their memories intact during time reversal is the triggerer—the killer.”

“To break the situation, one must use the trait that Ghosts can kill humans while also maintaining their identity as a human, so the time reversal mechanism must be utilized… What a truly interesting design!”

A complete plan gradually became clear in the depths of his mind. Qi Si watched the dust slowly drifting and rising in the gloom. Ultimately, he could not make any large movements and could only slightly curl the corners of his lips, waiting for the end of this time reversal he had initiated.

The light around him dimmed inch by inch, and his consciousness began to sink along with the extinction of the light. In the pitch-black darkness where he couldn’t see his own hand, the sound of rain rang in his ears once more.

It was a rainstorm.

Separated by thick stone walls, it reached his ears as only a thin “patter-patter” sound.

In an instant, the world had light.

Qi Si found himself leaning against a wall. In front of him was a double bed with a pile of bone fragments scattered on it.

It looked familiar; he remembered that this pile of bone fragments originally belonged to two skeletons.

Beside him, Chang Xu was trying to crush the bone fragments even further.

The victim, who had just died once, straightened up and looked at Qi Si, saying, “You were possessed just now. I surmised the key was the skeletons, so I smashed them.”

Qi Si was only dazed for a moment before he connected the cause and effect to his memory.

He remembered that this was the first room on the Third Floor. After he got the piece of paper with writing under the pillow, he was possessed and saw Annie’s past.

Time had indeed reversed, and Chang Xu indeed remembered nothing… Qi Si smiled, a bright and clear smile.

He asked in a natural tone, “Brother Chang, what time is it now?”

Chang Xu looked down at the pocket watch in his hand and answered with some confusion, “Two… 1:08? Just now, the hour hand seemed to move forward another notch.”

At this point in time, Zou Yan probably hadn’t had time to wait at the staircase entrance yet.

It didn’t matter even if she arrived; he could just let Chang Xu die one more time.

Qi Si made his decision, gave a soft “Mm,” and turned to walk out of the room. “I already know the way to clear the instance. I won’t be going to the next two rooms.”

He paused for two seconds and looked back at Chang Xu. “Of course, Brother Chang, if you’re interested in puzzle-solving, you can go on a tour yourself. If you’re interested in Miss Anna, you can go straight to Room 3.”

Chang Xu:…Not interested in either, thanks.

Nonetheless, as Qi Si made a move to walk down the stairs, he still hesitated.

After all, the two of them had only known each other for a short time. It was impossible for him to believe whatever Qi Si said out of thin air.

The Third Floor clearly held important clues.

Qi Si said unhurriedly, “Considering our cooperation, I still suggest you go downstairs early. You should also know that our clues have been spied on by Zou Yan. She holds most of the secrets of this instance and could ambush at the staircase entrance at any time to kill one of us, triggering the ‘guaranteed death count’ mechanism.”

Chang Xu caught a loophole in Qi Si’s words.

From the known information, one could only infer that the holder of the 【Eye of Hermes】 was either Zou Yan or Ye Zi.

Yet Qi Si was so certain that the one spying on them was Zou Yan… Chang Xu remembered the oddity on the Pocket Watch of Fate, raised an eyebrow, and asked, “Did you trigger the time reversal mechanism?”

Then he saw the young man in front of him freeze very obviously, giving a seemingly helpless, bitter smile. “You guessed right. I came back from an hour later. So, I suggest you listen to the advice of someone who’s been there and withdraw early.”

People tend to believe “facts” they have deduced themselves. Qi Si understood this well, so he deliberately left a gap in his speech.

Chang Xu took the bait without realizing it and pressed, “How did you trigger the time reversal?”

“Ah, it’s actually quite simple…” Qi Si put his hands in his pants pockets and looked up at the ceiling. “Unfortunately, I don’t plan to tell you.”

Chang Xu: My fists are tightening.

He couldn’t tell if it was an illusion, but he always felt a sliver of malice mixed in Qi Si’s smile, making the back of his neck feel cold for no reason.

A senior had once said not to press a player of unknown depth too hard, lest one get beaten up. The danger warning he had developed since childhood made Chang Xu give up on further questioning.

Within a few seconds, Qi Si had already quickly descended to the corner of the stairs. He stopped and looked back from a distance. “Brother Chang, your room is likely no longer safe. Go to my room after you get downstairs. Help keep an eye on Lin Chen so he doesn’t get lured out and slaughtered by Zou Yan.”

“I want to borrow the Pocket Watch of Fate from you—of course, it’s fine if you don’t agree. At worst, no one will be able to clear the instance.”

At this point, the young man lowered his eyes and sighed. “I’ll go verify my line of thinking first. If I fail, you guys can think of another way.”

Chang Xu didn’t understand and asked, “What line of thinking?”

Qi Si looked up at him, slowly placed a finger to his lips, and smiled as he spat out two words: “You guess.”