Ying Huanhuan and Qing Ye walked in silence through Dao Sect, both reeling from what had just happened, one from shyness, the other from guilt.
Lin Dong followed them, reflecting on what had just happened.
"Huanhuan, go this way," Qing Ye said at a fork in the road. Ying Huanhuan was heading back home, and if Qing Ye wanted to take her home, he would have to speak up.
Lin Dong glanced at Ying Huanhuan and saw that, while she remained silent, her brows were slightly furrowed, clearly indicating reluctance. However, after a moment, she blushed and walked towards Qing Ye. Seeing Ying Huanhuan like this, Qing Ye's face lit up with obvious joy. Although the rest of the road remained quiet, Qing Ye was genuinely happy. After all, Ying Huanhuan was going home with him.
Afterward, the three of them entered Qing Ye's home. Just like they had just finished dinner, Qing Ye was still chatting with Ying Huanhuan, who wasn't particularly interested in responding. Lin Dong lazily sat near them, his eyes slightly lowered, waiting for something.
"No wonder Ying Huanhuan was gone for so long. Qing Ye's just wasting time here. Seeing Ying Huanhuan just come back so late, I guess we'll have to chat for ages. If you want to do it, just do it quickly. Let Huanhuan come back sooner! You're keeping me anxious here, really!" Lin Dong glared at Qing Ye in frustration.
However, the conversation didn't last as long as Lin Dong had imagined. Just a few minutes later, he heard Qing Ye ask, "Huanhuan, shall we begin?"
Ying Huanhuan also wore a look of relief, blushing slightly before nodding.
Seeing this, Qing Ye also took Ying Huanhuan's hand and said to her, "Let's go to the basement."
"Huh? The basement? Where are we going and what are we going to do?" Lin Dong saw Ying Huanhuan being held by the hand and was about to stand up to follow him when he heard what he said. He stopped and sat back in his chair, looking as if he wouldn't get up until he had a clear explanation.
Lin Dong also looked at Qing Ye in confusion, wondering what he was going to do.
"Huanhuan, I'm going to take you to try something new tonight." Qing Ye saw Ying Huanhuan looking at him suspiciously and said, "Don't worry, Huanhuan, I won't hurt you. Trust me, I'll make you feel very comfortable!"
Ying Huanhuan hesitated slightly. She looked at Qing Ye and frowned slightly, then lowered her head again, unsure of what to think. After about a minute, she looked at Qing Ye again and stood up, as if accepting the idea.
"Are you willing to go down with me?" Qing Ye asked. Although he assumed Ying Huanhuan's silence was a sign of agreement, he still wanted to ask just in case; he didn't want to annoy Ying Huanhuan.
"Hmm," Ying Huanhuan nodded softly, her pretty face flushing slightly, looking incredibly adorable.
After receiving Ying Huanhuan's clear response, Qing Ye dragged Ying Huanhuan down to the basement. Lin Dong followed, eager to see what new things Qing Ye and Ying Huanhuan planned to do. He followed Qing Ye and the others to the door at the farthest end of the house. As he opened the door, a staircase leading down appeared within their sight, and they all descended.
Walking down the stairs, Lin Dong looked around. The room contained several cabinets, with a large bed at the back. He didn't notice anything particularly unusual. The only odd thing was a very conspicuous metal shelf in the middle of the room. It resembled a door frame, but without a door. It was slightly taller than a door and several times wider than a typical door, almost half the size of the entire room.
"What is this?" Ying Huanhuan asked, echoing Lin Dong's inner question.
"Hehe, you'll find out soon," Qing Ye said with a sly grin, not directly answering. He then continued to pull Ying Huanhuan into the room. When they reached the center of the shelf, he said, "Huanhuan, just stand here and raise your hands."
"Raise your hands?" Ying Huanhuan didn't raise her hands directly, but instead looked at Qing Ye in confusion.
"It's okay, Huanhuan, just raise your hands," Qing Ye said again, not intending to explain.
Ying Huanhuan glanced at Qing Ye, then raised her head, looking at the metal overhead. After a moment's thought, she raised her hands, extending them to her sides.
"Yes, that's right. Huanhuan, wait a moment." After seeing Ying Huanhuan do as he instructed, Qing Ye approached the metal frame and injected his energy into it. The frame slowly turned black.
"Huh?" Lin Dong saw four flexible ropes emerge from the metal frame after it completely turned black. Two of them dangled downward from the upper metal, while two climbed upward from the lower metal, grabbing Ying Huanhuan's wrists and ankles respectively. Although the speed seemed incredibly fast, Lin Dong estimated that it was only for those below the Shengxuan Realm. It offered no advantage to Heavenly Supremes like them. Lin Dong also looked at Ying Huanhuan, who had raised her head. "Huanhuan should have seen it too. I wonder if she'll dodge it?"
However, Lin Dong saw Ying Huanhuan... She didn't seem to hide, merely frowning briefly before releasing her grip and letting the four ropes secure her limbs. Lin Dong then watched as Ying Huanhuan feigned surprise, struggling and screaming, "Ah! What is this? Qing Ye, what are you doing!"
The two ropes now bound Ying Huanhuan's hands together, her wrists pressed together, held high above her head. Her legs were now held to the ground by the ropes, slightly spread apart, parallel to her shoulders.
Qing Ye hadn't noticed Ying Huanhuan's slight change. He thought she was frightened, so he quickly reassured her, "Huanhuan, it's okay. This won't hurt you. It's just a tool."
Hearing Qing Ye's words, and unable to break free from the ropes, Ying Huanhuan calmed down a bit, though her face paled slightly. She looked at Qing Ye with a hint of fear, like a frightened little rabbit, utterly endearing. With a slight tremor in her voice, she said to Qing Ye, "Qing Ye, stop playing like this. Let me down."
"Huanhuan, don't be afraid. It's okay," Qing Ye said. They'd finally gotten to this point, and he wasn't going to let it go. He paused, explaining to Ying Huanhuan, "This is a tool from the Dark Temple in the Northern Profound Territory. It simply has various auxiliary functions, and it's nothing special. It's just for tying your hands and feet. Now that the preparations are complete, let's get started."
"The Dark Temple in the Northern Profound Territory?" Lin Dong was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. He was well aware of the Dark Temple's purpose, especially the Dark Inquisition within it. Ying Huanhuan was likely familiar with it as well. However, he had no idea why Qing Ye would use something from the Dark Temple for such a purpose. Lin Dong had no memory of such a tool, and he considered it something that would be eliminated in the future. After all, he had never seen anything like it on his subsequent visits.
After hearing that everything was ready, the doubts in Ying Huanhuan's eyes gradually disappeared, and her pale face became a little rosy again. She twisted her body gently and found that except for her torso, her limbs were firmly fixed and she couldn't take her hands out easily. Although she didn't like the current posture very much, Ying Huanhuan didn't want to destroy the things that bound her, so she just waited for Qing Ye to come in this posture.
Lin Dong saw the show was about to begin, so he needed to find a good spot. Although it was only in his mental record, he still felt it would be more exciting to watch from a distance. He looked around and found a special box not far to the left and in front of Ying Huanhuan and the others. The box was triangular in shape, only half as tall as Ying Huanhuan, with sharp corners on the ground and a slightly curved corner at the top. Although it looked a bit odd, the box was well-placed. It wasn't too far away, and it seemed hollow inside. There was a slit in the front triangular panel, just enough for Lin Dong to see what was outside from his hiding.
After Lin Dong found his spot, he entered the box. From inside, he looked out through the top opening, and his view was quite good. It was even closer than the distance between the cabinet and the bed in Ying Huanhuan's room. Lin Dong, already prepared, began to watch the two people in the room. He saw Qing Ye slowly approach Ying Huanhuan, stopping only when he was within a finger's length of her. After lowering his head and looking at her for a moment, he wrapped his arms around her body and held her close. Lin Dong saw Ying Huanhuan begin to thrash around, but when that proved fruitless, he finally stopped and let Qing Ye hold her.