With a smile on his lips, Ning Chen picked up two new long-burning red candles and leisurely walked over to the X-shaped frame. Behind the frame, there was an additional plank extending out at roughly the height of Zhou Qin’s neck. Above the shoulders, a row of inverted nails was fixed at a 90-degree angle, their sharp points facing outward.
Ning Chen stretched out his hand to roughly measure the distance. He aligned the base of the candle with one of the nail tips and steadily pushed the candle in, ensuring it stood vertically. He repeated the process with the second candle. Stepping back a few paces, he observed his work. From the front, the wicks of the candles were perfectly aligned just above Zhou Qin’s slightly outward-pointing nipples, not a millimeter off. Moving to the side, he noted that the candles were only slightly taller than the peaks of her breasts. It was perfect.
Satisfied, Ning Chen nodded and used a fire starter to light both candles. His calm eyes reflected the flickering flames. The room was so quiet that the sound of the burning candles was faintly audible, and the dripping of the wax hitting the ground was even clearer.
The long-burning candles would last for a long time, and they shortened very slowly. Ning Chen sat in a chair, waiting patiently. But that was fine—the slower they burned now, the more agonizing it would be for her later.
Finally, until… plop.
This time, the sound was much softer. It was the result of the wax not falling from a high enough height to achieve the expected acceleration before hitting an obstacle. In short, it had landed right on the peak.
The hot wax instantly enveloped the tip of the breast, leaving a small mark. The girl, who had been sleeping peacefully, furrowed her brows due to the natural reaction of her body. But this was just the beginning.
“Mmm…” The girl’s brows furrowed deeper, and she let out a muffled sound of pain.
This time, she finally woke up.
Zhou Qin’s beautiful eyes, still dazed, fluttered open, only to be momentarily blinded by the sudden brightness. Under the arrangement of the Seven Attendants, the interior of the cave was now much brighter than the outside. Precious stones that emitted a fluorescent glow were placed throughout the cave, replacing the long-burning lamps.
The view was so high—when had she become so tall? Zhou Qin was utterly confused. Was she dreaming? And why did she feel so hot? It hurt…
Wasn’t she searching for the divine medicine in the Demon Prison?
This time, drops fell from both sides, hitting their marks perfectly.
“Ah!” Zhou Qin screamed, her sleepiness completely gone. Looking down, she was horrified.
How had she ended up !
A deep male voice suddenly interrupted Zhou Qin’s thoughts. She followed the sound and was immediately stunned.
He… he was so handsome!
Gazing at him was like looking at a celestial being through the clouds. The black robe he wore gave him an air of noble elegance, yet it also exuded a sinister charm. It stirred something in her heart.
After a moment, Zhou Qin snapped out of it.
“Who are you? What do you want? Let me go!” she shouted, though her face flushed red.
Seeing that she was only bound by ordinary ropes and four leather cuffs, she tried to use her spiritual power to break free. But when she activated her cultivation technique, she was horrified to find that she couldn’t use any spiritual energy at all.
Now Zhou Qin was truly panicked. No matter how good-looking the man before her was, he couldn’t possibly be a good person.
Zhou Qin struggled desperately, but her beloved master, Liu Ruoyan, had tied her up so tightly that all her squirming did was make her sway, allowing her nipples to dodge the falling wax, but the rest of her body wasn’t so lucky.
This time, though not as sharp, the pain was still intense.
Ning Chen didn’t speak immediately. Only after he had enjoyed the scene enough did he slowly say, “You trespassed into my territory. Shouldn’t I be the one asking you questions?”
Trespassed into his territory?
Zhou Qin forced herself to think despite the discomfort. Wasn’t she exploring the forbidden Demon Prison with Senior Sister Yu Hua? Wait, where was Senior Sister Yu?
As if suddenly remembering her lifeline, Zhou Qin frantically looked around. Finally, she spotted the familiar figure to her lower right.
Her head was hanging low, a wooden plank around her neck like a yoke. Her arms were stretched out horizontally, level with her bent waist. Her wrists were also threaded through two other holes in the plank. Her waist was pressed down weakly, and her legs were forced to stand straight due to being fixed in place. Her short, shoulder-length hair revealed a delicate profile.
It was Senior Sister Yu!
The hope that had just risen in her heart was instantly extinguished.
Gritting her teeth, Zhou Qin forced herself to remain calm under the gaze that lingered on her body, making her feel both shy and ashamed. She issued a warning.
“I’m a direct disciple of the Qinglian Sect! My master is… ah!”
Before she could finish, another drop of hot wax hit her, making her tremble.
Forcing herself to stay composed, she continued, “My master is Qinglian Zhenjun, a powerful cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage! If you dare lay a hand on me, she will definitely kill you!”
Ning Chen was thoroughly annoyed.
Heh, she’s the one who specializes in betraying her disciples.
Looking around, Ning Chen’s gaze fell on the communication device Liu Ruoyan had left here. He quickly walked over, picked it up, and returned.
“Enough of your noise!” Ning Chen stuffed the device into Zhou Qin’s mouth, silencing her incessant chatter.
To minimize any chance of it falling out, Liu Ruoyan had made this spiritual tool quite large. Zhou Qin’s mouth wasn’t big, and now it was completely filled. She could only stare in terror as Ning Chen turned and picked up a soft whip, walking toward her.
Zhou Qin shook her head frantically, but there was nothing she could do to stop him.
As the sound of the whip echoed through the cave, continuous muffled cries followed.
In a blind spot of the two inside, at the corner of the staircase, Xu Qingyao was secretly watching with great interest.
Behind her, Liu Ruoyan frowned and sent a voice transmission, scolding, “Don’t get caught. It’ll affect what A’Chen has planned.”
“Relax, their cultivation is sealed. How could they possibly notice?” Xu Qingyao replied nonchalantly.
She even teased, “The one being whipped inside is your third disciple. Aren’t you going to step in and stop it?”
“It’s only natural for a senior brother to discipline his junior sister,” Liu Ruoyan replied without a hint of shame, her face not reddening in the slightest. “Besides, A’Chen is putting on a show for us.”
“If we disturb him too late in the future, we might end up like that too.”
As Liu Ruoyan analyzed the situation, the thought of herself being hit by hot wax and whipped made her shiver. It was terrifying.
“We should be more careful from now on.”
In the past, their habit of rushing in at the last moment to grab new items had indeed been quite annoying from A’Chen’s perspective.
“Why should we be careful?”
Xu Qingyao didn’t turn her head. With one hand resting on her flushed cheek, her beautiful eyes were fixed on Ning Chen’s back—more precisely, on the hand holding the whip and the whip itself.
“I’d actually like to experience being whipped by my junior nephew,” she said, licking her lips like a cat eyeing its prey.
Even she, who wasn’t a good person, thought this was perverted.