Tang Ning didn't expect this answer, but Ji Lianyan's response seemed indifferent.
His mind was in turmoil, still without a clear strategy, and Ji Lianyan had a firm grip on his other leg.
A scalding palm enveloped his sole, as if branding his foot.
Terrified, Tang Ning instinctively recoiled into the bed, but Ji Lianyan's strength surpassed his efforts. As Tang Ning struggled, Ji Lianyan effortlessly pulled his leg back.
"Don't... please," Tang Ning panicked, unsure of what to say. Calling Ji Lianyan by name would likely displease him, and addressing him as a husband would only boost his arrogance.
Ji Lianyan's hand, long and slender, easily grasped both of Tang Ning's thin ankles. Tearful eyes filled with confusion, Tang Ning couldn't comprehend why Ji Lianyan suddenly released one hand.
Then he saw Ji Lianyan pick up the red belt from the bed with the free hand.
The thin belt had been tight around Tang Ning for too long, leaving a lingering pain on his skin. As Ji Lianyan held the dangling belt, Tang Ning's body instinctively trembled, his waist losing strength, the red mark itching.
In Tang Ning's frantic gaze, Ji Lianyan gently wrapped the belt around Tang Ning's feet, the red complementing the ankles in an indescribable allure.
"No! Don't do this!" Terrified, Tang Ning pulled his foot back, but the strength difference with Ji Lianyan was too great. He couldn't fathom how Ji Lianyan, who was recently weak, now possessed such strength.
As he struggled, his foot touched Ji Lianyan's clothes, and his weak legs trembled, unable to withstand even a slight stimulus.
If a feather lightly brushed his soles, just once or twice, would this person break down and be unable to speak?
No, feathers shouldn't be used.
Ji Lianyan's slender middle finger gently stroked the sole, slowly sliding to the toes. The initially weak legs violently struggled in his hands, the base of the legs trembling. Buried in the red bedding, Tang Ning emitted a desperate moan.
"This is called the Hidden White Point," Ji Lianyan said solemnly, massaging the base of Tang Ning's toes. "Pressing here is good for the body, but you're struggling too much. It's not good—"
As he spoke, Ji Lianyan tied a knot with the red ribbon around Tang Ning's ankle. The bound legs continued to struggle, and the snow-white skin was faintly tinted with warmth by the red ribbon.
"Lady, you look so fitting in red," Ji Lianyan's tone revealed an undisguised infatuation.
Tang Ning exerted all his strength to lift his leg, his bridal attire mostly undone. The bending motion caused the loosely draped dress to slip, revealing his rounded shoulders.
Ji Lianyan's gaze deepened as he watched.
The intrusive look seemed to physically land on his shoulders. Tang Ning shrank one shoulder, hastily pulling up his clothes with one hand and tremblingly trying to untie the knot on his foot with the other. However, having drunk a cup of wine, he had no strength, and for a moment, he couldn't untie it.
Tang Ning, in desperation, cried. His fingertips were rubbed red by the strap, and as he struggled to untie the knots with both hands, he saw another red belt—
Pulled from Ji Lianyan's festive attire.
The three-finger-wide belt was held by Ji Lianyan, his voice warm and magnetic, sounding quite amiable. "Lady, where do you think this belt suits to be tied on you?"
Tang Ning was stunned.
His bewildered eyes seemed to question why someone could be so wicked.
"Is it the hand?" The red belt was placed in Tang Ning's hand, but before it touched the back of his hand, his pretty hand nervously hid behind his back.
"Is it the waist?" The belt hung on his slender waist, and Tang Ning desperately shook his head, almost on the verge of tears.
"Is it the eyes?" The red belt covered Tang Ning's eyes, the high bridge of his nose creating an attractive curve. Without those captivating eyes, attention easily fell on Tang Ning's delicate lips. A hint of light, lightly tinted rouge adorned the center of his lips, tempting to be kissed—
"Or is it the mouth?"
Ji Lianyan leaned in close to Tang Ning's ear, softly saying, "Lady, you choose for me."
So wicked.
How could someone be so wicked?
Tang Ning truly wanted to bite this wicked person but dared not curse him. He could only suppress his voice and cry softly, "Why do I have to choose one? Can't I have none, dear husband?"
The term "dear husband" was sweet and genuinely tender, completely devoid of the previous reluctance.
Ji Lianyan didn't continue playing with the red ribbon. He lowered his gaze to Tang Ning, "But if I don't tie Lady up, I'm afraid Lady will run away."
Tang Ning noticed that Ji Lianyan seemed genuinely responsive to his actions. Gathering courage, he embraced Ji Lianyan's neck, his hands, due to fear, possessing a surprisingly delicate touch, resembling the gentle force used when acting spoiled.
"Why would I run?" If he ran out, he'd encounter supernatural beings—
If there were no supernatural beings, he would be the first to run.
Tang Ning, like a clingy kitten, nestled in Ji Lianyan's embrace, shyly examining his seemingly indifferent face. "Husband, you see, we've just met, haven't we?"
Ji Lianyan silently, almost enjoyably, observed Tang Ning who willingly approached him.
This gaze greatly encouraged Tang Ning. Deliberating his words, he cautiously said, "I don't know you yet. Wouldn't it be happier if we did things like this after we've been together for a while?"
The flickering candlelight reflected in Tang Ning's bright eyes as he looked hopefully at Ji Lianyan. "Can we agree on that?"
Tears still lingered on his pretty face, and the transparent eyes couldn't hide any secrets. The slight scheming was apparent to anyone.
Ji Lianyan quietly locked eyes with Tang Ning.
He reached out, tenderly caressing Tang Ning's tear-streaked cheeks.
"No," he said, even in an indulgent tone.
Before Tang Ning could react in confusion, Ji Lianyan preemptively grabbed his wrists, lifted his hands over his head, and effortlessly tied them with the red ribbon. During this process, Ji Lianyan skillfully crafted a beautiful bow with the ribbon.
The hand emerging from the red wide sleeves, once manipulating power and controlling life, was now indulging in the bed with another person.
Leaning down, Ji Lianyan's pupils with central red dots became increasingly enchanting. He spoke with a lingering tone, "Lady, what I'm about to do now—"
"Is heavenly bliss on earth."
Ji Ke frantically dialed a number on the landline. This old house now belonged to him in his current status, and besides him, the eccentric Grandpa Ji sat inside.
The mobile phone had no signal in the village, and one of his previous means of communication with Lin Yun was through the landline.
Why wasn't he answering the phone?!
He was so anxious that he almost paced in place.
"It's late, all late," Grandpa Ji muttered while sitting on the chair, trembling.
Ji Lianyan glanced at the old man. He had previously tried to engage in conversation, but the only thing the old man would say besides "It's late" was nothing else.
"Hello?" Lin Yun's voice came through the receiver.
Ji Ke hurriedly said, "What's happening on your end? Why did it take you so long to answer the phone?"
Ji Ke hastily said, "What happened on your end? Why did you take so long to answer the call?"
"Ran into a little trouble, what's up?"
Ji Ke turned to glance at the foolish old man, covering his mouth, and whispered, "I attended Tang Ning and Ji Lian Yan's wedding and found that the guests coming and going were not human!"
"While Ji Lian Yan was happily conversing with those unknown entities, every word and action differed from the Ji Lian Yan I first met."
"Hard to describe that difference; it felt like a stark contrast between one in the heavens and one on the earth." Ji Ke anxiously said, "I'm worried about Tang Ning, could he be in trouble?"
"Join me first," Lin Yun calmly said, "by the well at the village entrance; I have something to tell you."
"Alright." Ji Ke quickly hung up, preparing to leave. At the moment he was about to step out of the door, the old man who had been muttering suddenly said, "Dog."
Dog was Ji Ke's nickname in this village.
Ji Ke felt puzzled by the call, turned back, and the old man, still bowing his head, began muttering to himself, his elderly voice constantly repeating, "Too late."
Initially ignoring it, Ji Ke left, but after being interrupted just now, he no longer had the urgent desire to leave. Lingering unease compelled him to recall if he had missed something.
What could it be?
Ji Ke's gaze swept through the dilapidated room, finally landing on the old landline. He had never used such an old item, only knew about its usage from old TV shows. When he tried dialing earlier, there was no sound of buttons, and he didn't hear the typical dial tone while waiting for Lin Yun to answer.
Yet, Ji Ke lacked experience with such devices, so he stubbornly held the handset to his ear.
Approaching the landline, he took out his phone, turned on the flashlight mode. In the light, he saw the landline covered in dust, as if it hadn't been used for a long time.
That wasn't the focus.
The focus was the phone line of this landline, and it was severed.
Beep beep beep, the phone rang urgently.
Ji Ke slowly picked up the handset, listening to "Lin Yun" on the other end: "Why haven't you left yet? I'm waiting for you by the well—"
This time, without waiting for that entity to finish, Ji Ke hung up the phone.
Yet, a deep chill swept through his entire body because he realized a very serious problem—how did the other know he hadn't left yet? Unless...
Ji Ke abruptly looked at the window, the halo of the red lantern, as if something was hiding in the shadows.
It was midnight.
Qingming Festival, the time when the ghost gate opens wide.
Lin Yun had already been murdered, and he needed to ensure Tang Ning's safety. Tang Ning's ID card was crucial in this scenario; if Tang Ning fell tonight, the mission difficulty would skyrocket!
Even if he stayed hidden here, he might not avoid tonight's crisis, so it was better to go out and investigate.
Having made up his mind, Ji Ke quietly thanked the seemingly foolish old man before leaving. Then, Ji Ke sprinkled a gray-white powder on himself and strode out of the door.
Ji Ke moved swiftly.
Following the route from his memory, he arrived at the old house where Ji Lian Yan was. The house had no windows, and to glimpse the secrets inside, one could only use a small hole in the door.
Tang Ning had mentioned that there might be a monster behind this door that 'licks' eyes.
If the cost of spying was just getting 'licked' once, Ji Ke hoped it would be that simple. His heart pounded like a drum. Standing in front of the door, cold sweat dripped from his forehead, following the gray-white powder. Ji Ke clenched his teeth, overcoming the fear within, and slowly approached the door.
He heard a faint and intermittent sobbing, the crying breaking off each time, leaving a lingering sweetness in the mind.
"No, please, I beg you!"
"Don't undress."
What had happened?
Ji Ke stood frozen, his left eye aimed at the hole. In the cramped room, a red candle burned, and besides that, there was only a coffin painted in red.
A graceful hand emerged from the coffin, its snow-white wrist covered in layers of red marks, as if forcefully entwined by some object, leaving imprints.
Ji Ke was stupefied.
He held his breath, witnessing the beautiful hand suddenly gripping the edge of the coffin, the knuckles turning white from exertion.
Then, a tall figure abruptly sat up straight from the coffin, still clad in the remnants of wedding attire. In the glow of the red candle, the pale and mournful face possessed an eerie and chilling allure. A faint trace of fresh blood slowly oozed from the lips tinged with bluish color.
What added to the strangeness was that although only one person sat up in the coffin, the shadows reflected on the wall showed two distinct, flickering figures!
In an instant, "Ji Lianyan" abruptly turned his head, and his crimson eyes locked onto the intruder peering through.