XXX

At first, Shen Qingqiu didn't really believe that Luo Binghe was taking him to the garden. His first thought was that the demon lord was bringing him back to the Water Prison, finally tired of this damned game. Then he thought that, perhaps, the man was going to parade him around in front of his wives and generals, show everyone how broken the former peak lord had become, how Luo Binghe's power and control over him were so strong that not even death could stop him from doing as he pleased. He also considered that, maybe, just maybe, Luo Binghe really had found some pity for him and was going to bring him to his execution, allow him to finally return to the dead while settling the last of his grudges (of course, this last one was merely a brief fantasy that he shoved away quickly, knowing the little beast wouldn't let go of him so easily).

He wished he could say that it was these thoughts that kept his feet stuck to the floor. He wished that he could claim some kind of pride or even fear of death/torture to be the glue that kept him motionless where he stood. Because not wanting to be hurt or humiliated (or killed) were natural human emotions, and even if he would hate to show any more fear in front of the demon (as if he hadn't already shown enough), it would be better than the truth of it.

Shen Qingqiu was afraid, all right.

But not of being tortured. Or humiliated. Or killed. Or any of those initial hypotheses of Luo Binghe's real goal.

No.

In yet another aching crack across his pride, Shen Qingqiu realized that the truth of the matter was much more ridiculous:

.

He was afraid to leave the room.

.

Luo Binghe really had managed to break him well, hadn't he? He was not only imprisoned but also afraid to leave his cell. He certainly wouldn't be able to escape like that, now would he?

"Shizun?"

Was this what Luo Binghe really wanted here? To show him that he was really so powerless that he wouldn't even be able to try to escape? To show him that he couldn't even escape if his door was left open? To show him just how imprisoned he truly was, how much Luo Binghe owned him, down to every corner of his fracturing mind?

With a (fake) concerned expression, Luo Binghe stepped back into the room and closed the door again. Though part of Shen Qingqiu burned at being proven right, that he wasn't really going to be allowed out at all, he hated that there was also a small hint of relief flickering through his chest.

He really was fucked, wasn't he?

"Shizun, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

He wasn't going to give Luo Binghe the satisfaction of knowing that his cruel demonstration had worked. Shen Qingqiu got the message. He understood.

"If nothing's wrong, let's go," Luo Binghe said simply, though he didn't move back toward the door.

"No!"

Shen Qingqiu even shocked himself with the exclamation, and Luo Binghe's eyes widened a little as well. The demon took a breath in and then let it out.

"… Okay, so the drug hasn't finished kicking in yet," he observed. "But why don't you want to go out? It's not as though you like being in here."

Of course he didn't. He didn't. He hated it here, hated the one who kept him in that room. But he had been locked up for so long, endlessly long in this room, and just as endlessly long in the Water Prison. He had been locked away for so long, with his body and mind deteriorating, that it seemed neither knew how to embrace even the smallest 'freedom' anymore.

The former peak lord didn't answer, only clenched his fists as much as he was able to. Finally, the glue let him move, but he just took a step back rather than forward. Luo Binghe's face fell.

"Shizun, I mean it. Tell me what's wrong."

"I said it's nothing!"

Luo Binghe took a step closer.

"If it was nothing, you wouldn't be shaking!"

Was he shaking? He hadn't noticed.

He was too busy focusing on the small, steady pain in his chest.

The demon came closer and Shen Qingqiu tore the veil off, throwing it to the floor more by accident than because he was trying to rile the demon up. He continued to back up and moved to sit on the bed, getting away from the door.

He couldn't believe this. Just look how far he'd fallen! Surely, he was even beneath that little slave child he had once been. Even Shen Jiu had wanted to escape that room he had been locked in!

Luo Binghe followed him, sitting beside him on the bed and giving him a long, exploratory look.

"Shizun…," he spoke up after a minute. "Are you… afraid of leaving this room?"

Fuck.

Fuck.

"Isn't that what you fucking wanted?" Shen Qingqiu spat, knowing the demon lord must be relishing in how small he'd made him.

Surprisingly, Luo Binghe didn't gloat, though. He just looked more concerned, almost as if he was about to cry.

As if.

"No," Luo Binghe breathed, covering his mouth with his hand for a moment. "No, I… I didn't."

XXX

Internally, Luo began to curse.

It wasn't even that he hadn't wanted this to happen- he hadn't anticipated it, either.

Now that he thought about it, though, Shen Qingqiu hadn't ever actually even tried to escape, as far as he knew. He didn't try to slip out of the door, or attack his servants to get out, or even ask to be let out. Nothing. Was this why? The demon lord had just idly believed he must have known he wouldn't get far, or at least that he was biding his time or something.

He was actually… He was upset about this.

He hadn't actually meant to do this, even when he'd been torturing the man. It wouldn't have been as fun to torture him that way- it was better if he wanted to escape. The struggle made the man's pain all the more sweet to witness. Which was no longer true. But now Shen Qingqiu was too afraid to even leave the room?!

He'd broken Shen Qingqiu in a whole new way, and he hadn't even meant to.

"I… I'm sorry, Shizun…," Luo Binghe apologized monotonously, trying to keep his voice from wobbling.

"L-Like hell you are…"

Luo Binghe shook his head.

"No, really, this wasn't on purpose," he denied. "Shizun, before, I liked it better when you struggled to escape. I… this wasn't intentional- shit."

Shen Qingqiu let out a small chuckle, but he didn't seem able to manage much more than that. Luo Binghe deflated.

"We… Let's wait and see if you're okay to leave after the drug finishes kicking in, okay?" Luo Binghe offered, still thinking it was rather important to do this at some point. "If you can't… I'll figure it out.

His Shizun laughed again.

"You really have made me into your little pet, haven't you, beast?"

XXX

He felt weird. This newest drug made him feel calm, but apparently, it only went so far. It had kept him perfectly calm on a day when he was already mostly calm. Now, though, he was apparently not close enough to calm for it to fully work. Instead, he could still feel tendrils of fear spreading through his body, though the feeling was somewhat detached. He didn't feel like he was going to start panicking, and he could only manage normal movements rather than anything too quick. But his heart was still beating too fast, and he felt like it would still be possible to push him enough to reach panic if someone tried.

Oh, what a wonderful rare drug Luo Binghe had found!

Though, he still didn't want the man to give him any of the other drugs, so he was determined to act like the current drug was working more than it actually was. He was being ridiculous, after all. There was no reason for him to be afraid of leaving a damn room. After everything he'd been through, he could tolerate a walk, especially when he couldn't even feel the fear properly.

And so, Shen Qingqiu forced himself to walk forward as Luo Binghe opened the door. He could see Luo Binghe watching him carefully, so he made sure his face was kept as blank as he could get it. The demon took him by the wrist, though the grip wasn't very tight, as Luo Binghe could stop him with the parasites so quickly that it was practically pointless to even hold onto him at all.

Each step forward felt like a heavy weight pulling him down as he was lifted up, anxiety and excitement stirring into a confusing maelstrom that left him barely able to even focus on the halls they passed through. The veil on his face felt both too thick yet also transparent, a shield made of glass. Luo Binghe's touch burned, and he wished he could tear his arm away, but the impulse never fully reached down his fingertips. The longer they walked, the more he felt like he couldn't stop himself, no matter how much his chest ached.

And then, a spot of sunlight appeared before them, and Shen Qingqiu suddenly went motionless, transfixed.

When was the last time he had seen even a hint of the sun?

There had been no sun in that room, no sun in death, and no sun in the water prison, either. For so many years, he'd been kept in the dark, in dimness, any light conjured artificially with demonic magic or flame.

He felt unable to get any closer, but Luo Binghe pulled him toward it anyway, and he couldn't resist, either.

Then, he was standing in the doorway leading out to the garden, bright sunlight illuminating a rainbow of flowers and plants. A bird fluttered out of one bush and into another, and it struck Shen Qingqiu that he hadn't seen any live animals in years, either.

"Shizun?"

A wetness formed in the corners of his eyes, and he found himself sinking toward the ground.

"Shizun!"

His chest ached too much.

XXX

Today, she got her first glimpse of the person her husband had been visiting so much, though their face was covered. Luo Binghe brought them to the garden, an area the demon lord had forbidden them from being in that day- but she was never really one to listen to her husband too much. And so, she'd left a few eye crystals around the garden so she could see why her husband didn't want them there all of a sudden. And she'd gotten her answer.

She watched as the figure approached the garden hesitantly, led gently by Luo Binghe's hand. She continued to watch as they froze and lowered themselves to the ground to sob and cry.

So, Luo Binghe was taking a new sniveling maiden as a wife, then. It wasn't all that uncommon for the man to collect new wives even now, and a good share of them were neurotic little beauties who had xyz tragedy befall them, making them into crybabies that needed their soon-to-be-husband to save them.

She liked to bully those wives, sometimes.

It was a bit of a shame, though. She'd been hoping for something a little more interesting than a new wife, especially one that seemed so weak. Had Luo Binghe just been visiting her in that room because she was too scared to venture out of it once Luo Binghe saved her? The demon lord must have postponed the wedding until after she got used to living in the palace.

Well, it would probably be soon now that she was out and about, even if she apparently couldn't enter the gardens without crying. Yes, this wife would be rather easy to bully. Would that make it more fun, or would she be so weak that bullying her would be boring?

She'd find out soon enough.

And so, she continued to watch as her crying died down and her husband pulled her back up to stand. She watched Luo Binghe lead her around, the woman's steps hesitant. Whoever this new wife was, she must be one of the 'trapped, sheltered damsels' Luo Binghe found every so often. Maybe she'd been kept prisoner by her own family or something, mistreated for being an unfavored wife's offspring, or perhaps she was too beautiful and made her family jealous (or lustful), or maybe she was incredibly ugly and brought shame upon them, or maybe she had some kind of power or curse or maybe she was kidnapped and kept prisoner by someone else or whatever story it was this time that made her be locked away. And now, she was just so afraid of everything, and her husband would have to show her how to trust the world again now that she had the protection of the most powerful person in the combined realms.

She could see the woman's steps get marginally more sure of themselves as they walked, but even still, it wasn't long before those steps began to falter, and Luo Binghe apparently decided to take her back to the room. She didn't resist. Instead, she leaned into him and let him lead the way, the demon lord now holding her by the hand instead of the wrist.

Yes, she'd find out about this maiden soon enough.

XXX