On one occasion when he went to the city to buy writing materials, he was spotted by Rong Erya, who took a liking to him because of his refined and handsome appearance. At first, he resisted fiercely, but in the end, he was threatened with the closure of the academy and forced into the Rong household.
Initially, Rong Erya had some affection for Wen Han and enjoyed a period of (one-sided) intimacy with him. However, she could never change her fickle and promiscuous nature—always chasing after new attractions and growing bored quickly. After tiring of him, she cast Wen Han aside in the backyard, paying him no further attention.
Fortunately, Wen Han was still Rong Erya’s legitimate spouse, and the Rong family dared not treat him too harshly. Thus, his life remained tolerable. However, Wen Han’s status in the Rong household was worlds apart from that of Rong Nianxin’s father.
Rong Nianxin’s father was a master of sweet talk and smooth words, effortlessly delighting Rong Erya. As a result, Rong Erya rarely interfered with his daily activities, allowing him to roam freely as long as he stayed within the city. But Wen Han was different.
Wen Han was gentle and good-natured, but he was also a straightforward man who wasn’t skilled at flattery. Naturally, he couldn’t win Rong Erya’s favor. And Rong Erya was a woman with glaring double standards.
What did that mean? It meant she could freely indulge in affairs outside, while her husbands were treated as her possessions, belonging solely to her.
The primary reason Rong Nianxin’s father was discarded by Rong Erya was his involvement with another woman.
Even if he had a temper and resorted to domestic violence, Rong Erya wouldn’t have cared much—after all, she wasn’t a gentle soul herself. She had initially been drawn to Rong Nianxin’s father solely for his looks and silver tongue.
As for domestic violence? This was the Rong household. How could she, the esteemed young lady of the Rong family, be bullied by a man she kept like a pet?
But Rong Nianxin’s father had committed Rong Erya’s greatest taboo.
Learning from past mistakes, Rong Erya imposed even stricter control over Wen Han, effectively placing him under house arrest. Even when he went out, he was closely guarded.
Under these circumstances, Wen Han’s dream of returning to the academy to teach was nothing but a fantasy.
While Rong Erya reveled in her romantic escapades outside, Wen Han remained confined to the Rong household’s inner quarters, like a caged canary yearning for the sky—only able to dream. His health steadily deteriorated under these conditions.
Rong Erya despised Wen Han’s melancholic behavior. After some harsh lessons, Wen Han seemed to finally accept reality and began cooperating with the physician’s treatments. His health gradually improved, and he abandoned any thoughts of leaving the Rong household or returning to the academy. He resigned himself to being Rong Erya’s accessory, obediently playing his role to keep her happy.
Though his personal freedom remained restricted, Wen Han’s living conditions did improve over time. After all, he was her legitimate husband—someone who could please her without interfering in her affairs. Rong Erya didn’t mind showing him a bit more favor.
When Yin Jiu first began his investigation, he thoroughly examined every member of the Rong family from top to bottom but found nothing substantial. The Rong family had a long history of misdeeds, leveraging their ancestral wealth to commit countless wrongs. Many buried secrets were unearthed, yet none pointed to any connection with the Outer Realm Demons—until Wen Han appeared.
Yin Jiu did pity Wen Han, who had been ensnared by Rong Erya’s madness only to be cast aside. But his pity didn’t stop him from scrutinizing Wen Han thoroughly. In the end, Yin Jiu’s targeted inspection uncovered something unexpected.
Outer Realm Demons and natives of the Xuantian Continent had distinct physical differences. No matter how well they disguised themselves, certain telltale details always gave them away. Wen Han had hidden his identity masterfully—no one had ever suspected him, not even Yin Jiu and his team at first. But gradually, Yin Jiu noticed something unusual: Wen Han was not from the Xuantian Continent. He was a demon.
Once discovered, interrogation followed. Wen Han was tight-lipped and fiercely loyal to his superiors, refusing to divulge anything. But even his resolve couldn’t withstand the relentless pressure from the Xuantian Continent’s powerful factions, who had their own methods of extracting information.
As the key link between the demons and Rong Nianxin, Wen Han knew far more than expected.
Wen Han: “They brought this upon themselves! The Rong family gave us the opportunity!”
The story began when Rong Nianxin took a liking to Wen Han. Rong Erya fancied him, but Wen Han preferred men over women. He had even fallen for a widowed farmer from the village near the academy, whose wife had died in childbirth, leaving him with a son. The farmer’s son, who studied under Wen Han, acted as a matchmaker, bringing the two closer until they confessed their feelings and planned to marry.
That day in the city, Wen Han wasn’t just buying supplies for his students—he was also preparing for his wedding. Then Rong Erya appeared.
Wen Han resisted fiercely, his heart already taken. Rong Erya threatened to harm the academy, unaware of his relationship with the farmer. Fearing she might discover his lover if he continued to resist, Wen Han reluctantly submitted to spare his beloved from her wrath.
Despite his surrender, Wen Han’s spirit withered. He missed his lover, his students, the academy, and the village desperately. His health declined rapidly, compounded by Rong Erya’s refusal to provide medical care as punishment. Eventually, he passed away.
Before his body was discovered, a demon found it. Seeking to approach his target—Rong Nianxin—the demon used forbidden arts to possess Wen Han’s body, becoming the new “Wen Han.”
This explained why Wen Han’s health later improved and why he became docile, obediently staying by Rong Erya’s side. The demon’s goal was Rong Nianxin, and pleasing Rong Erya was the perfect way to get close.
Thus, the demon worked subtly, manipulating Rong Nianxin from the shadows.
Why target Rong Nianxin? The answer lay with her grandmother, Chuntao.
Chuntao was a stunningly beautiful and promiscuous woman with countless admirers, including the leader of a heretical cult. Her ruthlessness and connections secured her a high position in the cult, granting her access to many secrets.
The cult had been founded by a madman obsessed with Outer Realm Demons, later attracting more fanatics. The original leader, devoted to the demons, developed a forbidden technique—a dual cultivation method that drained the life force of one partner to empower the other.
Unless practiced by someone with a rare constitution, this technique initially boosted strength but eventually backfired, causing more harm than gain. It was eventually abandoned.
Later, a high-ranking demon manipulated a cult leader into refining the technique. They set up a hidden array in a mountain cave, embedding the technique into a suitable host’s consciousness. As the host practiced, a hidden fragment would infiltrate their body and mind, undetectable and inescapable.
Once cultivation was complete, the fragment would transfer all the host’s power to the demon. The fragment acted as a purifier, making the energy perfect for demonic absorption.
However, due to the fragment’s origin, the energy was only suitable for demons with robust physiques. For humans of the Xuantian Continent, attempting absorption without external aid would result in catastrophic self-destruction.
Finding a suitable host was rare. The last perfect match had been Chuntao, but the transfer failed.
Eager to cultivate a “helper” who could supply vast energy, the demons researched ways to enhance Chuntao’s compatibility. By the time they succeeded, Chuntao was dead, and the cult had been annihilated. Furious but restrained, the demons could only stir minor trouble at the border between realms, fearing retaliation from the Xuantian Continent’s powers.
Outer Realm Demons were individually powerful, but they were no match for the collective might of the Xuantian Continent. If they weren’t afraid, they would have invaded long ago instead of remaining in a stalemate.
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