Su Nian had no expectation for any so-called “reward” or “surprise.”
She only hoped this man would play fewer tricks and let her steadily accumulate that one hundred million humiliation value.
However, according to the rules and settings for obtaining humiliation value, the same event would bring progressively lower numbers as the count increased and as she grew more “accustomed” to it.
Just like at the very beginning, when she had first been taken by the horned demon…
When he claimed her for the first time and occupied her body, each encounter had brought nearly two hundred thousand humiliation value.
Now, that number had already been cut in half.
Unless she changed the location, switched up the method, or challenged boundaries she had never imagined.
The magic academy, the shadows of the rockery in the manor… these unconventional places would bring additional humiliation value.
She hated this feeling, yet she depended on it with a sick kind of reliance.
If she wanted to obtain one hundred million humiliation value as quickly as possible and escape, she would have to sink deeper into the mire.
That broken system, just like the horned demon bastard, was nothing good.
Chu Tian lowered his head, savoring the vigilance and tension interwoven across Su Nian’s breathtakingly beautiful face.
The curve of his lips deepened as he uttered a single word that instantly blanked out Su Nian’s mind.
“In three days, I will accompany you home.”
‘Home?’
Those two words struck like two bolts of lightning exploding out of nowhere, thundering inside her skull and shattering all her thoughts.
It was not Shadowmoon Manor.
They were there every single day; there was no need to wait three days.
So what he meant was…
The real home deep in her memories, where her parents lived.
In an instant, countless scenes flooded her consciousness.
The sight of her mother bustling about in the kitchen, warm steam mingling with the aroma of food—the most reassuring scent in the world.
Her father sitting beneath the old locust tree in the courtyard, carefully wiping the longsword he never left behind with an old cloth.
The profile of his face in the sunset carried an unmistakable tenderness.
She had left home, stepped into the monster forest, faced the horned demon… and then been defeated, kneeling in humiliation to beg for mercy, only to obtain the system and become a girl…
For more than two months, every day had been a struggle and every night had been tormenting.
If her mom and dad ever learned what she was going through now……
Her nose suddenly stung.
A scalding liquid surged into her eyes without warning, and her vision blurred instantly.
She lowered her head sharply, her brilliant golden hair cascading down like a waterfall, just enough to hide her completely out-of-control expression.
What was this?
Ever since she turned into a girl, had the water content in her body increased too?
Why did she feel like crying so easily?
She bit down hard on her lower lip, fighting against the unstoppable sob rising in her throat.
After being captured and imprisoned by the horned demon, she had not dared to think about home.
After her complete defeat in Blackstone Gorge, her mind had been filled only with humiliation value and how to survive this endless torment.
Home…
If… if she could really go back once… that would actually be nice.
This thought rose in her heart, carrying a fatally tempting allure.
The system had already corrected everything.
In her parents’ perception, Su Nian had been born a daughter.
Even in her own memories, an extra complete timeline had appeared—of growing up as a girl.
Going back would require no explanations.
But the horned demon had used the word “accompany.”
“Accompany” her home.
That word, coming from this man’s mouth, had only ever meant one thing.
Surveillance.
Control.
And…
An incredibly clear, incredibly cruel scene played out wildly in her mind, every detail carrying bone-chilling coldness.
She stood at the familiar doorstep.
The door opened, and her parents rushed forward in excitement and joy.
And that man would be standing right behind her.
His arm would naturally wrap around her waist in a posture so intimate that not a single flaw could be found.
To outsiders, they would look like a perfect couple.
In angles her parents could not see, his warm fingertips would trace circles on her lower back, each stroke carrying a sense of declaring ownership.
He would also lean close to her ear and speak in a low voice, using a tone only she could understand—one filled with threat.
Even…
He would only need a single thought.
The cold collar.
It would turn her into a humiliating sight, led by him in front of her closest family.
Could it be…
That this perverted horned demon wanted to bring the humiliation he inflicted on her right in front of her parents?
Was this the “surprise” he had mentioned?
No!
Absolutely not!
“Accompany me home… what are you planning to do?”
Su Nian’s voice was very soft, carrying a tremor she could not control.
She forced herself to raise her head and meet the man’s gaze.
At the very least, she could not let him see her humiliated side in front of her parents.
Even though she bravely questioned him, her snow-white, delicate skin remained pressed tightly against the man’s broad, warm chest, without the slightest resistance.
The continuous defeats had already etched the instinct of obedience deep into her bones.
She knew that any form of resistance would only invite consequences far more terrifying than she could imagine.
All she could do was obey.
Only by going along with this capricious man as much as possible could she possibly avoid the worst outcome.
Of course, it was not a simple family visit.
Chu Tian’s voice sounded above her head, carrying a lazy satisfaction.
His slender fingers threaded through her waterfall-like golden hair.
His fingertips felt the silky smoothness, and the tip of his nose lightly inhaled the unique fragrance of a young girl’s body scent.
“I need to go to your hometown to look for something.”
His voice paused, as if deliberately keeping her in suspense.
“The experiments on the floating magic circle have already begun. It can indeed power objects at the warship level, but… it consumes a massive amount of magic crystal stones. The last time it was used to intimidate another country, the reason was precisely the enormous consumption of magic crystal stones.”
Chu Tian continued speaking with clear logic while toying with the young girl’s hair in his arms.
“However, after consulting ancient texts, I discovered that the original, complete versions of the floating fortresses and floating warships did not require consuming such vast amounts of magic crystal stone energy.”
“Actually…”
“To build true long-range floating fortresses and floating warships, a special magic circle is still needed.”
The man’s voice suddenly lowered, carrying the mysterious tone of revealing a secret.
“The energy-gathering magic circle! Accompanying you home this time is to find this magic circle.”
‘Looking for the energy-gathering magic circle?’
Su Nian’s tightly wound nerves finally relaxed for a moment.
‘Thank goodness…’
The horned demon lord was only going to her hometown to search for some magic circle.
He was not purely aiming to humiliate her and her family.
However, before she could fully exhale that breath of relief, the man’s next words lifted her heart back up to her throat.
“The energy-gathering magic circle was improved by immigrants from the Eastern Continent based on the ‘spirit-gathering array’ they possessed. It has since been lost.”
‘Eastern Continent immigrants…’
Su Nian’s heart clenched violently.
“And for over a hundred years, the family that has held this ancient technique… unfortunately…”
He deliberately dragged out the end of his sentence.
Every word landed like a heavy drumbeat, striking her heart again and again with a cat-toying-with-mouse malice.
“Is none other than the Su Family.”
“Hidden Dragon Town’s largest family—the Su Family.” Chu Tian spoke each word slowly and clearly.
Su Nian’s mind buzzed.
Everything before her eyes darkened, and she nearly fainted on the spot.
It was over.
Her family had been targeted by this damn horned demon bastard!
They were done for!
The Su Family of Hidden Dragon Town was indeed descended from Eastern Continent immigrants, but her father had left the main family very early.
Within the family’s own recognition, her father’s branch had long been considered a distant side branch with thin blood ties.
Therefore, she had not grown up in that so-called great Su Family.
They did not interact much normally and only visited during the New Year.
As for the “energy-gathering magic circle,” logically speaking, it should have nothing to do with her parents.
However…
This thing was very likely connected to her grandfather, or even her great-grandfather’s generation.
Even so…
She still did not want the horned demon to have even the slightest connection with her family.
“Can we not go?” Su Nian blinked.
Her sky-blue eyes were now shimmering with moisture.
She looked up at the man before her, her face unconsciously showing a pitiful expression she herself had not noticed.
It was almost an instinctive plea.
If it was only within Shadowmoon Manor, being humiliated by this bastard, she could endure anything.
For the sake of one hundred million humiliation value, for her ultimate freedom and sainthood, she could endure anything.
But if she returned home and stood in front of her parents…
She did not dare think about it.
She absolutely did not dare imagine that scene.
“Why are you so afraid?” Chu Tian finally stopped teasing her.
His voice was low and steady, even carrying a trace of gentleness he himself had not noticed.
Seeing Su Nian’s frightened, teary-eyed appearance, he subconsciously felt a pang of heartache.
‘What a strange feeling.’
He clearly knew the woman before him was a powerful saint-level magic tutor, yet he could not help wanting to protect her behind him.
He reached out, and his warm fingertips gently wiped away the teardrop sliding from the corner of her eye.
His movements were impossibly gentle.
“Isn’t going home to visit your parents a good thing? I told you, this is a reward…”
The man’s voice echoed beside her ear.
“Will you be going as my master to meet my parents?” Su Nian spoke with a heavy sob, pressing her forehead against the man’s solid shoulder.
Her hands formed small fists and weakly pounded against his chest.
This was less resistance and more a fearful act of coquettishness born from terror.
Hearing the matter Su Nian worried about and minded the most, Chu Tian gave a low chuckle.
He leaned down, bringing his lips close to her cool earlobe.
“Of course not in that capacity…”
He explained.
“Things like ‘master’ are just private little fun between the two of us. How could we let others know?”
“Then what identity will you use to go back with me?”
“Just as a suitor.”
“Besides… isn’t everyone outside saying that the third prince is also enamored with you? And that you rejected him!”
“Having one more suitor like me wouldn’t be a problem, right?”
As Chu Tian spoke, he took the opportunity to plant a light kiss on the young girl’s delicate, petal-like cheek.
“Hmph…”
“You still need to pursue me? You’ve already eaten me clean…”
At this point, the shame and anger in Su Nian’s words made her cheeks flush crimson in an instant.
Her voice grew smaller and smaller until it finally stopped.
Hearing that the horned demon lord would not embarrass her in front of her family, the heart that had been hanging in suspense finally settled by half.
As for the other half…
She was going home with the horned demon master to meet her parents.
For some reason, it felt… strange and a little nervous.