The story of Exorcism follows Song Yushu, a heaven-blessed prodigy since childhood. Under the tutelage of his mentor, Shen Yan, he grows into a man of both virtue and talent, with the common people always in his heart. As an adult, he leaves home to exorcise demons and uphold the righteous path. The story's greatest villain, the Demon Lord, is none other than his biological younger brother, Chu Suizhi, who was taken away as a child and subjected to endless torment until he turned evil.
When Song Yushu learns the truth, he is devastated. He tries with all his might to bring Chu Suizhi back to the righteous path, but Chu Suizhi was raised by the Demon Lord, Ruan Xixing, and grew up immersed in his ruthless, two-faced ways. As an adult, he too becomes a coldhearted demon who kills without batting an eye. Song Yushu does everything he can to pull Chu Suizhi back to the righteous path, but in the process, he witnesses his brother's brutality and cruelty. At last, his heart turns to ash. After killing Chu Suizhi with his own hands, he takes his own life before his brother's body. Song Yushu could vanquish the demon, but not the demon in his own heart. In short, this is a very poignant old-school novel.
Shen Yan is a university professor who transmigrates into this cultivation novel, becoming Shen Yan, the mentor of the protagonist, Song Yushu, in Exorcism. Though only a supporting character, he does his best to guide Song Yushu. All the while, he regrets how the story ends.
The cruelty inflicted on Chu Suizhi in the novel would never pass censorship today. Even Shen Yan, a professor, finds it horrifying to read. Knowing how the story goes, he wonders: if he were to exorcise the demon first, before everything else, could he prevent the bloodshed that follows?
Then he meets Chu Suizhi, who has just turned fourteen. The boy is curled up in his arms, fast asleep. Shen Yan spends the entire night thinking in the dark before finally sighing. What wrong has a child done?
Chu Suizhi was the younger son of the righteous Song couple. When he was little, the previous Demon Lord took him away, and he spent ten years enduring a life of misery in the Abyss of No Return. Only later did he learn the truth of his birth. He secretly went to find his family, only to discover that although he and his older brother were both sons of the Song couple, their lives had been worlds apart.
Why should Song Yushu be the shining light of the righteous path, while he was a demon everyone wanted dead? Why should Song Yushu receive everyone's love, while he had to scrape by in the Abyss of No Return? He was bitter and furious. So, when turmoil broke out in the Demon Realm, he escaped. Then he kidnapped Song Yushu...
But just as he was about to do something, a slender figure stepped in front of him. He looked up and nearly forgot that he had also kidnapped Song Yushu's mentor.
Chu Suizhi was thoroughly fed up with Shen Yan. The man tucked him in, cooked for him, gave him spiritual energy... He kept doing all sorts of inexplicable things. Finally, one day, Chu Suizhi couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "What exactly are you trying to do?!"
Shen Yan looked up at him, completely sincere. "I want to make up for everything you went through."
Chu Suizhi laughed in disbelief. He pointed at Song Yushu, his eyes full of scorn. "Make it up to me? He's a refined gentleman, while I'm a little demon raised by a great demon. I can believe that you, a righteous gentleman, want to make it up to me. But can you honestly say you won't show even the slightest favoritism or prejudice..." Shen Yan pressed his lips together and said nothing. Suddenly, Chu Suizhi felt like a complete fool for bringing up such a pointless topic.
But just as he turned away, Shen Yan stepped forward and took his hand, looking at him with utmost sincerity. "Trust me. I can treat you both equally."
Theme: Everyone is doing their utmost to survive
