1 Man on the Bridge

The cool Easterlies blew in pulses along the streets of the Crimson City as a herald of the time for ice and snow. People were already out and about in such an early hour while a peculiar man walked towards the empty bridge. On one hand dangled a carton case of two steaming coffees while the other held a phone. The wind surged across the asphalt walkway again, making the end of his coat flutter.

Lai Mingjie stared at the glaring sun that was about to peek from the canopy of the concrete jungle. The hopeful look normally found on a young man's face didn't appear on Lai Mingjie's as he only twitched his mouth as he spotted the sun.

"Ah, another day off the countdown." He pocketed his phone and proceeded to his 'spot' on the bridge's walkway. The bridge was still closed to vehicles before eight, and so people were allowed in it. However, most would rather ride the train into the city, making this spot rather abandoned before the day would officially start.

He sat on the edge and took one coffee to burn his tongue. It had been too long since his old soul had tasted anything that would make his blood rush. Even the pain from scalding water wasn't enough to hurt him. Despite the loss of taste, Lai Mingjie continued to drink.

Just one look at his eyes would tell people how boring of a life he led. Not that living like a king was boring to most, but the way that everything was presented to him was too boring for him. It wasn't because he was a hopeless adventurer, but because he was hungry for blood. In fact, this lifetime was the dullest he had ever lived.

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the world was ruled by the immortals. The demons and beasts constantly struggled against them, and sometimes, they would win. Lai Mingjie, or so what he was called in this lifetime, used to be a demon king who would rally his forces against hundred thousands of immortals. He would kill more than half of them and even hunt for more. His strength was enough for the heavens to tremble... until he was bested by the cruelest head-hunting general of the heavens.

Xu Rouguang—a name that had been etched deep in his mind. If this deathless general didn't hinder him that day, perhaps the world would never progress throughout the years. The fall of the Great Emodao was the start of the collapse of the demonkind. Without any more demon kings to struggle against General Xu, the demons could only pray he wouldn't find them. Those who surrendered were sent to reincarnate into weeds while those judged for their crimes turned into worms. Emodao was sentenced to a continuous reincarnation of being human... with only the lifespan of thirty years.

Before, he was a rebel or a soldier of a dying country. Even though he would die with excruciating pain, he would die fighting. The bloodlust of this demon king had remained all throughout hundreds and hundreds of reincarnations... until he stumbled into the life of Lai Mingjie. Lai Mingjie was the son of a business tycoon and the heir of the biggest conglomerate in the country. If anything, they would be owning the city if people were to be honest.

This kind of life was too easy. No suffering, no heartbreak... no hardships. It was as if he was living in heaven.

However, Lai Mingjie had a very poor physique. He could break his arm if he punched anyone, and his pain tolerance was impaired. He would perform actions he didn't know would break his body. All too much, this life was too restricting. This was the only time Emodao felt that he was indeed being punished. Then again, twenty-seven years had already passed since this life started; in three more years, he would be free. He could only hope the next life wouldn't put him in a vegetable's body.

Lost in thought, Lai Mingjie continued to drink until he finished his coffee. He put the cup down and stared at the other one reserved for the first few hours of his day. If there's anything he was thankful for in this lifetime, it was that he was born in a state where he was privileged enough to buy as much coffee and cake as he wanted. He was always starving in his past lives; such a redeeming grace if Emodao grew awfully helpless.

His reddish eyes stared at the sky that was starting to lighten. Morning was almost here, and he had to be in his office at eight. Perhaps he could still spend more minutes in this place's sweet serenity.

The wind pulsed once more, and it was stronger than usual. Lai Mingjie had to turn his face to the side to avoid the wind from destroying the hair he painstakingly brushed this morning. However, instead of the harsh wind, a piece of cloth covered his face. It had the faint smell of wildflowers after a little rain. The scent was pretty cool and evenly spread out... it was someone's perfume perhaps. Then again, this kind of smell... should belong to a man.

After a few seconds, the fabric dropped to Lai Mingjie's arms and lap. It was a scarf of deep blue color, akin to the flags of the immortal soldiers of heaven. Perhaps someone from the heavens had descended again to annoy Emodao. Pretty much someone would descend to annoy him in every lifetime, and this was the fifth time in Lai Mingjie's turn. However, Lai Mingjie was a god down here, and he repeatedly sent these troublemakers to jail.

"Hurhur, so you want to pick a fight this way?" Lai Mingjie made a sour face and a toothy grin when his eyes flung to the direction of the scarf's owner.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." The man twitched softly and made a rather apologetic face.

Freeze. Lai Mingjie's eyes widened as he clutched at the scarf tighter. His lips pursed into a thin line as he recognized that voice and that face of the man standing nearby. It's been ages since the last time he had heard and seen him, but it was always so fresh in his memories. Fury surged from his heart, but he was frozen by a tinge of fear. This man defeated him thousands of years ago; how strong could he have grown now?

The man's hair danced with the feeble wind, and his thin cardigan moved to flap along with it. His clear eyes were straightly gazing at Lai Mingjie as if there was nothing else to see. The shadow beneath him grew tall towards the other person as he walked closer. Instead of a mocking sneer, the man only smiled warmly at Lai Mingjie when he got closed enough.

"...Xu Rouguang..." Lai Mingjie murmured, but he was thrown into drowning confusion. The man, who killed him and was responsible for bringing down the demonkind, was smiling warmly towards him. What was going on?