Radiant Serpent East

The weekend was at hand, and what would be the best way to spend it but to go out. Lai Mingjie was hiding the blue scarf under his jacket as he happily pranced across the streets. It was already winter, and the Easterlies had been roaring loudly before the night would break into a new day. Lai Mingjie had hated the cold, but his body was very uncomfortable with the weight of his thick clothing. His shrimp body could only take so much weight.

That was why he liked the scarf. He could wear so little, and yet the warmth of his body remained the same. It wasn't cold, and he loved the way it felt. He had no idea how the scarf would distribute heat in his entire body, but it was nonsensical to dwell on that. At least right now, he wasn't wearing four layers under his thick coat.

His usual weekend would start and end in the Bloodvein Café. It wasn't nighttime yet, and so he would order an entire cake for him to devour. His body couldn't put on weight for some reason—even muscles. Lai Mingjie just simply forgot about trying to get fortified; he just wanted to be fed whenever he wanted.

Who knew that not everyone would simply let everyone else enjoy their weekend?

Lai Mingjie might have become fully human, but he was left with the sense to detect non-humans around him. Better yet, he had learned how to discern one scent from another. Then again, they had to be really close to him for him to recognize their true nature.

The director was wearing dark aviators and a white cough mask to hide himself within the crowd. However, a man suddenly passed him by. His eyes widened as he detected that the man who just passed him was a concealed immortal. He's pretty sure their talent in detecting non-humans was far more acute than his; there was no way that immortal didn't know he passed by a once-demon. Then again, Lai Mingjie could only frown after deciding to look behind him.

The man who passed him by stopped and spun on his heel. He looked at the demon king with a vicious and smug grin, with his hand extended weakly. His fingers waved as if beckoning him... for a challenge.

Lai Mingjie only glared and turned away before walking on ahead. He had his days with kicking concealed immortals' asses before. This lifetime, his body was next to a rice stalk. He couldn't resist them even if he had to die. The man only shrugged his shoulders and caught up with the director. He then wrapped his arm around Lai Mingjie's shoulders.

"Little Emodao, where do you think you're going?"

His breathing hitched as a strong surge of rage and hatred surged all over his body. His light eyes darted towards the dashing man next to him, and his fists ached to pull a punch. The dashing man next to him hid his ponytail behind his coat, but his fringe was neatly combed to the sides. His smug grin was attracting gazes from women, but only a few of them turned their heads as the two men passed.

"Little Emodao, I haven't seen you in a very long time. To think that you took refuge here in Crimson City?" The man even dared moved his head closer to Lai Mingjie's as if they were good friends. "Didn't it occur to you that I missed you a lot?"

"What the hell are you doing here... Radiant Serpent East?" Lai Mingjie hissed his words with the pinnacle of hate. This man... this man was another general of the Imperial Army of Heaven. His status was lower than Xu Rouguang, but he could still call the shots and mobilize forces as he pleased. He was also one of the generals who kept on hunting Emodao, but they would ultimately fail every time. Radiant Serpent East was a commander... and one that would 'run today, fight tomorrow' most of the time he might die.

"You're still calling me that? You're making me blush." The man laughed, but he wasn't flattered at all. The only reason why he's treating Emodao like this was that he was a fight-less creature. Even if Lai Mingjie struggled, what could he do against an immortal? Normally, he could scare them off by wounding them with a gun. In a populous place under the sun like this, would Lai Mingjie pull out a gun? "Everyone else is just calling me Brother Blue. Oh, wouldn't you like to do the same?"

His grip on Lai Mingjie's shoulder tightened. His eyes glared at the demon king like a murderer who found his next victim, licking his lips and hands clenching. "I heard you've been killing my brothers one way or another in this lifetime. I really wish I could get the same treatment... instead of you cowering next to me like that."

Lai Mingjie ground his teeth so bad that blood started oozing from his molar. His mouth tightened at the taste of blood, but he only looked ahead of them. "Your brothers are all weaklings and glorified eunuchs. If they really wanted to fight me, wait for me to get a capable body. Beating up this slightly-better vegetable will only make you look like fools."

"Hahaha! You're still trying to bark even though you can't bite. I heard the people of this era torment others in creative ways. Where do you think should we start?"

Before Lai Mingjie could move again, Brother Blue grabbed one of his wrists and ceased him from taking any action. Brother Blue glared at the demon with crazed determination to destroy him. "Be careful, little guy. Your wrist could only be so delicate." He squeezed Lai Mingjie's wrist to the point of almost shattering it.

The demon only gritted his teeth as he battled the pain. His pain tolerance at any part of his body, aside from his tongue, had always been so weak. At the face of this pain—without screaming, his eyes would only water. The man had led him to an isolated alley before throwing him against the wall. Lai Mingjie groaned and fell on his back, knocking his head against the ground. He opened his eyes and saw Brother Blue chuckling maniacally towards him.

He then raised his hand and looked at his palm. "You know, Emodao, the East Sea where I came from is rather... freezing. Living in this part of the country, you must be accustomed to the cold, right?" Brother Blue squatted down while juggling the ball of cold air condensing on his palm. "I wonder how hotheaded you are now..."

Brother Blue cared too little about the people passing just outside the alley. A cold wind suddenly surged towards his palm, and the ball of air had grown white. Even his hand froze, but he was able to neutralize the ice. He laughed out before smashing down to hit Emodao right at the face.

Lai Mingjie's eyes only widened as he saw the movement. He couldn't dodge with the pain paralyzing his body. He only shut his eyes and waited for the fatal pain it would cause.