Otherworldly Evil Monarch

Jun Xie finally woke up from his long sleep.

His right hand slapped the ground and tried to jump up even before his eyes were completely open. The instincts of an excellent assassin told him to leave the place this moment itself.

The first thought that came to his mind after waking up was that this was a dangerous place – life and death were a hair's breadth away in a place like this.

He began to rise with the support of his arm. Suddenly, he realized that his arm was too weak to support his body's weight. Bang! He fell back.

He seemed to be extremely shocked. A million thoughts started to race through his mind. Where was he? What was going on? How did he end up being here?

He realized that he lay next to a soft bed. He observed his surroundings, and found that he was in a magnificently decorated room. However, the room was empty except for a set of square tables and a bed. The bed that he lay next to was so huge that it could easily accommodate seven to eight people.

What happened? How did I get here? Wasn't I supposed to be in the middle of an intense gunfight? Or is this a part of my afterlife? A surge of thoughts filled Jun Xie's mind as he tried to recall the last memories of his past life.

*** ***

Jun Xie was a killer by profession; he was an outstanding gold-ranking assassin. He had made his debut five years ago. He could penetrate into any place. He was an ace killer with a hundred percent success rate. None of his predecessors had been able to accomplish such a feat.

He was ranked number one in the ranking list of assassins. Jun Xie or the 'Evil Monarch' had also risen to the first spot of the underworld's top-ranked experts. Therefore, it was natural that the bounty offered for his head was the highest. In fact, the bounty offered for his head had been the highest for the last three years.

However, no one was willing to go near him since he was the top-ranked assassin; let alone killing him.

Many first-rate assassins had daringly accepted the job of putting the 'Evil Monarch' to sleep in the past; they had obviously hoped to get the huge bounty. But, the only reward that they received was death. The 'Evil Monarch' couldn't be touched; let alone be hurt or assassinated.

A wealthy person from Country 'Y' had once offered an exorbitant reward of $100 Million for the head of the 'Evil Monarch'. Two assassins had accepted the job. They were as infamous as the 'Evil Monarch', and were among the top-ranked assassins. They were found dead three days later.

No one had dared to take up the job since then; even though the reward was increased several times.

It was a suicide mission. And, the money was of no good use for a dead person. So, the name 'Evil Monarch' had become a taboo in the underworld's bounty list.

The name 'Evil Monarch' had become a symbol of fear for the people of the underworld in every country. Many people knew about his existence, but no one knew how he looked.

Jun Xie's character was true to his name. If one word had to be used to describe him… it was 'Evil'; if two words were used, it was 'Bloody Evil'; and if three words… it was 'God-damned Evil'.

Jun Xie had no friends; he always worked alone. He was extremely fussy while accepting his missions; not only towards his clients… but also towards his targets.

He would never kill a harmless person such as a defenseless beggar; no matter how much money was paid as the reward. However, he would voluntarily step up to assassinate a harmful person. After that, he would go on to find the concerned person's enemies, and request them for his remuneration. And, no one could say 'no' to him. These hapless people had no history of hiring him. In fact, some of them had never even heard of him.

It was said that he had intended to kill a human trafficker once. But, he had been unable to find anyone to make the payment for the task. So, he had requested a little girl who was abducted by the human trafficker for a dime as his payment. A dime! He had a principle – he never did business without any rewards. And, there could be no exceptions to this rule.

Even his master and division members – who understood him well – were often left speechless owing to his character and way of conduct.

Another story was that… he had once removed toilet papers from the toilet… just before his master went to use it. So, his master had asked his aide to bring toilet paper when he realized that it was missing. The then young Jun Xie had managed to extort US$500,000 as labor fees from his own master. He had called all of his division's sisters to the toilet's entrance. He had even invited several beauties to join in. So, the master had to ultimately give in.

Jun Xie believed that his biggest weakness was that he was an extremely loving person. This statement often made people puke since his identity had been established as that of a top-ranked assassin.

However, his claim wasn't completely baseless.

He detested the poor being oppressed by the rich in his home country; especially the officials using their powers against the common people. Besides, he detested seeing his own people getting oppressed in foreign countries. This 'patriotic' behavior of his had stirred quite a number of frightful disasters.

However, the clients still craved for his services since he had exceptional skills in fist-fighting and sword-fighting. Moreover, he possessed superior marksmanship, eyesight, and immeasurable martial arts prowess. All this had contributed to his hundred percent success rate. His achievements were truly unprecedented.

He was the only person amongst the peak-level assassins who had an unblemished record. He was indeed the ultimate assassin in the realm of assassins.

Jun Xie had another weakness – he was a typical hot-headed youth.

His last mission had been another 'volunteer' job. He had heard that the secret organization of Country 'M' had quietly unearthed an invaluable treasure from the Kunlun Mountains of Country 'Z'. Then, they had smuggled this treasure to their own country before Country Z came to know about it. Being a hot-headed youth… Jun Xie had exploded into a fury.

How could a national treasure be allowed to fall into the hands of foreign country in these peaceful times?

Jun Xie had single handedly managed to massacre his way towards the treasure by employing sneak tricks, traps, and excellent combat skills. He had proudly faced nearly one hundred secret service agents of Country M. He had killed seventy secret agents before laying his hands on the treasure. The courage of the secret service agents had been shattered to pieces by then. Jun Xie was even confident that he could waltz out of the area without incurring any harm.

But then, something unexpected had happened.

A supernatural incident had occurred as soon as he had touched a palm-sized heretical-looking pagoda in the treasure – his entire body had become paralyzed. He couldn't even blink; let alone move his body. He hadn't noticed the blood that had gushed out from one of his wounds into the small, delicate, and exquisite pagoda.

Jun Xie's last memory consisted of looking at about fifty 'mini grenades' flying towards him and around twenty firearms shooting towards him. He couldn't do anything about it even though he was capable of wiping out all his enemies in one fell swoop with his strength and skills.

This feeling was truly infuriating.

I had never imagined that I would fall today… in such an absurd manner. But, I've lived a good life. I've killed at least a thousand corrupt officials, local tyrants, and bullies. My life was worth something. I have no regrets.

Others would smile as they enter the Heavens… I smile as I enter the depths of Hell.

I've killed countless people. But, they were scum; they deserved it. It was fair. So, why should I be fearful? I don't care even if this act drags me down to Hell.

Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Exterminate the dirty scum! End the life of every criminal! I don't care even if the world condemns me as a murderer.

Is there anyone else in this world who has lived as I did? What a delightfully unrestrained life I've lived.

Jun Xie let out a loud laughter as these thoughts crossed his mind, "Hahahaha…"

*** ***

"Young Master, you… are you all right?" a timid voice was heard from beside him. The voice sounded as if someone was about to cry. Then, a cold hand was placed on his forehead.

Young Master? This isn't a dream… This isn't hell either! Jun Xie woke up, and opened his eyes. Suddenly, he was hit by a wave of unfamiliar memories. He felt as if he was struck by lightning.

Was he inside someone else's body? Had he already been reincarnated? But, how could he remember his past life so clearly? Can it be that I didn't drink the soup meant to wipe out memories before reincarnating… or did I end up in someone else's body?

Did I transmigrate to some other body… or is this a rebirth?

Jun Xie lay motionless, and continued to stare coldly. However, he couldn't understand what had happened.

Suddenly, he laughed out loud, "Son of a bi*ch! Good deeds do fetch a good reward. I had never hoped for such a good thing to happen to me; I had never expected to survive like this. It seems that my great deeds in the past life had accumulated immeasurable amounts of merits. Wahahahaha…"

The ten-year-old girl beside him had been stroking her hand over his forehead. She trembled in fear as she heard him shout. She then ran to hide in a corner. She stared at the 'Young Master' with confusion and fear in her eyes. Her face was pale; like a frightened quail.

Jun Xie let out another scream; but it was a wretched one. It sounded like a girl's scream. Can it be that a 'part' of me is gone? Nooooo! Jun Xie hurriedly grabbed his crotch even though there was a little girl in front of him.

He heaved a sigh of relief as he realized that no part of him was missing. Heaven didn't mistreat me. I can still have children.

That really scared me. I thought that I've moved into a girl's body. Jun Xie wiped away the cold sweat.

Then, he began to inspect his new body.

Stagnant Meridians, atrophied muscles, joint stiffness….

What kind of a person is this? The body is too fragile. It's such a crappy one!

Jun Xie secretly whispered, Doesn't matter! I would only take three to seven years to be back at the top as long as the meridians haven't been destroyed…

Suddenly, Jun Xie realized something – he was in a completely different world!

The place didn't seem like the Earth he was familiar with. He seemed to be alone in this world. He neither knew nor understood the rules and regulations of this new world.

This feeling made even a cold-blooded assassin like Jun Xie feel frustration.

He observed his clothes and the furniture. He realized that they were completely different from his times'. The joy of being alive began to subside as this realization dawned upon him. Instead, he started to feel confused.

It seems that I've indeed been granted a second chance.

Jun Xie should've been happy with this prospect. However, he was filled with a feeling of extreme loss and pain. He had never felt like this before. His nose started to turn sour, his eyes started to turn watery, and his heart became suffocated. His mouth started to become self-deprecating as he began to cry for the first time.

It's not easy to give up on my homeland and planet. I believed in my last moments… that I could let it go. But now, I've realized that I can't let go; I really can't!

I thought that I didn't care for anything in this world. But now… I know that I care about a lot of things. In fact, I can't even count them.

Moreover, I don't belong to this foreign land. I can't have a sense of belonging to this place.

My soul will always be an outsider…

Jun Xie inclined his head to one side. A tear escaped his eye once he was sure that no one could see him.

This was the first tear of a man from two worlds.

Never belittle a man who cries; everyone has to endure sadness at some point in one's life.

*** ***

Jun Xie stared into the bronze mirror, and saw a young and childish-looking face. His face was slim with thin lips, and long eyebrows slanting upwards towards his temples. A set of fine eyes added a sharp feeling to his face. He laughed and mumbled, "The kid's got some good looks. He's rather handsome. But, he looks like a 'flower' boy… and his voice sounds like a sissy's."

His new body was drastically different from his last body. He recalled that his previous body was full of killing vigor. His looks hadn't been of the popular type back then. His eyes had been a bit small and thin, and his nose had been a point lower. Overall, he had average looks. But still, he had looked like a standard male. He had always looked down upon flower boys even though he knew that there were some real men amongst them. He had never thought that he would end up transmigrating into a flower boy's body; and that too a handsome one's!

Jun Xie noticed that there was a tattoo of a pagoda on his left wrist. He stroked it, and asked in a gentle tone, "Are you the one who brought me over, mate?" There was a trace of pride on his face. I managed to complete the mission. I kept this item safe… and I didn't allow it to fall into the hands of those foreigners… even though I transmigrated.

The pagoda-shaped pattern was none other than the exquisite pagoda that Jun Xie had traded his life for! He was sure that it was the same pagoda even though it had transformed into a small tattoo on his hand. He couldn't explain how he knew this. But, his heart told him that it was so. It was a real and mysterious feeling.

The familiar pagoda pattern brought him a sense of comfort even though he was in a foreign land. However, he was still in a state of confusion as to what had exactly happened. He couldn't ascertain what kind of a feeling it was. But, he tried to remain calm and collected. His face didn't show any tension that went through his mind. This was one of the skills he had acquired as an ace assassin.

He was still in a quiet and indifferent mood.

He was still stroking the small pagoda pattern on his hand. Suddenly, the pattern started to emit a burst of foggy yellow light. Then, it disappeared. Jun Xie started to feel lightheaded, and sensed as if something had entered his mind.

"Strange!" Jun Xie shook his head. He was amazed. The pagoda had initially appeared as a small palm-sized tower. Then, it transformedo a tattoo on his hand. And after that, it had disappeared. Could it be that it was actually a legendary treasure?

Suddenly, a voice resounded, "Young Master, the Old Master is asking for you." Jun Xie was about to investigate what he had felt earlier in his mind when his chain of thoughts was broken by a voice.

"For me? Why?" Jun Xie raised his eyebrows and asked. What qualifications does this old geezer have to command me to go meet him? Does he think that I'm his grandson or something? However, he swallowed these words since he realized that the old master may be his grandfather… or at least his present body's grandfather.

The little girl looked at him with a terrified expression on her face, "I don't know why he's calling you." The young girl lowered her head, and blinked in panic. One of her legs was positioned before the other. Her body was slightly tilted. She seemed ready to run away from the room.