Afterlife Department

After sending away the tough-looking but actually soft-hearted man Peng Li, Gu Xingfeng weakly leaned his back on his chair and pinched the space between his brows. He looked at the document newly-faxed and read it. The cruise ship is still being fished from the sea since it has sunk too deep. The main cause is engine failure since the crew of the cruise ship had called for help, detailing the cruise ship's condition. It's just that the rescue arrived too late. Further investigation for the engine failure and the cruise ship's condition will be known after the ship has been fished.

Mr. Renata is a well-known mechanical engineer. He is a highly-competent individual. He had won many awards. This is the first time he had failed, and it resulted of his and many people's death. Most people don't believe that the shipwreck happened because the engine failed. Especially Mr. Renata's family.. They don't believe it. Mr. Renata loves his job, and he is meticulous in his job. They believe there are other factors that caused the engine to fail. Some netizens speculated of conspiracy theories. After all, the Ascend Cruise Ship is the most famous ship and many envied it. They wanted to board the cruise ship, too. More especially the cruise ship's passengers who, one-third of them, are influential people.

The conspiracy theories in the internet boiled hotter. However, no matter how many conspiracy theories are there, the truth is still yet to be known after the Ascend Cruise Ship had been retrieved from the sea.

On the other side of the world, Huo Ling and Gu Xingfeng got off a small port. Huo Ling thought that the ghost ship only lets the ghosts board the ship, and not let them leave. That was what he had seen in most movies and had read from the novels. However, it was not the same for the ghost ship.

Huo Ling nervously asked for the captain of the ship to drop him and Yi Bing. He anxiously waited for the captain's answer. Not long after, the ghost ship really had docked on the port Huo Ling told him. At the last minute, Huo Ling thought that the crew of the ghost ship would pull them back. Or that, the ship itself would prevent them from leaving by erecting a barrier around its body.

Huo Ling teetered between the last step of the ladder and the wooden dock. He closed his eyes tight, preparing for his soul to be torn to pieces when Yi Bing, from behind him, raised his hand and pushed his back.

"Wah!" Huo Ling stumbled and rolled down the wooden dock. He rolled for four times like a ball before his soul stopped and suspended mid-air. His eyes turned into circles and he shook his head when he felt dizzy. Then, he opened his eyes before he glared at Yi Bing. "What was that?!" he snarled.

"You're too slow." Yi Bing answered and stepped on the dock. A second later, the ghost ship behind him started moving away.

"Huh?" the people on the port turned when they suddenly heard an engine roared. However, they saw the ships are still. "Is there a ship about to sail?" they asked each other.

No one answered and they just shrugged it off. The seagulls are too noisy so they must have misheard it. Meanwhile, Huo Ling and Yi Bing watched the ghost ship left. The sun shone and made the already transparent ghost ship become more transparent until the ghost ship finally disappeared from their sight.

Yi Bing turned to Huo Ling. "Do you feel faint?" he asked.

"From rolling earlier?" Huo Ling sharply asked as he stared at Yi Bing.

"No." Yi Bing ignored his sarcasm. "The sun doesn't make you feel weak?" he asked and pointed the bright sun.

"… no." Huo Ling honestly answered. He truly neglected this fact. Usually, the ghosts – since they are from 'evil' energy, as the West says, they should be weakened by the sun or, worse, burn or die because of it.

Yi Bing stared at Huo Ling and saw Huo Ling isn't lying. The yin energy is being suppressed by the yang energy in one's body. However, since Huo Ling is a soul now, the yin energy is stronger. This yin energy is one of the reasons why there's a Foul. Once the yin energy in one's soul becomes contaminated, it becomes Foul. The sun has a yang energy, and the yin energy – as well as the Foul, is being suppressed during daytime, thus it was safe for the souls.

However, Huo Ling looked normal. Could it be because of his soul attribute? Yi Bing thought. He remembered Huo Ling's soul attribute is fire, which the sun compliments. Also, Huo Ling's soul is strong. If not, Yi Bing wouldn't have tried to recruit him to be a grim reaper.

"If you feel fine, then let's go." he told him.

Huo Ling made a pause before he turned to Yi Bing. "… you still plan on following me?" he asked.

"Yes." Yi Bing answered without batting an eyelid.

Shameless. Huo Ling's lip twitched. "Why?" he asked.

"Got nothing to do." Yi Bing answered as he bravely met his gaze.

Truly shameless! Huo Ling's brow is twitching in annoyance. "You don't need to follow me." he told him as he drifted in the air.

How can Yi Bing leave Huo Ling? Thus, he still followed him. "I already told you that there are yao who eats other yao – even their own kin." He said. "However, the most common 'snack' for the yao are…" he meaningfully looked at Huo Ling.

Huo Ling inexplicably felt a chill on his spine. "That meant you are a danger to me, too!" he finally shed all the pretenses as he moved away from Yi Bing.

Yi Bing's brows raised. "Our kind of yao has affinity to the souls." He said. "Instead, we protect them." he told him.

Huo Ling suspiciously looked at Yi Bing. "Really?" he said, his voice is still filled with doubts.

Yi Bing opened his arms. "The 'person' who you can trust the most is me." he said. "Didn't I save you?" he asked, referring to him taking Huo Ling to the mermaid's island. "You've already seen it. Not only the land, but also the sea has yao. And, from what I know, more sea yao are more dangerous than the yao on the land. It's because under the water is darkness, thus their heart bred evil." He explained.

Huo Ling's soul paled for a second. "No way…" he muttered as he stared at the sea in disbelief.

"If I had left your soul drifting with the sea breeze, who knew when you'll be jumped by a sea yao and enter their stomach?" Yi Bing said as he wore his now dry coat.

Huo Ling pursed his lips. He suddenly thought of something and he stared at Yi Bing who was buttoning his coat. "Could it be… after you were sacrificed, you will become a soul like me?" he asked.

"… huh?" Yi Bing asked with a puzzled look.

The more Huo Ling thought about it, the more he believed his conjecture is correct. "The thing sacrificed of your kin to a god is only your flesh, right? Your soul will still remain on the land. That's why your kin (yao) has affinity for the souls?" he asked.

Yi Bing stared at Huo Ling for a long time. He knew there is a misunderstanding. How large is the brain hole he has in this life? He thought as he looked at Huo Ling. He doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Yes. You guessed it right." He said. Let's accompany this guy's brain hole. He thought as his lips curved. "Actually, our kin are special." He said as he fixed his cuff. "Since our soul still remain after our flesh was sacrificed, we can be 'reborn'." He looked at Huo Ling. "But, not that kind of reborn. Since our soul is still present, we can enter an artificial body. The flesh doesn't matter. Our flesh can only be sacrificed once in our life, since we will only have one body in our life." He explained. "You can say, our kin's 'reborn' can be called possession." He finished.

Huo Ling's eyes widened as he stared at Yi Bing in awe. This man is actually pitiful. He thought. He can't help but look at Yi Bing in sympathy. "Erm… although you already know my name, but I still need to introduce myself to you." He said and sighed. "I am Huo Ling. Since we're friends now, just call me 'Huo Ling'." He told him. His father also calls him 'Huo Ling' in private since it was the name his mother had given him. In front of other people, he calls him 'Howee'. However, there's one more person who calls him 'Huo Ling'.

He is that man.

"Yi Bing."

"Huh?" Huo Ling blinked and he turned to the man when he heard him spoke.

"My name is Yi Bing." The man's gaze bore on Huo Ling's face. He remembered the first time the guy had called his name, until that last time – on Huo Ling's 24th birthday in his previous life. "Call me 'Yi Bing'."