Afterlife Department

"Baron! Marquis! What happened?!" Baron Cloud's guard asked when they arrived at the scene. 

'Marquis Jin' looked awkward, but he was glaring at the 'two' male aliens who finally finished fixing their clothes. He still looked suspiciously at them. 

"So… what happened?" Baron Cloud's guard asked. 

Baron Cloud also was clueless and so he turned to 'Marquis Jin'. "Marquis?" he called.

'Marquis Jin' finally withdrew his gaze from the 'two' male aliens and turned to Baron Cloud. "I just felt an ill wind blowing." He answered.

Baron Cloud's expression changed.. "I must have brought it with me from our planet. I hope the Marquis can forgive me for this." He said and coughed.

"Let's go." 'Marquis Jin' said and then walked away. Baron Cloud and his guard also followed. 

The 'two' male aliens, Huo Jinghua and Mary Jackson, also left in the guise of them being 'interrupted'. 

…

"Sir! Madam! Were you alright?!" Huo Jinghua's subordinates asked when they returned to their starship. 

"Prepare to depart immediately!" Huo Jinghua ordered as he pulled Mary Jackson to the conference room. 

As soon as the call connected, Harry Walter, Gerard Jackson and Lewis Jackson were stunned when they saw them. "…" we seem to be in a different group call?

"Oh." Huo Jinghua immediately removed their disguises. "We disguised as Ganga Tribesmen to be safe. They are dim-witted, deaf, and uhm… ehem. Sex-driven, so…" he looked at Mary Jackson who giggled. "I changed her gender, just in case." He added. 

The three men were speechless. 

"Indeed, Baron Cloud and Marquis Jin are plotting." Huo Jinghua said. 

The three men's expression immediately changed. "Speak." Harry Walter said. 

"Baron Cloud's people are experiencing a pandemic. Baron Cloud approached Marquis Jin to seek help." Huo Jinghua told them. 

"The empire and the Cloud Planet are friends. Why didn't Baron Cloud ask help from the emperor?" Lewis Johnson asked. 

"Because he was keeping a secret." Huo Jinghua answered. "He embezzled money. And so, he is now forced into a corner." He explained. It was what he heard when they were running away earlier. 

"Why Marquis Jin?" Gerard Jackson asked.

"Baron Cloud said that Marquis Jin approached him before to pledge allegiance with him. However, Baron Cloud's situation was better at that time. It was only now that he defected to Marquis Jin's side." Huo Jinghua explained. 

Silence fell. "Did you find something more?" Harry Walter asked. 

Huo Jinghua smiled. "Yes." He answered. "Rayver Quinn was there." he told him. Before they could react, he added. "He dressed up as Marquis Jin." 

Another silence. "Why…" Gerard Jackson's head is full of cobwebs. 

"He is using Marquis Jin's identity… could it be he killed the real one and is using the marquis' identity to pull more people on his side for his rebellion?" Lewis Johnson asked. 

"It could also be Marquis Jin is his subordinate, and he doesn't want to divulge important secrets to the marquis, so he personally made a visit." Huo Jinghua said. 

They all nodded. With Rayver Quinn's personality, he would be very careful. 

"I didn't notice him leaving the empire…" Harry Walter frowned. 

They all fell silent. Rayver Quinn is really a frightening man. "With his strength, why did he remain as a general? He could also be a marshal like Harry." Huo Jinghua said. 

Harry Walter nodded. Although they are wary of Rayver Quinn, but that doesn't mean they do not respect his strength. 

"Strong, very strong. His family is also powerful." Gerard Jackson spoke with envy. 

"In fact, his family could have fought for the emperor's seat for him." Lewis Johnson rationally said. "In fact, he could take the emperor's seat by his own strength." He added. 

They all nodded in agreement. "But they didn't. He didn't." Huo Jinghua said. 

Mary Jackson was silently listening until she spoke. "I remember when we were young." She said. "His father is strict, and his mother died. His father was punishing him. His small body couldn't bear it and he fell ill." She told them. 

"Did he become chronically ill because of that?" Gerard Jackson asked. "But, he doesn't look like it. He looks very healthy." He said. 

Mary Jackson smiled. "It was his excuse." She answered. "The next day, we've heard from his nursing maid that he was punished again. He actually went out, and came back with brimming vitality. He exposed himself, and he looked like he regretted it very much." She explained. 

"He's actually very mischievous when he was young?" Lewis Johnson was surprised. 

Mary Jackson shrugged. Rayver Quinn is a member of the imperial family, so he also studied in the palace when he was young. "However, when he grew up, he started to become stern and strict. I don't the cause." She finished. The current Rayver Quinn is stern and strict. 

"Do we need to investigate what happened to him that changed his personality and bargain with him so we can stop his rebellion?" Lewis Johnson asked. '

"That's possible." Harry Walter said. 

"Then, that's it. We should also investigate Marquis Jin, and whether he is truly dead, or still alive." Huo Jinghua said. 

"En." They answered and ended the call. 

Huo Jinghua sighed as he continued to remove his disguise. 

"Tired?" Mary Jackson asked. Seeing him shake his head, she chuckled. "I'll prepare some food for you." She told him and left. As soon as the door closed, her smile faded and she walked towards the window. 

She gazed at the dark space, before a memory flashed in her mind. 

It was winter, and from the maglev car, she saw a child huddled in the corner of a street and is freezing from cold. She was about to come out of the car when she saw another child passed by and found the freezing child. 

"Oh, no! You're almost buried by the snow!" the passing child stopped and removed all the snow covering the freezing child before he took out his jackets and gloves and wore it on the child before he pulled the freezing child away with him. 

She was curious what would happen next and she ran out of the car, then secretly followed them. It was only when she's very cold that she saw the place they went to: the Huo Manor.