Afterlife Department

"'Neutral World'?" Huo Ling muttered, his brows are raised as he looked at Yi Bing. His gaze is inquisitive. 

"Yes." Yi Bing nodded. "Neutral – neither side outweighs the other side. This is the real Stable World, maintaining a perfect balance. It is neutral, thus it is a Stable World." He explained. 

"Then what about the Balanced Worlds?" Huo Ling asked. "They can't be a perfect balanced world?"

Yi Bing turned to him. "When it is neutral, it is zero." He said.. "Exactly zero. A Balanced World can also balance the other aspects of their world. However, they can't be a Perfect Balanced World – a Stable World, because they can't maintain the balance." He explained. "They are not neutral. They are not zero. Just that, close to zero." He told him. 

Huo Ling felt a chill in his spine and his heart throbbed to the point it was almost shaken. Was it fear he just felt? Apprehension? Or… he thought as he lowered his head to hide the look of confusion and contemplation in his eyes. … excitement? His eyes widened and his pupils shrank when this thought crossed his mind. 'excitement'? Why would he feel excitement? What is there to be excited about? 

He shook his head and raised his head to look at Yi Bing. "So, to maintain being neutral, you send our souls." He said. 

Yi Bing heard his words, a sudden thought flashed in his mind. "Yes. In some way, you can also be called a 'sacrifice soul'." He told him and grinned. 

As expected, Huo Ling's face darkened because of Yi Bing's mockery. Does he have to rub it on my face? He thought as he gnashed his teeth in anger. However, because he has something to ask Yi Bing, he reigned his temper. 

How can Yi Bing's eyes miss that cunning flash in Huo Ling's eyes? Is this young man finally curious? So, Huo Ling became a ball of curiosity in this world. "You want to ask something?" he asked, beating him on his game. 

Huo Ling's eyes widened in shock and all his feathers almost ruffled in anger. "How did you know?!" he asked and stepped back, away from Yi Bing. "Can you read a soul's mind?!" he asked as he warily looked at Yi Bing. 

"How can I?" Yi Bing asked back. "If I could, I would've already conquered the Stable World." He told him and chuckled. 

Huo Ling narrowed his eyes, his gaze full of suspicion as he looked at Yi Bing. In which Yi Bing is enjoying Huo Ling's gaze on him – albeit full of suspicion, but he doesn't take it seriously. Instead, he felt it is more amusing. This guy is really smart. It's as if he has a dog's nose that could smell bad people. Even though he was born full of naivety in this world, but his instincts he had sharpened over the worlds they've been through is actually just hiding under that mask of naivety of his. 

Although Huo Ling knows he is suspicious and dangerous, but Huo Ling didn't get too far away from Yi Bing. Although he is full of curiosity, but he trusts his instincts more, thus he approached Yi Bing again. He feels… this person… man… ehem, grim reaper, wouldn't hurt nor harm him. 

Yi Bing, after having his fill for teasing Huo Ling today, finally pulled back the topic at hand. "Even though I am a grim reaper, but we also value the privacy of the souls. Thus, we don't pry into their mind, even if they might bear malicious thoughts." He explained. 

"… you 'don't. But, you 'can', right?" Huo Ling said. 

"Sharp." Yi Bing complimented. 

Huo Ling just grimaced as he felt goosebumps on his skin after Yi Bing complimented him. "Don't disgust me." He told him. 

Yi Bing finally couldn't hold back his laughter. He held his stomach and his shoulder violently shook because of laughing. "Hahahahaha!" he laughed. 

Huo Ling glared at him. Feeling unsatisfied with just glaring, he boldly tried kicking Yi Bing's shin. Surprisingly, his foot hit Yi Bing. However, he didn't think it deeply as he felt irritated. "Speak!" he told him. 

"Ahahaha – " Yi Bing laughed, his perfect set of pearly white teeth flashed, making the passersby almost blinded. Adding his very handsome face and good body figure, some people almost crashed to the lamp post or their car almost hit the side of the road after seeing Yi Bing's smile. 

It's such a pity that – 

"Hey. Why he's very handsome!" someone exclaimed. "But, why is he talking to the air?" she asked her friend. 

"Dunno…" her friend answered. "Anyway, we'll be late if we'd miss the bus - !" she told her and pulled her away to dash towards the bus stop. 

"Does he have a mental problem?" someone asked as they watched Yi Bing continue speaking to the air. 

"*sigh he looks like a wealthy gentleman. Such a pity, he is crazy." Someone added. "When god opens a door, he closes the window." He said. 

"Huh? What you said… I think there's something wrong – " his friend said. 

"Shouldn't it be, 'when god closes a door, he opens a window'?" someone passed by and happened to hear their conversation. 

"Ah! That's right - !" 

All these, Yi Bing doesn't care. Much less Huo Ling who is a ghost. He knows Yi Bing is being humiliated talking to him, but he felt like he wanted to dig more pit for Yi Bing instead. He has no ounce of pity to Yi Bing. If he has a drop of pity, he would rather water it to the cactus they passed by earlier. 

He doesn't know why, but he felt irritated towards Yi Bing. And, he wanted to dig more pit for him. This feeling is like deeply engraved in his soul… 

"Yes, we can pry into the soul's thoughts." Yi Bing answered. His voice pulled Huo Ling back from his thoughts. "But, we would never do it as long as we could." He said. 

"Why?" Huo Ling asked. 

"Because the soul's thoughts are what makes up his soul." Yi Bing answered. "His thoughts create his personality. They prompt his actions. They develop his behaviors that would later become his habits. They affect his decisions. And – " he said as he stared at Huo Ling's face. " – that's what makes him as an individual." He told him. "Each of your thoughts is like a grain of rice. Every grain of rice eaten by a person become a part of the person until he grows old, even when he becomes a corpse." He told him. 

Huo Ling stared back at Yi Bing, precisely at those unnerving but beautiful ice-blue pupils that could make one feel cold just by glancing. However, Huo Ling felt calm instead. "What would happen to the soul if you pry into his thoughts?" he asked. 

"He might die." Yi Bing answered. 

Huo Ling didn't feel surprised. Whether he had already expected this answer when he asked, or that he felt this should be the answer instead… "Have you pried into a soul's thoughts before?" he asked. 

"Yes." Yi Bing answered as he gazed afar, even though the one in his thoughts is just right beside him floating. "He was consumed by his anger and resentment after he found out the reason behind his death." He said. "I have no other choice but to forcefully halt his thoughts. It almost caused him to die." He explained. 

Huo Ling just floated there, silently listening. He doesn't know why but he felt a sense of familiarity to Yi Bing's story. But, he also doesn't. 

Yi Bing smiled. "A grim reaper's main responsibility is to make the soul live, then reincarnate." He said. "But, accidents do happen… and a grim reaper should bear the responsibility of breaking the responsibility he was entrusted with." He spoke in a soft voice. 

Huo Ling didn't speak. 

"That's why, I loathe the Soul Society." Yi Bing said. 

"Huh?" Huo Ling thought he has misheard it. 

"Everything has a cause. If you were given a power, naturally, it has a reason behind it. And that is, you can protect the others, other than yourself." Yi Bing said. "However, what if this power fell in the hands of a wrong person? Wouldn't that be wronging those people that is to be protected? What if, instead of protecting them, he instead harmed them?" he asked as he raised his hand, then clenched his fist. "Not only do I loathe the Soul Society who is abusing their power, but I also loathe the Heaven." He said as he tightly clenched his fist. "If they are just giving this power to the wrong person who will cause a disaster later, it's better not to give this power to anyone at all. They should just keep it to themselves. They should just mind their own business. However – " he said and mockingly smiled. " – gods are greater than humans. If humans can feel conceited, why can't the gods? Their ego is bigger than of the humans'. Naturally, they wanted to 'share' this power to show-off, and also to make someone worship them." He explained. "Huo Ling – " he called as he turned to look at Huo Ling. " – now, you see the ugliness of the thoughts of these beings. Do you dare trust anyone again?"