Afterlife Department

"Philip entered the Soul Society when he was twenty-eight. That criminal was fifty-five then." Yi Bing said. "After fifty years, that criminal is a hundred and five years old, but is still alive. He's being tormented, not only by his old age, but also of illnesses he had accumulated throughout his life." He lowered his gaze.

Huo Ling clenched his fists. "That serves him right!" he said.

Yi Bing nodded. "That is Philip's motivation, or what the Soul Society calls 'wish'." He said. "In exchange of fulfilling his wish, Philip became the Soul Society's member. Philip thought that his task, monitoring a vessel, is easy, so he didn't have any scruple when he joined.." He explained.

Huo Ling thought about it. "That's right." He nodded. "I'm not a fussy person. My parents are also accommodating to the guests." He said. "This 'childhood friend' of mine has 'inherited' his 'deceased father's' properties and studied in the same university as I am, and worked with the same profession as I am." He shrugged.

But, as Yi Bing listened to Huo Ling, he suddenly thought of something. "Childhood friend…" he muttered, a pensive look in his eyes. "Don't childhood friends fall in love in cliché dramas?" he asked.

Hearing his question, Huo Ling shuddered. "No!" he said. "As you said, they are just dramas, and even cliché! And… I don't like men!" he told Yi Bing.

Yi Bing regretted it like a dog he asked Huo Ling that question. His face cracked, and darkened. Suddenly, the temperature in the mausoleum dropped!

"W-w-what happened?! What just happened?!" Peng Qian immediately asked as he hugged himself and rubbed his arms. "W-why… why did it suddenly become cold? It… it couldn't be… right?" he asked, his tone nervous when he suddenly thought of a possibility.

Nobody answered, since they themselves also don't know what happened. Zhou Cheng slipped his arms inside his jacket to warm himself. Rourou and Lian Xiang hugged each other, silently crying. Yang Jie slightly shuddered. He can still handle the temperature.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jun glanced at Huo Huainan and Huo Zichu and saw that the two are frowning with their brows knitted. Even they, the tomb experts, can't think of an explanation by the sudden change in temperature. He opened his mouth to speak. "Do you think – " he said, but was cut off when the temperature suddenly returned to the temperature earlier. "Huh?" he muttered, looking perplexed by the sudden change.

This could be attributed to Huo Ling (obviously). When he noticed that the temperature suddenly dropped, he was startled. "Eh? What happened?! Why did it suddenly become cold?!" he asked as he looked around and saw that the others were also startled by the sudden drop of the temperature. Suddenly, he thought of something. "Yi Bing." He called. "Don't you think… it was a ghost?" he asked.

Yi Bing, whose face is as dark as the bottom of the pot after he heard Huo Ling said that he doesn't like men, raised his head and his icy-blue pupils are glowing because of repressed anger. "Oh?" he spoke, his voice so deep it sounds like the voice of the devil in the abyss.

But, the reason why this devil... ehem, grim reaper is mad and is about to go insane after his heart broke is as oblivious as hell… oops, hell is no more in the Stable World.

Jokes aside, Huo Ling spoke. His attention is still on the large group, observing them as they felt cold. "The temperature suddenly dropped… only the mausoleum can do it, since it is very strange. The strange events are caused by this mausoleum!" he explained.

"Heh." Yi Bing sneered. He was about to speak, revealing that it was him, when he suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve.

He looked down and saw Yi Bing's hand pinched his sleeve and tugged him. Then, he raised his head, only to be met by Huo Ling's gaze when the other finally turned to him.

"Yi Bing." Huo Ling called. "Can you do something about the temperature?" he asked, his eyes are filled with concern. "I don't want my parents to freeze to death. The night in the desert is already cold enough." He told him.

Yi Bing felt something scratched his heart and his heart skipped a beat. Huo Ling tugged his sleeve… so cute. Huo Ling's eyes are so soft when he looked concerned, and his voice sounds sweet… cute. "… okay." He answered.

Huo Ling's eyes brightened and he smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth. "Thank you! You're really powerful!" he praised him.

"… mn." Yi Bing hummed a response and suppressed his power that almost exploded on the spot earlier. Dang it. So be it. He thought. Who told him to fall in love with such a cute person?

He helplessly lowered his head, feeling defeated by those sparkling bright eyes.

"Wow… it felt warm!" Huo Ling exclaimed. "Oh." He muttered when he remembered something. "But – " he said as he turned to Yi Bing. "I don't know if I really don't like men." He said.

"Huh?" Yi Bing raised his head.

"Because – " Huo Ling sighed. " – I have never fallen in love. I haven't had any romantic experience. I didn't even have a puppy love!" he said, his eyes wide. "Look how miserable I am! As you have seen earlier after you told me of Philip's life and how he fell in love with his lover, I didn't say anything. I don't discriminate homosexuality, since it's also love that they feel. Sometimes, their feelings are even purer than the heterosexual pairs. It's really such a pity that the masses are prejudiced of them, because they don't conform to the norms." He explained. "So, because heterosexuality is a set 'tradition', it is a preconceived notion that one has to fall in love with the opposite gender. That's why, when answering a question such that earlier, one would instinctively answer that they don't like men." He looked at Yi Bing.

Yi Bing stared at Huo Ling with wide eyes in surprise.

"But, as I've told you, I haven't had any romantic experience, so – " Huo Ling said, his expression serious. " – I don't know if I really don't like men. Understood?" he asked.

"... mn. Clearly understood." Yi Bing answered as he stared at Huo Ling, unblinking.

Joy flashed in Huo Ling's face and he widely grinned. "Thank you!" he told him.

No... it should be me thanking you. Yi Bing thought. Because if you haven't entered my life - a person like you who is kind, forgiving and sympathetic to everyone, a person with a big heart, maybe I am still continuing this 'life' that doesn't require a heart. That's why, Huo Ling, it should be me who should say, 'thank you'. Since you also proved that I made the right decision of falling for you.

"Huh?" Lian Xiang spoke, her soft voice woke everyone from their daze, including Yi Bing who got lost in his thoughts because of Huo Ling's words. "It's warm…" she said.

"You're right…" they said as they looked at each other. "Was it just my imagination…?" they asked.

Zhou Cheng fell in contemplation while Peng Qian's mind became blank. Rourou and Lian Xiang were still puzzled, and slightly felt happy because they wouldn't freeze tonight. Yang Jie isn't fooled, however, as well as Zhang Jun. They looked at each other, their gazes talking, and together, they looked at Huo Huainan and Huo Zichu whose frown became deeper.

As expected, there's something fishy going on in this mausoleum. They thought as they observed Huo Huainan's and Huo Zichu's expression.

"What do you think has just happened?" Huo Zichu asked Huo Huainan in a low voice. But, Zhang Jun and Yang Jie are qualified policemen, so they can do lip reading.

"I don't know." Huo Huainan honestly answered. Even he is also bewildered by the sudden strange occurrence.

"Do you think it's an illusion?" Huo Zichu asked as she tried to guess. "That we're currently under an illusion?" she added as she looked at the others enjoying the feeling the sudden warmth brought.

Huo Huainan's brows knitted as he deeply pondered. "This is not impossible." He answered as he rubbed his fingertips.

Huo Zichu's face had a flash of concern. "Can we still able to escape this illusion?" she asked. "It felt so real!" she said as she touched her arm. "I feel very comfortable." She said.

Huo Huainan looked at her for a long time, and a thought suddenly flashed in his mind.

Huo Ling was closely watching them, and he saw how his father's expression suddenly changed. He knew that his father already had realized it. "This isn't illusion at all… this is real." He muttered and watched as Huo Huainan told Huo Zichu of his epiphany. "Yi Bing, thank you for helping them!" he told Yi Bing as he turned to him with a smile on his face.

Yi Bing, the culprit who is pretending to be the savior. "Mn." He shamelessly nodded without feeling any guilt after he acted as an air conditioner because of his mood swings.