Afterlife Department

"What more do you want?!" Zhou Cheng asked. He finally snapped. His eyes are glaringly sharp behind the lenses of his eyeglasses that flashed after the light hit their surface. 

"We only want the truth." Huo Zichu calmly answered. 

"'truth'?" Zhou Cheng sneered. 

Although Peng Qian is angry, but he is weak in terms of exchanging words. Meanwhile, Rourou and Lian Xiang didn't even dare breathe loudly because they fear it might distract Zhou Cheng and destroy his momentum gained. They have already treated Zhou Cheng as their leader, since he is one of the pillars of their group. 

"We want to know what exactly happened inside this room." Huo Zichu said.. "Including what happened when Philip disappeared." She added. 

"We have already told you everything that we know!" Zhou Cheng said, his voice filled with frustration. 

"It is insufficient." Huo Zichu said. 

"Just because you say so?" Zhou Cheng sneered. "We've already told you everything that we know. We even went with you here despite risking our lives. Because we want to repay Huo Ling!" he said. "But what did we get? Philip disappeared. Han Meng was possessed, and we don't know if she's still alive out there. Now, we are all being suspected… no – " his eyes narrowed. " – you've been suspecting us from the start!" he yelled. "Why don't you tell it to us straight? That you're thinking we murdered Huo Ling, and even pushed Han Meng and Philip to their deaths!" he gnashed his teeth in anger. 

Peng Qian's eyes widened, and Rourou and Lian Xiang gasped. Yang Jie sucked in a cold breath while Zhang Jun's face became cold. 

Huo Huainan didn't speak, but Huo Zichu's expression didn't even change after Zhou Cheng's outburst. She is a lawyer, and she has faced many kinds of people. A young man's outburst is nothing to her. "You're right." She nodded. "I think that you're the ones who killed my son." She told them without even batting an eye. 

Yang Jie turned to her, his eyes wide in shock as he looked at her. What?! What kind of plot twist is this?! He thought as he gaped at her. "Ow – " he softly cried when he felt his senior hit the back of his head. "What?" he asked as he turned to him. 

"Don't do anything funny. Don't interrupt them." Zhang Jun told him as he stood on the side with his arms crossed on his chest. 

Yang Jie followed him. "Senior, you know something?" he asked. 

"Everything isn't a coincidence." Zhang Jun just said. 

Yang Jie's eyes widened. "This is a premeditated murder?!" he exclaimed. 

"Only Huo Ling's." Zhang Jun answered before his eyes narrowed as he looked at Huo Huainan and Huo Zichu. 

"What?!" Yang Jie also turned. "By what you said, 'only Huo Ling's…" he turned back to his senior. "There's more?" he asked. 

"Some things are just an accident." Zhang Jun answered. Yang Jie tried to ask again, but he didn't answer him anymore. 

"'killed'…" Rourou and Lian Xiang gasped in shock. Peng Qian's eyeballs almost popped out in their sockets as he stared at Huo Zichu in disbelief. 

Meanwhile, Zhou Cheng's face paled in anger. "What do you mean, 'killed'?!" he asked. "We never harmed anybody! If you want to blame someone, then blame Han Meng!" he said. "She's the one who suggested to go in this damned place in the first place!" he added. 

Huo Zichu's gaze is cool as she crossed her arms. She was about to speak when Huo Huainan held her shoulder. She turned and looked at Huo Huainan. Huo Huainan shook his head. She pressed her lips tight before she turned back to Zhou Cheng. Then, she looked at Peng Qian, Lian Xiang and Rourou. 

Zhang Jun's eyes narrowed when he saw the change in Huo Zichu's expression. "We'll be camping tonight here." He told him. 

"Huh? Here… in this room?!" Yang Jie asked. 

Zhang Jun nodded. "En." He answered and chose a corner to rest. 

Yang Jie wanted to ask more, but he heard Huo Huainan spoke. 

"I'll give you some time to think about it." Huo Huainan told Zhou Cheng, Peng Qian, Lian Xiang and Rourou. He didn't wait for them to react before he turned his back on them and pulled his wife away. "We'll wait in this room." He added. His voice is unhurried, but it spoke for no negotiation. Then, he chose another spot for him and his wife. 

Yang Jie's jaw dropped in shock and he turned to look at his senior. "Amazing…!" he exclaimed and then sat beside his senior. "How?" he asked Zhang Jun, referring to how Zhang Jun knew Huo Huainan's decision. 

"This…" Zhang Jun said as he glanced at Huo Huainan's and Huo Zichu's direction, then looked at Zhou Cheng, Peng Qian, Lian Xiang and Rourou who also chose a spot for themselves. "… you'll know tonight." He just said. 

"Huh?" Yang Jie was puzzled before his eyes suddenly brightened. "Senior, you really do know something!" he said. 

"That's because I am awake in crucial times, while you're asleep like a pig." Zhang Jun said and looked at Yang Jie with his eyes filled with disdain. 

Yang Jie's face wrinkled, feeling wronged. But, he knew he was in the wrong. He never likes to stay up late in the night, so he chose to stick to Zhang Jun who is awake 24/7 so he could cover for him. And so, he zipped his mouth and silently waited by Zhang Jun's time, thinking of some ways to make Zhang Jun speak to spill the beans to him. 

Meanwhile, Yi Bing who was silently listening, his expression suddenly turned solemn. 

"HUH?!" Huo Ling, on the other hand, and expectedly, was shocked. "'killed'… they killed me?! How?!" he asked. 

"Shouldn't you, the victim, know that the most whether they killed you or not?" Yi Bing exasperatedly asked Huo Ling while rolling his eyes. 

Huo Ling turned to him. 

"Why don't you ask yourself?" Yi Bing 'kindly' asked. 

Huo Ling's eyes narrowed. "Who in their right mind will ask their self how they were killed unless they are not a normal person?!" he asked, mad. 

"But, you're not a normal person." Yi Bing spoke. 

Huo Ling was stunned. He was taken aback. 'not a normal person'? Am I special? Did I develop a supernatural power? He thought, subconsciously feeling anticipation. 

Only for Yi Bing to crush his expectations. "You're a ghost." He reminded him. 

Huo Ling felt his heart broke into pieces and he turned gray. "Oh…" he muttered. 

Yi Bing ignored Huo Ling's expression like he is questioning life. "You don't really remember?" he asked. 

"I don't." Huo Ling answered. 

"Then, let's just wait for the night to arrive." Yi Bing said as he sat on the cold, marble floor. 

Huo Ling absent-mindedly floated beside him. 

"There are two reasons why a soul suffers an amnesia when they woke up after they died." Yi Bing said. 

"What are they?" Huo Ling asked, his interest piqued. 

"One: they suffered a trauma, resulting to shock." Yi Bing answered. "The mind becomes momentarily blank when you're shocked. When they died, the mind is in a frozen state of shock, so the soul suffers an amnesia." He explained. "Only time will tell whether you'll remember your memories or not." He added. 

"What's the other one?" Huo Ling asked. 

"Two: will." Yi Bing answered. 

"'will'?" 

Yi Bing nodded. "It is a product of regret." He said. "When you regret, you have something you wanted to forget. So, the soul will lose some pieces of his memory because of this will." He explained. 

Huo Ling nodded in understanding. "Then, base from your words, which do you think I am?" he asked. "The former, or the latter?" he stared at Yi Bing, waiting for an answer. 

"Neither." Yi Bing answered. 

"'neither'?!" Huo Ling was surprised. 

Yi Bing looked at him. "Because your amnesia is due to an external factor." He said. "The two I mentioned are the internal factors." He told him. 

Huo Ling's eyes widened. "An external factor?!" he exclaimed. "Th-then… then, will I be cured?!" he asked, feeling anxious. 

"This…" Yi Bing muttered as he looked at Huo Ling up and down, as if pondering, or considering something. 

"Well?" Huo Ling asked. "Do you have an idea what external factor it is?" he asked. 

Yi Bing nodded. "En. I have." He answered. 

Huo Ling gaped at him. "Then, what it is?!" he asked. 

"Soul Furnace." Yi Bing answered. 

"'Soul Furnace'?" Huo Ling muttered, as if these two words are familiar. "Wait – " he said when he remembered something. His pupils constricted. "You mean, that Soul Furnace?!" he exclaimed. 

Yi Bing nodded. "Yes. That Soul Furnace." He said. 

"Wasn't it in the…" Huo Ling's voice trailed off and then he froze. "It was stolen." He looked at Yi Bing, remembered the news Yi Bing told him. "You don't mean…" he said. 

"En." Yi Bing nodded. "The Soul Furnace that was stolen is in here – the mausoleum." He told him.