Afterlife Department

Huo Ling and Yi Bing watched the student left while wiping his face after he thanked them for listening to him venting. 

"Yi Bing." Huo Ling called. 

"I know." Yi Bing spoke. "This student really deserves to die." He said. 

"No. That's not what I…" Huo Ling spoke and stopped. He turned to Yi Bing. "How do you know what I want to say?" he asked. 

"Your thoughts are reflected on your face." Yi Bing calmly answered. 

Huo Ling raised his hands and squeezed his cheeks. "That can't be… I managed to deceive those students yesterday and the student just now…" he muttered. 

Yi Bing decided to change the topic. "What were you about to say earlier? What do you want to say?" he asked. 

Huo Ling's attention was immediately shifted. "Right. I was about to tell you that you forgot to ask the student about the 'ghost's vengeance'." He reminded him. 

"… was it appropriate to ask that earlier under that atmosphere?" Yi Bing asked. 

Huo Ling stared at him. "… I didn't know you are a tactful person." he spoke. 

Yi Bing. "…" alright, you win. He thought, feeling defeated. He turned to the crowd and saw that the police are waving them off as the police cordoned the area. The other teachers have also arrived, but Iris Hudgeson can't be seen. 

Huo Ling also noticed it. "Iris still hasn't arrived even though a student has already died in his school." He said and patted Yi Bing's arm to indicate that he should push him. 

Yi Bing and Huo Ling turned and walked with the other students who were also going to the Dormitory A's area. 

"He can just send someone to deal with this incident." Yi Bing spoke in a low voice. 

"You seem to trust Iris." Huo Ling said and watched some students who were impatient ran. 

"I don't trust Iris." Yi Bing spoke. "I trust the businessman." He said. 

Huo Ling didn't speak again. A good businessman knows the benefits and losses. He is just an idiot businessman if he doesn't know them and just get taken advantage of by others. 

"I… I woke up today feeling thirsty. Then, I found out that the water in my bottle have been used up, so I went out to buy a bottle of water. But – " a student is being interrogated by a police officer. " – but, I didn't expect to see Yule… to see him floating in the river." He said. His eyes are bloodshot and his hair is in a mess. He looked like he has just wake up. "At first, I thought he was swimming in the river. But, my mind immediately cleared up from sleep. How can he swim in that filthy river? Furthermore… how can he jump over the wall that has barbed wires?" he choked and he finally can't hold back his tears. 

"Poor Eram… if it was me, I would've fainted from the fright." Yi Bing and Huo Ling heard the students whispering. 

"I screamed… then immediately ran to call the teacher." Eram spoke. 

"That's right." a female teacher spoke as she wiped her eyeglasses. "I was taking out the trash when I heard him screaming. I listened to him, and then called the police." She explained. 

Yi Bing and Huo Ling silently listened on the side while watching Eram and the teacher. There is nothing wrong with what they said and they didn't seem to be lying. The females are living in the upper half of the dormitory while the males are below. There is nothing suspicious of this teacher and this student seeing each other. There really is a trash bag on the side, and the police have finished examining it. 

"We heard that the others say that you are his best friend. Is this true?" the police officer asked Eram. 

Eram nodded. "Yes." He answered. 

"Do you know any difficulties he is facing recently?" the police officer asked. 

Eram shook his head. "No." he answered. 

The interrogation ended there. The other police officers were asking the other students of Dormitory A, as well as the teachers in the Dormitory C. 

It was at this time that an expensive car arrived, followed by the opening of the door. A crying middle-aged woman came out and ran, tearing the police cordon. Everybody could guess that this is the deceased Yule's mother. 

"YULE!!!" she cried after a police officer stopped her. 

"Madame, calm down. We'll take you to see your son. So, please, calm down – " a female police officer spoke as she guided Mrs. Portkin to the back of the Dormitory A where they placed Yule's corpse. 

There is a gate on the South Wall leading to the riverbank, but the Dormitory A students are disgusted by the river so the gate was never opened. Who could have imagined that it will be opened because of this incident? 

"YULE!!!" Mrs. Portkin heart-wrenchingly screamed when she saw her son's corpse. 

Some people shed tears because of the scene. "Poor Mrs. Portkin…" they whispered. 

Huo Ling and Yi Bing just calmly observed. 

"Hey. Do you think this is the work of a ghost?" someone asked. 

"Shh! Lower your voice!" his friend told him. 

"But… that bloody page in the library…" he said. 

Someone heard him and joined in their conversation. "You saw it, too?" he asked. 

"Yes. 'Blood for blood. Life for life. State your wish and I'll grant your desire.', right?" they asked. 

"It really looks cool, right? It's so scary, but who do you think wrote it? So realistic!" 

"You don't believe in the ghost?" 

"No. I only thought that the bloody page looked cool." 

"Idiot." 

"Do you think this incident is caused by a ghost?" 

"Isn't it?" 

"You should believe in science, man. Don't be so superstitious! The police are now here. They will find out what happened after proper investigation." 

"But, the page…" 

"What happened to the page? I was about to inspect it this morning when I heard about the news." 

"I was arranging the books in the library and…" 

"Oh! You're a student assistant!" 

"Yes. And… I saw that the book is gone." 

Silence fell. 

"You're kidding, right? You really believe this is the work of a ghost? Someone just stole the book, I think, to fuel the fire." 

"… I think so… hehe." What a hollow laugh. 

Yi Bing and Huo Ling heard their conversation. Huo Ling's fingers drummed on the armrest of the wheelchair, sending a message to Yi Bing in a Morse code. 

Huo Ling: We have to investigate the library, whether this is the work of a ghost or not.

Yi Bing: … okay. 

Is he the boss or me? Yi Bing thought and looked at the top of Huo Ling's head. Seeing the brown and bushy hair, he felt his heart melting and he surrendered. 

Suddenly, there was a clamor. They all turned and saw Iris Hudgeson arrived, looking haggard. Everyone saw the dark circles under his eyes when he took off his sunglasses. 

"Mrs. Portkin." Iris called. 

"IRIS!" Mrs. Portkin cried and glared at Iris Hudgeson. "Is this how you manage Fughlia?! My son is dead!" she said. 

Iris remained calm. "I'll give you an answer." He said and turned to Lin Ze who was following behind him. 

Lin Ze moved. Under everyone's eyes, he took out a mobile phone, opened a video, and showed it to Mrs. Portkin. After a few minutes, everyone saw Mrs. Portkin's pale face became paler, before it turned red until purple because of anger. 

"ERAM!!!" she shrieked before she pulled the still dazed Eram standing on the side together with the female teacher. "And you, sl*t!" she added as she pulled the female teacher's hair. 

"Auntie!" Eram cried in alarm. He didn't know why Mrs. Portkin pulled him. Caught off-guard, he stumbled before he fell face first on the ground when Mrs. Portkin released him because she turned to the female teacher who was at a loss. 

"Sl*t!" Mrs. Portkin shrieked as she pulled the female teacher's hair before she scratched her face, then her body, tearing the buttons on her uniform, making her uniform slightly open to everyone's eyes. 

Everyone was about to move their gazes away because it is disrespectful, but they suddenly caught sight of the purple marks on her skin. It was very eye-catching against her fair skin. 

"What happened?!" the police officers asked while the female police officers tore the two women apart. 

Lin Ze didn't answer and just gave the mobile phone to the policemen. Iris Hudgeson pinched the space between his brows, feeling weary. 

In the mobile phone, a video is playing. It was from a CCTV camera. Yule was knocking on Eram's door and opened it. But, before he could, he was pushed out of the door by a female hand. It was the female teacher. Eram and Yule got into a dispute before the female teacher slapped Yule. Eram also looked annoyed and, out of anger, pushed Yule. 

Yule fell and hit his head on the floor. Eram and the female teacher looked panicked before they carried Yule's body away.