Afterlife Department

"This…" Shi Jiu's expression suddenly changed. "I'm not sure of." He honestly answered. 

"'not sure of'?" Yi Bing asked. 

Shi Jiu looked at him. "Li Huchong knows that Xiao Hualing died from falling in the river. The citizens also are a witness of it." he said. "Of course, from the perspective of the other people, being pregnant before marriage is shameful. They would think that it drove Xiao Hualing to commit suicide. But – " he frowned as he looked at them. " – I am suspecting Li Huchong is hiding something." He said. 

"Xiao Hualing's death is really suspicious. Li Huchong must be already a governor of the Anchuan at that time, so he definitely knows something." Yi Bing said. 

Jiu Ye nodded in agreement. Everyone around is suspicious. Each of them is hiding dark secrets which they need to uncover in order to bring the obscured truth to light. 

"Why did you suspect Li Huchong?" Huo Ling asked Shi Jiu. "It's not just your instinct, right?" he asked. 

Shi Jiu turned to him and smiled. "As expected of Yi Bing's apprentice. You're really smart." He said. 

"Thanks for the praise." Huo Ling humbly said without looking embarrassed. 

Jiu Ye grimaced. "So, what is it? There is more?" he asked Shi Jiu. 

"Yeah." Shi Jiu nodded. "Li Huchong and I got drunk. Of course, he spouted many things. And surprisingly, he is honest when he is drunk." He said. "He said that the early years of him being a governor is really hard since he has to bow down to the Pei family. He also promoted many relatives of the Pei family in the government. In short, he is just their puppet." He told them. 

"It's to be expected, though. The Pei family is that influential." Jiu Ye commented. 

Huo Ling didn't speak. He is waiting for Shi Jiu to get to the main point. 

Shi Jiu didn't disappoint him. "I then asked him about Xiao Hualing when I saw he is very drunk." He continued. 

The atmosphere immediately turned serious. 

"It is as what I have told you. Xiao Hualing is a nameless orphan girl. She has no backing whatsoever." Shi Jiu said. "She's unfortunate to be fancied by Pei Tinghe and Pei Tingsong. But, Li Huchong isn't sure who knocked her up, but it is definitely one of the two since Xiao Hualing wasn't pregnant when she arrived in Anchuan." He explained. Then, his voice lowered. "But, when I asked him how Xiao Hualing died… he fell silent." He said. 

"What does that mean?" Jiu Ye asked. "He really knows something! Was Xiao Hualing actually killed instead of her committing suicide? If that is so, then does he know who killed Xiao Hualing?" he asked. 

Shi Jiu scratched his head. "As I said, Li Huchong wasn't speaking after I asked." He frowned. "But, I know he is sober. It's just that he doesn't want to speak." He explained. 

"So, he knows something." Yi Bing spoke. "He must be still under the control of the Pei family for him to not breathe a single word about Xiao Hualing." He said. 

"So, it's the Pei family who is behind her death?! It's really them?!" Jiu Ye exclaimed. 

"Only them could have the power to bully a single girl and threat a governor." Huo Ling muttered. 

"Poor Xiao Hualing. Not only was she assaulted, but the assault has been kept under the rug." Jiu Ye sighed, lamenting Xiao Hualing's misfortune. "No wonder she is vengeful." He said. 

"Yeah." Huo Ling agreed. To kill four people… it can only be the work of a vengeful ghost. 

"But, many witnessed that Xiao Hualing fell in the river." Yi Bing suddenly spoke. "There was no one around her to push her and she just fell… or jumped on the river. That made them think she committed suicide." He said. 

"That's true." They agreed. Anyone would initially think that it was a suicide. 

"If it wasn't suicide, then, it is a murder." Huo Ling spoke. 

They all froze. They then looked at him. "'murder'…" they muttered. Why didn't it cross in their minds? They thought, feeling ashamed. If Xiao Hualing didn't commit suicide, then she must be murdered! 

"But, there was no one around…" Jiu Ye said. 

"We can't ignore the possibility that there must be someone in the surroundings." Huo Ling said. 

Silence fell. 

"By what you mean, 'no one around', is that there is no one around in Xiao Hualing. But, there must be someone hiding in the surroundings?" Yi Bing looked at him. 

"Yes." A faint smile appeared in Huo Ling's lips. 

Jiu Ye's eyes widened in shock while Shi Jiu looked at him with sparkling eyes. 

"So, what you mean to say, Xiao Hualing is murdered before she jumped on the river?" Yi Bing asked. 

"Yes." Huo Ling nodded. "She jumped on the river to escape." he said. 

Jiu Ye's mouth formed an 'O'. "Amazing…" he said as he looked at Huo Ling with an admiring gaze. 

But, there was no conceited expression on Huo Ling's face. Instead, his expression turned graver. 

"If she escaped by the river, then… could she be – " he looked at them. " – still alive?" he asked. 

"…" what the hell… how can this be? They thought as they looked at each other. Their gazes are speaking. 

"This is just a guess." Huo Ling spoke in a small voice. He knows that it might be not possible. If Xiao Hualing is really still alive, no human can do what the ghosts can. 

Making similar corpses appear all over a large town… sneaking inside a heavily guarded mansion without alarming anyone – not even them, the grim reapers. Taking two vitally crucial organs without leaving a trace on the body, and then placing it inside someone's belly along with an infant's corpse… 

If there really is a human who could do this, then he must be a veteran homicidal maniac. 

"We have to find out how Xiao Hualing died." Yi Bing spoke. 

"Yes." They agreed. 

Suddenly, Huo Ling spoke again. "There is another possibility…" he looked at them. 

Shi Jiu and Jiu Ye. "…" what is it now? Although they are thankful for Huo Ling because of his ideas, and mostly they are on the mark, but these ideas are all frightening. Just like the possibility of Xiao Hualing being alive… 

Too scary. Too scary. 

"What is it?" Yi Bing asked seeing the speechless pair of brothers. 

Huo Ling turned to Yi Bing. "It isn't a murder, but can be called one." He answered. 

Shi Jiu and Jiu Ye started. "Huh? Not a murder… but also a murder?" Jiu Ye asked, looking skeptical. 

Shi Jiu frowned, thinking of the list of possible cases that could be considered a murder, yet isn't. It's a murder, but becomes not because the perpetrators aren't arrested for it. 

"Could it be…" he muttered as his eyes suddenly widened when he came to a realization. 

Yi Bing's eyes slightly widened and he looked at Huo Ling when he also realized it. "Was it…" he muttered. 

"Huh? What? What is it? Can you enlighten me?" Jiu Ye asked as he looked at the three adults who are looking at each other, and is communicating through their gazes. 

Huo Ling broke eye contact from Yi Bing and Shi Jiu and turned to Jiu Ye. "What is a murder but is also isn't… what isn't a murder but can be called one…" he said and faintly smiled when he saw questions appeared on top of Jiu Ye's head. "It is driving someone to death." He told him. 

"… huh?" Jiu Ye muttered under his breath as his mind processed what Huo Ling said. "Huh… HUH?!?!" he finally reacted. "Dr-driv… driving someone to death…?" he sucked in a sharp breath as he stared at Huo Ling in shock. 

"It is possible." Shi Jiu spoke as he nodded to Huo Ling. "They didn't kill her, but just drove her to kill herself." He said and frowned. 

"Wait… wait – " Jiu Ye muttered as he raised his hand to call their attention. "Is this what I am thinking?" he asked. 

They turned to him. "What are you thinking?" they asked. 

"Err, uhm…" Jiu Ye muttered as he organized his thoughts. "Because Xiao Hualing rejected Pei Tinghe and Pei Tingsong, Pei Tingsong defiled her out of spite. For him and Pei Tinghe broke off from Xiao Hualing cleanly, they made her reputation bad because she became pregnant out of wedlock. Then, they used that as an excuse to make themselves clean in the eyes of the public." He said. "How spiteful!" he spat. "Xiao Hualing resented them, but only for her grudged to be unresolved because she doesn't have the power to fight against the Pei family. No one would also stand up for her to clean her name and bring the truth to light, since everyone is afraid of the Pei family – including the newly-assigned governor Li Huchong." He explained. "Unwilling to continue living in infamy, she jumped in the river to end herself." He finished.