Afterlife Department

Yi Bing's pupils shrank and his hand holding Huo Ling's arm gripped his arm tighter. "Y-you can remember now?" he asked, his voice slightly trembled and he coughed to hide his nervousness as well as excitement.

"A… little…" Huo Ling said. For some reason, he can now also speak like Lei Shan.

Yi Bing didn't press this matter further and he just asked. "How much do you remember?" he asked, then made a slight pause. "You can just write on the ground if your answer is too long." He said and let go of Huo Ling.

Huo Ling stiffly nodded. He wrote on the ground using his fire: those two people inside the car killed me after they robbed me. The memories of my death triggered my ability to resurface, together with my other memories. I also remembered that my family's death isn't an accident.. Someone tried to kill us, that's why my parents sent me abroad. I didn't realize this even after I died. When I saw the two robbers' face, all of my memories were triggered, including my childhood memories and my grandparents' murderers.

Yi Bing carefully read what Huo Ling wrote. Now he understood Huo Ling's attachment in this life. It is attachment to people. He wanted to investigate the death of his family. "Let's leave, first." He said and grabbed Huo Ling, then he pulled him away when he heard the siren of the police cars approaching. Now that he finally knew Huo Ling's attachment, he can finally stop playing with Qi Shan to relieve his boredom while babysitting Huo Ling. "I remember you told me a name before… Jin Yu?" he recalled. "You said he is your acquaintance, and he recognized you in the hospital." He said.

"Oh. Jin Yu…" Huo Ling muttered.

Yi Bing stopped when he saw Huo Ling's strange reaction. "What's wrong?" he asked.

….

"Not here! Not even here!" Jin Yu gnashed his teeth after he carelessly threw all the things inside the cabinet. The clothes fell on top of the head of the kneeling old man which is the owner of the rental apartment.

"S-sir…" the old man called. "I already told you. This tenant is very poor. He can't leave any valuable things – " he said.

"Shut up!" Jin Yu snapped at him and turned. "Maybe you took it and sold it?!" he kicked the old man's chest, making the old man weakly tumble down the floor. "Where is it? Where did you sell it?!" he asked.

"I – I didn't!" the old man answered, shaking his head violently.

"Liar!" Jin Yu said and kicked the old man's head. The sole of his shoe is thick and rough, thus it made the old man's head bleed. "Where is it?!" he asked again.

"I don't know… I never stole it… I don't even know what is it you're looking for…" the old man weakly said, his voice trembling in fear.

Suddenly, they heard heavy footsteps outside in the hallway. It was followed by something being dragged on the floor. The two inside the room looked at each other. They didn't have the time to react when the unlocked door opened and a zombie appeared.

…

"He's one of my classmates in high school. His family is poor, so he relied on his scholarship to get by his studies." Huo Ling said. "Later, I studied abroad. That day I died was the day I saw him again." He explained. "If I hadn't heard his conversation with the nurse, I won't remember who he is." He smiled.

"Then, let's go find him." Yi Bing said.

"We can't." Huo Ling suddenly said.

"Why?" Yi Bing was puzzled by his direct rejection to visit Jin Yu.

Huo Ling seemed to be hesitating. "Jin Yu, he…" he bit his lip. "He hates me." he finally said.

"Why?"

"My family is rich, but he is poor." Huo Ling answered. "He hates rich people." He explained.

Yi Bing stared at Huo Ling and saw Huo Ling averted his gaze. "You're hiding something." He said.

"N-no – " Huo Ling said.

"When a person lies, he's one step towards the gate of Hell." Yi Bing said. "However, do you know what happens to a soul that lies?" he asked.

Huo Ling's pupils trembled. "W-what?" he asked as he gulped when he felt his throat dried because of nervousness.

"When a soul lies, they…" Yi Bing slowly said as he watched the expression on Huo Ling's face gone a big change.

"Alright! Alright! I'll say it! I'll say it!" Huo Ling conceded in defeat. Damn it… I can't beat him. He thought, then paused. Why do I feel like this has happened before? He raised his head and looked at Yi Bing's icy blue eyes.

"Honesty begets camaraderie. Lying begets… what?" Yi Bing said when he saw Huo Ling was staring at him in a daze. "I know I'm handsome. Each of us grim reaper was designed to be attractive." He said.

"Why? Aren't you just a skeleton underneath that black cloak?"

"If we appeared before the souls in that appearance, wouldn't they feel more depressed reminded that their corpse will be reduced to a pile of bones later?" Yi Bing asked.

"What the… so you're really just a pile of bones, too?" Huo Ling said.

"It's the soul that matters."

"Stop glossing things over!" Huo Ling said.

"So, what did you do to Jin Yu?" Yi Bing asked, taking back the matter at hand.

"Why do you make it sound like I'm the one who offended him?"

"Didn't you?"

"I didn't!" Huo Ling glared at him. "Jin Yu, he's… a kleptomaniac." He said in a low voice.

"Oh…"

"What's with the lukewarm reaction?" Huo Ling asked.

"Should I rejoice instead?" Yi Bing asked.

"No…" Huo Ling lowered his head.

Yi Bing looked at Huo Ling's downcast expression. "One of the reasons why a person becomes a kleptomaniac is because of poverty." He said. "But, that's not an excuse to be one."

Huo Ling raised his head and looked at Yi Bing.

Yi Bing saw Huo Ling's eyes are shining with hope. He pressed his lips thin. "Did you think I'd be prejudiced with the poor?" he asked.

"Well, you've treated me poorly before…" Huo Ling gave him a toothy grin.

Yi Bing closed his eyes and uttered words to calm himself and not hit Huo Ling. "… good. That's a good pun." He lied through his gritted teeth.

"He-he!" Huo Ling laughed stupidly.

That praise made him this happy? Yi Bing sighed in Huo Ling's shallow happiness. "So, why the unwillingness earlier when I asked about this Jin Yu?" he sharply asked.

Huo Ling choked in his breath and he coughed as he patted his chest. "Wha – " he said and turned to Yi Bing, his eyes wide in surprise. I thought I managed to fool him! However, Yi Bing's gaze says otherwise.

Fool me? You need to experience nine cycles of reincarnation to fool me!