Afterlife Department

Chapter 101 - Necklace

"…" Mo Shi felt he has been fed dog food. Seriously, right in front of me? He thought as he expressionlessly stared at a grim reaper and a soul flirting in front of him. "Senior." He called after Yi Bing wore the necklace on Huo Ling. "Senior 5555 sent me a message asking me to go back." He scratched his head.

Yi Bing nodded. "Mn. You can go back now. Thank you for your help." He told him.

Mo Shi's eyes lit up and he saluted. "Then, see you, senior!" he said and smiled at Huo Ling before he disappeared..

"Did he go back to wherever you're working at?" Huo Ling asked.

"Afterlife Department." Yi Bing said. "It's a home for the souls whenever they wanted to rest before they'll be sent to their next life." He explained.

"There's something like that?" Huo Ling was surprised. "Is it a beautiful place?" he asked.

Yi Bing nodded. "Yes." he answered. "It is located in a sea of clouds. Beneath it is where the souls are resting." He explained.

"That sounds amazing." Huo Ling said.

"I'll tour you around before I'll send you to your next life." Yi Bing told him.

Huo Ling paused. "We… have to part?" he asked and looked at Yi Bing.

Yi Bing nodded. "I have to send you to your next life to not disrupt your cycle of reincarnation." He explained.

"Oh." Huo Ling said and forced a smile. "That's cool!" he said before he floated away.

"Huo Ling…?" Yi Bing called when he noticed the change in Huo Ling's mood. Did I upset him again? He thought. Was the necklace ugly? He grimaced as he took out another red string to tie his hair. "Wait!" he called as he ran after him.

Meanwhile, Huo Ling sighed and lowered his head. He looked at the necklace hanging by his neck. Yi Bing must have applied a concealment spell on it so the normal people wouldn't see it. "It's so beautiful." He muttered as he held the ice pendant.

"Huo Ling." Yi Bing called from behind.

Huo Ling gasped and immediately lowered his hand before he turned to Yi Bing. "W-what?" he nervously asked. Is he going to take the necklace back? He thought and balled his fists.

"Are… you mad?" Yi Bing hesitantly asked.

"'mad'?" Huo Ling said. "Why would I be mad?" he asked.

"Well, earlier, you…" Yi Bing said before he paused. "Never mind." He said and sighed. "Where do you want to go next?" he asked.

"Hmm…" Huo Ling muttered. "I want to go back to the dormitory." He said.

"Huh?" Yi Bing was surprised.

Huo Ling's cheeks flushed. "Well, I – I… I want to keep this." He said and looked at the necklace. "Can I?" he nervously asked as he looked at Yi Bing. His eyes full of expectation.

"Yes." Yi Bing nodded. He specifically made it for Huo Ling, anyway.

Huo Ling's eyes shone with delight. "Thanks!" he said as he immediately floated away.

Yi Bing was surprised when he suddenly looked enthusiastic. He immediately ran after him, passing by a fancy restaurant where Gu Xingfeng and Hao Baiyun were having lunch alone.

Hao Baiyun smiled as he looked at Gu Xingfeng looking at the case reports. Before, he's always annoyed because of it. Now, he's fond of watching Gu Xingfeng.

"What's wrong?" Gu Xingfeng asked when he saw Hao Baiyun was staring at him. "Sorry. I brought my work – " he said.

"No. It's fine." Hao Baiyun immediately said. "Just continue working. You're more handsome that way." He smiled at him.

Gu Xingfeng's ears flushed before he coughed and averted his gaze. "O-okay…" he said.

Hao Baiyun giggled when Gu Xingfeng resumed what he's doing. This way, I can watch him however I want. He thought and smiled. His eyes can't keep off of Gu Xingfeng's face. "You still haven't found any person of interest?" he asked.

"Aside from those five, there's none." Gu Xingfeng answered. "The only ones who can commit the crime are those five, and Zhu Min." he said as he added her to his list. "Now that we knew she's been with Huo Ling the night before, then she and Xu Ke are the ones most probable to commit the crime." He explained.

"What did your subordinates say about Zhu Min?" Hao Baiyun asked.

"She's still unconscious." Gu Xingfeng answered.

Hao Baiyun sighed. "How about that water bottle?" he asked.

"I'll ask the suspects tomorrow." Gu Xingfeng answered.

Hao Baiyun nodded in agreement. Today, a lot of things have happened one after another, dealing them a blow after blow. Everyone are in shock after each revelation they found.

"Hm… I guess it can't be Zhu Min." Gu Xingfeng suddenly said.

"Why?" Hao Baiyun asked.

"When she arrived, Huo Ling already has the water bottle." Gu Xingfeng said after he analyzed the video. "She didn't even notice the water bottle on the side." He added.

"Then... it could be Xu Ke?" Hao Baiyun asked.

"That's likely." Gu Xingfeng answered. "However, I can't conclude it's him. The murder is too clean." He said, referring to the missing fingerprints.

"… say." Hao Baiyun said. "Could this be suicide?" he asked and awkwardly smiled.

Gu Xingfeng paused before he looked at him. Suicide… he thought before he looked at the case reports. The darkest place is under the lampshade. "But – " he said when he remembered something. " – if it's suicide, then who could expose Huo Ling's friends and make this case looks like a murder?" he asked.

Hao Baiyun's eyes widened. He also realized it. After Huo Ling died and his friends' dirty secrets were exposed. "Who is it…?" he muttered. "Someone who likes Huo Ling…" he said.

"There are many." Gu Xingfeng said. "The key is knowing the dirty secrets of his friends." He said.

Hao Baiyun nodded. "This person must be deeply entangled with them." he said.

"However, in their circle of friends, the closest one with them is Zhu Min as Rong Zhe's girlfriend." Gu Xingfeng said as he checked the list of people. "I'll have my people ask Huo Ling and his friends' classmates again in case we missed something." He explained.

"Yes." Hao Baiyun nodded in agreement. They then resumed eating.

Tsuting University.

"One day had just gone by and everything resumed to normal." Huo Ling said. The 'one day' he's referring to is the day of his death. He sadly smiled and looked at the group of students that they passed by. "I should've known. Humans are superficial beings." He said and sighed.

Yi Bing just remained silent as he looked around. The university is lively as if a murder didn't happen. His eyes narrowed when he saw another group. They actually only like the hype. He thought when he saw them commenting on the video of Zhu Min raping Huo Ling while the others commented on Su Lin and Ye Ting's scandals. He immediately pulled Huo Ling to the direction of the dormitory where there are less people.

When they arrived, they saw the entrance is covered by a police line. They bypassed it and went to the floor where Huo Ling and Xu Ke stay. Like the entrance to the dormitory, the door is covered by the police line.

They entered and saw there's nothing that changed except some items that could be a clue were encircled using a chalk.

"Oh, right. If I'd hide it here, maybe the police would find it." Huo Ling said and sighed after he opened his wardrobe. "What should I do…? I don't want to lose this." He said.

"Then… let me keep it?" Yi Bing asked. Huo Ling turned to him and he lowered his gaze to avoid his gaze. "If you're that afraid to lose this, then I'll keep it." He told him.

"But, you said we're going to part." Huo Ling told him.

"That's…" Yi Bing said and he looked at Huo Ling. "We will meet again." He said.

"Really?" Huo Ling suspiciously looked at him.

Yi Bing nodded. "Mn. However, you have to…" he said and looked at Huo Ling.

Huo Ling got his point. He laughed. "Alright." He said as he took the necklace off of his neck. "I'll hand this to you, so you should keep your promise." He told him as he wore the necklace on Yi Bing. "This will serve as the reminder that we will meet again. Okay?" he said and smiled at Yi Bing.

Yi Bing felt his chest became full and he gently held the pendant with his fingers. "Okay." He told Huo Ling. "I promise I will see you again." He told him. However, you might not want to see me. He thought. Who would want to die, just to meet a grim reaper? He thought and he felt it ridiculous.

He didn't know, the answer to that question is standing right in front of him, making a promise with the grim reaper in question.

"I will keep my promise." He said.

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