Afterlife Department

Chapter 284 - Relief

Jin Wu was listening to the music when the door of his office opened and Mo Shi came in, skipping. "Hey, kid." He called.

"I'm not a kid!" Mo Shi frowned and sat on the chair by his table as Jin Wu's assistant.

Jin Wu ignored his protest. "Where did you go just now?" he asked.

"Director Gu asked me." Mo Shi answered.

"Why would he ask you?" Jin Wu asked.

"Because he called you.." Mo Shi answered.

Jin Wu. "…"

"Oh, right." Mo Shi muttered as if he just remembered. He looked at the speechless Jin Wu. "Director Gu called you earlier, but you were in the bathroom and left your communicator here. I figured it was important and so I answered." He explained.

"… and, was it important?" Jin Wu asked.

Mo Shi thought about it. "I don't think so." He answered.

"What did he call for?" Jin Wu asked.

"To look for assistant director Di San." Mo Shi answered.

"Di San?" Jin Wu's handsome thick brows rose. "Did he tell you anything?" he asked.

Mo Shi shook his head. "No." he answered.

Jin Wu thought about it before he rose from his seat. Then, he walked out and went to Gu Shi's office.

"They quarreled again." He heard the grim reapers whispered to each other when he passed by.

Jin Wu's brows rose and he pulled one of them. "Who quarreled?" he asked. He is the Disciplinary Head of the Afterlife Department. If a fight breaks out, then just hit them.

"Senior!" they exclaimed.

"Who quarreled?" he asked again.

"Director Gu and legend Yi." They answered. They can't call Yi Bing as their 'god', since gods exist. And so, they call him 'legend Yi'.

"Did you hear what they quarreled about?" Jin Wu asked.

They shook their head. "No." they answered.

Jin Wu then released them and pondered. "Gu Shi is looking for Di San, but Yi Bing came instead. Why would Yi Bing come?" he muttered to himself. "Also, what did they quarrel about? Could it be related to Di San?" he asked. It seems so. But – "Why is Gu Shi looking for Di San? Why would they quarrel over him? Could it be, something happened to Di San?" he said before he walked towards Gu Shi's office at the end of the hallway.

He still remembered that Yi Bing attacked Gu Shi before and froze a one whole floor of the Afterlife Department. Fortunately, it was only one whole floor since Gu Shi managed to calm him with much difficulty. If not, they are afraid Yi Bing would freeze, not only the Afterlife Department, but all of the Lower Heaven.

The door creaking open was heard and Jin Wu raised his head, only to see Yi Bing coming out of Gu Shi's office with Gu Shi following behind him. A big frown on Gu Shi's face. "Something happened?" he asked them. "I've heard the senior grim reapers that you fought." he said.

Yi Bing looked at Jin Wu. Jin Wu just raised his brows at him. He isn't afraid fighting Yi Bing, since he knows Yi Bing's temperament. Yi Bing isn't so easily provoked. He doesn't have a petty temper.

"No." Gu Shi answered. "We just quarreled, not fought." He clarified.

Jin Wu smiled and shrugged his shoulders. It is as he heard. "What did you quarrel about?" he asked. He didn't give them time to speak. "Di San? What's wrong with him?" he looked at them.

Gu Shi looked calm when he answered. "Di San was actually injured during their last mission but he didn't tell me about it. Instead, he went to the City of Dead." He explained. "If Yi Bing didn't discover his injury and told me, I wouldn't have known." He said.

"It's Di San's fault. Why would you scold Yi Bing?" Jin Wu isn't stupid.

"Because Yi Bing already have noticed Di San's injury, yet he also didn't tell me and just waited for Di San to expose himself before telling me." Gu Shi sighed in distress.

Jin Wu stared at them before he smiled. "Alright. Seems that there's no problem here. I have to punish Di San for his action, but since he is injured, I'll let him go this time." He said and waved at them. "Then, I'll be taking my leave." He said and left.

Yi Bing watched Jin Wu left while Gu Shi grimly smiled. "He knows there's something wrong." Gu Shi said.

"I know." Yi Bing said and adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves, and then his collar.

Gu Shi looked at him. "Then – " he said.

"But, what he does is unimportant to me." Yi Bing said and buttoned up the jacket of his suit, before checking his cufflinks. With his combed-up hair, revealing his fair and smooth forehead and sharp thick brows with deep, icy blue eyes, he's impeccably handsome. "As long as he doesn't get in my way, or else I'll be ruthless." He added and then walked away. The sound of the sole of his black leather shoes hitting against the cold, shiny floor echoed in the silent hallway like he is walking in a catwalk.

Gu Shi sighed before he shook his head and returned inside his office.

Special World, inside a mausoleum.

"Wow…" Huo Ling muttered under his breath as he and his colleagues looked at the relief paintings on the walls of the mausoleum depicting the everyday life of the owner of the mausoleum.

"Basing from color and texture of these antiques, I think that this mausoleum is seven hundred and fifty years old." A female colleague said.

"Eh?" Huo Ling was surprised as he illuminated the bas reliefs near him using his flashlight.

"No. I think this is already eight hundred years old." Someone said and their voices can be heard chatting in the background.

Their archaeological team is on their way back after a research trip when they encountered a sudden sandstorm. They lost track of time because of their research that they forgot about the sandstorm. And so, their three cars were swept up by the sand. When they all woke up, their cars were upside down.

When they finally managed to come out of their cars, they were surprised to find that they were outside a mausoleum. Not wanting to miss any opportunity of capturing historic heritage, they took out their various equipment and set up a camp outside of the mausoleum.

Then, they split up into two groups. One group would remain outside looking after their equipment while the other group would go inside to explore the mausoleum after bringing video recorder and cameras to record.

"Huh?" Huo Ling muttered when he noticed that there is something wrong with the relief. "Everyone, come and look!" he called them.

"Huo Ling, what's wrong?" they asked as they gathered around him.

Huo Ling turned to them before he pointed the bas relief before him. "Look. We saw earlier that the owner of the mausoleum was offered fruits and flowers by the people." He said. "And it became their everyday life. However, we didn't see how it began, and how did it end." He turned back to the bas relief. "I saw that a woman wearing a long dress came out of the temple that is covered by a bright light. As she walked, flowers grew on the land, including the trees and the grasses. It was then that people arrived." He then walked to the bas relief beside the first one and illuminated it with his flashlight. "Here. This is what we saw earlier. The people offering tributes to her. Then – " he said and ran to the next bas relief. His colleagues ran after him after they took pictures of the bas relief Huo Ling found.

"Amazing! It's too dark here even with our flashlights. But, Huo Ling found them!" one of them can't help but say.

Huo Ling can't help but smile before he stopped in front of a bas relief. "Here!" he said and pointed his flashlight to the bas relief. "The woman in the temple… is she a priestess?" he asked when he saw the woman is praying in front of the temple.

"Looks like it?" they said as they squinted their eyes to check the bas relief.

"Here…" Huo Ling muttered as he raised his hand and his fingertips touched the surface of the bas relief. "She had… two children." He said.

"'children'?!" they exclaimed. "How can she have children?! We didn't see her – " one of their colleagues said and covered his mouth in shame.

"Does the bas reliefs have to detail the reproduction process?" one of their female colleagues can't help but speak.

"There are some…" someone muttered, but didn't speak loudly in fear he'll be the one to be scolded next.

"This is cruel." They suddenly heard Huo Ling spoke.

"Huo Ling, what is it?" they asked.

"Because she had children… they – " Huo Ling said and gulped.

"They what?" they asked and pushed him on his back to take a peek of the bas relief in front of him his body is blocking from their sight.

"They… burned her."

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