Afterlife Department

Chapter 285 - Ghost

Outside the mausoleum.

"Ugh… so hot." One of them said as they fanned themselves using the collar of their clothes.

"And sandy." Someone said.

"What do you expect in a desert but sand?!" someone chided. "Do you expect it to snow – " she said before she suddenly stopped.

"What?" they turned to her. However, they saw her looked stunned as she looked at in one direction.

"Ruoruo.. Say something." They told her. When she didn't speak, they turned to look at what she is looking for, only to become as shocked as her.

Somewhere in the desert, they saw snowflakes falling amidst the sand. "Wait… am I seeing a mirage?" one of them said and rubbed his eyes.

"Idiot! It can be anything but a mirage!" his friend told him.

"Then… what is it?" they asked and watched with bated breath as the snowflakes approached their direction.

The snowflakes continued to fall. However, this time, they saw a figure formed amidst the snowflakes. They saw first a neatly combed hair, fair and smooth forehead, sharp thick brows, and long eyelashes fanning a pair of icy blue eyes.

Next is a tall nose, lips that are as red as cherry and shaped like a petal, then the sharp chin, slender neck, and broad shoulders. It is clearly a man, and he is wearing a dark suit. They saw an expensive-looking watch on his wrist, and then a pair of shiny leather shoes.

"Who is he?" they asked under their breath.

"I don't know, but I know is that he just suddenly appeared out of thin air." Someone said as they shake in fear and watched the man entered the mausoleum in an unhurried pace.

"Wait! There're still the snowflakes! How can he do that?!" they asked.

"He looks handsome…" a girl said.

"Wake up, Yue-er! He looks suspicious!" her friend said.

"Wait. He looked very well-dressed and elegant. Based on his build, he looks like a bodyguard." A nerd in their team said. "The only one who could afford a bodyguard is – "

"Huo Ling!" they exclaimed. Huo Ling is a young master, after all. Their research trips are funded by his family.

"But –" someone said. " – how can he just suddenly appear? Setting aside the snowflakes, he didn't even have a car. Can a human cross a desert on his own two feet?" he asked.

They fell silent. "… he's suspicious! Quickly, call Huo Ling!" they said and took out their cellphones.

Inside the mausoleum.

"WHAT?!" they exclaimed in shock and pushed Huo Ling away to see the bas relief.

Huo Ling sighed and moved his feet to balance himself when he suddenly felt someone caught his shoulder from the back to steady himself. "Oh, thank you." He said without looking back before he walked back to the group. "She is definitely a priestess." He said. "And since they can't accept that she gave birth to children, they burned her." He explained.

They turned to him. "What happened to her children, then?" they asked.

Huo Ling smiled. "Let's look for the relief together, alright?" he said.

"Yes." They nodded and began looking around the mausoleum.

Huo Ling watched them before he turned to thank his colleague that caught him earlier. If not for him, he would've fallen on his back. "Thank y – " he said and turned, only to see an empty air. "Huh?" he said and looked around. He saw everyone is busy looking at the bas reliefs.

Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He took it out and pressed the call button. "Hello?" he answered. "Huh? Rourou, I can't hear you. What do you want to say?" he asked when he only heard a static. "Huh?" he muttered and looked at his cellphone's screen where an ongoing call can be seen. "Rourou?" he called. However, he can't hear her voice.

His brows scrunched up before he placed back his cellphone in his pocket and walked towards a colleague. "Zhou Cheng. Can I borrow your phone? Rourou called me just now, but there was a problem with my phone." He explained.

"Oh. Here." Zhou Cheng said and handed him his phone.

"Thanks." Huo Ling said before he called Ruoruo's number on Zhou Cheng's phone. "Rourou?" he called when the call was picked up. However, he suddenly heard a static. Again? He thought and looked at the screen. The call is still ongoing. "What the…" he muttered before he returned Zhou Cheng's phone to him. "Zhou Cheng. Does your phone have a problem?" he asked.

"Ah? What's wrong?" Zhou Cheng asked.

"I can't seem to hear Rourou's voice…" he answered.

"Could it be something happened to their side?" Zhou Cheng asked.

"Huh?" Huo Ling was dumbfounded. "You're right. I also can't hear her voice from my phone…" he said.

Zhou Cheng's expression changed. "I'll go take a look." He said and ran out.

Huo Ling sighed and took out his phone. He tried to dial Ruoruo's number again, and the call was picked up. However, he heard the static again. Suspicion rose in his heart. He decided to go and ask the others.

"What? A static?" they said and took out their cellphones. They tried calling their colleagues outside. The call connected, but they can't hear their voice. A horrified expression was painted on their face. "Oh, no… this place is haunted!" they said.

"I'm scared… let's leave!" one of their female colleagues said and immediately ran away. The others immediately followed.

Huo Ling was about to run, too, but he saw someone was still standing in front of a bas relief. "Hey." He called and looked at his colleagues that already ran outside, before he turned to look back to the remaining person other than him. "Hey. Why are you still standing there? Everyone already left. Let's leave!" he told him and pointed his flashlight at him.

"I've found the bas relief." The person said. "The continuation from the earlier." He said.

Huo Ling's eyes brightened and he immediately walked towards the person. When he neared him, he saw the person is wearing a suit. Huh? He thought before he shook his head and focused on the bas relief in front of them.

"Look." The person said and pointed to him the bas relief. "After they burned her, the plants died, as well as the animals. Some animals that remained alive became insane and attacked the people." He said. "It was then that they realized the woman living inside the temple is a goddess. They greatly regretted, but famine already came. Many of them died, and those that remained alive continued to suffer." He told him. "After famine, drought came. Then, epidemic."

Huo Ling sharply inhaled. "Everyone must really have to suffer the consequences of their actions." He said.

"Of course." He said. "But, some still escaped their responsibility."

Huo Ling remembered the death accidents and he sadly sighed. "Indeed. Life is unfair." He shook his head. He waited for the other to speak, but he didn't hear his voice. "Hm?" he muttered before he turned, only to be stunned when he didn't see anyone standing beside him. "Huh?" he muttered as he looked around, using his flashlight to illuminate the dark mausoleum. "Phil?" he called, his voice echoed inside the mausoleum. When no one answered, he was shocked. No way… did I run into a ghost? He thought as he wildly looked around.

Wasn't it Phil earlier who caught me when I was about to fall? Phil is a colleague who doesn't like to speak and only silently observes the surroundings. If it wasn't Phil who was talking to him earlier, then, who is it?

It was at this time that he remembered when they split into two groups earlier, Phil was overlooked by them. Phil doesn't like crowds, and so he always remained in the car and sleeps.

"It really wasn't Phil!" he held his breath. "Then, who was that earlier?!" he asked as he cautiously walked around the mausoleum, illuminating the dark places that might be the place where the 'ghost' earlier is hiding.

Suddenly, he stepped into something and felt his foot sank. His pupils constricted. What the hell… he thought before he felt the floor beneath his feet disappeared and his body felt weightless.

"AAAAH!" he screamed when he fell.

Outside the mausoleum.

"Where is Huo Ling?!" Ruoruo and the others asked when they saw the second group ran out of the mausoleum.

"What? What's wrong?" they asked.

Ruoruo and the others were about to speak when they saw their pale faces. "You… didn't hear what we are telling you earlier?" they asked.

"What? No. We can't hear you." Zhou Cheng said. "That's why I returned. However, not long later and I heard them running behind me, so I didn't have the chance to ask. Ruoruo." He called. "Is there something wrong with your phone? Why is it only a static only I and Huo Ling heard earlier during the call?" he asked.

Ruoruo's face suddenly paled. "Oh, no…" she muttered. "I wanted to warn him about the suspicious man that suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the desert with snowflakes raining on him, but… but he didn't hear me?!" she said.

"What?! What man? What snowflakes? Ruoruo, are you still dreaming?!" the second group asked.

"No!" the first group answered. "We all saw it!" they said.

"Is it a mirage?"

"How can that be!"

"Wait, where is Huo Ling?!"

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