Afterlife Department

Chapter 77 - Old Tang

The room is filled with photographs. But, not just any ordinary photographs. They looked well-maintained. It shows that the owner of them properly takes care of them and value them very much. However, that's not what's very surprising.

The photographs are photographs of Huo Ling's family. Yi Bing was shocked. Could it be really him? He thought as he looked at one of the photographs and saw Huo Ling when he was young. So the butler had been serving them since a long time ago? He thought and he turned. He saw a photograph of Huo Ling when he was a baby. That toothless grin… he already looked mischievous despite still a baby. He thought as a smile appeared on his lips. He really had changed a lot, to be a crybaby now… He sighed in disappointment. He continued to look around, looking at each photograph containing Huo Ling..

"Dinner's ready!" Suddenly, he heard the female burglar called downstairs.

"Coming!" the man and young man answered from the living room since they were watching a movie in the TV.

Yi Bing turned and saw the door is still open. He immediately walked and closed the door and then continued to look around the butler's room. "Hm?" he muttered when his elbow hit something soft. He turned and saw a baby's bib on the table. "Could it be… Huo Ling's? Or his sister's?" he said. However, he noticed it looked older after a closer look –

When he turned, he saw a photograph of a couple and a boy. It's not Huo Ling, so it can only be Huo Ling's father. So the butler had been serving the Huo family way, way before? He thought and turned, only to be shocked when he saw the young version of the butler together with a boy. "Could it be…" he muttered as he immediately checked all of the photographs. His eyes widened when he saw the two photos side by side.

One photo shows six people. Two pairs of couple with each boy with them. The other photo showed the two boys with a girl in between them. What does this mean? Yi Bing was puzzled. Huo Ling's grandfather and the butler were childhood friends?! His eyes widened. Could this girl be… Huo Ling's grandmother? He thought and saw that the girl's eyes are similar to Huo Ling's. If the three were childhood friends, did the butler kill the Huo family because of his unrequited love? He rubbed his chin as he thought. Then, he took the two photos and hid them inside his pocket to show them to Huo Ling later. "Hm?" he muttered when his eyes sharply saw something.

In the corner of the room, he saw a photo of three people. He walked towards it and saw it was Huo Ling's grandmother. However, she's around 16. Behind her are the butler and Huo Ling's grandfather. The photo beside it is a couple photo. Huo Ling's grandmother looked shy, while the boy with her is blushing furiously.

Yes. The boy with her, since Yi Bing can't distinguish who is the butler and who is Huo Ling's grandfather from the two. The only photo he saw about Huo Ling's grandfather is the family picture. It is when Huo Ling's grandfather is already old. Same with the butler. There were no photos of them two when they grew up. Only when they were very young and already old.

"Should I call Huo Ling?" Yi Bing said. "Maybe he'd recognize them." he muttered as he walked towards the veranda. "I only went to check if the butler might just be missing, or was hidden by the burglars. However, I haven't found him." He sighed and jumped down the ground. "Huh? Where is he?" he said when he walked around and didn't find Huo Ling. "Tch. What a disobedient kid. I already told him not to leave…" he muttered and helplessly sighed. He placed his hand on his waist while his other hand scratched his head.

Qi Shan isn't around to find Huo Ling, so he had to find him by himself.

"This guy is really troublesome..." He muttered. He's obviously referring to Huo Ling. "But… I didn't expect – " he said as he took out the two photos from his pocket. " – unrequited love, huh?" he muttered as he walked. "Hm?" he said when he saw Huo Ling was sitting on the bench in the garden. Finally found him. He thought. "So you're here." He said as he walked towards him. "I was wondering where could you be…" he said when his voice suddenly trailed off after he noticed something's off.

The atmosphere... suddenly became warmer? He thought. Then, that's when he saw Huo Ling moved. The second after that and he saw his arm was cut and flew in the air. He turned to Huo Ling, only for his eyes to widen in shock when he saw Huo Ling's dark hair started to catch on fire.

"Huo… Ling…?" he called, but it's as if Huo Ling didn't hear him. Huo Ling's pupils are red and his gaze is blank. Even though he's standing in front of him, but it's as if Huo Ling can't see him. His face wore a dark expression. "What hap – " he said, trying to talk to him when his pupils shrank after he saw Huo Ling's hair turned brighter.

No - he thought. Huo Ling's hair is on fire! However, what's surprising is that the flames didn't burn his hair. Instead, they were dancing, as if making Huo Ling's hair looked like they were longer. That image of a man wearing orange robes and had a dark, long hair appeared in his mind. However, it was gone in a flash.

He blinked, only to see Huo Ling's face was suddenly right in front of him! "Huo Ling - " he tried to call him. "UGH!" he groaned when Huo Ling punched him in the stomach. "Ack!" he cried when his back hit the wall. The wall behind him cracked because of the impact and the rubble fell on him.

"WHAT?! What was that?!" the burglars inside the house exclaimed when they heard the noises outside the house. They immediately ran outside, only to see Huo Ling standing alone in the middle of the pavement. They saw the wall was destroyed, but didn't see Yi Bing since Yi Bing is invisible to them. "Who…" the young man muttered.

"It's that young man!" the woman exclaimed when she recognized Huo Ling. "He hasn't left yet - ?" she was surprised. She gasped when after she blinked, Huo Ling appeared in front of her. "You - "

"Jie! Look out!" the man and the young man cried as they immediately pushed her out of the way.

"What…" the woman fell on the floor with a thud. She turned to yell at the man and young man. However, she was greeted by a scene that came from a nightmare. "AAAAAAHHH!!!" she screamed when she saw Huo Ling's hands impaled the man and young man's chest. "AAAAHHH!!!" she cried as she covered her ears and closed her eyes tight while she screamed at the top of her lungs. She cowered on the floor, crawling away from Huo Ling because of fear. "Don't… don't kill me!" she said.

Huo Ling didn't hear her. He looked at the two men in front of him, then his hands soaked with their blood after he impaled them. "Huo… Ling - !" Yi Bing called as he kicked the rubble. His bandage had fell off, showing his burnt skin. Fortunately, the woman hadn't seen him or she'll be given more fright.

Huo Ling blankly stared at the two and he shook his hands, making their body slip off his hands and fell on the floor with a thud. "NOOO!!!!" the woman screamed as she retreated, her back to the wall. "I – I didn't kill him! I didn't kill that old man!" she said as she wildly shook her head. "I didn't… it was them – !" she said when she saw Huo Ling turned to her. "No… stop… don't kill me – " she said.

"HUO LING!" Yi Bing called as he pulled Huo Ling from behind with his one hand. "Stop it! You're having a Mania!" he told him. However, no matter how much he said, Huo Ling wouldn't hear him. "HUO LING!" he called as he pulled him away from the woman. He already killed the ones who killed him. Now, he had killed the ones that killed the butler. He can't let him kill more people! "HUO LING! Listen to me!" he yelled. The flames in Huo Ling's hair was burning him again, burning his flesh. However, he can't stop. "Huo Ling! That butler… and your grandfather, as well as your grandmother… they're childhood friends!" he told him. "Calm down first and we'll talk!" he added. "Huo Ling - !"

"No…" Huo Ling said. "You're wrong…" he said, his voice hoarse.

"Huo Ling?"

"My grandfather… is the butler." Huo Ling said. "My grandfather… is old Tang." He said.

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