Afterlife Department

Chapter 137 - Ancestry

Huo Ling gaped at the receding backs of Kale and Sam as the two of them left. "What the hell… my surname is 'Jackson'… no, no. I mean, my Chinese surname is 'Hou', not 'Hao'!" he said. "When did I become 'Hao'? My mother said she has no relatives!"

"The Hao family…" Yi Bing spoke to remind Huo Ling of his presence. He remembered Hao Baiyun in the first world. He is an exorcist. Now, with the mention of 'Hao', Yi Bing knows it can only be Hao Baiyun, or someone related to him.

As expected, Huo Ling finally remembered Yi Bing whom he had momentarily forgotten because of shock. "I remember… you're a Chinese…" he said as he looked at Yi Bing.

"You are one, too." Yi Bing reminded him.

Huo Ling grimaced. "Not 'one', but 'half'! 'half'!" he said and sighed. "Father said, mother has no relatives. So who are those Hao people?" he asked.

"Maybe it's what as the old woman said?" Yi Bing said. The 'old woman' he meant is aunt Gene. "Maybe they are really your relatives, and they have been looking for you… no – " he shook his head. "It must be your mother they are looking for?" he said.

Huo Ling sighed in resignation. Those Hao people already have taken his corpse, anyway, so there's nothing he can do and nothing will change even if he'd kick up a fuss. "Do you know them?" he asked Yi Bing.

"The Hao family, as Kale mentioned, is an influential family in China." Yi Bing said. "They are powerful – from government to military and business. Each area, they have their hands on." He explained.

Huo Ling's jaw dropped as he stared at Yi Bing in shock. "They are that powerful?!" he exclaimed.

Yi Bing nodded. "But, there's one more thing that made them powerful." He said. "They are a yao, and a very powerful yao." He looked at Huo Ling whose face started to turn pale in horror. "They are a fox family, and some of them are nine-tailed foxes who can bring fortune, but also disaster." He told him.

"No… way…" Huo Ling muttered under his breath. "I am…" he said as he felt his head is floating.

"Each member of the fox clan is precious, since they have the possibility to become a nine-tailed fox." Yi Bing said. "To become a nine-tailed fox, one can be a descendant of them, or they can cultivate to become one. However, the purity of a nine-tailed fox can decrease each generation and cultivation doesn't guarantee one will really become a nine-tailed fox in the end." He explained. "There are just that many condition." He said.

Huo Ling held his head when he felt dizzy. "I… I can't. I can't be a fox – " he said.

"One thing about foxes is their beautiful appearance." Yi Bing told him.

Hearing that, Huo Ling froze. "You said I am beautiful?" he said as he raised his head to look at Yi Bing.

Yi Bing calmly looked back at him. "Aren't you?" he asked.

Huo Ling suddenly felt that his dizziness disappeared and was replaced by a giddy feel. A smile bloomed on Huo Ling's face. Since his death, this is the first time he smiled. And Yi Bing was taken aback.

"Thank you." Huo Ling sincerely said.

Yi Bing was still dazed, but he nodded nonetheless. "I have to tell you something." He said.

"Hm?" Huo Ling was still basking in happiness after being complimented by Yi Bing. There were many people who praised him for his appearance, but this is the first time Huo Ling felt the sincerity in their voice.

"… your nine tails are showing." Yi Bing told him.

"Huh?" Huo Ling said. Did he mishear what Yi Bing said? What 'tail'? And there are nine?

Yi Bing didn't answer since he felt the change in atmosphere. "Let's go find a safe place." He said as he grabbed Huo Ling.

"Huh - ?" Huo Ling said and when Yi Bing turned him, his eyes widened when he saw shadows from afar coming their way. Then, in the corner of his eyes, he saw a white fluffy tip with an orange… wait, 'tip'? His eyes widened in shock when he saw more white tips appeared before his eyes. "AAAAAH!!! What are these things?! What are these things?!" he screamed when he saw the white tips of the orange, fluffy tails are swaying.

Yi Bing sighed as he rose in the air and they flew. "Those are your tails. You don't have time to deny the fact." He told him.

"WHAT?! MY tails?!" Huo Ling exclaimed and saw the orange tails. Oh, no. Am I going blind? I'm blind, aren't I? This is just my illusion? He thought as his eyes turned circles.

He fainted.

Yi Bing saw Huo Ling fell unconscious in his arms. He helplessly sighed as he stopped in the sky and turned to the shadows following them. They are all yao. On the ground, some humans who have a sensitive nose smelled the enticing scent coming from Huo Ling's soul.

With one hand holding Huo Ling, he raised his other hand and froze the shadows afar. A flash of blue was seen behind the clouds.

"A lightning?!" the humans exclaimed when they saw it.

"What lightning?! The sky is clear!" someone said.

Yi Bing ignored them and he went back to the hospital. He went inside and looked around, searching for the doctor earlier.

"Looking for me?" a voice asked behind him.

Yi Bing turned, but his eyes aren't wary. No one can threaten a grim reaper aside from a god. Thus, he calmly looked back and saw the doctor that received Julius Pete, Janinah, Song Jinrong and the others earlier. "You're a human." He said.

The doctor laughed. "I am." He said and glanced at the people passing by them, not noticing Yi Bing and Huo Ling. "A friend said among all humans, I am a special one." He said as he walked away.

Yi Bing followed behind. He isn't a yao, but a grim reaper. No one should notice him, unless… "You always escape death." He said. Unless one is dying. However, this human didn't even have an aura of death on him.

Suddenly, he realized something. He looked around and saw no one is bothering looking at them.

The doctor saw he noticed it. "I have a low presence." He said. "If I'd will it, they can see me. However, most of the time, they wouldn't see me. And forget me." he explained. "My friend told me I'm like his other friend. However, that friend of his might also be special, but my friend knows why that friend of his is special. However, me, he doesn't know the cause of me being special." He opened the door of his office. "Don't worry. My profession is real. The 'special' thing on me is being forgotten." He told Yi Bing as he sat on his chair.

"You know I'm not a yao." Yi Bing said.

"Yeah." The doctor said. "I doubt, if I didn't call you, you wouldn't find me." he smiled.

Yi Bing frowned as he carefully placed Huo Ling on the sofa. "Even death has overlooked you." He concluded. That's the reason why the doctor is alive until now.

The doctor chuckled. "That's why my friend said I am special." He said.

"Hao Baiyun?" Yi Bing said.

The doctor was surprised. "Yes." he answered and looked at Huo Ling. "Even if his soul is now separated from his body, but his soul has once part of his body, that's why the scent of his race is on his soul." He explained. "Well, let's say his soul is already imprinted. But, even if that's just the value of one's soul, but the soul is still powerful since it can still be refined." He told Yi Bing.

"I know." Yi Bing said in a low voice.

The doctor stared at him. "Those souls who has no regrets in life, nor grudges, directly goes to their reincarnation. However, there are souls that are lost – no regrets, no grudges, etc., thus, they are guided – " his eyeglasses slipped down his nose. " – by a grim reaper." He looked at Yi Bing. "This child cannot go to his reincarnation yet." He told him. "He has to go home and receive the inheritance of his clan."

"… I know." Yi Bing said and he looked at Huo Ling.

The doctor looked at them two. "Mr. Grim Reaper." He called. "Do you know why a fox has nine tails?" he asked.

Yi Bing shook his head. "I don't know." He answered.

"It is because they lived nine times in one lifetime." The doctor said.

Yi Bing's eyes narrowed as he sharply looked at the doctor.

The doctor raised his hands. "It's as you think. The fox clan's ancestor had lived nine times in one lifetime. Or…" he said. "It's what you call, 'reborn'?" he said as he looked at Yi Bing.