Afterlife Department

Chapter 215 - Malice

"Ha – " Huo Ling suddenly shivered when he felt a chill ran down his spine. His eyes widened since he felt fear momentarily struck his heart.

"Huo Ling!" Yi Bing called when he saw Huo Ling's terror-stricken expression.

Huo Ling was still stunned by the malice he just felt. "I – " he muttered, but no words came out of his lips after because his lips were quivering. He could feel the malice deep in his bones. Who is it? Where did it come from? He wanted to ask, but because he was afraid, and his mind refrained him from asking, thus the questions were unspoken.

"Huo Ling!" Yi Bing called as he pulled the other into his embrace and patted the other's back. He felt it was fortunate that the other has cultivated his soul back to its former strength, or else he would worry that the other's soul would just suddenly disappear for being too weak after he suffered this fright. "What happened?" he asked as he softened his voice.

"There's… I suddenly felt some malice struck me.." Huo Ling answered, still trembling in fear. That malice isn't anything simple. It was something that has been accumulated for a long time as a product of some deep-seated hatred. But, who would hate the Huo Ling in this world? He thought as he closed his eyes tight, trying to unearth the memories of the Huo Ling in this world. But – "I can't." he muttered under his breath. "I can't remember. I can't remember who might do this." He said, frustration was in his voice.

He remembered that Yi Bing told him, the Huo Ling of this world died because of someone's schemes.

"You – " Yi Bing sharply inhaled when he saw the anger on Huo Ling's face.

"I want to know." Huo Ling said as he recovered his breath. "I want to know what happened to 'him'. I want to know who did this to him, who killed him… I want to remember." He said as he raised his head and looked at Yi Bing in the eyes. "I want to remember 'his' life in this world." He told him.

"Huo Ling…" Yi Bing's heart thumped against his chest. Afraid that Huo Ling might notice, he took a step back.

Huo Ling, however, misunderstood his action. "You don't want to." His brows knotted and his eyes narrowed. "How irresponsible are you be, Soul Envoy?!" he shouted.

'Soul Envoy'? Yi Bing's eyes widened. That's right. That's what we, the grim reapers, were called before. Well, in ancient times. "You know if my identity." He said.

Huo Ling scoffed. "It's not as if you are trying to hide it, so it's easy to find out!" he answered. His expression is impatient.

Yi Bing forced down his lips that are about to curl up into a smile. He is familiar with Huo Ling's temper, since that has never changed throughout the worlds they have travelled. If he would smile while the other is mad, the other's hackles would raise as if a cat that has its tail been stepped on and so he will explode. Before, he can endure it since he can just ignore him.

However, now that he likes him, naturally no one would like to be hated by the one he likes. Thus, he fixed his expression and changed it into a solemn one. "Indeed, I am a Soul Envoy. But now, we were called as 'grim reapers'." he explained.

"What's the difference?" Huo Ling asked.

"The Hell from our… my world has been destroyed, and so the Heaven created the Afterlife Department to make up for the Hell's responsibilities." Yi Bing answered. "Since the Hell was transferred to the Heaven, we were called 'grim reapers'." He explained.

Huo Ling just nodded, indicating he understood.

"It's not that I don't want to help you recover your memories." Yi Bing continued before he paused. He wanted to say that he didn't say he doesn't want to help Huo Ling, but that it was Huo Ling who assumed he doesn't want to help him. However, knowing the other' temper, and it seems it has become worse as each world passes, he decided not to say it to preserve his 'life'. "I want to help you, since it is our responsibility to assist the souls as the grim reapers. In order for the souls to smoothly enter the reincarnation cycle, we have to satisfy their demands, grant their every wish." He explained.

Hearing this, Huo Ling's brows raised. He wanted to tell Yi Bing to bark, but since the matter is serious, he refrained. "Then, help me." he said. "I wanted to know who is bearing that intense malice, and wanted to know how did he have that malice. If he really has any relationship with 'him', then I wanted to know what happened between them. What could 'he' have done for the other to bear a deep-seated grudge against 'him', to the point he killed 'him'." he sighed. "However, I may be bias since 'he' is my other self, but I think that I would never harm anybody." He looked at the uniform he is wearing. "Anyone who wears the uniform would adhere to their duty. 'He' would never harm somebody."

"I know." Yi Bing said. "I'm not saying this since I am bias, but I know you would never hurt anyone." He told him. "As the one responsible for your reincarnations, I have seen more of your other lives."

Huo Ling's eyes widened and he sharply turned to Yi Bing. His urgent eyes speak that he wanted to know about his past lives.

"You want to hear what happened to your other selves?" Yi Bing helped him ask.

As expected, Huo Ling immediately nodded as an answer. His expression urgent.

The corner of Yi Bing's lips curled, wanting to smile when he saw Huo Ling's child-like action. Whichever world, you still never changed. He thought as his gaze softened when he looked at the other who is impatiently waiting for his answer. However, he said, "Don't be impatient. We still have a long time for me to tell you what you want to know." He told him and then walked past him.

Huo Ling stared at Yi Bing's back in shock. It took a long while for him to react. "…" he wanted to curse. Yi Bing is openly baiting him, and as a revenge!