Afterlife Department

Chapter 221 - List

"Give me the list of the aristocrats that are acting suspicious recently, give me the details of the investigation." Huo Jinghua said as his subordinate entered his office.

"Yes." His subordinate bowed and handed him a thick folder. "There are three aristocrats that have made contact with a Hoobite Rock. Two have went to Hoobite Planet for a vacation, and one bought a Hoobite Rock because a family member of theirs has an insomnia. Two business companies have bought a large quantity of Hoobite Rock, and someone from the military also bought a Hoobite Rock." He said. "There's also a member of the Imperial Family who acquired a Hoobite Rock as a gift." He added.

Huo Jinghua's brows knotted as he read the profiles of the people in the folder. "Baron Cloud and Marquis Jin are acquaintances." He said.. "I've heard Baron Cloud's family business was in a perilous situation recently, so he must have invited Marquis Jin to Hoobite Planet to seek his help." He explained as he flipped the next page. "The Gav family… they are a family of mixed race, between the humans and the Kur race. The Kur race is known for having a short life span, thus their life is plagued by problems, which shortens their life further. And so, they would do all they could do relieve even just one problem – insomnia…" he muttered. Then, he turned another page. He was surprised to see the name printed on the paper. "The Eglebert?" he exclaimed and looked at his subordinate standing in front of his stable.

His subordinate bowed to report. "The Bertram family is expanding their business. And – " he said and looked at the folder in Huo Jinghua's hands.

Huo Jinghua knows what he is hinting and then turned a page. "The Lix's?" he said.

His subordinate nodded. "The Bertram family and the Lix family are business rivals, so they always contend in the market." He said.

Huo Jinghua nodded in understanding. "I'll ask my wife about this." He said when he aw the Lix family's crest on the paper, also acting as their family business' logo.

His subordinate smiled in understanding. It's not a secret their superior and the Royal Princess have finally reconciled on their way back to the empire from the planet XTV1.

Huo Jinghua saw his subordinate's knowing smile and he looked away. "Anyway – " he said as he coughed. " – who is it in the military that bought a Hoobite Rock?" he asked as his expression turned serious.

The subordinate's expression also changed and the smile on his face disappeared. He knew that Huo Jinghua felt offended since he, a general, and even Harry Walter the marshal, hasn't even found a thing in their initial investigation of Huo Ling's death. "Sir." He called. "I purposely didn't include the investigation report, since I'm afraid there's a pair of eyes watching me." He lowered his voice.

Huo Jinghua's face undergone another change in expression. He pressed a button to block all the sounds coming from his office to the outside. "Who is it? They have such a big connection?" he asked.

His subordinate nodded. "Yes. It's general Quinn." He answered.

Huo Jinghua's eyes narrowed. The Imperial family stayed strong over time is because of their military backing. And Rayver Quinn is the Empress Dowager's elder brother, a general like Huo Jinghua.

When Kale pursued Sam, the Empress Dowager, although men can give birth now, but she still preferred a woman over a man. And so, she sent people to kill Sam. This created a rift between Kale's and Sam's relationship, and Sam almost lost his life had not Kale arrived on time to save him from the assassins.

Sam left Kale, and Kale realized his flaw: he wasn't matured enough, strong enough to protect Sam who is just an ordinary person. And so, he hardened his heart and fought against the Empress Dowager. To gain a support to fight the Empress Dowager, he knelt before Huo Jinghua, his aunt's husband, to ask for their family's power. He also knelt before Lewis Johnson and Gerard Jackson. Added with Huo Ling's plea to them to help Kale and Sam, both his cousin and friends, them who doesn't want to get involved in politics, stepped forward to help Kale. If they didn't, Kale would be a puppet emperor by the Empress Dowager.

And so, Kale rose as a powerful emperor and asked their help, including Harry Walter, to find Sam. When they finally did, Sam became the empress because of Kale's surprise wedding to him. Many admired the emperor for his bravery to fight against the odds in his life to gain back his now wife. Many envied Sam, for having a man like Kale to love him.

Rayver Quinn enters the story as the leader of those assassins the Empress Dowager sent to kill Sam. Because he aided the Empress Dowager, Rayver Quinn's relationship with Kale became cold. His nephew's respect to him was lost, including his network in the imperial palace that was personally uprooted by Kale after Kale disabled the Empress Dowager's power.

Now, Rayver Quinn is wholeheartedly serving the military and is ignoring the Empress Dowager's cries. Rayver Quinn also must have realized that his nephew is more important than the Empress Dowager, since his nephew won and his sister lost. So, his nephew has more power.

Huo Jinghua frowned. A horrible through flashed in his mind, and he needed to seek Lewis Johnson's, Gerard Jackson's and Harry Walter's thoughts about it. "You must be careful." He told his subordinate with a solemn expression.

His subordinate smiled. "Sir." He called. "I already know only death awaits me when I took on this task. I don't blame you." He told him.

Regret registered on Huo Jinghua's face. "I'm sorry." He told him. He thought his heart has already hardened after seeing thousands of deaths before him, but what's worse if seeing someone whom you knew who's going to die.

It's really hard to bid farewells.

His subordinate sighed and bowed. "If you have a message to want to pass on to Captain Jackson, please tell me and I will tell him when I meet him."