Afterlife Department

Chapter 286 - Present

Inside the mausoleum, underground.

"Owww…" Huo Ling cried and held his head when he felt it hurt. He felt it is wet, and the liquid is warm. It also felt sticky, and smelled fishy and rustic. "Ouch… this is – " he muttered.

He opened his eyes and, with his other hand holding a flashlight, raised his hand to illuminate the warm and wet liquid on his other hand. It was blood.

"Ugh!" he grunted as he tried to sit up, but his head felt dizzy and he fell on his back again. He looked around and saw the dim and dingy old hallway is empty. "Where am I…?" he muttered and grunted in pain when he tried to sit up again. "Ah!" he cried when he felt his foot ached after he moved his leg. "Damn it.." He cursed. It seems like he has twisted his ankle when he fell. "I can\'t die here…" he muttered under his breath as he placed his hands on the wall and used it to support himself up.

"You are clearly weak, yet you still act as strong. Let me help you." A familiar voice spoke behind him.

Huo Ling\'s pupils constricted and he sharply turned, his hand holding the flashlight raised. It was then that he saw a pale but handsome face. His hair is neatly combed, revealing his smooth and fair forehead. His brows are thick and sharp, and his eyelashes that are long fanning his deep eyes with icy blue pupils. His nose is also tall, and his lips are blood red, creating a vivid contrast with his pale complexion.

"Who are you?!" he asked and retreated towards the wall. When he felt his back is on the wall, he sighed in relief. "Are you a ghost?" he looked at the man that appeared. "… are you the owner of this tomb?" he added. He was about to apologize for their trespassing when the man spoke.

"No." he answered.

"\'no\'?" Huo Ling\'s brows scrunched up. "Then, who are you?" he asked. He clearly remembers each and every member of their group. There\'s no one who looks like this \'person\', not dresses like him. Wait… \'dresses\'? He thought and lowered his gaze, as well as the flashlight on his hand to illuminate the clothes of the man. "A suit… you aren\'t like an ancient person at all!" he said and illuminated back the man\'s face.

Yi Bing looked away to avoid the light of the flashlight, as well as to hide his smile. He didn\'t expect for Huo Ling to be so slow, and also smart at the same time. If it is really to be counted, he might as well be called \'grandfather\' of the owner of the tomb. "Of course not." He said.

"Are you someone\'s driver who came here to fetch us?" Huo Ling asked.

"No." Yi Bing answered.

"Then, who are you?" Huo Ling asked. "… you can\'t be really a ghost?" he said and carefully studied the man\'s face.

Yi Bing made a pause. "I can be called as one (ghost)." He said and smiled to tease Huo Ling.

As expected, Huo Ling\'s face paled. "N-n-no way…? I\'ve really ran into a ghost?" he muttered and almost drilled himself into the wall.

Yi Bing decided to stop teasing Huo Ling. "How long until it is your birthday?" he asked.

"Huh?" Huo Ling was surprised by the sudden change in the topic and got distracted for a moment from his fear. "Five hours." He answered. He was planning on celebrating his birthday when they returned from their trip, but they didn\'t expect to lose track of the time.

And five hours from now, it will be his 23rd birthday. The others forgot it because everyone has been preoccupied. If not for Yi Bing reminding him just now, he would\'ve also forgotten he\'s about to turn twenty-three.

Yi Bing nodded and reached out a hand to pull Huo Ling up. "In order to celebrate your birthday, let me give you a tour of this place, and tell you everything that I know about this place, as a present." He told him.

Huo Ling, a very curious person, his eyes sparkled. "Really?!" he asked. He didn\'t expect he\'d receive such a gift on his birthday! "It\'s a deal!" he told him.

Yi Bing smiled. "Yes." He said as he wrapped his arm around Huo Ling\'s waist to help him walk.

Huo Ling, who is na?ve and is also preoccupied about his gift, didn\'t notice anything was amiss. Yi Bing is eating his tofu. He is also a curious person in nature, and so, when his attention was shifted and his interest piqued, he will be preoccupied by it. "What is this mausoleum? Whose tomb is in here?" he asked. "Also…" he said and looked at Yi Bing\'s hand holding his hand as Yi Bing helped him walk, before he raised his gazed to look at Yi Bing\'s face. "… you still haven\'t told me your name." he smiled at him, his eyes turning into crescents.

Yi Bing felt an arrow pierced his heart when he saw Huo Ling\'s pure and filled with innocent smile. His heart skipped a beat as he stared at Huo Ling\'s smiling face. Ah… he thought as the corner of his lips were pulled up into a smile. "Yi Bing." He told him.

"\'Yi Bing\'?" Huo Ling muttered. "\'yi\' as in \'one\', and \'bing\' as in \'ice\'?" he asked.

Yi Bing nodded, remembered the time Huo Ling also asked this question in the former worlds. "Yes." He answered.

Huo Ling laughed. "What a strange name!" he said and looked ahead as they continued walking. "Why are you here?" he asked. "Are you guarding this tomb? Or – " he turned to Yi Bing again. " – you died in here, thus your soul lingers?" he asked as he stared at Yi Bing\'s face.

"Neither." Yi Bing answered.

Huo Ling fell silent before he stopped walking. He continued staring at Yi Bing, then finally met Yi Bing\'s eyes. "Then, why are you here?" he asked. "Surely, not because of… me?" his voice lowered and he lowered his gaze.

It took a long while before Yi Bing spoke. "Why can\'t it be because of you?" he asked.

Huo Ling raised his head and looked at him.

"Why does it have to be you?" Yi Bing spoke.

Huo Ling smiled. Yi Bing also smiled. None of them spoke and just continued walking.

Outside the mausoleum.

"Where is Huo Ling?!" they asked as they looked at each other before turning to look around.

"Where is he?!"

"Where did he go?!"

"I thought he was following us…"

"Wait!" Ruoruo shouted. "What happened back there inside the mausoleum?" she asked. "Why is it Huo Ling was separated from you?" she added.

The second group looked at each other before Zhou Cheng sighed. Everyone looked at him. "Huo Ling received a call from Ruoruo." He said.

Everyone looked at Ruoruo. Ruoruo calmly nodded. "I called him." She said.

"We did, too…" the others from the first group spoke.

"Huo Ling\'s phone seemed to have a problem. He couldn\'t hear your voice." Zhou Cheng continued. "He approached me and asked to call you. However, like his phone, your voice can\'t be heard. That\'s when I went out to check if there was a problem on your side." He explained. "But, suddenly, I saw everyone running behind me." He finished. Then, he turned to his group.

"Like Zhou Cheng, Huo Ling also asked us to try calling everyone outside of the mausoleum. However, we only heard a static…" they said. "We thought it was strange, and suddenly felt suspicion, and so, in panic, we ran outside. We thought Huo Ling is following behind us…" They explained.

Ruoruo frowned.

"Ruoruo." Zhou Cheng called. "Why did you call Huo Ling?" he asked.

Now, everyone\'s gaze turned to Ruoruo. "I called him because a suspicious man entered the mausoleum. We thought he is there for Huo Ling, so we called Huo Ling to give him a head\'s up." She explained.

"Yes, yes… that\'s right…" the first group said.

"If he is there for Huo Ling, why would you still call Huo Ling?" Zhou Cheng said. "Why is he suspicious?" he added.

"Because he appeared out of nowhere." Phil, who is sleeping inside the car, answered.

"\'appeared out of nowhere\'?" Zhou Cheng turned to him.

Phil nodded. "He didn\'t arrive in a car." He said.

"Then, he might\'ve just crossed the desert on foot." Someone from the second group said.

"That\'s not right!" someone from the first group said. "His clothes looked perfectly clean, and there had just been a sandstorm!" she said. "Also, he appeared out of the snowflakes!" she added.

"Have you read too much fantasy stories? How can anyone just suddenly appear in snowflakes?" Someone from the second group asked.

"But, it\'s true!" she insisted.

"That\'s right! We also saw it!" the first group said.

"If what you are saying is true – " Zhou Cheng spoke. " – then, this suspicious man…" his voice slowed down and lowered as he slowly turned back to the mausoleum. "… he must be with Huo Ling right now."

Their eyes widened in shock.