Afterlife Department

Chapter 10 – Foul

"Bastard! I'm not a kite! I'm not a kite! I'm not a kite! Let go of me!" Huo Ling yelled at Yi Bing and tried to hit him in the head like he's hitting a drum. However, since he is a soul, as expected, his hands passed through Yi Bing's head. Can he cudgel out Yi Bing's brain? His eyes narrowed as he raised his hand, attempting to put it inside Yi Bing's head.

"Cease your plan." Yi Bing said and finally stopped running.

Huo Ling, with one hand raised and the other hand 'holding' Yi Bing's head, spoke. "Let go of my 'tail'." He told Yi Bing.

Yi Bing let go the tail of Huo Ling's soul. Huo Ling, satisfied, lowered his hand and let go of Yi Bing's head. He patted his 'tail' as if he's patting off dust. "I can't be seen of an exorcist.." Yi Bing said.

"You're afraid of them?" Huo Ling asked, surprised.

"Yes." Yi Bing answered.

"You're telling the truth." Huo Ling said.

"No. I'm lying." Yi Bing said.

"Then why did you run away?" Huo Ling asked.

"He's a mortal. He'll die if he'll see me." Yi Bing explained.

"You're too caring of other people but not me." Huo Ling frowned.

"The exorcist's time of death isn't near." Yi Bing said.

Huo Ling fell silent. "There's no other reason?" he asked.

"No." Yi Bing answered. He can't tell that if an exorcist would see their – grim reapers', form, a battle will ensue and the mortals around them would perish.

Huo Ling frowned and looked at the apartment building not far away from where they're hiding. A cat passed by them and hissed at them, all furs raised, before it ran away. "You scared it." He told Yi Bing.

Yi Bing didn't answer. They watched as Hao Baiyun's car left the vicinity before they went out of hiding. Yi Bing's gaze fell on the apartment building and he blinked. When his eyes opened, his pupils are glowing blue. The whole apartment building was covered in darkness. "As expected." He muttered.

"Hm?" Huo Ling was watching Hao Baiyun's car disappear before he turned and saw Yi Bing staring at the apartment building. "Don't you think it's creepy?" he asked as he looked at the faded walls of the building. The number of floors is also ominous.

Yi Bing didn't answer and closed his eyes. When his eyes opened once again, his pupils turned normal. They usually don't activate their All-Seeing Eye since they will see the colors of the souls of the beings around, including the dark air surrounding the area. It hinders their sight, and would affect their movements.

Originally, his task is to fetch Huo Ling's soul. However, he didn't expect Huo Ling's death would have a connection with the deaths in the apartment building. He was just teasing Huo Ling, yet he never had imagined he was right on the spot. "Do you know why there are evil ghosts?" he suddenly spoke.

Huo Ling's gaze returned to Yi Bing. "Why?" he asked.

"I said before that the second stage the soul undergoes after their death is the Mania." Yi Bing said. "After the first stage – the Shock Stage, where they lost their memories as an effect of the shock, their memories would then come back like a raging flood." He turned to Huo Ling. "Some memories are good, but there will be memories that are bad. Those bad memories will make them go mad." He explained.

"But – " Huo Ling said. " – can't the good memories succeed the bad memories and the soul would be good?" he asked.

"That usually happens." Yi Bing said.

"'usually'?"

"There's this called the Foul." Yi Bing said. "It's a dark air that pollutes the soul. It acts as a catalyst for the bad memories of the soul and cause them to go mad." He explained.

Huo Ling suddenly shivered when he suddenly felt cold. "So… I can be polluted?" he asked.

"Yes." Yi Bing answered, then slowly turned to him. Huo Ling doesn't know whether his eyes are failing him, but he saw Yi Bing's eyes turned blue. The surrounding darkened after the clouds covered the sun. Slowly, cold raindrops fell upon them. "Especially the Abnormal Souls." Yi Bing added.

Huo Ling felt his whole being turned cold. He stared at Yi Bing, wide-eyed. "Where is this Foul?" he asked, his voice low like a whisper.

"In the apartment building." Yi Bing answered.

If Huo Ling still has his body, he would have fainted. But, he's already became a soul. "Have I been polluted?" he asked, his voice trembling.

"No." Yi Bing answered. "The Foul chooses those who has weak minds and weak heart." He said. "In short, the vulnerable ones." He told him.

Huo Ling sighed in relief. Even though he's timid, yet he has always been an optimist. "Then, the Foul has something to do with the souls in the apartment building?" he asked. "Did it ate senior's and his friends' soul?" he added, referring to Wei Jing as his senior.

"No." Yi Bing answered. "The Foul is just an air. The ones eating the souls are monsters called Soul Eaters." He told him, then paused. "But, the Foul can affect the souls and make their situation become worse. In fact – " he said and looked at the place where Hao Baiyun parked his car. " – it can also affect the living." He said.

"What?!" Huo Ling was shocked.

"Sickness, their luck, their temper, and they can also confuse their mind. The Foul can do that." Yi Bing added.

"No way…" Huo Ling said. "Could it be the Foul got something to do with my death?" he asked.

"Could be." Yi Bing answered and walked towards the apartment building.

"Hey. You're still going there?" Huo Ling called. "Won't you be affected by the Foul?" he asked. Also, Yi Bing's clothes are wet because of the rain.

Yi Bing turned to Huo Ling. "You can stay here if you want to." He told him.

Huo Ling looked around the area and saw the heavy rain pouring on the empty street. "How will you enter the apartment units? The police would have already left." He reminded Yi Bing.

Yi Bing stopped and turned to Huo Ling. "What do you suggest?" he asked.

"You protect my soul from the Foul and I'll check the things behind the walls for you." Huo Ling said.

"Aren't you easily scared?" Yi Bing asked.

Huo Ling gritted his teeth. "I don't want any more death to happen!" he answered.

"Wow… you're so noble." Yi Bing said. "You just want to know why you died, don't you?" he said.

Huo Ling smiled, a vein popping on his head. "You got it right." He said.