Afterlife Department

Chapter 138 – Protection

Yi Bing left the hospital after asking the doctor of Hao Baiyun's address. Well, he can just ask someone since the Hao family is very famous. However, Yi Bing wanted a guaranteed answer. Thus, he asked the doctor – who is willing to give to him Hao Baiyun's address. The doctor's enthusiasm made Yi Bing suspect if the doctor is scamming him. However, since the doctor really knows things about the fox clan, then Yi Bing could only admit defeat.

If this isn't for Huo Ling… he thought as he read the address and the number on the paper again. Then, he tapped his wristwatch. A holographic screen appeared.

0001: San Di. Where are you right now? 

Di San immediately replied.

3257: hot springs. 

0001: …

0001: are you in the middle of a mission or a vacation? 

3257: ancestor! Don't report me on Gu Shi! 

3257: I'm just joking. 

0001: which is your joke? To not report on Gu Shi? 

3257: !!!

3257: @#$#%

3257: when did you learn how to crack a joke? 

3257: were you hacked?! I'll immediately call Sha Jiu – 

A vein popped in Yi Bing's forehead.

0001: speak less nonsense. Where are you right now? 

3257: … hot springs. 

0001: so, you're actually having a vacation – 

3257: !!! Yi Bing! I AM on a mission! It just happened I am here in a hot spring resort when you contacted me. 

Yi Bing's brow twitched. He decided to let him off.

0001: how about Feng Er, Liu Lin and Si Shui? 

3257: Feng Er is in Paris. Liu Lin is in Amazon and Si Shui is in Italy. 

0001: … you're all actually on a vacation rather than on a mission. While I, your senior, is here working hard on my task – 

3257: !!! Da ge! Da ge! I can bring the whole hot springs for you! I'll do whatever you want! Just don't report us to Gu Shi! 

Yi Bing's face darkened.

0001: Do you know something that can't even be detected by us grim reapers? 

He remembered the doctor. Even if the doctor didn't seem to have any malice towards him and Huo Ling, but Yi Bing cannot relax.

3257: huh? Is there anything that can't be detected by us1? 

Yi Bing can sense mocking from his words.

0001: there is. The gods. 

3257: … 

3257: if you already knew, then why still ask? 

Yi Bing paused. After a while, he typed a message.

0001: I don't think what I had met is a god. 

3257: Huh? You met it?

Yi Bing's expression became heavy as he typed another message.

0001: I guess I had met an archangel. 

Japan.

Di San slipped on the snow and he fell on his back, the back of his head hitting the cemented pavement. The back of his head immediately bled, the bright red blood blossoming on the white and cols snow like the spider lilies in the garden of Hell. But, he didn't care. Fortunately, there is no one around him or he might have caused a commotion.

An archangel… his eyes dimmed when he remembered what Gu Shi had told him about Yi Bing and Huo Ling's past. He immediately screenshot-ed his conversation with Yi Bing and he sent it to Gu Shi before he then replied to Yi Bing.

3257: an archangel? What the hell… hahahahaha. You can really joke now, Yi Bing. Why would an archangel grace us with their presence? Oh. I mean, only you since they appeared before you. 

It might be what he had written, but his face is void of emotions.

0001: yes. That's what I am thinking, too. Why would they appear here? 

0001: Di San. 

Di San's face is now grim. If Yi Bing had called his name correctly…

0001: I won't ask you whether Gu Shi had told you about my past. 

Di San's lips pulled into a frown. So Gu Shi had already told Yi Bing of his1 erased past. 

0001: among us five1 present here, only I can fight against an archangel. I can only try my luck and save you2. In exchange, if something happens to me, please take care of Huo Ling. 

0001: don't send him to his reincarnation. You and Gu Shi hide him. 

0001: you can ask Shen Taizi to hide him. 

Di San's eyes widened in shock. Wait… Gu Shi also told Yi Bing about Huo Ling's past? Calm down – he1 didn't! Not yet2!

0001: it's as you think, I only know Huo Ling is connected to my past. That's why you have to look after him. Can I count on you? 

3257: don't talk as if you're gonna die. We still do not know if that being you encountered is an archangel. You won't die. 

Di San felt his nose became sour.

3257: Yi Bing. If you're gone, who will protect Huo Ling? I cannot protect him, nor Gu Shi. Even Shen Taizi, he's in a tight spot in the Heaven. 

3257: live. 

Di San wiped his face and felt his palm is wet. He sent a message to Feng Er, Liu Lin and Si Shui.

3257: come to China. We have a princess to guard. 

2333, 6666, 4444: … were you hacked? 

Di San's head ached from the three's reply. He finally felt dizzy and he fainted from the blood loss.

China.

Yi Bing looked at Huo Ling and saw him floating around the airport.

"So China's as developed as the other countries, huh?" Huo Ling said.

"Don't wander around." Yi Bing said. "You already know the value of your soul… right?" he said when he saw Huo Ling's blank expression as the other stared at him. "… you didn't listen to me?" he asked in a low voice.

Huo Ling's eyes widened and he immediately raised his hands in a defensive pose. "A gentleman only uses his words instead of violence!" he said.

Yi Bing coldly looked at him. "Too bad I'm not a gentleman. I'm not even a human." He told him as he advanced towards him.

Huo Ling floated back. "The word1 can be applied to all kinds of races!" he persisted.

Yi Bing just threw him a glance before he walked past him. "If you want to die again, and your existence be forever disappear, then continue to act naïve." He said, his voice sharp and cold.

Huo Ling was stunned as he stared at Yi Bing's back. This was the first time Yi Bing was mad at him. "I…" he said as he opened his mouth to speak. However, he cannot find the right words to tell Yi Bing. "Yi Bing!" he called as he floated towards Yi Bing's back and stuck on his back. "I… I'm just… I was scared of what I have learned." He immediately said. "I – I… everything is new to me, and also frightening. I've lived for twenty-three years yet I only knew about this other kind of world." He explained. He is referring about the world of yao. "I died and became a ghost. Yet, I was told I am a yao instead." He sighed. "Tell me. How would someone, after living for more than two decades as a human, feel after being told they aren't a human?" he asked. "Not to mention my death. I am even half not a human!" he said as his tears finally fell. All the frustrations and fear, and also loneliness. Shock is an understatement after he found out that his mother isn't a human, as well as him. Added to the fact that the person he had depended for six years, Liu Lingling, is missing and his life or death is unknown.

Yi Bing's back stiffened when he felt the coldness passing through his clothes and touched his skin. Huo Ling… he thought as he lowered his head. He just can't get mad at him for a long time. Especially when he cries. "I'm not mad anymore." He said.

"Really?" Huo Ling asked.

"En." He answered.

"I'm sorry." Huo Ling finally apologized. "I'm not messing around. I just need more time to digest all the information." He explained. "I… please don't leave me." he said.

Yi Bing felt his heart pounded strongly against his chest like the drum beating. "En." He answered. For some reason, even if his body is naturally cold, but his ears and cheeks felt warm. How can he leave Huo Ling? It was him who is afraid he would lose him. "I won't leave you." He told him.

"Really?"

Yi Bing nodded. "En." He answered.

"You promise?" Huo Ling said.

Yi Bing smiled as he turned to Huo Ling. "I promise." He said.

"It's a deal!" Huo Ling's face lit up and he grinned.

Thus, when Di San, Feng Er, Liu Lin and Si Shui arrived, this is the scene that they saw: Yi Bing was looking at Huo Ling. He wasn't smiling, but his iceberg expression – for the first time, has melted. Meanwhile, Huo Ling is animatedly talking to Yi Bing while they waited outside the airport.

Di San, Feng Er and Liu felt they were blinded and was forced a mouthful of dog food. Meanwhile, Si Shui was staring at Yi Bing and Huo Ling with a puzzled gaze. "Is that senior Yi's lover?" he asked.

Di San, Feng Er and Liu Lin. "…" must be nice to be an airhead.

Liu Lin finally spoke for the poor child. "Grim reapers can't fall in love." he told him.

"But, we can be in a relationship." Feng Er said.

"That's an unspoken rule, because they knew emotions are transient."