Afterlife Department

Chapter 303 – Observation

"Who… who chose the place…" Zhou Cheng, Rourou, Lian Xiang and Peng Qian were stupefied. 

"Who?" Huo Zichu asked again. 

"It… it was Han Meng – " Zhou Cheng, Rourou, Lian Xiang and Peng Qian answered as they all looked outside the mausoleum where Han Meng is growling like a beast. 

The senior policeman took the flashlight hanging on his waist and turned it on. The flashlight illuminated their surroundings before he pointed it on Han Meng. Their eyes opened wide in shock when they saw her bared teeth. They were pointy. Her saliva is also dripping from her mouth. Her hair is disheveled, and her pupils are red. 

"It's her?" Huo Zichu frowned. 

They could understand her feeling. They could have asked Han Meng why did she choose this place for them to go to, but now… they can't, anymore. 

The junior policeman took the flashlight on his waist and gave it to Lian Xiang for her group to have light. Huo Huainan and Huo Zichu have come here. They must have been fully prepared, so they definitely have brought their own flashlights. 

"She didn't explain to you why it must be this place you'll go to?" the junior policeman asked Zhou Cheng, who seemed to be their leader after Huo Ling died. 

Zhou Cheng shook his head. "No." he answered. "By the time we knew, Huo Ling has already agreed to this place." He explained. 

"What?!" Huo Zichu exclaimed when she heard what Zhou Cheng said. "Xiao Ling agreed?" she said. 

Zhou Cheng nodded. "Yes." He answered. Peng Qian, Rourou and Lian Xiang also nodded, agreeing to what Zhou Cheng said. 

"Wait." The junior policeman spoke. "You urged him to go to a trip, but you don't know the destination of the trip?" he asked as he looked at Zhou Cheng, Rourou, Lian Xiang and Peng Qian.

Suddenly, the four of them showed an embarrassed expression. "Han Meng said it will be a surprise. She told us that the place has a lot of history. So, we didn't ask her for more information." Zhou Cheng explained. "Also, it was a village we went to. We only passed by in this place." He added. 

"Huh?" the junior policeman felt confused. 

The senior policeman remembered something and he took out his notepad. He handed the flashlight to his junior before he opened his notepad. The junior policeman illuminated the page. "Right. You really have mentioned that you went to a village." He said before he turned to the group. "You really just passed by here." He looked around the mausoleum. 

Huo Zichu's forehead knitted to a frown. "I thought they're going here…" she muttered. 

Huo Huainan patted her shoulder. "We have stopped following them because you went on a shopping, remember?" he said and helplessly sighed. "You said you wanted to buy gifts for xiao Ling to apologize to him – " he reminded her. 

An embarrassed expression flashed on Huo Zichu's face. Fortunately, Zhou Cheng, Rourou, Lian Xiang and Peng Qian, as well as the two policemen, were not looking at them. Or else, she would have lost her face. "Why do you think they reached this place?" she asked her husband. 

Huo Huainan frowned. "It definitely isn't something good." He said. 

On top of the mausoleum, Huo Ling watched Han Meng paced back and forth in front of the mausoleum. "So, it's her you are referring to." He said as he looked at Yi Bing. 

"En." Yi Bing nodded. 

"What do you mean when you said, 'die'?" he asked. "She died? When? She looked alive right now…" he said and looked at Han Meng still snarling like a beast. 

"Her soul was forced out of her body, and her soul entered the reincarnation cycle." Yi Bing answered. "That's technically dead." He said. 

Huo Ling nodded in understanding. 

"Why did she choose the location of your group's travel?" Yi Bing asked. He can hear their conversation from inside. This is thanks to their hyper-senses granted when they became grim reapers. 

Huo Ling, however, didn't hear since he can't hear because he has no hyper-hearing ability. "How did you know it was her?" he asked. 

Yi Bing didn't answer. 

Huo Ling, although puzzled, still answered. "Han Meng found out she was adopted when she met her 'patron's business partner after her patron made her accompany him in one of the gatherings." He said. "I was also there when I accompanied my grandfather. I saw her in an awkward position, and so I helped her out. That was then I found out that she was trafficked when she was an infant. She heard her parents, who were childless, talked about it." He sighed. "Han Meng then asked her patron to contract his business partner. However, her patron kicked her out. It actually was – " he took a deep breath. " – the business partner of her patron was the one who trafficked her when she was an infant. Well, she was one of the children that were trafficked." He looked at Han Meng's body that was possessed walking to and fro in front of the mausoleum. 

"How did he know it was her?" Yi Bing asked. 

"Han Meng has a birth mark on her forehead." Huo Ling answered. "I hired a private investigator to hire that businessman. He found an evidence of his crime, and also the list of the places where they are kidnapping the children." He said. "I had the private investigator tip the police. Meanwhile, Han Meng and I used this study trip as an excuse to go to her village, where she was born. There was also an archaeological site there, so there isn't a conflict and the others won't know." He finished. 

Yi Bing stared at Huo Ling in amazement. Then, he looked at Han Meng. 

"I only feel pity towards her." Huo Ling said. "Doing good deeds is never wrong." He smiled. "Han Meng really found her parents… her parents' grave." He said. 

"So, her wish was fulfilled before she died." Yi Bing said. 

"En." Huo Ling nodded. 

"… so she's not in love with you?" Yi Bing asked. 

Huo Ling's face turned deadpan. "No." he said. 

Yi Bing soundlessly laughed. "You're practicing altruism. Is there another one in your group that you secretly helped out?" he asked. 

Huo Ling thought about it, pondering over his colleagues' personalities. "Andy is a proud person, so he would never ask help from the others." He said. "Philip is a lone wolf, so he would rather keep his problem to himself than to share it with others. Zhou Cheng… he likes helping others than the others helping him. Peng Qian…" he hummed. "Although he might ask for your help, but if it's a critical situation and he has to choose between you and himself, he'd choose himself." He finished. 

Yi Bing stared at Huo Ling for a while. "… you really don't resent them." He said. "Is this also a part of your altruism act?" he asked. 

"No." Huo Ling honestly answered. "I don't resent them in the first place, since I can understand where they are coming from. This doesn't count as altruism." He explained. 

Yi Bing nodded. As he said before, there was acceptance in Huo Ling's heart. He really doesn't feel that Huo Ling is lying. What is there to lie about, when he is already dead? "Then, what about those remaining two?" he asked, referring to Rourou and Lian Xiang. 

"Rourou and Lian Xiang…" Huo Ling spoke. "Rourou is a sincere girl. What you see in her is really herself. She doesn't like putting up a front. She isn't pretentious, that's why she always butts head with Han Meng." He said. "As for Lian Xiang… Lian Xiang is also kind. However, when put up in a critical situation, compared to Rourou who would stick to her beliefs, Lian Xiang would think which situation is more advantageous to her before she chooses it." He explained. 

"Although that is clever in her part, but at some times, it would also look crafty." Yi Bing commented on Lian Xiang. 

Huo Ling slightly smiled. He doesn't want to comment on other people. Not because he doesn't want to offend people, but because he doesn't see the need to. As long as someone could see the same sight as him… and, it is also a courtesy, not talking behind other people's back. 

"You actually could see through people…" Yi Bing said. 

"En." Huo Ling nodded. 

"But not all." Yi Bing smiled. 

Huo Ling's brows raised. "You?" he asked. 

"Not me." Yi Bing said. 

"Then…" Huo Ling muttered. 

Yi Bing didn't immediately explain. "To see through people… one has to have a mastery in observation." He said. "Two, one also has to observe them for a long time. However, why is it that they still fail?" he asked. 

Huo Ling's eyes narrowed. He knows Yi Bing is talking about him. 

As expected, Yi Bing continued. "Actually, they didn't fail seeing through people." He said. 

"Then, why?" Huo Ling asked. 

"It's because they have observed them too much, that they have stuck to that belief of theirs on that person they observed." Yi Bing said. "That, isn't a failure. It is called 'mistake'." He looked at Huo Ling. "You already lost." He told him.