Afterlife Department

Chapter 438 – Title

Shi Jiu stood frozen in place. When he felt his body was able to move, he slowly walked towards Jiu Ye while remembering what the four of them have talked about before. 

"'no human can do what the ghosts can'." He muttered as he reached Jiu Ye who was shaking. "'if there is, then he must be a homicidal maniac'." He said and wryly smiled as he pulled Jiu Ye to his arms and hugged him tight, comforting him. 

"Brother…" Jiu Ye called. His voice is hoarse. "Pei Li… Pei Li is still there…" he said and sniffled. 

Shi Jiu didn't speak. 

"She's just a girl… she's just a girl!" Jiu Ye said as he hit Shi Jiu. 

Shi Jiu didn't stop Jiu Ye and just let him hit him to vent his sadness… and anger. Jiu Ye felt frustrated that they were misled and had wrong assumptions. He felt frustrated he can't save Pei Li, leaving the poor girl to die. He felt… sad, and angry because he can't do anything! 

"Where's Ji Qiuxin?" Shi Jiu asked after Jiu Ye has calmed down. 

Everything became chaotic earlier when Pei Tingsong came back to life, but it was too late since he was already set aflame. They were too shocked of the sudden change that they didn't notice when did Ji Qiuxin leave and to which direction. 

"I don't know." Jiu Ye answered as he wiped inside. His face is still red because of crying. 

"We have to find her." Shi Jiu said. "We don't know what exactly is Ke Hanying trying to do." He said. 

Although they know that Ke Hanying must want to kill the entire Pei family, but what about the guests? He already killed Xu Hongkai. Then, what about Ji Qiuxin? He has a grudge against Xu Hongkai. Does he have a grudge towards Ji Qiuxin? 

"En. I place a tracking device on her." Jiu Ye spoke and opened a map. Although he is grieving for Pei Li's death, but he is still sane. They must finish their tasks. That way, he can at least avenge Pei Li. 

"Then, let's go!" Shi Jiu said. 

"Yes." Jiu Ye nodded and they teleported to where Ji Qiuxin currently is, but only to be stunned when they arrived. "Senior Yi… Huo-ge!" he exclaimed when they saw Yi Bing and Huo Ling are also present. Wait. If Yi Bing is here, then, his target must also be here… he thought and turned. 

As expected, Ke Hanying is also here. And Ke Hanying is grinning maliciously at Ji Qiuxin who is retreating slowly. She didn't dare make any rash movements or she might trigger Ke Hanying and he'd suddenly kill her. 

"What… what is happening?!" Shi Jiu asked. "How was it Ke Hanying… a ghost?" he said. "Was he possessed?" he asked, even though he has already a guess. 

"No. He's actually a homicidal maniac." Huo Ling answered. He glanced at Yi Bing and, seeing Yi Bing isn't moving, he took a deep breath to explain. "Last night, when the servants placed the highly flammable weeds in our rooms, Yi Bing still hasn't suspected anything. It was only just this morning, before we split up." He said. "And this is related to you." He looked at Shi Jiu. 

"Me?" Shi Jiu pointed to himself. 

"If Pei Tingming wants to kill all the guests, he could just do it covertly, and have others do it for him, like how he wanted to kill you." Huo Ling answered. 

Shi Jiu's mouth fell open, and he felt that it really made sense. Pei Tingming really doesn't need to burn his house for it. 

"So, Yi Bing felt suspicious, and his suspicions fell on Ke Hanying." Huo Ling continued. 

"Why Ke Hanying?" Jiu Ye asked. 

Huo Ling turned to him. "First and foremost, Ke Hanying has a relationship with Xiao Hualing. He has a motive to kill those who killed her." He answered. "And, wasn't that his purpose of attending Pei Tinghe's funeral?" he asked. 

They nodded when they remembered this point. 

"Second: he is behaving strangely." Huo Ling continued. 

"Ah!" Jiu Ye exclaimed. "That's right! That time when Xu Hongkai's corpse have something inside it…" he grimaced and almost puked when he felt nauseous after recalling that scene. 

Huo Ling nodded. "And third – " he said and turned to Yi Bing. " – his 'local tyrant' title isn't just for a show. He is really a local tyrant." He sighed. 

"What do you mean?" Shi Jiu asked. "What happened?" he added. 

"Ke Hanying's local tyrant title wasn't originated from his reckless throwing away of his wealth… in fact, this act of his is related to how he got the local tyrant title." Huo Ling said. "It's because he killed someone." He told them. 

Shi Jiu and Jiu Ye were shocked. "WHAT?!" they exclaimed. 

"It started with Xu Hongkai." Huo Ling started. "When he and Xiao Hualing found out about Xu Hongkai's perverseness, he was too shocked, and then snapped." He said. "He killed those children who were also victims of Xu Hongkai and he has finished using. He also almost killed Xiao Hualing." He told them. 

"What… the hell…" they muttered, stunned of what they heard. "Wait. How did you know this?" they asked. 

"I went to Anhu to get some clues." Yi Bing spoke. 

They turned to him. 

"I also wanted to go to Anhe, to know the origin, but didn't expect to find someone in Anhu, who was also from Anhe, and even knows both Ke Hanying and Xiao Hualing." Yi Bing said. 

"What?!" Shi Jiu and Jiu Ye exclaimed. 

"He's one of Xu Hongkai's victims, and that he managed to survive after Ke Hanying killed him along with the others." Yi Bing continued. "According to him, the reason Ke Hanying and Xiao Hualing were separated was because Xiao Hualing was frightened by Ke Hanying and grabbed the chance while Ke Hanying was still in a state of shock after he killed those children to escape. Ke Hanying – " he looked at Ke Hanying who took out a knife. " – is actually obsessed of Xiao Hualing." He said when they saw Ke Hanying ran towards Ji Qiuxin to kill her. 

Ji Qiuxin didn't waste any time and ran to escape. 

"AH!" Jiu Ye exclaimed and was about to save Ji Qiuxin when Shi Jiu stopped him.

"Fortunately, after he recovered from his shock, he has temporarily forgotten Xiao Hualing. He then moved to Anhu." Yi Bing continued. 

"… wait. 'temporarily'?" Shi Jiu asked. 

"Yes. He developed a split personality." Yi Bing answered. "But, his former, murderer personality was triggered when he saw the old beggar was killed." He said. 

Shi Jiu and Jiu Ye don't know what to say. 

"His reckless actions are the product of his first personality emerging." Yi Bing said. 

"Then, what do you mean by him killing someone?" Jiu Ye asked. 

"That young master and his guards who accidentally killed the old beggar." Huo Ling answered. "After they were imprisoned, Ke Hanying killed them." He said. "And because his first personality was triggered, he remembered Xiao Hualing." He added. 

A long silence fell while the screams of Ji Qiuxin can be heard in the background. 

"We thought it was related to supernatural and made assumptions on the basis of supernatural…" Huo Ling sighed and lowered his head in shame. 

"How did you know that he killed them?" Shi Jiu asked. 

"That person… a former victim of Xu Hongkai that lived after almost dying from Ke Hanying's hands… he's an official in Anhu." Huo Ling spoke. "He's the mayor of Anhu." He added. 

What a small world. They thought. 

"So, Pei Tinghe's corpses appearing all over Anchuan… Pei Tingting's suicide… Xu Hongkai's murder… as well as Pei Tingsong's death…" Shi Jiu muttered. 

"The appearance of Pei Tinghe's corpses… it must be the trick of the light." Yi Bing spoke and turned to look at the fog floating above the river. 

They turned and suddenly felt enlightened. "Fog…" they muttered. Fog has always been related to deception. 

"Pei Tingting's suicide is easier. She was already scared because of the talk of supernatural." Yi Bing continued. 

They nodded in agreement. Girls are easily scared, especially the spoiled ones. And also guilty of something. 

"As for Xu Hongkai… the night rules made things convenient to execute." Yi Bing spoke. 

"That's true. No one would dare go out at night because two people have already died." Shi Jiu said. 

"And Pei Tingsong…" Yi Bing paused. He glanced at Huo Ling. 

"Suspended animation." Huo Ling spoke. "He put him in a suspended animation and found a child's corpse, heart and brain to place inside Xu Hongkai's corpse. To make everyone believe that it's the work of supernatural." He explained. 

"But, shouldn't there be a cut on Xu Hongkai's corpse?" Jiu Ye asked. 

"Of course, there is." Huo Ling answered. 

"Huh? But we didn't see it…" Jiu Ye said. 

Shi Jiu suddenly started. He realized it. "It can't be…" he muttered. 

"If it can't be seen in the front, then the cut is definitely in the back." Huo Ling said.