Afterlife Department

Chapter 9 – Hao Baiyun

"No. It's nothing." Hao Baiyun answered and passed by Huo Ling who had a shocked look on his face as he stared at Hao Baiyun.

"AAAAAH!!! Yi Bing! Yi Bing!" Huo Ling called from outside.

Yi Bing heard Huo Ling's cry for help but he ignored him since he was avoiding Hao Baiyun's gaze falling to him. "Hm?" Hao Baiyun muttered when he saw a shadow moved next to the corpses.

"Young master Hao?" the man behind called his attention.

"Strange…" Hao Baiyun muttered as his brows knit while he looked at the direction of the corpses. "I think I saw something – "

"Who the hell are you?" someone's voice broke his thoughts.

Hao Baiyun turned and saw a policeman looking at him filled with hostility. He's already used to this so he gave him his professional smile. "Hi. I'm Hao Baiyun, from the Supernatural Department – " he said.

Someone laughed, cutting his speech. "Supernatural?" someone said, mockery in his voice. "We don't believe in such a thing. Go play somewhere else, kid – " he said.

Hao Baiyun's eyes narrowed. His figure flashed and in the next second, he was behind the policeman who spoke. His two fingers on the policeman's nape. "If I have a gun, you would've already been dead." He said. "Don't worry. I don't kill anyone." He told the other policemen who reached for the gun in their waist.

The man following Hao Baiyun immediately spoke. "He's young master Hao – Hao Baiyun. He is the director of the Supernatural Department that deals with supernatural things related with certain cases." He explained.

"'Hao'?" someone spoke. Then, his eyes widened in shock. "Isn't he –

Yi Bing successfully exited the unit. "I know." He told the panicking Huo Ling. "His blood is already thin, yet he is undoubtedly a descendant of a cultivator." He said.

"Yes, yes!" Huo Ling said as he floated behind Yi Bing, his eyes vigilantly looking at Hao Baiyun who freed the policeman that mocked him earlier. "They are a prominent family in Shanghai. I deliver to them sometimes." He said.

"What do you deliver?" Yi Bing asked.

"… flowers." Huo Ling answered. "I have worked in a flower shop." He told Yi Bing. Then, his eyes fell on Hao Baiyun once again. "There was a time when I delivered an order and it was a kind old lady who opened the door for me. She invited me inside for a drink. Then, I met Hao Baiyun who happened to pass by." He said. "He saw me, and talked to me while speaking strange things." His gaze lowered.

"Like what?" Yi Bing asked.

"Like – " Huo Ling said and watched Hao Baiyun walk around inside the unit. " – how I'll forever be a delivery guy, and that I'd never find a girlfriend in this lifetime – " he said. " – and I'll never have a pet… oh!" he bumped his fist on his palm when he remembered something. "He also told me I'll die at the age of 23 because I was stabbed." He added.

Yi Bing's face couldn't any be blanker. "So… is he a master or pretending to be one?" he asked.

"Well… he is a master since he guessed everything that happened in my life." Huo Ling said.

Yi Bing watched Hao Baiyun walk around, speaking something to the man following him. "Cultivators aren't popular nowadays. And since a cultivator's blood in him is very thin, he can only do the job of an exorcist." He said.

Huo Ling nodded. "Yes. He can also be a fortune teller." He said as he looked at Hao Baiyun's fingers moving as if he was counting. "Won't he see us?" he asked Yi Bing.

"… he can." Yi Bing answered.

Huo Ling's face was covered in dark lines. "Shouldn't we be running now?" he asked.

"… I'm the only one he will 'see'." Yi Bing said. "It'll only be my shadow he'll see."

"But you don't have a shadow." Huo Ling said and looked at Yi Bing's feet.

"What I meant of shadow is the figure of my real form." Yi Bing said.

Huo Ling looked at him. "Seriously?" he said.

"He'll only see a blurry image of my form." Yi Bing said and looked at Hao Baiyun. "He wouldn't be suspicious if it's in dark places. He'll only feel – "

"Strange…" Hao Baiyun suddenly said.

" – but, if he'll see a shadow when it's bright – " Yi Bing said.

Hao Baiyun suddenly turned outside. But, he saw nothing. "What's wrong, young master Hao?" the man following him asked.

"… I seemed to feel something outside." Hao Baiyun answered.

"Something – " the man following him said and turned outside. " – … strange?" he said.

Hao Baiyun nodded before he moved his gaze from outside. Yi Bing's figure flashed beside Huo Ling. " – he'll definitely see a shadow outside." He said as he leaned on the wall and opened the Death Note.

Huo Ling followed him and saw Yi Bing flipping the blank pages of Death Note. "You're looking for something?" he asked.

"I'm checking the woman's name, as well as the other three's, names on the Death Note." Yi Bing said.

"Isn't the woman an Abnormal Soul like me?" Huo Ling asked. "My name isn't there, so her name also shouldn't be – "

" – here." Yi Bing said and pointed somewhere on the blank page.

Huo Ling sharply turned and squinted at the Death Note. Yi Bing saw his action and he muttered 'idiot' before he pulled Huo Ling's hand and placed it on the Death Note. "Wha – you're right! Her name is really here!" Huo Ling exclaimed and uttered a curse when he saw Fu Ling's name on the Death Note. "What does this mean?! Why is her soul on the Death Note and mine isn't?!" he asked.

Yi Bing was also confused. "I have to check her soul again to confirm." He said and looked at Fu Ling's door before he turned to Huo Ling.

"What?" Huo Ling said. "Her corpse was already taken away!" he told him.

Yi Bing looked away. "Let's check the other three's soul." He said and scrolled down the page like it was a touchscreen. "It isn't here." He muttered.

Huo Ling looked at the alphabetical arrangement of the names and didn't see Wei Jing's name on the page. "How about the other two?" he asked.

"Also not here." Yi Bing answered, a serious expression on his face.

Huo Ling stared at him. "But, we didn't see their soul…" he muttered. "What does his mean?" he asked.

"Their soul isn't present in the mortal world, so they should be reincarnated. But – " Yi Bing said. " – their soul isn't in the Death Note. This…" he said.

"What is it?" Huo Ling asked.

"Either their soul disappeared, or – " Yi Bing said. " – their soul was eaten."

"'eaten'?!" Huo Ling was shocked. "What do you… it couldn't be what I am thinking… right?" he said and awkwardly smiled.

Yi Bing stared at him. "Do you still not believe in supernatural things?" he asked. "What you're thinking is right – " he said. " – there are monsters present in this world that eat souls. They are called Soul Eaters."

Black lines covered Huo Ling's face. "Are you copying an anime again – " he said.

" – there's an 's' added at the end." Yi Bing told him, then his expression returned to serious. "What's happening right now is really – "

"Strange…" Hao Baiyun's voice can be heard. "I think I heard voices – " he said.

Yi Bin immediately pulled the 'feet' of Huo Ling's soul and ran away – Huo Ling was flying like a kite following Yi Bing.