Afterlife Department

Chapter 28 - Coincidences

The door of Su Rong's unit opened yet Su Rong didn't notice it. He was too absorbed in cursing Huo Ling. "Huo Ling!" Su Rong roared as he murderously glared at his computer screen. It's as if he can see Huo Ling's face.

"Huo Ling!" Yi Bing called out at the same time. He took out his ice scythe and froze the whole apartment unit. Then, he pulled Huo Ling's frozen soul outside. Just as he left, the ice inside 202 melted and the door of the unit closed. "Huo Ling!" Yi Bing called to Huo Ling whose eyes are blank and his bright orange soul turned dim because it was contaminated with Foul. "I was too careless…" he muttered as he began to froze the Foul inside Huo Ling's soul.

"Uhg…. aaaaaaaAAAAAH!!!" Huo Ling's scream became louder as time passed by while his soul was purified by Yi Bing's ice. "AAAAAAAHHH!!! STOP IT! STOP IT! YI BING! STOP! REMOVE THE ICE!" he screamed as his soul squirmed on the floor.. Because the soul is transparent, the ice can be seen crawling inside Huo Ling's soul as it freezes the Foul contaminating Huo Ling. "Yi Bing! I beg you! No more ice - !" Huo Ling gritted his teeth as his soul stiffened. But, he received no reply from Yi Bing. Huo Ling's tears fell. "YI BING!" he called. But, it's as if Yi Bing can't hear him and just had his back on him. "YI BING - !" he screamed as he started to lose his consciousness because of the pain.

He had never felt this cold.

S City Police Station.

"What?!" Hao Baiyun was shocked. "If Huo Ling defended Su Rong… what the hell happened?!" he said.

"The teachers talked to the people involved separately." Gu Xingfeng said. "They already asked the both parties and told them to go back to the class first. However, not long after and a witness appeared." He said.

"Huo Ling." Hao Baiyun said.

Gu Xingfeng nodded. "Yes." he said. "However, Huo Ling didn't announce it in the class. He talked to the teachers first. Then, Su Rong and this classmate of theirs were called again, and were separately interrogated. Su Rong stated he was innocent and was told to wait outside. Meanwhile, the classmate insisted Su Rong stole something from him. Suddenly, Huo Ling – who had long been waiting inside, appeared in front of the classmate and the teachers and presented his evidence. It was an audio clip. It turns out, he was recording his singing but then he coincidentally recorded a crime." He said. "It was a prank. This classmate is actually a bully. They chose Su Rong as their target during the first day." He looked at Hao Baiyun. "When Huo Ling walked out of the teachers' office, Su Rong saw him. Then, Su Rong was called that it was just a prank. His classmate apologized to him. However, the suspicion is already there." He sighed. "Huo Ling coincidentally appeared before Su Rong learned everything was a prank. When Su Rong heard it was done by a group, he included Huo Ling with that group." He explained.

"Just because of this, he hated Huo Ling?" Hao Baiyun asked.

Gu Xingfeng shook his head. "Huo Ling just happened to drop out the same day. There has no time to explain, and Su Rong thought it was Huo Ling's act to avoid his shame." He explained. "Even though everything has been brought to light, yet Su Rong already thought Huo Ling was one of those who tried to harm him. No one mentioned Huo Ling, since he dropped out before his name became official as a student, and that only the teachers knows Huo Ling is the witness. They also didn't bother to clarify since they thought that the matter would pass, and to avoid embarrassing Su Rong more." He explained.

"All these…" Hao Baiyun said and held his already cold drink. "… just mere coincidences, yet the impact in one's life…"

Gu Xingfeng didn't comment. He just tidied up his table. "Wanna grab dinner?" he asked.

Hao Baiyun shook his head. "What about Fu Ling?" he asked. "Tan Yu, Wei Jing, Wu She and Xu Wenrong?" he added.

Hearing the names. Gu Xingfeng froze on his seat. "On the other hand, let's talk about this now rather than during dinner." He said.

Hearing Gu Xingfeng's words, Hao Baiyun's heart clenched. When he went inside Fu Ling's unit – 201, he saw it was filled with resentment. Her death was very brutal. Hao Baiyun immediately left to breathe after he almost suffocated inside the unit. As for Tan Yu's unit, he didn't have the chance to check it. As for Xu Wenrong, Wei Jing and Xue She, he hadn't met them. But, seeing their pictures on the desk, he could see the bad karma between them.

Seeing Hao Baiyun's heavy expression. Gu Xingfeng wryly smiled. "Yes. This will be a long story." He told him and placed the pictures in order.

The rain became heavier and poured harder outside. The surrounding became colder, and one can't help but seek for warmth.

Unfortunately, Huo Ling can never find warmth – only feel a biting cold running all over his soul like a thousand ants nibbling on his skin. He heavily panted and, even if it is cold, but he was sweating as he weakly floated on the floor. His eyes lifeless as he stared at Yi Bing. "Awake?" the man's cold voice asked.

"Hmn." Huo Ling softly hummed since he can't move his soul and just let it drift around Yi Bing who was pulling his 'tail' to keep him from floating away.

"Have you found something from Su Rong?" Yi Bing asked.

"Yeah." Huo Ling answered. "He hates me to death." He answered and looked at his transparent hands.

Yi Bing looked at him, speechless. "If the police are reliable, you will know why he killed you." he told him to console him.

Huo Ling bitterly laughed. "What's the point? I'm already dead." He said.

"The reason why we should know why you died is to resolve your grudges." Yi Bing told him.

Huo Ling didn't speak. "What if it won't be resolved?" he asked, his voice quiet but Yi Bing heard it.

Yi Bing turned to him. "You…" he said. I already get rid of the Foul in his soul, so why does he still looked depressed? He thought.

Huo Ling saw Yi Bing's expression and it's as if he guessed his thoughts. "Do you know why am I still unhappy, Mr. Grim Reaper?" he asked.

"Why?" Yi Bing's curiosity got him to ask Huo Ling.

"Because even if everything was given a reason – " Huo Ling said. " – there's nothing can be done to erase the things we've done." He answered.