Afterlife Department

Chapter 35 - Mania

After using his spiritual energy to dissolve the mortal body he used and pass through the wall, Yi Bing followed Huo Ling. However, he walked towards the table and found some documents. "…" he speechlessly turned to Huo Ling who was busy looking for documents inside the file cabinet. "The reports about the cases on S apartment building is here. What are you looking there for?" he asked Huo Ling and turned to him. He saw Huo Ling's soul from neck down is outside while his head is inside the cabinet. Then, he watched as Huo Ling's head went out of a drawer. It was a sight. If Huo Ling's head was bigger than the size of the drawer, Yi Bing would've thought there might be a 'pop' sound that would be heard.

Huo Ling's eyes are blank as his gaze fell on the documents on Gu Xingfeng's table that were neatly arranged. "… I thought no one would carelessly leave something important behind in an unguarded place." He said. "I never expected the chief inspector of the S City Police Station would be a careless person." He added as his soul hovered towards Gu Xingfeng's table.. There, he saw Xu Wenrong's information and notes about Xu Wenrong. His eyes widened. "He's a pedophile?!" he exclaimed.

Yi Bing didn't comment and looked at Fu Ling's information. "They're related, but not by blood." he said after he saw the name of Fu Ling's stepmother.

Huo Ling nodded and looked to the side. His eyes caught sight of Su Rong's information. When he read the details, his pupils shrank.

Yi Bing noticed Huo Ling suddenly fell silent. His gaze focused on something. When Yi Bing looked at the notes attached to Su Rong's information, he felt his heart trembled. He turned to Huo Ling and saw his tears silently fell. Yi Bing felt his heart ached as he looked at Huo Ling's wronged expression. Huo Ling never reacted as strong as now when he felt he was wronged before. "Why?" he heard Huo Ling asked. "I never harmed him. But why should he kill me?" he asked. He already saw Gu Xingfeng's detailed notes. Attached to it was the teacher's answers when she was interrogated by Gu Xingfeng's subordinate after they went to Su Rong's high school alma mater. Everything was caused by misunderstanding. Huou Ling had also seen He Furong's and He Xiaozhu's relation. He now remembered when he almost died before and was saved by a passerby when he saw him stabbed on the back and fell on the ground after his attacker stabbed him.

He bitterly smiled. I was stabbed. Twice. I was mistaken. Twice. Trouble comes in twos. Just that one happened in the past, and the other happened at present. Huo Ling's bright soul dimmed.

Yi Bing didn't notice it since his eyes caught Li Lingling's information and Gu Xingfeng's notes attached to it. "Huo Ling." He called. "You saved Li Lingling befo – " he said and turned, only to be met by Huo Ling's glowing eyes and his orange soul that was mixed with black. "Ack!" he cried when Huo Ling's hand grabbed his neck and choked him. He was caught off-guard because of the sudden change in Huo Ling. He was careless! Once a soul learns the cause of its death, it will have a Mania! And this is the police station. This place will be filled by Foul! Huo Ling suddenly entering a Mania, he should have expected it!

Yi Bing was pushed back and should have hit Gu Xingfeng's table, rocking it causing for the documents to fall to the floor. However, fortunately, Yi Bing is now using his soul form and not his mortal body. Or else, when Gu Xingfeng returns, he would find his office in a mess!

Yi Bing's soul passed through Gu Xingfeng's table. He caught Huo Ling's hand while his other hand solidified his ice scythe. He was about to slice off Huo Ling's hands with it when he stopped after he saw Huo Ling's tears are falling from his glowing eyes. The Foul was contaminating his soul fast, but Yi Bing saw that the Foul was being burned by the fire in Huo Ling's soul.

Yi Bing was stunned. The fire in Huo Ling's soul has the same effect with his ice – purifying the Foul. However, since Huo Ling's resentment is internal, he was still affected by the Foul. "Huo Ling, wake up!" he called out to him. "Do you want me to freeze you again?!" he asked and made his ice scythe touch Huo Ling's hand. What he expected of freezing Huo Ling, his ice was instead melted as the fire in Huo Ling's soul burned brighter. "Huo Ling!" he called as he tried to pull Huo Ling's hand off of his neck. Huo Ling usually cannot touch him, but since he's in his soul form right now, Huo Ling can now freely harm him in any way he can!

Yi Bing finally felt his neck was burning. He looked at Huo Ling's flaming hands. He tried to use his ice to freeze his neck, but Huo Ling's fire just melted it! What is happening?! Why is Huo Ling's fire can melt his ice?

Each soul contains a special attribute, making one different from the other. For example, his soul's attribute is ice and Huo Ling's soul attribute is fire. One of the reasons why the Afterlife Department was created is to use the special attribute of the souls. They would use it to help the other souls reincarnate. The unofficial name of the Afterlife Department is Reincarnation Department. However, those who are officers in the Afterlife Department are cream of the top. Their soul's attribute is stronger than the average souls. Some average souls that are too weak cannot awaken their attribute thus they were sent to their next life. Some who were average were assessed and become an intern of the Afterlife Department. They will be trained to use their soul's attribute until they are strong enough and later be sent to work.

Yi Bing gritted his teeth as he forced himself to bear the heat and not to freeze Huo Ling to death! He looked at the fire growing stronger yet the fire alarm didn't trigger. Only that one would feel the atmosphere suddenly slowly becoming warmer. "Huo Ling, you - !" he called, in between of anger and helplessness. He kept his ice scythe and held Huo Ling's arms with his both hands.

"Haaaa…" Huo Ling breathed, his breath he emits is very hot like the air coming from the boiling volcano.

"AAAAH!" Yi Bing screamed as he poured more power in his ice and channeled to his hands. Huo Ling's arms immediately froze and the ice ran from his arms towards his shoulders, head, then down to his body.

The raging fire suddenly disappeared and was replaced by the smoke coming from the ice after the ice dispelled the fire. Gu Xingfeng's office suddenly was filled with crystalline dust, sparkling like diamonds when the light hits them. They were covered by slightly transparent smoke.

The atmosphere changed from warm to cool, but from time to time, the warm air comes back.