Afterlife Department

Afhterlife Department.

Above the countless layers of thick, white and cottony clouds lay a building made of glass. Inside, countless 'people' wore a suit of black color, contrasting the blinding sea of white around them, like blot of stains. If they can really be called 'people', looking like an ordinary human office worker, but they really are grim reapers. 

Currently, Gu Shi's office – which is on the topmost floor, is covered in ice. The chilling cold and white smoke from the beautiful crystalline ice around came out of the crevice between the door and the doorframe. The bone-chilling smoke went toward the hallway, slowly filling the whole topmost floor of the Afterlife Department. 

"Yi Bing!" Jin Wu called as he tried to break the door of Gu Shi's office with his fists. His skin has already peeled off and the muscles underneath were exposed, with the blood that's about to flow out of them becoming coagulated. His fists looked frightening, added to the fact that more and more skin of him are being peeled as he continued his attempt of breaking the door. 

Jin Wu gritted his teeth, not because of the pain on his fists.. The bones of his knuckles were already exposed when the last threads of the muscles of his hands were torn after the skin of his knuckles had completely peeled off. His knuckles looked like they were gnawed off. 

A layer of frost covered his hands, making the blood on his hands coagulate before they could escape and drip down the floor. Slowly, the layer of frost turned thick. Before the ice could penetrate more of his hands, turning them to brittle and becoming broken after a single strike, he already turned his hands to metal. After the ice disappeared on his fists, he turned his hands to human hands from metal hands. His skin is still peeled off, and the bones of his knuckles and the muscle of his fingers could be seen again. 

Not to mention struggling, he and the other grim reapers are already freezing from the coldness and about to turn to ice statues. Even though they are grim reapers and shouldn't feel hot or cold, but this is Yi Bing they are talking about. 

Yi Bing, code 0001. He is the first grim reaper of the Afterlife Department. They are afraid the cold air would spread to the whole building and Shen Sheng would hear of this incident then punish them all. If the senior grim reapers like them were barely holding their sanity, what would the junior grim reapers, who are weaker than them, become of? 

Inside Gu Shi's office, Gu Shi is unfazed as he looked at Yi Bing as they faced off. Yi Bing was standing before him, a few meters away. 

Yi Bing's face is as dark as the night and he held his scythe. Meanwhile, on his other hand is an orange ball with an angry face. Around his neck is a necklace with an ice pendant and the pendant is tied with a red string. 

"I did wipe your memories." Gu Shi calmly said with his black and chapped frozen lips while he stared at Yi Bing who stiffly stood facing him. Gu Shi's hair had turned white from the snow raining down on them. he can feel his muscles hardening because of the cold. 

The ice spread further. Yi Bing turned his scythe to a sword and pointed its tip to Gu Shi. "Why?" he asked him. 

"Have you forgotten the objective of the Afterlife Department?" Gu Shi asked. "'Never to interfere in one's life, but only in their death.'" He reminded him. 

Yi Bing's lips were pressed into a thin line as he tried to hold back his temper while his grip on his sword tightened. However, his whole body is trembling. Not from the cold but from an emotion he doesn't know. He is afraid to know, yet at the same time he is itching to know, but still trying to suppress it. "I know I shouldn't have." He said. His voice is low and hoarse as he controls his emotion. "But…" he gritted his teeth. He took a deep breath to calm himself before he looked at Gu Shi in the eyes. "How did I die?" he asked. He had never cared about his death nor the cause of it before, but now… 

Gu Shi's eyes widened before he suppressed his emotions. "Why ask now?" he asked. "It's normal for a grim reaper to not remember the way they died." He told him. 

"I am the first grim reaper." Yi Bing said. He should have a privilege. 

"I'll honestly tell you. It's because of you that the rule of wiping the grim reapers' memories came about." Gu Shi said. 

Yi Bing's hand holding his sword shook and his heart was moved. 

Gu Shi stared at Yi Bing before he sighed in pity. "Go back." He told him. "You should value your current assignment the most." He can't help but tell him, despite being warned by Shen Sheng before. 

"What?" Yi Bing said. 

"Just go." Gu Shi said. "Don't dally here longer." He said and turned his back at him. He didn't care the materials inside his office were covered in ice. He just calmly patted them off and resumed working. He really has the best temper among the grim reapers, thus he became the director of the Afterlife Department instead of Yi Bing who was the first grim reaper. 

Well, not that Yi Bing has an interest to become the director of the Afterlife Department… the guy is a lone wolf.

"What you did is violation of the rules." He said. "However, since you're the first grim reaper, I'll let it slide." He told Yi Bing who should be punished. "I won't mention what you did just now." He added. He's referring to Yi Bing's insubordination by attacking him instead of talking to him about the problem first. "You are dismissed." He told Yi Bing. 

Yi Bing gnashed his teeth in anger. He knew, since Gu Shi dared to remove his memories of Huo Ling in Huo Ling's third life – which is Huo Ling's second reincarnation, he knew he wouldn't get any answer from Gu Shi. Even if he'd kill Gu Shi, but Gu Shi will just reincarnate. Also, he wouldn't go so far as killing Gu Shi. 

He withdrew the ice all over the building. "Does Huo Ling have a relation with my former life?" he quietly asked after he had calmed himself. 

Gu Shi's hand flipping the frozen pages paused before he answered. "Yes." He answered, but his eyes are on the book. 

Yi Bing drew a sharp breath and he closed his eyes tight. No wonder he felt attached to Huo Ling. The reason why he felt closer to Huo Ling as time passed. Huo Ling was a part of his former life. 

"Gu Shi." He called. "Thank you." He told him before he stormed out of the office. 

When the door closed, Gu Shi released the breath he was holding. He tried to move his legs that had gone soft after holding back his fear of Yi Bing. Yi Bing is really frightening. He felt as if he's having an audience with Shen Sheng earlier instead of Yi Bing. That suffocating aura… he thought and leaned on his chair. 

When Yi Bing appeared in the Pathway of the Clouds, every step he made he left ice, and it caused a commotion. Everyone recognized him and immediately cleared the path, fearing Yi Bing would pierce them with his ice sword. When Gu Shi found out Yi Bing was back, he already expected Yi Bing to confront him with the matter of his missing memories of Huo Ling when Huo Ling was young in his third life. 

When Yi Bing went out of Gu Shi's office, they all saw him kept his ice sword away and left without looking back at them. 

Jin Wu was about to call Yi Bing, but saw Yi Bing had already disappeared from their sight. He instead went inside Gu Shi's office and sighed in relief when he saw Gu Shi is still 'alive'. "What happened just now?" he asked. 

"A disagreement." Gu Shi answered. "However, Yi Bing will be fine from now on." He said. 

Jin Wu is still puzzled, but he didn't speak more. He uttered words of comfort to Gu Shi before he left together with the grim reapers waiting outside. 

Just as the door closed, Gu Shi lowered his gaze. Yi Bing now has a clear goal – that is, to know his relationship with Huo Ling in his former life. He can only do that after Huo Ling completed his reincarnation cycle, and he will be free from Huo Ling. 

Without any assignments on hand, Yi Bing can freely investigate about his past life and his relationship with Huo Ling. However, one question is to be asked: can Yi Bing let go of Huo Ling for the sake of knowing their past?