Afterlife Department

Silence fell upon them for a while.

Then, finally, Mo Shi sighed in defeat. "You are right." He said and walked towards the window.

Huo Ling looked at him. "You…" he said as his expression turned serious while he watched Mo Shi gaze outside the window with a desolate expression. "Don't give me that crap. I already know your backstory, so don't give me this sh*t. I won't cooperate with you by asking you if you have some sad and sobbing life story!" he said and lied back down the bed. "This kind of thing only happens in movies and novels! And you aren't in one!" he added before he turned his back to Mo Shi and closed his eyes to sleep.

As expected, Mo Shi's face turned dark. "You…!" he said and gnashed his teeth in anger before he jumped towards Huo Ling like a cat pouncing on a mouse.

BAM! Their bodies collided and Huo Ling grunted before be pushed Mo Shi off of his body forcefully. Grim reapers are stronger than humans so with this one, casual-looking push of Huo Ling, Mo Shi's body hit the floor with a loud thud.

"Ugh!" Mo Shi grunted. He was about to fight back when, suddenly, the TV played an urgent news.

"Oh, my god! Mr. Glenn got into a car crash?!" they heard the crowd on the TV exclaimed in shock as they looked at the car that was flaming in the distance.

"Ai. Gu Lin is really unlucky. This must be done by another competitor in business, huh?" someone said with a sigh. "Who wouldn't envy someone young but very successful though?" he said.

There were many people around taking pictures and videos behind the police's line while the reporters are busy reporting the news live at the scene. The sound of ambulance is fading in the distance, taking the injured people away.

"'Mr. Glenn'… 'Gu Lin'?" Huo Ling muttered and looked at Mo Shi.

"Oh. This one is familiar?" Mo Shi muttered and tilted his head as he tried to recall where did he hear the name.

Huo Ling placed a palm on his face and sighed. "Hot search! He was mentioned in the hot search in Weibo!" he reminded Mo Shi. "The one who that actress claimed she have climbed the bed with!" he added.

"Oh!" Mo Shi muttered and immediately took out his phone. Still lying on the floor, he opened the app.

Oh. You are right." He said when he saw the hot search. "He is really in the business circle." He added.

Huo Ling nodded his head. "First, he was used by an actress. Now, he got into an accident." He said as he watched the news. "He is really unlucky…" he muttered.

"'unlcuky'?" Mo Shi started when he heard the word. He immediately got up the floor and looked at Huo Ling.

Huo Ling turned and also looked at him. Their eyes met and their gazes talked. "Exchange of fates?" they both said.

"This is reasonable." Mo Shi said. "He was so successful after all, and now he got caught into bad things one after another. Someone from that crowd also said that many people envies him. So, it isn't surprising that someone wanted to kill him, or exchange fates with him." he explained.

Huo Ling nodded as he looked at Mo Shi with a gaze, seemingly saying that Mo Shi finally grew a brain. "Yes. Envy is one of the sins, followed by greed." He said. "Many people envies him to the point that they wanted to kill him. But – " his face turned serious as they listened to the reporter saying that Gu Lin was heavily injured.

"But, they heard about this evil practice of exchanging fates." Mo Shi said. "They got greedy, and thus used this." He frowned in displeasure.

Huo Ling hummed in agreement. "Things are getting messier." He said and tiredly sighed. "Your circle is really messy." He told Mo Shi.

A vein popped in Mo Shi's forehead. "I said that I don't belong in this circle! I never did!" he told him.

"Okay, okay…" Huo Ling just said and rolled his eyes before he closed them to sleep.

…

City of the Dead

"Deserters…" Pei Guang's expression became serious as he and Shen Sheng started to drink. He looked outside where Shou Ji and Shi Jiu relay the message to all the grim reapers present that there is a, or fugitives, that is/are on the run currently creating havoc in the mortal world by using exchanging of fates to make a mess in the mortal world.

If this continued, the mortal world would be doomed soon as it would fall into chaos due to their envy and greed.

"'fugitives'…" Pei Guang shook his head and took a big gulp of his drink. "Indeed. They are fugitives." He said, referring to the Deserters.

'Deserters' is a vulgar term they use for these fugitives that have abandoned their identity as a grim reaper, including their tasks. Worse, they have committed sins like killing souls without authorization, and many more.

"You sent Jin Wu's apprentice with Huo Ling… you have already expected that this matter was done by a Deserter." Pei Guang said as he looked at Shen Sheng who just smiled. "And, you think that Jin Wu's apprentice can handle this by himself?" he said.

What he meant is that, it is the Disciplinary Committee's task to catch the fugitives and so Mo Shi was sent, as someone from the Disciplinary Committee.

Shen Sheng graciously drank, albeit his drink is beer. "If we don't temper the new generation of grim reapers, what will that leave the Afterlife Department be?" he asked back.

Pei Guang frowned. "The youngest Deserter is at least four hundred years old! How can Jin Wu's apprentice can compare to him?" he asked, then paused when he thought of something. "Don't say that Jin Wu's apprentice can rely on his talent, or that he is a genius and he can unblock a vein (release his potential). This isn't a simple matter!" he told him.

But, Shen Sheng's expression remained calm.

Pei Guang's face darkened. "Shen Taizi… right now, what you are doing isn't tempering the new generation." He said as he looked at him. "You… might be killing them." he said with a sigh.

Not just a normal killing… if Mo Shi, and also Huo Ling, would really meet the Deserter or Deserters, they would really die! As in, end! This is a grim reaper versus grim reaper! Either one of them dies, or both, with their souls scattering!

Shen Sheng looked at him. Pei Guang's brow twitched. This is what they say that the emperor isn't anxious but his eunuchs are! He thought and sighed in defeat. He knows that Shen Sheng won't change his decision.

Shen Sheng chuckled upon seeing his expression. "Don't worry." He said and smiled, assuring him. "Do you think that Jin Wu, especially Yi Bing, would let their apprentices would die?" he asked.

Pei Guang's mind was blank at first before he started. His eyes widened and he looked at him in shock. "You mean…?!" he muttered. "They descended to the mortal realm?!" he exclaimed.

…

Huo Ling slowly opened his eyes when he felt that the temperature dropped. He turned and saw Mo Shi was still lying on the floor, but is now asleep. Huo Ling sighed and got up from the bed. He fixed his clothes before he went down the bed, only to suddenly freeze.

His eyes slowly widened when he saw a shadow by the door. He slowly raised his gaze and met with a pair of ice-cold blue eyes staring at him silently. Huo Ling's heart skipped a beat, startled, before he immediately recovered his expression.

"Yi Bing." He called when he recognized who it is.

A figure formed from the darkness. It is as if Huo Ling saw the hem of a black cloak rubbed against the floor. But, when the figure came into the light, the hem of the black cloak disappeared and was replaced by a pair of shining, black leather shoes and black, expensive-looking pants.

"Huo Ling." Yi Bing called as his figure finally fully stepped on the light.

Huo Ling raised his head and took on a full look of Yi Bing. Yi Bing looked like the first time that he has seen that day when he died. It wasn't just a glimpse, but a long, hard stare, for this man… ehem, no, grim reaper, is extremely good-looking.

Now that Huo Ling thought about it, his long stare at Yi Bing may be the reason that he died. He can't help but feel pissed again, and was about to talk sarcastically again when suddenly, he noticed that there is something different with Yi Bing.

"… you look paler than usual?" Huo Ling muttered as his eyes widened in shock.

Yi Bing didn't answer, but he slightly turned.. Huo Ling followed his gaze and his mouth fell open when he saw Jin Wu.