Afterlife Department

Chapter 12 - Anji Li

"She's beautiful." Huo Ling exclaimed as he watched Anji Li flew in front of them. To his surprise, Anji Li smiled and bowed.

"Thank you for the praise." She said, her voice serene. "May I ask for master's order?" she asked and turned to Yi Bing. Sha Jiu already programmed her to cater to Yi Bing's beck and call.

Yi Bing suppressed the irritation he felt on his chest. "Anji. Go check if there are other corpses in this building." He told the doll. The police already took Fu Ling, Wei Jing, and the other two male corpses earlier. However, the Foul still haven't left the apartment building.. Instead, it became denser.

Anji Li respectfully bowed, a kind smile on her face. "Yes, master." She obediently answered.

They watched as the Lolita angel doll fluttered her wings and flew to the first floor. She stopped in the middle of the first floor, the rain passed through her body. She closed her eyes and she clasped her hands as if in a prayer. Then, the halo above her head glowed brightly and became bigger until it covered the whole floor.

The light is so bright and entered the windows of the apartment units, yet the people inside didn't notice anything. After a few minutes and the light died down, becoming smaller until it became a halo.

However, Huo Ling saw something in the middle of the halo. A number? He thought as he squinted his eyes to see what the number is. But, he doesn't need to squint, since Anji Li already spoke the number.

"3."

The usually serene voice rattled Huo Ling's heart. His eyes widened and a chill ran down his spine. He sharply turned to Yi Bing. "I – " he said. I didn't see any corpse earlier!

Yi Bing knows what he's going to say. "Anji Li can't lie." He said.

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Huo Ling's lips pursed. He wants to say something yet he chose to be silent. He turned and watched Anji Li finish scanning the second floor. He felt his heart sank when she spoke another number. "2." He muttered as he looked at the number appeared on Anji Li's halo before it turned 5 – the total number of the corpses on the first and second floor. "There are two more corpses aside from Fu Ling's, Wei Jing's and the two others?" he asked Yi Bing.

Yi Bing didn't need to answer, since Anji Li spoke the truth. They watched as the Lolita doll scanned each floor. The process lasted for fifteen minutes before Anji Li flew back. Yi Bing removed the halo on Anji Li's head and looked at the number.

20. Huo Ling's heart sank. He watched Yi Bing pressed the halo. It was actually a screen. On the screen, there's a tally of the number of corpses on each floor. "What's going on?" Huo Ling asked, his face filled with worry.

"There's really something in this building." Yi Bing said.

"A Soul Eater?" Huo Ling asked.

"Anji Li only scanned the corpses. As for the soul – " Yi Bing said and looked at Anji Li who was floating in front of them. Yi Bing opened the box and Anji Li flew inside. Huo Ling's lip twitched as he watched Anji Li lay inside the box like a corpse while the box is her coffin. " – it's the duty of the grim reapers." Yi Bing told Huo Ling as he returned the box inside his suitcase.

Huo Ling immediately watched the box went inside the suitcase, and then disappeared. "… a magic portal?" he looked at Yi Bing.

Yi Bing didn't answer and looked at the 'halo' in his hand. "There're the list of the units that hid the corpses." He said as he looked at the screen. "101." He said.

Huo Ling was shocked. "Hey!" he said. "There's a living person there!" he told Yi Bing. He just checked the unit yet he found no corpse!

"Anji Li can't lie." Yi Bing said.

Huo Ling shut up. He just can't discredit a doll, can he? He thought. He followed Yi Bing back to the first floor. "How will you check the corpse?" he asked, then paused. He peeked at Yi Bing who took out his phone and dialed a number. "Police again?" he said.

To his surprise, Yi Bing shook his head. "No." he answered.

Huo Ling was confused. "Then how – " he said. How will Yi Bing enter the unit? The answer was given to him in just a second.

"Yo! Are you tired of your life? Then go out and play! Are you tired of your life? Then get knocked out, hey!"

Huo Ling's face was covered in dark lines when a heavy metal music played from Yi Bing's phone. He looked at Yi Bing with judging eyes.

Yi Bing coughed and looked away. "San Di downloaded this on my phone. I didn't know this'll be useful today – " he said and turned when the door of the 101 opened. He immediately stopped the music when a man came out and looked around, only to find no one outside. "Let's go!" he told Huo Ling.

"Yes!" Huo Ling said and passed through the wall while Yi Bing slipped inside. "Why don't you turn to your… spirit form? Soul form?" he asked when Yi Bing successfully entered just as the door was closed.

"Everything has its advantages and disadvantages." Yi Bing just said. If he'd go back to his soul form, he can't hold objects.

Huo Ling finally realized this and he shut up. "Mn." He muttered and didn't ask anymore. He looked around and found nothing unusual.

"One under the bed. Another one is in the kitchen." Yi Bing spoke.

Huo Ling jumped out of fright. "What?! There are two here?!" he said, then looked at Anji Li's halo on Yi Bing's hand. "The places were even listed…?" he said in surprise.

"Sha Jiu's doll is very efficient." Yi Bing said.

Huo Ling felt stabbed by his words. He didn't take it to heart. He isn't Yi Bing's underling, anyway. Yi Bing walked towards the bed while Huo Ling walked towards the kitchen. He looked around and his gaze fell under the kitchen sink. He raised his hand to reach the knob.

"Huo Ling."

"Hii!" Huo Ling gasped and he sharply turned. He saw Yi Bing standing beside the wall. "So fast?" he said.

Yi Bing nodded. "There's no soul on the corpse." He told him and reached the knob under the kitchen counter.

Huo Ling's face paled when he saw a child was crouched inside. "A child…" he muttered. His eyes suddenly felt hot. His tears finally can't help but fall.

Yi Bing didn't comment and softly spoke. "The child died of asphyxiation." He said. "His mother remarried but the man is a drunkard. He was too thin and the man always abuses him every time his mother is out working." He said. What kind of abuse, anyone could guess looking at the child's bruised body. "His mother finally noticed, but too late. When she looked for her child, he already died. His mother tried looking for him, but she was killed by her husband." He finished.

The child was actually hiding from his stepfather, but his stepfather found out where he was hiding. He then trapped him inside of his hiding place until he died.