Afterlife Department

Chapter 81 - Poisoned

A tear fell from Huo Ling's eye before he slowly opened his eyes. "Huh?" he muttered, his voice nasally. He held his chest when he felt it ached. "Why do I feel my heart is heavy?" He asked. "Why am I… crying?" he added, his voice almost a whisper.

"Huo Ling, get up!" A voice called. "You'll be late for class!" he heard them said as they spoke by the door. They're about to leave.

Huo Ling still can't process in his mind what is happening. He's confused. However, he nonetheless answered. "… okay...." he said, but his voice weak and hoarse. He then wiped his tears. However, even if the tears have already disappeared, but the pain in his chest didn't. I seem… to forget something. He thought. Something important... something very, very important.

Just as he thought that and he felt his chest became more painful. He suddenly had a hard time breathing. "Hah... hah... hah - " he gasped as he clutched his chest and catching his breath. "Help…" he cried as he fell on his bed, creating a loud thud. His forehead is beaded by cold sweat.

"Huo Ling?" the person who called him heard the noise. Huo Ling heard the door opened. They already left, but came back. Only to see Huo Ling fell from his bed, clutching his chest and he was groaning in pain! "Huo Ling!" they called and immediately went to Huo Ling who was heavily sweating. His back and clothes are soaked. They took out their phone to call, but their hand is shaking in fright. "Huo Ling... hang in there!" they told him.

However, Huo Ling can't. The pain is killing him! And it did – he died.

"… huh? I did?" Huo Ling muttered when he felt the pain on his chest suddenly disappeared. "No way… I… died?" he thought and looked at his motionless body as his soul separated from it. "No… way… I… really… died?" he asked as he stared at his classmate crying over his now lifeless body. "No way... no... way... eh? Huh?" he said, his eyes slowly widened as the realization dawned on him. "Eh? Eh.... EH?! AAAHHH!!! I DIED!!!!" he screamed as he held his head and he fell on his knees. His voice should've shaken their dormitory awake, but it didn't since no one can hear him from now on. "No way… you're lying… how can I die? How did I die?!" he asked and looked at his body. "AAAHHH! I really died! Why?! I'm really dead!!!" he screamed in both shock and frustration. "And what's this? Is this my soul?! I'm so transparent! I'm a gas now! I can't touch anything solid!" he said. "I really died..." he looked at his corpse while his classmate is still crying. "How did...?" he asked.

"Heart failure due to poison." a voice answered behind him.

"Oh, it's heart failure." He said. "That's right. No one knows I have a weak heart…" He said and remembered his medical result. He deliberately hid it from others so that they won't think he's a frail person. Only his teachers and the doctor and nurse in their clinic knew of his condition. "Wait." he said when he realized something. "'poison'?" he muttered and raised his head. "Wait… 'POISON'?! I AM POISONED?! WHY? WHO WOULD THAT?! HOW?!" he asked, then froze when he realized someone answered him just now. Someone heard me? He thought. Then, he turned and saw a handsome and tall man dressed in a black suit. His long black hair was tied by a red string. "Who are you?" he asked, surprised to see there's an extra person in their dormitory room.

Yi Bing's eyes softened as he looked at Huo Ling. Here we go again. He thought and pressed back the smile on appearing on his lips. "Hello. Nice to meet you." He said and cleared his throat when it itched. "I am Yi Bing, Afterlife Department's grim reaper, code 0001." He told him.

Huo Ling's eyes widened. "'grim reaper'?!" he exclaimed and he crawled away from him. "No way… a grim reaper… I'm really dead?" he muttered. Then, he looked at Yi Bing. He looked like an ordinary human. However, he can see me. And - he turned to look at his classmate Xu Ke. Ah Ke can't see him. So, this man is really a grim reaper? He returned his gaze on Yi Bing. "Are you... here to fetch me?" he asked. "What you have said earlier... I'm really dead, huh?" He lowered his head.

"Yes." Yi Bing answered as he took out his Death Note. "As I've said not long ago, it was a heart failure after you took a poison." He explained.

"'poison'..." Huo Ling frowned. "What poison? How can I kill myself?!" he asked Yi Bing.

"Have you eaten or drank anything this day?" Yi Bing asked. "What did you last eat? When did you last drink?" He added.

"Y – yes… I have eaten cookies not long ago, then drank a juice." Huo Ling answered as his soul trembled in fear. "You don't mean…" he said and looked at Yi Bing.

"It must be from the food or the drink." Yi Bing said as he placed his fingers on his chin. "However, there are various poisons and various ways to use them. So, it's not necessarily food poisoning." He explained.

Huo Ling sighed in relief. So I didn't kill myself. He thought, then looked at Yi Bing. "Wait – " he said as realization dawned on him. " – someone wanted to kill me?!" he said, shocked.

"Could be." Yi Bing answered.

"But who could it be?!" Huo Ling asked. "I don't have enemies! I am a friendly person! I am a law-abiding citizen!" He told him.

"But it doesn't rule out the fact that you're dead, and the cause is poisoning." Yi Bing reminded him.

Huo Ling wanted to retort, but it seemed as if he had lost his voice. "Someone really… wanted to kill me?" he asked, his voice weak because of what he heard.

"… maybe." Yi Bing answered as he stared at Huo Ling's face that gone paler. He followed Gu Shi's suggestion to watch Huo Ling live in this world. However, even so, he hasn't seen who was the culprit of Huo Ling's death. Well, it's not as if he can interfere with it, though. But, the most ironic thing is, Huo Ling's death is set. He died at the age of 23. This world is a Normal World. Nothing interfered with Huo Ling's death. He died as how it should be. "Do you want to know who poisoned you?" he asked.

"You know who it is?"

"No." Yi Bing answered. "But, I can help you find them." he told him.

"I – " Huo Ling took a deep breath, seeming to feel that pain from his chest again.

"Hehehehe…" they suddenly heard someone laughed. They turned and saw it was Huo Ling's classmate. "Huo Ling… you finally died! Ahahaha! Hahahaha!"

Huo Ling and Yi Bing froze and their eyes became blank before their face darkened. They easily found his killer.

"EH?!?!?! IT'S HIM?!" Huo Ling said as he pointed at his classmate. "No way… how can it be?!" he said, a look of disbelief on his face.

Yi Bing's face couldn't be any blanker. He also can't believe to immediately meet the one who killed Huo Ling. So fast?! "Who is he?" he asked, his voice emotionless.

Huo Ling turned to him. "He's Ah Ke… Xu Ke. He's my friend. We've been friends since high school!" he said. "There's no way he would kill me! There's no grudge between us!" he said, defending Xu Ke.

"You say that, but isn't he rejoicing now?" Yi Bing looked at Xu Ke maniacally laughing.

"BWAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHA!"

Huo Ling's face darkened. "This can't be… he's been really good…" he said as his tears fell. He squatted in the corner and drew circles. His back looked very dejected. "Ah Ke… why would you kill me? Why? What wrong have I done?" he asked, feeling very wronged.

However, they didn't hear an answer since Xu Ke was just laughing. Yi Bing frowned and wanted to hit Xu Ke. Can't you already make a speech stating your motive for killing Huo Ling? He looked at Huo Ling who was now crying like a child. He felt his head aching.

Suddenly, the door opened. "Xu Ke! What hap – " three people arrived. They were shocked to see Huo Ling's lifeless body beside Xu Ke who's still having a laughing fit. "Xu Ke, you…" they said.

Huo Ling's eyes brightened when he saw them. "Ah Zhe! Ah Lin! Ah Ting! Ah Ke… Ah Ke killed m – "

"You finally did it! Well done!" the three newcomers said.

"… eh?" Huo Ling and Yi Bing said. Did we hear it wrong?

"Huo Ling finally died! Thank goodness! Let's celebrate! Ah Ming!" they called as they went outside. "Huo Ling's dead! He's finally dead!"

"REALLY?! That's good news!" someone outside who just arrived said.

"… eh?" Huo Ling and Yi Bing looked at each other, their face full of confusion. "EH?!"

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