Chapter 56 - Reappearance

"Hahahahaha! Hahahaha - !" Qi Shan rolled on the floor, laughing, while he held his stomach. His right fist was even hitting the carpeted floor and there were tears coming out of his eyes, trickling down his flushed cheeks because he's out of breath from laughing. "0001, you're really, really unlucky!" he told Yi Bing and laughed again, almost having a fit.

"Sure not as unlucky as you." Yi Bing muttered as he glanced at Lei Shan, then to Qi Shan. Qi Shan didn't hear what he said since he was laughing loudly. Yi Bing was afraid the hotel staff would pass by and hear them, then see Lei Shan inside. Lei Shan had been on the rise lately because his death was uncovered. "Shut up." He told Qi Shan. This guy would endanger his assignment!

"Hahahaha… okay – haha." Qi Shan laughed as he wiped his tears. "So, did Di San reply?" he asked, referring to San Di.. Only people close to Di San can call him 'San Di' – meant, 'third earth'. He, Qi Shan and Gu Shi have earth abilities in the Afterlife Department. Qi Shan was the first one to appear in the Afterlife Department, followed by Gu Shi who became the director because of his temperament. Di San was the third earth ability user, thus he was called 'San Di'. Among the high-ranking officers in the Afterlife Department, only Qi Shan calls Di San by his given name. Gu Shi, Yi Bing, Feng Er, Jin Wu, Liu Lin, Si Shui, Hai Ba and Sha Jiu calls Di San as 'San Di', referring to him as the third earth ability user. Qi Shan wasn't named as 'Di' since his arrogance is as tall as the mountain. Gu Shi, on the other hand, lived and died in his hometown, which is situated in a valley thus he was named 'Gu' by the grim reaper that fetched him. And so, the 'Di' was given to Di San.

"No." Yi Bing answered. He looked at Huo Ling who was sitting on the floor and did a staring contest with the plant. Yi Bing's face was covered in dark lines.

"Eh…? If Di San won't reply, how about contacting Gu Shi?" Qi Shan asked.

"I already did. There's no reply from him." Yi Bing exhaled a puff of cold smoke from his mouth, surprising Huo Ling who made a soft sound of exclaim. He stared at him with his round eyes.

"Say, 0001. Isn't he cuter now compared to before? Before, he looked dull." Qi Shan commented as he remembered the first time he met Huo Ling. Huo Ling has no sense of presence. He only silently follows Yi Bing. "Right now, his mentality is that of a 3 years old kid. Look!" he chuckled when he saw Huo Ling pouted, his eyes watery as he stared at Yi Bing when Yi Bing ignored him.

Yi Bing felt a headache and he rubbed his temple. "Yeah. Sure. But are you the one who'd look after him? He's my assignment." He reminded Qi Shan. Qi Shan just shrugged. Yi Bing sighed and turned to Huo Ling. "…" he saw Huo Ling went to a corner, his back on them was filled with dejection. "Do you know where to buy a child rearing guide?" he asked Qi Shan.

Qi Shan roared in laughter. He told Lei Shan to try communicating with Huo Ling. Lei Shan tried to use his telepathy to Huo Ling again. However, it still failed. "There seems to be something blocking me from communicating with him." Lei Shan spoke.

That caught Qi Shan and Yi Bing's attention. "Something?" they both said.

"I can't reach his mind." Lei Shan said.

Yi Bing fell into a deep contemplation. "This is really weird." He said. "San Di usually immediately replies. Gu Shi, too." He said and tapped his wrist watch. An empty screen appeared above it. He received no reply.

"I'll try calling Di San." Qi Shan offered.

"Please do." Yi Bing said. Qi Shan never asks for help from Di San unless it is very important. "En? I received an auto-reply." He said and showed Yi Bing his screen.

3257: I am currently busy. Please redirect your queries to 1110.

Yi Bing saw it and he frowned. 1110 is the front office. Why? He sent his messages last night yet San Di… ah, right. There's a time difference in each world. Yi Bing have sent his message in the morning and the Afterlife Department received it also in the morning. However, if Yi Bing sent another message at night, the Afterlife Department might receive it still in the morning. Di San must have done something in between the time he sent his two messages, thus he can't reply. What could have been so important that both the director and assistant director have left? Di San and Gu Shi won't leave their post since the matters of the souls are too important.

He exhaled, then glanced at Huo Ling who was drawing on the floor using the powder he scattered earlier. He was giggling when he saw the figures he had drawn are amusing him. I hope nothing bad happens… he thought, thinking of the Afterlife Department. "We're on our own now." He said as he walked towards Huo Ling.

Huo Ling: ?

Yi Bing's brow twitched when he saw the big question mark Huo Ling wrote. "Does psychotherapy apply on the undead, too?" he asked Qi Shan.

Qi Shan almost lost it. He rolled in laughter again.

Afterlife Department.

Gu Shi looked at Di San, Feng Er, Si Shui, Jin Wu, Liu Lin, Hai Ba and Sha Jiu. His expression grave as he pointed to the projector screen. "As of late, 320 grim reapers have died." He started. "109 are injured. 40 are missing. 3 have AWOL-ed." He said and looked at one of them. "We can't blame those who have AWOL-ed. They were already given a second chance to live. Facing a Soul Eater, one would really get cold feet. Only those who are bravest among the brave ones can face them. Each of you are in a league of your own, and can kill two or more Soul Eaters. However, the unfortunate grim reapers that the Soul Eaters have chanced upon are just ordinary ones compared to you." He explained. "Right now, 25 Soul Eaters have been confirmed that appeared. We have to mobilize two groups – one for fetching the assignments left by those grim reapers that died, were injured, went missing and AWOL-ed. The second group – " he said. " – is to exterminate the Soul Eaters." He told them.