Afterlife Department

Chapter 532 - Exorcist

"Hm?" Huo Ling turned when he felt Yi Bing\'s gaze on him. "What\'s wrong?" he asked.

"… nothing." Yi Bing answered and looked away.

Question marks appeared above Huo Ling\'s head which he tilted as he looked at Yi Bing before he turned back to Bai Liu and Wu Yi to continue. "So, exorcism is an act of expelling a ghost from its medium." He spoke. "A medium is an object that can house a soul, or ghost. This includes a human body, which will then be called \'possession\'." He explained.

Bai Liu\'s and Wu Yi\'s eyes widened in surprise. "You know a lot!" they exclaimed, sincerely praising Huo Ling.

Yi Bing smiled, feeling proud. "Of course, he is smart. That\'s why he is my disciple!" he told them.

Huo Ling can\'t finally help but roll his eyes at Yi Bing\'s excessive flattery, including of himself. He is telling Bai Liu and Wu Yi that since he made him his disciple, then Yi Bing has an excellent eyesight of choosing him.

"Anyway, the object, or a human body, is possessed when a ghost enters the medium." He continued. "Expelling the ghost in its medium is called \'exorcism\'. And the one who performs exorcism is called an \'exorcist\'." He explained.

"I see…" Bai Liu and Wu Yi muttered, feeling enlightened.

"So, you are saying that these exorcists might have performed a spell and hid You Ri\'s and Lin Weng\'s presences?" Bai Liu asked.

"Possible." Huo Ling nodded.

"Our, grim reapers\', spells, strictly speaking, came from our ancestors who are cultivators." Yi Bing spoke. "And cultivators, who are Taoist priests, also are called in layman\'s term \'exorcist\', since they can exorcise ghosts, or also demons." He explained.

"So that\'s how it is… no wonder our direct teleportation spell doesn\'t work!" Bai Liu exclaimed.

"Yes. We must be facing up against an exorcist." Wu Yi agreed.

"Does Lin Weng or You Ri knows an exorcist?" Bai Liu asked.

"I\'ve checked, but there was no mention of an exorcist in Lin Weng\'s data." Wu Yi spoke.

"You Ri also doesn\'t have one. She\'s a socialist and not superstitious instead." Yi Bing spoke.

They all looked at Huo Ling.

Huo Ling\'s brows raised. "Well, how can an exorcist just declare his identity as an exorcist? Isn\'t he afraid he\'ll be jailed for deception because the world now believes in science?" he asked them.

They all fell silent. Indeed. If someone suddenly tells you that he is an exorcist, won\'t you be mad and accuse him of lying? How can there be exorcists in this world right now that is dominated by science that can explain anything that seems to be illogical?

"So, someone around Lin Weng and You Ri might be an exorcist." Huo Ling said.

"Wait. If an exorcist exorcises ghosts, then wouldn\'t he be exorcising You Ri?" Wu Yi asked.

"We didn\'t receive a notification that You Ri died as a ghost. So, she must still be alive right now." Yi Bing answered.

"Then… why would an exorcist who should exorcise a ghost keep You Ri\'s soul?" Bai Liu asked.

"I heard that in the ancient times, the cultivators also use souls and refines them…" Huo Ling said and his voice fell.

"… then isn\'t You Ri be in danger right now?!" Wu Yi asked with widened eyes. Bai Liu also panicked.

"I don\'t think things are this simple." Yi Bing spoke, calming Bai Liu and Wu Yi. He glanced at Huo Ling who looked away.

"Don\'t you remember that Lin Weng is the native that escaped from your subordinate\'s hands?" Huo Ling slowly spoke. Bai Liu and Wu Yi are about to speak when he continued. "Your subordinate was punished and then replaced because Lin Weng had done something irreversible, which has something to do with You Ri, so our tasks are connected." He looked at them. "But, their presences are hidden thus we can\'t find them both, which leads us now to guessing that an exorcist is hiding them. However – " he took a deep breath. " – as I\'ve said, an exorcist exorcises ghosts. And You Ri is a ghost, so why should an exorcist keep her? Definitely to not refine her or else Yi Bing and I would be notified." He said.

"So, what you are saying is…?" Bai Liu asked.

"The reason why Lin Weng escaped is because he found out about our existence." Huo Ling spoke. "Then, after that, he has done something irreversible, leading to your subordinate\'s punishment and replacement. This irreversible act is related to You Ri, who\'s supposed to peacefully pass on and directly reincarnate, but then was interrupted halfway and turned to a ghost instead." He explained. "Now, we have guessed the existence of exorcists, and Lin Weng and You Ri are definitely related to this exorcist so their presences are hidden, even from us." he said.

They all didn\'t speak and continued to listen. They have a feeling that Huo Ling might going to say something shocking.

"But, Lin Weng has no relation of exorcists written on his data that you have, while You Ri is a socialist so she shouldn\'t be superstitious or believes in the supernatural things." Huo Ling continued. "Yet, we can\'t deny the fact that their presences are hidden. And it can only be an exorcist who can hide them from us, since the rules of this world overpowers us." he said.

"So, what you wanted to tell us is?" Wu Yi asked.

"Exorcists don\'t reveal their identity as exorcists since, although this world accepts the presence of ghosts, but not exorcists since humans have inherited the prejudice against charlatans, even if they can help them expel ghosts." Huo Ling said. "This is because they are fellow humans, and know that humans can lie, even themselves." He shrugged. "Thus, exorcists are hiding in the society." He told them.

"Huo Ling." Yi Bing called.

"Yes?" Huo Ling answered.

"Just be direct to the point." Yi Bing told him.

"… okay." Huo Ling lowered his gaze.

Bai Liu and Wu Yi looked at them two before their gazes landed on Huo Ling.

"So, what I want to say is that, Lin Weng is an exorcist." Huo Ling said.

Bai Liu and Wu Yi. "… the fck?!" they exclaimed in shock. This IS really shocking! And they felt that a lot of points were missed before this, albeit Huo Ling\'s already long explanation said earlier.

"Pft. Hahahaha…" Yi Bing laughed.

Bai Liu and Wu Yi looked at him. Since they know that Yi Bing currently can\'t be crossed, they turned to Huo Ling. "How can you say that Lin Weng is an exorcist?!" they asked, still shocked of what they have just heard.

"Exorcists hide their identity because the current world is too modernized albeit the presence of ghosts." Huo Ling answered.

Bai Liu and Wu Yi. "…" this doesn\'t explain anything at all! This is equal to not explaining anything! They thought.

"… can\'t you give us a full explanation?" Bai Liu asked with a sigh. "We are patient. Very patient, since we are the Inspection Department who have to get to the root of the problem and only then we can find the explanation to everything." He explained.

Huo Ling didn\'t answer and looked at Yi Bing. Only when Yi Bing finally nodded did he sigh in relief. He turned back to Bai Liu. "The alarm bells are obvious." He told him.

"\'alarm bells\'?" Bai Liu was puzzled, as well as Wu Yi.

"Lin Weng discovered your subordinate and found out us grim reapers\' existence." Huo Ling started. "He escaped since he was afraid. Then, he done something, which is related to You Ri where I, Yi Bing and you two are now currently in." he said. "What did he do that is related to You Ri, who was interrupted halfway from directly reincarnating, and turned to a resentful ghost instead?" he asked.

Bai Liu and Wu Yi didn\'t answer since they finally can faintly guess.

"Exorcists are the ones, in this world, that can touch the supernatural things, including ghosts." Huo Ling continued. "Lin Weng have witnessed your subordinate ferrying a soul, who is identified to be a ghost in this world. Then, Lin Weng did something that is related to You Ri, which I and Yi Bing suspect he as the culprit for You Ri\'s interrupted direct reincarnation. You Ri then was turned into a resentful ghost…" he sighed. "So, Lin Weng must be an exorcist." He finished.

Bai Liu and Wu Yi gaped at him, wanted to say something but then finally chose to remain silent.

"Have you found out what to do now?" Yi Bing asked them.

Bai Liu and Wu Yi didn\'t answer.

"Even if you erase Lin Weng\'s memories of our existence, which is your original action, it can\'t erase the fact that You Ri\'s direct reincarnation was interrupted, likewise her turning into a resentful ghost which I and Huo Ling have not confirmed yet if he also is responsible to." Yi Bing spoke.. "So, what are you going to do now?" he asked them again.