Afterlife Department

"He is fine. No need to worry about his eyes. His vision will return to normal after a few days." Hai Ba said after he checked Huo Ling's eyes.

"Thanks." Yi Bing said.

"You're welcome." Hai Ba nodded. "But, your apprentice is really smart. He uses his communicator to project an outline of his surroundings in his mind, so he hasn't bumped into people and things." He said and smiled at Huo Ling.

"Of course. Whose apprentice do you think you are talking about?" Yi Bing raised his brows at Hai Ba who only laughed.

Yi Bing ignored him and then looked at Huo Ling who is currently sleeping on a bed. Hai Ba said to make him sleep to fully rest his eyes for two hours before he can check his eyes again.

Yi Bing rose from his seat. "Look after him for a while. In case there is an update with Zhuo Xia, notify me and don't wake him." he told Hai Ba.

"En." Hai Ba nodded and sent Yi Bing off. He didn't ask where Yi Bing is going since it isn't his business, and they aren't that very close.

Yi Bing left and met Qian San, Wu Ling, Shi Yi and Qi Bai who are on their way to the infirmary to ask Hai Ba about their respective soul assignments. Yi Bing nodded at them before he walked away and disappeared.

"Oh, my gosh… senior Yi is really cold!" Shi Yi said.

"Yeah. Nodding at us is already considered to be an honor." Qi Bai said.

Qian San smiled. "I am not expecting for him to be closer to us even if we went to the same world, and even our assignments are connected." He said.

"Yeah." Wu Ling nodded in agreement.

"But, he is really warm to his apprentice!" Shi Yi said.

Qian San nodded. "Huo Ling has this charm… and he is really very smart!" he said.

"That's right!" the others agreed and they chatted on their way to the infirmary.

Middle Heaven.

"L – Lord Yi!" Xiao Hun exclaimed when he saw Yi Bing appeared. Then, he sighed as if he was relieved.

Yi Bing's brows raised. "He is in a bad mood?" he said.

Xiao Hun wryly smiled. "If lord Yi already knows, then why still ask?" he said and wanted to cry but he can't.

Yi Bing chuckled and Xiao Hun hurriedly opened the doors for him, as if he can't wait for Yi Bing to enter. Then, the doors closed.

Shen Sheng was leaning on his throne. When Yi Bing entered, he didn't even spare him a glance. "So you still remember me?" he said. 𝘧𝗿ee𝚠𝙚𝙗𝑛o𝚟𝐞l.𝐜૦𝗺

Yi Bing didn't comment. "Something happened to Huo Ling's soul assignment, and then now his eyes, so I was very busy." He explained. f𝓇𝘦𝒆𝘄𝑒𝗯𝑛𝗼ѵ𝙚l.𝒄𝘰𝓶

Shen Sheng's foul expression finally changed. "Something happened?" he asked.

Yi Bing nodded and narrated everything that happened in Normal World 101 to Shen Sheng.

"I understand." Shen Sheng muttered with a pensive expression.

Yi Bing didn't speak.

"What about Huo Ling?" Shen Sheng asked.

"His eyes were blinded by the light from the spell, but fortunately, he is currently only half-blind." Yi Bing answered. "Hai Ba said that Huo Ling will recover his vision in not more than three days." He told him.

Shen Sheng sighed in relief. His expression now eased as he talks with a grim reaper, and are talking about the matters of Afterlife Department.

"You…" Yi Bing spoke after a while. Then, he sighed. "You should know why I am here." He said and pursed his lips. "So, don't give me that face." He added and frowned.

Finally, a smile appeared on Shen Sheng's lips. "En." He nodded, indicating he knows.

Yi Bing came here to cheer him up, even if Yi Bing only stood there and talked with him. In fact, Yi Bing's relationship with Shen Sheng isn't just that of a master and subordinate, like Shen Sheng with the other grim reapers such as Gu Shi and Di San. Shen Sheng, towards Yi Bing, he is like a father, and sometimes and elder brother. This is one of the reasons why the grim reapers, and even the Upper Heaven, highly regards Yi Bing.

They can see that Shen Sheng cherishes Yi Bing as a family. Yi Bing is closer to Shen Sheng than the emperor to Shen Sheng. This makes one sigh.

"Shen Taizi – " Yi Bing called.

Shen Sheng cut him off. "Call me 'brother' and I will tell you more about that spell." He told him.

Yi Bing. "…" as if I will! He thought as his face darkened. "Other than the neutralization power of lord Zero, who is Huo Ling, that light…" he said as he looked at Shen Sheng as he recalled the light that burst out of Huo Ling's hands and enveloped the Soul-Trapping Sword in Normal World 101.

Shen Sheng pouted. "You are not willing to call be 'brother'… how about 'father'?" he asked. Seeing Yi Bing is about to explode in anger, Shen Sheng could only sigh in disappointment. "You already know, right, what that light is." He told Yi Bing, unwilling to tell him everything about that light.

"Yes. That light is similar to the light that you are emitting." Yi Bing answered. "At first, I thought that it was due to that spell that you have casted before upon that sword… but then I noticed that this light has come from Huo Ling's hands." He explained.

Shen Sheng didn't speak.

"The souls trapped inside the sword should have been unharmed with your spell…" Yi Bing muttered in a low voice.

Shen Sheng's expression fell. Yi Bing's heart sank, since it confirmed his guess. Something happened to the Soul-Trapping Sword.

Shen Sheng heaved a sigh as he rose from his throne. "Yi Bing… you should have already guessed by now my connection with Huo Ling…" he spoke. "And you." He said and looked at Yi Bing in the eyes.

Yi Bing felt as if he has fallen into an ice cave. "… yes." he answered and lowered his head.

Shen Sheng helplessly sighed. "Why are you still worrying that I will harm you?" he asked.

"… I am sorry." Yi Bing said.

"Neither will I harm him!" Shen Sheng said as his voice rose. He is referring to Huo Ling.

Yi Bing's knees shook while Xiao Hun outside couldn't endure the overwhelming pressure that Shen Sheng is exuding and he turned into a ball of soul.

"I know now." Yi Bing managed to speak. "It is just…" he said and clenched his fists.

Shen Sheng stared at him before he tiredly closed his eyes. "Why are we even fighting?" he asked as he sat on his throne. "I did what I have to do not only to break free from my shackles, but also – " he looked at Yi Bing. " – to free you two." He told him.

Yi Bing's eyes widened and his pupils shrank and trembled as he stared at Shen Sheng, stunned.

"Someday…" Shen Sheng spoke as if he didn't see Yi Bing's reaction. "There will come a day… that…" he muttered something that Yi Bing didn't catch. "You have to prepare yourself, Yi Bing. You have to prepare Huo Ling." he told Yi Bing who sucked in a sharp breath.

A long silence fell as Yi Bing's whole body shook while he digested Shen Sheng's words.

"Leave. I am tired. You also have washed away my irritation towards the Upper Heaven today." Shen Sheng said and waved his hand at Yi Bing, shooing him away, as if nothing happened just now.

"… yes." Yi Bing finally found his voice. He nodded and then left, leaving Shen Sheng alone and looked lonely in that empty palace in the clouds.

Special World 666.

China.

"What?!" Hao Baiyun exclaimed after he heard Fei Xuli's report. "Another Golden-Haired Monkey died?!" he said as he looked at Fei Xuli.

Fei Xuli nodded as he placed the report on Hao Baiyun's table. "Yes. The committee found its corpse near a cemetery. Obviously, its corpse was dumped there, making it look like a corpse of some wild animal." He answered. "Indeed, it was treated as a wild animal by the mortals but chief Gu's people passed by and fortunately found the corpse. He noticed that the skinned corpse's tail was shorter and its hands and feet are longer than the normal monkeys, so they notified their chief and chief notified the committee…" he explained.

Hao Baiyun frowned.

Fei Xuli knows what he is thinking. "Chief Gu called and told me that he didn't notify you because you have been very tired with the young masters, not to mention your job, too, as well as being the head of the committee…" he told him.

Hao Baiyun's expression softened. "En. I understand." He said and smiled, feeling sweet in his heart. "Arrange a meeting with the committee. This is the fourth one… who knows if there are other cases connected to the Golden-Haired Monkeys that we do not know…" he said.. "We are being targeted!" he said, furious.