50,000 years ago, Hell was destroyed because of too much Foul from the resentment of the souls that later turned to Soul Eaters and devoured everything in their wake, leaving nothing of Hell. The gods above in Heaven, in order to take care of the newly-died souls, created the Afterlife Department comprised of grim reapers. Huo Ling was delivering food that day when he met Yi Bing and the guy gave him a warning. When he arrived to the customer's unit, he was killed. Huo Ling: you set up a death flag for me! Yi Bing: I'm a grim reaper. I'm the flag myself. Let me help you solve the mystery of your death. Huo Ling: your sister! Alternative title: The Different Ways I Died at 23 Update: daily
Yi Bing doesn't want to, but Shen Sheng is his 'father'. So, he found an empty city in the mortal world. That place was then named the 'City of the Dead'. Huo Ling stayed there. But, not for long since Shen Sheng knew that Huo Ling's soul this time is weaker than him when he was an archangel. Huo Ling will turn into a Soul Fragment again, and has to nurture his soul for him to reappear.
But, Shen Sheng didn't expect that Yi Bing's feelings towards Huo Ling would be so strong. As Shen Sheng watched one archangel (YB) and one grim reaper, he saw that Yi Bing's attitude towards the grim reaper Huo Ling is changing. Shen Sheng guesses that this is both due to their familiarity with each other, sensing each other's soul… and the other is due to Yi Bing's feelings towards Huo Ling. The mind may forget but the heart remembers.