Chapter 97: Chapter 97
"This old one is the 75th Master of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, and my granddaughter will be the future 77th Master of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor!"
Before the words had finished, Nathan seemed to turn to stone.
Sure enough... wasn't this exactly the past experience Hu Tao had spoken about during last night's return journey?
So the identity of the old man before him was already clear - he was Hu Tao's deceased grandfather.
"Brother Nathan, seeing your expression seems somewhat unusual. You must have heard of this old one's title!"
The old man smiled kindly, thinking that revealing his identity had frightened Nathan.
"Indeed... I have heard of it!"
Nathan nodded immediately - he could hardly say his surprise was because he knew the old man's granddaughter.
Especially since that granddaughter would have improper thoughts about him in the future.
"In that case, Brother Nathan, you should know... our Wangsheng Funeral Parlor has accumulated great wealth over generations. Marry into our Hu family, and all this wealth will be yours to use in the future!"
"Wait a moment, elder - how did this become marrying into the family?"
Nathan reacted, wasn't it just a betrothal earlier? How did it suddenly turn into wanting him to marry into their family?
"Hehe, this old one sees that Brother Nathan is a steady person, worthy of entrusting my granddaughter to!"
The old man grinned, and this smile was exactly like Hu Tao's.
"Elder, you're teasing me!"
Nathan smiled bitterly - this wasn't just entrusting; later he would end up being claimed by the other's granddaughter.
"Go quickly, Brother Nathan. This old one's granddaughter is not far away. She's been here for almost two days - if this continues, she'll lose consciousness!"
"But elder, doesn't your granddaughter want to see you more?"
At this, Nathan looked at the other in confusion.
Hu Tao's obsession was wanting to see her deceased grandfather one more time. Since the old man had been waiting and observing for two days, why didn't he want to appear even at the end?
"We Masters of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor throughout the generations should not have too many attachments to life and death. Generation after generation, we live frankly and depart frankly. If this old one goes to see her now, it would only deepen her attachment."
Having said this, the old man's spirit floated over and patted Nathan's shoulder with deep meaning.
"So the important task of consoling her, I'll leave to you, Brother Nathan, who is also among the living. This old one believes in you - you will certainly take good care of my granddaughter!"
As soon as these words fell, the old man strode into the gray mist without looking back.
Just as he had said, even in departure he was frank and open.
[You have received the entrustment of the Hu family elder. What is your choice?]
[Choose to accept, and the simulation will continue!]
[Choose to refuse, and you will unlock the ending -- Heart of Stone!]
The simulation system also jumped out with two options at this time, but truth be told, while there appeared to be two options, there was really only one true choice.
No matter what, Nathan couldn't possibly leave thirteen-year-old Hu Tao in this boundary between life and death.
Especially after knowing the connection between the life simulation and reality, it was even more impossible to choose casually like in a game.
So from beginning to end, there was only one answer.
"I choose to accept!"
[You have chosen to accept. The simulation continues... the main storyline of becoming the Hu family's son-in-law will begin!]
"Huh?"
Nathan looked at the simulation's information with a bewildered expression - how was even the system trying to make him marry into the family?
However, no matter how much he overreacted, the system in his mind had once again entered standby mode, and he had no way to actively wake it up.
So what needed to be done now was to follow the direction the old man had indicated and find Hu Tao, who was about to fall unconscious.
.........................
Following the old man's directions for quite some distance, Nathan finally found the girl lying on a large rock.
Thirteen-year-old Hu Tao still had a childish face, with innocence and cuteness not yet departed.
Now she was still a budding beauty, but in the not-too-distant future, she would grow into an exceptional beauty.
"Grandpa... Grandpa..."
With eyes tightly closed, the girl kept murmuring the name.
This was Hu Tao's obsession - if not for this attachment, she might have already fainted.
"Wake up, Hu Tao... quick, wake up!"
Nathan walked to the girl's side and placed his palm on her fair forehead.
Upon contact, the cold temperature transmitted directly to him.
So cold - Hu Tao's body temperature now seemed to be approaching freezing point.
"What should I do?"
Nathan tried hard to think. The urgent matter now was to restore the girl's body temperature to normal.
But what method could be used to warm her up?
"Should I try that?"
After pondering for a long time, Nathan could only think of one way to generate heat.
That was the purple talent he had actively chosen before entering the life simulation -- Fire of Sin Burning.
According to the system's description, this flame would only burn the sinful and wouldn't cause any harm to ordinary people.
Since it wouldn't harm Hu Tao and was still a flame, it should be able to provide warmth.
"Rise!"
Following his mental command, a milky white flame appeared in Nathan's palm.
The flame touched the girl's bangs and, sure enough, showed no signs of burning.
Now Nathan could relax, moving his hand back and forth across Hu Tao's forehead.
"Grandpa... mm... so warm..."
The girl spoke, originally still mumbling.
But after touching the flame, she was instantly attracted by its warmth.
The warmth spread throughout Hu Tao's body at an extremely fast rate.
At this point, the girl finally had the strength to open her eyes.
The moment she opened those fire-red plum blossom pupils, she met Nathan's gaze.
"Grand... no... Big brother, who are you?"
With eyes full of confusion, Hu Tao, her consciousness still in a muddy state, almost mistook Nathan for her grandfather.
"My name is Nathan. I received an entrustment from an elder to come and take you, little miss, out of this boundary between life and death!"
Nathan spoke, and after hearing his explanation, her expression became downcast.
"Was it Grandpa? Why doesn't he want to see me?"
"Actually, that elder doesn't not want to see you. He just said that the Masters of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor throughout the generations shouldn't have too many attachments to life and death, so he has already gone ahead!"
Nathan chose to tell her the truth, and Hu Tao immediately puffed up her cheeks.
"Mm... that's exactly the kind of thing Grandpa would say. Since that's the case, I shouldn't view Grandpa's departure as a regret!"
After a brief moment of dejection, Hu Tao finally pulled herself together, and a vibrant smile appeared on her face.
"But Brother Nathan, just now you were so warm, just like the sun..."
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