Genshin Impact: My confession was rejected, so I traveled to seven countries

Chapter 368 Xiaotao and Grandpa

It's snowing.

The sky was overcast, and snowflakes drifted in the wind, falling slowly one by one.

A little girl wearing a red hat watched the snowflakes slowly falling from the sky and murmured, "One by one, one by one, two by two, three by three, four by five. Six by six, seven by eight, nine by nine, um..."

The little girl scratched her head, squatted down, looked at the snowflakes, her brows furrowed, and her beautiful plum blossom eyes flashed with a troubled light, as if she had encountered a very difficult problem, just like a snow-covered eggplant that exuded a wilted aura.

“Flying into the afterlife, they are nowhere to be seen.” An aged voice came from behind the little girl.

The little girl jolted awake, looked up at the snowflakes drifting into the house and disappearing, and immediately clapped her hands, beaming with joy, "That's right! They fly into the afterlife and disappear!"

"Xiao Tao, your limerick is quite good."

The little girl turned around and saw an old man with white hair wearing a hat belonging to the head of the Hall of Rebirth looking at her with a smile.

"Grandpa! Who dared to disturb me!" The little girl puffed out her cheeks and squatted down, clearly displeased.

Upon hearing this, the old man laughed and joked, "So it was this old man who disturbed Xiao Tao's poetry-writing mood? I wonder who was squatting there like a wilted eggplant, not saying a word."

The little girl crossed her arms and said, "Of course! If you hadn't interrupted, Grandpa, the poem I just wrote would have been a thousand times, even ten thousand times, better than this last line!"

"Little Peach, are you so confident?" the old man teased.

Little Walnut puffed out her chest, "That's right! I'll definitely surpass Grandpa in the future. Grandpa, although you're very learned and can write poetry, you're also old. But I'm young, and I'll definitely surpass you in the future. I tell others, but they don't believe me, but I just believe it! Grandpa, don't you think so? I've already thought it through. This ancestral hall needs to be changed. After you pass away, this..."

"Ouch!" Little Walnut covered her head, her beautiful plum blossom eyes looking at the old man with a wronged expression.

The old man's eyes held both helplessness and heartache: "Don't say unlucky things."

"Unlucky? What we at the Rebirth Hall do isn't exactly auspicious, why worry about it so much?"

The old man snorted, "Mind your own business? Have you forgotten that the duty of our Rebirth Hall is..."

"It's about maintaining the boundary between life and death, delivering the souls of the dead, and guiding them to Wuwang Slope..." Little Walnut swayed her head and followed her grandfather's voice as she murmured.

"Remember this well! This is not something to be taken lightly!"

"Okay, okay," Little Walnut rolled her eyes and said impatiently.

Then Little Walnut abandoned the old man and ran towards the plum tree in the courtyard.

On it, red plum blossoms bloom alone in the cold, with snowflakes falling among the petals, adding a white embellishment.

Little Walnut looked at the plum blossoms, then at the plum blossom hat on the old man's head, which represented the head of the Hall of Rebirth, and a trace of envy appeared in her eyes.

"What's wrong, little girl?" The old man came to Hu Tao's side. The snow was still falling, and the old man's tall figure shielded the little girl's slender figure from the falling snowflakes.

"Grandpa, when will I be able to have a hat like this?" Little Walnut asked curiously, looking up at the hat.

"You'll have it when you take over as the head of the Hall of Rebirth."

"That's too long to wait," Little Walnut sighed, then suddenly looked at the hat on the old man's head and laughed, "Why don't you just give me yours? I won't mind."

The old man chuckled and stroked her little head. "Little Tao is quite the little devil. This hat isn't suitable for you. How about I make one for you myself?"

"Then I want something even prettier than this!" the little girl said, her plum-blossom eyes sparkling.

The old man nodded and smiled, "We'll listen to Xiao Tao and make a very beautiful hat."

"Yay!" The little girl leaped and ran towards the door. Looking at the two big lions outside, she grinned and said, "Big Meow, Second Meow, you two have to guard the house well, or I'll give you a raise!"

The old man shook his head and chuckled as he watched the little girl's retreating figure.

……

"Something terrible has happened!" A servant from the Rebirth Hall rushed into the hall in a panic.

Hu Tao frowned slightly. "What happened? Why are you in such a hurry? Wait, didn't you go out with Grandpa to handle some business? Why did you come back alone?"

All she knew was that her grandfather had said he was going to handle a funeral outside Liyue Harbor in the early morning and that she should take good care of the house. How could only one person have returned now?

The waiter gasped for breath and stammered, "Young Master Hu, the old Master, the old Master... he..."

Hu Tao was suddenly filled with inexplicable fear and rushed to the man's side. "Grandpa? What's wrong with Grandpa? Tell me quickly!" she cried, shaking the man excitedly.

The waiter finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Old Master, on his way back, he slipped and fell, and he can't move at all. He's in Bubulu right now."

"What happened?!" Hu Tao asked anxiously.

The man explained, and Hu Tao learned that they had gone to a ravine outside Liyue Harbor. The elderly family member didn't want a hasty funeral and wanted the head of the Hall of Rebirth to personally oversee it. However, on the way back, perhaps due to his advanced age, the old head of the Hall of Rebirth suddenly lost his strength and tumbled down the hillside, unable to move...

Upon hearing this, Hu Tao's lingering hope plummeted. Before the man could finish speaking, she hurriedly ran towards Bu Bulu.

"Young Master Hu, wait for me..."

Hu Tao ran anxiously toward Bu Bulu, her heart pounding with an inexplicable sense of foreboding. She could even imagine the tragic scene of her grandfather falling and having no one to help him.

grandfather……

At this thought, tears welled up in her eyes, almost spilling out.

But she still harbored a glimmer of hope, repeatedly warning herself.

No, no, no!

Grandpa is getting old, but he's in such good health. This morning when he went out, he said he'd wait for me to come back so we could have dinner together. How could this happen? How could something have happened to him?

She didn't believe it, she didn't believe it!

Hu Tao forced back her tears and ran quickly toward Bu Bu Lu.

She had never felt so anxious and worried before, wanting to know the exact answer, yet also afraid of actually arriving in an instant and facing the outcome she didn't want to face.

After running hard, Bu Bulu finally arrived. Looking up at Bu Bulu's steps, Hu Tao stood there, not knowing what to do.

She mustered her courage and stepped onto the first step, only to feel her foot slip and her body become unsteady. Fortunately, Hu Tao steadied herself and did not fall.

Looking at the endless steps, Hu Tao was momentarily dazed.

Grandpa is such a good man, and he has done so many good deeds. Good people will be rewarded, right?

Thinking of this, Hu Tao felt a little more at ease. Just as she was about to continue climbing, another thought came to her mind.

But what if, what if, it really is true? Can she face it, can she accept this reality?

Or has she already prepared for the worst?

Walnut seemed somewhat hesitant.

Finally, she took a deep breath, a tear rolled down her cheek, and slowly but quickly climbed the steps. As she went up, she felt increasingly uncertain, and her heart beat faster and faster.

Because she didn't know

I don't know how to face it.

she does not know

I wonder what she will do if she really has to prepare for the worst.

She didn't know, she really didn't know!

However, she knew that she couldn't stay here no matter what.

Because of Grandpa's last wish

It must be her!

With this thought in mind, Hu Tao burst into Bu Bulu's room with a loud bang, startling everyone inside who stared at the uninvited guest who had suddenly barged in.

Hu Tao's eyes searched anxiously, and when she saw the figure sitting on the bed, yearning for him, tears welled up in her eyes as if a dam had been broken.

With a loud wail, she rushed towards the figure and began to cry, tears streaming down her face and soaking the blankets.

Tears welled up in the old man's eyes as he slowly raised his hand, gently stroking the girl's head and softly comforting her, "Alright, alright, Grandpa's fine. Little Tao is such a big girl, aren't you afraid people will laugh at you for crying like this?"

Hu Tao ignored them and just wailed loudly. Seeing this, everyone understood and didn't say anything more.

Most people know something about the funeral parlor. With only the grandfather and grandson left in the family, it must be hard for a child to accept such a sudden event.

Physician Bai Shu looked at the old man, who raised his hand and gently pressed it down. Bai Shu understood and led the others away, leaving the two of them some space.

After a long while, Hu Tao's wailing finally stopped. She looked up at the old man with teary eyes, sniffled, and choked out, "Grandpa, Grandpa, are you really alright?"

The old man smiled weakly, "I'm perfectly fine, don't worry, I'm really alright."

Seeing this, Hu Tao nodded seriously, then remembered something and became indignant again, "It's all those people's fault. If, if they hadn't forced you to go, then it wouldn't have happened, it wouldn't have happened..." At this point, tears welled up in Hu Tao's eyes again.

"When I heard about your accident, I really, really didn't know what to do... Waaah... Just thinking about you falling from such a height, with no one to help you, only helpless cries out... I just, I just..."

The old man's eyes shone brightly as he looked at the girl before him, a mixture of relief and heartache in them. "Alright, alright, it's just that Grandpa is old and incapable, it's no one else's fault. And look, I'm fine now. Don't cry anymore, or you'll turn into a little kitten and won't be pretty anymore. If you hurt yourself crying, who will take care of Grandpa? Grandpa is still waiting for you to take care of him."

Hu Tao wiped away her tears and nodded earnestly, "Don't worry, I will take good care of you and make sure you get better faster."

The old man nodded, and the grandfather and granddaughter began a series of conversations. Hu Tao talked about the changes in her state of mind when she arrived, and the old man also recounted the many thoughts that flashed through his mind when he fell.

As she listened, Hu Tao's tears were about to fall again.

After Bu Bulu recuperated for a period of time, Hu Tao went home with her grandfather to recuperate, but she still needed to take medicine constantly.

During these days when the elderly man was unable to move around easily, Hu Tao began to take care of all his daily needs, including meals. In addition to handling the affairs of the funeral hall, she would also buy some special ingredients to nourish his body. She went back and forth between the two places every day, just to help her grandfather get better as soon as possible.

Finally, with Hu Tao's care, Grandpa was able to get out of bed and move around, but his back became a little hunched. Although he was still not as agile as before, it was a good start.

Gradually, the old man was able to walk around in the yard. Watching this, Hu Tao felt a great sense of accomplishment, and the gloom in her heart began to slowly dissipate.

On this day, the old man finished his medicine, but Hu Tao happened to be away on duty as the head of the Rebirth Hall. So before she left, she told the old man not to wander around and that she would get him more medicine when she returned. Although he could walk around now, Hu Tao thought that Grandpa still needed to rest for a while longer.

The old man nodded in agreement, but after Hu Tao left, he walked towards the door on his own.

The servants inside the hall tried to dissuade the old man, but he waved his hand and said he was fine.

The old man came to the street and looked at the street he had seen for who knows how many years, and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Time truly flies, and years make us grow old.

An elderly man with a hunched back walked slowly down the street. Acquaintances greeted him, and he smiled and responded to each one.

Bu Bu Lu

Bai Shu looked at the old man who had come alone and asked him curiously why he was alone.

The old man smiled and replied that he didn't want to trouble the younger generation because he felt that Xiao Tao was so young and was temporarily taking on the responsibilities of the ancestral hall. He felt that she must be very tired when she came back, and he felt sorry for her. He even resented his own body for not being able to handle the responsibility so early.

While he's still able to move around, he should get the medicine himself.

Bai Shu shook his head helplessly as he listened, "The hearts of parents are truly selfless."

The old man was Hu Tao's elder, as were her parents.

Sometimes, when they don't want help, it's not because they're stubborn or arrogant, but because they don't want to cause their children too much trouble.

For their children, they have spent their lives as elders, relied upon by the younger generation and offered help when the younger generation is in trouble. This sudden change in status makes them, who are used to helping others, feel uncomfortable, and their pride also prevents them from doing so.

However, this approach may make young people feel that their elders are being unreasonable, or even unable to distinguish right from wrong. They may think that their elders are doing it for their own good, that it is their duty as children to help their elders when they are physically unable to do so, and why they cannot listen to and accept this advice.

Different people naturally have different perspectives, especially among family members, which can sometimes be difficult to explain.