On the night before the funeral, as expected, Keqing appeared.
Kael noticed that she had grown thinner in the past few days.
Keqing's expression was calm, but her eyes were like an unfathomable abyss, terrifying to anyone who gazed into them.
Kael only needed one glance to realize.
Keqing had changed.
She was no longer the cold-seeming yet kind-hearted girl she used to be.
Hatred had completely consumed her.
Kael whispered, "Keqing..."
Chef Mao and Xiangling, who were keeping vigil for Kael in Wanmin's mourning hall, approached.
Remembering Hu Tao's words, Xiangling forced a smile at Keqing, though it looked more like a grimace.
"Keqing, are you here to see Brother one last time? Look, Lady Ningguang helped restore his face."
Keqing gazed at Kael's peaceful, handsome face and smiled softly.
"Yes, Kael looks as handsome as ever."
She placed her hand on the corroded side of Kael's face, and the pain struck her again.
The pain contorted her face, and her gentle smile was replaced by bone-chilling hatred.
"But it's all fake... everything is fake..."
Chef Mao, standing nearby, was startled by Keqing's expression.
"Keqing, Director Hu said there's no resentment on Kael's body, which means he didn't suffer much before he died. Don't torment yourself anymore. Let's all let Kael leave in peace."
Hearing Chef Mao's words, Keqing withdrew her hand and replied gently, "Yes, Uncle Mao, don't worry. I'll learn to let go."
Hearing Keqing's words, Chef Mao felt relieved. He nodded. "That's good. Xiangling, let's go. Let Keqing spend some time alone with Kael."
"Okay."
Chef Mao took Xiangling away, leaving Keqing alone in the now-empty Wanmin.
The gentle expression on her face vanished instantly.
Even if Kael wasn't tortured to death, so what?
He was still gone.
Kael would never open his eyes and look at her with warmth again.
He would never use his calloused yet gentle hands to caress her face again.
Kael's smile, his warm embrace, the meals he specially prepared for her.
She had lost everything!
And she was the cause of this tragedy!
She could never forgive herself!
Keqing's eyes burned with a madness that could destroy everything.
She grabbed Kael's stiff, cold hand and pressed it against her face.
"Kael, I'm sorry I haven't come to see you these past few days."
"But I know you wouldn't be mad at me. You're such a kind person. How could you bear to be angry with me?"
"I've been so busy these days. Do you know? I've done many things. But it's not enough... I haven't done enough..."
"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have died... After I finish everything, I'll go apologize to you in person..."
"Wait for me, okay? Don't leave too quickly..."
The girl's mad, passionate love almost burned Kael.
He couldn't accept Keqing like this.
The Keqing he remembered was a calm and composed girl. She shouldn't be controlled by hatred like this.
Kael now wished for tomorrow to come quickly. Once he was resurrected, he would comfort Keqing and stop her before things became irreversible.
...
Inside Wanmin, the girl's frantic whispers filled the air.
Outside, someone buried her affection deep within.
Ningguang also wanted to bid Kael farewell tonight, but when she saw Keqing enter Wanmin, she stopped in her tracks.
As always, she retreated.
The greatest regret in life is giving up what shouldn't be given up.
And now, there was no chance to make amends.
The luster in Ningguang's ruby-like eyes faded.
She turned and left, disappearing into the night.
-----
In Liyue, at Wanmin Restaurant, guests with sorrowful expressions entered the mourning hall one after another.
In the center of the hall was a pitch-black coffin.
Many of the attendees were regulars at Wanmin who had watched Kael grow up. They genuinely regretted and mourned his passing.
Xiangling, thinking that this was the last day she would see her brother's face, felt as if her heart was being torn apart. Tears streamed down her face.
She whispered, "Brother... I'll cry for you one last time. I won't cry anymore after this. So don't worry about me. Please don't linger in the mortal world. I don't want you to become a wandering spirit."
"And I'll take good care of Dad. I remember you said you wanted to make Wanmin surpass Liuli Pavilion and Xinyue Kiosk. Don't worry, I'll make it happen for you!"
Standing nearby, Chef Mao couldn't hold back his tears.
"Kael, don't worry about your dad and Xiangling. Bringing you back to Wanmin was the best decision I ever made. I'm so happy to have been your father. Son, leave in peace."
Hearing Chef Mao and Xiangling's words, Kael also felt his eyes welling up.
He had initially treated this Life Simulation as just a story.
He thought he wouldn't invest too much emotion into it.
But during this time, staying at Wanmin and watching Chef Mao and Xiangling's heartbreak every day...
Even the most stone-hearted person would be moved.
Keqing, due to her high status, was positioned in the row behind the family.
Perhaps because she had already made up her mind, she appeared calm during the funeral.
"Your family really loves you, Kael," Hu Tao whispered to Kael, who was invisible to others. "With a family like this, you've got no regrets, even in death, right?"
Kael immediately understood what Hu Tao was hinting at.
"Alright, I'll keep my promise. I'll leave when the time comes."
"Good, you'd better remember."
Hu Tao's interruption lessened Kael's sadness a little.
The solemn funeral proceeded smoothly under Hu Tao's guidance, nearing its end.
Kael called out to the system in his mind, "Can the Reincarnator talent activate already? If it doesn't, I'll be buried! Then I'll have to dig myself out of the coffin!"
[Currently, it will take 4 more hours to activate the talent. Would the host like to use 40 Attribute Points to complete the remaining energy?]
Seeing the morticians from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor preparing to seal the coffin and transport it to the outskirts of Liyue for burial, Kael quickly said, "Use them!"
40 Attribute Points was just 2 Wild Boars' worth.
He could afford it!
[Attribute Points have been deducted. The Reincarnator talent has been fully charged. Would you like to activate it now?]
"Yes!"
[The Reincarnator talent has been activated. Would you like to switch to Text Mode now?]
Right.
The system had previously said that once the Reincarnator talent activated, the energy from this Life Simulation would return to him.
The real him wouldn't need to stay here to maintain it anymore.
If it weren't for the Reincarnator talent requiring him to stay in the Life Simulation world, he would have left long ago.
Damn it.
Wasn't this supposed to be about delivering tragedies to others?
Staying here, watching the people around him suffer because of him...
This was just delivering tragedy to him!
Kael's heart was about to be pierced through by all these tragedies!
He couldn't wait to leave this place.
But before he left, there was one more thing he needed to do.
He said to the system, "Wait a moment."
Kael walked through the crowd to Hu Tao.
"Hu Tao, the funeral is almost over. It's time for me to fulfill my promise."
"I'll go where I'm supposed to now. The rest is up to you."
After saying this, Kael thought to the system, "Yes, switch now."
Hu Tao, hearing Kael's words, was stunned. She was about to say something, but in the blink of an eye, the spirit standing in front of her disappeared.
At that moment, one of the morticians by the coffin screamed, "Ah! The dead man's eyes are open!!!"
----
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