Beast Taming Begins with Inheriting a Legacy.

An hour later.

Gu Ling and his group arrived safely at the People's Hospital of Qiuye County.

On the way there, Gu Mingsheng asked Nian Huailin about the current situation of Old Master Nian under the guise of visiting him. After learning that he was still undergoing surgery, he went directly to the address sent by Nian Huailin.

Outside the operating room, in the family area, almost the entire Nian family had gathered, anxiously awaiting the outcome of the surgery.

Gu Mingsheng approached Nian Huailin and asked, "Huailin, how is Old Master Nian doing now?"

Nian Huailin said with a heavy expression: "We thought that the old man had fainted due to his age and lack of strength, but we didn't expect that after taking him to the town hospital for examination last night, we were told that the old man's organs were failing. The medical conditions in the town are not very good, so we urgently sent him here... The surgery is not over yet, and the situation is still unclear."

"Did the old man wake up at any point last night?"

"...Sigh, no." Nian Huailin shook his head.

"The old man has been in a daze for so many years, and I always felt that there was something he wanted to do. If he doesn't make it through this time... then it will probably remain a mystery."

Nian Huailin walked to the window. After making sure the other members of the Nian family couldn't hear their conversation, he looked at the crowds and traffic outside: "Mingsheng, there are so many people driving on the main road every day, how come the old man had a car accident back then? And on the way back to Ping'an Town..."

Gu Mingsheng had also heard about the old man's plight.

Back then, a car accident occurred on Lantian West Bridge. It was not an accident, but a man-made disaster, and it was even reported in the local newspapers.

A passenger bus carrying more than 20 passengers fell from a high bridge and plunged directly into the sea.

The incident occurred because a passenger on the bus had boarded the wrong bus and wanted the driver to turn around. However, U-turns and stopping were not permitted on that section of road.

The passenger had a fiery temper and got into a conflict with the driver, slapping him several times while cursing at him.

Coincidentally, the driver had been experiencing a lot of bad luck in his life recently and was feeling very depressed. This acted as a fuse, completely igniting the evil thoughts in the driver's heart. Without hesitation, he drove the entire vehicle into the sea.

"...There were 28 people on the bus, including the driver, and only 3 survived. The old man was one of them." Nian Huailin lowered his voice, his face full of grief.

"He escaped the explosion when the bus plunged into the sea. Even his fellow villagers who could swim perished in the ocean. I never expected that after being rescued, the old man would live in a daze for so many years."

Is this considered lucky or unlucky?

Gu Mingsheng patted Nian Huailin on the shoulder and comforted him, saying, "Being alive is the greatest fortune."

"Yes... but I'm afraid the old man won't make it through this." Nian Huailin's gaze fell on the direction of the operating room again, his mood not very optimistic.

No one can escape birth, aging, sickness, and death.

……

Outside, Gu Ling was sitting on a bench in the corridor, with Xian Jiu sitting beside her.

Gu Ling placed the backpack on her lap, and the gluttonous ghost poked half its head out of the backpack, glancing occasionally toward the operating room with a hint of worry and unease in its eyes.

After understanding the situation, Gu Mingsheng returned.

"The old man is still in the operating room."

Surgery is in progress in the operating room; they certainly can't go in.

The distance outside is too great, and the gluttonous ghost has no way to sense the soul's presence inside. It can only wait until the surgery is over and find another opportunity to see the old man.

Hearing this, Gu Ling patted the glutton's head: "Glutton, after the surgery, you'll know whether Grandpa Nian is the person you're looking for."

The glutton nodded, but the expression on his face was still somewhat complicated, as if he was struggling with something.

The gluttonous ghost understood that the person he was going to see was now in mortal danger.

But now, even the gluttonous ghost is somewhat confused, unsure whether he hopes the person in the operating room is the friend he's been searching for, or whether he hopes it isn't...

If so, then after finally finding its friends, will it have to face "separation" again?

The group waited in the hospital for almost four hours until it got dark outside. Finally, the lights outside the operating room went out, and the elderly man who had just undergone surgery was taken to the intensive care unit.

While the Nian family was busy taking care of the old man, they also anxiously went to ask the doctor.

"How is my father doing now?"

The attending physician replied, "The patient is elderly, and organ failure is a consequence of old age and physical weakness, which is beyond human control... In short, we will do our best."

Upon hearing this answer, Nian Huailin's heart sank completely, and his body swayed involuntarily.

Gu Mingsheng quickly steadied him and patted Nian Huailin on the shoulder: "You've been working hard all day, don't ruin your health, go and rest first."

Nian Huailin sighed and nodded: "That's true, there's another surgery tomorrow morning..."

The family members gradually began to divide the work: some went to rest and eat, while others continued to take care of Grandpa Nian.

Given the current situation, Gu Ling felt it was somewhat inappropriate for her to bring the gluttonous child to find the old man at this time.

Ghost-type pets are often considered taboo, and various folk tales mention that ghost-type pets can steal a person's soul.

Especially in a place like a hospital, where the old man's condition is serious, the presence of the glutton is particularly sensitive.

After discussing it with Gu Mingsheng, Gu Ling decided to visit Old Master Nian after the surgery the next morning.

……

After one night.

The next morning, Nian Huailin, who had rested all night, went to the ward to take over the shift.

Nian Huailin walked into the ward, and a few minutes later, a joyful voice came from inside:

"...Dad's awake!"

Such a commotion naturally alerted the other members of the family, and immediately more than a dozen people crowded into the ward.

On the hospital bed, the elderly man, with various tubes inserted into his body, slowly moved his eyes. The anesthesia had worn off. The old man's fingers twitched slightly, and he made some sounds: "Go...go get it..."

"Dad, what are you trying to say?"

"Dad, don't panic..."

The adults in the ward were all trying to guess what the old man wanted to say, but none of them could figure it out.

Nearby, a five-year-old girl suddenly asked in a childish voice, "Does Great-Grandpa want some candy?"

In an instant, everyone's eyes turned to them.

This is Nian Huailin's granddaughter, who just turned five this year.

The little girl was a little timid under the gaze of so many people, but she still spoke slowly and deliberately: "I...I saw Great-Grandpa hide candy in the box and he kept holding it in his hand. Did Great-Grandpa want some candy?"

At this moment, the old man managed to utter two more words: "box..."

After calming down, Nian Huailin slowly began to recall the events.

The old man did indeed always have a box containing some candy.

Later, when Nian Huailin saw that the candy had expired, he was worried that the old man might accidentally eat it, so he threw away all the candy and kept only the box.

But every time the box was empty, the old man would go to the convenience store, grab a handful of candy, and stuff it inside. He would throw it in a few times and then put it back in a few more times, showing great persistence.

The box is still at home.

Nian Huailin turned to his second sister: "Lijun, go home and bring that box over. It's in Dad's bedside table."

"Okay." Nian Lijun nodded, wiped away the tears on her face, and immediately left the ward.

Nian Huailin turned to comfort his father, saying, "Dad, don't worry, what you asked for will be here soon."

The old man turned his head, his gaze fixed on Nian Huailin's face, his voice still somewhat hoarse: "You... Huai... Huailin?"

"Dad, you...you recognize me?" Nian Huailin's expression was one of utter shock.

This sudden surprise left Nian Huailin somewhat stunned. At this moment, this grown man, who was already a father of several children, found his eyes welling up with tears without him even realizing it.

Since the old man fell ill, Nian Huailin, as the eldest child in the family, was forced to support the whole family even though he was only a teenager at the time, because he had two younger sisters.

Nian Huailin worked day after day to earn money so that his two younger sisters could continue to study in school without worry. However, every time he visited Grandpa Nian, he couldn't help but secretly hide and cry.

In that memory, the tall man who could easily pick him up and take him for drives around could only lie in bed all his days. Even when he woke up, he was in a daze all day.

Nian Huailin used to always hope that one day his father would wake up, recognize him, and call his name again.

But unexpectedly, this wait lasted for decades, until he became a father himself, with gray hair on his head.

Beside her, a middle-aged woman spoke softly with tears in her eyes: "Dad, I'm Lirou. Do you remember me? The one who just left was Lijun."

The old man's gaze swept over them, and tears welled up in his cloudy eyes: "I remember... you've grown so much..."

"I'm sorry... I've dragged you all into this..."

Although the old man had only recently regained consciousness, the hazy memories of the past few decades flooded his mind all at once. Although he couldn't quite process them all at once, he was well aware of how much effort his family had put into caring for him, a seemingly useless person.

His three children seem like they were only a few years old or teenagers not long ago, but in the blink of an eye, they have all grown up and started their own families.

Nian Lirou's eyes were slightly red. She reached out and nudged her two children, saying, "Come here quickly and call him Grandpa."

Nian Huailin quickly pulled his child over: "Call him Grandpa, call him Great-Grandpa..."

One by one, the children were wheeled to the bedside, and in unison softly called out to the elderly man:

"Grandpa/Great-Grandpa".

Grandpa.

"They're all good children..." Old Master Nian's eyes welled up with tears. His gaze swept over each child before he looked up at Nian Huailin again: "Huailin, there's something I need you to do for me... cough cough cough..."

"...Go...go find a friend." The old man said this intermittently while coughing violently.

"Don't rush, you can go find him whenever you've recovered," Nian Huailin advised.

"No..." The old man shook his head, "I know my own situation... cough cough cough..."

At this moment, the old man seemed more energetic than when he was in a daze, and he didn't seem like someone with organ failure who had just undergone major surgery.

Although the family members were all crying tears of joy, they still couldn't hide the sorrow beneath their smiles.

The old man is... this is a final burst of energy before death.

"If we don't go now... it will be too late."

"If I don't handle this matter well, I'll have no face left even when I die..." The old man's gaze was somewhat unfocused, as if he were recalling some distant memories.

Seeing this, Nian Huailin had no choice but to agree: "Then don't worry, I'll go find him right now and ask him to come over."

"..."

……

At the hospital entrance.

After spending the night in a nearby inn, Gu Ling, along with Xian Jiu and the gluttonous ghost, returned to the hospital gate.

To avoid causing a commotion, the gluttonous ghost remained inside Gu Ling's backpack, while Xian Jiu was held in Gu Ling's arms.

As soon as Gu Ling entered the hospital, she caught a glimpse of Nian Huailin out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to be walking in a hurry towards the parking lot.

Seeing this, Gu Ling quickly chased after him and asked, "Uncle Nian, where are you going? How is Grandpa Nian doing?"

Nian Huailin didn't stop walking, only taking a moment to reply: "The old man just woke up, and he's fully awake. Xiao Ling, I have urgent business to attend to, so I'll stop here for now. I need to go to the island opposite Zhenping Town..."

Nian Huailin felt somewhat conflicted about the "friend" that the old man had mentioned in the hospital room.

If it were anyone else, they would have simply asked Nian Lijun, who had just left, to go and look for her along the way. But it was...

Upon hearing this, Gu Ling's eyes lit up: "Are you going to the island to find pet friends?"

"How did you know?" Nian Huailin was quite surprised to hear this.

Gu Ling continued, "Uncle Nian, you don't need to look anymore. I might know who Grandpa Nian is looking for, and I've even brought it with me."

"Really?" Nian Huailin frowned slightly, somewhat disbelieving that it could be such a coincidence.

"Yes, but no matter what happens later, Uncle Nian, don't be too surprised," Gu Ling reminded him.

After the profession of Beast Tamer was included in the college entrance examination system, basic knowledge about pets of various attributes has been popularized for decades.

However, there are still people who keep their distance from Ghost-type pets, and a considerable number of people are even afraid of Ghost-type pets, believing that they are the embodiment of ghosts and monsters.

Nian Huailin nodded nonchalantly: "Okay."

Nian Huailin wondered what could possibly surprise him.

He's just a teenager...

But the next second, Huai Lin watched as Gu Ling took the backpack and unzipped it—

Suddenly, a huge, green ghost face appeared before my eyes.

The gluttonous ghost blinked its blood-red eyes and grinned at Nian Huailin in a friendly manner.

But this "friendliness" turned into a shock in Nian Huailin's eyes!