Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life-Chapter 172: The Master of Gentle Breeze and Bright Moon

The night was as dark as ink, in Courtyard Ding-Qi.

Su Ming did not return to his own eastern side room. Instead, he walked to the door of the South Room and knocked gently.

The door creaked open, revealing Li Kai's silent face.

His room was still piled high with various discarded formation plate components. The air carried a peculiar smell, a mix of metal and spirit stone powder.

"Senior Brother Li," Su Ming got straight to the point.

Li Kai didn't speak, merely looking at him, a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

Su Ming met his gaze frankly, his tone sincere.

"Senior Brother Li, to be honest with you, with the Repair Hall newly established, I originally intended to invite you to join."

"However... as you've seen, the hall has too many rules and regulations, and the work is all trivial mending and patching. I've thought it over and feel such an environment is truly too small, likely to restrict your movements and hinder your future prospects."

"After the Repair Hall is properly established and we need to delve into more advanced formations in the future, I will come to formally invite you then. What do you think?"

These words were half-truth, half-falsehood.

Both an excuse and a probe.

Both Lin Yu and Su Ming judged that this Li Kai was like a hidden dragon in the abyss, his temperament unpredictable. The small Repair Hall truly couldn't contain him. Forcibly recruiting him would be unpredictable in terms of fortune or misfortune. It was better to treat him with courtesy and watch how things developed.

Li Kai looked at Su Ming in silence, his deep eyes seemingly able to see through a person's heart.

The oil lamp inside the room cast a dim, yellowish light, making the shallow scar on his face flicker between light and shadow.

After a long while, he twitched the corner of his mouth, as if trying to smile, but it ultimately transformed into a slight nod.

"I understand."

He only spoke these three words, his voice somewhat hoarse.

"Thank you."

After saying this, he took a step back and slowly closed the door.

Su Ming stood outside the door, listening to the renewed "rustling" sound of polishing components coming from inside, lost in thought.

"Master, he seems... to truly understand."

"Understand my foot!" Lin Yu's soul thought erupted in an outburst from within the ring. "What he understands is that you know he's not simple! Your words were telling him, 'I know you're a big shot, our small temple can't hold you, let's not interfere with each other, each to his own peace.' His 'thank you' was thanking you for being 'sensible'."

Su Ming gave a bitter smile and turned to walk towards his own room.

Regardless, a potential trouble had been temporarily stabilized.

...

The operation of the Repair Hall was even smoother than anticipated.

Driven by the powerful force of "process," five people from different backgrounds were twisted into a single rope.

Su Ming finally had large stretches of free time.

In the deep quiet of the night, the composite formation completely isolated the eastern side room from the outside world.

Su Ming sat cross-legged, eight basic runes of varying light floating before him.

Besides the nine runes he initially mastered, over the past month, under Lin Yu's guidance, he had thoroughly digested six new basic runes.

He didn't greedily seek more, but followed Lin Yu's teaching of "laying a solid foundation," beginning the most tedious yet most crucial practice—pairwise combination.

He activated his divine sense, slowly bringing the rune representing "Flow" closer to the rune representing "Solidify."

The two completely different spiritual energy attributes clashed violently the moment they made contact, their light flickering unsteadily as if on the verge of collapse at any moment.

"Idiot! Don't just force them together!" Lin Yu's soul thought rang out promptly. "'Flow' is movement, 'Solidify' is stillness. To combine movement and stillness, you need a 'converter'! Use the principle of the 'Absorb' character rune to guide them! Make 'Solidify' become the channel for 'Flow,' not its dam!"

Su Ming's heart stirred. He immediately separated a strand of his consciousness to visualize the true meaning of the "Absorb" character rune—"compatibility and inclusion."

Sure enough, the two originally mutually repelling runes gradually stabilized under his guidance, finally merging into a brand new, structurally complex composite rune, emanating a peculiar charm of "resilient flow."

Lin Yu's teaching method never made him memorize by rote. For every rune, he started from explaining its most fundamental "principle," then extended it to various phenomena in reality, letting Su Ming comprehend and draw parallels on his own.

This method might not be the fastest in terms of efficiency, but it laid a foundation for him that was far more solid and terrifying than that of ordinary people, even surpassing those geniuses of the Formation Peak.

A few more days passed, and the two little ones, Qingfeng and Mingyue, arrived at the Repair Hall again carrying food boxes.

Only this time, their faces lacked the usual high spirits. Instead, they both pouted, looking thoroughly unhappy.

"Su Ming, Su Ming!" Mingyue couldn't help but complain as soon as she saw him. "My Master hasn't come back for a long time!"

Qingfeng also wore a stern face, chiming in, "Yeah! Who knows what he's busy with, appearing and disappearing mysteriously! We sent him messages, and he just replies with 'Do not disturb'!" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Mingyue opened the food box. The pastries inside were still exquisite, but she couldn't muster any interest in them.

Listening to the two little ones' complaints, Su Ming's heart stirred. He asked casually, as if unintentionally, "Is your esteemed Master so busy because of... the upcoming 'Minor Heavenly Cycle Martial Display'?"

Qingfeng's little face stiffened, and he snorted. "The martial display is for those brutes from the Heavenly Sword Peak to worry about. Master can't be bothered. He's deducing a more important major matter. What exactly it is, we don't know either."

Before his words faded, a series of hurried and arrogant footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard, accompanied by a sharp voice.

"Is that newly established 'Repair Hall' from the External Affairs Hall here? Dragging your feet, made me search forever!"

As the words fell, a young cultivator wearing the attire of a Vessel Hall steward, chin held high and eyes filled with arrogance, strode into Bing Character Seven Courtyard. The silver thread embroidery on his robe depicted intricate patterns of gears and hammers. He exuded an aura of metal and sparks. His gaze swept over the simple furnishings in the courtyard and the craftsmen who originated from menial posts, not concealing the disdain within.

"You're Su Ming? Elder Ma said this place can repair formation plates." He pointed his chin at Su Ming, flicking out a jade slip engraved with formation lines. "Urgent requisition from the Vessel Hall. Twenty 'Sharp Metal Formation Plates' were excessively damaged during trials last night. They're needed for tomorrow's martial display! You are limited to repair all of them before the hour of Hai tonight!"

Seeing Qingfeng and Mingyue present, his attitude softened slightly, but that sense of superiority remained undiminished. "The Vessel Hall gives Elder Ma face. But don't be ungrateful. A bunch of accountants and farmers, don't ruin our Vessel Hall's treasures!"

Old Li and Zhang Asheng's faces instantly flushed red. They were about to retort but were stopped by a calm glance from Su Ming.

Within the Xuantian ring, Lin Yu's soul thought had already materialized into a phantom, pointing and gesturing at the steward. "Well, well, look at this attitude. Disciple, don't stoop to his level. Use your skills to shut him up, and incidentally, slap his face swollen."

Su Ming, neither humble nor pushy, stepped forward, took the jade slip, and scanned it with his divine sense, taking in the damage conditions of all twenty formation plates. He bowed slightly, his tone as steady as if reading an account entry. "Please rest assured, Steward. The Repair Hall only recognizes process, nothing else. They will be delivered before the hour of Hai."