Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life

Chapter 447: Parting

The night had grown deep.

Autumn insects chirped weakly from within the bamboo grove, and a waning crescent moon hung high in the sky, casting its cold silver radiance upon the blue bricks and gray roof tiles.

The lamps in the old residence had long been extinguished, and the family had all fallen into deep slumber. Only the occasional heavy breaths and mumbled sleep-talk sounded especially clear in the tranquil night.

Su Ming was not asleep.

He pushed open his door silently, stepping out to the center of the courtyard onto the bluestone slab.

Under the moonlight, his expression was stern and focused, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, while within him, spiritual energy raced swiftly through his meridians.

With a flick of his wrist, three palm-sized, dark-gray blank formation plates appeared in his palm. These were made from scrap material he had refined from discarded Sinking Star Iron ore slag while at the Cloud Hidden Sect's Repair Hall. The material was tough and resilient, and naturally carried a faint property that could block divine sense probing.

Su Ming took a deep breath, a faint blue light flickering in his eyes.

He did not use any engraving knife. Instead, he pressed his index and middle fingers together. A single drop of dense, almost solid, blue water-attribute spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips, forming a brush tip.

Shua!Su Ming's figure moved like a phantom, appearing at the northeast corner of the courtyard.

His fingertip touched the first formation plate. The liquid spiritual energy, guided by his finger, quickly traced across the surface of the hard Sinking Star Iron, carving an extremely complex pattern of lines.

It was a variant of the "Solidify" rune, combined with the principles of earth vein channeling he had comprehended from *The True Meaning of Basic Rune Deconstruction*. Instead of forcefully embedding the plate into the ground, he activated the *Like Water Art*, letting the spiritual energy seep into the soil like liquid mercury, seeking out the most subtle veins of earth energy beneath the surface.

Then, acting according to the momentum, he perfectly embedded the formation plate into the node of the earth veins, like planting a seed.

"Chi—"

An extremely faint sound, and the first plate vanished entirely beneath the soil without a single ripple of spiritual energy leaking out.

Next came the southwest corner of the courtyard, and then the spirit screen directly facing the main gate.

Three plates, arranged in a Three Talents formation, perfectly enveloped the entire Su family's old residence.

After finishing all this, a fine layer of sweat had broken out on his forehead. Even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, controlling earth veins and composite formation patterns with such precision was an immense drain.

But he did not stop.

Su Ming walked to the stone steps before the main room's entrance, tilted his head back, and looked up at the thick load-bearing beam above the doorway.

He took out another piece of wood from his chest—the remaining core of Soul Nourishing Wood left over from Lin Yu.

Su Ming held the piece in his palm and closed his eyes.

The spiritual energy of the *Like Water Art* transformed into the gentlest threads of water, wrapping the wood layer by layer in a final process of warming and consecration. Inside the wood, he carved a miniature "Lead" talisman. Then, he drew a drop of essence blood and let the wood absorb it. This was a secret technique used by the sect when assigning cave dwellings—if the formation was ever breached, he would definitely sense it at the Cloud Hidden Sect.

A full incense stick's time passed before Su Ming opened his eyes.

He flicked his finger.

Swoosh!

wood shot out like a streak of light, embedding itself precisely into the

this, Su Ming stood silently in

like water, gently spilling over the gray tiles, onto the bare branches of the old locust tree, and onto the

by, carrying the familiar scent of earth and

so warm, so deeply

slowly closed his

only he could hear, he spoke

Mother, Second Brother, Eldest

left this barrier for you. This is the last thing I do on this

a danger. But at least, with this formation in place, and with Second Brother's skill, you can live peacefully, in

when you have turned to dust, perhaps

to have been your

Ming has no

...

was just

very faint strip of fish-belly white was just turning on the eastern horizon. The deep autumn morning dew

did not

any luggage, for he had come with

light as weightless,

the courtyard gate and pressed his hands

before pulling open the bolt,

gaze upon this courtyard that had held all the joys and sorrows

the main hall, the stove, the old locust

deep into

Just then.

"Creak—"

door of the main hall let out an extremely faint sound, yet in the silence of this

door was slowly pushed open from

body stiffened

crack in the door emerged a

It was his father.

was wearing a half-worn, coarse cloth cotton jacket, and in his hand, he still tightly clutched the old tobacco pipe that had accompanied him for half

not walk toward Su Ming. He did not utter a

just stood there silently at the entrance to the main hall, at

at Su Ming, who stood at the

silently gazed at each other in the faint light before

were no tears, no words of advice, no sorrow of

a deep, bone-deep understanding—the kind that belongs between

whose spine had

took

flipped the hem of his washed-out, gray, long

bluestone slab, he

back into a respectful curve. Toward

slab was