If others could read their thoughts within their minds, one could understand more clearly just where Sun's former att.i.tude stemmed from.

Again, the general was not so narrow minded.

Jin Li, however, was of narrow mind, just not the same sort.  Others were disdaining his man? Then that is what will be offered in return.  His respect for Sun's uncles disappeared and Sun's father could only hope to retain a smidgeon due to his relations.h.i.+p with Sun.

Leon was oblivious to this tension and shyly scratched at his jaw before saying aloud; "In g-grat.i.tude for your hospitality, J-Jin Li and I p-prepared some g-gifts. I h-hope that is alright?"

General Ramas felt his hard heart soften a little for this honest youth before him.  It has been a long while since he had seen eyes so clean and without ill intent.  He offered a sharp nod of acknowledgement and offered warning glares towards his sons who dared sneered in suggestion; what sort of poor things could these youths hope to offer?

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Leon summoned the two chests from his inters.p.a.cial bag, one large and one small, though both were clearly of common, cheap wood.  Leon bent down, placing the smaller one to one side and opening the large chest.  Inside were a few spare pelts from what Jin Li and Wu Ye had hunted together, mostly small, but soft furs, including one from a dream hare that was a rich purple in tone.  Plus there was a large, Dire tiger pelt, the rich oranges in contrast to the velvet black of the stripes naturally caught the eyes of all of the men.

"These were h-hunted by J-Jin Li and his C-C-Coeurl," Leon stroked the tiger pelt, he quite liked the colours, even though he'd mourned the loss of such a stunning creature at first.  However, he had no where at home for it and he also felt it would be uncomfortable to wear as a coat.  To him, it suited a warrior more, but Jin Li was not interested in it either and it would have been sold if not for Sun's request to have them accompany him home.  Leon lifted two carved objects from on top of the pelt.  They were hair pins shaped from an off-white material.  It happened that the Dire tiger's sabre teeth were ivory rather than bone.

"They are a b-bit cr-crude," Leon mentioned, shyly.  "I c-carved them m-myself and have n-not worked with ivory much b-before."  In fact the first two things he'd practiced with hung from his and Jin Li's belts respectively.

He looked nervously about, wanting to gift one to Sun's grandfather and one to his father, fortunately the servants shadowing the walls became aware of his predicament and came to help him.  "I only h-have t-two..." he felt awkward.  He hadn't known he might face Sun's uncles, Sun never mentioned them at all.  Jin Li offered him a small smile of encouragement which immediately made him feel better, so he did not see the black expressions upon the other men's faces.

General Ramas did not immediately accept the hairpin, just examined it as his trusted servant held it before him, but he couldn't help but reach for it in the end.  The tiger upon the smooth pin was indeed not perfect and only the head and upper body and forelegs were carved, yet it held the essence of a tiger leaping to catch its prey.  The pin could not be mistaken for jade, but the General felt that he liked this raw material more at that moment.  Sun's father had also accepted its twin, one with just the head of a tiger mid roar, each sharp tooth clearly visible.  His cold expression eased and his eyes cast a slightly fresh evaluation of the commoner boy.  At least he had taste in gifts.

Leon had not finished, for he had one last thing to offer, though, for now, the reactions would be much less and solidify some impressions in the hearts of Sun's uncles, much to their lament one day when there was nothing they could do to reverse this.  In the smaller chest there were numerous jade bottles and swinging delicately from each bottle was a small, wooden tag, hand carved.  "You p-probably have access t-to p-pills, so tr-treat m-mine as a t-token?"  He handed the chest to General Ramas' manservant, who took it for the elder man to see.

Leon had not known what to pack, Sun had only vaguely mentioned that his family had had hopes for him as a Cultivator and that his grandfather was a general.  So Leon had packed a few clear spiritual pills and cloudy spiritual pills as well as the medicines that he was good at making.  There was also two bottle of his personally created pills; the Smouldering Energy Pills and Bursting Energy Pills, the two variants of Burning Energy Pills that primary Cultivators could use to raise their fighting ability temporarily.

After accepting the gifts, General Ramas had Mond and Sun guide the two youths to Sun's courtyard and slowly Sun's uncles filtered out of the patriarch's hall with their own thoughts and feelings regarding them.  Have to say, Jin Li had a bit of acknowledgement, for his obvious hunting skills and Leon did not.  Those ivory pins were not high in quality, nor in artistic merit and most importantly, not in their hands!  The pelts as well would likely go into the treasury, though they felt that the patriarch would claim the tiger pelt for himself.  The general held back Sun's father for a bit.

"What do you think?"  He asked his second son.

"I do not know of this Jin Li's family, but he has presence and clearly skill," he answered, honestly.

"The habit of placing a family name before a given," General Ramas mused, "This is not unheard of in West Xulaphrey.  I've also heard that in other realms the practice is more common.  His bearing is not simple."  His son nodded in agreement.  "And of the other?"

Sun's father was generally inflexible, but he was not unmovable.  "This boy... I thought he might be a servant of the other," he admitted, "but that does not seem to fit his bearing.  His status is undeniably low, however."

"En," the General replied.  "I would not stop Sun from a.s.sociating himself with the child."

"How so?"

"It is rare for a youth to be so untainted from the reality of life and schemes of others," the General replied.  "Not that he is foolish, just clean.  For Sun to have a friend that he does not have to be even the remotest bit wary of is not a bad thing."  Sun's father thought of the schemes of his own brothers and cousins in branch families and couldn't help but agree.  "Plus, I don't think that boy is so simple."  He picked up the bottle labelled Smouldering Energy Pills, causing Sun's father's eyes to widen.

"Are they not the newly marketed pill?" The man commented.  "The supply does not yet meet demand... how did he manage to get hold of them?"

"It is said that the Inst.i.tute has the recipe and rights to the pills," the general placed the bottles into the chest and quickly told his manservant to place those pills under lock and key.  "This Leon is a student there also, but unless he is trusted, he would not have access to the recipe as yet, let alone be able to keep some for himself."  The Inst.i.tute was indeed a place of learning, but it was also a business.  Pills that brought in good income would be an a.s.set, not to be wasted or flaunted unless their value decreased.  "Treat Sun's friends well.  I find them interesting."

"Yes father," his son bowed respectfully.