Chapter 208 - - The General’s assessment of us (2/2)

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 associating 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 Institute 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 Institute was indeed a place of learning, but it was also a business.  Pills that brought in good income would be an asset, 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.