15: Chapter 15 Presenting a Hairpin as a Reward

"I heard that Esteemed Uncle overpowered everyone at the Heroes Convention and was elected as the Wulin Alliance Leader. This is truly a joyous occasion."

"I was planning to find a time to congratulate him. Did he say when he would be back?"

Hearing Meng Li ask about her father Tie Ruyun's return date, Tie Xinlan replied truthfully, "He sent a letter back a while ago mentioning his election as the Alliance Leader. He said he has some matters to attend to and won't be back for at least another month."

Speaking of this, she couldn't help but sigh. "Back when my mother was alive, my father was always running around outside. He'd be away from home for half the year."

"After my mother passed away from illness, he reduced his travels to take care of me."

"Now that I've grown up and can manage the affairs of the manor and the village, and he's become the Wulin Alliance Leader, he has to handle various matters of the Martial Forest. I expect he'll be running around even more often."

Meng Li pursed his lips and remained silent.

He had heard similar words many times and was long accustomed to them. At such a time, he didn't need to offer advice or comfort; he only needed to be a listening ear, quietly letting Tie Xinlan finish venting these grievances that she couldn't share with others.

Afterward, Tie Xinlan would quickly be able to regulate her emotions.

Sure enough, in less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea, Tie Xinlan had recovered.

Then, she extended her fair little hand toward Meng Li, making a demanding gesture.

Meng Li asked, puzzled, "What is it?"

Tie Xinlan blinked. "A gift! You said before that you'd bring me a gift when you returned."

Having said that, she seemed to think of something, placed her hands on her hips, and stared into his eyes suspiciously. "You didn't forget, did you?"

Meng Li was stunned, then slapped his forehead and said with chagrin, "Oh, look at my head."

Seeing this, Tie Xinlan thought he had forgotten and couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

The next second, Meng Li's tone shifted abruptly. "I forgot to take it out."

With that, he reached into his sleeve and, like a magic trick, pulled out a carved wooden box and handed it to Tie Xinlan. "Here, the gift I promised you."

Tie Xinlan's disappointment immediately turned to surprise. She reached out to take it and asked, "What is it?"

Meng Li smiled and said, "Open it and see for yourself."

Tie Xinlan opened the wooden box as instructed and found an exquisite hairpin inside.

She fell in love with it at first glance.

Not only were the materials of high quality and the craftsmanship fine, but it was also carved with magnolia flowers. The color and style were exactly what she liked; one look and it was clear someone had chosen it with care.

"Do you like it?" Meng Li asked.

Tie Xinlan nodded. "I like it."

"Shall I help you put it on?"

"Okay."

Meng Li took the Magnolia Hairpin and carefully inserted it into Tie Xinlan's cloud-like hair bun.

At this moment, the two were inches apart.

With every breath, Meng Li caught the delicate fragrance of the young girl. His mind wavered for a moment before instantly returning to normal.

Tie Xinlan also felt his breath, and her heart couldn't help but speed up.

A young girl's modesty made her want to end this intimacy quickly, but the strange feeling in her heart made her somewhat reluctant to let go.

For a moment, Tie Xinlan became conflicted and dazed, her cheeks flushing slightly.

Just then, the hairpin was set in place.

Meng Li stepped back two paces to look and nodded. "It's not crooked."

Then, he asked in confusion, "Why is your face red?"

Hearing this, Tie Xinlan's face turned even redder, but she didn't know how to answer. She could only make something up: "I just felt a bit hot."

As she spoke, she deliberately fanned herself with her hand while changing the subject. "I suddenly remembered there are matters to handle at the manor. I'm leaving now, no need to see me out."

After saying that, Tie Xinlan turned and left.

Watching her slightly flustered retreating figure, Meng Li shook his head and laughed.

Just then, Jiang Yuyan came over, passing right by Tie Xinlan.

Seeing Tie Xinlan's hurried pace, she felt puzzled. She turned to Meng Li and asked, "Young Master, who was that?"

"Tie Xinlan, the daughter of the Master of the neighboring Tie Family Village, and also a younger sister-figure who grew up with me."

Meng Li gave a brief introduction and then asked, "Are you and your mother settled in?"

Jiang Yuyan nodded.

"That's good. I need to write some things; come and help me grind the ink."

"Yes."

An hour later, in the study.

Meng Li stopped his brush, blew on the ink, and carefully reviewed the contents. After confirming there were no issues, he put the several sheets of paper away.

Then, he went to the guards' quarters in the front courtyard to find Zhang Shan, Li Shi, and Wang Wu.

"Young Master," the three greeted him with cupped fists.

Meng Li nodded slightly. He glanced at Zhang Shan's injury and, seeing it was mostly healed, looked away. He then pulled the papers he had just transcribed from his robe and handed them to the three.

"This is?" Zhang Shan, who was standing at the front, took them with a look of confusion.

Meng Li said calmly, "An Internal Skill Mind-Cultivation Technique."

Zhang Shan and the others were instantly shocked, finding it hard to believe.

An Internal Skill Mind-Cultivation Technique?

For most people in the Jianghu, that was something beyond their reach.

As mentioned before, the Jianghu of this world was divided into three levels based on strength. Only by possessing Internal Energy could one be considered to have stepped into the upper circle. To maintain their advantage, those in the upper circle naturally would not spread the Internal Skill Mind-Cultivation Techniques that could produce Internal Energy haphazardly.

Therefore, it was not easy for an ordinary person to obtain an Internal Skill Mind-Cultivation Technique.

The channels for obtaining them could be roughly divided into three categories: Family inheritance, Master-Disciple Legacy, and fortuitous encounters.

Family inheritance, as the name suggests, belongs to a Family Legacy and is basically only passed to Family members. Some strict ones even have rules like 'pass to sons but not daughters' or 'pass to legitimate heirs but not concubines' children.'

Master-Disciple Legacy usually refers to joining a certain School and learning the arts from a Master.

This path seems simple, but the conditions are actually harsh.

First, most Schools generally only consider children when recruiting Disciples.

This is because many Martial Arts require a foundation to be built from a young age, and young people are easier to indoctrinate.

Second, they look at bone structure and Aptitude.

Nurturing a Disciple requires investment. A Disciple with good Aptitude learns quickly and well, which means less investment and faster, higher returns, making them naturally more welcome in a School. Conversely, it means more investment with slower and lower returns; the cost-effectiveness is unsatisfactory, so they are naturally rejected.

Finally, it also depends on one's background and wealth.

Practicing Martial Arts costs money, and the development of a School also costs money.

Unless one has extraordinary natural talent or connections, after joining a School, one inevitably has to provide monetary offerings to the School.

With all these conditions combined, the Master-Disciple path is enough to filter out the vast majority of people.

As for the final path of fortuitous encounters...

They are called fortuitous encounters for a reason; how could an ordinary person just stumble upon one?

Having spent time in the Jianghu, Zhang Shan and the other two naturally understood these inner workings.

That was why they found it so hard to believe.

Meng Li smiled and said, "When we encountered the bandits earlier, even though you knew you were outmatched, you still stayed to protect me. Your loyalty is commendable."

"This technique is your reward. Additionally, Zhang Shan was injured, so go to the accountant later to collect a month's salary as a bonus. Once you learn this Internal Skill Mind-Cultivation Technique, barring any accidents, you should be able to cultivate Internal Energy within a month at most."

"Many thanks, Young Master!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shan and the others all cupped their fists and thanked him in unison, their voices filled with excitement.

Immediately afterward, they said with shared determination, "Once we have achieved success in our training, we are willing to die for the Young Master!"

Meng Li nodded with satisfaction.

This Internal Skill Mind-Cultivation Technique was naturally not the Yi Hua Jie Mu Version of the Marrying Clothes Divine Skill, nor was it the Meng Family Mind-Cultivation Technique which held special significance as a Family Legacy. Rather, it was a Mind-Cultivation Technique he had 'learned' from the Towering bandit using the Wedding Dress Divine Skill. He didn't know its name, but he felt the effect was decent, so he used it as a reward to win over their hearts.

Seeing that the effect was good, Meng Li further instructed, "First, memorize it thoroughly. If there's anything you don't understand, come and ask me at any time."

"Yes."

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