2: Chapter 2 Meng Li, This World, Contract

Meng Li, a transmigrator from another world.

His name, 'Li', meaning 'propriety', implied 'to be courteous in conduct and reasonable in affairs'.

In his previous life, he grew up in a peaceful era under the red flag, with an ordinary, unremarkable existence not worth detailing.

His Transmigration was a matter of sheer luck.

After years of repeated verification in this life, he confirmed that the world he now inhabited was that of a Wuxia drama he had watched in his previous life.

The drama was originally titled *Xiao Yuer and Hua Wuchuan*, also known as *The Survivor List*, *The Legend of Jiang Yuyan*, with alternative titles like *The Lethality of a White Moonlight, Even Supreme Invincibility Cannot Withstand It*, and *If I Were Him, Calling Her 'Yan'er' Once Would Let Me Lie Back and Rule the World for Life*...

This drama was adapted from a Gu Long Wuxia novel that Meng Li had heard of but never read—*The Legendary Twins*!

The general framework of the TV drama and the novel were similar, with the background being: Many years ago, there were two famous swordsmen in the Jianghu. One was 'Jiang Feng', whose appearance was universally acknowledged as the most handsome in the Martial Forest. The other was 'Yan Nantian', whose swordsmanship was universally acknowledged as the strongest.

The two were sworn brothers, both possessing chivalrous hearts and a passion for punishing evil and eliminating villains.

At that time, they went together to eradicate an Evil Path organization whose main members were named after the twelve zodiac animals, but they were ambushed and forced to flee separately.

Among them, Jiang Feng accidentally fled to the renowned Yihua Palace in the Jianghu and was rescued by its two masters, Yao Yue and Lian Xing.

Yao Yue and Lian Xing were sisters; the former was domineering and proud, the latter relatively gentle and peaceful.

Both were appearance-obsessed and fell in love with Jiang Feng at first sight. To save him, they damaged their own cultivation, forcing them to go into seclusion to Cultivate anew.

However, during this time, Jiang Feng fell in love with a palace maid of Yihua Palace named Hua Yue Nu, and without a word, they eloped together.

Upon learning this, the inherently domineering and proud Yao Yue was furious beyond measure!

How dare you, Jiang Feng!

I, the palace master, kindly saved you, even damaging my own cultivation for it, and had people take meticulous care of you. And what do you do? I saved your life, you ate my food, drank my drink, lived under my roof, and in the end, you actually hooked up with a palace maid, secretly ran off with her, and flew off together as a pair!

An ungrateful wretch!

A faithless, heartless dog of a man!

You deserve to die!

And Hua Yue Nu!

I picked you up from the wilderness, provided you with food and drink, raised you, and even taught you Martial Arts. And you repay me by seducing the man I fancied while I was in seclusion?

A white-eyed wolf raised but never tamed!

A shameless, suicidal wench!

You deserve to die!

Thus, Yao Yue and Lian Xing swiftly led their people to hunt down Jiang Feng and Hua Yue Nu. However, due to the time difference, they failed to catch up. Combined with the vast sea of humanity making them difficult to find, they had no choice but to temporarily give up.

Unexpectedly, a traitor named 'Jiang Qin' emerged by Jiang Feng's side, secretly leaking his whereabouts.

In the end, Jiang Feng and Hua Yue Nu died, but they left behind two sons.

To vent their hatred, Yao Yue and Lian Xing devised a plan to separate and raise the two children.

One they took back to Yihua Palace to raise themselves, naming him Hua Wuchuan.

The other they handed over to Yan Nantian to raise, who named him Xiao Yuer.

Due to its formidable strength, Yihua Palace's usual conduct was domineering to the point of being tyrannical, viewed by others in the Martial Forest as belonging to the Evil Path.

Once Hua Wuchuan was raised, he would inevitably be seen by them as a figure of the Evil Path.

Meanwhile, Yan Nantian was universally acknowledged as a righteous man. Under his guidance, Xiao Yuer was bound to be filled with righteousness, becoming irreconcilable enemies with Hua Wuchuan.

Without knowing the truth, with a little manipulation, these two brothers were destined to become adversaries and kill each other.

This was what Yao Yue and Lian Xing initially wanted to see.

Who could have predicted the unpredictability of fate? Through a series of coincidences, Xiao Yuer and Hua Wuchuan developed personalities and conduct that were precisely the opposite. Moreover, after meeting, they experienced many things together, became friends, and ultimately learned of their true origins, thwarting Yao Yue and Lian Xing's plan.

The original work *The Legendary Twins* and the TV drama *Xiao Yuer and Hua Wuchuan* primarily revolved around the love, hate, and conflicts these two brothers experienced after growing up.

However, the TV drama was an adaptation, differing significantly from the original in some aspects.

For example, the Bright Jade Skill of Yihua Palace from the original was removed; Yao Yue was changed to practice the original Wedding Dress Divine Skill that Yan Nantian Cultivated, while Lian Xing Cultivated the Hun Yuan True Qi, which did not exist in the original.

Another example was the drastic change in the nature of the Wedding Dress Divine Skill, becoming strikingly similar to the Absorbing Qi Technique of the Iron Gall Divine Marquis from another drama, *World's Best*.

Yet another change was the transformation of the Valley of Evil into Demon Island.

Regarding characters, aside from deletions, the biggest alteration in the TV drama was the addition of a character not present in the original—or rather, one with a prototype but heavily modified—Jiang Yuyan!

Namely, the young girl who had just sold herself to save her mother, named 'Yu Yan'.

The reasons Meng Li could be certain were: first, she looked similar; second, her name was close; and third...

The contract was signed; he had verified it using his Golden Finger.

Like many transmigrators, Meng Li had a Golden Finger by his side.

His Golden Finger was called 'contract Power'. Specifically, he obtained a mysterious contract power once every month. He could attach it to a contract voluntarily signed between himself and another person. Then, as long as he fulfilled the terms of the contract, he would receive corresponding rewards.

After numerous experiments, Meng Li discovered that applying this contract power to others' indentured servitude contracts was best.

This method was simple and offered relatively high returns.

For a typical indentured servitude contract, the content Meng Li needed to fulfill was providing money. However, for the other party, selling oneself concerned fate, representing a turning point in one's life. Once sold into servitude, one became the master's private property, with everything belonging to the other party.

Under such circumstances, the reward fed back by the contract power was to reveal the Opportunities the other party would have obtained in their original fate line, allowing Meng Li to choose.

In short, by applying the contract power to an indentured servitude contract, he basically only needed to provide money to obtain the other party's original Opportunities.

After discovering this, whenever he had the means, Meng Li frequently purchased servants.

This was also why he was so familiar with the market rates for selling oneself.

However, this contract power also had limitations.

First, it required the other party to voluntarily sign the contract.

Second, Meng Li must fulfill his own obligations as stipulated in the contract.

Third, there was only one contract, and some people had more than one Opportunity; Meng Li could only choose one.

Finally, the target's Opportunities would only be revealed after he fulfilled the conditions. In other words, unless Meng Li knew what Opportunities the other party would have, the reward from the indentured servitude contract, in terms he was familiar with from his previous life, was like opening a blind box—he might draw an extremely valuable item or something utterly useless.

Fortunately, because Meng Li had watched the original drama, he knew the Opportunities of certain people in this world.

Among them, the one with the greatest Opportunities was none other than the Jiang Yuyan he had just purchased.

Yi Hua Jie Mu Version of the Marrying Clothes Divine Skill, Hun Yuan True Qi, Heart Shattering Palm, Mi Xin Great Technique, Divine Sword Technique...

Looking at the numerous Opportunities surfacing in his mind, Meng Li felt a surge of excitement that took a while to subside.

Then, he said to Jiang Yuyan, who was excited about getting the silver to save her mother, 'Let's go, find a doctor to treat your mother's illness.'

Jiang Yuyan nodded, stood up, and walked towards the direction of the medical clinic.

Meng Li followed with his attendants in tow.

The surrounding people, seeing the matter settled and no more spectacle to watch, gradually dispersed.

However, as some among them left, they couldn't help but glance in the direction Meng Li and his group had departed, their eyes glinting, though what schemes they harbored remained unknown.

...