After collecting three sets of everyday guard uniforms and a carved wooden waist token, Ding Songyan followed the young eunuch Zhang Quan into a modest courtyard.
Someone was practicing martial arts inside, wielding two short swords wreathed in crimson streams of fire. His movements were light and nimble.
"Young Master Li, I've brought everyone a new friend," Zhang Quan called.
The man stopped practicing and smiled at Zhang Quan.
"Eunuch Zhang, why keep calling me young master? Just call me Baima."
He was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with round eyes that gave him a slightly dull look, yet his features combined into something rather fierce. His skin was reddish, his face pale, and he wore a dark red guard uniform trimmed with blue-green.
"Young Master Ding, this is Li Baima, an inheritor of the Fire-Stealing Sect. He just reached the perfected Dayan Realm and holds the third-rank title 'Divination.' He plans to consolidate his cultivation at the prince's residence for two years before traveling," Zhang Quan introduced them. "This is Young Master Ding Songyan of the Xiaoming Sect, a martial prodigy. For now, he only holds the fifth-rank title 'Probing Mystery,' but his rank is sure to rise when next year's Exalted Orchid Roll comes out."
Fire-stealing... Taking Li Baima's unusual appearance into account, Ding Songyan had roughly determined the source of his inheritance.
"The Fire-Stealing Bird resembles an owl, with a red body and white head. Eating it grants the ability to steal flint-fire and command a hundred flames."
Although it offered only two traits, the description "command a hundred flames" made Ding Songyan feel that the Fire-Stealing Sect's martial arts were far from simple. They would surely prove a devastating counter to certain enemies.
After leaving Ding Songyan in Li Baima's care, the young eunuch Zhang Quan departed.
"There