At night, the hall of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group buzzed with lively activity.
Four people sat around a table, toasting one another and laughing as they discussed amusing incidents from the desert.
After they had chatted for a while, the refined young man at the head of the table raised his wine cup in a toast to the blue-robed young man on his left.
"I failed to recognize the towering mountain before my eyes and offended you, Brother Xiao Cha. Please accept my apology."
Xiao Cha looked at Xiao Ding's respectful expression and murmured his acknowledgment with a smile, while inwardly keeping his guard up.
Of Xiao Yan's three brothers, Xiao Ding was the hardest to handle. Xiao Yan was manageable; although he was shrewd, he still fell within normal bounds.
Xiao Li was a warrior, but Xiao Ding was different. He had the sharpest mind of the three brothers and was also the smoothest operator. His ability to handle affairs even surpassed their father Xiao Zhan's by a considerable margin.
Thus, Xiao Cha always kept a measure of wariness toward Xiao Ding's overtures.
After their brief exchange, Xiao Ding also understood that Xiao Cha was not easy to deal with.
But remembering that he was his youngest brother's friend, he simply stopped worrying about it. Having someone shrewd beside Xiao Yan was a good thing, too; it would spare him a few losses.
He turned his gaze toward Xiao Yan and asked,
"Little Yanzi, Little Li said you came to the Tagor Desert to look for something. What is it? Perhaps we can help."
"Big Brother, that's exactly why I came to see you. What I'm looking for is extremely important-a heavenly flame!"
"A heavenly flame?"
"A heavenly flame!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li exchanged