Chapter 354: Boarding the Ship for Discussion

"What are you talking about?" Xubo calmed his mood.

"The Classic of Poetry, also called the Three Hundred Poems."

"Three hundred? Is there really that many?" The old Jade Blood Clan member appeared even more confused.

"Specifically, three hundred and five, or perhaps three hundred and eleven, though six of them only have titles and no content." Sinuoli felt like he was answering a literature exam from his past life.

"You even know the content inside like the back of your hand; it seems that news is true! My clan has served the True Dragon in Zhendan for thousands of years, possessing both power and wealth; if it were you..."

"..."

"Stop, stop!" Sinuoli waved his hands repeatedly; now that the conversation had reached this point, he realized there was a misunderstanding. "I was talking about a book of poetry, what are you talking about?"

"Uh, the scripture regarding the art of corpse control, also known as the Corpse Classic." Xubo did not hide it.

"By the gods of Nehekhara, there aren't nine volumes of this Corpse Classic you speak of, are there? And it wasn't compiled by someone named Nagash, was it?" Sinuoli was amused to the point of anger.

"This, this! This old one does not know, I only know that the Grand Steward before the Dragon Emperor's throne has such a volume. He, in his old age, used it to cultivate a formidable level of magic."

"The Dragon Emperor is certainly broad-minded! But perhaps if the Lord of Undeath himself were here, he could attract his attention, but a grimoire of ownerless dead things cannot catch his eye." Sinuoli shook his head and muttered to himself.

"No matter where you heard that gossip, I don't have that kind of filthy, defiled stuff, and even if I did, I would find a way to destroy it!"

After Sinuoli rejected the request decisively, he waved his hand to dismiss his guest. This little episode reminded him that there is no such thing as a wall without cracks; if interested parties investigated carefully, they could always find clues about the matter of taking two grimoires from the Sigmar Cult to give to Settra.

Although he had great confidence in the security forces of the Khemri Great Pyramid, he could not ignore that the minions of Nagash were no ordinary beings.

If the Immortal Emperor were in his prime, he could naturally send those petty thieves to meet the jackal-headed God of Death, Wusilian, but as Nehekhara turned into a dead land, the former desert gods also fell into Twilight, and the Petra Zhufu Zhi Jian naturally lost its former divine radiance.

On the other hand, he also realized that being a literary plagiarist still required scouting out allusions and place names in advance. Although he was interested in Zhendan, he had many things on his hands, and his understanding remained on the surface.

At noon the next day, Sinuoli took his guard and entourage and stepped onto Yin Yin's treasure ship. This giant vessel was larger than all the sailing ships he had known in both his lives combined; it was obvious that extraordinary power had intervened during its construction.

"The Princess has set a banquet in the ship's tower, please!"

Guided by the leader of the Celestial Dragon Guard, Sinuoli strode forward. As he walked, he observed everything on the treasure ship, and soon, several objects resembling Kongming lanterns floating above the masts caught his attention.

"What are those?" Sinuoli pointed to the flying machines, which had blue dragon patterns painted on the lanterns, suspended with manned baskets below, and equipped with complex fan blades.

"Reporting to the Lord, we call them Sky Lanterns. They are sharp tools for scouting enemy situations from high altitudes, and they also allow commanders to grasp the battle situation from the air like the Admiral, issuing orders."

"Hehe! This name is truly straightforward." Sinuoli curled his lips; he was reminded of the unique "lighting the sky lantern" practice from his past life.

On both sides of the ship's hull, besides the more common short and thick giant cannons, some things similar to rocket launchers were installed. Their appearance was not much different from the giant cannons, both having dragon-shaped barrels, but what the dragon mouths held were sets of sharp-headed rockets.

Walking into the ship's tower, Sinuoli was startled by the decor, which resembled the Jinluandian. Lifelike carved dragon pillars supported the magnificent ceiling, and at the end, on a beautifully carved and majestic dais, sat Yin Yin's dragon throne and dragon desk.

The desks on the left were already filled with officers of the Dragon Fleet, while the empty ones on the right were reserved for the Dwarfs. Jiuniang led Sinuoli to a seat on the dais that was clearly set up temporarily; it seemed Yin Yin rarely had the opportunity to entertain people of equal rank outside of her brothers and sisters.

The appearance of Yin Yin drew another round of cheers, and after a brief welcome, she announced the start of the banquet. This meal consisted of standard Eastern dishes, with rare ingredients like fish, swallow's nest, abalone, and shark fin served one by one.

Sinuoli chewed absent-mindedly; he was pondering Yin Yin's intentions—for a busy Dragon Lady to spend so much time and energy on a trip, reasons like meeting an ally or seeing Western customs were certainly just a facade.

Looking at the map, this Governor of Weidong Province only governed two provinces, with six or seven cities of significant scale; in terms of area alone, it was about the same as Sinuoli's territory—following the opening of Keladeluomen and the expansion on both sides of the mountains, his territory was no longer limited to the Nan Shijie Bianyuan Shanmai.

But counting the population, the gap in strength between the two sides remained huge. Although Weidong Province faced the dual pressure of the Snake-men and Nipeng, it was far more prosperous and wealthy than the Southlands, which had been developed for less than ten years.

From this, it could be seen that the Ming Dragon bore heavy responsibilities, and her visit must have an important purpose. As for what it was, the core competitiveness of the Dwarfs was limited to a few items; setting aside brewing and jewelry, Sinuoli could count them on one hand.

"My Lord, I have heard that the weapons and armor of your clan are the sharpest in the Western world, with brave soldiers and fierce generals clad in solid armor, unmoving as a mountain!" In the blink of an eye, the dishes reached the soup course, and Yin Yin raised her wine cup to toast Sinuoli again.

"Hahaha, thank you for the praise, Princess! It is easy to shake a mountain, but hard to shake the Sons of the Mountains!" Sinuoli laughed and drank it in one gulp. A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, which he covered with his hand; he didn't fear having demands, he only feared having no desires.

"There is an item called Meteorite Armor; as a blade, it cuts iron like mud, and as armor, it is indestructible. May I have a look at it?" After a simple compliment, Yin Yin followed up with her request.

"Why not!"

Sinuoli laughed heartily and signaled for his Anvil Guard Captain to step forward. This warrior handed his shield and Battle Axe to the two Astromancers, who immediately began to appraise them.

Diplomats led by Wan'er had long since transmitted the characteristics of the Meteorite Armor back, so these two Astromancers were just performing the final test, and they soon reported the results to Yin Yin.

"I have not seen this item on the trade list. I wonder what price you would set? My Heavenly Dynasty is vast and rich, and among the many treasures, there are naturally items of equal value for exchange."

The merchant had certainly told the Ming Dragon why it wasn't for sale, but this Dragon Emperor Princess changed her gentle style and made a demand to Sinuoli with an irresistible attitude.

"Hahaha, I see that the equipment on these Celestial Dragon Guards beside you is also quite refined."

Sinuoli naturally did not answer directly, and the quality of the Dragon Guards' equipment was indeed somewhat better than what the Human nations of the Old World produced themselves.