Chapter 381: The Terracotta Sentinel Cemetery

Considering that if he directly asked the officials of Weidong Province, who knew the Dwarfs were researching the Terracotta Sentinel guards, they would immediately guess his further intentions, Sinuoli focused his efforts on the civilian sector.

Given that his own kin were too recognizable on the road, and there was no time to cultivate trustworthy Human proxies, the Dwarf King had no choice but to repeat his old trick: transform into a stone statue and don a cloak to gather information.

Although the Dragon Emperor had summoned a meteor to destroy the Ogre Kingdoms, time was enough to erase some of the fear in the hearts of the "Big Bellies." Zhendan could now find many Ogres working as gatekeepers and bodyguards; it was said that Shangyang even had a standing army composed of Ogres.

"Information on the Bingmayong Muyuan? Are you here to make fun of me?"

Sinuoli wandered around until he arrived at a teahouse, and after matching the code, he was led into a dark room. After pondering for a while, he decided to go to the Hundred-Knowing Tower; judging by the results of their previous cooperation, they were quite powerful.

"How so?"

"That is just a park!"

"Huangsan, do not neglect our distinguished guest; go to the back and brew some tea!" Before he had spoken more than two or three sentences with the receptionist, a shopkeeper-like figure with a graying goatee turned out from the back.

"What you want is news about the Neiyuan, right?"

"What Neiyuan, what Waiyuan? Tell me about it in detail!"

Sinuoli took out a gold ingot and tossed it onto the counter.

"Hehehe! You are certainly generous. The cemetery is divided into two parts, inner and outer; what is known to the public is the Waiyuan. His Majesty ordered its construction after the completion of the Changyuan to commemorate the sacrificed warriors; it is filled with nothing but sculptures and inscriptions."

The shopkeeper gathered the ingot into his sleeve, his smile squeezing wrinkles onto his forehead. He poured a cup of tea for Sinuoli and began to provide information.

"The Waiyuan is for us commoners to visit and pay respects, while the Neiyuan is the burial place for the remains of those Terracotta Sentinels. The existing city was also originally built to provide a place for the tomb-guarding troops to garrison."

"Then, can one enter this Neiyuan?" Sinuoli nodded; the general public probably didn't even know the Neiyuan existed.

"Yes, or rather, theoretically yes." The shopkeeper smiled slightly, keeping him in suspense.

"Bang!" Sinuoli tossed out two more ingots.

"In all the years this establishment has been open, there are only three ways to enter the forbidden grounds of this world. First, sneak in secretly; second, bribe the guards; third, obtain an order from a superior."

"This money was spent in vain!" Sinuoli muttered to himself; he knew these points already. "An order from a superior—would that of the Lord of Shangyang work?" His mind turned, and he urgently changed his wording to Zhaoming's honorific.

"The old gentleman Biling's order is likely not enough. Aside from the edicts of the two Majesties, only the Princess of Nangao can mobilize the garrison troops."

"Because the Bingmayong Muyuan is in Weibei Liesheng, right?" Sinuoli let out a breath; that meant Yin Yin's warrant wouldn't work either.

"Correct. Is there anything else you need?"

"A map of the Neiyuan and information on the garrison commander." As Sinuoli spoke, he brought out the information fee.

"Huangsan, add a sentence to the report for the main headquarters this ten-day period: suspected that Ogres also have designs on the Terracotta Sentinel guards!" Watching Sinuoli walk out of the teahouse, the shopkeeper wiped the smile from his face and ordered coldly toward the back.

"How dare the big-bellied barbarians have such delusions?" The receptionist walked out upon hearing this; beneath his rolled-up sleeves, his arm showed bulging veins—he was clearly not just a simple front-desk clerk.

"You are too inexperienced; the Westerners are not all foolish."

"It's somewhat troublesome; I'll have to make a trip myself, but fortunately, I happen to have the time."

Returning to his guest room, Sinuoli muttered to himself while flipping through the materials. Of the three major tasks he had come to Zhendan for, the first—expanding trade—was already done, and the last—an audience with the Dragon Emperor and Moon Empress—still required waiting.

Shenyang and Guiyin spent their years in deep cultivation at Tianting; even for True Dragons, unless there were particularly major circumstances, they would only meet their parents at the Zhendan New Year family gathering.

Bilong Yuanbo had already promised to report Sinuoli's desire for an audience to the Dragon Emperor and Moon Empress at that time, and simultaneously suggested he wait in Weijing Cheng in advance. After all, with three True Dragons speaking on his behalf and being a guest from the Western Lands, there was still a high probability that the two would issue an edict to summon him.

Just like in his previous life, the calendar here in Zhendan was different from the Western calendar; there were still nearly three months until the Zhendan New Year, and he had plenty of time to travel across the territory of this Eastern Empire.

After clarifying the situation, Sinuoli did not delay; he planned to use the excuse of touring the Changyuan to bid farewell to Yin Yin and take his team north from Fuzhou City. The Bingmayong Muyuan was located in the Tieshi Zhidi province, which could be considered the heartland of Weibei Liesheng.

The Storm Dragon had always been secretly aware of the bottlenecks the Dwarf Engineers were encountering; Sinuoli taking them away on a long journey aroused the suspicion of the Longnü—this Dwarf King was undoubtedly not someone who would easily give up when encountering difficulties.

But for various reasons, she did not speak to stop him, instead smiling and approving his travel permits. Sinuoli stepped forward to charter several sky-ships, and the Dwarfs traveled by air to Yongchang Cheng, the southeastern gateway to Tieshi Zhidi.

"We finally arrived!"

"I have to say, this thing is much steadier than our Helicopters!"

Having received advance notice, the Yongchang Jinglue Commissioner greeted Sinuoli at the Mooring Tower ahead of time. The help advertised by the Hundred-Knowing Tower now became apparent; this military officer of Weibei Liesheng was a rough and bold warrior who showed heartfelt respect for a powerhouse ranked second on the Heaven List.

Sinuoli found an excuse, saying that constantly riding sky-ships was inevitably boring and the scenery along the way could not be seen clearly, and now that they were not far away, he wanted to switch to land travel to Nangao. The Jinglue Commissioner naturally had no objections; he held a banquet that night and, after exchanging a few moves of martial arts, sent Sinuoli out of the city the next day.

The official roads of Zhendan were built much better than those of the Humans in the Old World. Most of the Empire of Man was covered in forests, and Bretonnia had many rivers and hills; neither was as flat or as convenient for transportation as Zhendan.

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"It's a three-day journey from here to the Bingmayong Muyuan; what shall we do when we get there?" By the afternoon, after the novelty of the scenery along the way had passed, the Dwarf leaders huddled in the carriage to discuss.

"Split into two groups. Ailike, you take the Rock Sheep Hunters to scout from all sides and see if we can sneak in. I will go and negotiate with the garrison commander; if he is greedy for money and wine, it would be good if he can provide us with convenience. If that really doesn't work, then we can only go to Nangao to see the situation with the Storm Dragon; I brought quite a few treasures on this trip, and if I'm lucky, I can win her over."

"Whoosh!"

"Pitter-patter!"

Just as Sinuoli was strategizing, a violent sound of wind suddenly came from outside. Lifting the carriage curtain to look, the sky was covered in dark clouds, and it looked like a heavy rain was about to arrive.

"Is there a place to take shelter from the rain ahead?" The Dwarf King poked his head out to ask the hired guide.

"There is a small village three miles away!"

"Pass on my order: accelerate and head to the small village to shelter from the rain!"

The Dwarfs were tough enough; marching through wind and snow in the mountain crevices of the World's Edge Mountains was not a problem. But now, firstly, the road was unfamiliar, and secondly, there was plenty of time, so there was no need to force their way through.