Chapter 396: Section 183: No Wonder Your Face Has Pits

“Cough, cough.” Sha Ji was slightly taken aback by the provocation from Miss Qi Ya, then coughed twice and turned to his subordinates, “You all may leave now.”

The subordinates left reluctantly.

The Sha Huang clan also had their Legends. This was an important reason why the City Lord of Fire City had invited Sha Ji over.

Sha Ji continued, “Miss Qi Ya, please choose another item.”

He breezed past Qi Ya’s mockery with good grace as if it meant nothing to him.

Qi Ya opened the second treasure box.

Inside was a model of a ship.

But a careful look revealed many subtleties; this model ship differed significantly from a normal sea ship.

Qi Ya’s pupils narrowed, revealing a hint of investigative desire, “Is this a demon energy ship?”

“Your eyes are as bright as torches,” Sha Ji praised, as he reached out and took the model ship.

He ran his hand over the model, his face reflecting a hint of nostalgia, “I didn’t expect you to pick this ship.”

“I purposely placed it there.”

“As you see, it is a demon energy ship.”

“It is not a sea ship, but a sand ship, capable of sailing in the desert.”

“Although it is not very large and its carrying capacity is not high, incomparable to a normal sea ship.”

“Yet, it was one of my favorite toys when I was a child, without a doubt.”

“When I grew into a teenager, my father taught me how to operate this sand ship. I often drove it swiftly across the boundless sandy seas.”

“It can be said, it accompanied my growth, and to me, it holds special significance.”

With that, Sha Ji handed the sand ship to Qi Ya.

Qi Ya spread her hands to receive it.

First, she felt the weight of the ship.

Very light!

This meant that the sand ship, as an alchemy item, must have been fitted with numerous magic runes to reduce its weight. It was even likely made up of an elaborate Alchemy Array.

Her pupils emitted a glaring white light.

Under the light, the surface of the sand ship subtly became transparent.

Qi Ya immediately saw a complete array, its complexity was dizzying at first glance.

The grade of this sand ship was not low; it was a Golden Level demon energy ship.

The creator had been innovative, using a large-scale reduction array and weight control runes.

Once the seal of the sand ship was broken, it could rapidly revert to its normal size as a ship, also possessing normal weight. However, when the sand ship was in its model form, not only was its size reduced, but its weight was drastically lowered, and its aura was also minimized to an extreme, almost indistinguishable from ordinary objects.

“This sand ship has a delicate structure, but there are some flaws in its construction. The biggest defect is that although it uses multiple arrays, they are overly complex. This limits the scope for other functionalities, particularly in terms of power,” Qi Ya observed for a while and then commented.

“However, the creator must have also recognized these shortcomings of the demon energy ship, thus making additional arrangements at the front end of the sand ship.”

“You have auxiliary power in this ship, don’t you?”

“It must be some kind of fierce beast or alchemy item that can pull the sand ship forward.”

Mason apprenticed to the Fire City Lord, her alchemy methods always impeccable, from her previous Alchemy Tongue to her now Alchemy Eyes. Her critique was all-encompassing and incisive, further displaying her profound alchemy skills.

Sha Ji couldn’t help but applaud, nodding vigorously, “Miss Mason, your comments struck me deeply. The older I get, the slower this sand ship seems to become.”

“It indeed needs auxiliary power, without which it can’t go fast.”

“This power comes from the Flagfish Dragon Beast.”

Mason nodded slightly, listening intently.

She knew about the Flagfish Dragon Beast, a common magic beast in the desert regions, shaped like flagfish and belt fish, adept at tunneling through sandy soil. It contains a very weak Dragon Blood, belonging to a lower grade of sub-dragon beast.

Sha Ji said, “The Flagfish Dragon Beast is tamable. The giant tribes living in the desert usually tame them.”

“Once tamed, the Flagfish Dragon Beast becomes extremely loyal to its master, willing to fight and even die for them.”

“It’s akin to the hunting dogs tamed by human nobles.”

“In my childhood, lacking playmates, the company I had the most was a Flagfish Dragon Beast subdued by my father.”

“It was very old, slow-moving and gentle, allowing me as a child to play on it.”

“It died when I was six years old, which was the saddest event of my childhood. Even though my father brought me other new Flagfish Dragon Beasts, I was not delighted, nor did I forget it.”

“By my youth, I had grown discontent with the original speed of the ship, and began to personally capture Flagfish Dragon Beasts in the desert.”

“Often, I would capture them after enormous hardship and then tame them myself.”

“They never let me down, showed great loyalty, and obeyed my commands.”

“It’s best to gather sixteen Flagfish Dragon Beasts to form a team to pull the ship. That way, the sand ship can go its fastest.”

“Although the sand ship could accommodate twenty Flagfish Dragon Beasts pulling at once, twenty is too many; it becomes inconvenient to make turns, and the ship might even capsize due to the high speed.”

“As for speed, twenty is almost similar to sixteen.”

“Beyond sixteen, the gaps between the Flagfish Dragon Beasts become too narrow, often interfering with each other when pulling the sand ship. Clearly, the alchemist who designed this sand ship didn’t research beast taming much.”

Sha Ji said this, flashing a toothy smile at Mason, “This is from my experience.”

“I frequently control the sand ship, steering the group of Flagfish Dragon Beasts, speeding through the desert, surmounting sand dunes, laughing heartily into the wild, raging dust storms, as the gritty sand pounds against my chest and face.”

At this, Sha Ji’s eyes sparkled, and he naturally puffed out his chest, lost in pleasant memories.

“No wonder you have pits on your face,” Mason blurted out unexpectedly.

“Eh?” Sha Ji instinctively touched his face.

His face was indeed pocked, but wasn’t that normal? Giants generally had rough skin, more so for those like him, from the sand-yellow tribe living in the desert for years.

“Tasty?” Mason asked again.

“What?” Sha Ji didn’t catch on immediately.

Mason smiled, “I meant, is the meat of the Flagfish Dragon Beast tasty?”

The smile on Sha Ji’s face stiffened.

Mason further asked, “You mentioned racing the ship through the sandstorms, laughing heartily. Didn’t the sand get into your mouth?”

“Do you like… drinking the wind and eating sand?”

Sha Ji: …