Stealing Game

Chapter 116 Through the Stars

"Yu, what are you looking at?" Yano came over curiously, and then looked at the round relief on the mural with disgust. "What is this? It looks disgusting."

"It stands to reason that it should be a talisman." I said hesitantly.

The main reason for the hesitation is that the thing in front of him is really disgusting as Arno said, and even makes people feel uncomfortable, especially when it appears in the heart of the god in the mural.But functionally, it really should be a talisman.

In the ancient Egyptian book of the dead, there is a part of the story that the dead will put their heart on the balance of Ma'at, the goddess of truth, when they experience the "judgment of the gods".If the heart is lighter than the feathers of the goddess, you can be reborn on the golden ship of the sun god. If the heart is heavier than the feathers, you will not pass the trial.And the dead are very fragile in the underworld, especially after the heart is taken out.Therefore, the mummy's heart is usually covered with a piece of fabric painted with gods to protect the dead from evil forces, and an amulet in the shape of a dung beetle is placed on it to pray for regeneration and reproduction.

The strange thing about the relief on the mural is that it is a dung beetle-shaped amulet, but it has a human head.

There are a pair of crooked eyes on that moist human face made of ivory, and the nose is wrinkled by the corners of the protruding mouth on both sides, and the expression is very intoxicated and satisfied.The smooth, hairless head was directly placed on the dung beetle's body, and the six slender legs with burrs hugged the bulging carapace tightly, like a greedy rich man holding rare treasures.The whole relief is weird and distorted, and if you look at it twice, you will spit out the overnight meal.

But such a ghost actually appeared in the heart of Osiris, the god of the underworld, who was depicted as a mummy.

According to what Teacher Bai said, this relief sculpture of a dung beetle with a human face appeared before, and it was the first repeated image along the way.This finding is no small feat.Even if it takes time, we will not let go of any details at the moment, and ponder over each mural carefully, and finally find out some clues.

It turns out that the mummy of Osiris with a dung beetle on its heart should be the last frame of the mural in front of it. That is to say, the way we came here was actually looking at the mural on the wall from the back to the front.And the rough rock wall above our heads should be the road, but what we are trampling under our feet is the starry sky.

"'The stars will fall when they reach this place, and they don't know how to rise back to the sky. The road of Ra god has become narrow, and Geb, the god of the earth who used to guide the upper and lower Egypt's helmsman, is also frowning at this time'." Laila stared The mural murmured.

"That's why we can't see the end." Ali also frowned.

"What is she talking about?" Arno asked me.

"The Book of the Dead. That is, the sacrificial rites carved on coffins or pyramids by the ancient Egyptians. It talks about the things that the dead will experience in the underworld. Basically, it will be displayed as a mirror image in the world." I hurriedly rolled my eyes around Look for it, and take a breath when you see the mural. "But we seem to have experienced it just now."

It turns out that from the moment we set foot on the Senet chessboard, we have already entered the game laid out thousands of years ago.And the underworld duat where the dead walk is not just a metaphor, we are standing in this underworld alive.

"Wang Yu, look here."

I walked up to Li Yuan, and what he showed me was a tribute table that occupied an entire wall.The majestic countertop is supported by a thin, battered column, yet it looks remarkably solid.A Bennu bird is covered with a fishing net, lying on its back next to a frail post.At the other end of the pillar are pharaohs and gods standing side by side.

If the records in the Book of the Dead are correct, then it is the blood vessels of Shu, the God of Air, who propped up the table with his own strength.And this God who created order and all things, whose veins are bound together with the sinews of the years.Here time is divided in two, and the dead pray to him: I gain time here, and thus have eternity.

However, there is no record in the Book of the Dead that Bennu was covered by fishing nets, and it is even more impossible for there to be an existence that even the gods need to pray to him.

Mr. Bai, who has reviewed all the ancient Egyptian materials that can be seen on the market, helped to confirm this point, and he also put forward an idea: "Here, according to what Xiao Wang said, it is probably 'Duat', and these mirrored murals are also If there are repetitions, if you can find the pattern, you may be able to go out."

Just like the Mobius ring, we have to find the "connection port" that traps everyone.It has been more than two hours since we came down. Although the night is long, it can't help being exhausted.

Since at some point we've been walking down the road of duplication, this says two things:
1. We've reached a critical point
2. We may be at the end

"Since this is the case, there is only one way to verify it." People fell silent and looked at Boothwell.He arranged it: "The soldiers are divided into two groups, and when they meet up, we will know what's going on."

Boothwell didn't say what would happen if they couldn't meet.Of course, the answer will be known by then.

But how to allocate personnel?
Buswell scanned the crowd: "Didn't that 'god' just help us divide the camp?"

I opened my eyes wide in disbelief, subconsciously looking at Li Yuan.

When entering the Senet chess game, although there was no clear division of camps, because Alex, Leila and Hassan were going to sacrifice their own blood, they all joined Li Yuan's side.Naturally, Boothwell, Meng Weiqing and the others followed suit.

Li Yuan's face sank, but he did not raise any objections.I don't know what he's thinking, but if it's arranged like this, wouldn't we have to part ways?The more important question at this time is that although everyone is born equal, which team is obviously more "powerful".

I looked around and Arno shrugged helplessly at me.

"Wait, what will we do if we can't wait for you?" Jason asked, and the minor turned around the crowd with his green eyes, and finally locked on Boothwell. "We don't have an 'ancient blood' here that can be used as a sacrifice."

"You won't need it. If we don't come back, it will prove that this road is linear, and the road you go there will be the one that has been untied. If we come back, then there is no need to worry."

There is nothing wrong with this statement, but there are two problems.

First, according to the funeral traditions of ancient Egypt, this place called [Duat], that is, the underworld, is in the shape of a circle, and they will walk the same path repeatedly every day, so they will definitely come back.

The second is that Mr. Bai and the scientist both said that this is probably a Mobius structure, that is, no matter how you go, you can only travel on the same plane, which means you will return to the starting point no matter what.

That being the case, why consider another possibility?

unless
Jason was obviously dissatisfied with this assignment, but Boothwell didn't give him a chance to continue talking. The bearded man greeted the vanguard: "Let's go when you have a rest."

I sat on the ground and didn't get up. I just looked at Li Yuan and others who were all ready to go.Since they don't care about splitting up, it's not like we can't play without them.

Li Yuan picked up his equipment and squatted down in front of me. "I promised to stay by your side all the time, but the next step is too dangerous, and it's not your fate."

He looked into my eyes, wanted to say something, and swallowed the words back. "I'll make sure no one can hurt you."

"Anyway, you guys are going to go to mine." I raised my eyebrows indifferently. "First of all, if you fold in front, then I don't care about collecting corpses. I'm only interested in dead people who have been dead for thousands of years."

I waved to Li Yuan, he smiled kindly, said hello to Xia Shangzhou and Yanuo respectively, and walked to Alex.

Hassan and Laila intoned:

"The dead and the stars that never set praise me.

"O unique God, you are the shining moon; O unique God, you are the shining moon. O unique God, you guide me to the place promised by God.

"He wants a place in heaven, he wants to be with the stars in the sky, he wants to be the company of the lonely star in the sky."

"Star" is pronounced the same as "gate" in hieroglyphs.Anyone who entered the underworld had to go through those doors and join the stars if they wanted to leave.

Following the priest's prayers, the image in the mural seemed to come alive, moving stiffly in front of us, as if showing how the dead left the underworld with fear like a star.

I watched the moon walk among the stars.

　The ancient Egyptians sometimes referred to the sun that entered the underworld at night as the moon.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)