Ya She

Chapter 22 The Book of the Dead

The doctor sat in the waiting room, playing Fruit Ninja on his iPhone, but he was completely out of it, constantly switching to bombs and dying. After several failures, he finally gave up.

I put my phone away and took the Egypt travel guide from my bag.

Actually, he didn't go to Egypt for leisure; it was a business trip. The hospital where he worked had established a cooperative relationship with a hospital in Cairo, and he was there to investigate. This kind of overseas business trip...

There were many opportunities, but the doctor felt incredibly unlucky to have been assigned to Egypt. Why Egypt? He really wanted to switch places with Chungo; that brat was so lucky.
I'm going to take a trip to the UK! Egypt is all yellow earth, and to make matters worse, it's incredibly hot!
The doctor casually flipped through the travel guide in his hand, a subtle sense of dread creeping in. He could speak English, but not Egyptian! Once again, he cursed Chungo's good fortune…

The doctor, who was muttering to himself, noticed someone sitting next to him and was about to move his bag over when he looked up and his eyes widened in shock.

I had just met another boss last night, and he was sitting calmly next to me, holding... his boarding pass and passport!

The doctor was completely speechless. Although he knew from his last trip to Xi'an that his boss needed an ID card to fly, he never expected that his boss could even get a passport.

Yes! And it's obvious he was on the same flight as him. He just told his boss yesterday he was going to Egypt, how come he got his visa so quickly? You know, he got his visa...
It took several days of work!

However, none of that is the point. The point is...

"Why are you coming with me?" The doctor wiped his face, finding it incredibly unbelievable. In his memory, the boss was a true ancient person, although...

He lives in modern society, but he clearly longs for the antique atmosphere of the Silent Shop, and unless absolutely necessary, he won't actively contact the outside world. And now the sun has risen in the west.
Huh? The boss is actually going abroad?
The boss found the doctor's devastated expression quite amusing. After staring at him for a while, he smiled slightly and said, "I've always wanted to go to Egypt. Let's take this opportunity to go together."

The doctor was chilled to the bone by the smile on his lips. Just playing around? Hey! Although both Egypt and China have five thousand years of history, those antiques aren't something to be trifled with!

The doctor's mind flashed through countless horror movies about mummies, then he forced himself to calm down. The boss likes Chinese antiques, but that doesn't mean he likes foreign antiques too.
I like him; he's worrying too much.

After calming down, the doctor actually felt it was nice to have someone with him. The boss was no longer wearing his old-fashioned Zhongshan suit, but a modified version of the red dragon robe.
The shirt. A completely black shirt with crimson-gold embroidered cloud patterns on the cuffs and hem, both modern and stylish, very eye-catching. That persistent crimson dragon lay on the boss's...
On his right shoulder, the dragon's body meandered along his back, never changing its position. Combined with his beige trench coat, he looked every bit the dashing and handsome urban man.

Young man, who could guess that the person next to him has actually lived for over two thousand years?

The doctor then noticed that the boss was wearing a semi-circular gold earring clipped onto his earlobe. Wearing this type of earring doesn't require piercing; it simply clips onto the earlobe.
Sheng raised an eyebrow, surprised that someone like his boss would wear jewelry. However, upon closer inspection, he noticed that the boss was only wearing it on his left ear. It was precisely because of this that it appeared...
It's very unique.

Tsk, is it going to rain blood? This old fogey actually understands fashion now? The doctor didn't dare to tease him, but just silently complained in his heart.

Boarding began shortly afterward, and the two were seated next to each other. Since they were on a red-eye flight departing in the early morning, they chatted casually for a while before the doctor suddenly fell asleep.

go with.

The boss helped him remove his glasses, called a flight attendant to get him a blanket, and then stared intently at the doctor's sleeping face.

He spoke lightly, but inwardly he was extremely conflicted.

Hu Hai's obsession with Fusu was known to him long ago, but Hu Hai had not appeared in the past two thousand years, or perhaps he had appeared before, only because Fusu was reincarnated each time.
He could never live past twenty-four in any lifetime, and since there was nothing he could do about it, he simply didn't care much. However, as Fusu's doctor in this life, he successfully...

Having survived, Hu Hai began to engage in various underhanded tactics.

What Hu Hai wanted to do was simply to resurrect his elder brother and erase the physician's soul from the body. Hu Hai had already tried this once before, fortunately without suffering any consequences.

The boss had carefully stored away the Nine Dragon Cup and successfully released the smokescreen, but he couldn't guarantee that Hu Hai would actually fall for it.

Therefore, he suspected that Hu Hai was behind the doctor's trip abroad, wanting the doctor to leave his protective sight. So he consulted a divination overnight—unexpectedly, it turned out to be...

This is the Water over Thunder hexagram (屯), a very rare and extremely unfavorable hexagram. 屯 signifies difficulty. The extremely unfavorable hexagram's imagery reads: "The wind blows the silk threads into a tangled mess, leaving no end in sight; confusion and worry arise; proceed slowly and gently."
"Left-handed pursuit, haste only leads to unfreedom." One of the hexagrams has six lines; this time, the yin line, line six-three, was obtained. The line text reads: "Chasing deer and comparing themselves to hunters, only men in the forest. The superior man is in a precarious situation."
"It is better to give up than to pursue it with regret." "Yu" refers to a guide, someone who guided people into the mountains and forests in ancient times. This line of the hexagram means that chasing a deer without the help of local guides is futile.

Lost in the woods. A wise person should be vigilant; if they do not give up, great calamity will ensue.

Putting aside the ominous interpretation of the hexagram, the Water over Thunder hexagram (屯) is the most inauspicious for long journeys among the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching. Therefore, the boss quickly used his connections to obtain visas and book plane tickets.
I've decided to go to Cairo with the doctor.

"Don't worry, no matter where you are, I will always protect you..." the boss murmured to himself, his voice finally fading into a barely audible whisper.

two,

There are no direct flights from Shanghai to Cairo, the capital of Egypt. They transited in Doha, Qatar, and then waited at the airport for more than three hours before finally boarding their flight to Cairo. After all this trouble, they arrived in Cairo at noon that day. Although they only took twelve hours to reach Cairo, there was a time difference involved.

Add to that the time spent traveling from their city to Shanghai by high-speed train, and all in all, more than twenty hours have already passed on the journey.

Even doctors who have stood in the operating room for ten hours before felt dizzy and lightheaded when they stepped out of Cairo Airport and saw the incredibly bright and scorching sun overhead.

He was quickly helped up, and the doctor rubbed his aching temples, finding that the boss, who hadn't slept, was still full of energy. Well, you can't judge this person by normal standards; after all, in some ways, he's not a normal person at all.

No one came to pick him up, something the doctor had already anticipated. For someone as insignificant as him, he couldn't expect the hospital to make a big fuss. He hailed a taxi. Although there was a language barrier, he had thankfully memorized the address of the hotel the hospital had booked. The taxi driver, used to tourists who couldn't speak the language, gestured a number with his finger.

The doctor was speechless. Apparently, taxis in Cairo don't use meters; instead, both parties agree on a price beforehand. Bargaining, of course, doesn't require verbal communication.

"It can be done," the doctor said, and after a few hand gestures, the driver stepped on the gas and sped toward the destination.

Along the way, they saw the blue Nile River filled with sailboats and countless spires piercing the clouds in the city. Cairo, known as the City of a Thousand Spires, is a jewel on the banks of the Nile. The scenery was beautiful, so the doctor was also looking forward to finding accommodation. He insisted on dragging the owner along, planning to share a room to save money.

Moreover, and most importantly, the boss doesn't have a mobile phone. In this modern society, it's impossible to contact anyone without a mobile phone, and the doctor doesn't want to be unable to find anyone in a foreign land.

But when he saw the dilapidated room in the hotel, he still couldn't bring himself to ask the owner to stay with him.

Because there was only one tiny single bed in the room.

The owner was quite dissatisfied with the extremely unsanitary conditions, and unusually frowned. Before the doctor could speak, he dragged him out. "Is it alright if you don't live here?" the owner asked casually.

“It’s alright, they can still contact me, it’s just that I’ll have to pay for the accommodation myself…” The doctor’s words were cut off by the boss’s gaze. He suddenly felt a little foolish. Saving money? Why was he trying to save this person money?!

The boss hailed a taxi, gave the driver an address, but this time he didn't haggle over the price. Instead, he simply slapped two green dollar bills on the driver's wrist.

The taxi driver even spoke English! As soon as they heard they were going to the Mina Palace Hotel, he enthusiastically began to introduce it to them. The Mina Palace Hotel existed before the Suez Canal opened, boasting a long history, and is just across the street from the three Giza pyramids. The Churchill Suite within the hotel is a renowned one of the world's top ten hotel suites.

One of the rooms is the site where the Cairo Declaration was signed by China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. However, this suite is not currently protected and open to the public; instead, it is displayed alongside other rooms.
It's a place anyone can live in, but the house prices are shockingly high.

Accompanied by the driver's humorous commentary, the car drove along Pyramid Street to its end. Looking out the car window at the pyramids standing in the endless desert, the doctor felt an extremely surreal feeling.

This feeling of unreality reached its peak after the boss actually swiped his card to check into the Churchill Suite.

I knew the boss was extravagant, but this level of extravagance is simply outrageous! The Churchill Suite is so big, and they're just the two of them? Even though the balcony of this room faces the Great Pyramid of Giza, you can see it from other rooms too!

But the room rate was N times that of the other rooms... The doctor felt like he hadn't actually arrived in Cairo at all, and was probably dreaming on the plane.
The shop owner ignored the doctor standing dumbfounded at the door, wandered around the room, and remarked, "Most of the furniture isn't original anymore..."

"You...you've been here before?" The doctor almost bit his tongue.

The shop owner didn't answer, but instead took down an oil painting from the wall and carefully removed an object from the frame.

The doctor immediately leaned closer. Lying in the boss's palm was a semi-circular gold earring. The doctor reflexively looked up at the boss's left ear, and sure enough, the two earrings were exactly the same, without the slightest difference.

"This...this..." Even the doctor, who was used to the endless bizarre things his boss could do, was speechless. This...this is Egypt!

"Fortunately, this oil painting was painted by a very famous person, and no one has touched it without permission." The shopkeeper restored the frame and hung the painting back up. "Don't be so surprised. Although I have never been here before, there were other people who came here back then." As for why he could tell that the furniture had been changed, it was because he had an unusual intuition about antiques.

With just a glance, one can know the approximate time when an object was made.

The doctor paused, taken aback. Upon entering the living room of Churchill's suite, he saw several photographs hanging on the wall. Despite his poor history education, he could recognize one: a group photo of the three leaders of Great Britain, China, and the United States. He didn't quite recognize Churchill and Roosevelt, but he knew the other person all too well. He had seen this person in his history textbook when he was in school.

people.

Besides the group photo of the three leaders, there are several individual portraits of Churchill on the wall, as well as group photos of the attendees. Among them is an important figure from China and his wife. In the somewhat blurry old photograph, a glint of gold can be faintly seen near the woman's ear.

One of these earrings was in Churchill's suite, while the other was once worn by that woman. That woman was renowned for her extensive social circle and had helped her husband establish a very successful career. Although her fortunes ultimately declined due to a turning point in Xi'an, and her party eventually retreated to Taiwan, she was a powerful figure in her time.
A prominent figure is not to be underestimated.

"What is the purpose of these earrings?" the doctor asked with great interest.

The shop owner didn't keep them in suspense any longer, but handed the newly removed earring to the doctor. "Put it on. According to current understanding, this gilded earring can be used as a translator and a communication device."

The doctor readily agreed and roughly guessed that the earring had likely been used as a listening device. For some unknown reason, the other party never found an opportunity to retrieve it, and it remained untouched for nearly sixty years. It wasn't that the doctor didn't want to ask about the earring's origin, but his physical strength simply couldn't sustain his curiosity. After a quick wash, he fell asleep immediately.

three

The doctor woke up the next morning, but the boss was not in the room.

The doctor wasn't in a hurry to report to that hospital. Although the observation period was only a week, the hospital gave him a full two weeks, so he had plenty of time.

Although it was already October in Cairo, the heat was still like summer, and the doctor was finding it difficult to adjust. After changing into a lighter shirt, he tried to contact his boss using the gilded earrings. After muttering to himself in the room for a while, the doctor felt incredibly foolish.

How could you believe him so easily? This thing is comparable to a cell phone? Isn't that ridiculous! The doctor angrily tried to take off the earring, but after raising his hand, he silently put it down again.

Anyway, it doesn't bother me, so I might as well wear it.

He walked around the room and found that the bed hadn't been moved, meaning the owner hadn't rested at all, and there was no note left for him. The doctor started to worry. He went to the front desk to ask if anyone had seen the owner leave, and as he struggled to express himself in broken English, the doctor was surprised to find that he could understand the other person's English perfectly, and what he said was also a string of very fluent English!

The doctor looked around and realized he could understand all the foreign language materials on the front desk. He grabbed an Egyptian man at random, and surprisingly, he could communicate with him without any problems speaking Egyptian! He also had no trouble with Frenchmen and Germans!
Even if it was hard to believe, the doctor had to admit that these gilded earrings were absolutely amazing!!

"This is a multilingual translator!" the doctor exclaimed, smugly raising his chin amidst the admiring gazes around him. "Why didn't I meet my boss sooner? Then I could have easily passed the CET-6 (College English Test Band 6) while studying!"
While the doctor was indulging in all sorts of daydreams, the boss hurriedly walked in from outside the hotel. The doctor only saw that he was holding a roll of something in his hand. Before he could ask where he had gone, the boss grabbed him and pulled him toward the elevator.

"Bring breakfast in..." the doctor called out just in time, but by the time he finished speaking, he had already disappeared into the elevator.

The receptionist caught a glimpse of the young Asian men wearing matching earrings, smiled knowingly, and decided to send them over later with room service.

"What's wrong? What happened?" The doctor was pulled into the room by the boss, looking at the boss's solemn expression with some trepidation. He rarely saw the boss with such a serious expression; he was always so calm, even when he said he was going to die, he remained completely unfazed.

The boss frowned, as if he didn't know how to explain, and handed the thing he was holding to the doctor.

This was a very strange scroll; judging from the mold and tears, it must have been very old. The scroll contained many drawings and some characters, some of which were too damaged to be recognized. Although the doctor could read Egyptian, he found it extremely difficult to decipher at a glance. He guessed it was ancient Egyptian poetry, much like how even foreigners who understand Chinese find it hard to understand Tang and Song dynasty poetry.

“I wandered around Cairo last night and heard about the recent riots that destroyed a small portion of the Egyptian Museum’s collection, so I looked into it. Then this morning I went to the Giza Pyramids across the street. Since the Great Pyramid of Giza only accepts 300 visitors a day, I asked someone to queue for me.” The shopkeeper calmed down and explained carefully. Although he wasn’t usually talkative, he wasn’t always like this. This was because, over the course of two thousand years, he had grown accustomed to living alone. Even with each incarnation of Fusu, he went from being by their side day and night to eventually barely interacting, simply observing from afar and knowing that the other was doing alright.

Because he couldn't bear the thought that every brief moment together would be followed by the inevitable death, a replay of the tragedy from over two thousand years ago, the pain magnified and magnified again. It was like a nightmare from which he could never wake. But the doctor was different. He pushed open the carved wooden door of the Silent Shop. The longevity lock on him had broken; he was no longer bound by that fateful shackle. He could live; he could live like a normal person.

Therefore, he longed to be friends with Fusu as he had been back then, hoping that the two of them could become long-lasting friends.

But the doctor and Fusu were completely different people, and over the long years, he had also lost some of his communication skills. The boss, unusually distressed, felt like a primary school student afraid of having no friends.

"Then I went to Khalil Market, yes, the Hanai Khalil Market that you highlighted in your travel guide. It's a market that existed in the 14th century, and it's as big as an entire district..." The shopkeeper tried to organize his thoughts, but it clearly wasn't very effective.

"Oh! So you went to find a bargain?" The doctor clearly didn't have the same sensitive nerves as his boss and didn't notice his discomfort at all. But as an excellent doctor, he also possessed a strong ability to make connections. "This rolled-up piece of paper is the bargain you found? That's great! How many years old could it be? Oh no, are you exaggerating a bit? If it's a really antique, will we get detained at customs?"

The boss pursed his lips, thinking that thinking so much about the slow-witted doctor was just asking for trouble.

"These are papyrus scrolls made from papyrus, a specialty of Egypt. The core of the papyrus plant is removed, arranged neatly, and joined together to make paper. A single sheet of papyrus has two layers: the upper layer is used for writing, and when stacked with the lower layer and beaten, the enzymes within the core bind together under pressure. Multiple long sheets are glued together along the edges to create a long scroll. This was the earliest and most convenient writing material in history, remaining popular for three thousand years until the 8th century when papermaking techniques from China were introduced to Egypt, replacing papyrus." The shop owner not only has an extensive knowledge of Chinese antiques, but he also possesses a long lifespan, allowing him ample time for learning.

"What's written on this? It looks like some kind of poem praising death, doesn't it?" Upon hearing that it was indeed an antique, the doctor carefully placed the scroll on the coffee table. He didn't want to accidentally tear it and have some terrifying mummy or something spill out. At least the Qiongqi and the ring-dog from the Classic of Mountains and Seas were rather cute!
"This is the Book of the Dead. It's a kind of talisman offered by the ancient Egyptians to the dead, containing incantations and praises to the gods. It's usually written on papyrus scrolls and placed in the tomb of the deceased. The ancient Egyptians believed it could ensure the safety of the dead in the underworld, while the incantations in the Book of the Dead would allow the deceased to return to the world of the living during the day." The boss said casually, but his voice echoed in the empty suite, sending a chill down one's spine.

"Then...then this Book of the Dead...it can't be some nobody, can it?" The doctor knew that his boss had a very discerning eye, and any antique that could make him take notice must be of an extremely terrifying level.

"It is...of Ramses II..."

"..."

A deathly silence descended. Even a doctor with little history knowledge knew what the name Ramses II represented. He was the greatest pharaoh in Egyptian history! Reigning for sixty-seven years, longer than the reign of China's Kangxi Emperor, and perhaps even the longest-reigning ruler in the world! Not to mention, he ruled over ancient Egypt, one of the four great ancient civilizations! Over three thousand years ago, he unified Egypt, forged the first Treaty of Peace, and his statues and temples are found everywhere in Egypt…

"Can we take this out of the country?" The doctor snapped out of his daze, his first thought being safety. It was an antique from over three thousand years ago! He certainly didn't want to be detained by customs because of it!
"Don't worry, no one will believe this is a real antique, because papyrus couldn't possibly be preserved for over three thousand years." The shopkeeper was unconvinced. These things are sold everywhere in the Khalil market, and anyone holding one would think it's a very realistic fake or a travel souvenir.

"Then..." So this isn't the real thing?
"So I suspect that this Book of the Dead really does have magic power." The shopkeeper said slowly, while actually reaching out to tear the precious Book of the Dead.

The doctor tried to stop him, but he was too fast for the shopkeeper and could only watch helplessly as the shopkeeper peeled off a layer of papyrus. The light brown papyrus peeled off easily, clearly indicating that the shopkeeper had peeled it off before. A line of ancient Egyptian appeared on the second layer of the Book of the Dead, with some words damaged. The doctor read it with difficulty and subconsciously glanced at the shopkeeper beside him.

"When the sunlight shines again on..., the ancient spirits will return... that's roughly the meaning." The shopkeeper sighed. "The missing phrase is impossible to guess. Perhaps it means 'when the sunlight shines again on this second volume of the Book of the Dead...'"

The doctor looked grim as the sunlight streamed through the glass window, shining unobstructed onto the Book of the Dead. But aside from making the cracks and fiber marks on it more prominent, there was absolutely no unusual reaction.

"Nothing happened, boss. You're just too nervous. Maybe those foreign antiques aren't as amazing as you think!" The doctor chuckled dryly, then stood up. "You didn't sleep at all last night, did you? You should get some rest. Why hasn't room service arrived yet? The service is terrible! I'm going to complain!"

Actually, the doctor would rather go to the restaurant himself and see what good food they had. With the gilded earrings, the doctor wouldn't be afraid to go out alone anymore; communication would be seamless!

After hearing the door close, the boss stared at the book of the dead on the coffee table for a while before looking away and casually lying down on the sofa.

In the living room of their suite, there was a set of luxurious furniture, and he was currently reclining on a Mediterranean-style chaise lounge. Although the boss didn't need a fixed amount of sleep every day like ordinary people, this chaise lounge was very comfortable. He closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and rested; it was indeed very pleasant.

After a short while, when the sunlight fully illuminated the Book of the Dead, the light brown papyrus suddenly lit up. A wisp of white smoke rose in the sunlight, slowly condensing into a human shape. The features gradually became clear, and finally, it transformed into a semi-transparent, handsome young man.

This person was probably only in his early twenties, with deep-set eyes and a hooked nose. He wore a linen headdress, was shirtless, and had several necklaces inlaid with precious gems hanging around his neck. He wore a narrow white linen skirt, typical of ancient Egyptian nobility. Although he was only a spirit, he exuded an aura of dominance over the world.

The man first looked around with suspicion, showing great curiosity about everything in the room, especially the photos hanging on the living room wall, which he looked at again and again. Finally, he turned his gaze to the boss who was taking a nap on the chaise lounge. What was initially a casual glance turned into a surprise when he saw the shirt the boss was wearing, and he instantly floated to the chaise lounge.

The man's handsome face showed increasing surprise, and he finally couldn't help but reach out his hand to the boss.

“I knew you'd be out soon.” The boss slowly opened his eyes, not looking at the translucent hand already resting on his chest, but staring directly at the suddenly appearing ancient Egyptian man. “How should I address you? Pharaoh? Your Majesty? Or… Ramses II?”

The handsome Pharaoh withdrew his hand, straightened his body, raised his chin slightly, looked down at his boss, and said in a deep voice full of arrogance: "Commoner from a foreign land, I grant you permission to address me as Your Majesty."

The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow, knowing that the gilded earring had translated the ancient Egyptian into something he could understand; otherwise, an Egyptian pharaoh wouldn't refer to himself as "朕" (Zhen, meaning "I, the imperial lord"). The shopkeeper looked at the pharaoh rudely, but didn't get up. In fact, he found the chaise lounge extremely comfortable and didn't want to move at all.

"I think you should know that Egypt is not under your rule now."

The Pharaoh looked around and nodded, saying, "Obviously, but I've had enough of being a Pharaoh. I've finally woken up from a long slumber, and I don't want to continue those boring days."

The boss hadn't expected Ramses II to be so savvy. But anyone reborn wouldn't want their life to repeat itself unchanged. A person's soul should be able to control their appearance. Although the Pharaoh died at the age of ninety-nine, he now looked like he did when he was in his twenties, at the height of his youth and vigor upon ascending the throne.

The shopkeeper rose slightly, glanced at the papyrus scroll on the coffee table, and sighed, "I never imagined the Book of the Dead could actually resurrect the dead..."

“Resurrection? No, this is only the first step, to liberate my slumbering soul.” The Pharaoh shook his finger, then bowed deeply, staring into his boss’s eyes, and slowly said, “The Nile River’s waters can rise and fall, and plants can regenerate after being harvested, so we believe that humans can also be resurrected. After death, one must find the great god Osiris to cleanse oneself of sins in the mortal world, and then return to earth using the Book of the Dead. Furthermore, the physical body must be preserved.”

"Oh? Then you must have committed a lot of sins in your life. It's been more than three thousand years since you passed away." The boss rarely made a sarcastic remark, thinking that if the doctor were here, he would definitely say the same thing.

The Pharaoh's expression stiffened for a moment. In the sunlight, his form became increasingly clear, revealing honey-brown skin that made him look nothing like a spirit. His face was identical to the statues of Ramses II found throughout Egypt, his chiseled features as handsome as described in the poems praising him.

The shop owner had always enjoyed collecting beautiful and artistic items, and the Silent Shop was created because of his excessive collecting obsession. Upon seeing the Pharaoh's exotic and handsome face, the owner couldn't help but narrow his eyes, beginning to consider how to lure this arrogant and conceited Pharaoh back to his shop for safekeeping. Actually, he really wanted to take a statue of Ramses II, but during Ramses II's lifetime, he erected statues of himself that were all enormous, some even tens of meters tall, making it impossible to move them into his small shop.

The boss was lost in thought, while the Pharaoh composed himself and continued with a meaningful smile, "Do you know how we preserve our physical bodies? Mummies? Have you ever seen one? Have you ever heard of how mummies are made?"

Pharaoh didn't wait for the boss's reply. Instead, he reached out and stroked the boss's straight nose, saying slowly, "First, use an iron hook to pull out the brain matter from the nasal cavity. After that, inject some medicine into it."

The Pharaoh's hand moved downwards, tracing the boss's chin, across his neck, then across his chest, finally settling on his waist. "Actually, use a stone knife to cut open the side, remove the internal organs, then wash the abdominal cavity with palm wine, sprinkle with spices, stuff it with medicine, and carefully sew it up. Then soak it in a strong alkaline solution for a full seventy days, and rinse it clean. Finally, wrap it carefully, strip by strip, with a waxed cloth coated with glue..."

The Pharaoh's deep voice, with the distinctive rolled "r" sounds of ancient Egyptian, echoed in the room. His hands roamed unabashedly over his boss's body, making no attempt to conceal his desire for the flesh beneath him.

"I thought our mummification techniques were the best... but how did you manage to do it? This body... must have been preserved for five hundred years, right? No... at least a thousand years..."

The boss reclined on his chaise lounge, completely unfazed by the Pharaoh's harassment. The Pharaoh, though now appearing lifelike, was actually untouchable. Why bother arguing with thin air? His thoughts drifted to the divination he'd performed before leaving, the hexagram "Water over Thunder" (屯), line 63: "Chasing deer and comparing themselves to hunters, only men in the forest remain. The wise man hesitates, but it's better to abandon them; going on will bring regret." The so-called hunter's apparent aversion likely referred to the Pharaoh. But who exactly was the deer? And whom must be sacrificed to prevent the doctor from falling into danger?
The handsome Pharaoh was oblivious to his boss's distracted state. After asking several questions without receiving answers, he grew increasingly frantic, his deep brown eyes flashing with an unusual light.

"Oh! It seems there's something strange about this outfit!" Although the Pharaoh had noticed the key, he was unable to unbutton the boss's crimson dragon robe due to his soul form. In his extreme anxiety, the Pharaoh was at a loss and almost covered the robe with his entire body.

four

"Boss! The food here in Egypt is so strange! I picked out a few dishes where I could see the ingredients... Hey! What's going on? Who are you?!" The doctor who pushed open the door was startled.

It was indeed a horrifying scene. From his angle, the boss was being pressed down on a chaise lounge, allowing the strange man to grope him. If the boss hadn't shown no anger on his face, he would have pressed the alarm button by the door almost immediately.

"How dare you, you commoner, shout at me!" The Pharaoh raised his head, directing his anger entirely at the doctor who had suddenly barged in.

The boss, too lazy to get up, pointed to the Pharaoh and said to the doctor, "This is the esteemed and great His Majesty Ramses II." Although he added the prefix and suffix, his tone was casual, sounding like he was joking.

The doctor's hand trembled slightly as he pushed the food cart, and he quickly turned around and closed the door. He didn't think the boss was joking with him.

"So the spell in the Book of the Dead has come true?" The doctor rubbed his hands together, scrutinizing the newly created Pharaoh from head to toe. This was a living, breathing soul! Although he was a researcher who championed science, supernatural phenomena also needed to be studied!

The boss remembered something, sat up, pointed to the missing word in the second layer of the Book of the Dead, and asked, "When the sunlight shines again, the ancient spirits will return. What is that word?"

"Horis!" The Pharaoh crossed his arms, raised his chin, and uttered a single word with an arrogant air. But neither the doctor nor the shopkeeper understood; it was clearly a proper noun in ancient Egyptian, and the gilded earrings couldn't explain it either.

The Pharaoh thought for a moment and explained, “We believe that to resurrect a person and reunite their soul and body, there must be a medium. Horis cannot be exposed to the sun normally and needs to accumulate yin energy to absorb power, but when the sun shines on it after a long interval, as long as the soul and body are nearby, they can reunite.”

As the doctor listened, he suddenly remembered something, picked up the Egypt travel guide on the coffee table, turned to a page, and said, "You're not talking about the Abu Simbel temple you built, are you? Sunlight only penetrates the 62-meter tunnel twice a year to reach the temple. Once is February 21st, Your Majesty's birthday, and the other is October 21st, the day of Your Majesty's coronation."

"Yes, I placed the scepter in my own statue in the X of God. The first one, you're right. It's the day I was born. But the second one, although it's the day I ascended the throne, is most important because it's the day I chose for myself—the day I returned to the mortal realm! Hahahaha!" The Pharaoh spread his arms and laughed wildly, as if no one else was there.

The doctor was dumbfounded. Although he knew that the ancient Egyptians' astronomical calendar was incredibly powerful, the Abu Simbel temple was just too amazing. It was simply a masterpiece of craftsmanship, able to create such a powerful miracle without the need for computer calculations.

The shopkeeper, however, was displeased with the Pharaoh's arrogant demeanor. Resting his chin on his hand, he said calmly, "What? You want to return to the mortal realm? With your tattered mummy? I heard your mummy was once sold as dried fish in the market, and even had to go to Paris for a checkup because it was moldy. Oh, right, the Egyptian government even issued you a passport with 'His Majesty the King' on it, and your mummy is now the crown jewel of the Egyptian Museum. You need to buy another ticket to see it!"

The laughter seemed to have been paused, abruptly ceasing. The Pharaoh stared dumbfounded at his boss, trying to discern a hint of amusement on his face.

Unfortunately, the boss never jokes.

"As for the Abu Simbel temples, although they haven't collapsed after more than three thousand years, I'm sorry to say, they were moved to a higher ground a few hundred meters away fifty years ago because the Egyptian government wanted to build the Aswan Dam. Although they still retain their original appearance, with every stone intact, unfortunately, the day they receive sunlight each year has been postponed by one day, becoming February 22nd and October 22nd. Well, I hope you don't have to wait until October 21st to be resurrected." The shopkeeper curled his lip, looking at the handsome Pharaoh with a good mood. His handsome face was stiff, and he exuded anger, as if he was about to burst into flames.

The doctor suddenly felt sorry for the Pharaoh. He had thought there was hope of returning to the world of the living, but instead, he had fallen from heaven to hell. The doctor glanced at the calm boss and thought that the Pharaoh's biggest mistake was offending the boss.

The Pharaoh was indeed greatly affected. The mummy was easy to find, though. Egypt was so vast that he was sure he could find a body that resonated with his soul, even if it took many years.

But the most tragic thing is that the scepter had actually been moved!

His scepter wasn't actually the best Horis, but all the better Horis had already been claimed by previous pharaohs. Like divine artifacts, they couldn't be mass-produced; each one used reduced the supply. His scepter only worked in the original location of the Abu Simbel temple because it required the stars in the sky to generate its immense energy. Now, unless he could rebuild the temple in the flooded area, he had no hope of resurrection.

But that's just a pipe dream.

"If only I had waited back then and sent people to find a better artifact," the Pharaoh said dejectedly, his once-erect back drooping like a wounded lion.

It seems he should be able to seduce this collectible back to Duck Tongue. The boss smiled slightly, picked up the Egyptian tea on the coffee table, took a sip, but frowned because of the strange taste.

The doctor, unable to bear the hunger any longer, brought over a portion of the breakfast from the food cart to the owner, and then ate the other portion by himself.

The Egyptian food didn't suit the owner's taste, and she only ate a few bites before putting down her knife and fork. The owner looked at the tattered Book of the Dead on the coffee table, then looked up at the handsome Pharaoh and asked, "By the way, I'd like to know, how exactly is your soul preserved in this Book of the Dead?"

"Actually, it's not about preservation. The true secret of the Book of the Dead is its ability to summon the souls of the departed." The Pharaoh, after all, was a powerful and influential figure who quickly recovered from his shock, giving his shopkeeper a mysterious smile. Everyone else's Book of the Dead was useless; only the one he had found was effective.

The boss raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

"Do you also have someone you wish to resurrect?" The Pharaoh scrutinized the shopkeeper's expression, then sat down leisurely, crossing his legs and propping them on the coffee table. Although he was a spirit and couldn't touch living beings or their belongings, nor could he touch the shopkeeper or the crimson dragon robe he wore, he could touch everything else.

The boss remained silent.

The Pharaoh smiled and kindly added, "Leaving aside whether we can find that person's most precious possession from their lifetime, and whether that possession has the power to turn the tide, the most important thing is that if the summoned soul is not as powerful as mine, it will quickly fade away and eventually dissipate into the air if it does not have a matching body in the short term."

The boss, recalling Fusu's instantaneous vanishing into ashes in Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum, felt a sudden, sharp pain in his heart. So... so he actually did have a chance to find her?
The boss glanced at the doctor who had finished eating and was enthusiastically flipping through an Egyptian travel guide, and then realized that the divination he had performed before leaving was not just about doctors.

He was among them.

"When chasing a deer, one must first enter the forest. A wise man will know better than to give up; to go on will only lead to regret."

Who is the deer?
Who is a gentleman?

Who will abandon whom?
(End of this chapter)