bit stealing game

Chapter 57 The Covered Mural
Thinking of this possibility, I felt a little unsteady and helped the table behind me.

There was a tinge of coolness in his hand.

I turned around and took a closer look.The altar below the altar, guarded by statues of pharaohs and gods, does not appear to be used for offerings.And there is even a chessboard drawn on it.If I'm not mistaken, it should be a Senet game.

Is it possible to go to another place through customs clearance from here?This is already underground, if you go further, you may go straight to the Palace of the King of Hades.

I sneered, trying to put the thought behind me.

The sense of disharmony I had before entering the temple was lingering, and I couldn't help turning back to look at Horus on the murals outside the temple to guide the way.Just now, I was only focused on looking at the temple under his guidance, and almost ignored something wrong with the mural at the foot of the falcon-headed god.

Almost all ancient Egyptian murals are divided into several layers, and generally the visual and spatial dominance is dominated by gods and pharaohs.In addition, some scenes or characters will be drawn in the blank space outside the main image.

The lower layer of the huge Horus relief outside the temple of Seth is painted with scenes of Egyptians transporting spices, tobacco, alcohol and food.But one of the murals may have been opened due to an external force.Unlike peeling paint, the murals on the entire floor are warped.So the gap and the wall itself create a gap.

I turned on the flashlight on my phone, and cautiously went to the edge of the broken hole to look in.

There is actually a layer of bright colored intaglios under the damaged relief, which was hidden with great effort.

Although I have guessed something, but after seeing is believing, it seems that I have been fooled by someone.

No, why is this happening?

I changed a few angles and peeked in from the gap, wondering what the intaglio painting hidden underneath was.

But the gap is not too big, and it can be barely seen that the part of the image below is a few brown-skinned Egyptians digging or moving something in a space.

My hands are sweaty.The background of the space where these Egyptians live always feels like they have seen it somewhere.

Thinking of this, I squatted in place to look at the way I came.

Behind him is an empty corridor.

Looking back now, starting from the hole I discovered by accident, the passage got deeper and wider as it went.The steps at the entrance may be only ten meters deep from the ground.By the time they reached the entrance of the main hall, they were probably already more than 20 meters underground.The location is estimated to be just west of the two upper walls.

In other words, Thutmose III's path led by the gods continued from here to the underground.

And if you guessed right, this kind of double-layer mural should start from the next step.It is a guard of honor for pharaohs and gods.

If all the murals on the lowest layer in front are pried away, there is likely to be another layer with a different picture.But I don't want to walk into the dark corridors of this evil temple alone.

Taking advantage of no one around, I couldn't help but want to use the peeling place to completely remove the outer layer of murals to see clearly what is hidden underneath.

But I held back.

As for how much I don’t want to destroy ancient Egyptian cultural relics, and how much I don’t want to face the truth, I don’t know for myself.

But that's not the only place that's been hidden.

Since there may be double-layer murals in the corridor behind, the murals in the main hall are also continuous with the two walls on the ground.The double-layer mural may not have been broken at the door, it is very likely that it has also extended in.

So I re-entered the door painted with the gods Osiris and Amon, and verified my guess along the left wall.

Subconsciously, I didn’t want others to know that there was another universe under the mural, so instead of looking with a flashlight, I bent down and slowly groped with my hands.

Sure enough, a depression was found at the end of the south wall.

The fracture is neat, as if someone did it on purpose.Going further, it turned out that a large piece of murals had been taken down.

I was secretly happy when I found what I wanted, when suddenly my eyes lit up.

I was taken aback, and I heard the people behind me say, "Why are you picking walls here all by yourself?"

It was Lou Shiqi again.Why is he so haunted today.

"You scared me!" I closed my eyes hard and stood up abruptly.It's a pity that this guy is too tall, and I can't give him a sense of oppression at all.

Lou Shiqi ignored my anger and leaned over to check the situation.I pushed his hand away so that the beam of light fell on Osiris in the middle of the wall.

"There may be something wrong with this mural, don't let those foreigners see it." I whispered to him in Chinese. "Help me shine somewhere else, don't let the flashlight shine down."

Lou Shiqi didn't know why, but he still set up a cover for me.It's just that his disguise was too poor, and he was so guilty that he almost hummed.

Fortunately, Meng Weiqing, Li Yuan, and the others were not around at this time, and Karl and others were not focusing on us.Egyptologists, too, were immersed in the inscriptions behind the statues, and no one noticed us.

While chatting nonsense with Lou Shiqi, I took advantage of Lianger to glance at the mural at the bottom that revealed my true face.

When I saw this, I was stunned.

If the main hall wasn't bright enough, and if the area in front of him didn't come over, the sight would be blocked by the statue under the altar, then these intaglio carvings must have been discovered long ago.

Because the entire bottom layer has been completely lifted, revealing the more delicate and labor-intensive intaglio murals on the lower layer.

Who could have done it? The French archaeological team more than 70 years ago, the old Blake and others 60 years ago, or Sir Blake 12 years ago are all possible.

Before I had time to think about whose handwriting it was, I quietly took a closer look at these murals.

Now I can be sure that the painting in this mural is where we are now.

It turns out that the workers in ancient Egypt carried things here, and finally used them as sacrifices to the gods.But it's not the spoils of overseas battles, it's more like it was dug out from the ground.The first picture in front of me is the scene of countless stones being transported out.

So is this a quarry of Thutmose III?
Indeed, many temple building materials were transported from Aswan to Luxor.Is it possible that this is the origin of the stone?Using excavated stones to build temples is also in line with the ancient Egyptians' sacrifice to gods from a common sense.

But what happened next confuses me.

As the murals deepened towards the end, these ancient Egyptian workers could not wait to crawl on the ground.They crawled towards a cave with twisted limbs, and there were many stones scattered around.

I seem to have seen these stones somewhere.

I would love to find someone to ask about the current situation.But now, apart from 279 people in the hall, there are two groups of people, Morgan and Carl.I am afraid that if I say something, others will find out about the double-layer mural.

Lou Shiqi dutifully raised his head and looked all over the wall, only occasionally lowering his eyes curiously to glance at the murals on the lowest floor.

Unlike our situation, if the old Blakes had discovered the doorway in the murals when they came 60 years ago, they must have studied it carefully.If this is really the case, then Meng Weiqing, who has read the notes, may know it well.

But he has remained calm, and I don't know if I should bring it up now.

So I took a look at Meng Weiqing, and it happened that he also looked over silently.

The light from the handheld light source is dull.I saw that there was no malice in Meng Weiqing's eyes, but I couldn't see anything else.I really wish I was watching a movie right now, so there would be slow motion or background music cues.

It's a pity that time passed as usual, and I couldn't understand Meng Weiqing's look.

But this person should know that there is something here.Even if you don't know, Teacher Bai heard when I whispered to Lou Shiqi just now.The two of them didn't come here, and they still focused on studying the mural in front of them, probably because they didn't want others to know.And it's still helping me get attention.

I just don't know who it is guarding against.

I suppressed my confusion, and pulled Lou Shiqi away from the wall.

I don't know what was painted on the other wall.

But the last scene of the mural just now was not finished, and it seemed to continue to extend to the end of the wall.Where and what were the crawling ancient Egyptians going to do?

If we go back to the entrance of the cave, we walk all the way down along the corridor, combined with the murals, it seems that we are going to find something deeper in the ground.

It appears that the giant mural of Thutmose III with the gods Osiris and Amun isn't the only one in the series.Under the feet of pharaohs and gods, those Egyptian workers who are looking for something are also continuing their stories.

No matter what you think, the corridor and the murals at the bottom don't quite match the Temple of Seth.It can be seen that this passage was not built for this temple at least initially, but for other purposes.

I turned my head and looked at the mural behind the altar.

The plate of black sesame candies that Thutmose III held up in his hands looked like iron ore.

I just said why the stones scattered around the ancient Egyptian workers looked familiar.Could it be that the gray and white stones that were moved out were iron ore?Is there iron ore under the Temple of Seth?
But even so, why cover up the intaglio recording the mining process?
I don't know who added another layer to the original murals, and for what purpose that person did it.

In addition to the double-layer murals, I am also very puzzled by the Senet altar under the altar.

It stands to reason that a table under the altar must be an altar, but this is another game board.What is it for?
I involuntarily touched the notch on the chessboard on the table.

The familiar feeling of suffocation overwhelmed me again.It's just that this time, before I finished watching the advertisement before the short movie, I was pulled over by someone.

Li Yuan warmly circled my shoulders and moved me to the side.

When I looked, it turned out that Hassan and Laila had also come down.The siblings were walking towards the altar, and we happened to meet each other.

"Thank you." I whispered to Li Yuan.

He smiled at me, lowered his arms, and walked up the steps as well.

I watched Senet altar.

So it seems that the Senet game on the ground is also solved in this way.I accidentally touched the pillar while looking at the mural, and then acted according to the rules of the game that I didn't know.

Originally, I was just showing me a small theater in the multi-column hall of the Karnak Temple. When I arrived at the Temple of Seth, I also evolved the possession skills.

I suddenly thought of what Grandpa Li had mentioned, the cousin of the Yin family.Perhaps that uncle of the Yin family was right. The illness of the Yin family seems to be prepared for something.Li Yuan also said that the sovereignty of his body is not in his own hands.

The experience just now made me clearly realize that if I am in it, I will be at the mercy of the magnetic field.It seems that this transformation is really unexpected.And Li Yuan probably knew this already, so he dragged me out in time.

What about himself?
I couldn't help looking at Li Yuan.

At this time Li Yuan had already walked up the steps.He didn't lean towards the altar like Hassan Laila, but looked at the images of the pharaoh and the gods in the murals. Alex stood beside him, first pointing to the sacrifice in the hand of Thutmose III, and then looking at Apaip in front of the golden sun ship.It seems to be asking why these two scenes appear at the same time.Li Yuan shook his head, probably unable to answer.

In fact, this is one of the problems I don't understand.

Under normal circumstances, depictions of rebirth after death, such as the sun golden ship, do not appear in temples, but in tomb murals.But it is even more unreasonable to say that this is not a temple but a tomb.Not to mention that the altar, the idol and the image of Thutmose III offering sacrifices to the gods all conform to the elements of the temple.If it is a tomb, where are the dead and the coffin?
I looked at the senet chessboard that I didn't know how to use.

This thing was unearthed in the funerary objects, as a checkpoint for the dead to lead to the underworld.But those that have been discovered in the past are relatively small, and they will not be put on the bright side.

Coupled with the double-layer murals that seem to be more than enough, and have to go deeper.There is a sense of disharmony here, as if different spaces were forcibly stitched together.

Boothwell found an occasion for himself to play, and took the initiative to explain to Li Yuan and Alex.At the beginning, his hype narration also attracted Arno and the priest brothers and sisters, but soon his audience showed awkward but polite smiles.

As soon as I saw this situation, I gave up the idea of ​​going up to join in the fun, so as not to be forced to listen to the nonsense of wild archaeologists.

Hassan quietly left the class, taking advantage of Boothwell not noticing him.He walked to the side of the altar again, and looked closely at the Arabic words that read "Sacrifice by Your Blood".

Then suddenly he drew his dagger.

Meng Weiqing was watching carefully along the north wall with Mr. Bai, and didn't notice what happened on the altar.Although Boothwell was right next to Hassan, he had no intention of stopping him.

I subconsciously yelled: "Stop!"

But Hassan had already gripped the dagger, and blood was gurgling into the altar.

For the third time the altar lit up before my eyes.

The dazzling golden light danced, licking the people surrounding the altar.

Apart from Hassan and Laila, Alex and Li Yuan who were standing on the side looking at the mural were also shrouded in the light.

Laila then completed the sacrifice as well.

The golden light shines again, softer and brighter this time.

Alex gave Laila a disapproving look, frowning at the dagger in her hand that was stained with both her and Hassan's blood.

With a sullen face, Meng Weiqing stepped onto the altar in two or three steps.I also ran up.

Meng Weiqing first looked towards the center of the altar, and there was no trace of blood there.No matter what this god is, he has a good appetite.

Then he glanced over Hassan and Laila, until the siblings shuddered.Then Meng Weiqing spoke to Boothwell: "Mr. Boothwell, please take a step to speak."

Nabusville changed his appearance as a fringe archaeologist, and nodded calmly against Meng Weiqing's anger.

Seeing them leaving, I ignored everyone's gaze, first turned around the altar, and then bent down to look at the lotus petals as the base.After all the tossing, the whole altar was almost dismantled, and I didn't understand where the blood flowed.

If I had been lucky the first two times, I thought it might have been someone who had tampered with the altar to create a scam.But this is in the isolated desert, no one should be able to make any arrangements in advance.

Arno squatted beside me and asked what I was looking at.

My heart was in a mess, and I managed to steady my voice and said, "I want to see where the blood went."

Could it be true that Lou Shiqi said that the blood of those "ancient bloodlines" was used by this god for resurrection?
I stood up and walked around to the altar.From this perspective, Thutmose III on the mural really seems to be putting the sacrifice in his hand into the altar.And the Eye of Horus watched from above.

Now almost everyone was attracted to the altar by Hassan and Leila's operation.

"What's written here?" I asked Patrick, who was looking at the original inscription covering the altar.

Just now, Hassan read the Arabic script carefully before making the blood sacrifice.And Boothwell, who translated for us at the beginning, was very suspicious. I couldn't believe what he said.

"This is written [Take Your Blood as a Sacrifice]." Patrick read out the words without any suspense.

"Why are you saying that again?" Lou Shiqi muttered next to me. "How many times have I seen this ancient Egyptian inscription, and the Arabs have to translate it again. Isn't it purely superfluous?"

Isn't it.If you simply translated it once, is it because you are afraid that future generations will not be able to understand ancient Egyptian?Or is there something hidden in it?

When I wanted to find Hassan again, I realized that Karl had called him aside.

Carefully concealed frescoes, chaotic compositions and statues posed in fighting poses.This hall is full of factors that make me uneasy.Add that to the Senet board that lets me watch little movies and maybe even control me, and it just makes the hairs stand on end.

I stood under the steps and looked up at the sculptures of Seth and Thutmose III, as well as the guarded altars and murals.

What kind of enemy will make gods and pharaohs feel like enemies?Is it death?or time?Or, the life that is going to be resurrected through the ancient blood?

　The inspiration here comes from the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes.

　　Such a passage was staged in Grotto No. 220 of Mogao Grottoes.Under the murals of the Song Dynasty, there is even a layer of murals from the early Tang Dynasty.However, after the murals of the Song Dynasty were peeled off, the inner layer remained intact, which shows that it was done on purpose.

　　The double-layer murals of the Mogao Grottoes are the scriptures that the descendants of the Zhai family have passed down for hundreds of years in order to protect their own caves. They had to draw thousands of Buddhas and faces on it according to the requirements of those in power.

　　One can guess what the double frescoes in the Temple of Seth are for.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)