Chapter 1555: Nine Lives

After being awakened by Zhang Zian, the other elves re-observed Lao Cha, Fina and the three cats on the phone screen, and suddenly woke up like a dream.

The elves vaguely saw something just now, but they couldn't find the right words to describe it. After listening to his description, it was as if a stone blocking the windpipe had been removed.

They followed Zhang Zian to Egypt, entered the Great Pyramid, entered the Golden Pyramid, and saw many souvenirs of ancient Egyptian culture in the market, among which there were many scarab-related items and murals. After all, the ancient Egyptians believed that , is a scarab that pushes the sun to rise and set every day. It occupies a very important position in ancient Egyptian mythology. It symbolizes the rebirth that the Pharaoh dreamed of, and it is also one of the most commonly used shapes for making amulets.

The pattern on Fina's forehead is an unusually clear scarab.

Lao Cha also had similar lines on his forehead, but it was not as vivid as Fina's scarab pattern.

Richard could only hear but not see. He was dying of anxiety. It pecked Zhang Zian's head with its beak and asked him to explain in words, because it didn't dare to look directly at Fina at all, and Old Tea always wore He was wearing a bamboo hat, so he really didn't pay much attention to the patterns on the foreheads of the two cat elves.

Zhang Zian knew that if he didn't explain it clearly to Richard, it might toss it all night. At the same time, in order to let the other elves understand better, he said: "The scarab patterns on the foreheads of Fei Na and Mr. Cha are similar to W, H, The uppercase English letter M is arranged in order from top to bottom.”

He scratched the three letters in the dirt with a branch that was used as firewood.

W

h

m

The inflection points of W and M are connected with the upper and lower endpoints of H, like a scarab with forelimbs, hindlimbs and body.

Some omit the H in the middle, and only use W and M to connect up and down.

In contrast, the three cats in the mobile phone photo album do not have the upper half of the pattern on their foreheads, only M.

Scarab pattern and M pattern, basically all tabby cats have these two patterns on the forehead, the former accounts for the majority, and the latter accounts for a small part.

Only then did the elves fully understand. Thinking back to the ordinary cats in the pet shop, all tabby cats seemed to be like this.

But what does this mean? It's just the lines on the forehead!

Zhang Zian hadn't noticed this kind of subtle difference before, and he had to thank Professor Wei Kang for understanding it.

Professor Wei Kang studies the evolution of domestic cats, and he really wants to find a transitional cat species with mackerel stripes and spots, that is, the original Egyptian cat.

Zhang Zian participated in the trip to Egypt as a special advisor, and enjoyed the free food, clothing, housing and transportation provided by Binhai University. It is a matter of loyalty to eat people's salary, otherwise Professor Wei Kang would be very embarrassed, so he actively maintained communication with Professor Wei Kang. By chance, he heard Professor Wei Kang mention this, about the forehead lines of tabby cats.

Professor Wei Kang specializes in the study of domestic cats and is quite knowledgeable in this area. At that time, he just casually mentioned an ancient legend to explain the divergence of these two lines.

The speaker did not intend to listen, but Professor Wei Kang said it in a half-joking tone, but because it was quite interesting, Zhang Zian silently wrote it down.

"Fina, how much do you know about this?"

Zhang Zian stared at Fina who had remained silent.

When he was thinking, observing, and talking just now, Fina's attitude was very different from his usual calmness. Even when he met the four dead cats during the day, her attitude was so calm that he wondered if it was I intend to muffle my death.

"Ben Gong noticed it long ago, long before today." Fina said, "When I taught the kittens to dance, most of the kittens were very obedient, while some kittens were more naughty. The difference in intelligence, but I did notice that the patterns on the foreheads of these naughty kittens are incomplete...Thousands of years have passed, and the cats of today's era are different from the cats of this palace's time, so This Palace didn't care too much."

The other elves knew that Fina would teach the new kitten to dance every once in a while,

But it never occurred to me that there was something hidden in it.

Fei Na's eyes suddenly became brighter, and she stared at Zhang Zian, "About this, what do you want to tell me?"

Zhang Zian didn't answer immediately, but asked instead: "Do you know that cats have nine lives?"

"Nine lives? Nonsense!" Fina said decisively, "If cats had nine lives, the scarab would not be the symbol of rebirth in ancient Egypt!"

Old Cha also interjected: "About this, I often hear people talking about it on TV, but I don't know why. I always get confused when I hear it. I have lived for so many years, and I have never seen a cat that can die. Risen..."

"Huh? Nine Lives?" Richard was unwilling to be lonely. "When you were selling the Siberian forest cat that was said to be non-allergic, didn't you say that there was a movie about cats called "Nine Lives"?"

Zhang Zian nodded, "Yes, the legend that cats have nine lives is not only spread in China, but also widely spread in the West."

"Nonsense!" Fina repeated, "I've never heard of it! I won't believe it either!"

"It's normal that you haven't heard of it." Zhang Zian explained, "Because the era in which this legend originated is after you."

He said to the elves: "There were no cats in ancient China. Cats were introduced to China from the Western Regions. The legend of nine lives was also introduced from the Western Regions. The origin of this legend is the Middle East."

In the ancient Middle East—the "ancient" after Fina's time—there was a man of great fame and prestige who was revered by others as a prophet.

The Prophet had a cat named Mieza, whom he loved very much.

Once, the Prophet was about to go to his prayers when he found Mieza asleep on the sleeve of his robe. In order not to disturb its sweet dreams, he simply cut off the sleeves and put on a robe to pray. After returning from praying, Mieza seemed to know how much he cared for her, and bowed her back and raised her tail as if spiritually, to express her gratitude to him. The Prophet lovingly stroked Mieza's head three times, leaving behind four black lines—that is, his own four finger prints, shaped like an M.

According to legend, the Prophet not only left the M-shaped mark on Mieza, but also gave it nine lives. This is the origin of the legend that cats have nine lives.

Since then, the scarab pattern and the M pattern parted ways.

After Zhang Zian finished speaking, the other elves listened fascinatedly, while Fei Na sneered.

People say that the fifteenth moon is sixteen round.

He looked up at the full moon in the night sky, when a cool wind blew by, he suddenly felt a little cold, tightened his body, and murmured:

"Baiyujing in the sky, five cities on the twelfth floor. The prophet strokes my top, seals and receives nine orders..."

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