Soul Painter

According to Gao Fan's knowledge, there are not many countries in the world where cats are worshiped.

And there is only one country that mummifies cats.

There is also a goddess named Buster in this country, and the image she shows to the world is a cat or a lion.

As for why the Egyptians worship cats so much, the explanation found by Gao Fan is that the ancient Egyptian rulers believed that gods and cats had similar neurotic characteristics.

Gao Fan felt that this was absolutely correct.

After their special plane arrived at Cairo International Airport, the capital of Egypt.

Siegfried took Gao Fan and Ana Armas, but did not go to a museum or a collector's address as Gao Fan expected, but drove a jeep directly to the northeast of Egypt drive away.

As an "explorer" - of course Gao Fan thinks that this profession should be called a "tour guide" in modern times - Siegfried did not hire a local guide. He has amazing language skills and can communicate with local indigenous people in Arabic Communicate cordially.

The jeep pulled the two of them, and drove towards the boundless desert outside Cairo. After five or six hours, the land they passed was still a desert. Ge Fei explained to the two again where the end of the trip was.

"It is a rare mausoleum with a history of about 3,500 years ago. It should be the era of Thutmose in the 18th Dynasty. We will see the miraculous thing we are going to copy there."

"What is the mystery, Mr. Siegfried, can you solve the mystery by now?" Anna asked curiously.

"Of course, but don't be afraid, it's a mummy." Siegfried shrugged.

"Why should we be afraid..." Anna suddenly realized something, "It wasn't obtained through official channels!"

"Of course, to be precise, we did not obtain it, but only found it temporarily." Siegfried said.

"It's unimaginable that Ms. J.K would be involved in such a thing." Anna was a little dazed.

"What's wrong with the mummy?" Gao Fan asked, he can understand a little English, but he still speaks Chinese, Siegfried can also understand, if Gao Fan wants to communicate with Anna, then Siegfried is the two of them Translate, but obviously, Gao Fan and Anna don't call.

"In Egypt, private excavation of cultural relics, especially national treasures such as mummies, is a felony. At the same time, Egypt has the death penalty." Siegfried said.

Ha~ Gao Fan thought for a while and said, "But we're not going to dig it, are we?"

"There is also a little bit of danger, but don't worry, Ms. JK has made arrangements, we are just going to observe it." Siegfried said.

At this time, it was already afternoon.

The sun shone obliquely from the front of the jeep.

In the blazing desert sun.

The three saw a barren forest in the distance.

Dozens of huge coconut palm trees sit there like exhausted travelers.

The jeep drove closer, and the three of them could see that relying on those coconut palm trees, some wooden houses were built, and there was a simple wall around them. The whole stockade was full of original Egyptian features, and the simple two-word description is 'poverty' '.

"This village is called Mitt. As an artist, you may only have one chance to get here in this life." Siegfried said.

Why? Both Gao Fan and Anna felt puzzled.

Siegfried didn't explain much, but went on to talk about the taboos in the village:

"Remember, cats have a sacred and inviolable status here. Remember the etiquette for treating cats. When a cat tries to make contact with you, you must stroke its head three times with your hands. Of course, if the cat is particularly fond of you, This number may be more, in short, you can't leave until the cat is satisfied, otherwise you will be in danger."

After Siegfried introduced the rules of Mitt Village in Chinese and English, God let out a 'meow', which seemed to be full of curiosity and excitement.

"I..." Anna showed a terrified expression, "I'm afraid of furry creatures."

"Poor Ms. AA, you may stay here, but then you will not be able to complete Ms. J.K's commission." Siegfried said helplessly, "Besides, believe me, the magical Mitt Village is worth your risk." risk."

In the end, Anna didn't choose to stay in the car either.

At this time, Gao Fan realized why Anna was unwilling to approach him, because of God.

The jeep stops at the gate of Mitt village.

After Gao Fan got off the car, he noticed that there were cats everywhere.

On the top of the wooden railings, on the huge dry and cracked brown trees, and on the yellow sand, there are cats everywhere, mainly leopard cats, and there are a few pharaoh cats, but they are black cats like God, and there is none.

Several dark-skinned women are cooking, which is a kind of shortbread mixed with wood powder and some vegetables, then smashed and then dried, I believe the taste is not much better.

The cats sat cross-legged around these women, wagging their tails lazily, and when they started meowing, no matter how busy the women in Mitt Village were, they would put down their work and stroke the cats until they were satisfied.

Siegfried greeted these women with a smile, and then a woman pointed to the tallest tree house behind her.

In the entire Mitt Village, this should be the most luxurious building.

"We must get the patriarch's permission before we can enter that pyramid." Siegfried explained.

But where is the pyramid?

Where did the pyramids come from in this desert?

Looking far away, it is just a barren desert.

But Gao Fan noticed that behind the coconut palm tree where the tallest tree house is located, there is a triangular building made of various stones and bricks, only three or four meters high. If it is a pyramid, it is not as good as a domestic tomb. Rich.

"We have to get permission to see the pyramid." Siegfried explained again.

so amazing? Gao Fan and Anna looked at each other and found the curiosity in each other's eyes.

Siegfried led Gao Fan and Anna to the highest patriarch's house along the wooden stairs on the tree. Along the way, Gao Fan began to follow cats behind him, but these cats did not follow Gao Fan closely, but From a distance, like in this three-person team, something attracts them, but something else makes them want to keep their distance.

God let out a 'meow', and started the cordial communication between the Chinese garden cat and the Egyptian native cat. Soon they played together. 'Foreign guests' are very interested.

"In Egypt, black cats were the color of the gods," said Siegfried, "and the goddess Bastet was manifested as black cats."

Arriving at the wooden house, Siegfried rolled back the homemade curtain with an obvious Egyptian style. Both Gao Fan and Anna saw that the inside seemed a bit crowded, not because of people. In fact, there was only a slightly thin old lady in the wooden house. , wearing a khaki robe, squatting on a chair like an old cat - she must be the patriarch.

The reason why it is crowded is that apart from the patriarch, the tree house is filled with all kinds of sculptures, oil paintings, porcelain, books, etc. It is hard to imagine that there will be such a large number of objects in an Egyptian village... um , is this a work of art?

Gao Fan picked up an oil painting casually. As a painter, he was naturally most interested in painting.

Then he saw what was painted in the painting: the sea water under the morning light showed orange and lavender, the reddish sky in the sky was organized by various color blocks, and the waves of the water were composed of strokes of different thickness and length. The boat appeared blurred in the thin mist, and the people in the boat could be vaguely identified, and the boat seemed to be swaying forward.

The world in the painting is both real and illusory. This should be a morning in the port of Le Havre. The painter used a magical brush and a keen sense of touch to freeze the dynamic world in a static picture, and the viewers of later generations can See, the world is changing with the sunshine every moment.

This is Monet's "Sunrise"!

A real work!

But shouldn't it be housed in a museum in Paris?

After Gao Fan confirmed this through his 'investigation' skills, he couldn't help but look at the artwork in the entire tree house in surprise.

At this time, the patriarch, who was as old as a cat, said something, and Siegfried conveyed to Gao Fan and Anna: "According to the patriarch's rules, you must exchange a precious thing for a pass to the mausoleum."

Second watch~