Chapter 1102: Starting a Rumor with a Mouth, Running Your Legs Off to Stop Rumors
Chapter 1102: Starting a Rumor with a Mouth, Running Your Legs Off to Stop Rumors
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
He He finished her question and waited for Teacher Luo’s answer. Wei Kang scolded her lightly, “Xiao He, you are also a student of biology, and you’re even a graduate student, so don’t talk about such ridiculous things as soon as you hear them! There were cats in the tomb 4000 years ago? And they even attacked people? What a joke! It’s obviously crap! How would they treat our biology department if someone else heard it?”
Wei Kang would normally care about his only female disciple in private, but in front of Zhang Zian and Teacher Luo, these two outsiders, his face felt quite heated.
But Gao Ke and Xiao Tianyu, two of the boys, enjoyed this kind of anecdote of unofficial history. They found it very exciting. They even wished that they had been there at that time and could take a look at the cat who had stayed in the ancient tomb for 4000 years.
Du Xuetao pushed up his glasses and said solemnly, “That’s impossible. A cat living in an ancient tomb for 4,000 years—what would it eat? Would there be enough oxygen? Would its lifespan be that long?”
He He instantly replied, “This was a cat from 4000 years ago! Perhaps it was some very rare species, and could hibernate, sleeping for 4000 years. It was shocked awake by a human who opened the tomb!”
Her eyes were bright and she said longingly, “4000 years! A cat accompanied its owner and endured 4000 years of loneliness in the tomb just for the moment when the owner was reincarnated!”
Gao Ke and Xiao Tianyu, two boys with no principle, immediately echoed each other, praising the kinds of loyalty to the cat patron, and these sorts of praise.
However, He He did not appreciate this. She looked at them contemptuously and said, “Yes, it’s even a female cat. Even a cat can do it to this standard. If it were a man dominated by his lower body, it’s estimated that it would last for four years... No, he would not be able to stand it for even four months. He would already have dug up the grave and run out to find a new lover. So men are really big pig hooves!”
Gao Ke and Xiao Tianyu, seeing their attempt to curry favor fail, could not help but laugh awkwardly a few times.
Zhang Zian shook his head, saying in a low voice, “Occam’s Razor.”
“What? What did you say?” He He had not heard clearly what he’d said, but from Zhang Zian’s expression, he did not seem like he was agreeing with her.
“I said, Occam’s Razor.” Zhang Zian raised his voice. He didn’t have to be as careful as the other three boys and simply said, “The simpler the idea, the better—rather than assuming that there was a hibernating cat that existed only 4000 years ago and is now extinct, why don’t we use a simpler answer to explain it—it’s just another rumor about ancient Egypt.”
Wei Kang hit the table and exclaimed, “Right! That’s the attitude of science!”
The mention of ancient tombs always gave rise to a lot of reckless reveries. Whether it was a once popular tomb robbery novel or an enduring action game, the word ‘tomb’ in the name alone could increase sales by at least 20%.
As mankind had not yet fully grasped the internal structure of the Great Pyramid, rumors about the Egyptian Pyramid were probably as many as those of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in China. There were even stories like, “A man r*ped a X3000-year-old mummy, causing it to become eight months pregnant.” The news said that the mummy was an Egyptian mummy, but the accompanying picture was a mummy from Central America. Newspapers fabricated by third-rate magazines were also exported for domestic sale.
“Besides, the pharaohs of ancient Egypt did not have the tradition of burying live animals,” Zhang Zian added. “Otherwise, why would they invent mummies? In my opinion, it is possible to say that the cat got in through a crack in the grave, but it is a cat that has lived for 4000 years... It probably should be called a turtle cat.”
Teacher Luo nodded, smiled, and said, “This fellow student is quite right. At present, no record of an ancient Egyptian burial with living animals has been found. Perhaps I’m ignorant, but I’ve never heard of a Cherubze IV 4000 years ago, and if this Dr. Masu was a fellow historian, I’ve never heard of him either.”
Zhang Zian did not spend so much time with Fina for nothing. Sometimes when he managed to make it delighted, or when it saw how developed the world was today from the news broadcasts, it would mutter in disdain about the memory of how great ancient Egypt was and how long its history was. He could learn something about ancient Egypt from its words, even if he did not specialize in the history of ancient Egypt. He was no scientist, but at least he was better than the ordinary person.
“In addition, 4000 years ago, that is, 2000 BC, when the capital of ancient Egypt was being transferred from Memphis to Thebes, if there was such a pharaoh, then his tomb must be in one of these two places,” Zhang Zian added. “How could he run to King’s Valley hundreds of kilometers away? King’s Valley was still a wilderness at that time. Which Chinese emperor was not buried near the capital? It’s convenient to guard mausoleums, and it’s also convenient for future generations to worship and have picnics and tour around at the same time.”
Teacher Luo was slightly shocked. “Does this student do research on ancient Egyptian history?”
“I’m not a classmate, and I’m not a student here,” Zhang Zian said and shook his head.
Wei Kang hurriedly introduced Zhang Zian individually to Teacher Luo and made it clear that he was taking the role of special consultant in this expedition.
Teacher Luo pointed at Wei Kang. “Professor Wei, you are wrong in this case. Someone on your team clearly knows the history of ancient Egypt. What did you pull me over for?”
Wei Kang had not thought at all that Zhang Zian was that knowledgeable about the not-well-known history of Egypt. This was an unexpected surprise.
“Teacher Luo, you are overpraising me. How can I be said to understand it all? I just understand a bit and have a bit of general knowledge.” Zhang Zian shrugged his shoulders.
He He’s face heated upon hearing that, because wasn’t he just saying that she did not even have any general knowledge?
“Knowing a bit of general information is enough. You guys aren’t specifically going there to learn about ancient history. So don’t be too modest. How many ordinary people can tell the transition between times and places of the ancient Egyptian capital at will?”
Teacher Luo also let out a breath of relief. He had been wondering how he could squeeze around 7000 years of ancient Egyptian history into a few hours, and since Wei Kang’s group already had someone who knew a bit of general history, that would save some trouble.
“Who knows if he only has that bit of knowledge in his brain and just happened to pour it out.”
Being embarrassed in front of the three boys and scolded by her teacher, He He was very unhappy and muttered in a low voice.
She remembered that Zhang Zian owned a pet shop and a suspected primitive Egyptian cat. Maybe he had heard the legend of the cat shadow in the ancient tomb before and had gone to check the authenticity of the tomb so that he could say the right thing and frighten everyone else.
Wei Kang was also not very sure about the extent of Zhang Zian’s knowledge about ancient Egypt in his heart and did not dare to let Teacher Luo return just like that.
Teacher Luo could tell what they were thinking. He smiled, flipped open the book he brought along everywhere, and said, “That’s good. Then let me test you.”