Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen

Kani, the high priest of Karnak, ordered the craftsmen in the temple to examine the wooden boxes and the contents of the boxes carefully.As soon as he got the result, he immediately called Pazar.The two walked slowly under the cool shade of the colonnade. "It is impossible to determine the owner of these treasures." Chang Ni said regretfully. "Is it the king?" "From the size of the scarab, it is likely, but the characterization is not clear enough." "The new police chief thinks there is suspicion of grave robbery." "It's unlikely. If someone really robs a tomb, things will definitely explode. No one can suppress the news. This can be said to be the most serious crime. Is it possible that no one is aware of it? And it has been more than five hundred years It has never happened! Ramses publicly condemned this kind of behavior, and the name of the criminal will definitely be announced, and he will be cast aside by thousands of people."

Carney was right, and Cam's panic seemed unfounded. "These finely crafted items," Carney thought, "may have been stolen in the workshop. If Dainis wasn't planning to trade them, he was keeping them for his burial." Pazar, who is well aware of Dennis' vain personality, is inclined to the second possibility. "Did you go to Coptos to investigate?" "I don't have time yet." Pazar replied, "Besides, I don't know what method to use." "You must be careful." "Any new news?" "The goldsmiths of Karnak are sure of one thing: the gold that makes the scarab comes from the mines of Coptos."

* * * Coptos, not far north of Thebes, was a strange city.The streets were almost exclusively miners, quarrymen, and desert explorers, some preparing to go, others just returning from the scorching, rocky hell of the wilds.Everyone secretly swears that next time they have a chance, they will dig out the biggest treasure.In addition, there are some desert brigades who sell goods transported from Nubia, and hunters who bring back prey for temples or wealthy families.And some nomads trying to assimilate into Egyptian society. All those who volunteered to explore awaited the arrival of the next decree before they could freely choose to go to the jasper, granite, or porphyry mines, or the port of Kesai on the Red Sea, or the turquoise mines of Sinai.All dreamed of gold, of some secret or untapped vein, of the flesh and blood of the gods reserved for gods and pharaohs in such temples.Countless people have planned a series of conspiracies to seize them deliberately, but they have failed time and time again, because in addition to the ubiquitous professional policemen with sharp eyes, there are also a group of ferocious and brutal, amazing physical strength, which makes people have to fear These police dogs know all about the remote trails and the smallest dry river beds, and they can find the direction of escape without any effort in the dangerous environment where ordinary people cannot survive.Police dogs not only hunt animals such as wild goats, sheep and antelope, but also help the police retrieve escaped prisoners from prisons, but their favorite prey is the Bedouins who specialize in attacking desert teams and robbing passengers.These thieves are numerous and well-trained, but the sharp-eyed desert police will never allow them to take advantage of them to carry out their despicable deeds.If, unfortunately, one of the more cunning Bedouin bandits got their way, the police would immediately order: dogs out, no mercy.Over the years, no bandit has had a success of its own to boast of.The monitoring of the miners is also very strict, so absolutely no one can steal a large amount of precious metals.

Pazar walked towards the gorgeous temple of Coptos, where some extremely ancient maps were kept, and the location of Egypt's rich mineral resources was clearly shown on the map.On the way, Pazar met a police team escorting the prisoners. Those fugitives who had just been recovered by police dogs were all bruised. At this moment Pazar felt both impatience and uneasiness: impatience because he couldn't wait to see if there was anything to be gained in Coptos;Whether yes or no, he made sure to find out before taking any action. The recommendation of the High Priest of Karnak was indeed effective, and the doors of the temple opened one by one after showing the letter of recommendation, and the abbot immediately received him.The abbot was already old, but he had a strong physique and seemed extremely confident, but his dignified appearance could not drown out the traces of his past physical activities.

"It is such an honor to have Your Excellency's attention!" He said sarcastically in a low voice that made his subordinates shudder, "The head of the gate must be allowed to search this humble temple of mine, which is really a favor that I could not even dream of. Is your police force ready to invade?" "I'm alone." The abbot of the Coptos Temple couldn't help frowning his bushy eyebrows. "I don't understand what you're doing." "I want you to help me." "We have also heard a lot of news about your prosecution of General Asher."

"What did everyone say?" "There are more people for him than against him." "Which side are you on?" "He's a robber!" said the abbot without thinking. Pazar secretly breathed a sigh of relief, if the abbot hadn't lied, all the truth would be revealed. "What's your dissatisfaction with him?" "I was originally a miner, and I used to be a desert policeman. For a year, Asher has been trying to control the desert police force, but as long as I'm alive, he won't try to succeed!" The abbot's indignant expression was not feigned.

"There is a chemist named Xieqi in Memphis. We have found a large amount of magic iron in his laboratory. Now only you can tell me the source of this batch of magic iron. Of course, Xieqi has repeatedly claimed that he Framed, he knew nothing about these precious metals. Yet he was trying to make an indestructible weapon, perhaps for General Asher's sake. Either way. He needed this particular metal." "The person who said this to you is simply joking." The abbot said disdainfully. "why?" "Because the god iron is not indestructible! It is refined from meteorites."

"It's not impossible to destroy..." "This theory has been widely circulated, but it is just a legend." "Do you know where these meteorites are?" "Meteorites may fall anywhere, but I have a map. Now only a public expedition team controlled by the desert police has the right to excavate the Shentie and transport it to Coptos." "But a whole block has been embezzled." "This is nothing unusual. It is likely that there is a meteorite whose location has not been registered, and it was accidentally discovered by thieves." "Will Asher take advantage of it?"

The abbot still didn't think so: "What's the use? He knows that the sacred iron is only used for religious ceremonies. If it is used to make weapons, it is nothing more than asking for trouble. Instead, it is sold abroad, especially to those who have a soft spot for the sacred iron. The Hittites can still make a little profit." Selling, speculating, trading... It is not Asher who has the expertise in this field, but the greedy and vulgar transporter Dennis!Xie Qi can also earn a commission as a dealer. Pazar was wrong all along.Xie Qi just helped Dennis hide metal.However, General Asher wanted to extend his influence to the Desert Police Force.

"Has any precious metal in your custody ever been stolen?" "I'm surrounded by a bunch of policemen, priests, and clerks watching, and I'm watching them too, and we keep each other in check. Don't you doubt me?" "Honestly, it is." "I appreciate your confession, you can live here for a few days, then you will understand that stealing is impossible." Pazar then decided to trust the abbot. "I found a very large and pure gold scarab among the treasures collected by a man who illegally traded in amulets. It was the gold from the Coptos mining area."

The abbot who had been a miner asked a little uneasy: "Who said that?" "The goldsmith of Karnak." "That shouldn't be wrong." "I think such a valuable item should be recorded in your file." "What's everyone's name?" "The lettering was tapped off." "It's a pity. Since ancient times, every piece of gold dug out of the mining area has indeed been recorded, and the later identification of the gold can be found in the files. It may be a certain temple. A certain pharaoh or a certain goldsmith. But Without a name, nothing can be found." "Are there craftsmen working in the mining area?" "Sometimes. Some goldsmiths work directly at the excavation site. This temple is yours now, search it thoroughly." "That's not necessary." Pazar said, shaking his hand. "Good luck to you. I hope you can get rid of that General Asher for Egypt as soon as possible. He is an ominous man." * * * Pazar was convinced that the abbot of Coptos had nothing to do with the plot.Perhaps he should give up on tracing the source of the Shentie, since Dainis seems to have unlimited rights to his new underground trade item.But it seems that miners, goldsmiths, or desert policemen took advantage of their positions to steal precious gems or metals in the mining area, perhaps for Dainis, Asher, or even the two of them.After these people formed an alliance, they could accumulate a large amount of wealth to launch an offensive, but Pazar couldn't guess what it would be like-an offensive. Had the murderer Asher turned out to be the leader of a gang of gold thieves, he would have certainly escaped severe punishment.But if you don't join the ranks of prospectors, how can you prove it?It's not easy, if not impossible, to find someone so brave.This false action is too dangerous.He made a suggestion to Su Ti, but it only made him angry. The only solution is to do it himself, for which he has to prepare a good reason and convince Nefiri. * * * The warrior's bark filled Pazar's heart with joy.His pet dog rushed out quickly, and then stopped panting at his master's feet, while Pazar stroked him affectionately.Knowing that donkey Beifeng has a suspicious personality, he immediately stepped forward to express his concern, and Beifeng immediately responded with a happy look. When he hugged Nefiri, he could feel her looking worried and tired. "It's a serious matter," she said. "Suti has escaped to our house. He has been hiding in his room for a week." "What happened?" "He just wants to talk to you. Tonight, he drank a lot." * * * "You're finally back!" Su Ti shouted excitedly. "Cam and I found some important clues." Pazar said clearly. "If Nefiri hadn't taken me in, I would have been escorted to Asia." "Have you committed any crime?" "General Asher accuses me of desertion from the barracks, insulting the officer, desertion, loss of standard weapons, cold feet and malicious slander." "You'll win." "Absolutely not." "What are you afraid of?" "When I left the Army, I forgot to fill out some forms exempting all service members. Now the deadline is over. Asher can justifiably make a fuss about it. I am really a deserter. I must be sent to the military camp. gone." "so troublesome." "A year in an Asian labor camp is inevitable. Think about what those clerks in Asher will do to me. I think I'm dead." "I'll show up." "I did make a mistake, Pazar! You are the elder of the gate hall, will you do something that violates the law?" "We have the same blood in our bodies." Pazar's defense made Suti uneasy: "So you are going to fall with me? This is a trap. I have only one way now, which is to accept your suggestion to become a prospector and disappear in the desert. Come on, not only can I avoid Tapene, Leopard and this murderous general, but I can also make a lot of money. Go to the golden road! Is there a more beautiful dream than this?" "But you yourself have said that exploration operations are very dangerous." "I'm not fit for a quiet life. I'm going to miss women, but I still want to try my luck." "We don't want to lose you," Nefiri objected. Su Ti looked at her moved. "I will come back. I will come back with riches, power and glory! All the Ashers of the world will tremble before me and kneel at my feet and beg, but I will show no mercy and will kill them one by one. Stomp flat. I'll be back to kiss your cheeks and enjoy the feast you prepared for me." "In my opinion," said Pazar, "it's best to invite you to a banquet now, and you to abandon that crazy plan at once." "I have never been so sober. If I stay, I will be sentenced and you will be implicated. You are so stubborn, you will insist on defending me and fight a lawsuit that is impossible to win for me. Then, all our efforts It will all be in vain.” "But do you have to take that risk?" Nefiri asked. "How can I make up for my mistakes if I don't make a great achievement? I will never get into the army. Now I have only one fatal choice: gold hunting! No, I'm not crazy, this time I really I get rich, I feel it, I have it in my head, my fingers, my stomach." "You really don't change your mind?" "I haven't gone out this week—I've thought about it carefully. Even you can't change my decision." Pazar and Nefiri glanced at each other: Suti was not joking.Pazar then said, "In that case, I have something to tell you." "About Asher?" "Cam and I uncovered an illegal amulet trade case, and Dainis and Kadashi are both involved, and the general is likely to be suspected of embezzling gold mines. In other words, these conspirators have amassed a large fortune .” "Asher stealing gold! That's outrageous! It's a death sentence, isn't it?" "If the evidence is established." "You are my good brother, Pazar!" Suti rushed forward and hugged Pazar, and promised: "I will bring back his criminal evidence for you. Not only will I make a fortune, but I will also discredit this demon." "Don't get excited, this is just a hypothesis." "No, it's the truth!" "If you insist so much, I will formally assign you the task." "How about using juice?" "With Cam's consent, you became a member of the Desert Police Fifteen days ago. You can still receive your salary." "Fifteen days ago... So, the date of General Biasher's accusation is still early!" "Cam doesn't pay attention to paper work. The most important thing is that this appointment has taken effect." "Let's have a toast!" Su Ti shouted. Nefiri obeyed him. "You are going to join the ranks of the miners," Pazar suggested, "but unless you are in imminent danger, don't reveal your identity as a policeman to anyone." "Is there anyone who is more suspicious?" "Asher really hopes to control the desert police, so he must have sent spies to lurk in it, or bought some henchmen. There may be some of his people among the miners. In the future, we will try to use the mail or any other way that will not pose a threat to you. We must inform each other of the progress of the investigation. My identification code will be... Beifeng." "Since you admit that you are a donkey, the path of wisdom is not so far away." "I want you to promise me yourself." "I promise you." "Don't just think about luck. If the situation is too dangerous, come back." Pazar urged worriedly. "You should know my personality." "indeed." "I am acting secretly, but you are the obvious target." "You don't mean to say that I'm in more danger than you?" "If all the judges got smarter, the country would be saved."