Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1689 Curse
Although the domestication of cats occurred multiple times, the modern domestic cat—or rather, the modern pet cat breed—is basically derived from Egypt.

In other words, wherever there are pet cats, the curse imposed by Shangluo will continue to exist.

Han Xingzhi only just realized this.

The black cat, which appeared out of nowhere, scared the mummy in front of him away. The mummy ran incredibly fast, faster than a dog, let alone him. The mummy, which had once posed such a great threat to him, was now as fragile as a sheet of paper.

"Big brother, will these cats...will they keep following me?"

"Hmm." Shang Luo nodded. "I told you before that you were cursed, so they will keep following you. Hehehe, now you know how brilliant my calculations are."

"Can I have more of these curses?! Can I curse the dogs to follow me too?!"

"you sure?"

"Ah," he thought again, "I can beat a cat, but I might not be able to beat a dog. I guess I'll pass."

"Even if you don't say 'never mind,' it's no use. I can't do anything about dogs. Cats have magic in Egypt, which is why I can use the Pharaoh's authority to 'curse' you. Now do you still think I'm messing with you?"

Han Xingzhi shook his head violently: "It's just a matter of being particular about what I eat. If I had a cat watching me every single moment of every day, I wouldn't be afraid of ghosts at all!"

Black cats are believed to ward off evil spirits, a belief held true in both the Gorlos and Egypt. Having a cat by your side at all times is practically a superpower!
[This kid seems pretty easygoing. Even though he's being kept under control, if you treat it like some kind of superpower, he suddenly feels it's all worth it. He's really easy to take care of.]

"So, you'll handle the rest yourself?"

"Okay, no problem." Han Xingzhi spoke with the confidence of someone pulling out a laser cannon in a horror game. After all, with the black cat protecting him, the mummy couldn't possibly hurt him; the worst-case scenario was that the target would escape. And if he succeeded, he might be able to accumulate the rank of Thousand-Household Commander. If he could accumulate Thousand-Household Commander, then advancing to Commander wouldn't be difficult—that would be equivalent to Viscount!
"Hey, let me remind you—how does General Qi sing 'Triumphant Song'?"

Han Xingzhi patted his chest, a previously nonexistent sense of military camaraderie igniting within him:
With everyone united as one, even mountains can be shaken; with loyalty and righteousness, our spirit soars to the heavens!

My commander loves me more than my parents, yet I have violated military law and am no longer free!
With clear commands and credible rewards and punishments, we dare not linger even when facing fire and water!
Report to the Emperor above and save the common people below; slaughter all the Japanese invaders and protect our divine land!
"The last line wasn't originally 'Kill all the Japanese invaders to protect my divine land,' it was 'Kill all the Japanese invaders to seek a title of nobility.' Do you know why it was changed? Because the idea that killing Japanese invaders could lead to a title of nobility is false propaganda in our time. In the current military merit system, no matter how many Japanese invaders you kill, you won't have enough to qualify for a title of nobility; quantitative change cannot produce qualitative change."

"So even if I capture a mummy, I can't be appointed a commander of a thousand households?"

"If catching ghosts could get you promoted to a thousand-household commander, there would be countless thousand-household commanders in Laoshan and Wudang Mountain. Catching ghosts might just earn you merit points, but once you reach the thousand-household commander level, the assessment for your actual official appointment will be calculated separately."

Shang Luo had inquired about this for him before he left. He didn't want to give Han Xingzhi unrealistic hopes, so he decided to make things clear beforehand.

"So, what kind of merit can I expect in return for this?" Han Xingzhi estimated. Although this task was no longer risky for him, it would still be difficult to complete. "You should catch the mummy first. If one cat isn't enough, call a few more and have them circle around and surround it. Let me make this clear: you have to catch at least a few. We can't expect you to herd them all back like sheep while we're setting up a trap all over the city, right? I'm setting a target for you: at least three. We'll talk about merit after you catch three. If you don't catch three, you can expect me to tighten your food allowance."

After assigning Han Xingzhi a role as a forward, Shang Luo returned to the temple in Thebes. Having arranged the errands, he had more important matters to attend to.

Fu Yuanshan came in person. When the Lianshan was in the air, he descended from the sky with his own package, like a white meteor falling to earth.

"The Emperor thinks this is a good idea. He told me to bring you the portraits of our ancestors immediately so that they can pay their respects and witness the majesty of the Emperor of the Great Ming. After they have seen them, I will take them back with me. I will not leave the portraits of our ancestors with them. I will only keep the tablet of the 'Present Emperor'."

Allowing subjects to view portraits of past emperors was considered a favor. However, after this favor, the portraits were not kept there. After all, even feudal lords dared not arbitrarily claim the emperor as their ancestor, let alone leave the ancestral tablets of past emperors in this foreign land. If something were to happen in the future and the ancestral tablets were defiled, the crime would be immense. However, considering that a tablet would eventually need to remain there to maintain order, it was sufficient to keep the tablet of the "current emperor," that is, Zhu Xianxi himself. In case of any unforeseen circumstances, his tablet could temporarily bear the brunt, so as not to dishonor the ancestors. This was also a way of "bearing the stain of the nation."

After all, the situation in Egypt was still unclear. Although an agreement to cooperate with Rome had been reached, the Romans' control over the region remained uncertain.

"A portrait of the emperor?" Victoria followed behind. "I've never seen one before. Were there portraits of emperors throughout history?"

"Then you must have never seen them before; these portraits are all in the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

Why didn't you take me on a tour before?

"The Imperial Ancestral Temple is not a tourist attraction. Elementary school students only visit the Temple of Emperors of Past Dynasties on their spring outings. They don't visit the Imperial Ancestral Temple. In our area, only court officials occasionally go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to pay their respects."

"Then let me see it quickly!"

"Can she see?" Shangluo asked Fu Yuanshan.

"Sure, the Emperor said he brought them here so that those who haven't seen them before could see them. Since Your Excellency Victoria hasn't seen them before, please take a look as well. These portraits are quite large. The portraits of the Emperor shouldn't obstruct each other, so please make room for me."

Inside the temple of the god Ammon, Fu Yuanshan took out his pocket and was about to display the portrait—however, he noticed the statue of the god Ammon out of the corner of his eye, so he casually waved a black cloth, covering the statue of Ammon from top to bottom, preventing the god's face from being seen.

Then, first, he took out the portraits of the two ancestors of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu. After arranging the two portraits, he bowed deeply, and then went to arrange the portraits of the previous emperors.

"Wow, no wonder he was the one who founded the Ming Dynasty. He really looks amazing."

Victoria's vocabulary was rather limited. But Shangluo was speechless.

(End of this chapter)