Pythagoras

  Pythagoras

  "Humbert interrupted, 'Sir, do you want to hear his excuses? Punish this slave who has broken the law at once. It is necessary to maintain your dignity as a master; otherwise, more and more slaves will follow his example and disobey you.'"

  Before Siao could speak, Amun raised his head and rebuked: "You shut up, listen to Iso finish the story." His voice had a strange majesty power, rushing into the brain, making Humbert almost unable to stand still, as if he was suppressed and couldn't say another word. And Iso began to tell the story of Pythagoras...

  Pythagoras was a mysterious sage who was the son of a great nobleman and extremely wealthy, yet led his disciples to establish a community that collectively lived an ascetic life. He was also a highly skilled physician, said to be a great magician, and even rumored to have seen divine beings and understood their secrets.

  Pythagoras was once out buying provisions for the group, and since there were a lot of them, he paid with one obol. When he opened his purse, he accidentally dropped the obol on the ground, and a slave next to him picked it up. At that moment, the owner of the shop shouted loudly: "Pythagoras, look at your slave! His hand has touched the obol; it should be cut off. I have a knife here that you can borrow."

  Pythagoras took the sacred stone and scolded the slave, "Copernicus, how careless you are again to touch the sacred stone. With this finger, how many do you owe me now?"

  The slave named Copernicus replied: "Respected Mr. Pythagoras, including this time, I already owe you thirteen fingers."

  Pythagoras waved his hand and ordered his followers: "Put it on record that Copernicus already owes me thirteen fingers."

  The shop owner asked in surprise: "Pythagoras, aren't you going to cut off his fingers?"

  Pythagoras replied calmly, "According to the law, his fingers should be cut off, but also according to the law, he is my property and has not had any disputes with others. I can decide when to cut off his fingers. Didn't you see that I have already made a note of it?"

  "But how can one person have thirteen fingers? He only has ten fingers, and you've already recorded thirteen."

  Pythagoras sneered, "Ignorant and brutal man, you are greedy for the cruel treatment of others, this greed has blinded you to the truth. Mathematically speaking, there is nothing that cannot be done, he has ten fingers, cut off thirteen, leaving minus three, this is just a negative number... Don't understand? Copernicus, come and explain."

  "Listen, shopkeeper," Copernicus explained. "If you have ten gold coins and buy something worth thirteen gold coins, how many coins do you have left? Not a single one; mathematically speaking, it's minus three coins, got it?"

  Aesop's story ended here, the last sentence was: "Do you understand?" I don't know if others understood or not, but Ammon did and couldn't help but smile. Xie Ou blinked his eyes for a long time, suddenly enlightened: "Remember, Aesop owes me one finger, I can decide when to cut it off."

  According to the provisions of two decrees, this was merely a simple evasion technique for masters to free their slaves, but the first person who came up with it was a genius, and those who followed were mediocre. Aesop bowed and said: "Thank you for your kindness, sir. I am your property, and my fingers are also yours."

  The shopkeeper's face turned a bit darker, wanting to refute but couldn't say anything. Armon had already received his pay, and Siao handled the aftermath and was preparing to return to Dreamflight. The two parted ways here. As they left, Armon saw Iso outside hailing a carriage, walked over and greeted him alone, thanking him for accompanying him on this trip to the city-state for the past two days. Finally, he asked: "Iso, that story you told earlier, claiming it was an experience from your early years, did you really meet that wise man Pythagoras from afar?"

  Aesop bowed respectfully and said: "Yes, I really saw it when I was still young and not a slave of Xeo."

  Ammon: "You say Pythagoras has seen a divine being and is even conversant with the divine secrets, is this also true?"

  "These I do not know, they are just rumors of the people. The wise man is very mysterious, with many followers around him, and some say he is the son of a god, but rumors are just rumors."

  "Ah, then where is this person now?"

  He pointed north with his hand: "From here, go to the seaside, cross the ocean to the north, and after seeing the coastline, head west. There is a peninsula surrounded by islands, where there are many city-states, called the Hittite United Kingdom. The last time I heard from Pythagoras, he led his disciples to establish a secluded villa on the outskirts of Croton City-State, which was called the Pythagorean Villa."

  Amon made a mental note of this place, and if he had the chance to travel far in the future, he would go there to ask Pythagoras for advice. He also remembered that Aristotle, who had helped him out of trouble in Duketown, was from the Kingdom of Hinton, which was really worth visiting.

  He thanked Aesop. Aesop asked in return: "Benefactor, why thank me? I only asked you a question."

  Amun: "Because what you said might be very useful for me."

  Aesop said with some curiosity: "Are you interested in the secrets of the gods? If so, I have a suggestion."

  "Ah Mon was somewhat surprised: "Oh, what advice do you have?""

  Aesop pointed to the top of the distant temple and said, "These are all empty rumors, including the gods themselves are also rumors. If so, you might as well go ask the gods themselves if they really appear in the world... In legend, the gods will also walk among humans in various identities, and even stand in front of you to talk to you."

  Amun smiled and suddenly remembered Mu Yun's transformation into the shepherdess slave Yin Nana. He smiled at Iso and said, "Thank you for your suggestion, I will consider it."

  Aesop bowed deeply and said, "It was you who saved my life, and just now it was also you who gave me the opportunity to speak for myself. I haven't even had a chance to express my gratitude yet, so why are you saying thank you to me?"

  Amon: "The first time I saw you, you were on a horse carriage and shouted at me to get down quickly. If I was just an ordinary passerby, your shout would have saved my life. In that case, it wouldn't be me saving you, but you saving me. At the moment when your own life was in danger, you didn't forget to save the life of an innocent passerby, so I want to say thank you... Eso, can I ask you another question? What is your greatest wish deep down in your heart?"

  Aesop answered with two words: "Freedom."

  Amon: "Freedom, are you trying to get rid of your slave status?"

  Aesop: "It's not entirely like that, although I am a slave, when I gaze up at the starry sky, my soul can spread its wings and fly freely... Unfettered by material things, unbound by desires, transcending existence is the freedom I yearn for."

  It never occurred to him that a slave would utter such words, Ahmon was slightly taken aback and smiled, saying: "The kind of freedom you're talking about is probably only something the gods can appreciate. I must thank you again... Isso, take care of yourself, perhaps one day you'll reach the other shore of freedom."

  Ammon had thought of buying the slave, perhaps he could find a way to give him the status of a free man, but on the one hand, Hsiou was unlikely to sell, and on the other hand, it was indeed inconvenient for him to travel with a slave in Egypt, so he temporarily dispelled the idea and waited for another opportunity.

  After bidding farewell, Armon returned to the inn to pack his belongings and headed straight to Lord Rodick's mansion in the eastern part of the city. He stood before the grand entrance of the castle lord's residence, puffed out his chest and said to the upright gatekeeper: "I have come from afar with an important matter to see Lord Rodick."

  Four men who looked like gatekeepers stood in front of the city gate, and there were also six guards with bright armor beside them. Amun didn't know whom to ask, so he asked the one closest to him. The man lowered his head and glanced at Amun: "If you have something to do, go to the various departments of the city-state to apply for processing. Don't linger here casually. Do all things come to see Lord City Master? Can the master still do other things?"

  This is the truth, there's something to be done in a certain place, if everyone comes directly to ask Lord Dick, this city lord will either be annoyed to death or busy to death. Amun explained politely: "My matter is both public and private, the various departments of the city-state can't handle it, I must see Lord Dick himself, it's very important, please trouble yourself to inform him."

  Three other guards also walked over and said, "Foreigner, do you know the rules? Can you just see the lord of the city whenever you want? Even if Lord Dick is at home, you need to report to the gatehouse and wait. If you really have something important, we can't delay it either. Please explain clearly and show your credentials."

  Another person whispered: "We can let you wait outside the door, and after the master returns to the house, let the second steward of the gatehouse announce your presence. If the master is willing to see you, he will call you in... but if it's a small matter that disturbs the master's rest, the master will scold us, so we have to be careful, right?"

  Amon had no experience in seeking an audience with someone as important as Lord Dick, and it wasn't like he could just show up and expect to be seen. If he was a noble guest, he would typically be asked to wait in a special reception room before being received by Lord Dick. Ordinary strangers who came to visit would have to wait outside the door if they really had business, and let the doorman announce them. If they disturbed Lord Dick's rest for no reason, the doorman would also be scolded, so the man hinted that Amon should give him a bribe, and he would make an exception.

  He didn't know if Amun understood or not, but after the man finished speaking and was about to stretch out his hand, he found that Amun had already turned around and left. He couldn't help but curse behind him: "Where did this wild kid come from? Running to the city lord's door to make trouble, looking for fun?"

  Amon didn't hesitate to bribe the gatekeeper, but what happened in front of the mansion changed his mind. The mansion was deep and once he went in, the consequences would be unpredictable. He also dared not confirm whether Roddick was trustworthy or not, and Nero's relics were quite valuable. If the city lord had other ideas, it would be troublesome to detain him along with the items on the spot.

  It wasn't that he hadn't suffered this kind of loss before, and several times he had been able to get out of it unexpectedly, but in Lord Dick's mansion, with his skills, there was no way to escape.

  Amun turned and went to the Temple of Horus in the central city-state, he had already figured it out these days that as the chief priest of Cape City-State, Roddick would host a sacrificial ceremony every month, citizens of the city-state could visit and worship outside the temple hall, today was just in time. He originally wanted to wait for Roddick at the gate of the mansion, now he decided to go directly to the temple square, take out Nero's staff in public.

  When Ahmon arrived at the square, the sacrificial ceremony had already ended. Several priests stood on the steps, and a crowd of people was pouring out from between the tall stone pillars in front of the temple gate. Lord Dick rode up in his carriage with attendants, preceded by an escort, and the crowd automatically parted to let the lord through, as he was already planning to return to his mansion.

  Just then, a voice shouted: "Lord Roddick, I have come to return the staff and belongings of the great magician Niro, according to the last will of the former High Priest of Cape City State, Lord Niro."

  The voice was so loud that even the several priests standing on the high steps heard it, and everyone was shocked and looked curiously in the direction of the sound. Some people even whispered to the onlookers around them: "Who is Nero?"

  Someone else explained: "Nero was the chief deity of the city-state over thirty years ago, a great divine magician, who is said to have died for the country. ... What's going on, after so many years have passed, someone actually returned Lord Nero's staff"

  Before Lord Dick's escort ceremony, there was a young man standing still in the crowd, holding a baton high. He was the one who shouted earlier. Someone stopped the convoy and raised the baton, and the guards drew their weapons on guard. If Amun hadn't shouted that earlier, the guards would have taken him down by now.

  Lord Dick's carriage stopped, and he got out with two people beside him, both of whom Amun had seen before - Secretary Faylor-Judas and Staff Officer Aristotle. As soon as Amun saw Lord Dick come out, he knelt down on one knee in a gesture of courtesy, holding his staff high above his head with both hands, making an offering gesture, and the guards finally let out a sigh of relief.

  The crowd parted, forming a circular clearing that surrounded Roddick's convoy and Armon in the middle. Several high-ranking temple priests also hurried over, running quickly.

  Aristotle caught sight of Armand and felt a sense of familiarity, yet he couldn't quite place where they had met before. It wasn't that the young sage had a bad memory; it was just that Armand's appearance had changed so much over the past two years. His features still retained some of their former sharpness, but he had grown into a completely different person.

  Rodick was about to walk over and ask, but Faylor-Judas pulled him back and said: "Be careful, sir, first figure out the situation, what if it's an assassin?"

  Aristotle, with the hem of his long robe fluttering behind him, parted the guards and walked up to Ahmon, asking with a pleasant smile: "Young man, what is it that you hold your staff high in front of the Lord's carriage for?"

  "Amon replied loudly: 'I've already said that earlier, according to the will of the former chief deity officer and great magician Niro, I came to return his staff and belongings. It's said that this staff still contains information left behind by Lord Niro, please have Lord Dick verify it.'"

  Aristotle took the staff and asked: "What is your name? How did you get Emperor Nero's relic?"

  "I am Armon, a hunter from the depths of the mountains. While chasing prey, I discovered writing in a cave left by Niroku, the former chief deity of the Cape City-State. He hoped that someone would find his legacy and return it to Cape City-State, returning the staff to the temple and the relics to his family, and promised a reward. I have traveled thousands of miles across mountains and deserts to fulfill the deceased's last wish."

  "Amun? You called Amun?" Aristotle hesitated for a moment, as if recalling something, but said no more, turned around and walked back with his staff.

  Several temple priests rushed down the long stairs to Roddick's side, an elderly priest looked at Aristotle's staff in his hand, his excited voice trembling: "This... this... is really the staff of the Lord of Cape City 30 years ago, Emperor Nero took it away and never came back, I didn't expect to see it again"

  This staff has a handle made of yellowish-brown wood, which is very sturdy and durable, with no signs of decay. At the top is inlaid a large earth pupil, also unknown what craftsmanship was used to make it, this large earth pupil seems to grow naturally in the wood grain wrapped around, only exposing a few sharp corners.

  The crowd of onlookers all saw it clearly, and anyone who had seen it before could recognize it at a glance - it was indeed the very sceptre that Nero had once used. This outsider who had come from afar had not lied after all. Roddick took the sceptre, his hands trembling with excitement - this sceptre was an object of the Temple of the Peninsula City-State, and only the successive High Priests were qualified to possess it.

  After Nero disappeared, the sceptre was also lost. The next high priest was Roddick's father, Old Dick. A few years ago, Roddick succeeded as the high priest again. Although another craftsman had made a new sceptre, it was not as precious as this one that had been passed down through generations. Who would have thought that it has returned today? Is it a blessing from the gods?

  It was brought back to Cape Town by a stranger from afar, Roddy Dick handed it over in front of the crowd, right in front of this temple gate, its symbolic significance is extremely important

  Lord Dick, who had been in office for a long time, reacted quickly and immediately raised his hands above his head with the staff, turned around and knelt down towards the temple, saying: "Thank you Horus, thank you great gods, under your guidance, the staff of the generations of chief priests has returned to the city-state"

  The lord of the castle knelt down, and everyone followed suit, bowing their heads in unison. In an instant, the vast square was empty of anyone standing. The people were all thanking the gods, with the voices of tens of thousands merging together like a mighty roar. Seeing this scene, Ah Mon knew he had made the right decision, that returning the staff in public was the best choice.

  But hearing the crowd's voices thanking the gods, he couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous. Were these people thanking Horus or thanking him Amun?