A: 7, (noon) horse.
The order of the zodiac is: 1, mouse, 2, ugly cow, 3, tiger, 4, rabbit, 5, dragon, 6, snake, 7, horse, 8 and sheep.
Mysterious explanation:
Three long and two short phases are reversed: "Three long and two short phases" refers to the zodiac sign of "8, (not) sheep", so "phase reversal" means counting backwards, which is the zodiac sign of 7.
Twenty-one is done five times: "two plus five" means equal share, which is the number of zodiac signs in the middle of 12, that is, "6, (4) snake" or "7, (noon) horse".
To sum up, the number of zodiac signs is 7.