After bidding farewell to André, Langdon faced three trivial questions at Teabing's front door before they heard a voice welcoming them. "Welcome to Château Villette, Professor Langdon."
As they entered Château Villette, William saw an elderly man with white hair and a cane standing on the staircase of the mansion. "Welcome to Château Villette. I am Sir Leigh Teabing, the owner of this estate," he said warmly.
Langdon greeted him, "It's been a while, Teabing. Let me introduce you. This is Sophia, and this is William Devonshire."
"Sophia, William, this is Sir Leigh Teabing."
Teabing, leaning on his cane, shook hands with Sophia and then turned to William. "The famous Devonshire. William, I met you when you were just five or six years old. I often had afternoon tea with Henry in England."
Hearing that Teabing was close with his grandfather, William eagerly shook Teabing's hand. "Hello, Sir. It's a pleasure to meet you."
After a smile at William, Teabing addressed Langdon, "Earl Grey?"
Langdon nodded with a smile, "With a slice of lemon, please."
"Okay, let's go to the dining room. We'll have a drink and something to eat. It's almost dawn."
In the dining room, after they had enjoyed their tea, Teabing spoke, "You must have a very important reason for visiting me so late. What can this old cripple do to help you?"
Langdon replied, "We came to ask about the Priory of Sion."
"The guardians or the cryptex war?" Teabing inquired.
Langdon hesitated, unsure whether to disclose the day's events to Teabing. After a moment's pause, seeing Teabing waiting curiously, he decided to keep it vague. "I'm sorry, Teabing. We came abruptly because we encountered some incomprehensible events. We need your help to find clues and uncover some secrets."
"You? Incomprehensible events?" Teabing quickly caught on. "It seems you've found something without me, Langdon. We're friends, and you know I've been searching for the Priory of Sion. What you did was not very friendly."
"Alright, my mistake. But I'm here now, aren't I?" Langdon admitted.
"Fine. I'll accept your apology this time. But remember, next time you have a chance to uncover secrets, call me. Now, about the Priory of Sion," Teabing pondered for a moment before continuing:
"The Priory of Sion, formerly known as the Order of Zion and the Knights Templar, was founded by the surviving members of the Templars after their massacre over six hundred years ago. Its members are mainly scholars, professors, artists, and some nobles." Teabing glanced at William's ring. "For example, the Devonshire family. They have been Priory members for generations."
Teabing then turned to William and asked, "William, why is the Devonshire family, which has never participated in any Priory activities, now involved?"
"I don't know," William replied. "I'm here looking for answers. I found some letters in my grandfather's belongings. He directed me to seek out Professor Saunière, but Saunière was killed before he could tell me anything."
"Alright, it seems your grandfather took his secrets to the grave to protect you. The Priory usually consists of four people: one Grand Master and three Masters. They are the main guardians of the Holy Grail, and only these four know its location."
Teabing looked at his butler and said, "Thank you, Remy. You may leave us now."
After Remy exited, Teabing continued, "The Priory of Sion has members all over the world."
Langdon added, "Philippe de Chérisey declared in 1967 that it was all a hoax."
"Haha, that's what the Priory wanted you to believe. In modern society, many ancient and secretive organizations use every possible means to deceive the public to protect their secrets. Langdon, you can't be fooled by these tricks," Teabing chuckled, teasing Langdon. After a moment's laughter, he continued, "The Priory has one mission: to protect the greatest secret in history."
Sophia smiled and said, "The source of the divine power on earth?" They had heard Langdon explain this before.
Teabing immediately corrected, "No, that's a misconception. The Priory's real duty is to protect the source of the Church's power in this world—faith. Not the divine."
William asked, "What does this have to do with the Holy Grail?"
Teabing replied, "Everything. To understand the Grail, William, you need to understand the Bible of Light. The Bible of Light wasn't faxed to us from Heaven by the God of Light. Our current understanding of it originates from the pagan emperor Constantine."
"Constantine? How is that possible? I've always known Constantine as a follower of the Light," Sophia interjected.
"No, he was a lifelong pagan. He was baptized on his deathbed. From ancient times, his people worshipped nature gods and goddesses. But during his reign, there were increasing conflicts between the followers of the Light and those who worshipped nature gods and goddesses."
"Constantine was a pragmatist. As tensions rose, he decided to unify all religions in his empire under one banner—the Light. At that time, followers of the Light were the majority. To prevent his empire from falling apart, he convened the famous Council of Nicaea."
Teabing paused, giving William and Sophia time to absorb this before continuing, "At this council, the different factions of the Light engaged in fierce debates and votes. They decided on which Gospels to include, the date of Easter, the sacraments, and the divinity of the God of Light."
"I don't understand. Why did they need to establish the God of Light's divinity?" Sophia asked.
"My dear Sophia, until that council, the God of Light was seen by many as a great prophet and an influential man. He was still considered a mortal, a man who would die," Teabing explained.
Langdon elaborated, "Some followers believed he was a man, while others believed he was divine."
"Isn't the God of Light the son of the Creator God?" William inquired.
"Haha, he wasn't even considered a grandchild of a god," Teabing mocked.
William laughed, "So, the divinity of the God of Light was established by a vote?"
"Exactly, William. You must remember, in that era, gods were everywhere. Constantine infused divinity into the God of Light, making him manifest on earth and resurrect. He turned the God of Light into a deity, and under Constantine's rule, with only one recognized religion, the followers of the Light were able to overcome all other religions and gods," Teabing explained.
Langdon countered, "No, I don't agree with you. I believe Constantine didn't create the divinity of the God of Light. He merely recognized, through law, a faith already widely accepted by the people."
"That's just semantics," Teabing responded dismissively.
"No, it's not. You're distorting facts to support your theory," Langdon argued.
"But the fact remains that to many followers, the God of Light was sometimes seen as divine and sometimes as human," Teabing retorted angrily.
"More followers believed he was divine," Langdon insisted.
Teabing, frustrated, exclaimed, "Nonsense. They even issued formal decrees to establish his divinity. And it's ridiculous that there's even ambiguity within the Church about the Council of Nicaea."
Seeing the heated exchange, Sophia thought of her grandfather's death and intervened, "How many people have died over the past thousands of years because of the debate over whether the God of Light is a god or a man?"
Teabing and Langdon fell silent for a moment. Then Teabing said, "The existence of only one supreme god has led people to kill in the name of that god."
Teabing's words left everyone speechless, for history had indeed proven him right.
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