Seeing the serious atmosphere, Teabing picked up his cane and smiled at William and Sophia. "Let me show you what the real Holy Grail is."
Everyone followed Teabing to the study, which he had converted into a research room. Teabing said to William and Sophia, "You must have seen the painting 'The Last Supper'."
Such a famous painting was indeed familiar to them, so they both nodded.
"Come, William, Sophia, look at the painting, and then close your eyes."
They did as instructed.
"3, 2, 1, open your eyes. Can you find the cup in the painting?"
William looked carefully but couldn't find the cup, looking puzzled at Teabing.
Teabing used his cane to draw a V shape on the screen, next to Jesus' right hand. "This is the Holy Grail. The V shape represents the feminine. If you overlap the figures of the Light God and the person to his right in the painting, you'll see they perfectly align, as if they are merged together. It's amazing, isn't it? The person to the right of the Light God is leaning on Jesus' shoulder, so close, right?"
William and Sophia nodded.
"Because that person is a woman, she is Mary Magdalene, the wife of the Light God," Teabing said.
"That prostitute," William said.
Teabing got angry at William's words. "NO, she was not a prostitute. That was a smear by the Church of Light in 591 AD. It's really pitiful."
Langdon said helplessly, "That's a boring rumor with no evidence."
Teabing glared at Langdon. "You know there is plenty of evidence, but you choose to ignore it. I have enough evidence here to show that Mary Magdalene was of royal blood. She was pregnant with the Light God's child before he died. She gave birth to a girl named Sarah while hiding."
William was shocked. "So, this is the reason the Church of Light has been trying to find and destroy the Holy Grail for thousands of years. Because of Sarah's existence, any non-believer who connects with Sarah can directly sense the Light God? If this truth were known, the Church's authority would be shattered. The throne of the Light God should have been inherited by Sarah, not the Church."
"Exactly, William," Teabing said. "Those who hold the key to heaven rule the world of faith. This is why the Church of Light hunted witches. They published the deadliest book in human history, 'The Hammer of Witches.'
"At that time, the Church of Light believed women posed a threat to them. They searched all over Europe for women with independent thoughts. Over a 300-year period, 50,000 women were recorded to have been burned alive, and the number of unrecorded victims is unknown. It is rumored that the number could reach millions. Just imagine, as William said, if the throne of the Light God were inherited by his daughter, this is why they went on a killing spree. It's the biggest cover-up in history.
"This is also the secret that the Priory has been protecting for two thousand years. They are the guardians of royal descendants, protectors of the truth, responsible for safeguarding Mary Magdalene and her descendants with the Light God."
At this moment, the intercom on the desk rang. Teabing walked to the intercom, and upon connecting, he heard his butler Remy say, "Sir, I saw on the news that Langdon and Sophia are wanted by the police. Sir, be careful. They didn't come to you with good intentions."
After hearing this, Teabing angrily said to Langdon, "You didn't tell me the truth. The news shows you are wanted for the murder of four people. Langdon, you scoundrel, you used my interest in the Holy Grail to hide in my house. Get out of my house immediately, you murderer, or I'll call the police." He then reached for the phone to call the police.
Professor Langdon quickly said, "Teabing, listen, Sophia is Jacques Saunière's granddaughter."
Teabing stopped at Langdon's words.
Langdon continued, "You are an expert on the Priory. I think you should know who its members are, just like you know William's family has always been members of the Priory. Jacques Saunière should also be on your list, right?
"Teabing, tell me, wasn't Jacques Saunière the Grand Master of the Priory? Four people have been murdered, and it matches the number of Priory Grand Masters. Maybe their identities were exposed, and all the Grand Masters were killed. Suppose you were the Grand Master. In your last moments, who would you entrust the secret to? It would be someone you trust the most, someone not from the Priory, someone you have been grooming, like Sophia."
Teabing said, "Langdon, your wild tale is quite convincing."
"Perhaps you should see this, Teabing," Langdon took out a wooden box.
Teabing looked at the box in Langdon's hand with a look of disbelief, his voice trembling, "This is impossible. Is this the keystone?" He walked to Langdon and took the keystone, sitting down at the desk.
At that moment, William heard someone coming up the stairs, quietly but with a gun. He quickly scanned with his mental power and sensed the armed intruder.
William immediately moved behind the door of the study, taking out a Glock 17 and attaching a silencer, waiting silently.
The three people in the room were startled by William's sudden movement, looking at him in surprise.
He gestured for them to be quiet. Soon, a white-haired man entered with a gun aimed at Langdon and the others. He punched Langdon in the stomach and pointed the gun at Sophia and Teabing. "Give it to me."
Teabing asked with a puzzled look, "Give what?" Seeing the white-haired man's expression turn fierce, he quickly said, "Perhaps we can make a deal."
"Give me the keystone," the white-haired man pointed the gun at Teabing. Teabing shouted, "William!"
Hiding behind the door, William shot the gun out of the white-haired man's hand, the force causing his wrist to hurt, making him groan in pain. William stepped forward and said, "Don't move."
The white-haired man glared at William, who was pointing a gun at him.
William felt the threat in the man's eyes. "Teabing, according to castle law, can I now kill this armed intruder?" William asked.
"NO, William, this man might still be useful to us, and you have already subdued him, there's no need to kill him," Langdon quickly said, seeing William's intent to kill.
William looked at Langdon, seeing his nervous expression, and said indifferently, "This guy might be the murderer of Jacques Saunière and the other three Priory Grand Masters. Am I right, white-haired man?"
The white-haired man looked at the ring on William's hand and said viciously, "Priory remnants, every breath you take is a sin. You can't escape. The angels of the Light God will find and hunt you, even your family."
Hearing the threat to his family, William's anger burst uncontrollably. He stepped forward and punched the man's kidney area, causing him to fall to the ground, unable to resist.
"Hahaha. Angels? You mean yourself? The Light God doesn't allow murderers to enter heaven. Those with blood on their hands only go to hell.
"You shouldn't have threatened my family. The Devonshire family never shows mercy to enemies, so go to hell," William said, his face twisted with rage, grabbing the white-haired man's head, ready to snap his neck.
"NO, William, NO, it's a crime. Hand him over to the police," Sophia shouted.
"Sophia, we can't hand him to the police. If we don't kill him today, we'll all be hunted by him and his accomplices. You heard him; they'll even go after our families. These people are already mad. Teabing, do you think I should execute castle law? I can stage the scene as if I had no choice but to kill this guy to save you," William said to Teabing.
"Langdon, he's been subdued by William. We should hand him over to the police," Langdon quickly said, seeing Teabing wavering.
Damn, there's always someone to play the saint, William thought, shaking his head helplessly. Now was not the time; with Langdon and Sophia opposing, he couldn't kill in front of them without facing trouble with the police.
Grabbing the white-haired man, William dislocated his arms, causing him to sweat in pain. William wouldn't let him go. He planned to deal with him outside Teabing's castle later.
William found some tape in the study, gagged the man's mouth, bound his hands and feet, then threw him to the far side of the study.
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