"Hiss." The three took a sharp breath. It was truly well-hidden. If William hadn't known those few lines, no one would have thought there was another secret room within this one.
William led the way down into the secret room. As soon as he descended, William saw a vase on the ground to the left of the secret room, with a red rose in it.
This vase was quite beautiful.
Langdon and Sophie also followed William and saw the vase and the red rose. "She was here once. This is just like 600 years ago when they searched for the Holy Grail; a rose would be left wherever the Holy Grail had rested. God, we were so close! Was the Holy Grail found by someone, or hidden elsewhere by the Priory?" Langdon finished, looking at William and asking.
William shook his head. "I don't know."
"Then how did you know there was this secret room within the one above? A normal person, seeing so many Da Vinci paintings in the upper secret room, wouldn't have ignored them like you did, William. What clues do you know? Tell us, perhaps we can help you unravel it," Langdon said.
William ignored Langdon's words. He wouldn't tell anyone those four lines now. Even if he hadn't found it, he could still search slowly. The line "Beneath ancient Rosslyn, the Holy Grail awaits" had been deciphered; the Holy Grail truly had rested beneath Rosslyn Chapel.
"Resting with the Master's masterpiece, dreaming in peace, gazing at the stars"—this line was also deciphered. There were Da Vinci oil paintings in the secret room, and Da Vinci was definitely a master. There was indeed a star map on the ceiling of the secret room. But the line "guarded by sword and chalice" William had not yet deciphered. He hadn't found anything matching this line in Rosslyn Chapel or the secret room. What did this line mean? William knew that as long as he deciphered this line, he would find the Holy Grail, and find Mary Magdalene.
William thought for a long time, then looked at this secret room, walked to the filing cabinet in the room, picked up some documents, and began to read them. As he read, a look of surprise appeared on William's face. He asked Sophie, "Sophie, what was the reason your relationship with your grandfather, Jacques Saunière, soured, causing you to stop contacting and talking to each other?"
"Why are you asking that?" Sophie asked, puzzled. Seeing that William just looked at her without speaking, she reluctantly said, "When I was little, I wanted to find out the cause of my parents' and brother's car accident, but Saunière always forbade me to look. I didn't listen and secretly searched in his study.
Once, after he found out, we had a big argument, and he ended up locking me up, not allowing me to leave the house. Another time, on a rainy night, I discovered Saunière holding a gathering with many people wearing hooded robes and golden masks. Saunière was doing *that* kind of thing with a woman on the altar in the middle. I was terrified. After that, we hardly spoke, and after college, I moved out to live alone, barely exchanging a word with him in a year," Sophie said.
Langdon exclaimed after hearing this, "My God, I understand! That ceremony might be the ritual the Priory has been performing for over a thousand years to communicate with the God of Light."
Sophie asked in surprise, "How could there be such a ritual? That ritual was disgusting, and a group of people were even watching. Just thinking about it makes me sick."
"Sophie, that ritual isn't as bad as you think. I've seen some records in various documents. Both parties must be willing. Only with willingness can there be sincerity. According to Teabing, Mary Magdalene gave birth to a daughter for the God of Light, and this girl is both royal and the last sacred descendant in the world.
Therefore, some members of the Priory would believe that through such rituals, they can communicate with the God of Light. Such rituals are very common in history, with records across all continents worldwide. Persia, Rome, and ancient India all have such records. No wonder the Church of Light has always considered them heretics; the Church of Light is afraid that heretics will contact the God of Light through such rituals."
Sophie fell silent after hearing Langdon's words. She had always thought her grandfather, Saunière, was a pervert, and the scene she witnessed had always been unacceptable to her.
"William, does any of this have to do with Sophie?" Langdon asked.
William picked up a few old newspapers and showed them to Sophie and Langdon, pointing to the front page of one and saying, "Sophie, this is your family photo, isn't it?"
Sophie looked at the photo in the newspaper, her face filled with sadness, and said, "Yes, these are my parents and my little brother. They died in a car accident. Only I survived. Saunière found me and took me to his house."
"But the newspaper says otherwise. Look here," William said, pointing to a newspaper at Sophie. "The newspaper reports a family involved in a car accident in England: two adults, a six-year-old boy, and a four-year-old girl."
"But aren't I still alive and well?" Sophie asked in surprise.
"Sophie, perhaps your surname isn't Saunière at all. Jacques Saunière might not even be your grandfather; he was just your adoptive father," William said.
"That's impossible! Saunière is my grandfather. He carried me out of the car after the accident and took me to the hospital. I lived with him for 28 years; how could he not be my grandfather?" Sophie asked, disbelievingly.
"Do you have any memories of yourself and Jacques Saunière before you were four, Sophie?"
This question immediately plunged Sophie into deep thought. It seemed she genuinely had no memories of Jacques Saunière before she was four. "Maybe I was too young then to remember," she mused.
"No, Sophie, your name isn't Sophie Saunière. It's Sophie Saint-Clair, from the oldest royal family in France. We were all wrong. Jacques Saunière wasn't protecting some Holy Grail; he was protecting you, Princess Sophie.
You are the last descendant of the God of Light in this world. The car accident you had when you were little might not have been an accident at all. The Priory of Sion discovered something, and before they could notify you, the accident happened. In the end, they could only conceal your identity and make it seem like you had died.
Raised by the Grand Master of the Priory, Sophie, you are the secret. The Priory has always been protecting you, because only your existence can prove that Mary, in the Holy Grail, had descendants."
"That's impossible, that's impossible!" Sophie was stimulated by William's words, clutching her head and slumping against a pillar.
After reading the information, Langdon said with a serious expression, "I'm sorry, Sophie, I'm afraid this is true. The only question is, where is the Holy Grail?" He then looked at William.
William shook his head. "With the deaths of Jacques Saunière and the other three elders, I'm afraid no one in this world knows where the Holy Grail is anymore. Actually, it's better that no one knows where she is. The current Vatican is not the same as it was hundreds or thousands of years ago.
It no longer holds secular power, only guiding believers toward good. People no longer need the Holy Grail to restrain the Church of Light. Isn't it better for her to rest peacefully in some corner of the world?"
Langdon agreed, saying, "Exactly. This way, there won't be any trouble. A collapse of faith is no laughing matter; it wouldn't do us any good."
"Let's go, there's no need to stay here anymore," William said.
Sophie and Langdon nodded. However, as William left, under the scornful gazes of Sophie and Langdon, he shamelessly took the vase that had been placed where the Holy Grail was.
As he took it, he said to Sophie and Langdon, "This vase must be an antique. I need to take it home and hide it carefully."
Langdon looked at William's money-grubbing appearance and covered his forehead, speechless. He didn't have the heart to shatter William's beautiful dream. In his opinion, this vase was not an antique at all; it was probably only a dozen years old at most.
Never mind, Langdon secretly chuckled to himself, imagining William's reaction when he found out the vase was just a modern replica. It wouldn't be bad to let William make a fool of himself.
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