William clapped his hands and said with a chuckle, "Alright gentlemen, no one will disturb us now. Please continue."
The three of them breathed a sigh of relief when William didn't kill the man. Teabing smiled at William, "William, you truly are Henry's grandson. Decisive and clean in your actions. Most importantly, your skills are far better than Henry's, haha."
"Thank you for the compliment, Sir," William replied, reverting to his polite demeanor, which left Langdon and Sophie wide-eyed. They couldn't believe that William, who had always been a gentleman in front of them, had just nearly twisted someone's neck.
He could casually dislocate someone's arms, and his apparent disregard for human life sent shivers down their spines.
Seeing that Langdon and Sophie were now afraid of him, William smiled at them and said, "Don't worry, Professor, Sophie, I only act that way towards enemies. I promise I won't harm you."
"Alright," Professor Langdon twisted his mouth. Sophie, however, looked at the white-haired man on the sofa with conflicting emotions. She now knew that this was the man who had murdered her grandfather. Part of her wanted him dead, while another part wanted to hand him over to the police, as Sophie herself was a police officer.
Teabing, seeing that everyone had lost interest, exclaimed loudly, "Incredible! This thing actually exists! I've studied it my whole life and was about to give up, but I never expected to see it—the relic beneath the rose—just as I'm nearing death!"
Upon hearing Teabing's words, Langdon and Sophie's attention also turned to the cryptex in Teabing's hand. Both were eager to hear what Teabing would say.
William, meanwhile, picked up the wooden box containing the cryptex and began examining it. He had already inspected the cryptex, even scanning it with his mental power. Although he could sense the paper scroll inside, the scroll was rolled up, and the overlapping words made it impossible for him to perceive them clearly.
He meticulously scanned the wooden box with his mental power and discovered that there were words beneath the metal rose on the box. He quietly walked to a nearby table, picked up a pencil, and pressed it. The metal plate popped off. Picking up the metal plate, he saw some text written on it.
Upon closer inspection, he realized the words were written in reverse. William knew that to read such reversed text, one needed to look at it through glass to understand it.
Without alarming Langdon and the other two who were discussing nearby, he found a glass mirror. Looking into the mirror, William saw the reflection: 'The London knight, buried by the Pope after death, whose life's achievements provoked the Holy See's unbearable wrath. The sacred orb should rest upon the hero's tomb, and the pregnant princess shall endure forever.'
William suddenly found the sentence very familiar. After thinking for a moment, he immediately understood, cursing inwardly, "Damn it, isn't this one of the three paragraphs written in that Oxford document at his house?"
No wonder Jacques Saunière, the Grand Master of the Priory, had told him that the Devonshire family were the last guardians. Now William understood everything. He immediately read what was written on the other passage after scanning the cryptex with his mental power.
The paper scroll inside the cryptex also contained the same text as the Oxford document: 'Beneath ancient Rosslyn, the Holy Grail awaits, guarded by sword and chalice. A masterpiece dedicated to the master, accompanying him into dreams. She can rest in peace, gazing at the stars.'
Damn it, all that effort to find something he already knew! This made him quite angry. He walked to the table with the wine, poured himself a glass of red wine, and sat down in a chair. He couldn't let Langdon and the other two investigate further; those words had to remain known only to him.
Since the secret was no longer a secret to him, William had to devise a foolproof method to make it disappear, to exist only in the hands of the Devonshire family forever, and without the Priory knowing.
He turned to look at the white-haired man lying on the ground and an idea sparked in his mind. The man had been restless on the ground, secretly twisting his hands, enduring the intense pain, just to break free.
Seeing this, William secretly used his mental power to lift a piece of broken glass, which Langdon had just shattered, and subtly moved it near the white-haired man's hand. The white-haired man, who had been continuously twisting, soon felt the glass shard.
William sensed the glass shard in the white-haired man's hand with a mental scan, smiled slightly, stood up, and asked the three still discussing, "Is anyone hungry? Would you like to join me for breakfast in the dining room?"
"No, thank you."
Langdon and the other two had no time for William right now. They were busy at the table with paper and pen, constantly trying different letter combinations, crossing out each one that was wrong.
"Alright, then I'll go eat by myself. Does anyone want me to bring anything up?" William asked again.
This time, the three didn't speak, only Sophie waved her hand at William.
In a cheerful mood, he found some ham and eggs in the dining room, spent a few minutes making a ham and fried egg dish, served it on a plate, and ate it while walking upstairs. He stood in the hallway, looking out at the castle while enjoying his breakfast.
Less than a minute later, William sensed that the white-haired man had undone the tape on his hands. This guy truly was a fanatic; even with his arms dislocated by William, he endured the excruciating pain and managed to use his fingers to grip a glass shard, taking almost ten minutes to cut through the tape on his hands.
It made William wince just watching. His arm was dislocated, but his fingers could still move, though each movement was incredibly painful, not to mention having to grip a glass shard with them. After cutting the tape, the white-haired man trembled all over from the pain, sweat continuously pouring down his forehead.
He spent a few more minutes loosening his feet, then lay on the ground resting for several minutes, before gritting his teeth and using the floor to reset his own arm.
Langdon and the other two were so engrossed that they didn't even notice the faint click.
After resetting his arm, the white-haired man lay on the ground gasping like a dead fish. After a long while, he finally looked up at Langdon and the other two sitting around the desk. He knew his time was limited and he had to subdue the three and snatch the keystone before William returned.
While the three were not paying attention, the white-haired man suddenly rushed towards Teabing, who was holding the cryptex. He wanted to subdue Teabing, the limping old man, who he considered the easiest to overpower.
Teabing was startled by the white-haired man rushing towards him, and his body involuntarily fell backward. Meanwhile, William, who had been constantly monitoring the data room with his mental power from the corridor, felt a surge of joy. The opportunity had arrived.
William secretly used his mental power to grab the white-haired man's foot, making him immediately change from running towards Teabing to pouncing on him. The two instantly collided.
With a 'thud,' the two men tumbled together, and the cryptex in Teabing's hand flew out, hitting the wall.
As the cryptex flew towards the wall, William, that mischievous fellow, even used his mental power to give it an extra boost.
"Bang!" The cryptex violently hit the wall, then fell to the floor and bounced a few times. William immediately felt the glass inside the cryptex shatter.
"Haha, this is perfect," William thought, secretly pleased, but his feet moved quickly. He drew his gun and rushed into the archive room. Just as he was about to shoot, Sophie blocked his line of fire, so he could only shout, "Get out of the way, Sophie!"
Upon hearing William's shout, the albino reacted by twisting Teabing's neck with both hands, pressing the shattered glass against Teabing's throat, and yelling, "Put down the gun! Put down the gun, or I'll slit his throat!"
Damn it, not being able to shoot immediately left William very frustrated. Concerned for Teabing's safety, William could only point his gun at the albino. "Let him go, or I'll shoot. I'm not exactly friends with this old man."
The albino quickly hid his head behind Teabing's, "Try it. If I die, I'm taking him with me." He tightened his grip on the shattered glass, cutting Teabing's neck.
"No, no, no, William, don't shoot! Be careful, Teabing!" Langdon immediately yelled. "Teabing, don't worry, we'll save you."
Teabing, who was being held hostage, ignored Langdon. His eyes were fixed on the cryptex. He knew it was broken; he had heard the distinct sound when the cryptex hit the wall, and the glass vial inside must have shattered.
"Langdon, quickly, look at the cryptex! Don't worry about me, go look at the cryptex!"
Seeing this, Langdon was also worried about the cryptex. Following Teabing's words, he walked towards the cryptex, picked it up, and his face changed. He felt liquid on his hand and could smell vinegar after picking it up.
He turned and shook his head at Teabing.
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