When Teabing saw Langdon shake his head, his heart sank. He knew the scroll inside the cryptex was destroyed. Teabing felt utterly disheartened. He had dedicated his life to studying the Holy Grail, and his greatest wish was to uncover this secret that had been sealed for millennia. He wanted to break the Church's thousand-year rule, even going so far as to betray the Priory of Sion's secrets to the Opus Dei.
That's right, the elders of the Priory of Sion were all betrayed by him. He never imagined that after all his meticulous planning, all his hopes would be destroyed by the Opus Dei. This left him utterly disheartened. Suddenly, he felt that living no longer had meaning. He regretted agreeing to William killing the man behind him earlier, but now it was too late to say anything.
Teabing screamed hysterically, "Kill him, William! The elders of the Priory of Sion were all assassinated by him! Don't worry about me, William, kill him!"
Teabing's sudden emotional outburst puzzled William, but he no longer had a clear shot. The albino killer remained hidden behind Teabing's head, making a fatal shot impossible.
As William hesitated, he suddenly saw on a nearby monitor screen that over a dozen people were sneaking into the manor. Upon closer inspection, William realized that these people were police officers. French plainclothes police officers wear a red police armband on their sleeves when in action.
The police were here. William knew his time to kill the albino killer was running out. Gritting his teeth, he wondered if he should really listen to Teabing and shoot regardless of his safety. This thought was dismissed by William in less than a second. The police had already arrived, and he would be held responsible if something went wrong by shooting.
He pondered why Teabing was so certain the albino killer was the culprit. He recalled what Langdon had said, that Teabing must know some of the members and elders of the Priory of Sion. He also thought about the arrangements made by Jacques Saunière, the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, before his death.
William wondered if Jacques Saunière had suspected a traitor within the Priory of Sion when he died, and a very high-ranking traitor at that, otherwise, four elders wouldn't have died consecutively.
But what if it wasn't a traitor within the Priory of Sion, but someone else who knew the Priory of Sion very well betrayed them? As this thought emerged, Teabing, standing before him, became highly suspicious.
Although William couldn't understand Teabing's motive for doing so, once the seed was planted, his suspicion of Teabing wouldn't stop.
William, keeping his guard up, took a few steps forward with his gun, walked to the desktop intercom, and secretly used his mental power to press the intercom button to the first floor.
"Let go of Teabing, and I'll let you go," William deliberately said loudly, intending for the police downstairs to know that someone upstairs was being held hostage.
At this moment, the butler Remy rushed in with a gun. He had heard William's shouts upstairs from the kitchen, knew something was wrong, and immediately came up with his gun, just missing the police.
Remy saw Teabing being held hostage and pointed his gun at the albino. "Let go of the Sir."
Seeing William and his group had an additional helper, the albino killer became even more nervous. He shouted loudly, "Put down the gun, or I'll take this old man down with me! I mean what I say!"
Seeing another cut appear on Teabing's neck, William and Remy dared not move. For a moment, both sides were at a stalemate.
Teabing was indeed an old hand of several decades. After a few minutes, he had calmed down, and once calm, he no longer wanted to die. As long as he was alive, there would always be other ways to find the Holy Grail.
Teabing gave Remy a very subtle look. William, who had been scanning with his mental power, immediately sensed that Remy, who was about a meter away from him, nodded slightly. "Quickly, let go of the Sir, I'll be your hostage."
In his perception, Remy, while speaking, walked half a meter towards William, then suddenly pointed his gun, which had been aimed at the albino, at William's head.
Remy's movement startled William, making his hair stand on end. Without thinking, he rolled and took cover behind the table.
Remy reacted quickly. Seeing William hide behind the table, he immediately grabbed Sophie, pointed his gun at her, and hid behind her.
Remy smiled and said to William, "Throw out your gun, Mr. Devonshire. I have two hostages here, otherwise I'll shoot Professor Langdon first."
William, hiding behind the table, scanned Remy with his mental power, wondering why Remy hadn't shot him directly upon entering, but instead kept trying to take them hostage. There was something fishy about this. Feigning concern for Sophie's safety, he shouted, "Don't shoot! I'll put down my gun right now. Be careful of accidental discharge." After saying that, William threw his gun away.
He wasn't genuinely worried about Sophie and Langdon; he still had guns in his storage space. Hiding under the table, he quietly took out another gun. Because the storage space was very secure, William was accustomed to keeping his guns loaded, so he could shoot as soon as he took one out.
Tucking the gun into his waistband at his lower back, William raised his hands and slowly walked out.
"Stand with Langdon," Remy commanded.
William pretended to carefully avoid Remy's gun, walking to about a meter away from a flustered Langdon. He didn't go right next to Langdon, fearing Langdon might be caught in the crossfire. As long as it wasn't an immediate shootout, he was ten out of ten confident he could dodge.
William's movements weren't faster than a bullet, but he could be faster than Remy's actions. "Why, Remy?" William asked.
Remy ignored William, and said to the albino, "First, release the Sir. You go and tie them both up."
Although the albino was somewhat puzzled by Remy's actions, he didn't release Teabing. He feared Remy and William were putting on an act, trying to trick him into letting Teabing go. "How do I know you're not acting with that guy? If you want me to release this old man, then put down your gun first."
Remy smiled and said to the albino, "Silas, you can release the Sir now. We're on the same side."
Silas looked at Remy in surprise, then at Teabing, and said uncertainly, "Teacher?"
Remy nodded and said, "Yes, Silas, I am the teacher who called you all. Sir Teabing was the one who asked me to tell you about the four elders of the Priory of Sion. Now, release the Sir first and go tie them up."
After saying that, Remy also told Silas the names of the four elders of the Priory of Sion and some details of his conversations with Silas.
These words finally convinced Silas. He released Teabing, and the tension in Silas's heart finally subsided. As soon as he relaxed, he felt as if his arms were being flayed, the pain causing him to break out in cold sweats. His eyes bloodshot, he looked at William. Walking over to Remy, he picked up the gun William had dropped on the ground, and enduring the intense pain, he wanted to kill William.
"Wait, Silas, you can't kill him. William is still useful," Teabing quickly said.
Silas looked at Teabing in confusion. Teabing said, "Now that the keystone is destroyed and the four elders of the Priory of Sion are dead, all clues are gone. We can only try with the Devonshire family.
Devonshire's ancestors were one of the five Knights Templar who discovered the Holy Grail. Although after the massacre 600 years ago, the Devonshires haven't participated in any activities of the Priory of Sion for centuries, their family might still have some clues.
Silas, you just heard, this young man William is very filial to his mother. We'll take these three to Oxford, England, to find William's mother. I heard that after William bought the Devonshire family's ancient castle, his mother has been managing it. Do you understand, Silas?"
Silas nodded and put down the gun, while William watched the ground before him, fuming inwardly. He dared not provoke Silas now; this guy was truly a ruthless individual. Although he wouldn't kill him now, the probability of Silas making William suffer if provoked was absolutely 100%.
----------------------------------
I've already posted 30 new chapters on Patreon!
If you like the story and want to reaad more, please visit my patreon. Every support is very meaningful!
[patreon.com/Kazenova223]
Thank you very much!