Chapter 40 Chapter Thirty-eight

Sophie stared at Langdon in the back seat of the car.He must be joking. "Holy Grail?" Langdon nodded, his expression serious. "HolyGrail is the literal meaning of Sangreal. Sangreal is derived from the French word Sangral, which finally breaks down into two words 'SanGreal'." holy grail.Sophie was surprised that she didn't immediately recognize the linguistic connection between the words.Even if what Langdon said was true, she still couldn't make sense of it. "I thought the Holy Grail was a cup. You just said that the Holy Grail is a document that reveals those dark secrets."

"Yes, but those documents are only part of the treasures of the Holy Grail. They are buried with the Holy Grail...they can reveal the true meaning of the Holy Grail. The reason why those documents can give the warriors great power is because they reveal the meaning of the Holy Grail. Nature." The nature of the Holy Grail? Now, Sophie was even more confused.She thought the Holy Grail was the cup used by Jesus at the "Last Supper". Later, Joseph of Arimasis used this cup to hold Jesus' blood before the cross. "The Holy Grail is the 'Christ's Cup,'" said Sophie. "It couldn't be simpler."

"Sophie," Langdon whispered, turning his body to Sophie, "the Priory of Sion doesn't think the Holy Grail is a cup. They think that the legend about the Holy Grail is an elaborate lie. The story of the Holy Grail has another meaning. Point to something more powerful." He paused, "That's what your grandfather was trying to tell us tonight." Sophie still didn't quite understand, but she could see from Langdon's patient smile and sincere eyes that he was answering her doubts. "If the Holy Grail isn't a cup, what is it?" Sophie asked.

Although Langdon had long expected that she would ask such a question, he still didn't know where to start.Sophie would still look puzzled if he didn't properly contextualize his explanations—a look she'd seen on the editor's face a few months earlier when Langdon had handed in his own research report. . "What does this manuscript say?" The editor, who was having lunch, choked and took a sip of wine. "You must be joking." "I'm not kidding, I spent a year working on it." Jonas Folkman, the famous editor of The New York Times, pinches his goatee nervously.Undoubtedly, he had seen some extremely daring creative ideas in his illustrious career, but this time Langdon handed him a draft that took him by surprise.

"Robert," said Folkman at last, "don't misunderstand me. I like your work very much, and we have worked together successfully. But if I agree to publish such an opinion, people will surely gather around me. protesting in front of his office for months. Also, it would ruin your reputation. For God's sake, you're a Harvard historian, not some overnight hit-and-miss writer. You're from Where did you find solid evidence to support this theory?" Langdon smiled faintly, took a piece of paper from the pocket of his wool coat and handed it to Falkman.The sheet contained more than fifty bibliographic references—all by eminent historians, both modern and centuries old—many of which were bestsellers in the academic world.All of the writings present premises consistent with Langdon's.Folkman read the catalog as if suddenly discovering that the earth is flat. "I've heard of some of the authors. They're... real historians." Langdon grinned. "As you can see, this isn't just my theory. It's been around for a long time. I am only summarizing on the basis of previous ones. There is no book that has studied the legend of the Holy Grail from the perspective of symbolism. The arguments I have found from iconography are very convincing."

Folkman was still staring at the list: "My God, there's another book by Mr. Leigh Teabing—he's the British Royal Historian." "Teabing spent a lot of his life studying the Holy Grail. .I had a meeting with him. Most of his views agree with mine. Jonas, he and the other historians in the catalog agree with me." "You're saying these historians all agree..." Folkman swallowed the words again, obviously he couldn't go on. Langdon grinned again: "Some people think that the Holy Grail is the most coveted treasure in human history. There are many legends surrounding the Holy Grail, many wars have been fought because of the Holy Grail, and many people have been pursuing the Holy Grail all their lives. Then it may Was it just a cup? If so, then other antiquities must have aroused equal, if not greater, interest—the Crown of Thorns, the Crucifix, and the Leading Hall, for example—but this was not the case. Since then, the Holy Grail has always been extremely special." Langdon smiled, "Now you know why." Folkman continued to shake his head: "Since there are so many books written like this, why is this theory still not popular? know?"

"These books certainly can't compare to centuries of settled history, especially when that history has been written as the background of best-selling books, and it's already deeply ingrained in people's impressions." Folkman's eyes widened: "Don't tell me that Harry Potter is actually a story about the Holy Grail." "I read the Bible." Folkman had to admit: "Yes, I know." "Shut up!" Sophie yelled, breaking the silence in the car, "Put it down!" Sophie leaned over the front seat and yelled at the driver, startling Langdon.Langdon saw the driver talking on the radio.

Sophie turned and reached into Langdon's jacket pocket.Before Langdon could react, she had already pulled out the pistol in Langdon's pocket, swung it, and pressed it against the back of the driver's head.The driver immediately dropped the microphone and raised his hand that was not holding the steering wheel. "Sophie!" Langdon said nervously, "what the hell is going on—" "Hold on!" Sophie ordered the driver. The driver shivered and parked the car in the park according to Sophie's order. At this moment, Langdon heard the sonorous voice of the taxi company dispatcher coming from the dashboard of the car: "...it's Officer Sophie Neveu..." The voice paused momentarily, "with American Robert Langdon... ' Langdon froze.Have they spotted us already?

The trembling driver raised his hands above his head, got out of the taxi, and took a few steps back. Sophie rolled down the window and pointed the gun at the bewildered driver. "Robert," she said quietly, "get in the driver's seat. You drive." Langdon didn't want to argue with a woman brandishing a pistol.So, he got out of the car, walked around to the door next to the driver's seat, opened the door and got in the car.The driver threw up his hands and cursed at them. "Robert," said Sophie, sitting in the back seat, "I'm sure you've seen enough of our magical woods?"

Langdon nodded.enough. "Okay. Get the car out of here." Langdon looked down at the control panel and hesitated.He XX.He fumbled for the gear lever and grabbed it. "Sophie? Maybe you—" "Come on!" Sophie yelled. Outside the car, a few prostitutes were walking this way, wanting to see what happened here.One of the women was talking on a cell phone.Langdon depresses the lever and moves the shifter to what he assumes is the highest gear.He stepped on the accelerator and checked how much gas was left. He suddenly released the handle, and with the sharp friction sound of the wheels against the ground, the taxi frantically swung its rear and rushed forward, scaring the group of prostitutes into fleeing.The woman with the phone jumped into a bush and was nearly hit by a car. "That's terrible!" Sophie asked as the car sped up and down the road. "What are you doing?"

Langdon shouted over the roar of the car, "I remind you, this is an automatic transmission car."