Chapter 67 Chapter 65

Sophie Neveu was originally a law enforcement officer, but luckily tonight, she found that the muzzle of the black hole was pointing at herself.It's almost unbelievable.She stared at the gun as it was held in the pale hands of a massive albino with long, gray hair.The man stared at her with red eyes, a frightening, empty look in his eyes.Wearing a woolen robe with a rope tie, he looked like a medieval priest.Sophie couldn't imagine who he really was, but she suddenly felt a newfound respect for Teabing, since he'd first suspected the Catholic Church was behind this man. "You know what I'm here for," said the monk, his voice sounding ethereal.

Sophie and Teabing sat on the couch, raising their hands at the request of their attacker.Langdon collapsed to the floor, moaning in pain.The monk immediately noticed the keystone on Teabing's lap. "You can't open it." There was a hint of contempt in Teabing's tone. "My master is very clever," replied the monk, approaching him step by step.He pointed the pistol at Sophie, at Teabing. "Who's your master?" Teabing asked. "Maybe we can make a deal." "But the Holy Grail is priceless." He moved closer. "You're bleeding," Teabing said quietly, nodding to the monk's right ankle—the blood was running down his leg. "You're limping."

"You're not much better." The monk replied angrily, walking towards the metal clutch next to Teabing. "Okay, give me the keystone." "You know I have a keystone?" Teabing asked in surprise. "You don't care what I know. You stand up slowly and give it to me." "But I can't get up." "Well, at the moment I don't like other people to be able to move around quickly." Teabing's right hand slipped from his crutch, but his left gripped the keystone tightly.He struggled to stand up straight, holding the heavy stone cylinder in his palm, leaning tremblingly on the crutch in his right hand.

The monk was only a few feet away from them now, and he kept his gun pointed at Teabing's head.Sophie watched the friar reach for the cobblestone, but there was nothing she could do. "You're not going to get it," Teabing yelled. "Only a worthy man can open it." Whether it is worthy or not is not only God's final say.Silas thought. "Too heavy," said the man on crutches, his arms shaking. "If you don't catch it quickly, I'm afraid it's about to fall." He staggered, looking like he was about to fall to the ground. Silas leaped forward to catch the rock, but at that moment the man on crutches lost his balance, the cane slipped from his arm, and he himself began to fall sideways to the right.Oops! Silas reached out to catch the stone and dropped the weapon he held aloft, but he watched the keystone fly away from him.The man fell to the right, his left hand thrown back, and the cobblestone immediately bounced from his hand and fell onto the sofa.At the same time, the crutch that slipped out from under the man's arm seemed to pick up speed, drawing a large arc in the air, and hitting Silas' feet.The crutch happened to collide with his rough clothes, crushing the burrs on his clothes, until they were embedded in his already rough flesh, and a piercing pain immediately spread in Silas's body.Silas twisted, his knees curled up in pain, and the belt stuck deeper into his skin.He fell to the ground and the pistol went off with a deafening noise.Fortunately, however, the bullet penetrated the floor and no one was injured.Before he had time to raise the gun again, a woman's foot stepped up unbiasedly, and stepped on the place below his chin.

Collet heard the gunshots at the end of the driveway.The dull gunshot made his whole body tense with fear.Collet, who was traveling with Fache, had completely given up any attempt to find Langdon tonight and use it to enhance his personal reputation.However, if Fache reported him to the police discipline inspection department for negligence out of selfishness, then Collet would undoubtedly be punished. Indulging someone to shoot in a private home! While you wait passively at the end of the driveway? ! Collet knew that the opportunity to act secretly was long gone, and he knew that if he continued to stand by, even for a second, his career would be ruined by tomorrow morning.He stared at the iron gate of the mansion, and then made a decision.

"Surround it and block all passages." Robert Langdon was in a daze. He vaguely heard gunshots and also heard cries of pain.Was it himself shouting? A gash had been struck in the back of his skull with a hammer.From somewhere nearby, someone was speaking. "Where the hell are you?" Teabing called out. The manservant hurried in. "What's the matter? Oh God! Who's that? I'm going to call the police!" "Go to hell! There's no need to call the police. Help us, bring us something to subdue this guy." "Bring some more ice," Sophie called after him.

Langdon felt his whole body begin to levitate.The sound is noisier.Someone is running around.Finally, he sat down on the couch.Sophie lifted a pack of ice cubes over Langdon's head.He has a terrible headache.When his vision gradually became clear, he realized that he was staring at a human body lying on the floor.Am I dreaming? The albino monk is lying on the floor, his huge body bound, his mouth full of cables, his jaw split, and his robe above his knees stained blood.He seems to be waking up soon. Langdon turned to Sophie and asked, "Who's that guy? What's—what happened?"

Teabing staggered over. "You were saved by a knight wearing the Arthurian Excalibur cast by the Eckham Company." "Really?" Langdon tried desperately to sit up. Sophie stroked him tenderly, but her hands were trembling. "Robert, don't worry, take your time." "I was worried about exposing my embarrassment to your female friend just now. Now it seems that everyone underestimated you." Langdon sat on the couch, staring down at the monk lying on the ground, trying to imagine what had just happened. "He's wearing a rough suit," Teabing explained.

"What did you say?" Teabing pointed to a bloodstained barbed leather belt on the ground. "It's a discipline belt. He tied it around his knee. I aimed carefully to hit it." Langdon scratched his head. He had heard of the discipline belt. "But how did you know?" Teabing grinned. "Robert, Christianity is my specialty. Some denominations are honest and open to the public." He pointed to the blood seeping from the monk's collar with his crutch, "It seems to be like this." "Yes." Opus Dei." Langdon murmured to himself, remembering that some media had recently reported several well-known Boston businessmen, all of whom were members of Opus Dei.Some worried accomplices had perfidiously and publicly denounced the three merchants for wearing coarse belts under three garments.In fact, the trio didn't do that at all.These businessmen, like many other members of Opus Dei, were superfluous and insignificant, but never practiced abstinence.They were devout Catholics, loving fathers to their children, and the most dedicated members of their community.The media, for the most part, downplayed their spirits before turning their attention to the bombshells that had happened to more serious members of the sect, like the monk lying in front of Langdon right now. It is not surprising that it is just a public exposure of penance.

Teabing stared at the bloodstained belt. "But why do Opus Dei people go to such lengths to find the Holy Grail?" Langdon was so dazed that he couldn't think much more. Sophie went to the wooden box and said, "Robert, what do you think this is?" She was holding the inlaid rose pattern that he had taken from the lid. "The box is engraved with a pattern. I think the words on it may tell us how to open this keystone?" Before Sophie and Teabing had time to react, suddenly, the blue police lights came on at the foot of the mountain, and the sirens suddenly sounded, forming a sea of ​​light and sound.Police cars began circling up the roughly half-mile driveway.

Teabing frowned. "Guys, it looks like we have to make a decision, and fast."