Chapter 85 Chapter 83

Langdon, Sophie, and Teabing got out of the "Jaguar" luxury car and walked to the inner aisle of the Temple Church. He noticed that the "Mickey Mouse" watch on his wrist showed that it was almost half past seven.The three of them seemed to be walking in a maze. They walked around many buildings before arriving at the small courtyard outside the Temple Church.The rough stones glowed blue in the rain, and a group of pigeons sang "coo-coo" in the building above them. The ancient Temple Church in London was built entirely of stone from the Caen region of France.This is an eye-catching circular building with a stunning and gorgeous appearance, a tower in the middle, and a protruding main hall next to the tower. The church does not look like a place for people to worship, but a church. military stronghold.The Archbishop of Jerusalem, Heraclius, sacrificed here on February 10, 1185. Since then, the Temple Church has experienced more than 800 years of ups and downs in political struggles, including the Great Fire of London and the First World War. .It was only in 1940 that it was seriously damaged by incendiary bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe.After the war, it was restored to its former glory and restored to its former glory.

It goes on and on, that's all.Langdon thought, admiring buildings for the first time in his life.Rough and austere, the building is more reminiscent of Rome's Castel Sant'Angelo than of the exquisitely shaped Greek Parthenon.Unfortunately, however, the low, narrow outbuilding to the right is rather awkward, although it does little to disguise the pagan architecture of its original building. "It's Saturday, we came a little early." Teabing staggered to the front door: "So I don't think we need to do anything now." The entrance to the church is a recessed stone with a large wooden door embedded in it.To the left of the wooden door, looking utterly incongruous, hangs a bulletin board filled with a schedule of concerts and announcements of religious ceremonies.Teabing read the notice on the bulletin board and frowned. "They won't be open to tourists for another two hours." He went to the door and tried to open it, but the door wouldn't budge.So he put his ear to the board and listened.After a while, he withdrew and came back with a secretive look on his face. He pointed to the bulletin board and said, "Robert, can you check the schedule of the religious ceremony? Who will preside over the ceremony this week? "

Inside the church, an altar boy was vacuuming nearly all the liturgical cushions when he heard a knock on the chapel door.He turned a deaf ear and ignored it.Father Harvey Knowles had the key himself, and it was two hours before he could open the door.The knocker might be a curious tourist, or a poor man.The altar boy continued to vacuum the dust from the cushions, but the knocking on the door continued.Are you illiterate?Isn't it clearly written on the door that the church doesn't open until half past nine on Saturdays?The altar boy was still busy with his work. Suddenly, the knock on the door turned into a heavy thud, as if someone was hitting the door with an iron rod.The young man turned off the vacuum cleaner and ran angrily towards the door.He opened the door with a "clang" from the inside, and saw three people standing outside the door.Is it a tourist?He muttered, "We don't open until nine-thirty."

The stocky man, who was obviously the leader among them, stepped forward on crutches and said, "I am Sir Ray Teabing." Judging from his accent, he seemed to be a man of considerable status. Authentic British. "You must know that I am here with Christopher Wren IV and his wife." He stepped aside and waved exaggeratedly to the handsome couple standing behind them.The woman looked mild, with a mass of dark red hair.The man was tall and straight, with black hair, and looked familiar. The altar assistant didn't know how to deal with it for a while.Sir Christopher Wren, Temple Church's most prominent patron, was responsible for all restoration efforts after it was ravaged by the Great Fire of London.But he died in the early 18th century. "Hmm... can I have the honor to meet you?"

The man on crutches frowned: "You're still sensible, but young man, you don't seem to trust us. Where's Father Knowles?" "It's Saturday, and he won't be here until later." The man with some mobility problems was even more unhappy: "Just thank us like this. He promised us that he would wait for us here. It seems that we have to ignore him. Besides, we won't stay for long .” The altar assistant still blocked the door: "I'm sorry, what did you say you can't stay for long?" The guest's eyes became sharp all of a sudden, he leaned forward and spoke in a low voice, as if to avoid embarrassing everyone. "Young man, obviously you're new here, aren't you? Sir Christopher Wren's descendants take some of his old man's ashes every year and scatter them in the nave of the Temple Church. It was his last wish .No one particularly likes to come to this place, but what can we do?" The altar boy has been here for several years, but this is the first time he has heard of it. "You'd better wait until nine-thirty. The church door hasn't opened yet, and I haven't cleaned it yet."

The man on crutches glared at him: "Young man, if there is anything in this house that can be used for your vacuum cleaner, it is the ashes of his old man in this woman's bag." "Should I say sorry to you?" "Mrs. Wren," said the man on crutches, "will you take out the urn and show this rough young man?" The woman hesitated for a moment, then, as if waking from a dream, she reached into her vest pocket and pulled out a small, cloth-covered cylinder. "Here, look." The man on crutches shouted: "Now, you either fulfill his old man's last wish and let us scatter his ashes in the chapel, or we will tell Father Knowles."

The altar assistant hesitated. He knew that Father Knowles had always strictly demanded that everyone abide by the rules of the church; more importantly, he also knew that the priest had a bad temper.He would not be guilty of neglecting this historic shrine.Father Knowles may have simply forgotten that the family members were coming.If so, it must be a greater risk to drive them away than to let them in.Anyway, they say it won't take long.So how harmful is it to let them in? When the altar assistant stepped aside and let the three of them in, he dared to say that Mr. and Mrs. Wren were as dazed as he was facing the scene before them.He watched them uneasily out of his sight, then went back to his chores.

When the three of them reached the depths of the church, Langdon forced a smile. "Sir Ray," he said in a low voice, "you are a liar." Teabing's eyes twinkled. "Don't forget I was a member of the Oxford Theater Club. They still talk about me playing Julius Caesar. I'm sure no actor has ever given more heart and soul than I have done." Play the third act of the third act of the play." Langdon glanced back at him: "I thought Caesar died in that scene." Teabing smiled smugly, "Yes, but my robe was torn when I fell. So I had to lie on the platform with my toes up for half an hour. But even so, I didn't even move. I tell you, I'm smart."

"I'm sorry I didn't notice that," Langdon flattered. The group walked through the rectangular outbuildings towards the arches leading to the main church.Langdon was amazed at the monotonous and austere architectural style of the church.Although the structure of the altar is quite like a streamlined Christian church, its appearance is rigid and cold, without any traditional decoration. "It's so boring," Langdon murmured.Teabing giggled. "This is the state religion of England. Here the English drink the nectar of religion. Nothing can make them lose their way in misfortune."

Sophie passed the large entrance leading to the circular area of ​​the church. "It looks a bit like a military fortress over there," she said with a laugh. Langdon agreed.Even looking at it from here, the walls on all sides look particularly solid. "Don't forget, the Templars are warriors." Teabing reminded them.His aluminum crutch echoed crisply in this space. "This is a country where the military religion is dominant, and the churches are their military strongholds and their banks." "A bank?" Sophie asked, glancing at him. "My God, that's right. The Templars created the modern banking concept. It was very dangerous for European dignitaries to travel with gold and silver, so the Templars allowed these nobles to deposit their gold in remote banks. Their nearest Temple Church; they can then pick them up from Temple Churches all over Europe. They just need the relevant credentials," he winked: "and pay a commission. These churches , the original ATM." Teabing pointed to a dusty glass window, through which the morning sun was shining on a statue of a knight in white on a rose-colored horse. , reflecting the clear light. "That was Alanis Marcel, the master of the temple church in the early twelfth century. He and his successor actually occupied the seat of the first baron of the kingdom at that time."

Langdon was a little surprised: "The first baron in the kingdom?" Teabing nodded, "Some say that the owner of the Temple Church has more influence than the king himself." They came outside the round house, and Teabing looked back Looking at the altar assistant who was still fiddling with the vacuum cleaner in the distance, he whispered to Sophie: "Did you know? When the Templars were hiding around, it is said that the Holy Grail was hidden in this church overnight. Can you imagine I shudder to think that four full drawers of the Holy Grail Documents should be here with the bones of Mary Magdalene." When they entered the rotunda, Langdon also felt goose bumps all over his body.His eyes followed the gray-white stone circle of this large room, and he was immediately attracted by some carved monsters, ghosts and ghosts, as well as human faces distorted by pain and all glaring at this place.Beneath these carvings, there is a bench that circles the whole room. "It's the amphitheater," Langdon said softly. Teabing held up a cane and pointed it to the left at the far end of the room, then to the right.By then Langdon had seen them. Ten stone statues of the Templars. Five on the left and five on the right. These life-size statues lie on their backs in a peaceful pose.These knights are all wearing armor and armor, with sword and shield in hand.Langdon was annoyed that someone had sneaked in while the knights were asleep and poured plaster on them.All of the statues are heavily weathered, yet each one looks unique - they wear different armor, legs and arms in very different poses, different facial expressions, and the markings on their shields Also very different.A knight whose funeral the Pope presided over was buried in London. Langdon took a few more steps into the circular room, shaking uncontrollably. It should be this place.