Chapter 99 Chapter 97

So far, the remains of about 3,000 people have been buried in Westminster Abbey for the world to pay tribute to.The vast stone chambers are filled with relics of kings, dignitaries, scientists, poets and musicians.Their tombs, in all the niches and recesses of the cavern, range from the most royal tomb, that of Elizabeth I - her canopied sarcophagus in a private apex of the chapel - to The most plain carved stone bricks on the ground can be described as everything.The inscriptions carved on these floor tiles have been ruined due to people's trampling on them for hundreds of years. People can't help but imagine that this historical relic may be hidden in the floor tiles in the basement of the church.

Westminster Abbey follows the architectural style of Amiens, Chartres and Canterbury Cathedrals in France, but it is neither a general cathedral nor a church in a parish.It is clearly marked with the royal brand, directly under the king's management.Since the coronation ceremony of William the Conqueror was held here on Christmas Day in 1066, this dazzling chapel has witnessed so many royal ceremonies held here and how many state affairs have been settled here--from " From the coronation of Edward the Confessor, to the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, to the funerals of Henry V, Elizabeth I and Princess Diana, everything was held here.

Even so, Robert Langdon had no immediate interest in its ancient history, save for the funeral of Sir Isaac Newton. "Buried a knight in London for whom Alexander Pope presided." Langdon and Sophie hurried past the majestic porch of the cross passage on the north side of the church, and soon the guards came forward and politely led them to the passage where a new large metal detection device was added to the church forward.such a detector.Today it can be found in many famous historic buildings in London.The detector did not sound an alarm, so they walked through the passage without incident and continued to walk towards the entrance of the temple.

Langdon stepped over the threshold and entered Westminster Abbey. He felt the noisy world outside suddenly quiet down.There is neither the roar of passing vehicles nor the sound of "tick-tick" rain, but there is a deathly silence.This ancient building seems to be muttering to itself, and its silence is constantly echoing for a long time.Like almost all the other visitors, Langdon and Sophie looked up immediately, as if the huge vault of Westminster Abbey was about to cast a huge net over their heads.Gray stone pillars, like sequoias, stretched up one by one until they disappeared into the shadows.These stone pillars form graceful bows in the dizzying heights, and then fall straight down, embedded in the stone of the ground.The aisle on the north side of the church stretched out before them like an unfathomable canyon, lined on both sides with high walls of stained glass.On a sunny day, the ground of the church will reflect colorful lights.Today, however, the heavy rain outside and the resulting darkness added a slightly spooky atmosphere to the vast space... making it feel more like an actual catacomb. "Sure enough, it's empty," said Sophie in a low voice.

Langdon was somewhat disappointed.He wished that there were more people here, and that this was a more lively place.He didn't want to repeat his experience in the empty Temple Church.He had longed for a certain sense of security in a tourist venue, but he knew that the flood of tourists in the well-lit temples was only possible during the peak summer season.But today—not to mention a rainy morning in April, Langdon saw neither the bustling crowd nor the glittering stained glass walls. What he saw was the endless empty ground, and the looming empty cave. "We passed the detector," Sophie reminded Langdon, clearly sensing his concern. "Even if there were people here, there couldn't be guns."

Langdon nodded, but still looked cautious.He had wanted to bring the London Police along, but Sophie worried that the police's involvement would hinder their future contacts with the authorities.We need to recapture the keystone, Sophie always thought so.Because the keystone is a key that can unlock all mysteries. Of course, she was right. It was the key that would bring Ray Teabing back safe and sound. It is a key to successfully finding the Holy Grail. It's a key to finding out who's behind the scenes. Unfortunately, if they were to reclaim the keystone, it seemed their only chance now lay in their performance here... beside Sir Isaac Newton's grave.No matter who, as long as he has the cryptex, he will find this tomb and search for the last clue.But if they haven't come yet, Langdon and Sophie plan to stop them on the way.They strode toward the left wall, out of the open space, into ten dimly lit aisles behind a row of alcove columns.Langdon kept thinking of Ray Teabing being picked up, perhaps strapped in the back of his own car.Those who had ordered the assassination of the senior leaders of the Priory of Mount Xion, no matter who they were, would never be soft-hearted when someone tried to block their progress.It seems a cruel irony that Sir Ray Teabing, a contemporary English knight, should be held hostage while searching for the grave of his countryman Sir Isaac Newton.

"Where should we go?" Sophie looked around. Langdon himself didn't know which direction the tomb was. "Let's go find a docent and ask." He knew there was no good in wandering here aimlessly.Westminster Abbey is dotted with large mausoleums, rotunda, and many grave niches large enough to enter.Like the Grand Gallery of Art at the Louvre, it has a separate entrance - the entrance they just passed - which is easy for you to get in but hard to get out of.As one of Langdon's bewildered colleagues put it, it's a veritable tourist trap.Westminster Abbey retains the traditional architectural style, and its shape is a huge cross.However, it is different from most churches in that its entrance is located on the side of the church, rather than directly behind the front porch passing through the bottom of the nave.And the church also has many winding corridors.One wrong step, one wrong archway, and visitors can get lost in a maze of outdoor corridors surrounded by high walls. "The guide is wearing a crimson robe." Langdon said, coming to the center of the church.He squinted past the towering gilded chancel, and cast his gaze to the south end of the church, where he saw several people hunched over and slowly crawling forward.Such prostrational pilgrimages are commonplace at Poets' Corner, although it is far less sacred than it appears.They are all tourists who are copying the inscriptions on the tombs.

"I haven't seen any docents," said Sophie. "Maybe we'll have to look for them ourselves, what do you think?" Without saying a word, Langdon led her a few more steps to the center of the church, pointing to the right for her to see. Sophie followed the direction he pointed, looked over the long main hall of the church, and finally saw this huge building, and couldn't help but gasped. "God, why don't we go find a docent." Just at this moment a visitor came a hundred yards from the nave, out of sight behind the inner altar, to the stately tomb of Sir Isaac Newton.The leader has been examining the tombstone here for ten minutes.

The tomb of Sir Isaac Newton, actually a massive sarcophagus of black marble, houses a statue of him, dressed in classical attire, leaning proudly on a pile of his own works - as in the "On Divinity", "On Motion", "Optics" and "Principles of Mathematics in Natural Philosophy", etc.At his feet stood two winged children holding books.Behind his leaning body stands a solemn pyramid.Although it looks a bit weird, the huge ball inlaid in its middle waist has aroused the great interest of the leader.a round ball. He pondered the bewitching riddle that Saunière had concocted. "The orb you are looking for should have been in the knight's tomb." This huge orb protruding from the face of the pyramid is covered with reliefs and celestial bodies of various shapes--constellations, zodiacs The zodiac also has comets, stars and planets.On the top of the ball, there is a goddess of astronomy standing under the stars.

Planets, countless planets. The leader had always believed that once he found the tomb, he would easily find the missing orb.But now, he was not so sure.He gazed at an intricate map of various planets.Are any planets missing?Or is there any star in these constellations that has been missed?He has no way of knowing.Even so, he suspected that the solution to the mystery was as ingenious as it was neat. "A knight whose funeral the Pope presides over." What planet am I looking for?Of course, being proficient in astrophysics doesn't necessarily mean finding the Holy Grail. "It reveals the secret of rosy skin and a fertile womb."

The leader was concentrating on it when suddenly a few tourists came.He hastily put the cryptex back into his pocket, and watched warily as the tourists walked to a nearby table, dropped money into the cup on the table, and refilled some free gifts from the church dedicated to the tomb of Gto Stationery with an inscription on it.The tourists, holding their new charcoal pencils and several large and thick papers, walked towards the front of the church. They may be going to "Poet's Corner", to Chaucer, Tennyson, and Dickens. In front of their tombs, they excitedly copied the inscriptions on their tombs to express their respect. Now alone again, he took a few steps towards the grave and surveyed it from top to bottom.He first looked at the clawed bottom of the sarcophagus, then moved his eyes from the statue of Newton, his scientific treatises, the portrait of two children holding a mathematical manuscript, and from the face of the pyramid to the innumerable carvings. Orbs of stars, finally falling to the star-studded canopy of the alcove. What kind of orb was supposed to be here...and then it's missing?He touched the cryptex in his pocket, as if he could predict the answer he was looking for from Saunière's finely crafted marble.Only by finding the five-letter word can the Holy Grail be obtained.He paced back and forth near a corner of the inner altar, took a deep breath, then raised his head across the long main hall, and set his gaze on the main altar in the distance.He looked at the gold-plated altar for a while, and then his eyes fell on a commentator in a crimson robe. He saw two familiar-looking people waving to the commentator. He remembered. They were Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu. The leader took two steps back extremely calmly, and hid behind the inner altar.They must have come too soon.He had expected that Langdon and Sophie would eventually decipher the meaning of the poem, and then run to Newton's grave.But now it seems that this is faster than he thought.He took a deep breath, thinking about countermeasures in his mind.He has long been used to how to deal with emergencies.The cryptex is in my hand. He reached into his pocket and touched another thing that could boost his ambition, that is, the "Medusa" brand revolver he carried with him.As expected, when he carried the pistol hidden in his pocket and passed through the channel equipped with metal detectors, the detectors immediately rang.As expected, the guards backed away as soon as he glared angrily and quickly flashed his identification.In any case, people of status are always awe-inspiring. Although at first he wanted to solve the cryptex problem alone to avoid more trouble, but now he welcomes Langdon and Sophie very much.Considering his current lack of confidence in successfully finding the missing sphere, he thought maybe he could use the professional skills of these two people for my use.In any case, if Langdon was able to find Sir Newton's grave through poetry, he should know a thing or two about the missing orb.And, if Langdon knew the code, all that remained was to put pressure on him appropriately.Certainly not here. Maybe in some hidden place. The leader remembered seeing a bulletin board on the way to Westminster Abbey just now.He quickly figured out where would be the best place to lure them into the bait. The remaining question is - what to use as bait?