Chapter 98: The Spinning Flying Knife
Jacques Saunière looked at the still-stunned William, then stood up and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, William," he said. "I'll tell you everything after the ceremony is completed. You haven't been initiated yet, so it's not the right time to explain. Once you see what your family has been guarding, you'll understand."
William nodded. "Alright, Mr. Saunière. I can wait a few more hours. I'll see you tonight at eight o'clock."
"Very well, William. Feel free to visit the Louvre or take a walk down the Champs-Élysées. I know you're a wealthy man, so go buy something for your family. Good heavens, I can't believe Henry's descendant is a billionaire. Henry himself was so poor, haha," Jacques Saunière said jokingly.
William laughed along, well aware that his grandfather had never had much money.
William walked Jacques Saunière out of the café. Before they parted ways, Saunière suddenly asked, "William, the treasure that Henry was looking for... is that the same treasure your family has been searching for all this time?"
William's heart skipped a beat. *Damn it,* he thought. *This guy doesn't trust me as much as he's letting on. He's still testing me.*
"Oh, Mr. Saunière, our family wasn't looking for the treasure of King Henry. The Templars' treasure *is* the greatest secret of the Devinhir family," William said coolly, his hand slipping inside his coat toward the Glock in its holster.
Seeing William's hand reach inside his jacket, Jacques Saunière knew his question had angered the young man.
Saunière said hastily, "Don't be alarmed, William. I just had to be certain you were truly Henry's heir. If you are, then you must know what the Devinhir family has been searching for for generations. Am I not right?"
William gave a slow nod. "Of course, I know. What I'm curious about is how *you* know so much."
"I know what you're searching for because Henry told me," Saunière said immediately. "He consulted me for a great deal of information and asked me many questions. The problem now is that we don't trust one another. I have a way to resolve this misunderstanding between us. Would you like to hear it?"
"Speak," William said bluntly.
"Listen, William. We can each write the answer on a slip of paper and reveal them at the same time. If they match, then the misunderstanding is resolved. What do you think?" said Saunière.
"Let's go back inside."
"Alright, William. I didn't expect you to be so difficult to deal with. Carrying a gun everywhere... you're very different from Henry. Far more reckless." He then deliberately stepped back into the café's security camera's line of sight.
William watched the cunning old man step into the camera's view, then deliberately ask the waiter for two slips of paper. It was a clear signal to William not to try anything, a reminder that they were in a public place with cameras watching.
William wasted no time. He wrote "Solomon's Treasure" on the paper, put down the pen, folded the note, and placed it under an empty coffee cup. He then pushed the cup to a table two meters away from them.
William looked at Saunière. "Let me be clear, Mr. Saunière. You'd better pray that what you write matches what I wrote. Otherwise, you won't be walking out of this café."
"That's impossible. We're in plain sight of everyone," Saunière said, shaking his head quickly.
William ignored him, lowering his body to use the table to block the security camera's view. He drew the Glock from his holster, then retrieved a silencer from his storage space and attached it to the barrel, all under the table.
The entire maneuver was performed right under Jacques Saunière's nose. He watched with wide eyes as William attached the silencer. When William pointed the weapon at him from under the table, Saunière knew he had no choice. He quickly wrote on his slip of paper and handed it to William.
William glanced at it. The note read: *King Solomon's Treasure*. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, he lowered the Glock and returned it to its holster before nodding toward the cup two meters away, signaling for Saunière to read his note.
Jacques Saunière also let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He walked over to the other table, picked up the cup, and unfolded the note. It read: *Solomon's Treasure*.
He walked back to William and hissed, "Damn it, you reckless boy! Your grandfather was always polite to me! I am a leader in this great alliance! Is this how you treat an ally? Were you really prepared to shoot me here, just because you thought I was prying into your family's secrets? Don't you realize I'm a man in my seventies?"
William smiled faintly. "Believe me, Mr. Saunière, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need a gun. I have many ways to ensure you wouldn't live for more than a minute. The gun was just for intimidation. Besides, it wasn't even loaded."
As he spoke, William turned his back to the camera. A finger-sized throwing knife appeared between his fingers. He glanced around the café, his eyes landing on a vase of roses on a table near a distant window.
With a flick of his wrist, the knife flew out, curving through the air. It sliced the head off a rose in the vase five or six meters away before arcing back and landing perfectly in William's waiting fingers. With another turn of his wrist, the knife vanished. In reality, he had returned it to his storage space.
Jacques Saunière stared in stunned silence, then hurried over to the rose William had cut. Picking up the flower head, he saw that the incision on the stem was perfectly smooth.
Saunière returned and grabbed William's arm. "My God, how did you do that? Henry was an excellent marksman, but he never had an ability like this! Good heavens, it's truly amazing! A throwing knife that can curve around, strike its target, and fly back to your hand!"
"Mr. Saunière, this is a secret of the Devinhir family," William said, lying smoothly. "Henry simply never learned it." In truth, after four months of practice, William could only control two knives at once, but he could make them strike two different targets simultaneously. He was eager to master more.
"Alright, it seems your family's heritage truly does go back thousands of years," Saunière sighed with admiration. "Well, William, now that we've established trust, I'll go make the necessary arrangements. I'll see you tonight."
William nodded. "See you tonight, Mr. Saunière."
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