Hearing this, Wang Guan was also slightly taken aback.

After all, this was one of the world-renowned universities, and Wang Guan certainly knew of it. Mr. Hawke, being a faculty member at Oxford, naturally carried significant credibility.

In contrast to the nearly tarnished reputation of Chinese educators, scholars from Oxford University commanded an undisputed level of respect from the two men. This was not idolizing foreign things, but merely a fundamental courtesy paid to knowledge itself.

Of course, respect aside, even after confirming Mr. Hawke understood Old English, Fang Mingsheng still hesitated, unsure whether to seek his counsel. After all, selfishness is inherent to human nature; Fang Mingsheng could not easily share the parchment he had paid good money for without compensation—it simply didn't align with his personal code of conduct.

Mr. Hawke seemed to grasp this, and he swiftly dispelled Fang Mingsheng’s reservations with a single statement.

"I am merely curious. If you are uneasy, I can sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement." Mr. Hawke placed his right hand over his chest, his expression serious. "I can even swear to God that I will absolutely not disclose anything I see to any third party."

Wang Guan did not believe in God, but he found himself somewhat trusting Mr. Hawke's assurance. After all, for a true scholar, reputation should be held above life itself. The dedication to integrity surely surpassed that of many who only spoke official rhetoric.

However, Fang Mingsheng saw things differently; he preferred to assume the worst of intentions. He certainly wouldn't trust an oath, but he did trust a contract. This, he thought, was something he had picked up from Westerners—the spirit of the contract.

So, after half an hour of fussing, Fang Mingsheng managed to draw up two confidentiality agreements. The contract was drafted by his trusted lawyer, whom he called in, and the clauses were comprehensive. After transferring it to a computer, he asked the train attendant for help printing it out. Remarkable that the train even had a printer...

This was a minor detail, not worth dwelling on. Once Mr. Hawke readily signed the NDA, Fang Mingsheng finally felt at ease and produced the parchment for him to examine.

"Oh."

At first glance, astonishment flickered across Mr. Hawke's face.

"What is it?"

Instantly, Fang Mingsheng became nervous. "Is there a problem with the item?"

"Not a problem, but the script is even older than I anticipated." Mr. Hawke offered an explanation, then focused his entire being on the brief inscription on the paper. He studied it intently, occasionally muttering to himself, seeming almost lost in the work.

Fang Mingsheng certainly dared not interrupt, but after seven or eight minutes, seeing Mr. Hawke remain still, his patience finally wore thin. He couldn't help but speak up. "Mr. Hawke, how is it coming along? What do these characters actually mean?"

"Be patient, I am still analyzing." Mr. Hawke replied distractedly, occasionally murmuring sounds as if trying to deduce the pronunciation of the words to pin down the precise meaning of the text.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and Fang Mingsheng’s patience was nearly depleted when Mr. Hawke finally raised his head, though his eyes were clouded with conflict.

"What? You still haven't figured it out?" Fang Mingsheng’s heart sank halfway.

"The meaning of the individual characters is clear."

At this point, Mr. Hawke frowned. "But I’m not entirely certain what the entire sentence is trying to convey."

"As long as the basic meaning of the words is clear, that's good."

Upon hearing this, a smile returned to Fang Mingsheng’s face. He eagerly asked, "Then please tell me, what does the paper say?"

"The first word seems to mean forest, grassland, or perhaps a place for shepherding—it has three potential meanings. Judging by the context, it’s likely the place for shepherding." Mr. Hawke speculated. "The second phrase also contains an ambiguous word, representing the meanings of lake, well water, or river..."

Fang Mingsheng’s eyes widened, and he nodded vaguely. Finally, he gave up. "Mr. Hawke, you can tell me the other meanings of the words later. Right now, I just need to know the meaning of the whole phrase, and your deduced meaning..."

"Very well."

Mr. Hawke nodded and proceeded to explain carefully. "Whether it’s a lake, well water, or a river, in any case, at the end of this body of water, there is a church. Yes, specifically a church, or perhaps a castle..."

"A place for shepherding, at the end of the water, a church, a castle!"

Fang Mingsheng pieced the parts together, his brow immediately furrowing deeply. "Is that all the content?"

"There is one more phrase." Mr. Hawke shook his head and continued. "The words in this phrase separately represent Lord, or God, as well as eternity and companionship."

As he spoke, Mr. Hawke hesitated. "This phrase has two possible meanings: one is praising the Lord, extolling the immortal, eternal existence of God. The second is that God accompanies you—meaning the Lord is with you."

"...That complicated."

Fang Mingsheng was stunned. "Then, putting it all together, what is the actual content of these writings? In a place for shepherding there are streams and rivers; at the end of the flow is a church; God eternally accompanies you, is with you?"

"Roughly so." Mr. Hawke sighed helplessly. "That's why I find it troubling; I can’t grasp the specific meaning. It’s mainly because ancient English words have few meanings, and each word represents multiple layers of significance..."

In such a situation, complaining was useless. Fortunately, the basic meanings of the characters were known, which was a marginal gain. Realizing this, Fang Mingsheng's mood improved somewhat, and he turned to Wang Guan. "Do you think these words have any deeper, hidden meanings?"

Wang Guan understood Fang Mingsheng's thinking and cut straight to the chase. "You think this is a code?"

"Uh... quite possibly."

Since it was openly discussed, Fang Mingsheng held nothing back and stated plainly, "If it were just a simple praise of God, why bother hiding it carefully inside a cipher box?"

Wang Guan nodded lightly, finding the reasoning sound.

After all, based on the conveyed meanings, the text didn't appear to be an anti-clerical declaration; rather, it seemed like a hymn praising God. It looked perfectly ordinary; why not simply display it openly instead of concealing it?

"Or perhaps, this is the handwriting of some famous person?"

At the same time, Wang Guan considered another possibility. "For instance, a Pope, a Cardinal, or someone of similar stature casually wrote down this passage praising God, and it was acquired by someone with a passion for collecting famous autographs. Valued highly, and feared theft, so it was hidden in the cipher box."

"That’s not impossible either." Fang Mingsheng frowned and quickly inquired, "Mr. Hawke, is there a signature on it? Is it something belonging to a famous person..."

"No."

Before Fang Mingsheng could finish, Mr. Hawke shook his head decisively. "There is no signature, nor any emblem depicting identity. Therefore, there is no way to deduce who wrote this line."

"Is that so..." Fang Mingsheng was instantly very disappointed. Although another possibility was eliminated, he couldn't find any joy in it.

"I apologize," Mr. Hawke said somewhat sheepishly. "With my abilities, I could only interpret this much. I haven't been of much help; I am truly sorry."

"Mr. Hawke, you mustn't blame yourself," Wang Guan countered. "The text on the parchment lacks historical context to begin with. Perhaps only a specific person could truly understand its meaning. The fact that you helped us translate it is already something we are very grateful for..."

"Actually, I could do better."

At this moment, Mr. Hawke mused, "My research into Old English is not thorough enough for me to grasp the precise meaning accurately. However, I know a few friends who specialize in Old English research; they are more capable than I am. If you don't mind, I can ask them to help decipher these texts."

"Ahem..."

Fang Mingsheng hesitated, beginning to wrestle with his dilemma again.

In stark contrast to Fang Mingsheng’s indecision, Wang Guan was quite composed and directly nodded. "Then we will have to trouble Mr. Hawke."

"Wang Guan, you..."

Just as Fang Mingsheng was about to protest, he suddenly let out a resigned sigh, essentially conceding the matter. After all, he reasoned, the contents of the parchment might be important, but without knowing its origin at all, it held no substantial value. In other words, whether it was leaked or not made no real difference for now.

Never mind. Perhaps he would just stuff a blank sheet of paper into the cipher box and sell the box for a profit. Fang Mingsheng pondered, starting to consider how to maximize the profit from the Da Vinci cipher box.

"Rest assured,"

At this point, Mr. Hawke smiled. "My friends are highly professional scholars; they simply enjoy researching Old English and have never made a habit of disseminating other people's secrets..."

In a way, this served as another guarantee. Fang Mingsheng remained noncommittal, not really expecting any groundbreaking discoveries from Mr. Hawke’s friends, but still holding onto a one-in-ten-thousand hope, he agreed to Mr. Hawke’s idea of seeking help from his acquaintances.

Mr. Hawke was delighted by this. He immediately fetched a pen and paper, meticulously copying the text from the parchment before returning the original to Fang Mingsheng.

"Wait for my good news!"

After exchanging contact details, the train reached the station. Mr. Hawke politely excused himself and slowly disembarked.

"Are you giving up now?"

Wang Guan chuckled. "I told you not to hold out much hope. Never mind, with your abilities, you certainly won't lose money; you definitely have the means to earn it all back."

"Of course." Fang Mingsheng nodded smugly. He had that confidence. Of course, money wasn't his primary concern; he just felt a bit miffed. He thought he might gain something valuable, only to find it was tasteless leftover—chicken ribs one can neither swallow nor spit out. It was understandable that he felt a touch of irritation.

However, this was just a minor incident during the journey. Once it passed, Fang Mingsheng stopped dwelling on it because the train had reached its final destination.

"We’re here, let's get off."

At that moment, Fang Mingsheng’s spirits lifted, and he immediately urged Wang Guan to leave. They disembarked with the crowd and found themselves in a relatively bustling small town.

"Do your friends live in the town?" Wang Guan asked curiously, observing the surroundings. He noticed quite a few travelers, leading him to speculate that there must be some local historical sites.

"Not in the town, but in the ancient castle outside the town," Fang Mingsheng said with a smile. "Just follow along..."