It was an ordinary morning. Liang En was finishing up his morning routine and preparing for breakfast when Joan of Arc walked in from outside, holding a newspaper and a thick envelope.
"There's a rather peculiar letter today," Joan of Arc placed the envelope on the table and said, "I feel what's inside isn't just an ordinary letter, as the envelope itself looks unusually bulgy and distinctly styled."
"Let me see." Intrigued by her words, Liang En took the envelope. Indeed, the letter was unlike regular mail, notably sealed with wax.
Truth be told, in this day and age, few people still used wax seals during letter writing, except for some young folks who find it amusing or perhaps some old-timers who still cling to such old-fashioned practices.
Curiously turning over the envelope, Liang En immediately recognized the origin of the letter by the wax seal—it was clearly stamped with the symbol of the Golden Dawn.
Upon opening the envelope, inside was a thin sheet of parchment written on with a special blue ink—an invitation for Liang En to attend a summer gathering of the Golden Dawn.
Seeing this letter, Liang En immediately called to confirm his participation in the gathering, as, for an organization as loosely structured as the Golden Dawn, aside from special occasions, there were only two major gatherings each year.
One of these gatherings was in summer and the other in winter, conveniently scheduled to alternate with London's annual social season, allowing members a more relaxed timetable.
Most members of this organization were from Britain's upper class, who had both the time and means to indulge in such research, yet these socialites were typically busy during the social season, thus gatherings were strategically scheduled to avoid these times.
Liang En, never much interested in aristocratic salons or banquets, appreciated that the gatherings of the Golden Dawn, although attended predominantly by high society, were generally more relaxed and not as cumbersome as noble gatherings.
Importantly, at these gatherings, participants often exchanged secret information and various items that were impossible to acquire in public venues, all of which Liang En found necessary.
Participants were advised to bring something for exchange, be it items or information, with the only requirement that it be supernaturally related.
For Liang En, this was hardly a complex matter. The archaeological report from the palace on Crete perfectly met the internal criteria of the Golden Dawn.
Thus, two days later, Liang En arrived alone in London and headed to a mansion in the Knightsbridge area owned by a member of the Golden Dawn.
As expected, the gathering was held in a casual salon style. People grouped in twos and threes, occasionally someone would step up to present their findings or items.
Liang En's eyes were opened wide at this event, as the venue indeed displayed many objects and manuscripts rarely seen or even unheard of in normal circumstances.
For instance, an elder presented a manuscript claimed to be by Paracelsus, detailing mysterious alchemical symbols.
As Liang En was versed in alchemy, he quickly recognized that the manuscript discussed methods of separating elements—even using toxic substances to create potent remedies.
The manuscript explained that toxic substances could be distilled, sublimated, decomposed, and dissolved to separate the natural elements into mercury, sulfur, and salt.
However, the manuscript was incomplete; it only showed part, omitting the crucial part about purifying and recombining these basic elements to achieve sublimation.
From this manuscript, Liang En also recognized the solid academic standing of the Golden Dawn members in this field, as the translation on the manuscript was exceptionally precise, reflecting the translator's deep expertise in cryptography and linguistics.
This proved that the Golden Dawn members were individuals backed by entire teams, including archaeologists, antique appraisers, historians, and even cryptographers.
Although in movies it's often portrayed that an explorer or archaeologist can spontaneously read ancient scripts or identify an artifact at a glance, these are merely dramatizations.
Archaeology, artifact appraisal, and linguistics are fields worthy of a lifetime of study, and it's rare for one to excel in multiple areas due to human limitations.
Of course, Liang En was an exception, but leveraging tarot cards and genuine study are two different concepts, so his case hardly held any practical value.
The first two days of the meeting were filled with members sharing their discoveries and items. Since Liang En's findings on Crete directly related to ancient European legends, he was specifically scheduled to speak during prime time.
As the discoverer, Liang En had access to all archaeological data, and after a period of joint excavations by an international team, the mysteries of the Palace of Minos were gradually unveiled.
During his presentation, Liang En focused on the complex interior structure of the palace, the abundance of bull-related items and murals, and the multitude of weapons found, particularly numerous double-headed axes.
The Golden Dawn members were extremely excited about these findings, as they aligned perfectly with the legends of the Minot
aur in the Cretan Labyrinth.
For an organization in pursuit of the supernatural, this was an invaluable discovery, proving that some legends were not merely tales, but had real existence in the world.
During the subsequent free Q&A session, at least a third of the Golden Dawn members gathered around Liang En to inquire about various details, especially about aspects of the ruins they found intriguing.
Later in the evening's informal discussions, most conversations centered around the information Liang En brought. In the eyes of many, this was considered the most valuable discovery since the founding of the Golden Dawn.
Regrettably, just talking wouldn't yield much of value, so many approached Liang En during the small-scale cocktail party after dinner to apply directly for a chance to visit the archaeological site and examine the artifacts and relics closely.
Such archaeological sites are often semi-public, as the Western world places significant importance on public opinion, and semi-public digs serve as opportunities to educate the public about archaeology.
Fortunately, the identities of those present allowed them to easily surpass the usual barriers to entry.
Thus, Liang En did a good turn by compiling a list of willing participants and sending it to the archaeological site, which then sent out invitations directly.
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