Chapter 73 Chapter 72

Langdon staggered off the scaffolding and jumped to the ground.He brushed the plaster off his clothes.Victoria was there waiting for him. "How's luck?" she asked. He shook his head. "They carried the bishop into the carriage." Langdon looked over to the parked car, where Olivetti and a group of soldiers were spreading a map over the hood. "Are they looking southwest?" She nodded. "There is no church. The first thing you see from here is St. Peter's Basilica." Langdon murmured that at least they were on the same page.He walked towards Olivetti, and the soldiers made way for him.

Olivetti raised his head, "Nothing, not every church is marked here, only some cathedrals, about fifty of them." "Where are we?" Langdon asked. Olivetti pointed to Piazza del Popolo and drew a straight line to the southwest.That line disappeared, leaving a border, densely packed with small black squares indicating the location of the main churches in Rome.Regrettably, the main church in Rome is also the oldest church in Rome, built around the seventeenth century. "I have to make a decision," Olivetti said. "Are you sure it's in this direction?"

Langdon imagined the angel's outstretched fingers, feeling the urgency again. "Yes, sir, certainly." Olivetti shrugged and followed the line again.This road intersects the Margherita Bridge and Rue Zocola, crosses the Fuxing Square, there is no church along the way, and stops suddenly in the middle of St. Peter's Square. "St. Peter? Is something wrong?" said the soldier with a deep scar under his left eye. "St. Peter's a church." Langdon shook his head. "It has to be a public place. It's hardly visible at the moment that it's a public place."

"But the line goes through St. Peter's Square." Victoria added, looking over Langdon's shoulder. "The square is a public place." Langdon had considered this. "And yet it has no statue." "Isn't there a monolith in the middle?" She is correct.There is a monolith in St. Peter's Square.Langdon looked at the stele in the square ahead.Towering pyramids.It was some sort of strange coincidence, he thought, and he dismissed the idea. "The monolith in the Vatican is not the work of Bernini, it was bought by Caligula, and it has nothing to do with Qi." There is another problem. "Also, the poet says the elements are scattered in Rome. St. Peter's Square is in the Vatican, not in Rome."

"That depends on whom you ask," a soldier interrupted suddenly. Langdon looked up, "What did you say?" "This has always been a contentious issue. Most maps show St. Peter's Square belonging to the Vatican, but because it is outside the walled city-state, Roman officials have for centuries claimed it to be part of Rome." "Joke," Langdon said.He never knew this. "I just wanted to mention it," the soldier continued, "because Commander Olivetti and Ms. Wittler are asking about a statue related to Qi." Langdon's eyes widened. "Then you've heard that there's a statue in St. Peter's Square?"

"Not exactly. It's not a statue worthy of the name, and probably has nothing to do with it." "Go on!" Olivetti said eagerly. The guard shrugged. "The only reason I know this is that I'm usually on duty in the square. I know every corner of St. Peter's Square." "That statue," Langdon demanded, "what does it look like?" Langdon wondered if the Illuminati had really been brave enough to place their second sign outside St. Peter's Church. "I pass it every day on my patrol," said the guard, "in the middle of the square, exactly where the line points. That's why I thought of it. As I said, it's not a statue in the true sense of the word. statue. It's more like a...a rock."

Olivetti looked a little manic. "a rock?" "Yes, sir. A stone embedded in the square, at the base of the monolith. But this stone is not rectangular, it is oval, and this stone is engraved with a gust of wind." He paused Say, "It's Qi, I think, if you want to describe it scientifically." Langdon stared at the young soldier in amazement. "Relief," he suddenly called out. Everyone looks at him. "Relief sculpture," Langdon said, "is the other half of the art of sculpture." Sculpture is the art of engraving in both the round and relief.For years, he has been writing this definition on the blackboard.Cameos are basically two-dimensional sculptures, such as the image of Abraham Lincoln on coins.Bernini's sculptures in the round in the Chapel of Zigi are also a good example, "Bas-relief?" the soldier asked, using the Italian art term.

"Yes, bas-relief!" Langdon slammed his fist on the hood. "I didn't expect those terms! The sculpture you're talking about in St. Peter's Square is called The Zephyr, which is also called The Breath of God." "God's Breath?" "Yes! It's Chi! And it was carved and placed there by the original architect!" Victoria looked confused. "But I thought it was designed by Michelangelo!" "Yes, he designed St. Peter's Basilica!" Langdon cheered, with the joy of victory in his tone. "But St. Peter's Square was designed by Bernini."

Everyone was in a hurry as the Alfa Romeos raced out of Piazza del Popolo, and no one noticed the BBC interview car pulling out after them.