187: Planning, running on both sides of the road

There was something Lu Chen hadn't said yet in his heart.

That was, Nita's value only lasted ten years.

Unless she became stronger.

By then, there would be a way... to return to the modern world.

It was still in Rome.

Lu Chen yawned and glanced at the time on his watch.

"I still have to go on a date and tour Rome with the two girls!"

It was currently early morning.

Less than a second had passed since Lu Chen left earlier.

He was back in the modern world.

On the streets of Rome.

Piazza di Spagna in the morning mist hadn't fully awakened; Rome in March was filled with the scent of moist roses.

Lu Chen draped his dark gray trench coat over his arm, looking at the two figures walking toward him on the stone steps carrying kraft paper bags—Ning Xiwei's dark green velvet long dress rippled in the morning breeze, and Ignis's wheat-colored arms were emerging from her mint-colored knit cardigan, with a lipstick mark on her coffee cup like a blooming poppy.

"French croissant or Italian cannoli?" As Ning Xiwei handed over the paper bag, the lily-of-the-valley brooch in her hair reflected a dew-like luster.

Ignis suddenly hooked her arm around Lu Chen's neck from behind, the sweet scent of almond frosting pressing against his ear, "Of course, we have to choose a Roman-style surprise!"

Lu Chen felt gratified.

A rare moment of leisure amidst a busy schedule.

Truly stealing half a day of leisure from a floating life.

The bustle of the world and the tenderness of a lover were the most soothing to the soul.

"Wouldn't choosing you be good? My fiery Flame Demon girl."

"Heehee, then Sister Ning Xiwei will be jealous!"

Amidst laughter and joy, Lu Chen carried Ignis on his back as she clamored to Charge.

Taking Ning Xiwei's quiet hand, they began their three-person date toward the vast city of Rome.

As they passed through Palazzo Montecitorio, a flock of pigeons flew past the Baroque fountain, splashing up a rainbow.

Ignis dragged Lu Chen into an antique shop in an alleyway, the glass window reflecting Ning Xiwei's silhouette as she paused before a bronze statue of Dante.

"This is an aqueduct rebuilt by Pope Sixtus V in 1585," she lightly touched a yellowed city map with her fingertip, "these terracotta water pipes are still buried beneath our feet today."

"I'd rather hear about the Da Vinci Code than a history lesson." Ignis pressed a brass telescope inlaid with malachite to her eye, then suddenly turned and bumped into Lu Chen's arms.

As Lu Chen supported her waist, he caught a glimpse of Ning Xiwei looking down to tidy her wind-blown notes, her sheepskin gloves and fountain pen glinting with a cold hue in the morning light.

The Tiber River shimmered like liquid gold at the ten o'clock position.

Ignis stepped barefoot onto the railing of Ponte Sant'Angelo, her chiffon skirt dancing with the twelve marble angels carved by Bernini.

"When the Black Death was spreading, the Pope back then stood right here and said he saw Archangel Michael... Little Skeleton, say, aren't these people from the Holy See very good at lying?" Ning Xiwei's explanation was cut short by the whistle of a distant ferry.

Ignis pressed Lu Chen's hand against her lower back, "But now our Little Skeleton has seen a real angel, and that's me—you have to catch the falling angel."

At noon, Lu Chen and the two girls arrived at other scenic spots in Rome.

This was a rare day for a date, and Lu Chen indeed wanted to take the two girls to see more places.

Before them, the Santa Maria in Cosmedin cast diamond-shaped shadows.

Ignis pushed Lu Chen toward the open mouth of the sea god statue, "I heard that liars will have their wrists bitten off. Tell me, do you like me or Xiwei?"

Her coral-colored nails brushed against the veins on his wrist, while Ning Xiwei stood in the halo three meters away flipping through Roman Architecture Research, her gaze also shifting over, clearly caring about this question.

A cold sweat broke out on Lu Chen's forehead!

This was bad; a shura field had suddenly started!

"I swear..." Before Lu Chen could finish, Ignis suddenly pulled his palm back and pressed it against her chest: "Your heart is racing."

"I swear—I like every one of you!"

"Hmph, you Great Master of balancing!"

Ignis was such a straightforward girl.

Although she said that, her face was beaming with smiles.

Because she saw sincerity on Lu Chen's face.

That was the Little Skeleton who would not deceive them.

Hearing this, Ning Xiwei's fountain pen tip left an ink blot on the paper, and the clamor of a tour group at the filming location of Roman Holiday could be heard in the distance.

On her paper, she also wrote a sentence—Me too, Little Skeleton.

While they were sharing Parma ham and melon in the shadow of Trajan's Column, Ignis licked the rose honey from her fingertips and leaned close to Lu Chen's ear, asking:

"Little Skeleton, do you know how gladiators disinfect wounds? They use red wine and honey."

As she spoke, she suddenly gave Lu Chen's ear a lick.

It made Lu Chen's old face turn red!

Unexpectedly, Ning Xiwei also suddenly came over and gave him a direct kiss.

Good grief, under Ignis's lead, even Ning Xiwei had become bold.

This date was getting more and more exciting!

Ignis leaned in and bit into the fig in Lu Chen's hand, the purple-red juice dripping down his wrist bone onto the title page of Ning Xiwei's open book.

Xiwei still loved reading.

This was very similar to Morning Dew.

But Morning Dew liked magic and science.

Whereas many of the things Ning Xiwei read didn't actually help her Cultivate much.

A quiet School belle.

As Ning Xiwei pressed a silk handkerchief against the page, a beam of light from the dome happened to envelop the three of them.

The sounds of slaughter from two thousand years ago seemed to pierce through the floor tiles. Ignis pressed Lu Chen's hand onto the wild roses growing between the cracks of the stands, "Can you feel the temperature of those lost souls? Little Skeleton, this place used to be a battlefield too. An Undead like you should be able to feel it, right?"

"I can feel it. It's just that you're too naughty, little girl!"

Lu Chen grabbed Ning Xiwei.

He was about to spank her.

To give her a good lesson!

"Ahhh!!! You can't, there are so many people here!"

"Pfft~!" Ning Xiwei let out a bell-like laugh while holding her book.

Amidst such a joyful date.

Gradually, the sky darkened.

Night would soon arrive.

Twilight soaked all of Rome,

When Lu Chen and the others arrived at the Column of Marcus Aurelius, they admired the sacred beam of light leaking from the dome of the Pantheon.

They really seemed like ordinary tourists.

No one would suspect that the three were actually key figures in this world now.

Especially Lu Chen, who was the planner from a hundred thousand years ago.

The leader of human civilization's resistance against the Heavenly Dao.

Ning Xiwei looked up at the circular opening on the column, her red lips parting slightly as Latin prayers flickered between them.

Ignis pulled Lu Chen into a niche built at an unknown time, the scent of vetiver mixing with the steam of sweat, "The echo effect is best here..."

Her unfinished words were swallowed by the suddenly lit altar candles.

Magic and technology made these ancient sites even more brilliant.

Ning Xiwei followed them, standing at the boundary of light and shadow, her pearl earrings swaying gently with the sound of the Requiem pipe organ.

As Ignis bit open the first button of Lu Chen's collar, she threw herself into his arms!