"It is a pleasure to receive such a donation from you," the local bishop solemnly said as he accepted the three-hundred-year-old Visage of Christ from the priest from Nagasaki. This was at a church in downtown Osaka, two days later.
"I believe our church will preserve this precious historical artifact in its entirety, allowing the divine radiance to continue shining in this city."
The entirety of the ancient and significant painting had been kept in the priest's hands throughout the process, and it was only on this occasion that Liang En first saw its full aspect.
This oil painting was clearly of European origin, evident both from its artistic technique and style, likely brought directly from Europe by the missionaries of the time.
However, this was not merely an oil painting but was encased within a golden wooden box, or rather, a shrine, which was distinctly styled in traditional Japanese lacquerware.
Interestingly, the merging of these two different styles at this time was so seamless that it was hard to tell that the box was a later addition without close inspection.
Clearly, after the missionaries brought this holy icon to Japan, local believers prepared a shrine to preserve the painting, indicative of the shrine and painting's precious nature. This was during an era when Catholicism was strictly prohibited in Japan, and transporting such a large item was far more challenging than merely a painting.
Interestingly, one corner of the shrine bore black burn marks, not due to poor preservation but from a piece of history.
According to the priest, the shrine had arrived at their small church over seventy years ago, brought by a severely burnt believer from Nagasaki. Sadly, the believer had passed away less than a day after handing it over, leaving them with no knowledge of its exact origins.
However, it is now believed that this item was stored somewhere in downtown Nagasaki before being moved to a remote rural area following the nuclear blast.
At that time, nearly all Japanese believed that the U.S. military would soon land and a brutal war would erupt across Kyushu. Thus, the believer's first reaction was to take this item to a sparsely populated rural area to save it from the impending war destruction.
The stone carvings and relief slabs in this rural church also originated from the ruins of Nagasaki, salvaged from destroyed buildings and repurposed, which is why Liang En felt that these items were somewhat mismatched.
"Now Mr. Kimura's final wishes have been fulfilled, so according to his will, I will now hand over the prearranged remuneration to you," said Mr. Kimura's lawyer, who approached Liang En after the donation ceremony. He handed him a small wax-sealed box and opened it under everyone's gaze.
Inside the box were a seal, a key, and a folded piece of paper. Upon unfolding the paper, Liang En discovered it contained the location of a Swiss bank and the number of a safety deposit box.
At the bottom of the box lay a printed sheet detailing the procedure to retrieve the items from the bank.
"Very well, I believe we are now even," Liang En said as he moved aside to thoroughly examine the items and made a phone call. After confirming the transfer of items was complete, he shook hands with the lawyer, then left the church with Fan Meng and Jeanne d'Arc.
"Now, I wonder what Mr. Kimura has actually left us," Fan Meng said curiously as they walked out of the church, looking at the box.
"It should be worthwhile," Liang En confidently replied, his confidence stemming from prior contact with Pierce, a Japanese antique dealer with long-standing ties to the European antique world.
Through his contacts, Pierce had easily traced Mr. Kimura's activities before he last left Europe and ascertained that Kimura had left a significant wealth there, although the specifics remained undiscovered.
But even with this vague information, Liang En could foresee, through a card of divination known as "Prophecy (SR)," that the wealth indeed existed and awaited him in a Swiss bank vault.
Having obtained detailed information about the bank vault and the key, Liang En and his companions immediately left Japan by plane for Switzerland, arriving directly in Geneva, the famed city.
Many consider Geneva to be the capital of Switzerland, though in reality, the capital is Bern, the country's fourth-largest city.
Geneva, located at the southwestern tip of Lake Geneva where it flows into the Rhone River, is bordered by France on the south, east, and west. On a map, Geneva juts out from the main body of Switzerland, its narrowest point being only 4 kilometers wide, with many facilities shared with France, such as Cointrin International Airport.
In the local language, "Geneva" means "birth of water," a name intertwined with the area's unique environment. Upon entering the city, from any angle, one could not help but notice a colossal water jet shooting into the sky—Geneva Lake's 140-meter-high fountain
.
The cityscape was less orderly than imagined, though this disorder was merely mundane, like an untidy room, and not the threatening chaos of places like Paris.
Despite the lingering chill of spring, the city's tulips blossomed one after another. Along the lake's spacious walkways, neatly arranged flowerbeds were filled with colorful tulips.
From afar, the iconic fountain of Geneva sprayed droplets that refracted the sunlight into a rainbow of colors, creating a picturesque scene with the multicolored tulips that would become an everlasting memory for any observer.
However, Liang En and his companions only glanced briefly at these beauties before heading towards a two-hundred-year-old bank in the city center.
After all, the scenery was not going anywhere, and they were more eager to see the rewards of their completed mission than to admire the urban landscape.
Armed with all the necessary documents and having been pre-informed by Mr. Kimura's lawyer, they easily accessed the bank's vault below.
To their surprise, Mr. Kimura had not just rented a small safety deposit box but an entire bank warehouse room.
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