Chapter 44: The Merchant of Venice (I)

“…… Bell-bell-bell-"

“…… O may the Lord Almighty bestow His mercy and not only save our souls, but also heal our **, Amen"

Since the Black Death broke out in the past year, the city of Venice, which has always been withered and dead, suddenly became extremely noisy in the early summer morning. The most striking and splendid building in the whole city of Venice, the magnificent St. Mark's Basilica, is already crowded with thousands of pious and eager citizens, as if all the citizens of this great city-state have gathered here.

From the bell tower of the church, each of them held a cross or a rosary in his hand, and sang hymns in praise of God, so pious that one could not help but wonder how these Venetian merchants, who had always been known for their shrewdness, philistine, and unjust profiteers, who were basically insulated from religious fanaticism, and who could even open a bank in front of the church to lend usury, had become so religious?

- The reason is simple: in front of St. Mark's Basilica, there are really "angels" who are performing "divine graces" for them to cure the plague. Although there are still many people who don't believe in "miracles", no one is willing to let go as the last straw in a desperate situation.

In the square in front of St. Mark's Basilica, a huge statue of the Lucky Cat was erected overnight, which might have been considered heretical in places with a particularly religious atmosphere, but in the eyes of Venetians, who often dealt with Arabs and knew that such little things were once regarded as pets, it was not a big deal. In particular, the Ducat's gold coins on the cat's neck and cat's paws are even more appealing to the Venetians.

Hundreds of Black Death patients, who were black and swollen, were carried by the volunteer clergy to the front of the beckoning cat statue, waiting for the "angels" to rescue them in batches. And Shizuka Jukawa, the female school doctor with golden breasts ♀ spreading her angel wings, and the rest of the "angels" have a look of compassion (natural stay?). With a meow-like and strange language, he offered them the grace and salvation of the "kingdom of heaven."

“…… Don't worry, don't be afraid, the power of God will soothe your physical pain. Meow something brighter than the sun, something more adorable than a holy cat, appear in the flow of time, and in your great name, in this light, I swear in this light that I will give these lambs who believe in the Lord equal salvation meow group healing meow (Japanese)"

Suddenly, a dazzling pillar of pure white light quietly descended, instantly flooding half of the square, swaying on the Black Death patients who were covered with sores and abscesses, and emitted bursts of rancid smell...... The multicolored brilliance of the crystal clear like the finest gems shimmered on their bodies. The pure positive energy full of vitality spreads everywhere, washing and purifying all the pain and filth of a qiē.

The vast vitality overwhelms the mountains and seas, and dispels all diseases; The holy white light refreshes the heart and spleen, and heals a wound.

In a trance, people seemed to see the gate of heaven slowly opening overhead, and heard the holy hymn sung by the cherub.

At this point, the Venetians gathered in the square wept with joy, hugged the patients who opened their eyes in a daze, and burst into tears of excitement. Even those with the most modest beliefs were inspired in this moment to become the most devout believers in God on earth.

After all, what could be more effective in breaking people's defenses than a great miracle that they have witnessed?

“…… There is no need to thank us so much, mortals, every qiē is the will of God, and even this plague is a punishment for the sin of cruelty to cats that mortals have suffered for many years."

In the face of the worship and gratitude of the citizens of Venice, the "angels" pretended to be indifferent, and at the same time handed over many plastic cat figurines to the people, "I hope that you will never be misled by those absurd legends in the future, be kind to every cat you meet, and thank them with fish and milk for their hard work in catching rats every night." Don't be deceived by the heresy spread by those devils, continue to abuse cats, increase your sins, and lead to the next ruined ......" Shizuka Jukawa said to the citizens with a cute shake of her fingers.

“…… Rest assured, we will obey the Lord's teachings and love the cat as if it were a child......" The citizens of Venice naturally agreed.

“…… Also, if you have underage or unmarried girls in your family, it is best to let them practice the mouth habit of speaking, so that it is easier to please the gods...... In addition, we can provide cat ear cards for atonement and cat's claw gloves of various shapes, as well as cat tails, which can be worn like crosses ⊥ ladies and ladies, and do not feel ashamed, this is a sign of devotion and faith, although this sacred healing technique can heal your sick and restore you to health at this moment, it cannot prevent the abominable disease from invading your body again, after all, the city has been polluted. Doraemon, who is also dressed as an angel, also added.

“…… Oh honorable angels, please save us from the plague......" The believers immediately fell to their knees again.

“…… Don't worry, don't be afraid, the Lord has given us all the power to save the world, hurry up and follow the line over there, and put the holy seal on each of your arms. Although it will not protect you from all diseases, and it will not be effective for life, it will at least ⊥ you away from the threat of the Black Death for six months......," Shizuka Jukawa said with a compassionate face, and it was really a saint.

As a result, thousands of Venetian citizens lined up, rolled up their sleeves, stretched their arms in front of an old man with a straight face, and one by one were vaccinated against the plague packaged as a "holy seal...... It was a scene of joy and affection, where endless devotion and love converged, where the highest holiness and faith were sublimated, and many of the poets present shed tears of emotion and brewed great psalms in their hearts......

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However, like the drama of traditional routines, since there is a guy who sings white face and pretends to be a good person, it is natural that the role of singing black face and pretending to be a villain is indispensable.

While most of the travelers stood in St. Mark's Square and sang white-faced and pretended to be good, and offered "the Lord's favor" to all the citizens of Venice, Wang Qiu reluctantly stayed on the bell tower of St. Mark's Basilica and sang black-faced and pretended to be evildoers, playing with a group of scheming old foxes, big foxes, and little foxes.

“…… See, your Excellency, that God and the Archangels will be pleased with the fact that so many devout believers have at once been found in Venice, a place where faith was once weak, and who have been saved and have taken the way of the Lord more and more determinedly."

Standing on the towering bell tower, stretching out his hand and pointing to the scene of worship and worship of the people below, the Doge of Venice said so proudly.

“…… Hmph, devout faith is dedicated to God, not to us. All we care about is how much gold or possessions we have. As long as someone is willing to pay enough money, we don't even mind performing miracles on the infidels in the Eastern Desert. ”

Wang Qiu turned around and glanced at the Governor of Venice, who seemed to be full of righteousness and awe-inspiring face, and snorted disdainfully, "...... Therefore, please put away your thoughts, Mr. Governor, this kind of pretended piety is of no meaning to us, and we are a hundred times more skilled than you in dealing with the inspection of the leaders, in short, the one million ducats promised to us cannot be less, otherwise, if we can save the Venetians from the haze of the Black Death, we can also sow an even more terrible plague, and let death completely swallow your city."

Hey, is this still a holy angel? How is it that we Venetian merchants are more lacking in modesty, and have nothing but money in our eyes?

With this thought, the Doge of Venice couldn't help but touch his handkerchief and wipe the cold sweat on his forehead, and the priests who stood behind the Doge were already so angry that they were about to faint - if this guy in front of him was not an angel, they would definitely shout "heresy" and burn each other

But as the rulers of Venice, they must still negotiate and mediate as much as possible in order to preserve the interests of the city-state, whether the other party is an angel or a devil - at the signal of the governor's eyes, the Archbishop of Venice coughed and came up to him and asked sternly: "...... Your Excellency's words seem to be very disrespectful to the Lord Almighty, and are you not afraid of the wrath of the Lord when you abuse the grace of the Lord for your own personal gain? ”

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