The ealry painting under the stairs is 'The Vinegar Taster' in which three key religious figures drink vinegar, and two of them screw their faces up whilst the taoist laughs, for he doesn't taste bitterness. A key example in Taoism, the painting was mentioned twice in Shotgun: "Life is sweet but not it seems for Buddha" and "Vinegar taster says 'The more force I apply, more trouble I make'".