Chapter 321: Fire Tests Gold

That night, before going poking coal, Kaelen soaked a basin of sticky rice.

The rice was yellow flower sticky rice, plump round grains, soaked with crushed turmeric water and a pinch of salt, soaking until morning then every grain was completely golden yellow. Beside it was another basin of split mung beans soaked in warm water. Sane squatted watching him wash the beans, asking going poking coal yet still soaked rice to do what.

"Finishing poking returning is exactly in time to steam sticky rice." Kaelen answered deadpan.

"Then why not just burn completely those churches for fast?" Sane asked, hearing the tone then he seemed truly regretful.

"Burning to do what. The bricks and tiles of the churches are the sweat of the citizens, burning it then the Church again forces the citizens to build others." Kaelen wiped his hands onto his shirt flap: "We only take back our stone only."

Then he sat leaning his back against the base of the half stone half tree statue, pressing both palms onto the root clump sprouting out from the temple floor.

Tree roots following his hands drilled down into the ground, spreading out across the entire kingdom like water draining into dry fields. Roots threaded under main roads, drilled across river beds, tracing to wherever then finding warm specks to there.

There were specks mixed inside river dikes, there were specks plastered tightly with mortar in wall bases, while the majority were lying piled up under church foundations, several dozens of years no one remembered, only remaining smoldering like coal buried under ash.

Sweat beaded dotting on Kaelen’s forehead. Sane sat down behind his back, pressing his hand onto the back of his hand, then pursed his lips blowing lightly a breath onto the tree base, exactly like people holding a bamboo tube blowing the stove.

A purple light streak ran along the root clump, running to wherever the coal caught fire to there.

Throughout the night, across the entire kingdom dogs barked endlessly, roosters crowed at the wrong hours, while under the foundations of three hundred and twelve churches, every old statue stone glowed bright red in the darkness without a single person knowing. On the soaring high cloud layer, the Law kid tried counting following every speck, counting to over three hundred then his eyes blurred, rolling out sleeping.

The rooster just crowed morning then Kaelen lit the stove steaming sticky rice.

Mung beans steamed cooked then brought out mashing smoothly right when still hot, gripping really tightly the hands forming several round handfuls as large as pomelos. Sticky rice scooped out letting dry, put into the steamer steaming one round for the grains to cook, then taking chicken fat drizzling on, fluffing it up, steaming adding one more round for the sticky rice grains to be sticky and shiny.

The remaining chicken fat then brought out frying shallots, frying until the shallots turned cockroach-wing color, fragrant deafening the whole mound.

Slicing beans was Sane’s job. Wanting to slice skillfully then must place the whole bean handful onto the palm, pulling the thin blade toward oneself really evenly, every slice as thin as every other slice.

The God of War held the knife sliding one line, the bean slice falling down onto the sticky rice surface paper-thin, thin to the point of reflecting even the morning sunlight. Sticky rice scooped onto banana leaves, covered with a layer of sliced beans, sprinkled with a spoonful of fried shallots, drizzled with a bit of scallion oil then wrapped squarely.

People on the mound woke up, everyone saw beside themselves having a banana leaf package still piping hot.

"Yesterday chicken porridge, today is again what dish that is excessively fragrant?" The dyer family’s widow both peeled the leaf and mumbled: "Following the Church forty years, completely no one gave me even a bowl of plain water."

Wat then was worrying about another matter. This morning the Church invited citizens outside the wall bringing offerings into the church giving thanks, yet this whole mound turning pockets inside out also could not dig up a single coin.

"People invite going giving thanks then we just go." Old Osric dusted the stone dust on his shirt flap, standing up: "Completely no one gets to have a Deity cooking rice for them to eat like us you know. This life living like that is too fulfilled already."

At mid-morning, the Fenmoor church bell rang a long bout calling people entering doing ceremony.

Bishop Leofric had stayed awake the whole night. When the purple lightning bolt tore the sky yesterday, he was hiding under the altar, but arriving at morning he had finished drafting the sermon, that the purple lightning was the lightning of repentance, the God of Light was angry because the citizens outside the wall lacked sincerity, therefore this year offerings must be offered double.

The church was crowded as tightly packed. The rich in the city sat fully occupying several front pew rows, everyone laboriously hugging an offering basket, the City Lord sat right in the middle, his face gleeful as if never having closed the city gates ever.

The citizens on the mound then stood crowding each other all the way at the end, empty-handed, only having exactly a half-gnawed sticky rice package, the fragrant fried shallot smell overpowering even the incense smell.

"Who let the outside-the-wall crowd into here like this?" The fabric shop owner’s wife pinched her nose turning down.

"The Bishop invited you know." Wat held the sticky rice package up: "Invited even offerings too, but my family is poor, only has this, do you eat it?"

[These beggars then will also have to offer anyway.] Bishop Leofric thought, then raised two hands high: "Oh followers of the God of Light..."

He just finished the sentence then under the altar foot echoed a cracking sound.

A crack line ran along the stone floor, from the crack line sprouted up a green grass tuft. Then two tufts, then a whole strip, the grass just like that spread following the stone grout line as if someone was laying a mat. The gold layer plated on several large pillars peeled off in patches like fish scales, fluttering falling down onto the heads of the crowd sitting below, exposing inside entirely carved leaves on stone.

The God of Light statue on the altar also creaked cracklingly. The sun disc under the statue’s feet cracked wide open then shattered into pieces, exposing a stone tree root clump. The golden shoes cracked following, falling clattering down onto the altar step, leaving behind two bare feet.

"Bare feet look!"

"The God of Light went barefoot since when?"

"Probably got shoes stolen!"

"Calm down!" Bishop Leofric shouted, two hands still raised high: "This is a test of the God of Light! Anyone wavering faith then..."

"What test that tested dropping exactly completely the pair of shoes?" Someone cross-examined from the end of the church, thus the whole citizen crowd on the mound burst out laughing.

The City Lord then completely could not utter a single sentence. He looked at the two bare feet on the altar, again remembered the mound outside the wall that three days ago exactly he ordered closing the gates abandoning, cold sweat poured out soaking completely the shirt back.

[Dead already, what if this Deity holds grudges...]

While the whole church was still bustling, an old woman sitting in the front pew row suddenly mumbled singing, her voice trembling like a person just remembering a thing having forgotten since the time still wearing hair tufts.

"The barefooted Deity crossing the field, going where grass grows, vast golden rice..."

Several other old men old women froze blankly for a moment, then also mumbled singing following. When little, what child in this region was not sung to by grandma using that sentence, only that growing up then being banned from singing, banned for a long time then forgot.

Old Osric parted the crowd going up, placing his calloused hand onto the instep of the statue foot. At the age of sixteen, exactly his hands sat carving this pair of shoes, the master standing behind his back instructed having to carve completely covering the toes, otherwise the whole guild would be hanged for the crime of keeping an evil god’s statue.

"This statue originally was the statue of the barefooted Deity." The old man said, his voice completely not loud, yet the whole church was dead silent: "The pair of shoes exactly I carved adding into. I apologize to You."

The fabric shop owner’s wife from earlier still pinching her nose, now actually knelt dropping down right beside Wat, because she just remembered when little her mother also sang to her using exactly that singing sentence.

"Arrest that heretic old man!" Bishop Leofric roared.

Several guards dashed over, but only having run a few steps then the spear shafts in their hands had sprouted shoots sprouted buds, roots embedded completely down onto the floor, pulling whatever way also not coming out. Before long the whole spear row had become a straight young tree row in the middle of the aisle.

"Even your spears have abandoned the religion look!" Wat burst out laughing loudly.

The pawnshop owner then completely didn’t bother paying attention what Deity with what Deity, he crawled scrambling under the chairs picking up gold leaf pieces putting into his hat, picking up not in time with the children crowd under the mound currently chasing each other catching flying gold like catching butterflies.

Whatever Deity then whatever Deity, gold was still gold!

Bishop Leofric lifted his ceremonial robe running scurrying up the bell tower, intending to pull the alarm bell calling the city guards. The bell rope was already wrapped tightly by morning glories, he had to climb the ladder all the way up to the roof, out of breath.

On the bell hanging beam there were two people sitting eating breakfast.

The purple-haired person held out a banana leaf package: "Eaten breakfast yet?"

Bishop Leofric startled missing his step, his head bumped ’clack’ into the bell then slid one streak from the ladder top down all the way to the tower foot. Ultimately the bell also managed to ring one really loud ’bong’ sound.

Kaelen snorted laughing, reaching out picking a sticky rice grain stuck on Sane’s mouth corner.

"This time you blew the fire you know." Sane tilted his head for him to pick, his eyes still glancing at the faith thread crowd currently flying up from the church door: "Yet still completely not a single thread returning to my hands."

"Then wait for Mr. Osric to finish carving your statue."

"Tell the old man to carve doubling the size."

Kaelen shook his head smiling, then opened his palm out. The whole kingdom in his hands had lit dottedly like sesame sprinkled onto a sticky rice tray.

Through the root clump, he saw the stone throne of His Eminence the Cardinal in the Grand Cathedral in the Royal Capital taking root embedding down onto the floor, he sat stubbornly on it the whole session unable to stand up. Several coastal fishing villages then the churches were covered tightly by morning glory flowers from foundation to roof, fishermen believed it was a good harvest omen, chanting calling each other going out to sea early.

The riverside towns got even more profit, the church courtyards sprouted densely a lush green water spinach patch, housewives carried baskets out picking returning boiling dipping in soy sauce, both picking and criticizing how many years worshipping the God of Light not getting a single vegetable bunch.

The mountain monasteries then suffered the most, the abbot ordered painting lime covering several stone feet having just sprouted out from the wall, lime painted up to wherever slid completely down to there like water pouring onto taro leaves.

Inside the Royal Palace, the King read memorials reporting churches all over the country sprouting grass, reading forever not finishing then rested his pen, dispatching people going asking seeing inside the palace still having any old wet nurse remembering the barefooted Deity lullaby by heart.

Arriving at noon, from the Grand Cathedral bell tower there were already three carrier pigeons flying toward the sea direction, bringing bad news back for the Pope in Cathalan, the person whose hair until now still had not grown back.

While right at the foot of the bell tower, the people in Fenmoor city had sequentially dragged each other out the gate, going toward the mound outside the wall, queuing under the base of the half stone half tree statue waiting to learn writing names. Old Osric had placed ready a huge stone piece beside, hand holding chisel hand holding hammer knocking clinking, carving doubling the size.

A yellow silhouette slumped down sitting beside, immediately picking a sticky rice package.

Heavenly Dao mumbled chewing said: "Why change all into your Deity statues huh? If the Light returns, he not going crazy is strange you know!"

Sane coldly said: "Only fake Deity statues anyway, keeping them also has no effect at all, conversely even helping other people get profit. Furthermore we and the kids have bloodline connections, only needing the citizens on this continent to hold reverence worshipping the Nature Deity statue, the kids automatically will receive a large amount of faith."

Kaelen hearing finishing Sane’s words then smiled even brighter: "Waiting for them to return, the God statues originally worshipped who, then will automatically return to the original shape anyway."

"Eating the rest of this package then we go over to the neighboring country." He said.

"Mhm." Sane wrapped the remaining sticky rice putting away into the space pocket, conveniently snatched immediately the package currently lying in Heavenly Dao’s hands. Heavenly Dao immediately went crazy, wanting to rush in fighting with Sane right on the spot.

Right at this moment, the bracelet on Kaelen’s wrist vibrated.

[Papa, Daddy, over that side has what matter happening or something? We feel very much faith from followers pouring back! Since reincarnating until now, we have never received faith!]

Kaelen and Sane put their heads together looking, simultaneously blooming a smile. Kaelen turned to Heavenly Dao, pointing at the message on the bracelet: "Look seeing, not smashing fake God statues away, then how can real Deities receive faith huh?"