Chapter 334: RTYY 331 - The Importance of Looking Into One's Eyes
Snow took a deep breath and opened his eyes just in time to see the golden light fade beneath his feet.
Looking at the soft dark-brown dirt all around him he couldn't help smiling. Now this was much better, he thought, distractedly revolving a bit of dirt with the tip of his boot.
"Thank you so much! Oh, Holy One!"
And that was all it took to drag him from his thoughts of contentment and to throw him back into that all-too-familiar awkward situation.
Forcing himself to keep smiling, Snow crossed the empty field he'd just blessed, and approached the poor family now groveling by the side of the pathway that cut through several similar, empty fields.
"Please raise your heads. There's no need to thank me," he begged, even though he knew it was no use. It really pained him, seeing humble, hard-working people like that man, his wife, and children, prostrating themselves like that, their foreheads glued to the ground.
More than once, he had tried to stop that kind of behavior. He had even tried to take the matter up with the village's Chief, in hopes he would maybe forbid all that kneeling and bowing. The result, however, had been very different from what he had intended, since TsaWan, the village's Chief and LanWan's father, apparently felt that it was the people's duty to show nothing less than deep devotion and respect, towards the Sacred Heavenly Envoy. As such, instead of forbidding that kind of disturbing behavior, the serious harsh man would even encourage it, going as far as threatening to punish those who didn't bow low enough, or that dared actually raise their heads and openly stare at the Holy One. As it was, the only one willing to understand, or even listen to what he had to say, was LanWan.
This time, however, one of the younger boys, a child of maybe four or five years of age, actually listened to his request, raising his head to look up at him, and then at the fields he'd just blessed. Peering left and right, he ended up frowning, a critical expression on his small face.
"Everything looks exactly the same!" he openly criticized, immediately making the rest of his family cringe in visible panic.
Barely raising her head to glare at her younger child, the woman immediately grabbed the little one's head and pushed it down, against the ground. As expected, the boy whined in complaint. Snow was sure that her harsh ways had hurt him. But at the mere sound out of the child's mouth, the woman quickly smacked him over his head, hushing him severely.
"Please forgive our youngest one, Holy One! He's too young and doesn't know any better! We will definitely punish him accordingly!" the man urgently declared, as if he feared he might be struck by lightning if he so much as offended Snow in any way.
"Please don't!" Snow immediately countered, feeling truly sorry for the poor child who, pressed down beneath his mother's much larger hand, could barely breathe, much less move. "After all, it is true that everything looks exactly the same," he tried his best to defend the little one, but his admission seemed to only make things even worse.
"We are truly sorry, Holy One! Please forgive us! It is all my fault! As his father, I should have taught this silly child better! We would never dare doubt the Sacred Heavenly Envoy's holy abilities! We are extremely grateful that the Sacred Heavenly Envoy has taken the time to travel this far and visit our poor, humble dwelling! Please, please don't take offense on account of this child's ignorant words!"
"Please, oh Sacred One! Please forgive us!" the woman echoed her husband's heartfelt plea, and Snow couldn't help taking a step back, feeling overwhelmed by all that unjustified begging. He really wanted to tell them to stop that, to clear their misguided vision of him and of what he had done. But, after his last failed attempt at minimizing things, he just didn't dare say another word.
"Ah! I see you've done it again!" The cheerful voice that cut through that endless current of begging and apologies was like a breath of fresh air, and Snow's eyes immediately turned to the tall man approaching them.
Looking invariably carefree and relaxed, his braided red hair like a halo of fire around his head, LanWan gave him a broad smile and pulled a heavy arm around his shoulders.
"Has our Sacred One offended you, respectful folk, in any way?" he asked, his voice as playful as always, and Snow couldn't help slightly shrinking away, under the heavy weight of his arm. The heat emanating from his body, from his every word, was enough to leave his heart beating too fast inside his chest.
"Oh no, my Lord! Not at all! Not at all!!" the man urgently replied, pressing his forehead hard against the floor, and LanWan laughed, as if he were back at home, simply joking around with one of his brothers.
"I see. Now that's a relief, then!" he declared, ruffling Snow's hair as if he were no more than kid, before he finally released him from his heavy embrace, to squat down in front of the prostrating family. "If that's so, won't you please grant our Sacred One the honor of gazing upon the faces of those he's helped today?"
Clearly startled by his request, it took the entire family a few minutes until they were able to move, the woman finally releasing the poor child's head. Slowly and fearfully straightening their backs, eventually they all sat on their heels and looked up at Snow.
Snow couldn't help smiling, warmth flooding his chest. As always, LanWan had been right. It felt really good, being able to look at those people's faces. Being able to look them in the eye and see the kindness and dedication they had for one another, and for the piece of land where he'd just poured his heart and soul, granting it all the blessings had to give.
"And as for you, little one," LanWan went on, hopping closer to the child so he could use his sleeve to wipe his dirty forehead. "You're absolutely right. Right now everything looks exactly the same. But once you and your father plant new seeds, you'll see. They will grow much faster than before, and they'll give loads and loads of tasty vegetables and fruit," he declared in the same tone one would tell a fantastic tale, and the boy's dark eyes immediately lit up, his expression on of amazed wonder. "Not only that, I promise you! These will be the tastier fruits you've ever eaten! And no one in your family will have to go hungry again!"
At that, a wide, toothless smile took over the boy's face. A smile immediately mirrored by his two older siblings, who had obviously been attentively listening to LanWan's every single word.
"So you must work hard! And help you father plant all those tasty seeds!"
The boy nodded eagerly.
"I will!" he declared, and his dark eyes turned towards Snow, filled with warm happiness and hope. "Thank you, Sacred One!"
Snow nodded. They had nothing to be thankful for. This … this was simply who he was. What he had been created to do. Blessing the land, like they called it, was just being truthful to his own nature. In fact, it was being told that he couldn't do so, as frequently as he'd like to, that was hard to endure. But he knew that those people would never understand that. Would never even really listen to him. They would only interpret his words as some kind of sacred holy modesty, and would only feel even more grateful and indebted towards him. So he simply smiled and nodded, hoping that the absence of words wouldn't feed their constant need to please and revere him as if he were some kind of god.
"Good boy!" LanWan declared, ruffling the child's hair in the same exact way he'd just done to Snow, before he finally got back to his feet. "And now we must take our leave. We're still a few hours away from home." And there was no way LanWan's father would allow them to spend the night outside, on the road, Snow knew.
The entire family inevitably bowed down again. Well, not the entire family. The younger boy remained sitting up, his dark eyes fixed on Snow, a huge toothless smile on his face. And, somehow, the mere fact that at least that child hadn't prostrated himself like that in front of him, made the fact that the others did so a little bit easier to bear.
"We wish my Lord and the Sacred Heavenly Envoy a fast and safe trip back home!" the man declared and Snow smiled at the little boy, waving him goodbye before he turned to follow LanWan.
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Author's Note: Ah, the Snow in the dream is exactly like our Snow, where bowing down and kneeling is concerned. I wonder if he'll be able to deal with all the kneeling he'll have to face once he gets to the Palace. 😔
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CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
CarPerSanti
CarPerSanti Language:
[1] . TsaWan Literally tsa (big) + wan (fire).
[2] . LanWan: Literally lan (white) + wan (fire).
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone