Lin Yin waited outside for us.
Seventh Master and I went into the temple and bought two sticks of incense, then knelt before the statue of Erlang Shen and paid our respects according to Daoist rites.
To ask for a deity's protection, first you had to believe-believe that the deity existed.
Second, you had to be sincere. As the saying went, sincerity made prayers effective.
I hadn't believed at first, but after a little guidance from Seventh Master, I did.
After all, Judge Cui really existed. Perhaps the Perfected Lord of Clear Origin and Sublime Way existed too. Whatever form he existed in, as long as he could protect Seventh Master and me, I would believe not only in Erlang Shen, Yang Jian, but even in the Victorious Fighting Buddha, Sun Wukong.
When we came out after paying our respects to Erlang Shen, Lin Yin was waiting outside.
She was an atheist, so she hadn't even entered the temple. But she hadn't said anything, or called us superstitious. Perhaps that was the upbringing of someone from a wealthy family.
Whether you believed in metaphysics, science, or some other established religion, it was a matter of personal freedom. There was no right or wrong, but you had to respect other people's beliefs.
Lin Yin was a talkative girl. I heard she had already risen to head one of the departments in her family's company.
And she hadn't used any connections at all. She had worked her way up from the bottom, step by step. The people at the company didn't even know she was Boss Lin's daughter.
She was clearly a capable girl.
With Lin Yin accompanying us, we spent the afternoon looking around without getting bored, and our nerves eased considerably.
But when night fell, there was still no escaping