THE DAY EMPEROR: 阳明王 【The Night Emperor Book 2】

Chapter 31 Prayers

The next day, Ye An woke up around the same time as she usually did. She followed her usual routine and headed straight to the temple while savoring a steamed bun.

When she arrived, the head monk was already waiting for her in his trademark yellow robes. The heavy temple doors were opened wide and judging by the murmurs of prayers flowing through the entrance, the prayer hall was already packed.

"Miss An, good morning." The head monk greeted Ye An with an elegant bow.

Ye An returned the bow. "Good morning, are we starting right away?" She quickened her steps so that she was astride the head monk as they crossed the threshold into the temple.

"Yes. I usually start a little bit earlier." The head monk declared with twinkling eyes as he picked a colorful cushion from the neatly-arranged tower by the opened door and passed it to Ye An before getting one for himself.

"Ah, I'm sorry for being late." Ye An apologized sheepishly as she accepted the cushion and closely followed the head monk.

The head monk turned his head back slightly and waved his free hand. "No, no. It's not a statement to reprimand. As I've said during our tour around the grounds, there is no set time to pray here. Anyone could pray at anytime of their choosing and therefore no one is ever late."

As Ye An's eyes swept across the hall, she noticed that most of the morning crowd were monks and nuns. Some of the patrons who were passing by stopped and greeted the head monk with a polite bow which the head monk returned. The people who were praying were kneeling on cushions that were arranged in tidy rows with their heads bowed in reverent prayers.

The head monk found an empty spot that was just wide enough for the both of them. "Let's pray from here."

The spot was exactly three rows from the altar. From here, the bronze statue of the deity that the temple served stood tall. This near, Ye An could tell that the features carved on the statue were feminine but the gaze that was chiseled on her face were all-seeing, giving it a gentle yet intimidating aura.

The head monk kneeled on his cushion and motioned Ye An to do the same. "You don't need to be praying to Guanyin if you don't feel the calling to her. You could just pray as is." He thoughtfully explained.

Ye An nodded and kneeled as well. 

The chants of monks and nuns around them were like a soothing salve as Ye An's thoughts turned to everyone that she had lost. She prayed for the Empress Mother, who when stripped off her title was just her grandmother. A grandmother who, albeit through means that Ye An disagreed with, was only trying to protect her family to the best that she could. She prayed for Governess Hsu, who ended up as someone Ye An saw as a mother despite not sharing a single drop of blood. She prayed for Ah Lin, a cheerful and kind soul who was truly like a brother to her. A brother who annoyed and irritated her, yes, but a friend she would have liked to have around for the rest of her life if not for his untimely and violent death. A violent death that would now be forever imprinted in her mind.

Ye An felt something wet on her face and reached for it only to realize that they were the quiet streams of her tears. Swallowing the jagged lump at her throat, she let the tears flow as they wished, washing away the sadness and guilt that Ye An had kept trapped in her chest, giving her a closure that she didn't know she needed.

She closed her eyes and Ye An could almost see all three of them in her mind's eye smiling peacefully at her. As Ye An sent them off with unuttered goodbyes, light glowed behind the image of them before they turned away and stepped into the light. Ye An ended her prayer with a quiet thank you to each of them.