Esoteric Buddhism: To live as king in America

Looking at the homeless man who was lost in thought, Mian was also a little troubled, not knowing how to handle this relationship.

Just then, the cards that Mian had hidden in the warehouse came to mind.

Wait, could it be...?

My name is Mian.

In a way that didn't seem out of place at all, Mian bowed to the homeless man and introduced him:

"This little girl is Ai Yin. May I ask your name?"

Upon hearing Mian give his name, the homeless man tugged at his messy beard and said:

"My name is Shirley, don't mind, it's from my mom. Brother, what are you going to do now? Should we call the police? Will that monster come out again?"

A serious expression returned to Shirley's face. Mian, however, already knew the answer.

"This matter is rather complicated, and calling the police might lead to some danger. What I mean is that we should try to get to a more populated area as soon as possible."

Sherry nodded in response to Mian's answer, but then suddenly froze.

"Huh? Why? Is there some danger around here?"

"I don't know what danger there is, but more and more people are gathering around us..."

Mian wrapped the tattered cloth around his face even tighter, and facing the passersby who had already started recording, he wished he could bury his head in the ground.

"Ah, I see."

A smile appeared on Shirley's face.

"I actually know a great place, bro. Want to come along?"

…………

"The Unyielding Park."

Looking at the road sign, Mian read out the name of the place. The navigation on his smartphone described it as a park established to commemorate the victory in the world war of the last century.

At this moment, Mian couldn't see any traces of war. Under the dim park lights at night, there were only tents stretching as far as the eye could see and drug addicts wandering outside the tents like zombies.

"Welcome to my home. Not only are there lots of people here, but no matter how strange you are, you won't attract attention."

Standing to the side, Shirley put her hands on her hips and said, half teasing and half self-deprecatingly.

Mian had long expected that he couldn't expect a good environment here, but he never imagined that the environment would be so terrible.

"This place is nice, but..."

While muttering to himself, "Since I'm already here, I might as well make the best of it," Mian asked with concern:

"Won't some thugs or drug addicts come here to harass us? I have a feeling this place will lead kids astray."

Mian and Shirley simultaneously glanced at Ain, who was kicking stones to play with. Then, Shirley patted her chest and confidently said:

"How could that be? With the girl's abilities, even if those drug addicts and thugs really came looking for her, it wouldn't be a problem at all. Apart from those gangsters, everyone else is just an ordinary person living an honest life, and they usually won't lead others astray."

"What if unusual circumstances arise?"

Mian asked curiously. Shirley sneered and showed off her muscular physique.

"Then it's my turn to cause them trouble."

Shirley coughed twice and said:

"But this kind of thing doesn't usually happen. I have some authority here. They know I was in the military, so they'll give me the best spot. I'll add a tent for the two of you there. It should be enough for a night or two."

Upon hearing this, Mian nodded and accepted the arrangement. But looking at Shirley's exposed muscles, even more doubts welled up in her mind.

"Um, Shirley, may I ask? You served in the military and were in good health, so how did you end up as a homeless person?"

Shirley grinned, her self-deprecating expression deepening.

"Why? My mom got seriously ill, and for some reason, the insurance company refused to pay out. I had no choice but to invest all the money I had earned in my life. Then my mom died, and all the money was gone. Just then, that damn economic crisis hit, and the higher-ups stopped paying our veterans' subsidies. So I ended up here trying to make a living."

Shirley spoke as if it were a joke, but it revealed an incredibly heavy past.

"Please accept my condolences" is probably the most useless words to Shirley right now, but Mian didn't know what to say either, so he could only silently follow Shirley across the piles of debris, excrement and drug addicts on the ground to his shack.

Shirley crawled into her shack, took out two pieces of clothing and a small bottle of wine, and tossed one of the pieces of clothing to Mian.

"Just wear these for now, you don't have a chance to go back and get your own things anyway, right? Besides,"

Shirley pointed to a dilapidated but still intact tent next to her.

"That tent, its previous owner was a comrade of mine, a pretty clean guy, but unfortunately he died in a car accident last week. His family all died of the flu a few years ago, so there was no compensation, and these few things ended up in my hands. I've been forgetting to tidy it up, so I can lend it to you and the girl for one night, if you don't mind."

Shirley's lips curled into a bright smile once again.

"Thank you very much."

Mian did not refuse the other party's kindness. After a day of hard work, both he and Ain needed plenty of rest.

After getting dressed, Mian rushed into the tent and tidied up. After moving out some odds and ends, she and Ain lay down inside the tent.

Compared to the hard floor of the warehouse, the tent with its soft mats was much more comfortable, though the space was really cramped. But since Ayn didn't mind, Mian, the temporary caregiver, naturally had nothing to say.

"My lord, could you tell me a story?"

Ayn made this request while tugging at her sleeve. Faced with this pitiful child who had helped her a lot in the short time they had known each other, Mian, though exhausted herself, could not refuse her request.

But when it comes to stories, there's only one in his mind right now.

"Alright, then I'll tell you a story about a greedy and vain king and his invisible new clothes. Long, long ago, there was a king who always craved more and better things than others..."

While telling the story in the most soothing tone possible, Mian's thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.

The cheat code that always describes the wrong scene, yet somehow manages to echo and influence reality; the sniper who comes to assassinate him and the eerie fog lurking in the alley; and the cult of nudism and the assassin's request on the dark web to protect him.

It's only been the first day since I transmigrated, yet so many things have happened. But even so, the dark side of this city seems to have only just begun to unfold before me.

As I live in this city, and as I live in this country, the future of this nation is entirely uncertain.

"...In the end, the clever and honest child revealed the truth that the king was actually naked. However, the tailor who made the new clothes had already run away with the gold coins, leaving the king, who had lost both his dignity and his wealth, standing there dumbfounded."

In the darkness, Ain's breathing gradually became even, clearly indicating that she had fallen asleep. Mian yawned, put his arm behind his head as a pillow, and a surge of sleepiness washed over him, causing him to close his eyes involuntarily.

What the future holds is a matter for tomorrow; right now, all he needs is a good night's sleep to replenish his energy.

good night.