Esoteric Buddhism: To live as king in America

Faced with Mi An's sudden departure, Wang Yuanli looked worried. Only after Mi An repeatedly swore that he would definitely return in the afternoon did the building owner finally feel relieved. With a smile on his face, he respectfully saw Mi An and the others off from Mosha Street.

"Bro, what are you thinking? Did you discover something, or do you think this job is unworkable and you're running away?"

Sherry leaned close to Mian and asked in a low voice.

"We've discovered something."

Mian looked around and gave an affirmative answer.

"But it's not about anything dirty, it's about people."

"Who?"

"Wang Yuanli".

"What's wrong with him? Did he put a trap in the contract he gave us?"

Sherry asked this question out of curiosity. This made Mian a little embarrassed, since the contract was no problem for her, but for Sherry it meant she would earn significantly less than Mian.

"There are indeed some issues with the contract, but that's not important."

Mian coughed twice and chuckled as he said:

"The main point is, don't you think he's been avoiding contact between us and the residents of this building?"

Shirley frowned, thought about it carefully for a moment, but still shook her head and said:

"If you're talking about the child's mother, that's somewhat true, but it doesn't prove anything, since the sample size is too small."

"The small sample size is a problem in itself. We received the request this morning, waited an hour, and came, but by the time we arrived, the residents had already been evacuated to other places. You know, this is a 20-plus-story apartment building with at least 200 households, and Wang Yuanli has to bear the temporary accommodation costs. Do you think this is reasonable for someone who seems to be in dire financial straits?"

"What if he's a kind-hearted person who'd rather bear the costs himself than have the residents continue living in a haunted house?"

"Just look at how he treated that child and the child's parents back then. Do you think that's possible?"

"So what do we do? Just quit and go back?"

Mian gave a helpless smile.

"Mr. Shirley, of course you can do whatever you want. But I'm really short of money right now. Even in my free time, the chances of earning this much money legitimately in one night are very rare. I have to take a gamble. But I have to decide the stakes myself."

Mian loosely clenched his fist, already having a plan for the next move in his mind. Seeing his confident demeanor, Shirley's eyes lit up.

"Brother, you're joking. Being a homeless person is always a gamble with your life. Since it's a way to make money, we should naturally follow suit. So, tell me, what should we do next?"

"Should……"

Mian turned around abruptly, facing the direction in which the child and his parents had left, as he remembered them. He had just carefully confirmed that no one was following them, so it was clear what to do next.

"It's time to turn back."

…………

Someone once said, "The more a subject tries to hide something, the more the investigator should know."

Since Wang Yuanli didn't really want them to have contact with the building's residents, then Mian naturally had to go and talk to those residents.

Shirley stared in disbelief at the Asian child who had just been inside the building but was now playing in front of a cheap apartment building.

This place was already in another block, and he never imagined that Mian had been able to pinpoint this location so precisely without hesitation or taking any wrong turns.

"Navigation, navigation."

Mian waved the phone she had borrowed from Shirley and explained:

"That's the convenience of modern technology. The lady walked here, and it only took her a few tens of minutes from making the call to arriving, which means she lives not too far from the Jinfu Building. By searching online for the nearest hotels and affordable housing, and combining that with the direction they walked in, we naturally arrived at this conclusion. Okay, let's get dressed now."

Although the children's parents probably didn't see what Mian and the others looked like at the time, there was still the unstable factor of the children, so Mian decided to do some disguise.

He bought a hat from a roadside clothing stall, turned his black jacket inside out, and put a mask on his chin. Thinking back on his past cosplay experiences, he adjusted his posture and demeanor, trying to look as presentable as possible.

Then, Mian told Ain and Shirley to stay where they were, and walked alone toward the low-rent housing.

Perhaps because it was during working hours, most of the residents who sponsored the place were not at home.

Fortunately, the person Mian decided to interview was definitely located here.

Bypassing the children who had already forgotten their earlier fear and were happily playing with their friends, Mian stepped toward an apartment door with a faded curtain hanging on it. From inside, she could faintly hear the sound of spatulas clattering and whispers in the Shengzhou dialect.

He raised his hand and tapped the door frame with a steady rhythm.

"Who is it?"

A wary female voice rang out; it was the mother from that morning.

The curtain was lifted slightly, revealing a woman dressed in cheap clothes and an apron stained with oil, her face showing exhaustion and distress.

Seeing Mian's concealed attire, she subconsciously took a half step back, her eyes filled with doubt.

"Hello, ma'am, excuse me."

Mian lowered her voice, trying to make it sound calm and professional.

"I am a detective commissioned by a scholar to privately investigate the gangster problems in Mosa Street."

Upon hearing this, the woman's confused expression was instantly replaced by fear.

"Gangs? I know nothing about them."

She yelled and tried to close the door, but Mian's hand was already firmly pressed against the door panel.

"Please wait, ma'am."

He slowly reached his other hand into his coat pocket and pulled out his only 100-yuan banknote. The green bill stood out starkly in the dim light of the porch.

"Consider this compensation for taking up a little of your time. Please also believe that my employer and I have no ill intentions. We deeply sympathize with every citizen harassed by gangs, and our goal is to completely eradicate gangs from this city."

Mian softened his tone. As a teacher, he knew what kind of tone was most likely to gain people's trust, especially when their attention was firmly drawn to money.

The woman's gaze was fixed on the banknote, her breathing noticeably quickening. Her eyes flickered, as if she were engaged in some kind of internal struggle, but ultimately...

She glanced quickly at the children playing outside, grabbed the banknotes, stuffed them into her apron pocket, and whispered:

"Come in, and speak quickly!"

Mian slipped into the small room. The furnishings were simple, but it was fairly clean, and the air was filled with the smell of cheap cooking oil and detergent. The woman nervously twisted the hem of her apron.

"What should I say in response?"

"Just tell me what kind of gang the thugs who usually come back to harass you belong to, and what their characteristics are."