Esoteric Buddhism: To live as king in America

"But……"

Bodyguard Taishan's muscles trembled, showing no sign of reassurance despite Wang Yuanli's words.

"The bishop of the Order is taking this matter very seriously; he even offered a 100 million bounty on the dark web. The last time a bounty of this size was offered was against that old Catholic... That guy must pose a significant threat to the Order, I'm afraid..."

The bodyguard realized his lapse in composure, lowered his head, and dared not continue speaking.

In contrast to his pessimism, Wang Yuanli took a sip of wine, a knowing smile on his face, and sat back down on the sofa.

"Threats? Of course they care about any potential threats. But, 'Taishan,' do you know what's most important to the Nativity Church right now?"

He didn't wait for the bodyguard's reply and continued talking to himself.

"It was a grand feast. An 'Ascension Banquet' prepared with all the resources and top talents of the Liberty Diocese."

He swirled the ice cubes in his glass, making a crisp clinking sound.

"The bishop of the Free City, the high priests of the various districts, those dignitaries who are affiliated with the Church... all their minds are now tied to that banquet. To them, it is the ladder to the outer wall, to touch the gods, something a thousand times more important than any secular power, more important than us marginal figures, even more important than eliminating one or two destabilizing factors."

Wang Yuanli's gaze deepened, carrying a hint of barely perceptible self-mockery.

"That's why His Excellency the Bishop only involves his most trusted inner circle. Someone like me, who has invested over a decade of money and effort and thinks I've climbed to a certain position on the margins? Ha, I'd better just stay here and maintain the basic operations of the Order."

A self-deprecating smile curled at the corner of his lips, a smile mixed with bitterness and resentment.

"Ha, 'Mount Tai,' you know the reason. They can always find a high-sounding excuse: insufficient ability, lack of seniority, insufficient contributions... but the real reason, buried deep in the box and unspeakable, is only one—"

His voice lowered, and he gently tapped his yellow-skinned cheek with his finger.

"Because of this. Because I am a yellow-skinned Asian. No matter how much English I learn, how much time I spend, or how much money I invest, in their inner circle made up of white people, I will always be an outsider, and I don't even have the right to step over the threshold of ordinary people."

A brief silence fell over the basement, broken only by the faint sound of melting ice. The self-deprecating smile on Wang Yuanli's face slowly faded, replaced by a gentle yet shrewd one.

Upon hearing this, the bodyguard looked thoughtful.

He stood up, walked over to the bodyguard, and patted the man's shoulder, which was as solid as granite.

So, "Mount Tai,"

Wang Yuanli's voice carried a sense of sincerity.

"Precisely because we are 'outsiders' excluded from the core, and precisely because the big shots above are all preoccupied with that grand feast and have no time for anything else, this is precisely the time for us to think about ourselves."

He looked into the bodyguard's eyes, his gaze sharp.

"Use the power of the Celestial Church to deal with the Steel Skull Cult, and let that wanted Mian continue to operate outside, causing trouble for the Celestial Church. The more trouble the cult faces, the more we benefit."

He paused, then his tone became resolute.

"This is the true way for us Shengzhou people to survive in this unfamiliar land, sandwiched between the behemoths of the esoteric religion."

Wang Yuanli put down his wine glass and straightened his expensive but understated suit.

"Come on, 'Mount Tai,' let's go meet our 'old friend'... or rather, our 'new bargaining chip'."

He turned, his leather shoes clicking softly on the polished marble floor, and walked toward a heavy alloy door with an observation window deep in the basement. The bodyguard quickly put down his wine glass and hurried after him.

Wang Yuanli stopped in front of the door and gestured for his bodyguard to pull back the small panel on the observation window. Through the thick bulletproof glass, one could see a fully equipped but cold and sturdy prison cell inside.

A man sat in the center of the cell, wearing a filthy Taoist robe with a blurry Bagua pattern, his hands and feet bound by heavy, specially made shackles.

His face was hidden in shadow, but when the light from the cell ceiling lamp swept across it, one could vaguely see that his skin color seemed somewhat unusual, like an unnatural layer of wax that could peel off at any moment.

"Hey, master."

Wang Yuanli revealed his signature smile and gave the prisoner a comical bow.

"Or rather, Your Excellency the 'Skin Changer' of the Steel Skull."

The skin-changing figure slowly raised its head and looked at Wang Yuanli. A flash of anger appeared in its doll-like, fake pupils.

"Hmph, Boss Wang. I never imagined that I, a nobody, would one day taste the poison of Eden. You really have the guts to do this."

The man with the altered skin let out a cold laugh.

Faced with this sneer, Wang Yuanli spoke calmly as if discussing something completely unrelated to himself:

"To be precise, it's a new product created by Ribbon in conjunction with the reference to Eden's Poison."

"You know, ever since that upheaval in the last century, these radicals have gone completely mad. In their attempt to eradicate Tantric Buddhism, they've invested hundreds of millions in developing this new drug, and then turned around and sold it to the public at rock-bottom prices. Of course, even so, it's not cheap."

"Thank you for answering my questions."

The person with the altered skin laughed even more wildly, tearing off even the waxy skin to expose another face underneath that seemed completely different from the outer skin.

"Then may I ask you one more thing? Did you come here again just to humiliate me?"

The man who changed skin chuckled:

"If you've come here seeking the path to the Outer Wall, I'm telling you, you're dreaming. What the Celestial Church won't give you, you can forget about getting from the Steel Skull Cult, even if it costs me my life..."

"I'm here to release you and then reach a cooperation agreement with the Steel Skull Cult."

Wang Yuanli's tone was extremely calm, instantly silencing the insults hurled at him.

Amidst the shock of the skin-changing individual, Wang Yuanli continued:

"You need the Kim Fook Building, and I own the Kim Fook Building. You need a regional agent, and with the Anvil Gang destroyed, no one on Grindstone Street is more suitable than me."

The man in the skin looked at the man before him, trying to discern a hint of humor on his face. But all he saw was confidence.

He was serious.

A judgment based on intuition echoed in the man's mind. After struggling for a long time, he opened his mouth and asked in a hoarse voice:

"If you give us the Jinfu Building, what will happen to the residents inside? They won't leave that building easily. Even if we force them out, they'll keep coming back to cause trouble. Besides, there are a lot of them; we can't possibly kill them all."

Faced with this question, Wang Yuanli once again revealed that shrewd smile.

"You don't need to worry about that. I tampered with their contract the day before they moved out of Jinfu Building and into low-rent housing. The law is no longer on their side. Their only options are to move out or go to jail."

The chains binding the person in the disguise snapped open, and Wang Yuanli straightened his tie, then extended his hand to the person in the disguise, smiling as he said:

"An army marches on its stomach; this is the way of life for us Shengzhou people. I wish us a pleasant cooperation, Mr. Yipi."