Esoteric Buddhism: To live as king in America

The tent flap was pulled open, and Mian led the young man into the tent.

Lisa quickly straightened up, hurriedly tidied her appearance, and gave Mian and the young man a somewhat awkward smile.

"Welcome to the Whispering Hut, I'm Lisa, the fortune teller."

"My name is Matt, it's nice to meet you."

The young man smiled and bowed to Lisa, while Mian spoke to Lisa apologetically:

"Another customer has arrived, thank you for your help."

"No, this is simply my duty."

Lisa waved her hand and said somewhat hurriedly.

"Um."

Mian also smiled.

"Then I'll head to the back. Please enjoy your reading, sir."

"Hey, Mr. Wang He isn't staying?"

Matt looked somewhat surprised, while Mian explained:

"Every profession has its own expertise. Divination requires a quiet environment. I will wait for you at the back of the tent until you have finished your divination. I will then come back to serve you when you have chosen your sword of destiny..."

"Since we're going to meet soon, there's no need to leave."

Matt interrupted Mian, smiling as he said:

"To be honest, I'm not really interested in divination. I'm here purely for the handicrafts. Of course, I'm happy to pay for a divination performance, but if the person in charge of your handicrafts isn't here, then it's not very interesting."

Mian raised an eyebrow. In their previous conversation, he had assumed that Matt was a fellow with eccentric aristocratic manners, like the old gentleman from the Old World. But now, he sensed a hint of sarcasm in the man's words.

Is this person here to cause trouble? What kind of trouble? Is it to make things difficult about business matters, or...?

"...In that case, I shall respectfully comply."

Mian pulled over a chair from the side—originally a prop prepared for the young couple who came together, but now it was conveniently used by him—and took a seat, sitting down and warily observing the uninvited guest in front of him.

When Matt saw that Mian did not refuse, his smile became even brighter.

"Alright then. Begin your divination, Miss Lisa."

Matt turned to Lisa and said this.

Lisa sensed a strange atmosphere permeating the tent. For some reason, ever since this guest entered the tent, Lisa felt that the control she, as a diviner, should have was being usurped by this guest. Even Mr. Wang He, for some reason, seemed unable to reverse this process.

This made her feel a little uneasy.

She wasn't the type to socialize. Before she was forced to open a fortune-telling stall because of her father's illness, she was better at dealing with books than with people.

When she is in the field of divination, which she is good at, she can barely alleviate her weakness of not being good at communicating with others. However, once others take a more assertive approach, she can't help but feel a sense of loss of control.

"No, I need to pull myself together! Mr. Wang He has finally managed to bring in another customer. Even if it's just for the 600 yuan fortune-telling fee, I should still provide the best service to him."

Lisa patted her cheeks to encourage herself, then put on a professional fortune teller's smile and laid out various fortune-telling tools in front of Matt.

"Let's begin. Sir, what kind of game would you like to play? I can provide you with various tarot card spreads, divination, and crystal ball services."

"I know absolutely nothing about this, so I'll just go with whichever is the easiest."

Matt crossed his legs and said nonchalantly.

This blatant neglect put immense pressure on Lisa once again, but she still managed to force a smile as she picked out a stack of tarot cards from among the various divination tools and placed them in front of Matt.

"Then we'll choose the simplest three-card spread. You draw cards from the deck, one card at a time, until you have three cards. These three cards represent your past, present, and future, respectively."

"clear."

Matt extended his hand without hesitation, and Lisa noticed that his hand was extremely white and slender, like a woman's hand.

He first drew a card from the deck, which Lisa took and placed in the position representing "the past." Then he reached for the deck again, but this time something unexpected happened.

As he drew out the tarot cards, one of the cards fell onto the table below it.

That was a Star card.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, do you want me to put all the cards back and draw them again?"

Matt apologized, but his voice remained calm. Lisa, on the other hand, quickly waved her hands and said:

"No, no need, this is also part of fate. Just put it in the place that represents your current position, along with the card you drew."

Matt nodded, and then, without waiting for Lisa to handle it, he picked up the Star card that had already been revealed and placed it together with the card he had drawn in the "Now" position in the middle.

For some reason, Lisa noticed that Mr. Wang He, who was watching from the side, seemed to raise his eyebrows slightly when he saw this scene.

The last card was drawn without any surprises and placed by Matt in the position representing "the future".

The divination officially begins.

"First, there are the tarot cards that represent your past."

Lisa forced a smile and turned over the first card. An old man wearing a pointed hat and a purple robe appeared on the card.

Lisa took a deep breath, trying to suppress her unease and the feeling of being overwhelmed by Matt's aura. She gently touched the reversed Magician card, representing the past, with her slender, pale fingers, her voice maintaining the softness and ethereal quality characteristic of a diviner:

"The Magician Reversed, Mr. Matt."

Lisa's gaze fell on the upside-down patterns on the cards—the magician, who had once controlled the elements, now appeared chaotic and powerless.

"This card often suggests a period in the past... that may have been filled with some form of 'untruth.' This could mean that you have intentionally or unintentionally deceived others, or... more importantly, that you may have been misled by appearances, or even deceived yourself."

She carefully observed Matt's expression, but he merely raised an eyebrow with interest, a subtle, enigmatic curve appearing at the corner of his lips—neither angry nor embarrassed.

"This doesn't sound like a good sign. Deception? Disorientation?"

Matt's voice carried a hint of amusement, but his sharp gaze swept over Lisa, and then seemed to casually glance at Mian sitting beside him.

Lisa quickly shook her head, displaying the guiding demeanor expected of a fortune teller:

"Please don't misunderstand, Mr. Matt. Tarot cards aren't pronouncements; they're more like signposts in the river of fate, helping us glimpse a path. This card reveals the shadowy part of the past, reminding us to examine what happened, but it doesn't mean that's your whole story or defines your future. Besides..."

She ran her fingers over the Star Card, which had been inadvertently brought out and was currently in the "Now" position, and softly said:

"The reversed Magician is a thing of the past. Although we don't yet know what the other card represents you now, the appearance of this Star card indicates that you have received guidance, are no longer lost, and have a firm goal. Just like the lost Magician, who, upon first glimpsing the brilliance of the celestial bodies, resolved to do everything in his power to pursue that light."