Esoteric Buddhism: To live as king in America

After paying all the divination fees, Matt left through the "front door" of the tent with the spiral sword, disappearing in an instant, just as he had arrived.

Ayn lifted the curtain at the back of the tent, her face filled with anxiety, and threw herself into Mian's arms, her voice trembling as she said:

"I'm sorry, my lord... Was he a bad person? Ain didn't notice him, I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry."

Mian patted her head and gently comforted her:

"It's alright, this isn't your problem. He probably didn't actually harbor any clear hostility towards me. Ain, tell me, is he still around here?"

Ayn raised her head, first wiping away the tears that were about to well up in her eyes, then pricked up her ears and looked around before answering in a somewhat hesitant voice:

"No, Ain didn't smell that person's scent."

Mian had witnessed Ain's talent; she might not be able to pinpoint a person's exact location in a complex building, but she could always pinpoint the general direction. Even the prophet of the Steel Skull Cult could be spotted by her from a great distance.

Since Ain said so, then the uninvited guest has probably indeed left, which is undoubtedly a lucky thing.

After all, Mi An had absolutely no confidence that she could continue acting under his nose.

Where's Shirley?

Mian asked again.

"The craftsman uncle was comforting Sister Lisa. He asked me to come and check on you first."

To be honest, he truly is a reliable adult male. With Shirley around, Mian really feels like she can relax a lot.

But the mere mention of Lisa gave him another headache. He had only wanted to earn some easy money, which was why he had brought her along, but now this had happened.

Mian's first thought was to cut her off to ensure her safety. But then she thought that since Matt had already seen Lisa, cutting her off might not guarantee Lisa's safety and could even arouse Matt's suspicion.

Turning a single-minded approach into a double bind is a really difficult situation.

Am I some kind of cursed lone star, destined to play this game all by myself?

Mian thought with a slight pang of pain as he led Ain out of the tent. Under a large tree by the roadside, he immediately spotted Sherry and Lisa.

Lisa seemed preoccupied, lost in thought. Shirley, on the other hand, chatted casually with Lisa while seemingly observing her surroundings nonchalantly.

"Mr. Wang He!"

Lisa was the first to notice Mian's presence. She looked up abruptly, her azure eyes instantly lighting up.

"brother!"

Shirley immediately spoke, her burly body straightening instantly, and she took two steps to stand in front of Mian.

He lowered his voice and asked urgently in Mian's ear:

"What's going on? Who's that kid?"

Mian glanced at Lisa, who was standing next to him with her ears perked up and equally nervous, and gently patted Shirley's arm, signaling him to calm down.

"Sherry, don't worry. The situation is a bit complicated, but it's alright for now."

He leaned close to Shirley's ear and whispered quickly:

"He's from the Naturist Church, but he's not here for revenge... He wants to cooperate to deal with the Naturist Church's higher-ups. We'll discuss the details back at the hotel. Go find Leo now, and wait for me at the hotel. Be careful and keep a low profile."

Shirley's thick eyebrows furrowed, her eyes filled with shock and confusion, but her veteran's composure made her nod immediately.

"Understood, brother. Be careful!"

He didn't look at Lisa again, but patted Mian's shoulder heavily, turned around and strode towards the direction Leo might be, his figure quickly disappearing into the deepening twilight.

Only Mian, Ain, and Lisa remained under the tree. A gentle evening breeze stirred, causing the ends of Lisa's flaxen braids to sway softly. Mian took a deep breath and turned to Lisa.

The previous doubts vanished after Matt appeared and the bizarre hallucinations occurred—she was just an ordinary person caught in the eye of the storm, a kind girl who was unintentionally "involved" by him.

A heavy sense of apology weighed on Mi An's heart, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Lisa, I'm sorry."

Mian said with a double meaning and guilt:

"I'm sorry, it's so late, and I've attracted new customers and dragged you into this... I'm really sorry."

Lisa quickly waved her hand, forcing a nonchalant smile on her face.

"It's alright, Mr. Wang He! You're the one who should be grateful... You're such a good guy to take me along, I should be the one thanking you."

"Um."

Mian nodded somewhat awkwardly, then looked up at the sky and said:

"We're not planning to open for business tonight. You know this area has been quite chaotic lately. We were originally planning to take you home tonight, but something came up, so you'd better head home early."

Lisa nodded somewhat bewildered, then a look of worry appeared on her face.

"Mr. Wang He, what happened to you?"

"No, it's nothing serious."

Mian took a notepad and pen out of his pocket, quickly wrote down his phone number at the Federal Office, and handed it to Lisa.

"This is my phone number. Lisa, be careful. If any strange people bother you, or if you sense anything is wrong, call me immediately, anytime."

He paused, then added solemnly.

"Remember, safety first."

Lisa carefully took the note, clutching it tightly in her hand as if it were a talisman. She looked up at Mian, the forced smile fading from her face, replaced by a genuine smile of gratitude and warmth.

Mian was somewhat puzzled by her laughter.

"What...are you laughing at?"

Lisa's deep blue eyes curved slightly, like stars falling into them, and her voice, though soft, reached Mian's ears clearly.

"I'm so glad... Mr. Wang He. I'm really so glad to have met you at this time."

She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously tracing the slip of paper with the number written on it, and murmured:

"As I told you before, I came to help raise money for my father's medical expenses. But that's not really the case. My father works at a small company. Six months ago, he was in a car accident. Although he survived, he was seriously injured. The company determined that he was no longer able to work and fired him. Our family income plummeted, and my mother took on three jobs at the same time to make ends meet. But even so, even so..."

Lisa sniffed, her voice trembling slightly.

"The money is still not enough. My college expenses, rent, my father's medical expenses... everything is beyond what my mother can afford on her own. Just two days before I met you, my father was thinking of giving up treatment so as not to be a burden to us. I refused, so I ran away and tried to earn some money in my own way."

"I've always been working part-time, so I know that even if I run around like this, the money I earn won't be nearly enough, but I can't bear to do nothing, even if it's just self-deception... until I met you, you saved me twice."

Lisa raised her head, her eyes glistening with tears, but the smile on her face was so breathtakingly beautiful that Mian felt as if something was tightly blocking her throat, and she couldn't utter a single word.

The afterglow of the setting sun lengthened their shadows, and also lengthened the heavy sense of responsibility and guilt in Mi An's heart.

This was nothing more than a simple expression of gratitude from the young girl. But it struck Mian's heart like a heavy hammer, causing him to clench his fists involuntarily.

At that moment, Mian made up her mind.

Lisa Vachu is a young woman who still has a life of her own; she is far from being destitute. She has someone to grieve for, and someone to grieve for. She is an ordinary person in this city, and absolutely innocent.

She should never have been dragged into this ridiculous incident and died, absolutely, absolutely!