Siheyuan: Tathagata's Palm suppresses the entire courtyard!

"Okay then, Lao Wang, we'll do whatever you say." He gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind.

Lao Wang nodded and began to take out some strange tools from the wooden box, including an old compass and a few yellowed paper talismans. He arranged a circle in the corner of the basement, then turned back and said to Xu Mingjie: "Let's go back to the yard now and wait until it's completely dark. By then, if these things are really spiritual, they will show themselves."

When Xu Mingjie heard the word "manifestation", his heart trembled, but he knew he had no way out. The two returned to the yard together and waited silently for the night to fall. As time passed, the air in the courtyard became heavier and heavier, as if an invisible force was slowly pressing down.

Finally, the night enveloped the entire courtyard again, and Xu Mingjie's heart beat faster and faster, as if it would jump out of his chest at any time. He and Lao Wang sat quietly in the living room, no one spoke, only the light of the oil lamp flickered between them.

Xu Mingjie looked at Lao Wang nervously, but before he could speak, there was a sudden knock on the door. The sound broke the silence in the courtyard and seemed particularly abrupt. Xu Mingjie and Lao Wang looked at each other, and at the same time, they had a sense of foreboding.

"Who would come at this time?" Xu Mingjie muttered to himself, his heart beating even faster. He had a vague feeling that this sudden interruption was no accident.

Old Wang frowned slightly and motioned Xu Mingjie to open the door: "Go and see who it is. Don't be nervous."

Xu Mingjie took a deep breath and tried his best to calm himself down. He walked to the gate of the courtyard and peeked out through the crack of the door in the dim light. He found a familiar figure standing outside.

"Dongxu?" Xu Mingjie opened the door in surprise and found that the person who came was his neighbor Jia Dongxu.

Jia Dongxu had an anxious look on his face. As soon as he saw Xu Mingjie, he said anxiously, "Mingjie, what happened to your family these past two days? There were always strange noises coming out in the middle of the night, making our family members unable to sleep well. I didn't want to disturb you, but today I couldn't help it, so I came to see you."

"Ah..." Xu Mingjie was speechless for a moment. He didn't expect that this incident would affect his neighbors. He forced himself to calm down and tried to answer in a calm tone: "Sorry, Dongxu, there are indeed some strange things recently, but I am dealing with it... Don't worry, everything will be fine soon."

Jia Dongxu obviously didn't believe it. He frowned and said, "Mingjie, I'm serious. This has never happened before in our area. Did you do something you shouldn't have done? Otherwise, let's find a Taoist priest to take a look. We can't take it lightly."

Xu Mingjie felt his scalp tingling. He knew that the matter was much more complicated than it seemed. If he just invited a Taoist priest, it might not solve the problem at all. But at the moment, he didn't want Jia Dongxu to get involved in this trouble.

"Dongxu, don't worry. Lao Wang is also helping me deal with this matter. Let's try for a few more days. If the situation doesn't improve, I will definitely find a professional to solve it." Xu Mingjie tried his best to make his tone sound sincere, while secretly praying in his heart that Jia Dongxu would not ask any more questions.

When Jia Dongxu heard Lao Wang's name, his expression eased a little. He knew that Lao Wang was quite knowledgeable about old Beijing culture, so he nodded and said, "Okay, then you guys should handle it quickly. This matter is not a big deal, but it is not a small deal either, so we still have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for your help, Dongxu. Go back and have a rest. I will tell you as soon as there is anything." Xu Mingjie nodded in response, feeling relieved.

Jia Dongxu sighed and waved his hand: "Then I'll go first, Mingjie, take care of yourself too."

After watching Jia Dongxu leave, Xu Mingjie closed the door and returned to the living room with mixed feelings. Lao Wang was sitting there waiting for him. When he saw him come back, he asked, "What's going on?"

"It was Dongxu. He said he heard strange noises in our yard recently and was worried that something might have happened." Xu Mingjie answered helplessly, still feeling uneasy. Jia Dongxu's visit made him realize that the impact of this incident was expanding and it was no longer just his personal problem.

Lao Wang nodded, his expression solemn: "It seems that these strange things are not just targeting you. We have to find out what is going on as soon as possible, otherwise things may become more troublesome."

Xu Mingjie sat back next to Lao Wang, his anxiety rising again. He suppressed his uneasiness and asked, "Lao Wang, what do you think these noises are? Are they related to what I found in the basement?"

Lao Wang did not answer immediately, but pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "These sounds are likely some residual spiritual activity. As I said before, they may be repeating a certain scene or behavior, like an unfinished ritual. As for the relationship with the basement... I'm not sure yet, but my intuition tells me that there must be some important clues hidden there."

Xu Mingjie felt nervous when he heard this, and couldn't help asking, "Then what should we do? Should we continue to wait tonight?"

Lao Wang nodded, his eyes firm: "Yes, tonight is critical. We need to see if these sounds and phenomena will appear again, and we must respond when they happen."

Xu Mingjie felt a chill in his heart when he heard this, but he knew that things had come to this point and retreat was no longer an option. He clenched his fists and nodded, "Okay, Lao Wang, I'll listen to you."

The night was getting darker and darker, and the courtyard fell into silence again. Xu Mingjie and Lao Wang sat in the dim living room, waiting silently. As time passed, an invisible sense of tension filled the air, as if the whole courtyard was holding its breath.

Suddenly, a slight knocking sound came from the yard again. Xu Mingjie immediately tensed up, and Lao Wang also stood up quickly and looked in the direction of the sound.

"Here it comes!" Lao Wang whispered, and quickly took out the old compass from the wooden box. The compass needle was trembling slightly, as if sensing something.

Xu Mingjie held his breath, feeling that his heartbeat seemed to cover up the knocking sound. He looked at Lao Wang, his heart full of anticipation and anxiety. He knew that this moment might be the key to solving the whole mystery.

As they waited anxiously, the knocking sounds in the yard suddenly became more urgent, as if issuing some kind of warning. Xu Mingjie felt a chill down his spine, and he subconsciously took a step back, almost asking Lao Wang what to do.

Lao Wang did not flinch at all. He stared at the compass and whispered, "The direction of the sound is changing. It seems that they are guiding us."