Siheyuan: Tathagata's Palm suppresses the entire courtyard!

That night, Xu Mingjie couldn't hold back his doubts and decided to go talk to Auntie. He knocked on Auntie's door, and when she saw him, the smile on her face seemed a little forced.

"Mingjie, why are you here so late? Is there something wrong?" The aunt's tone was a little defensive, and Xu Mingjie keenly caught this subtle change.

"Auntie, I came here today to ask you something." Xu Mingjie said directly, with determination in his tone, "I think you must know something about what happened recently in the courtyard. Please tell me why you don't want to tell the truth?"

The aunt's face changed slightly, and a trace of panic flashed in her eyes. She was silent for a while, and then slowly said: "Mingjie, there are some things that you are better off not knowing. You are a good child, and I don't want you to get involved in these troubles."

Xu Mingjie's heart was filled with anger and disappointment. He couldn't believe that the aunt would say such a thing. She would rather let him fall into danger without knowing it than tell him the truth, which made him feel the pain of being betrayed.

"Auntie, you can't do this!" Xu Mingjie raised his voice a few degrees, with anxiety and disappointment in his eyes, "If you know something, please tell me! I have the right to know these things, especially now that I am involved."

The aunt looked at Xu Mingjie's angry eyes, and a trace of helplessness and pain flashed in her eyes. She sighed deeply, as if she was struggling fiercely in her heart.

"Mingjie, I... I just wanted to protect you." The aunt's voice was choked with sobs. "Some things are really too complicated, not as simple as you think. I thought that if I kept it from you, you wouldn't get hurt."

"But you'll only put me in more danger!" Xu Mingjie felt a sharp pain in his chest. He never thought he would be so excited in front of an old lady. "I'd rather face the truth than be kept in the dark. If you really care about me, please tell me the truth!"

Auntie's face gradually darkened. She knew she could no longer hide it. She spoke slowly, her voice low and helpless: "Okay, Mingjie, I'll tell you... But you have to promise me that after knowing this, you must be more careful."

Xu Mingjie nodded with mixed feelings, his heart full of anticipation and nervousness. He knew that what Auntie was going to say next might completely change his view of the Siheyuan, or it might reveal the mystery that had puzzled him for so long.

"Actually..." The aunt paused, as if organizing her words, "Some unknown things did happen in this courtyard in the early years. Many of those legends are true, especially the existence of the basement. You are not the only one who has encountered those strange things you mentioned, but many people choose to remain silent because they are afraid..."

Hearing this, Xu Mingjie's heart sank suddenly, as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest. His previous guess was finally confirmed, but he did not feel relieved, but deeper fear and uneasiness. He realized that things were far more complicated and dangerous than he had imagined.

"Then, Auntie, why...why didn't you tell me earlier?" Xu Mingjie's voice was trembling. He felt like he was pushed to the edge of a cliff. Everything before his eyes became so uncertain.

A trace of tears flashed in the eyes of the aunt, and she shook her head gently: "I thought... I thought you could still escape this. I don't want you to be involved in this quagmire, but now that things have come to this point, I can only hope that you can handle it carefully."

Xu Mingjie felt a sharp pain in his heart. He felt deeply disappointed and angry. Although the aunt's starting point might be good, her concealment put him in greater danger. He suddenly felt that he seemed to have lost trust in the people around him, and even the elders he once trusted the most had concealed something from him.

"I'll be careful, Auntie." Xu Mingjie forced a smile, but his heart was already surging. "Thank you for telling me this. I will take care of the rest myself."

The aunt nodded silently and watched Xu Mingjie leave. She knew that her confession might have changed something, but she was powerless to stop it, and she no longer had the courage to face the storm that was coming.

Xu Mingjie returned to his room, feeling complicated and painful as if he was being stabbed by thousands of needles. He walked while clenching his fists, his nails almost digging into his palms, but the physical pain could not calm the anger in his heart. It was not until he sat back on his sofa, which no longer comforted him, that he realized that his trust in the aunt had completely collapsed.

He couldn't believe that there were so many secrets hidden in this courtyard that he had always regarded as his home, and those people he had trusted kept secrets from him one after another. He kept thinking about what the aunt had just said, and his heart became more and more confused. Every word she said seemed to remind him that his efforts and trust might have been built on lies and betrayal.

"Why... why did they do this to me?" Xu Mingjie asked himself over and over again in his heart. Anger, disappointment and helplessness intertwined together, almost suffocating him. He knew that he needed to calm down at this time and not be controlled by his emotions, but it was too difficult. He felt as if he was trapped in a huge trap, surrounded by invisible enemies, and the only thing he could do was to try to fight back.

"I can't just sit there and wait for death." Xu Mingjie said to himself silently in his heart. He knew that continuing to rely on others was no longer a solution to the problem. Since he could not trust his former friends and neighbors, he had to find a way to solve the problem himself. He had to take the initiative in this crisis instead of waiting passively.

Xu Mingjie stood up and began to pace back and forth in the room, his mind racing. He needed a plan, a plan that would allow him to take the initiative. He recalled every detail that had happened before, trying to find clues that could be used. He could no longer rely on others, but had to rely on his own strength to sort everything out.

"First, I have to determine the real source of those strange things." Xu Mingjie thought to himself, "These phenomena must have a reason. As long as we can find the root cause, maybe we can stop them from happening again."

He thought of his experience in the basement, the strange murals and symbols, and the inexplicable dizziness, which all made him shudder. But he knew that only by confronting these unknown things head-on could he completely solve the mystery of the courtyard.