Siheyuan: Tathagata's Palm suppresses the entire courtyard!

He sat up from the bed and sighed softly, feeling a little irritated. Various speculations kept popping up in his mind: What exactly is that copper ball? Where did those sounds come from? Did he really accidentally touch upon a secret that could not be revealed? But everything was just speculation, and he could not get any definite answers.

"Mingjie, are you still worried about that?" His wife Zhang Lili's voice rang out. She had noticed something was wrong with Xu Mingjie. In the past few days, he had been absent-minded and often tossed and turned at night.

"Well... a little bit." Xu Mingjie sighed and turned to look at his wife. Her eyes showed concern, but more of confusion. After all, Xu Mingjie didn't tell her too many details about those strange events. He didn't want his family to be involved in these strange things.

"I always feel that there is something wrong in this yard. Didn't you hear those noises?" Xu Mingjie asked cautiously, wanting to know whether his wife had also noticed these abnormalities.

Zhang Lili shook her head, looking somewhat helpless: "I didn't hear anything. Maybe you're too nervous. You've been under a lot of work pressure recently, and coupled with these strange things, you may be too sensitive."

Xu Mingjie frowned, and became even more confused. Could it be that he was the only one who could hear these sounds? Or were these sounds not something that normal people could feel at all? A series of possibilities emerged in his mind, but each one seemed too bizarre.

"You should go to bed early and don't think too much." Zhang Lili comforted him softly, reaching out to touch his back, hoping to soothe his tense nerves.

Xu Mingjie nodded. Although he was still full of doubts, he didn't want his wife to worry too much. He lay back on the bed, closed his eyes, and tried to relax. However, the feeling of uneasiness lingered, as if an invisible hand was gently stirring in his heart, making it impossible for him to really settle down.

After an unknown amount of time, Xu Mingjie vaguely heard the sound again. This time, the sound was not as vague as before, but clearer, even with a certain rapid and tense rhythm, as if some force was forcing him to get up and look for the source of the sound.

Xu Mingjie's heartbeat began to speed up. He hesitated for a moment, but finally decided not to run away. He quietly got up from the bed, trying not to make any noise so as not to wake his wife. Picking up the flashlight beside the bed, he quietly walked out of the bedroom and stepped onto the stone path leading to the yard.

The night was dark and the courtyard was silent, with only the breeze blowing through the withered leaves in the courtyard, making a rustling sound. Xu Mingjie walked carefully, the beam of the flashlight sweeping back and forth in front of him, as if it would illuminate something that shouldn't be there at any time.

He slowly approached the source of the sound - the area in the southeast corner where miscellaneous items were stored. Suddenly, the sound stopped, as if it sensed Xu Mingjie's approach and quickly disappeared. Xu Mingjie stopped and looked around nervously. The yard was still silent, as if everything was waiting for his next move.

"What on earth is causing this?" Xu Mingjie muttered to himself. He continued forward, carefully pushing aside the wooden board on which the debris was piled. The beam of light from the flashlight shone on the ground - the copper ball suddenly appeared before his eyes! It lay there quietly, as if it had been waiting for him.

Xu Mingjie's heart suddenly tightened, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind. This copper ball is obviously not an ordinary thing. Every time it appears, it is accompanied by strange events. What secrets does it have? Moreover, this time it seems to be more straightforward than before, as if guiding him to do something.

He slowly squatted down and reached out to touch the copper ball, but at the moment when his fingertips were about to touch it, he suddenly hesitated. A thought flashed through his mind: What if this thing was dangerous in some way? Touching it might lead to more serious consequences.

"What am I doing?" Xu Mingjie asked himself in his heart. He couldn't help but feel as if he was being pulled by some force to do something completely unreasonable. But the voice of reason reminded him that such risky behavior might bring unforeseen dangers to him and his family.

"Mingjie?" Suddenly, a low voice came from behind, breaking the silence of the night. Xu Mingjie turned his head suddenly and saw that it was Old Liu who was standing behind him.

Old Liu stood there, his face a little pale, but his eyes were unusually sharp. He looked at the copper ball on the ground, then looked at Xu Mingjie, and said in a low and serious voice: "You shouldn't touch this thing."

Xu Mingjie was stunned. He didn't expect Old Liu to show up at this time, especially in such an occasion. He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. Old Liu seemed to see through his confusion, sighed softly, and motioned him not to speak.

"You can't control this thing, so leave it to me." Old Liu stepped forward, bent down, and skillfully wrapped the copper ball with a piece of cloth. Xu Mingjie stared at his every move with wide eyes, full of questions.

"What exactly is this thing?" Xu Mingjie finally couldn't help but ask, his voice trembling slightly.

Old Liu stood up straight, his eyes showing a complicated expression, as if he was weighing whether he should tell him the truth. After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke: "Your grandfather encountered a similar situation in the past, and he finally chose to stay away from this thing. Now it's your turn, Mingjie, there are some things that should not be investigated deeply."

"But these voices, these strange things..." Xu Mingjie felt that he could hardly control his emotions. He needed an explanation and needed to know what he was facing.

Old Liu looked at him with a trace of compassion in his eyes. “Sometimes, the more you know, the harder it is to get rid of it. I know you want to figure these things out, but you have to understand that some things are destined to be unsolvable mysteries. The only thing you can do now is to try to stay calm and don’t get close to it again.”

Xu Mingjie was speechless. The doubts and fears in his heart intertwined together, making him feel unprecedentedly helpless. He wanted to refuse and resist, but facing the calm and firm attitude of Old Liu, he found that he had no way to refute.

Old Liu didn't say anything more, but told Xu Mingjie to stay away from the copper ball as much as possible, and told him that he would keep it temporarily until a suitable solution was found. Xu Mingjie nodded helplessly, but his heart was still filled with uneasiness.