Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

At the third quarter of midnight, a bluish light flowed within the Yin-Yang space.

Lingyun's spirit body stretched out his skeletal fingers, with pale golden light flowing between his knuckles. After three nights of hunting, he was able to condense the outlines of his semi-transparent hands. When his fingertips touched the cold rock walls of the Yin-Yang Space, he could feel a slight resistance—a sign that his soul body was solidifying.

In the palm of his hand, the Soul Refining Banner was undergoing its own transformation.

Three drops of blood seeped into the banner, and cloud patterns appeared as embroidery on the rough black fabric. The patterns seemed to writhe slowly like living things, and upon closer inspection, they were actually composed of countless tiny runes strung together, exuding a sinister and eerie aura.

"It can evolve again?" Ling Yun chuckled, his voice echoing in the empty Yin-Yang space.

With a slight thought, three semi-transparent clones burst forth from his body, each carrying thirty percent of his soul power. After several days of honing his Soul Clone Technique, he could now perform three tasks simultaneously. Unfortunately, the clones were still rather weak, only able to serve as scouts to share vision, far from being able to stand alone.

"But... it's enough."

After his spirit returned to its place, Ling Yun immersed himself in cultivation. During the day, he refined his soul body in the Taiji Space, and now his control range had reached 320 meters, enough to remotely control the actions of a single Japanese soldier. However, the Japanese barracks were still beyond his firing range, and he urgently needed more soul nourishment.

Traitors are the best targets.

This would both weaken the enemy's strength and avoid premature exposure—Ling Yun knew very well that in this era, Beiping not only had Japanese Onmyoji, but also local Chinese cultivators operating in the shadows. As a half-baked ghost and a novice in Maoshan, he had to develop discreetly while seeking an opportunity to find a suitable physical body.

In his past life, he was a world-class assassin.

In this life, however, I have become a half-finished product that failed to complete the time travel.

This contrast made Ling Yun's inherent ruthlessness even more intense.

As night fell again, the spirit silently drifted out of the courtyard.

With a control radius of 320 meters, plus a detection range of the same distance, it can theoretically cover an area of ​​640 meters. However, the ability to seize a living person is still limited by the control distance of the main body—once exceeded, the soul will be forcibly pulled out by invisible chains, a feeling that Ling Yun had experienced once and never wanted to try again.

The winter night in Beiping was bitterly cold.

The spirit swept across the gray bricks and tiles, looking down at the sleeping alley below. Most houses had already turned off their lights, with only a few windows letting in the faint glow of kerosene lamps. In the distance, the sound of the night watchman's clapper could be heard; it was past midnight.

Ling Yun's gaze locked onto Han Laosan's house, three hundred meters away.

This two-courtyard siheyuan was the residence of Han Laosan, the leader of the traitors. It was usually bustling with activity, but tonight it was brightly lit. A sweep of spiritual sense revealed shadowy figures in the main hall, with the faint sounds of drinking games and women's charming laughter.

"Seven traitors, three Japanese officers..."

Lingyun hovered in the shadow of the eaves, a pale golden halo flowing across his soul—the effect of the Maoshan Basic Breath Concealment Technique. He was like a patient hunter, waiting for the perfect moment.

The main room reeked of alcohol.

Han Laosan, his belly protruding, sat in the main seat, a broad smile on his face, pouring wine for the Japanese colonel beside him: "Sir, this pot of Erguotou is a ten-year-old vintage, please have a few more cups!"

The colonel, in his fifties, sported a mustache and had cloudy yet shrewd eyes. He took the wine glass and downed it in one gulp, saying in broken Chinese, "Han-san, you have a truly good conscience! The Imperial Army will not treat you unfairly!"

"That's right, that's right!" Han Laosan said with a fawning smile, and poured another full glass of wine for the deputy sergeant and the sergeant.

The table was laden with hearty dishes such as roast chicken, braised beef, and four-happiness meatballs—a luxury in those years of scarcity. Three glamorous concubines took turns serving the guests, one of whom was being groped by the deputy colonel, giggling and half-heartedly resisting.

Outside, two armed traitorous guards yawned.

"Damn it, we're starving out there while they're having a good time inside," the short guard spat.

"Say less, or if Third Master hears you, you'll get shot." The tall guard shrank back, but his eyes couldn't help but dart into the room.

Unbeknownst to them, a pale golden shadow had quietly slipped through the wooden window.

At 2 a.m., the banquet reached its climax.

The three Japanese officers were flushed from drinking, their uniforms unbuttoned. Han Laosan was particularly drunk, his eyes glazed over and his speech slurred. The deputy colonel led his concubine into a side room, while the remaining six men in the main room continued their drinking contest.

The opportunity is here.

Lingyun's soul, like a wisp of green smoke, entered Han Laosan's brow.

The drunken traitor suddenly awoke, a fleeting clarity flashing in his eyes before turning cold and sharp—the instincts of the Lingyun assassin had taken over the body. He sensed the host's condition: around forty years old, his body hollowed out by wine and women, but with a large frame and still possessing strength.

More importantly, he had a Mauser C96 pistol tucked into his waistband.

Ling Yun manipulated Han Laosan to stand up, pretending to need to relieve himself, and staggered towards the colonel's back. As he passed the colonel, his right hand darted out like a snake, silently reaching for the colonel's holster—a Browning M1911.

The magazine was checked; eight live rounds were found.

well.

"Han Sang, where are you going?" the colonel asked, drunk.

"Sir, I...I need to pee." Ling Yun mumbled, mimicking Han Laosan's tone.

He circled behind the colonel, and before anyone could react, the muzzle of his gun was firmly pressed against the back of the colonel's head.

"Bang!"

A muffled gunshot rang out in the night sky.

The colonel's head exploded, splattering red and white matter all over the table. The roast chicken and braised beef on the table were instantly stained with blood, and the sounds of shattering porcelain plates, women's screams, and chairs falling over blended together.

The deputy colonel and sergeant looked up in astonishment, instantly sobering up considerably.

But it was too late.

Ling Yun twisted his wrist rapidly, the muzzle of the gun sweeping across like the Grim Reaper's scythe.

"Bang! Bang!"

A bullet struck the lieutenant between the eyebrows, and the sergeant's throat burst open. The two Japanese officers stared wide-eyed, seemingly unable to believe what they were seeing, and slowly slid to the ground.

"Third brother, are you crazy?!" a traitor screamed as he reached for his gun.

Ling Yun manipulated Han Laosan to roll under the table. His drunken body was sluggish, and his movements were a beat slower than expected. However, his combat instincts as a top assassin from his previous life remained, and even with this alcohol-numbed body, he was still incredibly precise.

He pulled the Mauser pistol from his waist and fired four shots at the bottom of the table.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Before the four surviving traitors could even touch their weapons, blood blossomed on their chests and foreheads. Some tried to run away, but were shot dead at the threshold. In an instant, the main room was littered with corpses, the stench of blood mixed with the smell of alcohol making one want to vomit.

Upon hearing the gunshot, the guards outside rushed over.

"Third Master! What happened?!"

The sound of the banging on the door made the windows rattle.

Ling Yun manipulated Han Laosan to overturn the octagonal table, using the heavy solid wood surface as cover. The moment the door was kicked open, four or five armed traitors rushed in, stunned by the sight of the room full of corpses.

"Han Laosan has rebelled! Open fire!" someone realized.

Bullets rained down, scattering sawdust across the tabletop.

Ling Yun calmly returned fire. Having run out of Mauser pistol ammunition, he grabbed the Type 14 Nambu pistol that the sergeant had dropped. Although its accuracy was poor, it was sufficient for close-quarters combat.

"Bang! Bang!"

The two traitors who rushed to the front fell to the ground.

The others, terrified, retreated outside and fired wildly into the house. Taking advantage of the situation, Ling Yun rolled to the corner and pulled two hand grenades—Japanese Type 97 grenades—from a corpse.

Pull out the safety pin, tap it against the wall, and delay for three seconds.

"Try this."

The grenade flew out of the doorway in an arc.

"Grenade—!"

Terrified screams erupted outside the door, followed by a violent explosion. The blast shattered the door frame, and amidst the screams, at least four pursuers were killed or wounded.

Ling Yun didn't stop, controlling Han Laosan to rush out of the main room and engage in street fighting with the remaining enemies in the courtyard. The layout of the two-courtyard siheyuan was complex, with artificial hills, corridors, and moon gates all serving as natural cover.

Fifteen minutes.

The tug-of-war lasted for fifteen minutes.

When the last armed traitor was shot dead beneath the hanging flower gate, the second courtyard was littered with corpses. Han Laosan's wives and concubines, who had been serving the Japanese squad leader in the side room, screamed as they rushed out, only to collapse to the ground in terror at the sight of the corpses filling the courtyard.

"Master! Have you gone mad?!" the first wife cried out.

Ling Yun glanced at her but ignored her. His objective was clear—only kill armed enemies; women and children were not on the list. But he couldn't leave any survivors either.

The gun barrel was raised.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

After a few gunshots, the courtyard fell completely silent.

Ling Yun manipulates Han Laosan to take stock of the battlefield.

There were seven corpses in the main room, twenty-three in the courtyard, and thirty-three in total, including the Japanese squad leader and two traitors who were killed by grenades in the side room.

The Soul Refining Banner should be open for business.

He unfurled a small black flag and hung it above the courtyard. The flag moved without wind, its scarlet tassels cascading down, exuding a chilling aura.

"receive."

A deep voice came from Han Laosan's mouth.

The Soul Refining Banner trembled violently, and the cloud patterns on its surface glowed with a dark red light. Thirty-three pale white soul lights drifted out from the corpse, struggling in terror, but were pulled towards the banner by an invisible force.

The colonel's soul light was the brightest, and his struggle was the most intense. Within that white light, a distorted face could be vaguely seen, the look of terror before his death.

"Baka... What kind of sorcery is this...?"

A vague fluctuation of consciousness emanated from the soul light.

Ling Yun sneered and activated the Soul Refining Banner. The cloud patterns on the banner writhed like living things, devouring all thirty-three beams of soul light. The piercing screams echoed in the soul realm before quickly fading into silence.

The number of blood beads on the banner skyrocketed—from forty-two to seventy-nine!

Moreover, an additional scarlet tassel appeared at the end of the banner, and the cloud patterns on the banner surface became even clearer, with faint black arcs of electricity flowing within them.

"As expected, the souls of officers and cultivators are of higher quality." Ling Yun felt the feedback from the Soul Refining Banner.

He acted swiftly, storing the Browning M1911 rifle, three Nambu Type 14 pistols, two Mauser C96 pistols, a Type 38 rifle, a Type 11 light machine gun, and several hundred rounds of ammunition into the Taiji Space's anode surface. He left the money and food untouched—the loss of any items would expose third-party intervention, and only the illusion of "internal strife among traitors" could arouse the Japanese suspicion.

Finally, he arranged a few small details in the yard: he had Han Laosan's body lean against the oil tank, clutching a lighter in his hand; he had the bodies of several traitors pointing at each other, as if they had died in an internal fight; and he spilled some sake on the ground to make it look like a scene of drunken outburst.

After doing all this, Lingyun heard the sound of a motorcycle engine coming from afar.

Japanese reinforcements have arrived.

"It's time to leave."

His soul flew out from between Han Laosan's eyebrows, and the Soul Refining Banner automatically returned to his soul sea. He took one last look at the blood-soaked courtyard before transforming into a pale golden stream of light and shooting back into the courtyard.

Just as the soul merged with the Tai Chi jade tablet, three sidecar motorcycles rushed into the Han family's courtyard. Twelve fully armed Japanese soldiers jumped off the motorcycles and were stunned to see the corpses scattered all over the ground.

"Baka! What's going on?!"

The major roared and kicked aside the corpse of a traitor. When he saw the colonel's shattered head, his face turned ashen.

"Search! Search thoroughly!"

The Japanese soldiers dispersed and soon discovered more details: intact silver dollars were scattered on the ground, not a single bag of grain was missing from the warehouse, but the weapons and ammunition were gone.

"No robbery..." The major narrowed his eyes. "Why did Han Laosan rebel? And even kill his own men?"

He crouched down to examine the lighter in Han Laosan's hand, and then looked at the oil can next to him—with just a spark, the entire yard would turn into a sea of ​​fire.

"Are you trying to destroy the evidence? Or...?"

The major stood up, his gaze sweeping over the corpses of the traitors pointing at each other. A thought formed in his mind: internal strife? Disputes over the spoils? Or... was someone trying to silence them?

"Bring Jia Gui here!" he ordered sternly. "Who has Han Laosan been having a conflict with lately? Tell me everything!"

Inside the Yin-Yang Space of the Taiji Jade Tablet.

Ling Yun sat cross-legged, his spirit body surrounded by seventy-nine clusters of pure soul energy. He opened his mouth and inhaled, the energy surging into his spirit body like a whale sucking in water.

"Crack—Snap—"

The soul emitted a clear, crisp sound, and its translucent outline solidified at a visible speed. Delicate patterns began to appear on its pale golden bones, a sign of the soul's advancement.

At the center of his brow, the previously blurry sea of ​​spiritual consciousness gradually became clear, and a golden crystal the size of a grain of rice condensed—the prototype of a soul core!

"Control distance... 5220 meters!"

Ling Yun opened his eyes, golden light swirling in his pupils. With a thought, his senses expanded outwards like a tide, instantly covering a radius of ten miles.

Nanluoguxiang, Shichahai, Gulou Street... even the distant outline of the Forbidden City are faintly visible in my perception.

Even more remarkably, the Soul Splitting Technique has also advanced.

With a slight thought, five semi-transparent clones burst forth from his body, each carrying forty percent of his soul power. The clones were no longer blurry, but instead coalesced into clear facial features. Although they still appeared somewhat illusory, they were already capable of independently performing complex tasks.

"One stayed behind to monitor Xiaoyuzhu, two scouted the Japanese soldiers' movements, and two searched for suitable bodies..."

Ling Yun methodically assigned tasks. The five clones transformed into streaks of light and flew out of the Taiji Space, disappearing into the night.

He himself then immersed himself in a deeper level of cultivation.

The Soul Refining Banner slowly rotated in the Sea of ​​Souls, with seventy-nine blood beads embedded on its surface like stars. Two scarlet tassels at the end of the banner moved without wind, emanating a chilling pressure.

"Just twenty-one more blood beads needed to advance to the next stage." Ling Yun stroked the banner, feeling the violent power contained within. "At that time, I should be able to unlock even more powerful functions..."

Outside the window, the sky was gradually brightening.

The sound of roosters crowing echoed from the courtyard, followed by the sounds of people getting up from their homes. Xiao Yuzhu rubbed his eyes and sat up on the kang (a heated brick bed), groggily getting dressed.

Lingyun separated a wisp of his divine sense and attached it to the child—this was his anchor point and the foundation of his existence in this world.

"It'll be soon." He gazed at the sky, which was gradually turning white. "Once I've condensed my complete soul form and found a suitable physical body... this courtyard house, this city of Beiping, is about to change."

Inside the negative space, the spirit closed its eyes again.

Outside the window, a new day was just beginning. The Japanese military police were searching the entire city for "traitorous collaborators," and Jia Gui was being displayed by being hung at the city gate, his piercing screams echoing across half the street.

The chaos has only just begun.