Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

In Beiping in the twelfth lunar month, your breath turns to frost.

Lead-gray clouds hung heavily over the golden roofs of the Forbidden City and the gray rooftops of the courtyard houses. The biting northwest wind, like a knife, swept across the empty streets, swirling up the remaining snow and withered leaves. As the year drew to a close, the ancient city felt little warmth; only the Japanese and puppet troops and police intensified their patrols, their bayonets gleaming coldly in the wind, and the Japanese flags on the sentry posts frozen stiff, fluttering in the wind.

In the east courtyard of Nanluoguxiang, He Damin, wearing a worn cotton robe, sat by the window. The flames in the charcoal brazier flickered weakly, barely dispelling the chill in the corner. A blank thread-bound notebook lay open in front of him, but his fingertips were not dipped in ink, merely hovering over the paper.

His eyes were closed, yet within his spiritual sea, a vast and intricate hub seemed to be operating. One hundred soul avatars, like sensors scattered across the sky, constantly transmitted massive amounts of information back through invisible soul connections. This information was complex and fragmented, ranging from the North China Area Army General Staff's draft troop deployment plan for the spring "mopping-up" campaign to the confidential records of a Tianjin military police squad leader accepting bribes; from an unusual flow of funds at the Yokohama Specie Bank to a reminder that a batch of penicillin in a Japanese warehouse in Baoding was about to expire…

He Damin's mind acted like the most efficient filter and processor, automatically categorizing this information, eliminating useless noise, and extracting core value. Military deployments, espionage operations, economic plunder, personnel changes, clues related to Yoshiko Kawashima... each was placed into different "archives" in his consciousness.

"distribution."

With a slight thought, the filtered and processed intelligence begins to quietly flow to where it is needed in various untraceable ways.

An analysis of the loopholes in the rotation of the Japanese Independent Mixed Brigade stationed in Tangshan was "coincidentally" placed in a drawer compartment of a specific seat in a teahouse frequented by an informant of the Military Intelligence Bureau's Tangshan station.

A piece of straw paper marked with a detailed diagram of the underground ventilation ducts of the Japanese arsenal in Shijiazhuang, wrapped with a roasted sweet potato, was thrown into the courtyard of a secret guerrilla liaison point outside the city by a homeless child.

Several rumors about factional infighting within the Beiping puppet police station and a deputy director's secret dealings with Chongqing were cleverly mixed into the "idle talk" of teahouse storytellers that the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) intelligence agents often heard.

A comprehensive report on the latest activity patterns, transport routes, and weaknesses in the perimeter security of the Japanese secret bacteriological warfare unit (Unit 1855, codenamed "Type A") in Xishan appeared in a more cryptic, coded form in an oil paper package under a loose brick at the back door of Manager Luo's general store. At the end of the report was a note, unsigned but instantly understood by Manager Luo: "This ferocious beast must be eliminated quickly. Long-range fire attack is necessary; beware of contamination."

All intelligence transmission follows the principles of "indirectness, chance, and untraceability." He Damin is like a top-notch intelligence curator hidden behind the scenes, meticulously arranging the presentation and audience of each "exhibit."

However, among all these distributed messages, one category was given the highest priority and special marking—any trace of Yoshiko Kawashima.

He Damin extracted all the fragments that might be related to Yoshiko Kawashima from the feedback from his clones over the past few months: a vague memo from within the Beiping intelligence agency regarding "suspending Ms. Kawashima's original intelligence network and activating a completely new independent channel"; an unusual outpatient record from a high-end clinic in the Japanese concession of Tianjin, with the patient anonymous and symptoms described as "severe mental trauma sequelae"; a sighting at Baoding train station of someone resembling Yoshiko Kawashima's entourage, who then vanished; and even from fragments of memory from several Japanese bank managers, he pieced together several large, unaccounted-for transfers to Swiss banks with suspicious timing...

These fragments themselves cannot directly pinpoint Yoshiko Kawashima, but He Damin combined them with some unusual personnel movements and resource allocations by the Japanese recently (especially special resources for investigating "paranormal events," such as cinnabar, ancient jade, and rare medicinal herbs), as well as some vague instructions in high-level communications, to form a series of "Analysis of Yoshiko Kawashima's Possible Activity Areas and Related Trends."

These analytical reports were transmitted in a more covert manner—sometimes by modifying the dead drop information preset by the fallen anti-Japanese martyrs, and sometimes by sending misleading "confirmation requests" through certain undetected communication loopholes within the Japanese—to the departments within the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (JB) that were responsible for tracking high-ranking Japanese officials and special individuals. At the same time, they were also hinted at to experienced intelligence analysts on the Communist Party side in a more roundabout way.

The instructions were clear and ruthless: "Track the trail, pinpoint the location, do not panic. This time, we cannot afford to lose again." Although unsigned, the precision of the intelligence and the chilling will behind it sent a chill down the spines of even the most seasoned intelligence officers who received the message.

However, as time went by, the feedback was disappointing.

Yoshiko Kawashima seemed to have vanished into thin air. She appeared to have completely severed all overt contact with her original intelligence network, ceasing to use known aliases, outposts, and communication channels. The distributed leads, like pebbles thrown into a deep pool, didn't even create a ripple. The Military Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics mobilized considerable resources for their investigations, and the Communist Party also intensified its reconnaissance efforts, but all to no avail. It was as if she had burrowed underground, or been completely hidden and protected by a higher power.

Even He Damin's own network of soul clones, these "heavenly eyes" theoretically capable of peering into almost all the core secrets of the Japanese puppet regime in North China, failed to glean any memory fragments from any of the parasitic hosts regarding Kawashima Yoshiko's exact location, recent direct contact, or clear instructions given. At most, there were vague rumors such as "I heard that Miss Yoshiko is recuperating in the south" or "She is said to be carrying out a top-secret mission," or some actions were vaguely instructed to "follow Miss Yoshiko's established plan."

"They've kept it well hidden." He Damin opened his eyes, looking at the gray sky outside the window. His gaze was calm, but deep within it gleamed a sharpness colder than the biting wind outside. "They've gone completely underground, maintaining only single-line contact with a very small number of people at the very core, who may also be under special protection. They might even... have temporarily left North China."

He realized that Yoshiko Kawashima, or the forces behind her, had adopted the most extreme countermeasure—absolute silence and concealment. They were using space and time to wear down the hunter's patience, waiting for him to reveal a weakness, or waiting for new variables to emerge.

"Trying to wear us down?" He Damin's lips curled into a cold smile. "Then let's see whose patience runs out first, and whose foundation is shaken first."

Since Yoshiko Kawashima chose to remain hidden and temporarily detach herself from the overall operation of the Japanese puppet regime in North China in order to protect herself, He Damin changed his strategy. Instead of painstakingly digging out the deeply buried venomous fang, he swung his knife and slashed at the body and limbs on which the venomous snake depended for survival—the living forces of the Japanese devils scattered throughout North China.

His gaze first fell upon the area outside Beiping City.

He didn't plan to conduct a large-scale cleanup of Beiping itself for the time being. The reason was simple—he was afraid of unintended consequences. This ancient city, with its thousand-year history, held countless memories of civilization and was priceless. The Japanese troops, government offices, and expatriates were relatively concentrated within the city; wiping them all out overnight would cause an unprecedented upheaval. Without the restraint of "stability," the Japanese military, driven to madness and panic, was highly likely to launch a ruthless retaliatory bombing campaign against Beiping, or carry out a large-scale massacre under the guise of "bandit suppression" or "investigation." That would be a disaster he did not want to see.

"Beiping will remain a shell for now, a seemingly calm quagmire," He Damin calmly planned. "Let the Japanese high command still believe that this is their 'model security zone,' and that they can maintain a semblance of control. Their attention and resources will continue to concentrate here."

The real hunting grounds are outside the city, in the vast North China Plain, mountains, and along transportation routes.

His goal was clear and ruthless:

First, field troops. Especially those Class A divisions and independent mixed brigades that are fully equipped, frequently participate in mopping-up operations, and pose the greatest threat to base areas and civilians. Choose opportunities when they are relatively away from fortified positions, such as during field training, temporary encampments, or supply transport, to launch devastating attacks.

Second, logistics and support units. These include supply depots, warehouses, field hospitals, engineering units, and communication hubs. Destroying these nodes would be tantamount to severing the lifeline of the Japanese field army.

Third, special forces. Especially germ warfare units and special reconnaissance units like Xishan, which pose a huge threat and are highly secretive, must be eliminated as a priority, at any cost.

Fourth, transportation lines. Railways, highways, bridges, and docks. The goal is not permanent destruction (that would require engineering capabilities and be vulnerable to retaliatory repairs), but rather precise sabotage at critical times to disrupt the Japanese forces' deployment and supply schedules.

Operational strategy: Fast, accurate, and ruthless. Utilize the soul form in conjunction with the Soul Refining Banner for nighttime long-range mobility and reconnaissance, locking onto targets; carry necessary equipment in the physical body for close-range infiltration and assassination; control the battlefield with the Soul Refining Banner's domain, create chaos with the Hundred Ghosts Parade, and efficiently harvest kills with the Netherworld Chains; after the battle, collect as many useful supplies as possible, especially weapons, medicine, fuel, and precision instruments; finally, utilize the storage capabilities of the Taiji Space for rapid relocation, leaving no trace.

Operational Rhythm: Maintain pressure, sustain losses. Don't aim for a decisive victory in one battle, but rather, like the most patient wolf pack, continuously attack, weaken, and harass, keeping the Japanese rule in North China constantly bleeding and in pain, unable to organize effective forces for large-scale mopping-up operations or leisurely search for the "ghost assassin." At the same time, this continuous, inexplicable loss will further exacerbate panic, suspicion, and a sense of powerlessness within the Japanese ranks, eroding their fighting capacity from within.

"Let's start with Xishan." He Damin's gaze sharpened. The intelligence about the bacteriological warfare unit stirred a murderous intent within him. Every day this inhumane, devilish unit existed was an increase in sin.

He rose and retrieved pre-prepared items from his Taiji space: a dark-colored, close-fitting outfit suitable for nighttime movement, several tempered steel daggers, a pack of specially made incendiary bombs infused with the effects of Daoist True Fire Talismans (targeting bacterial facilities), and several reinforced protective and speed-enhancing talismans. The Soul Refining Banner trembled slightly in his spiritual sea, conveying a sense of hunger and anticipation.