Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

Inside a treehouse in the desolate Yanshan Mountains.

He Damin slowly opened his eyes. Deep within his pupils, the ever-rotating Tai Chi phantom seemed to freeze for a moment before returning to normal. After seven days of rest, most of his depleted soul power had been restored through the Soul Devouring Replenishment technique and his own breathing exercises. More importantly, the network of fifty (actually a hundred, but he only knew fifty to outsiders) soul clones that had infiltrated the enemy camp had, after initial adaptation and adjustment, begun to stably and continuously transmit scattered but crucial fragments of intelligence back to him.

He wasn't sitting cross-legged on the brick platform, but standing before the west-facing window. A crack opened in the wooden window, letting in the relatively warm, damp air of the desolate valley, carrying the crisp chill unique to snow. His gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of mountains, directed towards the distant west—northwest Shanxi.

"Li Yunlong... commander of the Independent Regiment..." He murmured the name, and the title that kept appearing in the fragments of battle reports about the Eighth Route Army in Northwest Shanxi that he had accidentally intercepted from a certain clone.

The primary targets of the Soul Doppelganger Network were always the core military and political forces of the Japanese puppet regime in North China and the influence of Yoshiko Kawashima. For the Shanxi-Northwest region, located far east of the Yellow River and intricately intertwined with the forces of the Japanese puppet regime and Yan Xishan, the reconnaissance resources deployed were relatively limited. However, even the information indirectly gathered through the doppelgangers infiltrated into the Japanese puppet regime's intelligence agencies and communications departments in Beiping and Taiyuan—including reports on "banditry" in Shanxi-Northwest, battle damage reports, and sporadic mentions of "Li Yunlong's troops," "New First Regiment," and "Independent Regiment"—was enough to paint a rough and tenacious picture of the anti-Japanese war behind enemy lines in He Damin's mind.

In particular, the name "Li Yunlong," accompanied by dramatic and even "bandit-like" fragments of events such as "disobeying military orders," "breaking through the Sakata Regiment head-on," "being dismissed and transferred to a clothing factory," and "returning to command an independent regiment," gave He Damin a strange sense of familiarity. It wasn't the familiarity of memory, but rather a feeling... as if a character with a strong sense of personal heroism, whom he had read about in a faded story, had leaped off the page.

"Bright Sword..." He uttered these two words unconsciously, yet he didn't know exactly what they referred to. He just felt that if there really was such a person in northwestern Shanxi, he might be a "client" worth observing, or even... a potential future contact. After all, a regimental commander who dared to fight and acted unpredictably would probably have an unusual thirst for and use of weapons.

However, at present, specific intelligence regarding northwestern Shanxi, especially regarding the Red Army's armed forces, remains too scarce and too general. The focus of the clone network is not on this, and it's too far out of reach.

"It seems necessary to take a look myself." He Damin withdrew his gaze, having already made up his mind. The plan to head west to northwestern Shanxi was not only to deal with surplus munitions, but also to conduct on-site reconnaissance and establish more comprehensive intelligence bases for his future actions.

He sat down cross-legged again, not to cultivate, but to prepare for a long-range, targeted soul projection reconnaissance. With the strength of his current Golden Core main soul, coupled with the enhancement of the Soul Refining Banner, projecting a highly condensed reconnaissance split soul, possessing basic [memory reading] and [soul perception] abilities, to a specific area in northwestern Shanxi, a thousand miles away, was not impossible, despite the considerable energy expenditure. This was more direct and targeted than the wide-net, long-term infiltration model of a split-soul network.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, his mind clear and focused. His main soul manifested in his spiritual sea, holding the phantom of the Soul Refining Banner. He recalled all the scattered information about the geography of northwestern Shanxi and the enemy's situation: east of the Yellow River, west of the Tongpu Railway, with the Guancen Mountains and Lüliang Mountains stretching across the land, and various forces such as the Japanese puppet regime, Yan Xishan's Jin-Sui Army, and the Eighth Route Army intersecting. The 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army was the main force that opened up this area, so its subordinate, frequently active units were likely stationed in the core area of ​​a relatively stable base, such as... the Kelan, Xingxian, and Linxian areas.

"Let's take the area around Kelan as our first landing point," He Damin decided. Kelan was one of the early political centers of northwestern Shanxi, so the Eighth Route Army's activities there should have been quite concentrated there.

"go!"

Driven by thought, the main soul separated a wisp of pale golden soul light, as thin as a hair yet as tangible as a substance. This reconnaissance wisp carried simple instructions: to find large-scale Eighth Route Army outposts or traces of activity, to sense strong collective human auras and hostility (distinguishing between Japanese puppet regimes and anti-Japanese forces), to avoid any possible weak spiritual reactions (such as those from folk sorcerers or special individuals), to primarily observe covertly, and, if necessary, to perform superficial [memory reading] on isolated or weak-willed individuals.

With a gentle sway of the Soul Refining Banner, a surge of soul power was injected into the divided soul, providing it with initial momentum and protection for its journey. The divided soul transformed into a barely perceptible golden star, piercing through the treehouse, rising into the sky, discerning the west, and then shooting towards the vast land of northwestern Shanxi at a speed far exceeding the limits of the physical body.

For the next two days, He Damin's main body remained in the desolate place, sensing the progress and general feedback of the reconnaissance split soul through a weak soul connection, while continuing to organize the resources in the small world, making more concrete preparations for a possible journey to the west.

On the first day, the feedback was vague. The fragmented soul had crossed the foothills of the Taihang Mountains and entered the territory of northwestern Shanxi. In its perception, the land was barren, villages were sparse, and Japanese strongholds and pillboxes dotted the transportation lines like malignant tumors, emanating a cold and clear atmosphere of hostility and oppression. At the same time, it also sensed several scattered but tenacious auras, carrying the will to resist, flowing in the mountain ravines, which should be guerrillas or small groups of Eighth Route Army.

The next day, at dusk, the previously silent connection suddenly emitted a clearer fluctuation.

The reconnaissance team found the target.

Instead of finding Li Yunlong's regimental headquarters directly, they discovered a sizable village nestled deep in the mountains southwest of Kelan. The village was surrounded by rudimentary but effective military camouflage and sentry posts. Inside, the village was bustling with activity, with over a thousand people gathered. Several hundred of them were highly disciplined and exuded the aura of seasoned warriors and a unified will – characteristics consistent with a regimental-level command headquarters and a portion of the main force of the Eighth Route Army. More importantly, the fragmented soul "heard" scattered conversations drifting on the wind above the village, repeatedly mentioning terms like "regimental commander," "political commissar," "independent regiment," "training," "insufficient equipment," and "Japanese mopping-up operations."

"The Independent Regiment... this should be it." He Damin's spirits lifted. He controlled his divided soul to lower its altitude, like the lightest ghost, floating close to the rooftops of the largest courtyards in the village, gently sprinkling his spiritual senses down.

In a cave dwelling with a map and a simple sand table, he "saw" two middle-aged men arguing. One was a burly man with a loud voice, cursing and slamming his fist on the table, complaining that "ammunition is running low" and "the soldiers' fire sticks are no match for them"; the other, wearing glasses and appearing more refined, was trying to persuade them, his tone calm but anxious. Both were wearing faded Eighth Route Army uniforms.

"Li Yunlong... Zhao Gang?" He Damin guessed, based on fragments of intelligence and vague "impressions." His divided soul couldn't directly access the deep memories of these two commanders, whose willpower was clearly strong, but by capturing their conversations, expressions, the arrangement of documents inside the cave, and even the whispers of the sentries outside, he could still piece together a considerable amount of information:

Unit number: Independent Regiment of the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army (confirming previous intelligence).

Current situation: Having just survived a fierce battle, the troops have suffered heavy casualties, and are facing severe shortages of ammunition, clothing, and medicine. Ammunition, in particular, is scarce, with the situation of having less than five bullets per person seemingly not uncommon. They are currently resting and replenishing their supplies, but are under pressure from a new round of "mopping-up" operations by the Japanese.

Style: The regimental commander, who resembled Li Yunlong, spoke with a strong desire for battle and an obsession with "gaining benefits" (captures). His tactical thinking was flexible and even somewhat "cunning." He was protective of his subordinates and had some complaints about certain orders from his superiors, but he was also able to execute them cunningly.

Interpersonal relationships: There is both cooperation and competition with neighboring brother units (such as the New 1st Regiment and the New 2nd Regiment); the relationship with Chu Yunfei, the commander of the 358th Regiment of the Jin-Sui Army, is delicate, seemingly both enemy and friend; there seems to be an officer named Zhou Weiguo who has just surrendered from the Central Army and is highly regarded.

In addition, the fragmented soul also caught some other information: there seemed to be rumors of a Japanese "observation group" operating nearby; Yan Xishan's Jin-Sui Army was constantly restricting and making small moves against the Eighth Route Army's defense zone; the local people had a high level of support for the Independent Regiment, but the base area was indeed extremely short of supplies.

Just as the split soul was preparing to expand its reconnaissance area to find specific locations such as warehouses and repair shops, it suddenly sensed an extremely faint yet sharp "insightful" mental fluctuation sweeping across the other end of the village. The fluctuation was not directed at it, but rather resembled the habitual, alert outward projection of a skilled martial artist.

"A master? At least at the level of internal energy, or someone with extraordinary talent..." He Damin immediately controlled his divided soul to conceal all its aura, merging into the shadow of the eaves and remaining still. The fluctuations swept back and forth twice, finding nothing unusual, and gradually receded.

"Is it that Wei Dayong (the monk)? Or someone else?" He Damin recalled that Li Yunlong had a former Shaolin Temple guard under his command, who was exceptionally skilled. It seemed that this Independent Regiment was full of hidden talents; even on a spiritual level, one had to be careful.

The reconnaissance fragment didn't linger. Under the cover of night, it quietly drifted to a more distant area, roughly surveying the surrounding terrain, the distribution of the main Japanese strongholds, and possible transportation routes. Around midnight, He Damin proactively recalled this somewhat depleted fragment. The information was sufficient.

The returning split soul merged with the main soul, bringing back all the sights and feelings it had experienced, which flooded into He Damin's consciousness as if he had personally witnessed them.

He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, his eyes gleaming.

"As expected... lacking clothing and ammunition, their plight is dire," he muttered to himself. The Independent Regiment's situation was even more difficult than he had anticipated. But precisely because of this, their desire for weapons and equipment must have been incredibly intense. How would Li Yunlong, with his "a fool wouldn't pass up a bargain" and "a wolf roaming a thousand miles to eat meat" mentality, react if he saw a large quantity of superior Japanese equipment?

A preliminary "arms transfer" plan began to take shape in He Damin's mind. Direct contact was too dangerous and risky, and could easily expose them. The best approach was to create an "accident," such as disguising it as a Japanese transport convoy being "ambushed and killed," leaving some weapons "abandoned" near the Independent Regiment's operational area for them to "retrieve" themselves. Alternatively, they could use a more covert third-party channel, but the situation in northwestern Shanxi was complex, and a reliable third party was hard to find.

"We still need to conduct on-site surveys of the transportation routes and specific terrain," He Damin pondered. While a spiritual reconnaissance can see the macroscopic picture, the specific conditions of the mountain roads, the setting of checkpoints, and the impact of seasonal climates (such as heavy snow blocking the mountains) still require a physical visit to accurately grasp.

Furthermore, he also noticed the subtle relationship between Li Yunlong and Chu Yunfei. The 358th Regiment of the Jin-Sui Army was relatively well-equipped, and Chu Yunfei himself was no ordinary person. He needed to take into account the existence of this force in his future actions to avoid unnecessary complications.

"Then, the next step is the physical journey westward." He Damin stood up and walked to the corner where supplies were piled up. With a thought, he took out a set of Japanese army major's uniform, matching identification documents (selected and modified from captured items), a Nambu Type 14 pistol, and several forged Kwantung Army Headquarters transfer orders from his small world. He also took out a Type 95 military truck (stored in his small world) and checked the fuel.

He will assume the identity of a Japanese major, driving a truck carrying some "sample" weapons and enough equipment for self-defense, and advance westward along the relatively safe transportation routes of the Japanese-occupied zone. After entering the border area between Shanxi and northwestern Shanxi, he will change his camouflage as needed, or use [spatial transfer] in conjunction with nighttime soul-splitting anchor points for short-range mobile infiltration.

"The first step is to reach the outskirts of northwestern Shanxi. The second step is to conduct on-site reconnaissance of the Independent Regiment's usual areas of operation and the movements of the surrounding enemy troops and Yoshiko Kawashima, especially her possible focus on northwestern Shanxi."

He looked out the window; the night in this desolate place was as dark as ink. To the east lay his ever-expanding intelligence network in Tianjin and Beijing, and the unresolved feud with Yoshiko Kawashima; to the west lay the barren and frigid Shanxi-Northwest region, burning with the flames of indomitable war, and an independent regiment desperately in need of "equipment."