Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

The December wind, blowing across the mountain ridges of northwestern Shanxi, was harder and colder than a blade. Zhao Jia Yu, a small mountain village usually quiet only for the sounds of wind and the occasional bark of a dog, had recently developed a strange air of "prosperity." In the open space under the old locust tree at the village entrance, rows of brand-new Type 38 rifles were stacked, their black barrels gleaming coldly in the bleak winter sun. Next to them were piles of ammunition boxes, the bright yellow bullets occasionally peeking out from the gaps, dazzling the eye. Two Type 92 infantry guns were polished to a gleaming shine, their muzzles pointing diagonally to the sky, exuding a silent, intimidating power. Not to mention the light and heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars, bundles of military overcoats, boxes of canned medicine… all sorts of items crammed the already small open space to the brim, leaving almost no room to move.

The soldiers of the Independent Regiment surrounded these "windfalls," their expressions less one of excitement and more one of bewilderment and unease. They carefully cleaned their new guns and moved the ammunition, but their movements were not as joyful as when they usually acquired spoils of war. Instead, they were acting furtively, as if afraid that these things would grow wings and fly away, or... attract something they shouldn't be there.

The atmosphere inside the cave dwelling where the regimental headquarters was located was even more somber. Li Yunlong paced back and forth in the cramped space, his steps heavy and hurried, like a restless tiger trapped in a cage. Zhao Gang sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), a notebook spread out in front of him, his brows furrowed, his pencil scribbling unconsciously on the paper, unable to write a single word.

"Damn it! What on earth is going on?!" Li Yunlong abruptly stopped, slamming his fist on the earthen bed, making the teacup on the table jump. "Sending gifts! Sending gifts! Sending gifts! It's endless! Is this guy surnamed He a god of wealth or a jinx? I've fought so many wars, and I've never seen anything so bizarre!"

Zhao Gang pushed up his glasses and gave a wry smile: "Old Li, what's the use of saying all this now? The stuff is there, it's all good stuff, it can save lives and fight the Japanese. But the way it came from... the brigade headquarters will find out sooner or later. We can keep it a secret for a while, but not forever."

"Brigade Headquarters..." Li Yunlong's head started throbbing at the mere mention of those two words. When he sent the report, he had only vaguely mentioned, "We may have encountered Japanese spies testing us, captured a small amount of weapons, and are currently making preparations to deal with them." He dared not mention this continuous stream of "gifts" that was practically bloating the Independent Regiment. He had originally planned to wait until he had figured out the background of that man surnamed He, or until the "transaction" had stabilized, before slowly explaining this bizarre method of "trading antiques for weapons" to his superiors. But now it seemed he couldn't wait any longer.

Just as the two men were frowning and discussing whether to write a more detailed (and less believable) report, a series of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from outside the cave, followed by a sentry's somewhat panicked shouts of "Regimental Commander! Political Commissar! Brigade Commander... the Brigade Commander is here!"

"What?!" Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang were both startled and jumped to their feet. Why had Brigade Commander Chen suddenly arrived? There hadn't been a single word beforehand!

Before they could even go out to greet them, Brigade Commander Chen's signature, angry roar rang out from outside the cave dwelling, so loud it made the paper windows rattle:

"Li Yunlong! Get out here right now!"

This shout was heard clearly not only by those in the regimental headquarters, but also by the soldiers nearby who were carrying the "gifts," who involuntarily shrank back and stopped what they were doing.

Li Yunlong's heart skipped a beat; he knew things were going to go wrong. He quickly straightened his wrinkled military uniform (though it was still in the same state), put on a smile, and jogged out, lifting the thick cotton curtain.

In the small courtyard outside the cave dwelling, Brigade Commander Chen, wearing a worn-out military overcoat, looked weary from his long journey, but his face betrayed an barely suppressed rage. He stood there ramrod straight, followed by several equally stern-faced brigade staff officers and guards. His sharp eyes, like searchlights, swept across the courtyard and the mountains of weapons and supplies piled up in the distance; with each glance, his face darkened further.

"Brigade Commander! What brings you here? You didn't even tell me beforehand so I could prepare..." Li Yunlong rubbed his hands together, smiling obsequiously as he approached, trying to cover his guilty conscience with enthusiasm.

"Preparing? Preparing for what? Preparing to fool me?" Brigade Commander Chen interrupted him rudely, his finger almost touching Li Yunlong's nose. "Li Yunlong! How dare you! You've been privately trading arms and stockpiling so many weapons and ammunition, why didn't you report it to the brigade headquarters? What are you trying to do? Are you trying to build up your own power base? Or do you want to become a mountain bandit?!"

The voice grew louder and harsher with each sentence, so much so that Zhao Gang and the other staff officers nearby dared not even breathe heavily.

Li Yunlong knew he couldn't deny it anymore; the brigade commander wasn't blind, and there was evidence everywhere. He quickly dropped his forced smile, replacing it with a pitiful, "I'm a victim too" expression, and said with a bitter face, "Brigade Commander! I'm innocent, Brigade Commander! Please let me explain! This matter... it's strange!"

"Strange? I think it's you, Li Yunlong, who's crazy!" Brigade Commander Chen's anger remained unabated.

"Really, Brigade Commander!" Li Yunlong blurted out, "At first, a strange guy came along, surnamed He, claiming to be a businessman who could trade antiques for weapons. I didn't believe him at all! But he actually drove over a truckload of weapons, saying it was a gift and he wouldn't take a penny! I figured there was definitely a trap, either a Japanese spy or a scheme by Yan Xishan! So I played along, took the goods, arranged an ambush, and prepared to give those bastards a good beating!"

He paused, stealing a glance at the brigade commander's face. Seeing that the commander still had a stern expression but seemed to have listened somewhat, he continued his "complaint": "But who would have thought, Brigade Commander! The ambush didn't bring the Japanese, and that guy surnamed He... he's like a fool, he came back again! Not to fight, but to deliver supplies! He's been delivering supplies again and again, endlessly! Guns, cannons, bullets, food, clothes, medicine... it's like a mischievous child has descended to earth, he just can't stop! Look, look at all this stuff!"

Li Yunlong pointed to the supplies around him, his expression a mixture of smug satisfaction at having gotten such a great deal and bewildered anxiety about it: "I couldn't stop them even if I wanted to! Send someone to follow them? That guy was like a ghost, driving incredibly fast. In the dark, even Monk and the others couldn't keep up, their legs were about to give out! I thought, we can't just throw away meat that's practically delivered to our mouths, can we? Those are all good weapons for fighting the Japanese! So I... I'll keep them for now. I was just figuring out how to report this strange thing to you when you arrived..."

Listening to Li Yunlong's bizarre and almost absurd explanation, and looking at the mountain of solid, high-quality Japanese equipment before him, Commander Chen's anger was gradually replaced by a profound sense of absurdity and bewilderment. He had led troops for many years; what strange things hadn't he seen? But this kind of situation—the "enemy" begging and pleading to send him equipment, making him feel embarrassed and uneasy—was truly unprecedented.

"You mean... he kept sending them? Just to exchange them for antiques?" Brigade Commander Chen's tone softened a bit, but the scrutiny in his eyes remained undiminished.

"That's what he said!" Li Yunlong nodded quickly. "He also said that the first time was out of sincerity, and that we should follow the rules from now on. But before that 'from now on' even started, he went crazy... Brigade Commander, I really didn't dare to hide it from you, it's just that this thing... it's not something a normal person could do! I even suspect that there might be something wrong with that guy here." Li Yunlong pointed to his head.

Commander Chen fell silent. He walked with his hands behind his back to a pile of Type 38 rifles, picked one up casually, pulled back the bolt to examine it, then picked up a bullet and weighed it in his hand. They were all genuine, and well-maintained, brand-new. This many weapons were enough to instantly upgrade a severely understaffed infantry regiment, dramatically increasing its combat effectiveness. If, as Li Yunlong said, the other side was simply "foolishly" sending them away without any strings attached, without any subsequent military operations (such as inside-outside cooperation), then… this was practically a huge windfall, although the source of this windfall was so bizarre it made one's heart pound.

"Zhao Gang!" Brigade Commander Chen turned to the political commissar, who had remained silent. "Tell me, what happened?"

Zhao Gang stepped forward, adjusted his glasses, and said in a serious and objective tone, "Brigade Commander, what Regiment Commander Li said is basically true. This 'Mr. He's' behavior is indeed very abnormal. Our initial judgment was the same as Regiment Commander Li's, that it was most likely a trap. But so far, apart from continuously receiving supplies, there has been no expected enemy activity. Tracking has yielded no results; the other party seems to be only focused on 'delivering goods.' We are also actively investigating, but currently have no clue. As for these supplies... how to handle them, please give us your instructions, Brigade Commander." He threw the problem back at him.

Commander Chen looked at his two subordinates, one with a bewildered expression and the other with a suspicious look. Looking around at the silent, well-equipped weapons, he was momentarily speechless, unsure whether to be angry or amused. He knew, of course, the seriousness of handling a large quantity of munitions without authorization, but in this situation… should he criticize Li Yunlong for concealing the truth? But if he reported this, would the brigade headquarters believe him? Their first reaction would likely be, "Li Yunlong is just talking nonsense again!"

After a long pause, Brigade Commander Chen exhaled a long puff of white air, as if expelling all the frustration and absurdity pent up in his chest. "Put everything away! Register it, and keep it strictly under control! Especially the heavy weapons and ammunition—no one is allowed to touch them without my order!" he ordered in a deep voice. "Li Yunlong, your Independent Regiment is immediately on high alert! Just in case this is a major operation by the enemy to lull us into a false sense of security! Zhao Gang, you're responsible for writing a detailed report on the entire incident, down to every single detail, with absolutely no room for falsehood! I'm taking this back to report to the division commander, even the headquarters leaders! What the hell... what kind of mess is this?!"

"Yes, Brigade Commander!" Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang stood at attention simultaneously. Li Yunlong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The brigade commander hadn't immediately dismissed his regimental commander, nor had he ordered the equipment to be thrown away or turned over. Did that mean he was tacitly allowing them to use it for now? As for the report... well, let Old Zhao worry about that.

Just then, a communications soldier came running up, panting: "Report! Regimental Commander, Political Commissar! The comrades on patrol outside the village said that last night, there seemed to be truck activity in the direction of Black Tiger Gully to the west, but it didn't get close to the village. When they went to check after dawn, they didn't find anything."

Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes. Here we go again? Isn't this over yet?

Brigade Commander Chen's eyebrows shot up again: "Li Yunlong! What's going on this time?"

Li Yunlong grinned, a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Brigadier... I guess... that 'fool' went to 'buy goods' again?"

……

About thirty miles away from Zhaojiayu, deep in Heihugou.

He Damin stood before a naturally formed cave, its entrance hidden by dense vines, and patted the dust off his hands. The interior of the cave, which he had slightly widened and repaired with his true energy, appeared dry and stable.

He calculated that although these dozen or so nighttime transport trips were frequent, the actual supplies delivered were less than one-tenth of what he had stored in his Taiji Space micro-world. The main problem was the truck's limited load capacity; each loading and unloading required avoiding potential line of sight, making it extremely inefficient. Moreover, constantly driving the Japanese truck around the edge of the base area would inevitably attract unnecessary trouble sooner or later—although he wasn't afraid of trouble, he felt it was a waste of time.

"Looks like we can't waste that oil, and we don't need to go through all that trouble," He Damin muttered to himself. Just like when he hid weapons for the Red Party, he could find a secluded cave, put a lot of them in at once, and let them carry them themselves—that would be much easier.

He turned to face the cave, his mind connecting with the vast space within his dantian. Piles of Type 38 rifles (another 800 rifles), matching ammunition (100 boxes), light and heavy machine guns (20 each), mortars and infantry guns (5 each, with ample ammunition), grenade launchers (50), hand grenades (50 boxes), explosives (10 boxes), and large quantities of military rations, canned goods, clothing, medicine... appeared out of thin air in front of him as if by magic, then were drawn by an invisible force, flying neatly and orderly into the depths of the cave, stacked layer upon layer, almost filling six or seven tenths of the not-so-small cave.

Having done all this, he nodded in satisfaction. These supplies were enough for the Independent Regiment to use for quite some time. He walked to a flat rock nearby, and with his fingers like a knife, using his true energy as a blade, he carved several lines of words on the rock's surface: "Regimental Commander Li, Political Commissar Zhao, the first batch of supplies is here. Take as needed. Next transaction, to be announced." The writing penetrated deep into the stone's marrow, impervious to wind and rain erosion.

He left no markers indicating himself, nor did he specify the quantity. He believed that the Independent Regiment's scouts would have no trouble finding the cave. As for their expressions upon seeing the cave full of munitions… that was none of his concern. He had fulfilled his obligations as a "supplier."

Night fell again. He Damin took one last look at the cave that held the weapons and ammunition that could have sparked a small-scale battle, then vanished into the vast darkness of the mountain forest. He needed to find a place to rest, sort out his thoughts, and perhaps also pay attention to the messages transmitted back from his clone network in North China, and... think about what kind of "vintage" items he should ask for next time.

He had no idea that his "convenient" action would bring a new round of chaos to Zhao Jia Yu, and whether Li Yunlong, who had just been questioned by the brigade commander, should laugh or cry when faced with another "windfall."

The cold moonlight shone on the silent Black Tiger Gully, and also on the entrance to the cave that concealed an astonishing secret.