Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

Three miles north of the mass grave outside Yangquan City, a grove of withered poplar trees shivered in the cold wind of December. The pale moonlight filtered through the bare branches, casting fragmented shadows on the ground covered with fallen leaves and frozen earth. In a sheltered hollow within the grove, a dark green Japanese field tent quietly rose, blending seamlessly into the desolate surroundings; it would be almost impossible to spot unless one approached closely.

Inside the tent, He Damin sat cross-legged on a spread-out waterproof felt mat, his eyes slightly closed, his breathing barely audible, as if he, like the frozen earth beneath him and the withered trees around him, had lost the warmth of life. A kerosene lamp hung from a tent pole, its tiny flame burning steadily, illuminating his calm, expressionless face. The outline of Yangquan County was faintly visible several miles away, a few scattered lights flickering in the darkness like the dying eyes of a mortal beast.

Tonight's target is the Japanese Tano Regiment stationed in Yangquan County. This is an important garrison regiment along the Zhengtai Railway, with well-organized troops and excellent equipment. The regimental headquarters is located in the former county government compound within the city, and its various battalions are stationed at the four gates of the county and key points in the surrounding area. He Damin chose this location not only because of its concentrated troops and abundant supplies, but also because of its crucial position—eliminating the Tano Regiment would be equivalent to tearing a bloody gash in the "iron belt" of the Zhengtai Railway, enough to shake the Japanese in Taiyuan.

It's time for a truly "large-scale" cleanup.

Inside the tent, He Damin's main soul drifted out of his body through the Baihui acupoint. After days of travel and activity in northwestern Shanxi, his soul body had become increasingly refined and radiant, with faint purple energy flowing within its pale golden soul light—the result of the combined effects of nourishment from the Golden Core and the feedback from the Soul Refining Banner. Holding the Soul Refining Banner, which was only an inch long, his soul body took a step forward, piercing through the tent and hovering above the forest.

The night wind had no effect on his soul. He discerned his direction, and his main soul transformed into a streak of light barely perceptible to the naked eye, silently sweeping across the wilderness and city walls. As if returning home, it easily penetrated the not-so-tall rammed earth city walls of Yangquan County and entered the city.

The county town of Yangquan at night was deathly silent and oppressive. The streets were deserted, save for a few scattered Japanese patrols marching by with stiff, measured steps; the sound of their boots echoing on the cobblestones added to the eeriness. Most houses were pitch black, with only the faint glow of oil lamps peeking from a window, which quickly went out. The county government compound, where the Japanese regimental headquarters was located, was relatively brightly lit, guarded by two sentries. The faint crackling of a radio and the indistinct conversations of officers could be heard from within the courtyard.

He Damin's spirit hovered above the county government compound, his cold "gaze" sweeping across the area below. He "saw" a short, stout colonel (Regimental Commander Tianye) with a mustache and an anxious expression roaring into the telephone in the brigade's operations room; he saw the communications officer buried in his work in the communications room; he saw several Type 92 heavy machine guns set up in the yard and the machine gun crew on duty; he also saw the barracks, warehouses, and artillery positions scattered throughout the county town...

"Let's begin." The main soul's will stirred slightly.

Within the spiritual sea, soul power surged. The main soul's surface shimmered with golden light and began to tremble violently. One after another, slightly dimmed but structurally complete and clear strands of pale golden soul light, like the splitting of a mother body, continuously detached from the main soul! One, five, ten… twenty… thirty… Finally, a full fifty split souls floated around the main soul, emanating a shared but slightly weaker aura. Splitting fifty relatively mobile split souls at once was a considerable burden on the main soul; the golden light noticeably dimmed slightly, but the cold, resolute killing intent was clearly transmitted to each newborn split soul through the soul connection.

The command was issued, simple yet deadly:

Group 1 (ten people): Possess the core of the regimental headquarters. This includes Regimental Commander Colonel Tano, his adjutant, chief staff officer, and communications officer. Seize command, create chaos, and issue false orders.

Group Two (15 people): Possessing targets—key firing positions within the city. This includes the heavy machine gun team in the county government compound, light/heavy machine gunners and mortar operators at the four city gates and main barricades. Control of key lethal weapons.

The third group (20 people): Possessing targets—officers of each company and squad, as well as guards of the armory and ammunition depot. Gain control of grassroots units and key supply points.

Group 4 (5 people): Mobile team, responsible for checking for omissions and filling gaps, and if necessary, directly attacking spirits or creating greater chaos (such as arson or destruction).

With the instructions clear, the divided souls acted immediately. Fifty pale golden streaks of light, like eerie star clusters scattered across the night sky, silently shot toward their respective targets.

In the county government's operations room, Colonel Tano, having angrily slammed down the phone and turned to check the map, suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. His vision blurred, stars seemed to flash before his eyes, and his consciousness instantly became hazy; his body swayed involuntarily. His adjutant and staff officer beside him experienced similar symptoms almost simultaneously. In that fleeting moment of disorientation, the split soul had already invaded, swiftly suppressing their original consciousness and establishing a control connection. A few seconds later, "Colonel Tano" regained his footing, but his eyes had become empty and cold. He glanced at his adjutant and staff officer, whose eyes had also changed, and hoarsely ordered in Japanese: "Notify all battalion and company commanders to immediately convene a meeting at the regimental headquarters. There is an urgent enemy situation! Immediately!"

Almost simultaneously, beside the heavy machine gun in the county government courtyard, the machine gunner, who was rubbing his hands and breathing on them to warm them, suddenly shuddered, his eyes glazed over for a moment, then returned to normal, silently checking the bolt and tightening the ammunition belt. The ammunition feeder and assistant gunner beside him showed the same reaction.

On the city wall, a sentry who had been dozing off while holding a Type 96 machine gun suddenly woke up with a start, his sharp eyes scanning the area outside the city as if he were expecting something.

Inside the barracks, the sleeping company commanders and platoon leaders frowned in their sleep, then slowly sat up, their eyes blank, and began to dress...

The stages of infiltration and control were completed silently at the level of the soul. The entire field team, from the brain to the limbs, had unknowingly changed hands at their key neural nodes.

At three-quarters past midnight, a sharp gunshot pierced the night sky and suddenly exploded in the direction of the military camp in the west of the city! Immediately afterward, there was more chaotic gunfire and explosions!

The signal to act did not come from He Damin, but from a possessed squad leader who, due to excessive nervousness, "misjudged" and opened fire on his own patrol that was wandering outside the camp at night. But once this chaotic prelude was set in motion, it could no longer be contained.

The real killing then unfolded in the most brutal and chaotic way!

"Bang! Boom!"

First, inside the Japanese barracks! Those squad officers possessed by the spirits of the Third Group either pulled out their sidearms and fired at the sleeping soldiers next to them, or shouted "Enemy attack!" and threw the pre-prepared grenades into the pile of people on the bunk beds! Even worse, some picked up rifles with bayonets fixed and stabbed their dazed and awakened comrades wildly!

Screams, curses, explosions, and shattering glass erupted in an instant! Many Japanese soldiers were killed in their sleep. The awakened soldiers couldn't distinguish friend from foe; they saw their trusted officers and colleagues firing on their own men like madmen. Panic spread like wildfire. Some tried to resist, others tried to escape the barracks; the cramped space descended into chaos, with soldiers trampling each other and bullets flying everywhere.

At the same time, the machine gunners and artillerymen at the key firing points on the city walls and in various streets, who were under the control of the second group of souls, also turned their guns and cannons around! The muffled bursts of heavy machine guns, the rapid volleys of light machine guns, and the sharp whistles and explosions of mortar shells were no longer aimed at the empty darkness outside the city, but at the Japanese soldiers running frantically in the streets of the city, the troops trying to assemble, and even... other uncontrolled firing points!

A storm of scorching metal swept across the streets, tearing apart any moving figures. Shells landed in the courtyards or streets where Japanese soldiers were concentrated, exploding into piles of flesh and bricks.

Inside the regimental headquarters, Colonel Tano, along with several other officers who were also under control, armed with Nambu pistols, indiscriminately killed anyone they saw, rampaging from the operations room to the communications room and duty room. A communications officer had just sent half a telegram reporting "internal mutiny and unidentified attack on our unit" when he was shot in the head by one of his own men, and the radio was destroyed.

The entire Japanese army in Yangquan was in complete disarray. They were utterly bewildered by what was happening. Who was the enemy? Where were they? Why were their officers killing people? Why were machine guns firing on their own men? Utter fear and chaos destroyed all discipline and organization. Survivors scattered like headless flies, only to be mowed down by bullets or shells coming from who-knows-where.

He Damin's main soul hovered atop the city's highest point, coldly surveying the scene. The illusory Soul Refining Banner spun slowly behind him, greedily absorbing the pervasive aura of death and the constantly dissipating terrified souls. He was like a master puppeteer, simultaneously manipulating fifty threads, directing this self-destructive drama of death. Occasionally, a few escaped souls would attempt to organize resistance, or a few officers with stronger mental strength who hadn't been possessed would try to stabilize the situation. Immediately, a fourth group of mobile split souls would appear like ghosts, either possessing the target, directly assaulting them with soul power to break their spirit, or guiding nearby "puppets" to kill them.

An efficient, internal massacre is far more terrifying and thorough than an external attack.

One hour, just one hour.

The gunfire and explosions gradually subsided, eventually fading into deathly silence. Only a few embers crackled and burned on the ruins, thick smoke mixed with the stench of blood enveloping the small town that had just experienced a nightmare.

The streets, the barracks, the city walls… everywhere were the corpses of Japanese soldiers in various poses, layer upon layer, their blood flowing in thin streams, winding and congealing on the cold bluestone pavement. There were no prisoners, no wounded (the seriously wounded were quickly finished off or had their souls absorbed), not even a single intact corpse belonging to the attackers—because the attackers were themselves.

The field regiment, consisting of nearly two thousand men from the regimental commander down, was completely wiped out on this eerie night in such an absurd and terrifying manner.

He Damin's soul slowly descended into the county government compound. The ground was littered with corpses, the air thick with the stench of blood and the remnants of souls. He raised his hand, and the Soul Refining Banner in his palm instantly expanded, its black surface fluttering and rustling even without wind. An immense suction force suddenly erupted from the banner, like an invisible vortex, sweeping across the entire county!

Countless hazy souls of Japanese soldiers, filled with terror, resentment, and bewilderment, flowed like rivers into the sea, forcibly ripped and torn from their corpses, emitting silent wails as they helplessly plunged into the pitch-black banner that seemed to devour all light. The Soul Refining Banner shone with intense crimson light, emitting a soft, satisfied hum. Within the banner, soul power surged, beginning a frenzied refining and purification process.

The process of collecting the soul lasted about fifteen minutes. Only when the last trace of wandering soul power was completely absorbed did He Damin put away the Soul Refining Banner. The main soul transformed into a stream of light and instantly returned to its physical body in the forest outside the city.

Inside the tent, He Damin slowly opened his eyes. A flash of golden light appeared in his eyes, then returned to a deep calm. Controlling such a large-scale "performance" and absorbing so many living souls at once had left him slightly mentally exhausted, but the pure soul power fed back by the Soul Refining Banner was rapidly nourishing and replenishing him.

He got up, stretched his slightly stiff limbs, lifted the tent flap, and went outside. He looked up at the sky; it was still some time before dawn.

It's time to collect the "loot".

He moved swiftly, unleashing his full power of the "Swallow Three Drops of Water" lightness skill, like a giant bat swooping across the night sky. With a few leaps, he silently scaled the city wall and entered the desolate Yangquan County.

His divine sense was fully activated, like a sophisticated scanner, covering the entire city.

The first step: money and valuables. The regimental headquarters' safes, the officers' quarters' stashes, and any valuables possibly stored in the puppet government offices… none could escape his divine sense. Gold bars, silver dollars, yen, legal tender, antiques, jewelry, luxury watches… anything of value was locked onto by his thoughts, then vanished in large quantities, stored in the "valuables zone" specially designated within the Taiji Space. This haul far surpassed any previous piecemeal gains.

The second step involved key supplies and intelligence. The regimental-level warehouses were enormous. Armory, ammunition depots, clothing depots, food depots, fuel depots, medicine depots… He Damin showed no mercy. Brand-new rifles, machine guns, mortars, infantry guns, mountain guns (unfortunately, trucks couldn't tow them, but the guns and shells could be collected separately), massive quantities of various types of ammunition, mountains of canned food, bundles of military overcoats and shoes, precious medicines and medical equipment, and barrels of gasoline and diesel… like a whale sucking up water, everything was frantically absorbed into the seemingly endless expanse of his small world. Especially the regimental headquarters' confidential room and archives—all documents, maps, codebooks, radios, even the high-powered radio that had been smashed but whose parts were still intact—were swept clean. The value of this intelligence sometimes surpassed even the weapons.

The third step involved special items and equipment. He Damin collected everything he thought might be useful or rare: complete sets of surgical instruments and laboratory equipment from the Japanese field hospital; backup generators and telephone exchanges from the communications squadron; even telescopes and rangefinders used for artillery observation…

The entire collection process was like a locust swarm passing through, yet it was completely silent. As the first light of dawn began to appear on the horizon, in Yangquan County, apart from the ruins of buildings that could not be taken away or were of little value, and corpses scattered all over the ground, almost all valuable materials had been completely destroyed.

He Damin stood in the center of the empty regimental headquarters compound, looking around. The stench of blood was still strong, but the feeling of "abundance" had vanished, leaving only desolation and deathly silence.

He didn't linger; with a flicker, he disappeared into the gradually brightening morning light, as if he had never existed.

Several hours later, in Taiyuan, at the headquarters of the Japanese First Army.

Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinotsuka's teacup fell to the ground with a "crack," shattering into pieces. Brown tea splashed onto his crisp military trousers and gleaming boots, but he seemed oblivious. His face was deathly pale, his lips trembling, as he stared intently at the copy of an urgent telegram—a reconnaissance report from the garrison near Yangquan—that had just been presented to him by the communications staff, the ink seemingly stained with blood.

"...Yangquan County has become a dead zone...The entire Tianye Brigade perished...Their deaths were suspicious, mostly showing signs of infighting...All important supplies in the city have vanished...There were no signs of a large-scale external attack at the scene...Suspected...supernatural forces or extreme evil magic..."

"Baka... Yaru!!!" Yoshio Shinotsuka slammed his fist on the heavy mahogany desk, making the documents and pen holders on it rattle and fall. Veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes were bloodshot, and the anger in his chest was intertwined with a cold fear that almost suffocated him.

Another regiment! Another complete, fully equipped regiment! Vanished completely in this inexplicable and terrifying way! Along with all its supplies! This is no longer a defeat in battle, this is... a nightmare! An incomprehensible humiliation and blow that the Imperial Army has never experienced before!

"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly!!" Yoshio Shinotsuka roared like a wounded beast. "Where is Yamamoto Ichiki? Bring him to me immediately! And the Special Higher Police! Send out all available forces! I need to know what is it! Who is it that is opposing the Imperial Japanese Army!!!"

His roar echoed in the spacious yet oppressive headquarters office, carrying an almost desperate rage. The upheaval in Yangquan was like another heavy blow, slamming into the nerve center of the Japanese troops in Taiyuan. Colonel Yamamoto Ichiki, who had been ordered to arrive, wore an unprecedentedly grave expression on his usually stern face. He realized that what they were facing this time was likely far more than ordinary guerrilla warfare or espionage.