Chapter 1

"Look, someone is going to the haunted house."

"What? Old Lady Li really found someone to look at the house?"

"Tsk... This young man looks so inexperienced. He didn’t even ask around. The courtyard is haunted every night. How can he dare to live there?"

Zhan Yi followed Old Lady Li forward, noticing a group of people pointing and whispering about him. This had been happening all along the way. Although he couldn’t hear what they were saying, he felt extremely uncomfortable, as if he were a monkey in a zoo.

After walking for a while, Old Lady Li finally stopped in front of a courtyard and pointed to it, saying to Zhan Yi, "Young man, this is the house I want you to look at."

Zhan Yi looked in the direction she pointed. A small courtyard of about three to four hundred square meters came into view. The two red gates were tightly closed, covered with dust and cobwebs, as if they hadn’t been opened for centuries. The sides of the gates were overgrown with weeds taller than a person, adding to the desolate atmosphere.

Looking at the courtyard, Zhan Yi felt a bit puzzled. He had thought the old lady would show him a factory or a warehouse, but it turned out to be such a small courtyard.

Moreover, the courtyard looked like it had been built only a few years ago, with a very nice architectural style. But why wasn’t it rented out, and why did she need to hire someone to look at it? Zhan Yi was very confused and couldn’t help but ask, "Auntie, why don’t you rent out such a good house?"

Old Lady Li, hearing Zhan Yi’s words and looking at the people nearby, seemed to be stirred up, and said with a resentful expression, "Hmph, it’s all because some people spread rumors that my house is haunted, scaring away the tenants. Young man, I just want you to live here for two months to prove to them that there’s absolutely no ghost. Then I’ll see what those cowards have to say. It’s driving me crazy..."

Zhan Yi listened to Old Lady Li’s angry rambling and looked at the people pointing and whispering. He vaguely understood what was going on. It wasn’t that he was special today; it was that this courtyard was considered a haunted house by everyone.

However, a smile soon appeared on his lips, and he said confidently, "Okay, Auntie, I’ll definitely help you prove it."

He wasn’t just being brave; he had no fear of ghosts. His grandfather was a famous shaman and fortune-teller in his hometown, and Zhan Yi had heard and seen many stories about ghosts and spirits. He knew that ghosts and spirits would be scared away by him.

At first, he didn’t understand why, but later his grandfather told him that his life force was extremely yang, making it impossible for ordinary ghosts to approach him. So, he was already immune to the idea of ghosts.

Old Lady Li, seeing Zhan Yi’s nonchalant expression, nodded in approval, as if she had found a kindred spirit. "Hehe, young man, you’ve got guts. But don’t worry, if you can live here, I’ll give you 1,500 yuan a month, and you can choose any room you like."

She then walked to the gate and unlocked the big lock. With a creaking sound, Zhan Yi helped her push open the gate. A cool breeze blew through the courtyard, making his hair stand on end.

Looking around the courtyard, he saw that, except for the path leading to the small building and a red brick area, the entire courtyard was overgrown with weeds, even taller than those outside. As they entered, a flock of sparrows flew up from the grass with a rustling sound.

"Hehe, young man, this place has been empty for too long, so it’s a bit messy. But don’t worry, I’ll have it cleaned up this afternoon," Old Lady Li said, turning to Zhan Yi with a somewhat embarrassed smile.

"Okay, Auntie, I’ll help clean up this afternoon," Zhan Yi nodded and followed the old lady towards the three-story building in the center of the courtyard.

The building looked quite new and had a very modern and beautiful design, but the doors were covered with dust, as if no one had lived there. Old Lady Li quickly opened the door, and they entered the building.

Stepping into the living room, Zhan Yi found that, although it wasn’t luxurious, it was much better than the school dormitory. However, the room was very messy, with waste paper scattered on the floor, and most of the furniture was overturned. In the center of the living room, there was a pile of burnt, grayish material.

Zhan Yi, using the dim light, walked over and kicked the pile with his foot. A yellow object caught his attention. He kicked it again, and the yellow object finally revealed itself—a half-burned paper ingot.

This made Zhan Yi pause. He couldn’t understand why such things would be here, as everyone knew that these were only burned for the dead. But who had died in this building, and why hadn’t the mess been cleaned up?

"Auntie, why are these things here?" He turned to Old Lady Li, deeply puzzled.

"Ah... A former tenant was very superstitious. He heard the rumors about the house being haunted and often burned paper ingots and incense. After he moved out, no one cleaned up, so it ended up like this," Old Lady Li sighed, seeming both helpless and nostalgic for her former tenants.

Zhan Yi’s suspicions about the haunted house were further confirmed. He knew that if nothing had happened, the tenants wouldn’t have done such absurd things.

However, he didn’t say much more. He walked around the house, and Old Lady Li briefly introduced the layout. After understanding it, she seemed tired and turned to Zhan Yi, saying, "Young man, you’ve seen that the house is quite large. I won’t go upstairs with you. Here’s the key; you can go up and take a look. If you have any questions, come back and tell me."

"Okay, Auntie, I’ll go up and check it out. I’ll come back down when I’m done," Zhan Yi took the key from Old Lady Li and walked upstairs.

As he climbed the stairs, he noticed that the place hadn’t been lived in for a long time. The stair railings were covered in dust, and the air had a musty smell.

On the second floor, the layout was similar to the first, but there was no living room, only a long corridor with dim lighting. The rooms were clearly designed for renting.

Using the key, he opened the doors of several rooms and found that many had simple furniture and some daily items, but they were all covered in dust and as messy as the living room on the first floor, indicating that the previous tenants had left in a hurry.

He walked down the corridor, checking each room until he reached the last one at the end. He unlocked the door, but as he raised his hand to push it, he noticed three red characters written on the door: "You came."

This made Zhan Yi stop and stare at the characters, wondering what was going on. He hadn’t seen any writing before, so was he mistaken, or...

He touched the characters, and the door suddenly opened. Something fell towards him, and he quickly moved aside. It turned out to be a clothes hanger.

Zhan Yi picked up the hanger and entered the room. He noticed that this room was different from the others. Although it was dusty, the items were neatly arranged.

What caught his attention was a dressing table by the door. It had some neatly arranged cosmetic bottles, but the mirror was covered with a white cloth, and on the cloth, the same three red characters were written: "You came." In the dim light, it looked as if someone was speaking to him.

Zhan Yi didn’t hesitate and lifted the white cloth. As he did, he saw a white shadow flash by in the mirror behind him, making his heart skip a beat.

He quickly turned and ran to the door, looking in the direction the shadow had gone, but saw nothing except the wall at the end of the corridor. Was he mistaken, or was that the ghost of the haunted house?

Zhan Yi pondered this. He was now increasingly interested in the house. Initially, he had come to look at it just to find a place to stay during the summer and earn some money, but now he wanted to know what had really happened here.

After checking the room, he didn’t see the white shadow again. He shook his head, locked the door, and headed to the third floor.

On the third floor, the lighting was much better. Although the layout was similar, the top floor had several skylights, making the corridor very bright.

He opened the doors of several rooms and found that the layout was similar to the second floor, but many rooms were clearly unused, indicating that they hadn’t been rented out when the house was occupied.

After checking the third floor, Zhan Yi was very satisfied. The interior decoration was excellent, and the location was beautiful, with the General Mountain of N City nearby and a small pond behind the courtyard. If it were cleaned up, it would be like a villa.

Thinking about living here and earning money, he felt happy. If he could find a day job, he could earn enough for the next semester.

As he descended the stairs, he initially planned to go straight down, but as he passed the second-floor corridor, a door near the stairs creaked and slowly opened on its own.