This villa looked like it was from the 70s or 80s, with three floors. Its exterior was run-down, the walls covered in moss, and at night, it exuded a gloomy vibe.

Zhang Daozhang gave me a quick intro to the place. Turns out, this villa had been here even before the school was built. When construction started, they tried to demolish it but ran into all sorts of weird incidents. In the end, nobody dared to touch it, so it stayed. The villa was far away from the teaching and dorm buildings, separated by an empty field full of weeds that no one ever visited.

By then, it was already 7 PM, and the sky was dark. The villa indeed gave off a spooky atmosphere, but standing outside, I didn’t feel any yin presence.

Pointing at the villa, Zhang Daozhang said, “There’s a Daoist robe in a bedroom on the second floor. If you can find it, you’re in. This is our society’s initiation ritual—just a little courage test. If you’re too scared, you can quit now.”

I chuckled. Scared? Please. There wasn’t a trace of yin energy here, just a creepy old house. Clearly, this was just a test to toughen me up.

“Alright.” I stepped up to the door and pushed it open. The creaking of the wooden door echoed as I peered inside. The villa resembled something out of medieval Europe—a grand hall, a spiraling staircase, and old, worn-out furniture scattered around.

But the moment I stepped in, a chill hit me. It was cold, freezing even, and I couldn’t help but shiver. This wasn’t normal; it was summer, after all. My instincts kicked in—could there really be ghosts here?

I became alert. If Zhang Daozhang’s stories were true and there were many ghosts, wouldn’t I be in trouble? Yet, oddly enough, I still didn’t see any signs of yin energy.

Normally, ghosts can’t hide their presence unless they’ve turned into yao or something special. But given the state of this place, that seemed unlikely.

I shook my head. Overthinking wouldn’t help. I cautiously moved forward, climbing the staircase, my footsteps echoing eerily in the silent villa.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me. Spinning around, I saw… nothing.

Then came a soft “hehehe~” and the sound of a woman sobbing from the second floor.

“What the hell! Stop hiding and come out!” I yelled, my teeth ready to bite my tongue for blood—my go-to emergency measure.

Before I could act further, a hopping zombie in ancient official robes suddenly appeared, making its way toward me.

Wait a minute. Ghosts, maybe. But a zombie? That’s pushing it. Still, there wasn’t time to ponder. I bit my tongue, tasting the sharp tang of blood. As the zombie hopped closer, I spat blood at its face and lunged at it, aiming for its eyes.

But shockingly, the tongue-blood attack didn’t faze it. The zombie merely paused, and when I went for its eyes, it turned to run!

Confused but determined, I grabbed it by the neck and slammed it to the ground, pinning it with my knee. I raised my hands, ready to jab its eyes when—

“Stop, stop! Don’t! I give up, boss!”

The “zombie” spoke! I froze. No wonder it felt so weak—it wasn’t even a proper black corpse, let alone a real zombie.

Zhang Daozhang burst in from outside, shouting, “What’s with all the screaming? I told you to scare someone, and you end up getting scared!”

When he saw me pinning the “zombie,” he was visibly surprised. I wasn’t an idiot; it was clear now. Glaring at Zhang Daozhang, I asked, “You set this up to scare me?”

“Ahem, just a courage test.” Zhang Daozhang coughed awkwardly and pulled the “zombie” up. “Let me introduce you. This is our vice president, Liu Bi, a core member of SBYG.”

Liu Bi, surprisingly clean-cut, had a face painted with spooky blue makeup. Admittedly, it was pretty scary at first glance.

“Ugh.” I shrugged helplessly. No wonder this society had so few members—any normal person would’ve been scared to death. I looked at Zhang Daozhang. “Isn’t there a woman upstairs? Call her down too. You guys really are something else.”

“Wha-what woman? There are only two of us in this society,” Liu Bi replied, puzzled.

Looking up at the second floor, I saw a beautiful woman in white standing in the hallway, staring intently at the three of us.

I pointed at her. “She’s not one of you?”

“N-no one’s there! Hui, don’t mess with us just because we scared you!” Zhang Daozhang’s face paled as he looked in the same direction but seemed to see nothing.

My heart skipped a beat. That woman had a faint trace of yin energy around her—light but undeniably there. Crap, a real ghost!

Luckily, she seemed to be just a wandering spirit, not very powerful. Since she wasn’t making any immediate moves, I forced a laugh. “Wow, you caught me. So sharp. Guess I failed to scare you, huh?”

While I spoke, I came to a realization—Zhang Daozhang was probably just an overenthusiastic supernatural fan, not an actual Daoist master.

Grabbing both of them by the hands, I said, “Let’s go. Since I just joined, I should treat you to a meal. Let’s leave the ghost-hunting lessons for later.”

“That’s right!” Zhang Daozhang grinned, forgetting the incident entirely, and followed me out.

I led them back to the busy campus and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Later, we headed to a small restaurant outside the school, ate some dishes, and had a few drinks. Zhang Daozhang was clearly thrilled to have a new member.

Apparently, ever since the ghost-hunting society was founded, it had only been him and Liu Bi. Zhang Daozhang was already in his third year and had been recruiting for ages without success. Finally, they had a new recruit—me.