Peninsula: I'm being supported by a top idol.

After Liu Zhimin tiptoed open the dormitory door, Dongtian and Ningning surrounded him like little dogs.

"You're back, unnie~"

"Oh my, you've been drinking?"

"Hmm... just a little bit." Back in the dorm, she switched back to captain mode:

"Why aren't you guys asleep yet? What time is it? Don't you have plans for tomorrow?"

"You can't sleep because you're worried about Unnie?" Ningning looked her over with a grin.

"Tch, what's there to worry about?"

"I'm afraid unnie will forget the way back~ Hehe~"

"Didn't unnie say she wouldn't be back tonight? Did she stand you up?"

Liu Zhimin was both amused and exasperated: "I just said it's possible! Besides, I just went out to take care of some business, it's not as sordid as you guys think."

"Get things done? You're doing it with that Cui Shi'an, right?" Ningning smiled lewdly.

Jin Dongtian immediately chimed in with a cheeky grin, "So how many times did you do it?"

Liu Zhimin rolled her eyes, remembering what the taxi driver had said, and casually remarked, "More than thirty times, are you satisfied now?"

"Huh??" The two were startled, their eyes simultaneously turning to her buttocks.

"Kenchana yo?"

"Ugh...you two..." Liu Zhimin wished he could sew those two mouths shut; their minds were full of filth all day long!

Too lazy to deal with the two anymore, she went straight back to her room.

He locked the door, flopped onto the bed, and sent Cui Shi'an a text message to tell him that he had arrived home safely.

【it is good】

"again??"

She sat up cross-legged indignantly, gripped her phone and typed furiously on the keyboard, typing out a long string of text in one go. Just as she was about to send it, another message came through.

Get some rest.

The girl's lips curled slightly upwards. She deleted the string of text in a flash, her hand trembling slightly as she replied:

[Can't sleep.]

Normally, at this point, the boy would definitely ask why he couldn't sleep. Liu Zhimin was also full of anticipation and had even prepared his next words.

but.

I'm going to sleep now, goodnight.

"Ha!" She tossed her phone onto the bed and muttered, "What a waste of my expectations!"

It's not really Cui Shi'an's fault, after all, he rarely socializes and his alcohol tolerance is just so-so.

With the huge weight lifted off my shoulders and my mind at ease, I felt incredibly sleepy and wanted to collapse into bed as soon as I got back to my dorm.

I slept straight through until the afternoon of the next day.

If his roommate hadn't woken him up, Cui Shi'an probably would have continued to sleep.

"What's wrong with you? I've never seen you sleep more than sixteen hours in a row. Are you sick?"

"Has it been that long?" Cui Shi'an yawned, still feeling tired and exhausted.

"Aigoo~" Tian Ming sat down, put his arm around his shoulder, and said earnestly, "Young man, why sleep so long? You'll have plenty of time to sleep after you die~"

"Get lost." Cui Shi'an pushed him away irritably, intending to get out of bed and find something to eat to tide him over.

"Oh right, your senior is looking for you. She wants you to call her back."

"Ah!" Cui Shi'an slapped his forehead, only then remembering that he was supposed to look for a house with Song Zhiya today. He picked up his phone and saw that there were indeed several missed calls, so he quickly called her back.

The call was answered almost instantly.

"Shi An?" Song Zhiya's familiar voice came from the other end, filled with undisguised concern. "Are you alright? I haven't been able to contact you, and I was very worried about you."

"I'm sorry, senior..." Cui Shi'an's throat went dry, and the excuse he had prepared seemed particularly weak at this moment:

"I...I have some friends visiting from China. They're unfamiliar with the area, so I showed them around. My phone was on silent, and I didn't realize..."

"Ah, I see." Song Zhiya's tone immediately softened:

"It's good that you're alright. By the way, I have some good news for you: I've found a place! I just signed the contract at noon today and paid the rent."

"Really?" Cui Shi'an's spirits lifted, as if he had seen a glimmer of hope. "Where?"

His mind instantly flashed back to the streets in the northern part of the city that they had visited together.

"Over in Songpo District."

"...Songpa District?" Choi Si-an's smile froze instantly. Songpa District... or across the Han River?

"Hmm! It seems like the companies I interviewed with are all in the Jiangnan area. If I get the job, my commute will be much more convenient." Song Zhiya's voice remained light and cheerful, completely unaware of the deathly silence on his end.

"Once I've tidied up that place, I'll invite you over for a housewarming party!"

Cui Shi'an swallowed hard, trying to make his vocal cords vibrate, and squeezed out what he thought was a "normal" tone: "...Okay. Well...congratulations, senior."

"Thanks~ You go ahead with your work, we'll talk later!"

"……good."

The phone call ended, the busy tone sounding like a declaration of some kind of end; Cui Shi'an even forgot to say goodbye.

His roommate, Tian Ming, noticed him staring blankly at his phone and found it odd.

"What's wrong? Why do you look like you've just been dumped?"

Cui Shi'an shook his head bitterly: "Senior has found a place to live."

"and then?"

Cui Shi'an blankly uttered a few words: "In Songpo District."

"I know, I heard you. I asked you, 'And then what?'"

"That's Songpo District! Right across the river!"

Tian Ming blinked in confusion, still not understanding what he meant. What could Songpo District possibly do?

It doesn't take long to take the subway.

Cui Shi'an sighed, waved his hand, and said nothing more.

In the past two days, he has learned a lot about the hidden features of Seoul's mountains and rivers from Hara.

The Han River is no ordinary river.

In the folk legends of the peninsula, the Han River itself has the image of the "River of Oblivion," and it is generally believed that it is the Sanzu River that one must pass through after death.

Hera explained at the time that this statement wasn't entirely wrong; the Han River is indeed an important tributary of the Sanzu River.

It is not only the lair of wandering water ghosts and the perilous boundary connecting the yin and yang, but also a huge "soul digestion zone".

Once a living person drowns in the river, their soul will be imprisoned and worn down by the water until they lose all their intelligence and become a muddled water puppet, trapped at the bottom of the water for eternity, unable to reincarnate or be guided.

For someone like him, who survives through unconventional means, this rushing river is nothing short of a boiling, insurmountable chasm of death.

The powerful essence of mountains and rivers contained in the river is nourishing to the living, but for his "resurrected" body, it is the most potent poison.

"Don't even mention crossing the river," Hera warned. "Even if he stays near the shore for too long, his already unstable 'life force' will be attacked from within and without by the surging essence and the cold, deathly aura lurking in the water. In the end, he will be completely evaporated and torn apart like dewdrops in the sunlight."

Good luck? Maybe.

If you're lucky, before you're completely annihilated by your "essence," you'll be dragged down by your fellow water ghosts who crave a substitute, and spend a long time imprisoned at the bottom of the cold river, replacing someone else, feeling your self being gradually corroded away.

That might be another form of "death," one that is even more painful.

A chilling, suffocating feeling welled up inside Cui Shi'an.

What separated him from Song Zhiya was never a river, but a true River Styx.

Thinking of this, he reluctantly called the "Peerless Beauty Mermaid Princess" to ask if there was any way to safely cross the river.

"Yeah, right? Once you become a high-level ghost, you can decide where you want to go."

Cui Shi'an perked up: "Then what should I do?"

"I've already reported what happened last time. I'll see if I can get you a picture of the incense offering. I should have the results next week, and I'll come find you then."

"An incense offering picture?" he asked疑惑地, "What's it for?"

"It's just to give you a ghost identity!" she said impatiently.

"Don't ask yet, okay? A lot of people died today, and I need to get to my clients!"