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

Choi Si-an swore that it was the most piercing scream he had ever heard in his life.

My head is buzzing.

They even overlooked the wonderful sensation of bumping into the elbow.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..." He quickly hugged the cat helmet, which had turned pale, and comforted it.

"It's just a chicken..."

Liu Zhimin looked closely and saw that there was indeed a large rooster on the ground, but the light had been too dim to see it clearly.

"Even chickens are afraid..." She shrank behind Cui Shi'an, cautiously peeking out half her head and urging anxiously:

"Hurry up and chase it away!"

Perhaps sensing her fear, the rooster suddenly flapped its wings, cackled loudly, and took two steps forward with its head held high!

"Ah!" Liu Zhimin was so startled that she squeezed even further behind Cui Shi'an.

"Hey! Don't come any closer!" Cui Shi'an waved his arm as if to shoo it away, but the rooster didn't seem afraid of people. Instead, it shook its dark red and shiny feathers, looking quite like a fighting cock.

Just then, a man rushed out of a nearby alley.

He wore a dark blue linen short jacket, with a front-opening vest embroidered with subtle patterns over it, and wide-legged trousers in the same color. Although it was a very typical traditional Korean hanbok outfit, it had an indescribable rustic and unusual feel to it.

"Sorry, sorry!!" the man apologized as he skillfully caught the rooster and hugged it tightly to his chest.

"Did I scare you two? This beast escaped when no one was looking."

"N-nothing..." Liu Zhimin breathed a sigh of relief, but still hid behind Cui Shi'an, only peeking out half of her head wearing a cat-ear helmet.

The man nodded slightly to the two men, then turned and walked away quickly, carrying the thrashing rooster. His figure soon disappeared into the shadows deep in the alley.

Only after the person had completely disappeared did Cui Shi'an turn to look at the still-shaken Liu Zhimin, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his face beneath his mask:

"This is the first time I've ever seen someone so terrified by a chicken."

Liu Zhimin's face flushed, and he mumbled into his helmet:

"I'm afraid of all feathered creatures... Don't believe me? Touch me."

As she spoke, she raised her arm to show him: "I'm getting goosebumps."

Cui Shi'an subconsciously touched her forearm.

The touch from their fingertips was warm and soft, but almost at the same moment, both of them felt as if they had been stung by a weak electric current, and their bodies trembled slightly in unison.

Liu Zhimin immediately withdrew his arm, his cheeks burning hot under the helmet.

Cui Shi'an also withdrew his hand somewhat awkwardly, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing together as if the strange sensation still lingered.

He cleared his throat, deliberately changing the subject: "So you're so afraid of chickens, do you usually eat fried chicken?"

"Eat!" Liu Zhimin blurted out almost immediately, then added shyly:

"I'm only afraid of the living, not the dead... and fried chicken smells so good..."

As he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer, revealing a hint of guilt in his attempt to defend his "double standards."

"But that person just now..." she suddenly remembered something, her tone becoming puzzled, "...was dressed so strangely, and also, why are there live chickens on the street?"

Cui Shi'an frowned slightly after she mentioned it. Indeed, it was rare to see live chickens near this modern residential area, and the person's clothes were also a bit too "retro," unlike those of an ordinary resident.

But there are more important things to do right now.

"Maybe someone nearby keeps it. Don't overthink it." He suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and took out his phone to confirm the address again.

"Let's go, we have important business to attend to."

The two continued deeper into the neighborhood following the house numbers. The streets became increasingly quiet, and the streetlights were spaced further and further apart.

The light was dim, and the houses on both sides were gradually replaced by old courtyards. The air was filled with the scent of grass and earth, and one could faintly feel the oppressive presence of the massive mountain opposite.

Finally, they stopped outside a secluded courtyard near the foot of the mountain.

The courtyard wall was made of brick and was not high; Cui Shi'an could see inside by standing on tiptoe.

But Liu Zhimin couldn't do that; she simply stood on her suitcase.

In stark contrast to the deathly silence of the streets outside, the courtyard was brightly lit and bustling with people, creating an unusually lively atmosphere.

There were about a dozen people inside, all dressed in dark traditional clothing similar in style to the man who had caught the chicken earlier.

But they were even more solemn, with some wearing crowns adorned with feathers or animal bones.

They were working silently and methodically, arranging an open space in the center of the courtyard.

In the center of the open space stood an old, long incense table, covered with a white cloth.

In the very center of the incense table was the very rooster that had just tried to escape!

At this moment, its feet and wings were bound by red rope, and it lay there quietly, only occasionally turning its head.

In front of the incense table stood a tall wooden pole, with strings of white paper talismans and bells hanging from the top, swaying slightly in the night breeze.

Several earthenware bowls were placed under the pole, filled with clear water, grains, and a seemingly dried dark red liquid.

On the ground on both sides of the incense table, intricate and twisted patterns were drawn with white powder, resembling both words and totems, winding and stretching out to surround the incense table and wooden pole.

Several people, dressed in the most elaborate attire and with white chalk marks on their faces, were holding pine branches and chanting strange, song-like incantations as they slowly walked along the pattern.

The air was filled with a smell that was a mixture of incense, herbs, and some indescribable fishy odor.

"This is..." Liu Zhimin grabbed Cui Shi'an's arm, somewhat nervously, "...Is this some kind of ritual? It looks so... eerie."

Cui Shi'an's gaze swept across the scene, taking in the sacred pole, the purified water, the sacrifices, the shamanic talismans, the incantations...

"It's a shamanic ritual," he whispered, his eyes still fixed on the courtyard.

"And it's a very orthodox ancient shamanic ritual."

His gaze then fell on a particularly striking figure beside the incense table.

The man had his back to them, wearing a hanbok embroidered with intricate bird and animal patterns, a tall faguan (ceremonial crown) decorated with numerous colorful ribbons and metal pieces, and a long staff with iron rings and colorful cloth strips at the end.

As if sensing being watched, the person suddenly stopped moving and slowly, extremely slowly, turned their head toward the direction where they were hiding.

Cui Shi'an was startled and hurriedly grabbed Liu Zhimin's helmet and pressed her down, but she struggled back out with her cat ears sticking out again.

Choi Si-an was taken aback, but the top idol peered through the small window of his helmet and revealed a pair of dissatisfied eyes, as if to say—I want to see too!

Unable to dissuade her, Cui Shi'an had no choice but to let her do as she pleased, but he also kept a more vigilant eye on the courtyard.

As a result, Liu Zhimin cautiously peeked out again, and as soon as he looked up, he was met with a face slowly turning towards them—

That was the face that person had shown when they turned around.

A woman's face, thickly covered in white powder, with twisted and intricate runes painted in dark red on her cheeks, forehead, and chin, looked particularly eerie and terrifying in the flickering firelight.

Her eyes seemed unfocused, sweeping blankly across the wall.

"Ah..." Liu Zhimin was caught off guard and let out a short exclamation. Although he immediately covered his mouth, the sound still carried clearly in the quiet night.

All movement in the courtyard froze instantly. The figures who had been chanting and arranging ritual implements all looked up at the top of the wall, their gazes shooting like arrows.

Liu Zhimin was also startled. She hurriedly pressed a button on the side of the helmet. With a soft "click", the transparent windproof panel on her face immediately popped down, completely covering her panicked face.

Cui Shi'an was speechless; this helmet was even automatic…

Just then, hurried footsteps approached.

The man who had caught the chicken rushed out of the courtyard gate with an unfriendly expression, strode up to the two men, and harshly shooed them away:

"This is a place for religious ceremonies, not for playing! Please leave immediately!"