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

"Hold your hand." A gentle, even slightly amused, middle-aged male voice came from the mist, his tone calm and without hostility.

As the words were spoken, the figure emerged completely from the thick fog.

The man who came was about fifty years old, of medium build. What was most striking about him was his distinctive hairstyle—sparse hair on top, but with a thick beard. He was wearing a faded gray robe.

At first glance, he looks like Zhong Kui.

Huh? How come there's Zhong Kui on the peninsula?

And... is he bald??

The bearded man had a warm smile on his face and clear, peaceful eyes.

After arriving, he first nodded to Liu Zhimin, who was still in a guarded posture, then his gaze fell on Cui Shi'an, and his smile deepened:

"A loving couple, meeting in the dead of night, their deep affection is a delight to behold, haha."

The moment the other person opened their mouth, almost every hair on Cui Shi'an's body stood on end!

It was an aura far deeper, more vast, and more immeasurable than that of the messengers of hell, like an invisible deep sea, quietly emanating from this unassuming middle-aged man.

It wasn't an aggressive pressure, but rather a superior "texture" that originated from the essence of existence.

It was as if the other person was simply standing there, perfectly integrated with the surrounding air, the night, and even the rules of the land beneath their feet.

This must be the "above" that Hara mentioned, right?

Cui Shi'an was on high alert and dared not be negligent in the slightest.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and mimicking the other person's tone and manners, he slightly cupped his hands and responded in classical Chinese as appropriately as possible:

"You flatter me, sir. My wife and I were being unruly and disturbing you late at night. We hope you will forgive us if we have disturbed you."

He didn't pay attention to the other party's use of "virtuous couple," partly because he didn't want to waste words explaining, and partly because it was a subconscious way of including Liu Zhimin in his protective circle.

Liu Zhimin blinked his big eyes beside him, still holding the bow in his hand, but his mind was a complete mess:

"Honest... what's so virtuous about? And what's '鹯'... what are you talking about?"

The bearded man waved his hand with a grin: "No problem, no problem, haha."

Cui Shi'an dared not relax and cautiously asked, "May I ask if you are a judge...?"

The bearded man paused for a moment, his gaze slowly sweeping over the two of them, lingering especially on Cui Shi'an's face for a moment, as if he could penetrate the skin and look directly into certain marks deep in the soul.

Cui Shi'an sensed that although the other person's eyes were gentle, they gave off a feeling of being unable to hide anything. He quickly perked up and carefully asked:

"Your Excellency?"

The other person seemed to snap out of their daze, glanced at Liu Zhimin beside them, and then smiled at him, saying, "Could we speak in private for a moment?"

Cui Shi'an understood and quickly said to the girl next to him, "You take a taxi back first."

Liu Zhimin didn't move, but tightened his grip on the bow, his eyes warily fixed on the suddenly appearing "judge".

Cui Shi'an knew her worries, but he also understood the vast difference in strength between the two sides.

He lowered his voice and gently patted the girl's sleeve:

"Listen to me, take a taxi back first, I'll call you later."

Liu Zhimin looked at him, then at the ever-smiling "judge," bit her lower lip, and finally gave in.

She slung the recurve bow over her shoulder, and before turning around with the equipment box, she quickly stuffed the arrows she had been clutching into Cui Shi'an's palm, whispering:

"careful."

The bearded man watched her subtle movements, his smile unchanged, without uttering a word.

Only after Liu Zhimin's figure disappeared into the night at the other end of the street did the bearded man turn his gaze to Cui Shi'an: "Come with me."

"Where?" Cui Shi'an was taken aback, only to see the other person stride towards the direction of Bukhansan.

He quickly followed.

Then, something strange happened to him.

Although the mountaintop was far away, following behind this person, it seemed very close. In just a short while, without much effort, he arrived at the mountaintop.

The night wind was biting, carrying the unique chill and vastness of the mountaintop.

Choi Si-an steadied himself, suppressing his astonishment, and looked around. Below him was a panoramic view of Seoul, brightly lit and like a cascading galaxy.

"Look at Hanyang... no, it should be called Seoul now." The bearded man stood with his hands behind his back, overlooking the magnificent city that never sleeps below.

"Look how dazzling its appearance is, with lights in every home and people singing and dancing in peace and prosperity."

Cui Shi'an looked at him calmly: "You invited me up the mountain so late at night, surely it wasn't just for the sake of enjoying the scenery?"

The bearded man smiled, then suddenly extended a finger and, with extreme lightness and speed, tapped the man's forehead:

"I'll lend you a pair of discerning eyes, then you can look again."

There is no sense of touch, no sense of pain.

It was as if a cool breeze had passed through his skull.

The next second, Cui Shi'an's eyes transformed into a pair of dark gold vertical pupils.

The dazzling Seoul night view below remained unchanged, but amidst the neon lights and skyscrapers, he saw another scene—

Countless enormous, distorted, and indescribable phantoms, like greedy deep-sea monsters, hovered above the city.

Some resemble multi-limbed tumors, extending tentacles to probe into buildings.

Some resembled menacing tree trunks, their bodies shrouded in a dark red, bloodthirsty aura.

All that remained was a churning mass of resentment, constantly churning and emitting silent shrieks...

They were densely packed, layer upon layer, almost obscuring the real night sky, shrouding the entire city in a silent, suffocating spiritual pollution.

Against this terrifying "background," the dazzling lights appear so fragile and unreal, like candlelight flickering in a storm.

"This...this is..." Cui Shi'an's voice was dry, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

"This is the true 'inside image' of Seoul." The bearded man's voice was calm:

"This is the karma accumulated by people, the uncontrolled desires, and the decadent incense offerings. They parasitize here, consuming the thoughts of the beings here, and feeding back more madness and emptiness."

Cui Shi'an abruptly closed his eyes, then opened them again.

The vertical pupils remain.

This is not an illusion.

"Then...these are also living beings? Evil spirits?" He heard his own voice trembling.

The bearded man didn't answer directly, but gazed at the city shrouded in phantom light and said softly:

"Not yet, but if we let them spread and grow, they might evolve into new life forms in the future."

The bearded man turned and glanced at him, saying, "Since you're studying ecology, you should understand what I mean, right?"

Cui Shi'an was taken aback, and subconsciously looked at the massive swarm of phantoms above the city. Could these things form a new species?

"Don't believe me?" The bearded man pointed to the dazzling neon lights ahead. "Then why do you think people here sleep less than people in other places?"

Cui Shi'an thought for a moment and said, "Because you drank too much coffee during the day?"

"Drinking coffee is not the cause, but the effect. It is because of the desire to keep pursuing it that we have the obsession to keep being clear-headed."

Cui Shi'an opened his mouth, only to find that he couldn't refute it, because this wasn't a chicken-and-egg problem.

"When desires are not satisfied, humans will develop evil thoughts. In fact, not only humans are affected, but many messengers of hell are also affected by obsessions, such as the one you know."

Choi Si-an still couldn't refute it; Hara was indeed quite outrageous.

"Whether it's Death, the Black and White Impermanence, or the messengers of hell, when this ecosystem first formed, they should all have maintained a state of being without desire or thought, but alas..."

Cui Shi'an frowned and said, "No matter what form life takes, once it has thought, it is impossible to remain without desires and thoughts. Isn't Your Excellency being too idealistic?"

The latter paused slightly, then a self-deprecating look appeared on his face as he murmured, "I know... I was too greedy... There's no such thing as perfection in this world... But I just wanted to... Could this... also be a kind of obsession?"

Whether he was under some kind of spell or not, he suddenly started pulling at his hair, muttering something to himself as he did so.

For a moment, Cui Shi'an suddenly felt that the judge's head seemed a little abnormal, and that the bald head was probably caused by his own actions.

"Ahem..." Cui Shi'an cleared his throat, mimicking the methods Taoist priests used on TV to banish inner demons, and suddenly slapped the judge on the shoulder:

"Hey! Wake up right now?!"

After the palm struck, Cui Shi'an felt as if the air had become more substantial, forming ripples like transparent jelly before disappearing.

The bearded man turned his head and looked at the hand on his shoulder, his eyes showing a hint of surprise.

Cui Shi'an thought he minded, so he quickly withdrew his hand.

"Don't misunderstand, I'm afraid you might suffer a qi deviation..."