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

As someone who has been through it all, Choi Si-an understands the lingering fear that Yeon-soo's family feels.

"Okay, don't worry, let me take a look," he said gently, then a thought crossed his mind.

A dark golden light flashed rapidly in his eyes, and the illusory image of his vertical pupils appeared and disappeared in an instant.

In his vision at this moment, Yeon-soo was enveloped in a faint, pure, childlike vitality. Although it was still somewhat weak and unstable, the lingering malevolent energy and twisted resentment had all disappeared without a trace.

On her shoulders, the yang fire representing the "three fires" reignited, though not intensely, it swayed steadily.

"Don't worry, Grandma." Cui Shi'an withdrew his gaze and gave a reassuring smile: "It's very clean, there's nothing left, it's just that your body is weak and needs to be recuperated slowly. Get more sun and supplement your nutrition, and you'll get better."

"Really? Oh dear, oh dear..." Upon hearing this, Grandma let out a long sigh of relief, her wrinkles smoothing out. She clasped her hands together, rubbing her palms together repeatedly, and bowed repeatedly in all directions, muttering incantations:

"What a blessing, what a blessing... May Buddha bless us, may the gods bless us, may our ancestors bless us... Oh my god, thank you, thank you so much..."

Cui Shi'an couldn't help but find it a little funny as he looked at the old man's way of expressing gratitude, which mixed various beliefs.

However, this is precisely the norm for beliefs on the Korean Peninsula—pragmatism, believing in whatever is spiritual.

He then asked, "Grandma, do you know where that witch who helped us last time is now? I need to talk to her about something."

"I know, I know!" Grandma nodded quickly. "That child, Duoling, her shrine is over at Pumen Cave, not far from here. I'll write down the address for you!"

She shakily found paper and pen, carefully wrote down the address, and handed it to Cui Shi'an with both hands.

Choi Si-an took the document, glanced at it, inquired about some details of Yeon-soo's participation in the summer camp, and took some photos from that time before preparing to leave.

"How can this be!" The family immediately objected, especially the grandmother, who grabbed his sleeve and wouldn't let go.

"My benefactor, I insist on having lunch before you leave! It's just simple home-cooked food, please don't mind!"

I couldn't refuse, and I couldn't turn down such a kind invitation.

Cui Shi'an had no choice but to stay and eat a simple but extremely taboo meal, especially the strong flavors like kimchi, which he dared not touch.

In the afternoon, following the address, Cui Shi'an arrived at Pumendong in Seongbuk-gu.

This is a relatively old residential area, a mix of low-rise houses and small commercial buildings.

He stopped in front of a slightly old five-story mixed-use commercial and residential building, referring to the note.

A shrine located semi-underground? Looks like it doesn't get many worshippers…

Well, since we're already here, let's go in and take a look first.

Having made up his mind, Cui Shi'an walked down a few steps along the side stairs.

A heavy security door came into view, with a simple wooden plaque hanging above it bearing two neat Chinese characters written in calligraphy:

Mingxintang

The plaque is quite old, and the paint has faded.

On the security door, there was a colorful printed sticker with a rather strange design—it resembled a god or a ghost, with blurred faces and wearing clothing from an indistinguishable dynasty, surrounded by distorted cloud patterns and incomprehensible runes.

I don't know which deity in the shamanic system, or which "ghost immortal" is being worshipped.

Cui Shi'an pressed the old-fashioned doorbell next to the door.

"Ding-dong—"

Footsteps soon came from inside, followed by a young woman's voice: "Welcome, please wait a moment."

The door clicked open from the inside.

The shamanic witch who appeared behind the door was the same one from last time.

She didn't wear those terrifying rune-patterned makeup today, revealing her original delicate features.

She looked to be in her early twenties, with fair skin, slender eyebrows and eyes, and her hair was loosely tied in a bun at the back of her head. She was wearing a light pink hanbok, which made her look much more gentle than the shaman outfit she wore that night.

She had a professional smile on her face, but the moment she saw who was coming from outside the door, her smile froze, and her eyes slowly widened as if in disbelief.

"...General?!" Her voice changed, filled with shock and fear, and she was about to kneel down to pay her respects.

"No need for such formalities." Cui Shi'an gestured to stop her from kneeling, and smiled, "Won't you invite me in for a seat?"

"Ah! Of course! Please come in, please come in quickly!" Jie Duoling suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly stepped aside.

Just as Cui Shi'an was about to step inside, she suddenly called out again, "Wait! General, please wait a moment!"

"Hmm?" Cui Shi'an stopped and looked at her in confusion.

Jie Duoling blushed slightly and explained somewhat awkwardly:

"General, this is your first time visiting the shrine... According to custom, I should first wash my hands, burn incense, beat the sacred drum, sing a welcoming song, and offer clean water and rice wine... before I can respectfully welcome you inside..."

Her voice trailed off as she spoke, clearly feeling that it was extremely disrespectful to leave the "god" waiting at the door, but there was no time to prepare anything in advance.

Cui Shi'an couldn't help but smile as he looked at her apprehensive and earnest appearance, which was almost cute.

"No need to be so formal." He waved his hand. "This general... well, I don't care about formalities. Let's go inside and talk."

After saying that, he stepped over the threshold of "Mingxin Hall".

The moment he stepped inside, whether by coincidence or not, it was all over.

The candles placed throughout the shrine all went out at once!

The air seemed to freeze.

After losing its light source, the smoke from the incense sticks transformed into several eerie gray-white shadows, slowly swirling in the darkness.

Dead silence.

Even the faint sounds of traffic from the distant streets seemed to be shut out by the sudden darkness.

Cui Shi'an paused, awkwardly stopping in his tracks: "This...it's not because of me, is it?"

Behind him, Jie Duoling let out a very soft, suppressed gasp, seemingly also shocked.

The next second, her trembling voice rang out behind her:

"General...this...this is 'the god enters the dark room, all is silent'...I heard my grandmother say that only when a true deity arrives will the fires in the hall be temporarily extinguished, as a sign of...a cleansing of the place to welcome him..."

"God?" Cui Shi'an chuckled lightly, not feeling alarmed by the title. After all, in the eyes of these sorcerers, even the ghosts they had worshipped could be called some kind of great immortal.

And since I am a registered being, am I not a "god"?

"Let's turn on the lights first," Cui Shi'an's calm voice rang out in the darkness. "It's too dark to talk."

"Ah! Yes!" Jie Duoling suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly replied.

She found the door by touch and, with a "click," turned on the modern light switch.

The pale white light from the overhead lamps instantly dispelled the darkness and illuminated everything inside the shrine.

The slightly worn Korean-style floor, the clean but empty shrine, the offering table with incense burners and simple ritual implements, the faded images of gods and talismans hanging on the wall, and the drums, bells and other items used for rituals piled up in the corner.

Everything returned to normal, as if the moment of utter silence just moments before was merely an illusion.

Jie Duoling quickly walked to the offering table, took out a match, his hands still trembling, and tried to relight the candles.

"Don't bother lighting it now, lest it go out again soon."

Cui Shi'an stopped her, walked to the center of the shrine, and looked around:

"Are you usually alone here?"

"Yes." Jie Duoling stood up respectfully, a hint of loneliness in her voice that she could not hide: "After Grandma passed away, I was all alone."

"Wait a minute? I remember you brought quite a few assistants with you last time you performed an exorcism?"

"Those were all hired by the union..." the girl said shyly.

Cui Shi'an turned around, startled: "The sorceresses have a union?"