Wu Heng turned to look out the window. "Everything is only just beginning."
"Yes, you're right. Everything is only just beginning." Hannah also turned to look at the fountain statue outside the window.
Both of them had their own hopes in their hearts, but their perspectives were different, and what they meant was entirely different as well.
Less than forty-eight hours later, a mud-spattered black Chevrolet Impala broke through the thick fog and entered the manor, screeching to a halt before the old house's front doors.
Sam half-dragged, half-carried Dean, whose face was deathly pale and whose breathing was weak, staggering toward the heavy oak doors. Dean's lips had turned blue, and every breath came with difficulty.
The doors slid open without a sound.
Warm air carrying the fragrance of oak and herbs flowed from within.
Wu Heng stood beneath the crystal chandelier in the entrance hall, dressed in a dark gray suit. Beside him stood Hannah's spirit body, dressed in a vintage maid uniform, watching the brothers with curiosity and nervousness.
"Mr. Morik." Sam's voice was hoarse. "Dean... he got worse on the way here!"
Sam wore a brown zip-up hoodie, while Dean wore a green jacket, his face terribly pale.
Wu Heng's gaze swept over Dean's ashen face.
"Just in time. Hannah, take him to the west sitting room."
The sitting room was warm and comfortable, with logs burning in the fireplace.
Dean was settled into a broad sofa, his entire body sinking into it like a puddle of mud. He looked incomparably weak, while Sam stood anxiously at his side.
Wu Heng walked to the mahogany wine cabinet and opened a rune-inlaid hidden compartment deep inside.
Inside lay an antique crystal wine bottle, its body marked with natural patterns and its stopper woven from deep-purple vines.
He