"Guys, up ahead is the Oklahoma-Kansas state line. I hear a country diner around there has the best apple pie in the United States. Want to stop and fuel up?"
"You said the same thing in Nebraska last week, and that apple pie was so sweet it nearly gave me diabetes, bro." Bai Haorui lounged in the passenger seat with his legs propped on the dashboard, only for Dean to slap them down. Rubbing his legs, he raised an eyebrow and quipped, "And is your stomach a bottomless pit? You just ate two huge slabs of roast meat three hours ago."
Sam didn't even look up from the back seat. The glow of his laptop screen lit his face as his fingers flew over the keyboard. "We could spend the night in the border town and get back on the road tomorrow." He paused, closed the laptop, and pulled a thick hunting journal from his backpack. "It'll give me a chance to sort through our previous cases and integrate the Taoist exorcism methods with our records."
Dean's eyes lit up, and he gave the steering wheel a sharp turn. "It's settled! Sam, you've finally seen the light. You've learned how to balance work and play."
The border town was more quaint than they had expected. The wooden houses lining the main street were painted a warm cream, morning glory vines twined around their porches, and the old-fashioned gas pumps by the road were rusty but had a nostalgic charm. The three parked outside a diner called Susie's Kitchen. As soon as they pushed open the door, they smelled cinnamon and baking bread.
The owner, Susie, wore a plaid apron and had her hair in a ponytail. She greeted them with a hearty smile. "What can I get you three? Today's specials are apple pie and omelets, and we have freshly ground coffee."
Dean's gaze swept over Susie's face, his tone light. "If a beautiful woman recommends them, I've got to have one of each. And three cold beers, please." Susie laughed. As she turned to put in the order, Bai Haorui leaned toward Dean's ear. "Not bad, you bastard. We just walked in and you're already turning on the charm."
"It's called charisma, understand?" Dean raised an eyebrow, pulled a coin from his pocket, and tossed it a few times. "Five bucks says she and I will have a wonderful little story tonight."
"Ten says she'll just think you're a sleazy traveler." Bai Haorui immediately took him up on it. Beside them, Sam rolled his eyes. "Could you two stop spending all your energy on this stuff?"
Over their meal, Dean wasted no time chatting Susie up, moving from the weather to travel, while Bai Haorui embellished things from the sidelines. "Susie, you have no idea how amazing Dean is. He's a first-rate driver. Last time we got caught in a blizzard in the mountains, he was the only reason we made it out." He deliberately glossed over the details of their hunting, making it sound like an ordinary road trip adventure. Susie's eyes shone as she listened.
Their teamwork made Sam laugh, and he could only help smooth things over. "He really is pretty dependable. He's just a little... impulsive sometimes."
With a smile, Susie recommended the lakeside campground on the edge of town. "There's a bonfire party tonight. All the locals go, and there'll be people playing guitar and singing. You should check it out. I'll come find you after I close up, Dean." Dean turned and smugly patted Bai Haorui's shoulder. "Ten bucks, brother." Bai Haorui pursed his lips. "Ha. Would you have managed without me playing wingman? And you're asking me for money? You're lucky I'm not charging you."
After dinner, the three drove to the lakeside campground. The sunset dyed the lake gold and red. Tents dotted the grassy shore, and locals sat around the bonfire, playing guitar and singing country songs while children chased one another nearby. Dean pulled Susie into the singing group. He was tone-deaf but sang with exceptional enthusiasm. Leaning against a tree trunk, Bai Haorui laughed so hard he couldn't straighten up. "Sam, look at him. He looks like a complete idiot."
Sam closed his notebook and gave a rare, relaxed smile. "At least he's happy." He walked over to the bonfire and struck up a conversation with an old man holding a guitar. The man was a longtime local hunter and told them plenty of local legends-water sprites that sang by the lake, for instance, and elves that guarded treasure in the forest. Sam diligently recorded them in his notebook, occasionally looking up to exchange a glance with Bai Haorui.
Bai Haorui took out three Five Emperor Coins and rolled them around his palm, the copper coins giving off a faint golden glow. "They're all just ordinary folk tales. There's no yin energy here. Don't worry." He walked over to Dean and deliberately bumped into him. "Hey, lecher, with singing that awful, don't scare the pretty lady away."
"Let's see you do better!" Dean refused to concede and thrust the guitar into Bai Haorui's hands. Bai Haorui wasn't shy about performing either. Holding the guitar, he played a passage from "Rice Fragrance." His fingering was rusty, but the melody carried a distinctive Eastern charm. Everyone around the bonfire fell quiet. Susie watched him with shining eyes. "What song is that? It's beautiful."
"It's a song by my favorite singer back home. It's called 'Rice Fragrance,'" Bai Haorui explained with a smile. Beside him, Dean said sourly, "Didn't think you actually had a little talent."
Late that night, the campground gradually fell quiet. The three lay in the Impala's back seat and trunk, looking at the stars overhead. Dean secretly shifted the peachwood sword Bai Haorui had placed on the outside of his backpack so that it dug uncomfortably into him; while Dean wasn't looking, Bai Haorui replaced his beer with a "special drink" containing a little white vinegar.
"What do you think we'll run into next?" Sam suddenly asked, his voice especially clear in the night.
"Who cares? As long as I've got you guys, beer, beautiful women, and my Impala, nothing's a problem." Dean shrugged, took a sip of his "special beer," then spat it out and frowned. "Why does this beer taste so awful?"
"Maybe it's a town specialty. White vinegar flavor." Bai Haorui fought back his laughter. Sam coughed beside him, not daring to give him away.
Early the next morning, the three continued their journey. The scenery kept changing, from the wheat fields of Kansas to the forests of Missouri, golden waves of wheat rolling in the wind and woodland streams sparkling in the light. They bought freshly picked peaches at a roadside fruit stand, drank freshly made milkshakes at a country shop, met backpackers hitchhiking, and helped an old farmer repair his tractor (Dean did the work, while Bai Haorui and Sam handed him tools).
Sam remained disciplined throughout. Even on the road, he used their rest stops to go running, then sat in the Impala's back seat organizing his notes. Bai Haorui occasionally leaned over to draw a funny face in his notebook or add a few Taoist exorcism tips-such as "Use glutinous rice against little ghosts, cinnabar against big ghosts, and pranks against old ghosts like Dean." Although Sam would glare at him, he diligently wrote it all down.
"Sam, doesn't living like this wear you out?" Bai Haorui asked, munching on a peach as he watched Sam do push-ups. "You should relax once in a while. Go have a drink at a bar with Dean, or unwind with some girls-I guarantee it's more interesting than building muscle."
"I just think we should always be prepared." Sam wiped away his sweat. "Besides... I have no desire to experience Dean's bar adventures." He pointed at Dean, who was flirting with the woman running the fruit stand a short distance away, and smiled helplessly.
Bai Haorui immediately ran over and patted Dean on the shoulder. "Hey, ma'am, I have to tell you, this friend of mine is a hero-he once saved an entire town from a pack of 'wild animals' and refused everyone's thanks." He deliberately called the "evil spirits" "wild animals." Dean played along with a modest expression, and the woman's eyes lit up.
Sam stood to one side, holding his forehead as his head ached, but when the woman asked for details, he still helped back them up. "He's just too modest. He's actually pretty amazing."
At noon, the three stopped at a roadside barbecue stand and ordered smoked ribs, grilled corn, and mashed potatoes. Dean ate with grease all over his mouth. Bai Haorui secretly replaced his hot sauce with chili oil he had brought along. After one bite, Dean kept sticking out his tongue from the heat. "Damn it, why is this hot sauce so spicy?"
"Maybe it's a local specialty. Packs a kick." Holding back laughter, Bai Haorui handed him a bottle of water. Sam couldn't help laughing beside them. "Could you two stop playing tricks on each other all the time?"
"It's called bonding, understand?" Dean and Bai Haorui said in unison, then glared at each other.
Toward evening, the three reached an unnamed little town and checked into a cheap motel. Dean went to a bar to chat up beautiful women, Bai Haorui drew talismans in the room, and Sam continued organizing his notes. In the middle of the night, Dean crept back into the room and put a stink bomb in Bai Haorui's backpack; Bai Haorui pretended to be asleep, then hid Dean's sunglasses in the toilet tank after Dean lay down.
Early the next morning, both discovered they had been pranked and started arguing. Sam shook his head helplessly beside them.
"All right, stop arguing. We should get going." Sam shouldered his backpack.
Dean started the Impala, and rock music rang out from the car radio again. The scenery along the way was as beautiful as ever, and the three men's bickering mingled with the music and the rumble of the engine.
"What good food will the next town have?" Dean asked with a smile, looking at the road ahead.
"Hopefully none of those 'beautiful woman's specials' you like," Bai Haorui replied, raising an eyebrow.
Sam sat in the back seat, watching the scenery fly past the window, a faint smile on his lips.