It was already three in the afternoon when they returned to the dorm. Bai Haorui put the glutinous rice in the kitchen cabinet, then took the miniature red cloth pouch out of his backpack and placed it in his desk drawer-it was a habit of his to take the red pouch out and look at it every day.
Sam sat down at his desk, turned on his computer, and started writing his paper. The dorm was quiet, with only the sound of typing. Bai Haorui lay on his bed, scrolling through the campus forum on his phone and reading the "Weekend Party Preview," wondering whether to join the fun at the Sigma Chi Fraternity's pool party. He had been once before, and it had been "the↑ real↓ god←damn→ deal~!"
Just then, the roar of a car engine came from downstairs-not the sound of an ordinary sedan, but the deep, powerful rumble unique to a muscle car with a large-displacement engine. It even made the windows tremble a little.
Bai Haorui frowned, walked to the window, and leaned out to look down. A black Chevrolet Impala was parked outside the dorm building, its body gleaming. The grille on its front end looked like a mouth stretched into a grin, giving it a menacing air. Vintage muscle cars like this were rare in the United States, especially in a quiet dorm area.
"Who's this? Pulling up outside the dorm in a car that cool? Trying to steal my thunder?" Bai Haorui muttered to himself, a little curious.
Sam looked up too and glanced out the window. The moment he saw the black Impala, his expression changed. His fingers unconsciously tightened around his pen, and his eyes filled with surprise and unease.
"What's wrong?" Bai Haorui noticed the change in Sam and asked in confusion, "You know that car?"
Sam did not answer. He merely stood up, walked to the window, and stared intently at the car. A few seconds later, the door opened, and a man climbed out of the driver's seat. He wore a black leather jacket over a white T-shirt, jeans hugging his long legs, and a pair of worn Dr. Martens boots. His hair was a little messy, and his sharp eyes swept over his surroundings like a hawk's. A faint, devil-may-care smile hung at the corner of his mouth. He also held a pair of sunglasses, which he casually hooked onto his collar.
When Bai Haorui saw the man's face, his heart suddenly gave a violent thump-he knew that face all too well! Not from real life, but from an American TV series he had watched before transmigrating. That man was clearly Dean Winchester! Sam Winchester's older brother, the "hunter" who hunted all kinds of supernatural creatures alongside Sam! Holy fucking shit, I always thought Sam just happened to have the same name!!! This is actually real~ For real~!
Bai Haorui's mind went completely blank. He looked at Dean downstairs, then at Sam beside him. So he really had not transmigrated into an ordinary parallel world-he had fucking transmigrated into the hellish world of Supernatural! That dangerous world filled with demons, ghosts, werewolves, angels, God, and all kinds of bizarre creatures from legend, where he could lose his life at any moment.
"Sam!" Dean called up toward them. His voice was not loud, but it was full and carried clearly.
Sam took a deep breath, turned to Bai Haorui, and said, "I'm going downstairs for a minute."
"Wait." Bai Haorui still wanted to make one last attempt, his heart still racing. "Who's that? You know him?"
Sam's lips moved. He hesitated for several seconds before saying quietly, "He's my brother, Dean."
Dean Winchester!
It's over. Diagnosis confirmed. No saving me. Time to get my affairs in order. That name completely shattered Bai Haorui's currently very fragile mind. He remembered the plot of Supernatural-Sam had originally been living a peaceful life at college. Only when Dean arrived and told him their father, John, had disappeared was he forced to leave school and set off on the road hunting demons with Dean. And Sam's girlfriend Jessica would soon be killed by the Yellow-Eyed Demon, becoming a pain in Sam's heart that would never fade.
Bai Haorui took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He looked at Sam and said seriously, "Sam, I want to go downstairs with you. I think I saw your brother and father a year ago, when something happened at my neighbors' place, so I have some idea what your family does. My family's in the funeral business, and they passed down some methods for warding off evil to me. If you run into trouble, I might be able to help."
Sam froze for a moment and looked at Bai Haorui in confusion. "Methods for warding off evil? You know how to do that?"
"I learned from my grandpa when I was little, though I'm not very good at it," Bai Haorui lied, while thinking that the things his grandfather had left him, which he had brought over, might really come in handy.
Sam hesitated, then nodded. "All right. Come down with me."
The two went downstairs and walked up to Dean. Dean looked Bai Haorui up and down, raising an eyebrow. "You're the guy Sam calls his best friend at school, his brother? You Korean? Japanese? Or Chinese? Sam, what's the idea, bringing him down here?"
"Dean." Sam frowned. "Haorui is my friend. Don't start anything!"
Dean scoffed and said nothing more to Bai Haorui. Instead, he turned to Sam. "Dad's missing. He hasn't contacted me in two weeks. The last time
"he got in touch, he said he was investigating a water-dwelling spirit case in Black Forest Town. He also mentioned a symbol-an inverted pentagram with ripples inside it. I need you to come with me to find him."
Sam stiffened, his eyes full of hesitation. "Dean, I'm studying at Stanford now, and there's Jessica... I can't go with you."
"Studying? Jessica?" Dean raised his voice. "Dad's missing, and you're still thinking about that? Sam, have you forgotten how Mom died? Have you forgotten what we do?"
"I haven't forgotten, but I don't want to live like that anymore!" Sam grew agitated too. "I just want a normal life. I want to graduate, marry Jessica, and have a family!"
The two began arguing, their voices growing louder and louder. Bai Haorui stood to the side, watching the scene unfold, knowing this was a key part of the plot-Sam would ultimately go with Dean out of concern for their father. And he had to go with them. Only then could he find a way to change the fates of Sam, his dear boy, and Jessica, his dear daughter-in-law.
"Dean," Bai Haorui suddenly spoke up, interrupting their argument, "I know you're worried about Uncle John, but Sam really does have his own life now. Still, I might be able to help with the water-dwelling spirit in Black Forest Town. My grandpa encountered something similar before, and he passed down some methods for warding off evil to me, like using glutinous rice and ink-line string. Those might work against a water-dwelling spirit."
Dean looked at Bai Haorui, his eyes full of skepticism. "Glutinous rice? Ink-line string? You think this is a Chinese kung fu movie? That stuff doesn't work at all. You need silver, salt, and holy oil to deal with evil spirits. That's what works."
"We won't know whether they work until we try." Bai Haorui took the miniature red cloth pouch out of his pocket and opened it, revealing the three Five Emperor Coins inside. "These are Five Emperor Coins. They can ward off evil entities and sense yin energy. If you don't believe me, I can put them in your car and try it. If anything evil comes near, they'll give off a cold glow."
Dean frowned without speaking. Sam walked over and said to him, "Dean, let Haorui come to Black Forest Town with us. His methods might really help. Even if they don't work, having another person gives us another pair of hands."
Dean was silent for a few seconds. He looked at Sam's pleading eyes, then at the Five Emperor Coins in Bai Haorui's hand, and finally nodded. "Fine, but let's get this straight up front. If your methods don't work, or you hold us back, I'm kicking you out immediately."
"No problem." Bai Haorui breathed a sigh of relief and put the Five Emperor Coins back into the red cloth pouch. "When do we leave?"
"Right now." Dean turned and walked toward the Impala. "All my stuff's in the car. Go pack. Meet downstairs in ten minutes."
Sam nodded and headed back to the dorm to pack. Bai Haorui followed, both nervous and excited-he knew that from this moment on, his life would change completely, and he would finally have the chance to come into contact with these supernatural powers. Lying low in this world was useless; he could only find ways to grow stronger.