The abandoned warehouse in the south of the city was gloomy and dilapidated. Graffiti and bullet holes covered its walls, and its windows were shattered. Moonlight shone through the gaps, forming eerie shafts of light, while the smell of rust and dust filled the air. Meg led Sam inside. The warehouse was frighteningly empty, with only a crude altar standing in the center. Built from black stones, it held an assortment of bizarre offerings-a few dead rats, a bunch of withered black flowers, and a clay jar engraved with a Z-shaped symbol. A summoning circle identical to the one at the crime scene had been drawn on the floor, with traces of dark red blood remaining at its focal point.
"An altar?" Sam surveyed his surroundings warily, his hand slipping toward the silver dagger in his pocket. He pressed his back against the cold wall, trying to find an escape route.
Meg turned around. The smile vanished from her face in an instant, her eyes turning cold and bloodthirsty as her lips curled cruelly. "Surprised? Haven't you suspected me since you first saw me? They should be here soon. With you as bait, how could they possibly stay away? Perfect. I'll take care of all of you!"
"Who are you really? Why are you working for the Yellow-Eyed Demon?" Sam took a step back and prepared to fight, quickly recalling the Daeva's weaknesses-bright light and things that could break evil.
"Who I am doesn't matter." Meg sneered and clapped her hands. Rustling came from the shadows of the warehouse, as though countless things were writhing there. "What matters is that you're all going to die here today and help advance Lord Yellow Eyes's plan. John's weakness is his sons. You and Dean are his greatest burdens!" She turned toward Dean and Bai Haorui, who had just slipped inside, and taunted, "Look at you, baby Dean, always living in your father's shadow, dragged down until you can barely move. Aren't you tired?"
Dean's gaze hardened. He tightened his grip on the Molotov cocktail, his voice firm. "Family isn't a burden. They're the people I'll give everything to protect. A heartless demon like you will never understand."
As soon as he finished speaking, several dark shadows surged out of the shadows on the walls and floor. They had no fixed shape, writhing across the ground like pools of flowing ink before quickly forming human silhouettes with distinct claws. Their black claws gleamed coldly as they lunged at Sam with a roar.
Just then, Dean and Bai Haorui charged over. Dean held two Molotov cocktails, while Bai Haorui gripped his peachwood sword, with John following behind him. "Sam, are you okay?" Dean shouted, throwing a Molotov cocktail at the leading shadow.
The bottle burst on the floor, sending flames skyward. The roaring fire lit up a corner of the warehouse, and the shadows screamed and retreated, their bodies sizzling as the flames burned them. They were clearly afraid of bright light. "Looks like that research paid off!" Dean shouted. His eyes met Bai Haorui's, and they instantly understood each other. "Get ready. I'll give you an opening!"
Bai Haorui nodded and quickly took out a Shadow-Breaking Talisman, sticking it onto his peachwood sword. He then poured the holy water John handed him over the talisman. The cinnabar mingled with the holy water, giving off a faint golden glow. Seeing this, Dean immediately took out a phosphorus flare and pulled the safety pin. Rather than throwing it right away, he waited until the shadows gathered again, then hurled it into the open space in the center of the warehouse. "Watch this!"
The instant the flare hit the ground, it erupted with blinding light, illuminating the entire warehouse as brightly as day. The shadows let out piercing screams and curled up in the shadows along the walls, their bodies trembling violently, barely able to hold their shapes. In that instant, Bai Haorui used Bagua Steps and shot forward like an arrow. Raising his peachwood sword high, he recited the incantation for the Shadow-Breaking Technique: "Heaven and earth hold light, break shadows and banish their gleam; evil spirits, lose your form, with nowhere left to hide!"
Red light surged along the blade of the peachwood sword. Bai Haorui swept it across, sending an arc of red light through three clustered shadows. They were instantly torn apart and dissolved into black smoke. "Whoa! Nice one, baby!" Dean couldn't help shouting, his eyes full of excitement as he looked at Bai Haorui. "That was one vicious swing!"
John raised his gun and aimed at Meg. "Did the Yellow-Eyed Demon send you? What do you want?"
"John Winchester. You certainly live up to your reputation." Meg looked at him with a cruel smile. "Lord Yellow Eyes told me to bring you a 'gift'-your sons' lives in exchange for the demon intel you have. I know you're researching how to kill him, not exorcise him." She turned toward Bai Haorui, her gaze enticing. "Taoist arts are nothing special. Follow Lord Yellow Eyes, and you can gain greater power-and live forever."
"Who'd want to associate with trash like you?" Bai Haorui pulled out an Evil-Breaking Talisman and threw it at Meg. It traced an arc through the air and landed squarely on her chest.
The Evil-Breaking Talisman instantly erupted with red light. Meg screamed and staggered back, the demonic energy around her fluctuating violently. Her eyes turned solid black; she was clearly possessed by a demon. "You bastard!" she roared, waving her hand to send a shadow lunging at Bai Haorui.
Bai Haorui dodged sideways, took out an ink-line reel, and drew out a line soaked in cinnabar. "Sam, Dean, give me a hand!" Dean immediately understood and rushed over to hold down one end, while Sam held the other. The two stretched the ink line into a barrier as Bai Haorui chanted, "The ink line marks the boundary, heaven and earth form the array; yin and yang stand apart, let no evil approach!" The ink line instantly shone gold, forming a barrier of light that held the shadows back. "Go! This Shadow-Illuminating Formation can probably hold for a minute! The altar's on the second floor. Destroy it!"
John fired as he shouted, "Sam, come with me!" They charged up the rusted iron stairs to the second floor. The top of the altar stood on the second-floor platform, where the clay jar was continually releasing black mist, nourishing the Daeva below. Sam drew his dagger and cut the ropes on the altar, while John splashed holy water over the jar. It sizzled and gave off black smoke, and the black mist instantly diminished.
Just then, the warehouse caretaker, Old Tom, suddenly rushed out of a corner. He was sixty-five and hunched, his face covered in wrinkles. He wore oil-stained work clothes and held a cross necklace, his eyes full of fear and guilt. "Save my grandson! That woman threatened to kill him and forced me to guard this altar for her!" He saw Bai Haorui's talismans and peachwood sword. "I knew there were people who specialized in dealing with them. Otherwise, they'd have ruled the world long ago!"
"You old fool! Your grandson's been dead for ages. He was too noisy, so I snapped his neck myself. Now you can die too!"
"No! I'll make you pay with your life!
With that, Old Tom turned and charged toward
the gasoline drums in the corner of the warehouse, where several drums of discarded gasoline were stored. "No!" Meg roared, directing the shadows at Old Tom, but the ink-line barrier stopped them. Old Tom lit his lighter and threw it toward the drums, shouting, "Die, you bastard!"
The gasoline drums exploded instantly, engulfing Old Tom as an enormous blaze shot skyward. The intense light made every shadow scream, their bodies beginning to melt. Bai Haorui, some distance away, seized the chance to swing his peachwood sword, tearing apart the shadows that fled one by one. Red light flashed, and all the shadows dissipated. The altar on the second floor collapsed under the blast's shock wave, completely cutting off the Daeva's energy source.
Seeing the destroyed altar and the dissipating shadows, Meg knew she had lost. She turned to jump from the second floor and escape, only for an out-of-control shadow to coil around her ankle. It was the last Daeva. Freed from the altar's restraints, it had gone mad, roaring as it dragged her toward the edge of the second floor. "No! Lord Yellow Eyes will avenge me!" Meg roared before the shadow finally pushed her off the second floor, sending her crashing to the ground.
Shadows entwined her corpse, and moments later it dissolved into black smoke, leaving only a pendant engraved with an Anchor Point Symbol-an inverted pentagram inset with a shadow pattern, sharing the same origin as the Anchor Point Symbol Bai Haorui had discovered earlier. Bai Haorui picked up the pendant, and a system notification sounded in his mind: [Anchor Point Symbol detected. Type: summoning node. Can track followers of the Yellow-Eyed Demon. Passive skill "Anchor Point Tracking" unlocked: uses residual energy in symbols to locate associated evil spirits or demon followers within a ten-kilometer radius.]
Old Tom had been engulfed by the explosion, and his legs were nowhere to be seen. His body lay on the ground like a tattered rag. Watching the shadows dissipate, he smiled in relief. "It's over... it's over. Xiaobao, I'm coming. Don't be afraid." Before long, he stopped breathing, still clutching a cross necklace tightly in his hand.
Under a streetlamp outside the warehouse, the four of them panted, covered in dust and blood. A shadow had clawed Dean's arm, and black blood seeped from the faintly blackened wound, which had been corroded by yin energy. Meg's demonic energy had also struck Bai Haorui in the chest, leaving a dark bruise and injuring him. A fragment from the explosion had cut Sam's forehead, which was bleeding.
John took out a first-aid kit and treated Dean's wound, using a dagger to scrape away the blackened flesh around it before applying holy water and anti-inflammatory medicine. His eyes were full of guilt. "I'm sorry, Dean. You were put in danger because of me. If I hadn't been hunting the Yellow-Eyed Demon, you wouldn't have been dragged into this."
Dean shook his head, enduring the pain of his wound as he grabbed John's hand. "Dad, don't say that. We're family. Hunting demons is our responsibility too. We'll avenge Mom together."
Sam looked at John, unable to hold back his worries any longer. "Dad, we can find him together and kill him together. If we work together, there's nothing we can't do. I'm not trying to be a hero. I just don't want to lose the only family I have left." He paused, his voice trembling slightly. "Dean, you, and Haorui showed me I still have family to protect. Don't leave, Dad. Stay with us."
John looked at Sam, his eyes reddening, and reached out to stroke his head. "Sam, I'm sorry. I know I owe you boys so much. But the Yellow-Eyed Demon is too cunning. He's watching me, and he's watching you too. I can't let you take that risk. If we split up, most of his attention will be on me, and you'll be a little safer. I'll put an end to all of this." He stood, determination in his eyes. "Besides, I'm getting closer and closer to finding a way to kill him. I found an antique gun that can deal him a fatal wound, but I still need time."
"Dad, we're not afraid of danger!" Dean said heatedly. "Haven't we faced enough of it already? Winchesters never back down!"
"I know you're not afraid." John looked at Dean, his eyes full of fatherly love. "But I am. I've already lost your mother. I can't lose you too." He looked at Bai Haorui, entrusting them to him with his gaze. "Haorui, please take good care of Sam and Dean. Those Taoist methods from your part of the world work well. I believe you can keep them safe."
Bai Haorui nodded. "Don't worry. We're brothers." He paused, looking John in the eye as he said earnestly, "Taoism stresses the balance of yin and yang. Your obsession is too strong. Sooner or later, the darkness will swallow you. Don't let revenge destroy you. Family matters more than anything. The way you are now..."
John gave a bitter smile without arguing. He simply opened his arms and hugged Dean and Sam. Dean held his father tightly, his eyes reddening as the tears finally fell. "Dad, make sure you take care of yourself. We're still waiting to have a victory drink with you." Sam hugged him back just as hard, choking out, "Dad, don't disappear again. Let us know you're alive."
"I will." John patted their backs and turned toward his car. "If you run into danger, contact me using the code we agreed on. Remember, your family will always be your strongest support."
He got in and started the engine. The car's taillights receded into the night until they finally vanished at the end of the road. Dean and Sam stood beneath the streetlamp, looking in the direction their father had gone, saying nothing for a long time.
Bai Haorui watched them, silently taking out a Heart-Protecting Talisman and handing it to Dean. "Put this on your wound. It'll disperse the lingering yin energy and help it heal. It works well against yin energy and evil." He took out another talisman and handed it to Sam. "Keep this. It's a Clear Heart Talisman. It can help steady your mind."
Dean took the talisman and placed it on his wound. As warmth spread from it, the pain gradually eased. He patted Bai Haorui on the shoulder, then looked at Sam and broke into a grin. "All right, enough moping. Your Taoist arts, my body, his brains-the three of us are invincible."
Sam smiled too and nodded. "That's right. We'll kill the Yellow-Eyed Demon."
Bai Haorui snickered. "Heh, you two babies bounced back fast. I thought you'd need to cry a little longer."
"Get lost!"
"Nothing nice ever comes out of your mouth!"