In Manning, Colorado, the old hunter Daniel Elkins sat in a corner booth at the Rusty Nail Bar, his calloused fingers gripping a pen as he wrote rapidly in a yellowed journal. He was already on his third round of whiskey. Along with notes on the "strange people in leather jackets" he had recently been tracking, the journal's last page held a yellowed Taoist talisman-a Sha-Warding Talisman an old Taoist priest had given him during a hunt many years ago. He had always carried it as a protective charm.
The door jingled as it swung open, and five pale young people in black leather jackets walked in. Elkins's pen stopped abruptly. He glanced up, his pupils contracting-the woman leading them had an extremely faint bite mark on her neck. She was the target he had been tracking for three weeks. He quickly closed his journal, slipped it into his inside pocket, grabbed his coat, and rose to leave, deliberately leaving a silver badge engraved with a cross on the table.
Half an hour later, fierce winds battered Elkins's cabin, making it creak. He had only opened the safe halfway when the wooden door was smashed apart. The female vampire Kate barged in with her companions, her scarlet eyes fixed on Elkins. "What are you running for, old man?" Elkins said nothing. He drew his hunting knife with a backhand motion and drove it hard toward Kate's chest, only to hear a sharp clang. The knife flew away, leaving Kate completely unharmed.
"Useless," Kate sneered. "You hunters and your tricks are outdated."
Elkins hurriedly turned and took the legendary Colt revolver from the safe. The Latin words "Non timebo mala"-I will fear no evil-were engraved on its body, and the wood grain of its grip had been rubbed to a shine. Before he could pull the trigger, however, two vampires lunged at him and pinned his arms. Kate snatched the Colt and ran her fingertips over the inscription, greed filling her eyes. "So you really did have it."
She leaned toward Elkins's neck, slowly extending her fangs. "Tonight, we're dining at your place."
A scream tore through the night, making the cabin windows buzz. Meanwhile, beside the silver badge Elkins had left at the bar, a drop of dark red blood had appeared at some unknown point. It slowly spread across the floor, faintly forming a blurred inverted pentagram.
At a roadside diner in Nebraska, Sam browsed the news on his laptop after spending several days with Sarah. Dean hunched over the table, munching on a hamburger, while Bai Haorui sat by the window, toying with a string of Five Emperor Coins that spun rapidly between his fingers.
"Look at this," Sam said suddenly, pointing at the screen. "Manning, Colorado. An old hunter named Elkins was killed, and his house was ransacked."
Dean jerked his head up, hamburger sauce smeared at the corner of his mouth. "Elkins? Dad's mentor?" He immediately pulled out John's old journal and turned to a page marked "D.E." It recorded the demon-tracking techniques Elkins had taught him years ago, with "I owe him my life" written at the end.
The Five Emperor Coins in Bai Haorui's hand suddenly stopped, their surfaces giving off a faint blue-green glow. He frowned. "Something's wrong. If he was your father's mentor, his death most likely wasn't caused by a human. Shall we take a look?"
"Yeah. Let's go." Dean immediately stood and strode toward the door.
The three set out at once, driving to Colorado. When they reached Elkins's cabin, they found nothing but wreckage. Broken furniture littered the floor, and the salt circle in the corner had been trampled into disarray. Sam crouched and dabbed at the dark red liquid on the floor with a tissue. "Not human blood. The viscosity's wrong." Bai Haorui took out a silver needle and dipped it into the liquid. It instantly turned black. "It's corpse blood, and from a body that's been dead a long time. Are there vampires around here?"
Dean found an empty gun case beside the fireplace, with a string of strange symbols carved into its base. Bai Haorui leaned over for a look and immediately took out paper and a pen to make a rubbing. "Elkins used this to mark where he hid something." Holding his laptop, Sam compared the symbols and worked through them for a moment before suddenly standing. "Follow me. It's a mailbox. Number 374."
The three drove to the town post office and opened mailbox 374. Inside was only a sealed letter addressed to "J.W." (John Winchester). Just as Dean opened the envelope, a black pickup suddenly stopped outside the post office. The door opened, and John Winchester stepped out, his coat stained with mud, a shotgun in his hand, and his gaze as sharp as a hawk's.
"Dad?" Dean and Sam exclaimed together, shock filling their faces.
Bai Haorui slipped the Five Emperor Coins into his pocket. This time, the baleful energy around John was much heavier than before, with a faint hint of exhaustion as well.
John walked up to them, his gaze passing over Sam and Dean before settling on Bai Haorui. "Long time no see."
"Long time no see.
"Bai Haorui nodded and handed him the rubbing. "These are the clues Elkins left. We found this letter."
John opened the letter and read it quickly, his expression growing increasingly grave. In the letter, Elkins admitted that he had been concealing the Colt's whereabouts all along. Made by Samuel Colt in 1835, the gun could kill any supernatural creature-including the Yellow-Eyed Demon. His attackers were a group of vampires that hunters had long believed to be "extinct."
"Vampires?" Dean exclaimed. "I thought they only existed in movies."
John shook his head and took a battered handbook from his backpack. "They exist, and they're different from the legends." He turned to the page marked "Vampires" and pointed at the text. "They aren't afraid of sunlight or crosses. Garlic and wooden stakes don't work either. The only way to kill them is decapitation. Their weakness is dead man's blood-blood from a corpse that's been dead no more than twenty-four hours can paralyze them."
Bai Haorui suddenly spoke. "In Taoist texts, these are called 'corpse demons' or 'jiangshi.' They form when corpses absorb the yin energy of heaven and earth, then feed on the blood essence of the living. The principle behind your use of dead man's blood should be
that dead man's blood is a 'substance of utmost yin,' while vampires-corpse demons-have 'bodies of yin evil.' Like repels like, so it can paralyze them
, and there are also pure yang substances like cinnabar, glutinous rice, and peach wood." He took a small bag of glutinous rice from his backpack. "The talisman tucked into Elkins's journal was a Taoist Sha-Warding Talisman. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to use it."
John's gaze shifted slightly as he accepted the glutinous rice Bai Haorui offered. "Seems Eastern and Western ways of hunting monsters have quite a bit in common." He paused, then added, "The leader of these vampires is called Luther. He's at least three hundred years old. Ordinary silver can't hurt him. We have to use the Colt to kill him."
On the drive to the vampires' nest, the atmosphere inside the vehicle was somewhat oppressive. Looking at John, Sam finally could not hold back. "Why have you still been avoiding us since we split up last time? You can't keep treating us like children!"
John tightened his grip on the steering wheel. After a long silence, he said, "After your mother died, evil was all I could see. I only wanted to protect you, but without realizing it, I became your drill instructor instead of your father." He turned to look at Sam. "I was angry when you left Stanford. Not because you left, but because you were putting yourself in danger again."
"We want revenge for Mom just as much as you do," Sam said, his voice catching slightly. "After everything we've been through, we're not those kids anymore.
As if trying to smooth things over, Dean patted Sam's shoulder, then looked at John. "Dad, what about the college fund? I remember you saying you'd saved up a college fund for us."
A bitter smile tugged at John's mouth. "Spent it on ammunition."
The atmosphere in the vehicle finally eased a little. Sitting in the back seat, Bai Haorui watched the interaction between father and son and quietly opened the system panel-
[Main quest triggered: Recover the Colt revolver and eliminate the vampire group]. Quest rewards: "Demon Energy Perception" passive skill, Constitution +1, High-Grade Evil-Breaking Talisman recipe.
Following the clues in Elkins's journal, the three pinpointed the vampires' nest-the abandoned Saint Mary's Church. John devised a plan: coat crossbow bolts with dead man's blood, lure the vampires out, and capture one as bait to exchange for the Colt.
"I'll lure them out," Dean volunteered. "My Impala can conveniently 'break down' on the road near the church."
Meanwhile, Bai Haorui prepared an "enhanced version" of dead man's blood. "I added cinnabar and mugwort juice. Cinnabar breaks baleful energy, and mugwort expels evil. This won't just paralyze the vampires; it'll make them more vulnerable too.
The cinnabar and mugwort Bai Haorui added were "pure yang substances," further strengthening their suppressive effect on the vampires through the principle of "yin and yang counteracting each other."
"He poured the prepared blood into small bottles and handed them to John. "Coat the crossbow bolts with this. It'll work better."
At dusk, Dean's Impala "broke down" beside the road. He leaned against the car and pretended to make a phone call, kicking the tires now and then with an irritated expression. Before long, a black motorcycle stopped by the roadside. Kate approached with her companion Hank, her scarlet eyes fixed on Dean. "Car trouble, handsome?"
Dean feigned composure. "Yeah. Could you give me a hand?"
Kate leaned closer, sniffing at his neck, a strange smile curling her lips. "Of course." She raised a hand to grab Dean's arm, only for him to shove her away.
"Now!" Dean shouted.
Sam and John, who had been lying in ambush in the roadside grass, immediately pulled their crossbow triggers. Two bolts coated in dark red dead man's blood struck Kate and Hank precisely. Both screamed, their bodies instantly stiffening as they collapsed to the ground. The cinnabar Bai Haorui had added really worked: blackened scorch marks appeared on their skin where the bolts touched them.
John strode over, drew his hunting knife, and cleanly severed Hank's head, sending blood spraying onto the ground. He then hoisted the limp Kate over his shoulder and threw her into the truck's back seat. "She's Luther's mate. Vampires mate for life. We'll trade her for the Colt."
Bai Haorui crouched beside Hank's body and placed the Five Emperor Coins next to it. The coins instantly gave off a deep purple glow. He looked up toward the church, his gaze grave. "There's more than vampires in there. Something else is there too."
Outside the church, John stressed the plan again. "I'll take Kate in and negotiate with Luther. Stay in the car. Don't interfere."
"No way!" Dean immediately objected. "We're a family. We go in together!"
Sam nodded too. "Dad, we won't hold you back this time."
Bai Haorui added, "There's an Anchor Point Symbol in the nest. It could be connected to the Yellow-Eyed Demon. We wouldn't feel comfortable letting you go alone either. If we're going in, we go together."
John fell silent for a moment before finally relenting. "All right. Together." He assigned their tasks. "I'll handle negotiations and keep Luther occupied. Sam and Dean, raid the basement and rescue the captive humans. Bai Haorui, you deal with the vampire guards."
The operation began. John led Kate into the church's main hall, where Luther and a dozen or so vampires were already waiting. Seeing Kate bound, his gaze instantly turned vicious. "Elkins's accomplices? You have a death wish."
Meanwhile, Sam and Dean slipped into the basement through a side door. Three bound villagers were imprisoned there, while two vampire guards rested against the wall. Dean drew a silver dagger coated in dead man's blood, quietly circled behind a vampire, and stabbed it through the heart, only to find that it merely grunted without falling.
"It's no use! Cut its head off!" Sam shouted, raising an ultraviolet lamp and shining it at the vampire, which screamed and retreated.
Dean reacted immediately, drawing his hunting knife and hacking off the vampire's head. Meanwhile, Bai Haorui dealt with the other guard using his peach-wood sword. The instant the sword pierced the vampire's chest, a faint red glow ignited across its body, and it screamed as it turned to ash.
"Bai, could you make me one of those peach-wood swords? Cutting heads off is seriously hard work." Dean could not help raising an eyebrow.
Bai Haorui ignored him, his gaze settling on the basement wall. A clear Anchor Point Symbol was carved there: an inverted pentagram inlaid with blood markings.
[Anchor point type: Religious node. The vampire group strengthens itself through the anchor point's yin energy. The Yellow-Eyed Demon once left an energy imprint here.]
In the church's main hall, just as the exchange was completed, Luther lunged forward with a powerful roar. "Kill him!"
John quickly drew his shotgun and tried to pull the trigger, but Luther punched him to the ground. Picking up the Colt from the floor, Luther smiled smugly. "You don't get this gun that easily."
"Put it down!" Sam and Dean rushed in just in time, firing at the surrounding vampires. Bai Haorui took out a handful of glutinous rice soaked in cinnabar and hurled it at Luther. Tiny sparks instantly ignited as the rice struck him. Luther screamed and staggered back, dropping the Colt.
"Dad, the gun!" Dean shouted.
John immediately rolled over, picked up the Colt, and aimed at Luther's head. But Luther suddenly recovered, his scarlet eyes fixed on Bai Haorui. "You little brat! How dare you get in my way!" He lunged at Bai Haorui, fangs bared, bringing a gust of bloody stench.
Unhurried, Bai Haorui took out an Evil-Breaking Talisman. Retreating, he flung it onto the forehead of Luther, who was charging straight at him. "Heaven and earth be clear, let evil forms disperse!" The talisman instantly blazed with red light, pinning Luther in place as he roared in agony.
"Shoot!" Bai Haorui shouted.
John pulled the trigger without hesitation. The Colt's bullet struck Luther squarely in the head. After a thunderous report, Luther's body began to burn, quickly turning to ash. Terrified at the sight, the surrounding vampires scattered and fled.
Sam and Dean seized the opportunity to pursue them, while Bai Haorui walked over to John and handed him a Clear Heart Talisman. "Luther's baleful energy got into your body just now. This talisman can help dispel it."
John accepted the talisman and pressed it to his chest. A warm current spread from his chest, instantly easing much of his earlier exhaustion. He looked at Bai Haorui with approval in his eyes. "These
Taoist arts of yours work better than the prayers of any priest I've ever seen.
Outside the church, the rescued villagers thanked the four of them. John looked at Sam and Dean, then at Bai Haorui, before slowly speaking. "I always thought hunting alone was the best way to protect you. But now I understand. As a family, as a team, we really are stronger than one person alone."
He raised the Colt, his gaze resolute. "From today on, we hunt the Yellow-Eyed Demon together. For Mary, and for everyone it's killed, we'll get revenge.
Dean and Sam exchanged a smile, their eyes filled with excitement. Bai Haorui opened the system panel, and a quest completion notification appeared:
[Constitution +1, High-Grade Evil-Breaking Talisman].
Dean patted Bai Haorui's shoulder and teased, "Hey, Master Bai. You'd better keep us supplied with plenty of rice and talismans on our hunts from now on."
Bai Haorui rolled his eyes but could not help smiling. "Sure. Then you have to wash my socks for a month."
"Dream on!" Dean immediately shot back.
The four drove out of Manning, the setting sun stretching their shadows long. Holding the steering wheel, John looked at the three young men in the rearview mirror, and a smile he had not worn in a long time appeared on his face.
(Just this chapter for today. We're down to the last two episodes of season one, so I need to think things through carefully. I just wrote two chapters and wasn't very satisfied with either.)