Bobby's kitchen still smells of the bitter smell of overnight coffee, and in the corner are piles of documents that were just recovered from the vampire stronghold in the north.
Bai Haorui had just finished adjusting his breath and walked up. The collar of his black jacket was loose, and the lavender spot Lotus Seal between his eyebrows was hidden in the shadows. If you didn't look carefully, it looked like a mole.
He had just finished clearing out the lairs of forty-seven vampires, and he was indeed a little tired. When he glanced at Sam's back, he frowned slightly - his soul was being damaged faster than he expected. If he continued like this, in less than half a year, this person would be nothing but an empty shell.
Sam was lying on the dining table flipping through the newspaper. His fingertips ran across a piece of social news without raising his eyebrows. The newspaper published Illinois Calumet City. Within two weeks, four people committed suicide one after another. There were no signs before their deaths. There was no trace of supernatural beings at the scene.
"Dean, look at this." Sam tapped the newspaper with his fingertips and looked up, with just the right amount of confusion on his face, "All four of them died after telling the truth. It was as if they were forced to dig into their hearts by something, and finally drove themselves crazy."
Dean just picked up the coffee cup and paused after hearing this. He raised his eyes and glanced at Sam, and the thorn in his heart hurt again - before when Sam saw this kind of case, he would have unbearable eyes and would frown and say "It's too tragic", but now his tone is as calm as if he is reading a supermarket shopping list.
"Okay, let's go take a look." Dean drank half a cup of coffee in one gulp, his throat hurt from the burning, and he seemed to be trying to suppress the awkwardness in his heart, "I haven't had anything else to do lately anyway."
"I'll go too."
The voice of Bai Haorui came from the kitchen door. It was not high, but it carried an undoubted certainty. He turned a Five Emperor Coins on his fingertips, and the copper coin glowed with a light golden light. "This aura is wrong, it is not an ordinary curse, it is like the power of the mantra of the old god. If you two go there, you will easily fall into trouble."
Dean's heart skipped a beat.
He knew that Bai Haorui would not join in the fun if nothing happened. If he said something was wrong, then something was really wrong.
But at the same time, he was a little secretly irritated - he was afraid that Bai Haorui would mention the soul thing again in front of Sam, and he was afraid that the scene would be exposed, and he would not even be able to maintain the superficial calm.
Sam didn't react at all. He just nodded, closed the newspaper and stood up. "Okay, multiple people will take care of you. Then pack your things and set off in half an hour."
Sunlight shines through the kitchen window, cutting light and dark halves on the floor.
The three of them had their own thoughts, and no one said anything. The bitter taste of coffee mixed with the light fragrance of cinnabar was very similar to the days they were living now - calm and calm on the surface, but underneath there was a surging undercurrent, and a casual touch would cause people to be covered in blood.
The midday sun made the asphalt road soften, and the signboard at the entrance of the restaurant was so hot that the patent leather with the four characters "Happy House" on it was cracked.
When the three of them pushed open the door and entered, the store was still cordoned off, and the blood stains on the floor had long been cleaned away, leaving only the faint, lingering smell of rust in the air. The manager huddled behind the bar, his face pale, as if he had seen a ghost.
Dean took out the fake FBI ID and waved it, speaking in a familiar tone as if he was a real person, "Federal agent, let me tell you something about Jane Wells. Was there anything unusual about her before her accident?"
"Abnormal?" The manager swallowed, his eyes evasive, "No, no... She answered a phone call that day, and then something went wrong. She was in a daze, and then..."
"Just committed suicide?" Dean raised his eyebrows, "Who did she call? What did she say?"
"With her sister, Olivia. I heard two sentences, saying 'I just want to know the truth'..." The manager scratched his head, "A lot of people have said this recently, it's very evil."
Sam did not come over to ask questions. He walked slowly along the wall, his fingertips crossed the edge of the dining table, and looked down at the marks on the ground. His eyes were as calm as if he were looking at a map.
Bai Haorui stood in the corner of the restaurant, with his back to everyone, his eyes slightly closed, and his eyebrows Lotus Seal slightly hot.
Divine Sense spread like an invisible mist, sweeping across the entire restaurant. He could clearly feel the remaining power - it was very light, with the roughness of the old gods.
"It's not a devil, nor a witch." Bai Haorui turned around and walked back, his voice was very low so that only Dean and Sam could hear, "It's Truth Curse. The 'want the truth' that he said was the lure, and he used this power to entangle people."
Dean's heart sank, and he subconsciously glanced at Sam. Sam happened to look up, his eyes were magnanimous, and a little doubtful. "Truth Curse? I've never heard of such a thing."
"Rome belongs to the old god system and is very biased." Bai Haorui.
Sam seemed to have noticed his gaze, and subconsciously turned sideways, looked away, and turned to ask the manager other questions. His movements were so natural that no flaws could be seen.
Dean saw all this and felt as if a ball of wet cotton had been stuffed in his heart.
He tugged on Bai Haorui's sleeves and motioned for him to go out. The two of them walked into the shade of the trees outside the restaurant, and then Dean lowered his voice and spoke with a bit of irritation, "Why were you looking at him just now? Do you want to talk about the soul again?"
"Otherwise?" Bai Haorui crossed his arms, the shadow of the tree fell on his face, the intersection of light and dark, "What he said just now, Sam before, would have frowned and asked, 'Isn't the victim very innocent?' But look at him now? He doesn't have any trouble in his heart."
"That doesn't mean anything!" Dean retorted immediately, his voice a little urgent, like a cat whose tail has been stepped on, "Maybe he has experienced too much and has taken it lightly! You said that the soul is missing, but he still remembers me, remembers the past, everything! How come it's not him anymore?"
"Just because you remember things doesn't mean you have intentions." Bai Haorui's tone was calm, but it hit Dean's heart like a stone. "He is just relying on his memory to play his former self. The acting looks very similar, but it is still an act after all."
Dean opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but couldn't find the words. He actually knew something was wrong, and he knew it from the day Sam came back, but he just didn't want to admit it. If he admitted it, it would be like his brother was really broken into Hell, and he couldn't fight anymore.
"Okay, stop talking." Dean waved his hand impatiently, turned around and walked to the restaurant, "Check the case first, and we'll talk about other things later."
Bai Haorui looked at his back and sighed softly. He understood Dean's temperament very well. He would not look back until he hit the wall, and would not shed tears until he saw the coffin.
This Truth Curse might be a good thing - it hurts a little, but at least it can pull people out of their self-deception dreams.
Olivia lives in an old house on the west side of the town. When he opened the door, his eyes were swollen like walnuts and he was still holding a tissue in his hand.
The three of them showed their IDs and entered the house. Dean looked around the room for signs of the supernatural. Sam sat across from the sofa, leaning forward slightly and staring at Olivia's hand combing his hair.
"Did you talk to Jane on the phone the day her accident happened?" Sam's voice was gentle, but with an invisible sense of oppression, "What did you say to her?"
"I... I comforted her." Olivia's eyes dodged, twisting the tissue between his fingers, "I told her to hold on, and everything will pass--"
"You lied."
The three words Sam fluttered down like a hammer.
Olivia raised his head suddenly, his face turned pale instantly. "What did you say?!"
"Have you ever heard of micro-expressions?" Sam stared at her hands, her tone undeniably calm, "Liars always like to make little moves that they don't even notice, just like you are doing now. You said something unpleasant to her, right? You mean it, you can't control it."
Dean was looking down at the spell bag on the bookshelf, and turned his head when he heard this.
He stared at Sam's side face and felt chills in his heart - Sam used to be soft-hearted and would never push a woman who had just lost a loved one so aggressively. He would always hand over a tissue first and wait for the other party to cry enough before asking questions slowly.
But the man in front of me was calm, precise, and pressing every step of the way, like an emotionless case-handling machine.
Olivia's defense collapsed in an instant. He covered his face and cried loudly, tears pouring out from between his fingers. "Yes! I originally wanted to say that I love you and I will accompany you, but when the words came to my mouth, it turned into 'You are just a burden, why don't you die'! I can't control it! I don't know what's wrong with me!"
The cry echoed in the room, and it was very harsh. Sam had no expression on his face. He handed over a box of tissues and his movements were as mechanical as if they were programmed.
Dean was so worried that he turned around and walked into the corridor to get some fresh air. Bai Haorui followed him out.
"See?" Bai Haorui pointed in the direction of the room, "He no longer responds to other people's pain. It's not that he's bad, it's that he can't feel it."
"That may be because you have grown up." Dean said hard, but his voice was no longer so sure, "People will always change."
"It will change, but it won't turn into an empty shell." Bai Haorui said in a very calm tone, "Just wait, there will be more things wrong with this case as it goes on. You will admit it sooner or later."
Dean didn't say that he was panicking when he looked at the withered lawn in the yard - he was afraid that what Bai Haorui said was right, and he was even more afraid that the vague suspicion in his heart was true.
Sam in the room had finished asking, walked out and stood at the door, with a suitably heavy expression on his face. "No spell was found, and there was no sulfur reaction. It seems that the curse is spread by words, and it is triggered by saying 'want the truth'."
"What about the dentist case?" Dean put out his cigarette and braced himself and asked, "Is it the same way?"
"About that, I just received the news that Dr. Conley in the town drilled the patient to death on the treatment chair." Sam nodded, frowning, and measured it just right, "The patient said a lot of truthful words before he died, which matches Jane's situation."
"Okay, let's go take a look." Dean took the lead and walked towards the car, deliberately avoiding Bai Haorui's eyes.
He was like a person walking blindfolded, even though he knew there was a wall in front of him, he still refused to take off his blindfold. He always felt that as long as his eyes were not exposed, his younger brother would still be his younger brother.
The clinic was still filled with a strange smell of disinfectant and blood. The blood stains on the treatment chair had been cleaned long ago, but the smell of rust in the air still lingered.
The assistant stood nearby, his face pale, and he couldn't speak clearly, "I went out to get something, and when I came back... I saw Dr. Conley stuffing a dental drill into the patient's mouth... There was blood everywhere..."
"Did the patient say anything before?" Sam asked, "For example, the truth or something like that?"