Chapter 3
Back in the dorm, Sam hurriedly packed his things-a few changes of clothes, a copy of the Uniform Commercial Code, a silver knife his father had given him as a child that he had kept in a drawer ever since, and a photo of Jessica. He carefully slipped the photo into his wallet and tucked it close to his body.
Bai Haorui opened a box at the bottom of his wardrobe. Inside was everything he had brought with him when he transmigrated-half a notebook titled "Expelling Evil" left by his grandfather, and a larger red cloth pouch.
This red cloth pouch was much bigger than the miniature one, about the size of two palms. His grandfather had sewn it himself and even embroidered a simple Eight Trigrams design on it. Bai Haorui took out the pouch and opened it. The contents left Sam staring in astonishment-
A bag of aged glutinous rice wrapped in oilpaper; a spool of ink-line cord, its peachwood spool carved with the words "Soul anchoring," its cord a deep red, clearly soaked in something; half a handwritten notebook with a kraft-paper cover bearing the words "Expelling Evil," filled with notes his grandfather had written in his spare time based on his own experiences; and a peachwood sword with a short blade, only about thirty centimeters long, carved with strange symbols that Bai Haorui remembered his grandfather calling the Three-Five Evil-Slaying Talisman.
"Haorui, these... your grandfather left you all of these?" Sam asked in surprise. He had never known Bai Haorui had these things.
Bai Haorui nodded and picked up the bag of aged glutinous rice. "This is aged glutinous rice. Rice aged for more than three years works best at absorbing yin energy. It's especially effective against evil entities like ghosts and walking corpses." He picked up the ink-line cord next. "This cord was soaked in cinnabar and mugwort juice. Cinnabar drives out evil, and mugwort anchors souls. Wrap an evil entity in this cord, and it won't be able to move."
Sam looked at the items, full of doubts. "Can these things really deal with evil entities?"
"I don't know, but Grandpa saved plenty of people with them." Bai Haorui recalled the stories his grandfather had told him. "I remember a funeral home in Los Angeles Chinatown was haunted when I was little. People kept hearing crying at night and seeing dark shadows drift past. The owner figured foreign gods would probably work better in a foreign place, so he brought in a bunch of priests. But apart from pulling little boys aside for chats, they weren't worth a damn. In the end, he came to my grandfather. Grandpa scattered aged glutinous rice around the funeral home, snapped a line across the doorway with ink-line cord soaked in cinnabar, then walked around inside with a peachwood sword. Those cries and dark shadows never appeared again."
Sam said nothing. He had hunted supernatural creatures with his father and brother since childhood and knew what silver, salt, and Holy Oil did, but he had never heard that things like glutinous rice and ink-line cord could fight evil entities too. Still, he trusted Bai Haorui. If Bai Haorui said so, perhaps these things really were useful.
Bai Haorui packed the items into his backpack one by one, then picked up "Expelling Evil" last. The notebook's cover was somewhat worn, and its pages had yellowed. He opened it. On the first page was his grandfather's name-Bai Shouyi-with a line of small writing beneath it: "My family has worked in the funeral trade for generations and witnessed countless evil entities. I have recorded these methods of expelling evil here to pass down to future generations and keep them safe."
The notebook recorded many encounters his grandfather had had with evil entities, such as "1998, walking corpse at a Chinese cemetery in Los Angeles," "2005, Water Monkey in San Francisco Chinatown," and "2010, Painted Skin Ghost in the outskirts of Seattle." Each case detailed the entity's characteristics, how to deal with it, and his grandfather's insights and experiences.
Turning to the middle of the notebook, Bai Haorui suddenly spotted a familiar location-the outskirts of Seattle, dated two years ago. It read: "An anchor point in the outskirts of Seattle has loosened, leaking yin energy. Evil entities may arise. Must bring ten jin of aged glutinous rice, fifty Five Emperor Coins, and five liang of cinnabar to reinforce it and guard against mishaps."
An anchor point? Leaking yin energy?
Bai Haorui's heart lurched. Was it a coincidence? These were supposed to be two different worlds, so why would something like this happen? He recalled his original host's memories of his parents' car accident-his original host's father had been a truck driver, and his mother a housewife. Three months before his original host came to Stanford, the couple had driven to Seattle to deliver a shipment, only to get into an accident along the way. Their vehicle had crashed through a guardrail and plunged into a mountain ravine. Even their bodies had not been recovered in full. The police had called it "slippery roads in the rain and driver error," but in his original host's memories, it had not rained at all that day, and his father had driven for twenty years without a single accident.
Stranger still, his original host remembered something odd at the crash site-a dark brown claw mark on the steering wheel, as though some animal had scratched it.
At the time, his original host had thought it was all coincidence. But now, seeing the notebook's records, Bai Haorui suddenly realized that his original host's parents' crash might not have been an accident! They must have encountered something in Seattle on that delivery trip that had led to both their deaths.
"Haorui, what's wrong?" Sam noticed the change in Bai Haorui's expression and asked with concern.
Bai Haorui came back to himself and shook his head. "Nothing. Just remembered a few things." He put "Expelling Evil" into his backpack and silently resolved that on this trip to Black Forest Town, he would uncover the truth behind his original host's parents' crash for him.
Just then, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang out in Bai Haorui's mind:
[Host detected. Activation requirements for "Demon Hunter Reserve" met.] [Game Panel System bound to host: Bai Haorui.] [Generating initial attributes...] [Strength: 5 (average for a healthy adult male)-can improve explosive muscle power and carrying capacity] [Constitution: 5 (average for a healthy adult male)-can improve stamina, damage resistance, and self-healing speed] [Agility: 5 (average for a healthy adult male)-can improve movement speed, reaction speed, and evasion] [Current HP: 15/15 (generated based on Constitution; each point of Constitution grants 3 HP)] [Initial quest triggered: Assist Sam and Dean in traveling to Black Forest Town. Survive and contribute during the first mission.] [Quest reward: Free attribute points ×2, unlock passive skill "Expelling Evil Master" (Strength and Constitution +2 each when using the peachwood sword item)] [Current world: Supernatural reality (Supernatural universe)-warning: This world contains numerous supernatural threats. Host must improve personal attributes as quickly as possible to face potential dangers.]
Bai Haorui froze, staring at the translucent blue panel that had suddenly appeared before him. Its text clearly displayed his attributes, quest, and world information. Was this... a system?
A transmigrator's golden finger?
Bai Haorui's heart raced as he thought of the glorious exploits of the transmigrators who had come before him. "I'm going to marry eighty wives!"
"Haorui, what's going on with you? Your face is doing that Chinese face-changing thing you told me about, going red one second and pale the next." Sam came over and felt Bai Haorui's forehead with concern. "Are you feeling sick?"
Bai Haorui came back to himself, mentally commanded the panel to close, and shook his head. "Nothing. Maybe I'm just a little tired. Let's hurry up and finish packing. Dean's still waiting downstairs."
Sam nodded and asked no more questions, returning to his packing. Bai Haorui took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down-with the system, plus his grandfather's notes on expelling evil that he had brought along, surely he was no longer some random extra who wouldn't survive even one episode in this dangerous world?
Once they had packed, the two left the dorm with their backpacks. Dean was already sitting in the Impala. When he saw them come out, he honked the horn.
"Let's go," Bai Haorui said to Sam.
He knew the aquatic evil spirit in Black Forest Town was only the beginning. More supernatural creatures and more dangers lay ahead. But the system had already issued the quest, so he could only face the challenge head-on. Hopefully, he was tough enough that the Winchester Family's deadly duo wouldn't jinx him to death!
The three set off in two vehicles-Dean drove the Impala, while Bai Haorui drove his own GMC with Sam in the passenger seat. They left Stanford's campus and headed toward Black Forest Town. Watching the scenery race past outside the window, Bai Haorui silently vowed: I'm going to survive the finale!