Arguments kept ringing out from the Roadhouse's kitchen, cutting through the country music in the front room and making even the bottles behind the bar tremble. Ellen's fingers nearly dug into Joe's wrist, her short, dark hair looking ready to stand on end with fury as she glared at her. "I'm warning you one last time. No more hunting! That's how your father died. I can't lose you too-do you understand?"
Joe jerked her hand free. Beneath her blonde hair, her blue eyes were wet and red-rimmed. Her fingers instinctively reached for the dagger at her waist, the one her father had left her. Years of handling had polished its hilt to a shine, and a tiny "J" was engraved on it. "How could I not understand?" Her voice shook with tears, but it was exceptionally firm. "I remember him teaching me how to hold a dagger without hurting myself when I was little, how to listen to footsteps and judge how far someone was behind me. He said he had to make sure I knew how to protect myself. He's gone. I miss him. I want to feel closer to him. Is that wrong?"
Out front, Bai Haorui leaned against the bar, sipping beer. The bottom of his bottle tapped softly against the wooden counter. He glanced toward the kitchen, then turned to tease Dean, who was cleaning his gun. "That girl's just like you. Stubborn as a mule. Won't listen to a thing."
Dean raised an eyebrow and smiled. His cloth swept over the gun with practiced, loving movements, the metal reflecting the complicated look in his eyes. "Stubborn's good. If she's set on getting into this line of work, that's not a bad personality to have."
Sam leafed through the case files, his brows knotted as his fingertips tapped lightly on the pages. "I think Ellen's right to worry. Hunting gives you a slim chance of survival-or none at all. Joe's still too young. She could have a simpler, easier life."
"That's not something we get to decide." Dean tucked the gun into his waistband with a crisp metallic click. "I was younger than her when I started hunting with Dad, and I've made it this far."
Sam wanted to say more, but a slamming door from the kitchen cut him off. Joe charged out with her backpack, her eyes red but her chin raised, and went straight to her room. Ellen stood in the kitchen doorway, her chest heaving. In the end, she only let out a heavy sigh.
Late that night, the only sound left in the bar was the clatter of a keyboard. Joe tiptoed into Ash's room. His long hair was a tangled mess, his glasses had slipped to the tip of his nose, and his screen was packed with information and crime-scene photographs. "Three months. Three blonde girls missing from that old apartment building in Philadelphia." Ash grinned, showing his white teeth, and pointed at a photograph of black slime on the screen. "The police can't figure it out. They're just calling it serial abduction. But look-they haven't found a single useful lead. No matter how you look at it, this doesn't seem like something a human could do."
Joe's eyes shone as though tiny flames burned in them. Clutching the hem of her clothes, she pressed him. "Can you send the information to the Winchester Brothers? Tell them I have a key lead and want to investigate with them. I promise I won't get in the way. I can help with cover identities and research too."
"If your mom finds out, won't she skin me alive?" Ash complained, but his fingers flew across the keyboard, his mouse clicking away. "Fine. Who can say no to the bar's little princess? But I'm warning you now: if your mom finds out, I'm not lying to her."
Early the next morning, the Impala's engine broke the Roadhouse's quiet. Joe rushed over with her backpack and shoved the printed information at Dean as he climbed out. "You'll definitely be interested in this Philadelphia case. I'm coming with you. I can help-I know how to pose as a federal agent, and I know the basics of hunting. I've filled my notebook. Look." She pulled out the hunting notebook she carried. The open pages were covered in drawings showing various evil spirits' weaknesses and ways to counter them, along with notes in different-colored pens.
Bai Haorui got out of the passenger seat and stretched. He looked her up and down with a scrutinizing gaze, though the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "Joe, hunting isn't playing house. If you actually run into a vengeful spirit, you won't even have time to run."
"No way!" She stuffed the notebook back into her pocket. "I've done my homework. Silver bullets kill werewolves, salt circles trap vengeful spirits, holy water burns demons. I know all that. I definitely won't hold you back! If you don't believe me, let's see which of us is the better shot."
"Uh." Bai Haorui blinked.
Looking at the determination in her eyes, Dean remembered how he had once insisted on hunting with his father, and his heart softened. "All right. We'll take you. But here are the rules. First, no going off on your own. Second, when things get dangerous, listen to us. Third, if you get scared, say so right away, and we'll bring you back."
"Deal!" Joe nodded immediately and climbed into the Impala's back seat like an excited little bird.
As the car traveled down the highway, Joe stroked her father's dagger, a childhood scene rising in her mind. The sunlight was lovely, and her father crouched in the yard, guiding her hands as he taught her how to hold the dagger. His voice was gentle. "Jojo, this dagger is Daddy's treasure. I've used it for over ten years, and it's saved my life several times. It'll be yours from now on. When you're in danger, remember to protect yourself."
Bai Haorui noticed her small movements in the rearview mirror. Without saying anything, he took a sheet of yellow paper from his backpack, bit his fingertip, and swiftly drew a Safety Talisman with his essence blood. He tossed it into her lap. "Wear it. Don't turn your nose up at it. I drew that with my essence blood. It's ten times more effective than an ordinary talisman. It can protect you when it counts."
Joe caught the talisman, warmth stirring in her heart. She murmured, "Thank you," tucked it into her pocket, and patted it.
The Impala sped along, reaching Philadelphia in the afternoon. As soon as the three arrived at the old apartment building, the landlord stopped them at the entrance. The balding old man rubbed his hands, his face covered in an ingratiating smile that bunched the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. "Are you the three agents I spoke to? You're finally here. This building's downright creepy. The last few tenants ran off after just a few days. They said they heard strange noises at night and saw dark shapes moving around. Now nobody dares rent here. I've even cut the rent in half. Please investigate properly and see whether someone's messing with me."
Dean flashed his fake credentials, his performance convincing enough to pass for a real agent. "Don't worry. We specialize in tricky cases like this. We'll get to the bottom of it, guaranteed. Then you'll be able to rent your apartments normally again."
Joe took the opportunity to link her arm through Dean's, acting intimate and smiling sweetly. "I'm his girlfriend. We happen to be looking for a place too. Why don't we rent that vacant apartment? It'll make it easier for us to keep an eye on things and bring you a little extra income."
The landlord's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly took out his keys. "Sure! I'll take you upstairs to look. The place is spotless, and it has all the furniture and appliances."
As they entered the vacant apartment, a damp, musty smell hit them, mixed with a faint stench of decay. After the landlord left, Sam immediately went back to the car for the detector. Its beeping alarm instantly broke the room's silence, growing louder and louder, indicating increasingly heavy yin energy. Bai Haorui crouched in a corner and found a glob of thick black liquid. He dabbed some onto his finger and held it beneath his nose, frowning. "The yin energy's really strong. From the looks of it, this vengeful spirit has been here for years, and its resentment keeps growing."
Dean kicked at a crack in the corner. Dust showered down, revealing blackened wood inside. "The landlord said this building went up in 1924. What used to be here? Some kind of cursed site?"
"I'll check." Sam sat in a chair by the window, opened his laptop, and rapidly typed. Before long, his expression grew grave. "This used to be the execution grounds of Philadelphia Prison. A serial killer named H.H. Holmes was executed here in 1896. He was the first serial killer in United States history. He specifically lured blonde women and even built a 'Murder Castle' in Chicago. The castle had secret doors, traps, soundproof rooms, and even a cremation furnace. He killed at least twenty people. Sometimes he made specimens out of his victims' skeletons or sold them to medical schools."
"Oh my God." Joe's eyes widened, and she instinctively touched her blonde hair. "I've read stories about him online. They say his resentment never faded after he died, and he's been looking for blonde women to take revenge on ever since."
Bai Haorui added, "He was finally arrested in Philadelphia and executed after his trial. His remains were sealed in cement beneath this building. That effectively nailed his soul here. With the yin energy from the earth veins beneath the building, he became an earthbound spirit. He can only move around inside this building and underground, feeding on the living's yang energy to maintain his form. He specifically targets blonde women, continuing the evil he committed in life."
"He specifically kills blonde women..." Dean looked at Joe with concern. "Looks like you'd better sit tonight out. Find a hotel and get a good night's rest."
"No way!" Joe immediately objected, lifting her chin. "I came here to help, not to stand around looking pretty. Besides, I'm blonde. I'd make perfect bait to lure him out."
"No!" Dean refused without a second thought. "It's too dangerous. If anything happens to you, how am I supposed to answer to Ellen?"
"I'm not scared, so what are you scared of?" Joe said defiantly.
"Enough. Stop arguing." Sam interrupted them and closed his laptop. "Holmes's methods were brutal. We need to be careful. We'll take turns keeping watch tonight. If anyone notices anything unusual, call for the others immediately. Joe can stay and help with research and keeping watch, but absolutely no going off on her own, and definitely no playing bait."
Joe wanted to argue, but a glare from Bai Haorui stopped her. "Little girl, don't try to show off. Being bait isn't that easy. One mistake and you're a snack for a vengeful spirit. Once you can beat me in hand-to-hand combat, then you can bring up being bait."
Joe pursed her lips and said nothing more. Clearly, she was still nursing a stubborn urge to prove herself.
Night fell, and the apartment building lay deathly still. Only the wind outside the window wailed like a woman crying. Joe watched Bai Haorui doze on the couch, his head bobbing, while Sam concentrated on his research. Dean had gone out for coffee and had yet to return. Suddenly, a thought surfaced in her mind: I'm going to find the vengeful spirit's hiding place and prove myself.
Joe quietly picked up a flashlight, slipped out of the apartment, and crept into the ventilation duct entrance. The duct was narrow and dark, with only enough room for one person to crawl through. Dust and cobwebs coated its walls, scraping against her arms and making them itch. She took a deep breath and switched on the flashlight, its faint beam illuminating the way ahead. Before she had crawled far, a bone-chilling gust swept over her. The flashlight instantly went out, and a sinister laugh rose from the darkness, making her skin crawl.
Panic gripped Joe. Just as she was about to turn around, she saw a pale, dark figure slowly materializing behind her. Its evil eyes glimmered in the darkness, and its mouth stretched into an eerie grin.
"Dean, what took you so long to buy coffee?" Woken by the sound of the door opening and closing, Bai Haorui rubbed his eyes and asked casually.
Sam looked up, frowned, and glanced around. "Where's Joe? She was just here."
Dean's heart lurched. He tossed the coffee onto the table, and the paper cups rolled off, spilling coffee all over the floor. "Damn it, that girl must've gone off to prove herself!" He pulled out his phone and called Joe, only to hear a busy signal.
Sam immediately pulled up the apartment building's blueprints, his fingers swiping quickly across the screen. "We told her earlier that the ventilation ducts connect to the abandoned sewers underground. She most likely went in to investigate and got caught by the spirit. These ducts are narrow, only wide enough for one person. We need to save her now."
Bai Haorui took out the Five Emperor Coins. They spun rapidly in his palm with faint clinks before finally pointing toward the ventilation duct. "Yin energy's gathering underground. It's thick, which means she's still alive, but things don't look good. The spirit's already found her. Move."
The three crawled down through the ventilation duct. In the darkness, they could hear only one another's breathing, dripping water, and clothes scraping against the duct. As he crawled, Dean kept muttering, "When we find her, I'm giving her a real talking-to. She needs to learn what rules mean! If she ever goes off on her own again, I'll lock her in her room and won't let her out!" Inside, however, he was frantic, guilt welling up in his heart. Shit! If something happens to Joe, how am I supposed to face Ellen?
"Don't worry. We'll find her. Joe's smart. She'll definitely think of a way to buy time." Sam patted his shoulder, clutching the bag of salt tightly in his other hand.
Down in the sewer, filthy water flowed everywhere with a gurgling sound. A pungent stench of decay filled the air, mingled with a trace of blood. Joe and another young woman were tied to stone pillars. The girl was pale and trembling all over, her face covered in dried tear tracks. She was Teresa, the third missing victim. Holmes's vengeful spirit floated before them, his face as white as paper. He wore a tattered suit, his hair was disheveled, and the evil in his eyes made their skin crawl. "Two more lovely blonde girls. Two more additions to my collection."
Joe forced herself to stay calm and tightened her grip on her father's dagger, hidden inside her sleeve, until her fingertips turned white. "Don't get too pleased with yourself. My friends will be here to save me soon. You won't get away!"
"Friends?" The spirit sneered, his voice shrill and grating, like fingernails scraping glass. "By the time they find this place, you'll already be part of my collection. My little beauties, your souls are so pure. I'm sure you'll taste wonderful."
Just then, Dean and the others arrived. The instant Bai Haorui spotted the floating spirit, he drew his peachwood sword. The Three-Five Evil-Slaying Talisman engraved on its blade glowed faintly in the dark. He shouted, "Fiend, enough of your insolence! Take a strike from Old Bai!" Before his voice faded, he swung at the spirit. The peachwood sword whistled through the air and struck hard, its talisman erupting in dazzling red light. The spirit screamed and staggered several steps back, his form growing indistinct.
Dean seized the opening to rush over. He drew his dagger and swiftly cut the ropes with clean, efficient movements, pulling Joe and Teresa behind him and shielding them. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Does anything feel wrong?"
Joe shook her head, her eyes reddening, her voice thick with tears and guilt. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone off on my own and caused you trouble. I just wanted to prove myself. I didn't want you to think I was only a burden."
Teresa gripped Joe's hand tightly, shaking like a leaf, her voice trembling. "Are we going to die here? That thing's terrifying. He said he'd turn us into his collection."
"No." Joe took a deep breath and patted Teresa's hand, trying to make her voice sound steady. "My friends are really good. They'll get us out of here. Don't be scared. I'm here." Inside, however, she was filled with regret. She felt she had been far too reckless. Not only had she failed to help, but she had forced Dean and the others into a hurried fight.
As Bai Haorui fought the spirit, he discovered that its yin energy was stronger than he had imagined. Here underground in particular, the yin energy from the earth veins constantly replenished it. He immediately shouted to Dean, "This is an earthbound spirit! The underground yin energy's sustaining it. Ordinary attacks won't work! Sam, trap it with our special salt circle! Suppress its power for now!"
Sam immediately pulled out the salt bag, which contained salt mixed with clotted dog blood and powdered mugwort. With practiced movements, he quickly scattered a closed circle. The grains hissed against the ground, forming a red, white, and green barrier that trapped the spirit inside. The spirit struggled wildly within the salt circle, letting out piercing roars. Black energy poured endlessly from its body, but it could not break through the circle's barrier.
"What now?" Dean asked, his gun already cocked and aimed at the spirit.
"Its remains are sealed underground in cement. If we completely sever its connection to the earth veins' yin energy, its resentment will dissipate." Bai Haorui spoke while suppressing the spirit with his peachwood sword. "We'll permanently seal its remains in concrete, then add salt, black dog blood, and mugwort. Those are all pure-yang substances. They'll strengthen the seal so it can never come out and cause trouble again."
"I'll get the materials!" Sam immediately turned and ran out, his quick footsteps splashing filthy water.
Just then, the salt circle's light began to dim. The spirit's power grew stronger and stronger, its black energy battering the circle with a sizzling sound as the salt grains began to melt. Bai Haorui gritted his teeth, took out an Evil-Breaking Talisman, and stuck it to his peachwood sword. Then he cut his index finger and smeared the blood on the blade, shouting, "Break evil and banish baleful energy!" The sword erupted in red light again, brighter than before. He thrust it hard into the spirit, which screamed, its form growing even more indistinct, almost dispersing.
"Hold on!" Dean shouted, firing at the spirit over and over. Salt rounds and glutinous rice rounds passed through its body. Though they could not kill it, they kept it temporarily suppressed.
Watching the two fight the spirit, Joe grew anxious. She remembered the Safety Talisman Bai Haorui had given her and immediately pulled it out. Biting her fingertip, she dripped blood onto the paper and threw it at the spirit. "Stop!" The Safety Talisman traced a streak of red light through the air and slammed into the spirit, which let out a bloodcurdling scream and retreated several steps.
"Good job!" Bai Haorui shouted.
Before long, Sam returned with concrete, salt, black dog blood, and mugwort. The three worked together to mix the materials, adding large quantities of salt and mugwort to the concrete, then pouring in black dog blood and stirring it evenly. Bai Haorui used his peachwood sword to pry up a stone slab from the ground, exposing the cement block below. The outlines of skeletal remains were faintly visible inside.
"Right here!" Bai Haorui shouted. "Sam, pour in the concrete! Dean, cover me!"
Dean kept firing at the spirit, drawing its attention. Sam poured the concrete into the pit, working quickly. Standing beside him, Bai Haorui began reciting the deliverance talisman: "Dust to dust, earth to earth, soul to soul, spirit to spirit. Let sin disperse and the vengeful spirit rest. By Taishang Laojun's command, let it be done at once!"
As the concrete slowly hardened, the spirit's struggles inside the salt circle grew weaker and weaker. Its black energy gradually dispersed, until it finally turned into a wisp of pale smoke and vanished into the air.
Once everything was done, the three led Joe and Teresa out of the sewer. As soon as they reached the front of the apartment building, they saw Ellen standing there, her expression thunderous, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes icy.
Seeing her, Joe instinctively hid behind Dean, her head lowered. Ellen strode over, seized Joe, and raised her hand to strike her, but Dean stopped her. "Ellen, don't. Joe knows she was wrong. She's been frightened too. She almost got hurt."
"What right do you have to stop me?" Ellen shook off his hand and roared in fury, her voice trembling with emotion. "If it weren't for your father, my husband would never have died! Now you're taking my daughter into danger too. Do you want her to die like her father, without even knowing why?"
Her words struck like thunder, leaving everyone stunned. Joe stared at her mother with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Mom, what are you saying? Dad's death had something to do with Uncle John? Didn't you always tell me a demon killed him?"
Ellen's eyes reddened, and she finally could not hold back her tears. Her voice shook with sobs. "Back then, your father and John were partners, tracking a very powerful demon. To kill it, John used your father as bait to lure it out. In the end, your father died. John never contacted me again, as though he'd forgotten our entire family!"
Dean went deathly pale and stepped back, his lips trembling, barely able to speak. "That's impossible. My dad wasn't like that. He wouldn't sacrifice his own friend. He wasn't that kind of person."
"He wasn't?" Ellen sneered, her tears falling harder. "Then why didn't he dare face me? Why did he never tell you about this? Why did he ignore us all these years? I won't let you hunt because sometimes hunting isn't just hunting. You're still young. You don't understand these things!"
Joe looked at Dean, her eyes filled with disappointment and pain, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Is it true? Dean, did Uncle John really sacrifice my dad?"
Dean opened his mouth but could not speak. He remembered his father's dying words, the past that had been concealed, and the guilt his father occasionally revealed. The convictions in his heart began to crumble. Crying, Joe pushed him away, her voice hoarse. "Go. I never want to see any of you again. I don't want anything more to do with you!"
Ellen took Joe's hand, turned, and walked away. Joe's sobs grew more distant, stabbing into Dean's heart like a knife.
Sam felt awful too. He wanted to comfort Ellen but did not know what to say. "Ellen, I believe Dad had his reasons. He wouldn't have done it deliberately. Sometimes hunting forces you into choices you can't control."
"Reasons?" Ellen interrupted, her voice thick with tears. "Reasons bought with someone else's life? I won't accept that! My husband was only thirty when he died. He had his whole life ahead of him and a daughter who hadn't grown up! He could have been there to watch Joe grow up and get married, instead of becoming a cold corpse!"
Bai Haorui stood to one side, watching with mixed feelings. He understood Ellen's grief, Dean's guilt, and, even more, Joe's disillusionment. He said nothing, only silently handed Teresa a bottle of water and watched the arriving police take her away. Then he turned and offered Dean a tissue.
On the drive back, the car was deathly silent. AC/DC's music echoed through the empty interior, but it could not dispel the heaviness. Dean drove with vacant eyes, his hands clamped tightly around the steering wheel, his knuckles white.
Sam watched the scenery sweep past outside the window. After a long silence, he slowly spoke. "Dean, I believe Dad had his difficulties. He definitely wouldn't have deliberately gotten Joe's father killed."
Bai Haorui leaned against the window in the back seat, watching the passing trees and fields, and suddenly said, "On the hunting road, there's never any absolute right or wrong. Everyone makes their own choices, and they have to bear the consequences. John chose what he thought mattered. Maybe it was to keep more people safe, or maybe it was revenge. But he did leave behind a lifetime of regret and guilt." He paused, then added, "Just like Holmes. He committed all kinds of evil in life and killed so many innocent people. After death, he was trapped by resentment, unable ever to rest, only able to repeat his sins underground. That was the retribution he deserved too."
Dean said nothing. He simply floored the accelerator, and the Impala shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
Watching Dean, Sam felt deeply worried and said softly, "Dean, don't dwell on it. It's already happened. There's nothing we can do to change it."
Dean shook his head, his voice as rough as sandpaper. "I can't get past it. Joe's brokenhearted face, the look in Ellen's eyes-I can't forget them. I always thought we were doing something righteous. But now I've realized that justice can hurt people too. It can even mean sacrificing the people closest to you." He began to question his father's beliefs about hunting, to doubt whether what he had always stood by was truly right.
Bai Haorui looked at the two of them and said no more. He knew some knots in the heart could only be untangled by the person carrying them. He took his notebook from his backpack, turned to the section on handling earthbound spirits, and used a pencil to add notes on this experience in the margin, reflecting on it.
Silence fell over the car once more.