Even before they reached the door, Su Fan had a feeling they were coming.
When he saw their faces, he couldn’t help but sigh with admiration.
The folks at the LAPD were a clever bunch.
They steered clear of anything and anyone connected to the supernatural.
Dean and Sam were capable, but without the detectives turning a blind eye, they couldn’t have left the police station so quickly.
While Su Fan was lost in thought, Dean and Sam were occasionally whispering to each other.
“Let’s just take a quick look and get out of here,” Sam murmured softly.
“He seems pretty chummy with the cops. If he gets suspicious and asks a few questions, we’ll end up back in custody.”
“I know. But before we go, we should still check properly… antique shops are the easiest places to pick up all sorts of strange things, right?” Dean glanced towards the counter where Su Fan stood. “Looks like he’s the only one here, business is slow. If something went wrong, probably no one would notice.”
Hearing this, Sam knew his older brother’s old habit of meddling in other people’s business was acting up again.
Based on Sam’s past experience, Dean rarely changed his mind once it was made up.
So he could only let Dean carefully inspect the shop.
The two of them looked over everything, from top to bottom, from the outside in, searching for anything unusual.
Finally, they stopped at the counter where Su Fan was, exchanged a look, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Nothing out of the ordinary. The shop was fine.
“Haven’t you two found any antiques that catch your eye yet?” Su Fan asked with a smile.
“Hey man, no misunderstanding, your shop is great. It’s just that we’ve got things to do this time, can’t stick around for a closer look,” Dean shrugged.
“No problem. You’re welcome to come back anytime.”
Dean was about to leave but was pulled back by his younger brother beside him.
He turned in confusion and saw Sam’s gaze fixed intently on a stack of cards placed on the counter.
Seeing this, Dean turned back around.
The cards were made of ancient-looking material, with hand-drawn patterns.
Unlike regular Tarot cards, the images on this stack were erocious and eerie.
Staring at them intently for a while, the images actually seemed to start shifting!
Something’s wrong!
“Shopkeeper, are these Tarot cards? Where did you get them?” Sam asked, pretending it was just casual curiosity.
“They are Tarot cards. A group of students gave them to me. They said they found them in the basement storeroom of a villa and then gifted them to me.”
Gave?
Su Fan’s words made Dean and Sam even more convinced there was something wrong with this Tarot deck.
“I really like the look of these Tarot cards. How much are you selling them for?” Sam got straight to the point.
“Sorry, this is a personal collection of mine, not for sale.”
Seeing the young shopkeeper shake his head, Dean let out a breath and stepped forward.
“I know saying this will probably make you think I’m just spinning a yarn to scare you into giving up the cards,” he said.
“But the truth is, there’s something seriously wrong with this Tarot deck. There might be an ominous spirit or something lodged inside it.”
“Keeping it near you could lead to trouble, you understand what I mean?”
Su Fan nodded.
“Actually, I also think there’s something inside these cards.”
Dean was taken aback.
He had expected the other person not to believe him when he said that, but he didn’t expect Su Fan to be so cooperative.
Just as the brothers thought Su Fan would hand over the Tarot cards, he suddenly changed tack.
“But, how can someone in the antique business avoid handling some strange old objects now and then?”
“The cards are safest right here with me. I appreciate your concern.”
Both Dean and Sam felt a bit helpless.
“Alright then. Good luck to you, brother.”
“Just so you know, pure white salt can effectively harm evil spirits and ghosts. Hope you remember that.”
Realizing Su Fan was immovable, the brothers could only leave one last piece of advice each before turning to leave.
Shortly after they walked out the door, a black, shadowy figure appeared behind Su Fan, head bowed.
“How many times have I told you, don’t make the images move when people are looking at them for no reason… Do you have to show off and scare people or you’ll die?”
“Punishment: you’re sweeping the floor after we close up tonight!”
The Astrologer Ghost: ……
——
“That shopkeeper is way too overconfident,” Sam said with displeasure about Su Fan once they were outside.
“He didn’t believe you at all. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spoken like that, practically teasing us.”
In contrast, Dean wore a thoughtful expression after exiting.
“Cool it. We’ve dealt with so much stuff out there, plenty of people didn’t believe us… Did he really look like he was teasing us?”
“Maybe he really does have some skills?”
It was their first meeting, and Dean’s attention had been mostly on the detectives and the police, not really on the shopkeeper.
But this time, dealing with him directly gave Dean a different feeling.
Hearing his brother say this, Sam also carefully recalled the other man’s demeanor when he spoke.
His tone was calm and gentle, no different from before.
Not a hint of mockery or banter.
“Well, if he put it that way, then let it be.”
“It’s about time, let’s find a place to stay first.”
The brothers walked together and soon found a cheap motel to spend the night.
After daybreak, they set off again.
This time, they successfully arrived at Elise’s current address.
Gently pressing the doorbell, an elderly woman soon came to answer.
“Dean Winchester and Sam Winchester?”
The kind-looking old lady seemed in good spirits, moving briskly without any of the slowness often associated with age.
However, compared to that, the brothers were even more surprised that she could directly call out their names.
“Come on in first.”
“Did that person contact you in advance?” Sam asked tentatively as they sat down inside.
“No, but a few days ago, during a psychic vision, I saw the two of you visiting my home.”
Elise busied herself for a moment before bringing them two cups of hot tea.
“I learned your names then too.”
This miraculous precognitive ability made Sam unable to suppress an excited smile.
Actually, he occasionally dreamed about things that were about to happen too.
But what he foresaw were only some scattered images, offering very little information.
Meeting Elise now was, in a way, meeting an upgraded version of himself.
“So you also know why we’ve come?” Dean couldn’t help asking from the side.
He still found it somewhat hard to believe.
After hunting ghosts with their dad for so long, this was the first time he’d seen with his own eyes an ability similar to that of a seer.
“Of course…” Elise nodded.
“You’re here to investigate what happened at the old house, right?”
“What’s haunting it this time is a powerful, evil spirit.”
“He only entered that house recently. It has nothing to do with your past.”
“You saw that in a vision too?” “That’s right.”
Elise’s answer completely convinced Dean.
“No wonder she recommended you to us. You truly are a master.”
Hearing Dean say this, Elise quickly shook her head with a smile.
“I can’t really claim that title.”
