Su Fan didn’t elaborate further, but the implication within his laughter was clear enough.
“Well, that complicates things.”
Dean leaned his head back in the car seat.
He held no pity for ghosts and monsters; he’d eliminate them whenever possible.
But if the enemy was a misguided human, he felt his hands were tied.
“Let’s head into town first and see what we can find.”
Driving into the town, Dean found a place to print documents and had the missing person flyers printed.
Su Fan and Sam were just about to get out of the car for some fresh air when they noticed a girl with a backpack walking towards them from a distance.
“Excuse me, which way is the bus station?”
The golden-haired girl asked, appearing full of personality and vibrant energy.
“Don’t know, we’re not from around here.”
Sam indicated he couldn’t help.
“Alright, looks like I’ll be spending the night in this town then.”
The blonde girl looked utterly resigned.
With time to kill and the girl eager to chat, the two of them soon struck up a conversation.
During their talk, Sam learned the basics about her.
Her name was Meg, a traveler who loved backpacking.
Her parents’ overbearing control and unreasonable attitude had become too much for her, so she decided to just up and leave on a journey.
Meg’s family situation quickly struck a chord with Sam.
Subtly, the distance between them closed a little.
“So, what are you doing here? Car trouble?”
Meg gently patted the car’s hood, a look of admiration on her face.
“Really well maintained.”
“You guessed wrong. The car isn’t mine, and it’s not broken. We’re just waiting for someone here.”
“Your brother?”
“Yep.”
As they talked, Meg’s gaze inadvertently fell on Su Fan, who stood silently to the side, looking into the distance.
“Is that your friend? He seems a bit aloof.”
“That’s just how he is. Don’t mind him.”
Hearing this, Meg’s face showed curiosity. She walked over to Su Fan and smiled.
“Hey, I’m Meg. Can we get to know each other?”
Su Fan finally withdrew his gaze from the distance. His dark eyes rested on Meg for two seconds before a faint, unreadable smile touched his lips.
“Su Fan.”
…
By the time Dean finished copying the documents and came out, he just caught sight of Meg’s retreating figure.
“Looks like in my brief absence, someone had a charming encounter.”
“Let me guess, was it Su or Sam?”
A knowing, man-to-man grin played on Dean’s lips. His eyes swept between them before settling on Sam, who looked slightly uncomfortable.
“She was just a backpacker asking for directions.”
Sam explained.
“You can ask Su.”
Dean turned to Su Fan, who simply nodded.
“Right, a poor backpacker possessed by a demon.”
Demon!
Catching the key word, the Winchester brothers immediately stiffened, the previous playful atmosphere vanishing instantly.
Dean studied Su Fan’s expression closely. The man’s face was calm; he didn’t seem to be joking.
“How could you tell? Did her eyes turn completely black?”
“No, but I could still see it.”
Su Fan’s statement sounded somewhat arbitrary, like “I know it because I know it.”
But the Winchesters didn’t doubt him for a second.
After a moment of thought, Dean was the first to move.
“I’ll go check if there’s any holy water left in the car.”
“I’ll find the Bible.”
The brothers sprang into action immediately.
Seeing them busy, Su Fan also stood up and picked up two of the missing person flyers Dean had printed.
“I’ll go look around town. You two get things ready.”
“Wait.”
Dean, who was rummaging in the trunk, called out to Su Fan. He then pulled out a revolver and a pouch of ammunition, handing them over.
“The pouch has half salt rounds and half regular bullets.”
“I know you can handle yourself, but having a gun never hurts.”
“We’ll wait for you to come back.”
Dean gave Su Fan’s shoulder a light pat.
Su Fan took the pistol and ammo, then pulled two paper talismans from inside his jacket.
“These are protective charms. They can prevent you from being possessed by demons.”
“That woman could come back anytime. Wearing these gives you an extra layer of security.”
“Do they cost money?”
Dean glanced at them, asking out of habit.
He and his brother weren’t exactly well-off.
He knew these things cost five thousand dollars apiece, roughly equivalent to half a month’s expenses for the two of them.
“They’re a gift. No charge.”
Su Fan was a bit speechless at Dean’s question.
After briefly explaining the precautions for using the talismans, he set off alone, heading deeper into town along the road.
Seeing no one around and no surveillance cameras, Su Fan simply started to run.
With each step, his figure seemed to teleport, covering dozens of meters in the blink of an eye.
A hundred meters was just two steps for him.
As he ran, Su Fan also employed Wind Riding to reduce air resistance, making his already swift pace even faster!
If someone were looking down from above, they would see a figure sprinting along the highway at a speed unimaginable to ordinary people.
In less than five minutes, Su Fan reached the edge of the town, not even out of breath.
Looking no different from anyone else, he drew no attention and easily blended into the place.
As he walked, Su Fan occasionally took out the missing person flyers, asking residents if they’d seen the people pictured.
The answers were all the same: don’t know, haven’t seen them, can’t remember.
Two young men, an old person, two children…
The answers were eerily consistent.
Su Fan could naturally tell if they were lying.
The situation seemed a bit better than he’d thought; not everyone was knowingly covering things up.
“If you want to know about these two, I do have a faint memory.”
A young girl beside Su Fan initiated the conversation.
“Around this time last year, these two visitors came here, but then they disappeared.”
“Their car is still at my uncle’s car wash.”
“Are you from around here?”
Su Fan looked her up and down.
“No, I only came to this place about a year and a half ago. Both my parents passed away from illness, so I came to live with my uncle and aunt.”
“The towns around here are economically depressed, can’t really support anyone. Only this place seems blessed somehow, with bumper harvests every year.”
The young girl sighed.
Su Fan nodded slightly, appearing to listen attentively while actually using his spiritual sense to monitor the movements of everyone around.
The old man inside the house, the young people passing on the street… they all seemed busy with their own things, but their glances kept drifting towards Su Fan.
“Emily!”
A voice called from inside the house.
“Coming!”
Upon hearing the call, the girl quickly responded, then offered an apologetic smile.
“Sorry, I need to go help at the shop.”
“It’s fine. Go ahead.”
Continuing the inquiry seemed pointless, so Su Fan decided to find a restaurant to sit for a while.
Just then, a couple walked over, chatting and laughing, looking around curiously. They were clearly not locals.
“Hey, you on a road trip too?”
The woman in the couple greeted him enthusiastically.
“More or less.”
Su Fan glanced at them, then spoke.
“Things haven’t been very peaceful around here lately. If possible, try to leave before dark.”
Their smiles froze on their faces as they exchanged a look.
“Don’t think I’m trying to scare you.”
“A couple mysteriously disappeared on the highway passing through this town around this time last year…”
Before Su Fan could finish, there was a commotion at the door.
“Excuse me, can we talk outside?”
A man in a police uniform walked up to Su Fan and gestured towards the outside.
He looked down at the Asian youth, watching as the latter rose from his seat and walked out the door.
The shop owner nearby saw this and flashed an unfriendly smile before turning back to the cash register.
However, after the officer went out, the couple at the next table spoke up.
“Could you tell us more about that?”
In their eyes, the officer had simply stood inside for a moment before leaving on his own.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Beside them, Su Fan remained seated in his original spot, unmoved.
—
The sky gradually darkened. The heavy, humid air and the occasional rumble of thunder foretold the coming storm.
Soon, large raindrops began to fall from the sky.
Black umbrellas gathered in the downpour.
Beneath them, if any ordinary resident were present, they would recognize these as the town’s “important people.”
“The sacrifices are missing.”
The shop owner spoke first, his face grim.
“I clearly drove that person out of town…”
The police officer from earlier in the day said regretfully.
“What should we do now? This is already the seventh day. There’s no time to find new sacrifices.”
“The trees in the orchard have started to wither. His wrath is about to sweep over the town…”
An elderly woman with white hair was filled with panic.
“In that case, we have no choice but to use that Asian youth as a sacrifice.”
“He brought it on himself.”
A look of ruthless determination appeared on the police officer’s face.
“Are we really going to do that? That’s outright murder.”
The old man beside the elderly woman, the same one who had been watching Emily talk to Su Fan during the day, spoke up.
“What else can we do? As members of this town, we have a duty to protect it.”
The final decision was made by an old man wearing glasses.
He was the town’s librarian.
He was also the one who had initiated the sacrificial ritual.
“As for the woman for the sacrifice, use your niece. If she hadn’t spoken out of turn, none of this would have happened.”
The old man and woman sighed but didn’t object.
“If there are no objections, act immediately. Capture them now!”
The librarian’s voice was full of coldness and left no room for doubt.
—
“Sam and I looked through some relevant books, and based on the bloodlines of the town’s residents, we finally found a clue.”
Dean’s voice came through the phone.
“What they’re worshipping isn’t some evil spirit, but the ‘Vanir’ from Norse mythology.”
“It can bless the land with bountiful harvests no matter the conditions.”
“They just need to erect its statue in the plantation.”
“And offer a man and a woman as live human sacrifices every year.”
Here, Dean paused.
“The couples or pairs who disappeared before were probably all sacrificed to the Vanir.”
“If we want to defeat it, we have to burn the sacred tree that is the source of its power.”
“Got it. I’ll handle this so-called god. I’ll meet up with you after it’s done.”
After hanging up, Dean suddenly frowned.
He thought he’d heard some strange noise on the other end of the line.
Probably just his imagination, right?
But before Dean could ponder it further, he heard his brother Sam’s voice.
“Walked right up and splashed water in her face without a word… such perfect manners.”
Hearing this, Dean flashed a mischievous grin.
“If it turns out she wasn’t possessed, just tell her Su told you to do it. No real harm done anyway. She’ll forgive you.”
“…”
On the other side.
Su Fan hung up the phone and glanced out the window.
The heavy rain outside had come and gone quickly, not hindering travel at all.
He walked to the door and calmly observed the town police officer and the shop owner on the ground.
Both men were on their knees, hands raised, sweat pouring down their faces.
Nearby lay a shotgun and a knife, but they didn’t dare look at them!
Because behind them stood a female priestess, her face deathly pale, her eyes covered with black cloth. Her sharp claws were pressed against their backs, ready to pierce their hearts at any moment.
“Do the sacrifices have to be a man and a woman? How about you try two men and see if that works?”
