Vampires greatly feared fire; after all, their power was blood control, and liquids were most vulnerable to high temperatures.
But that referred to ordinary vampires, and Qin Ming, this vampire, was somewhat special. With his steel-like physique, he wasn't particularly afraid of fire! At least not ordinary fire!
Blood and flame collided head-on! With a piercing hiss, countless blood droplets burst through the fire before Sun Wukong, who had sprayed the flames, could even react! They bombarded his body like shrapnel!
Directly struck by numerous blood droplets, Sun Wukong was instantly sent flying backward, rolling twice before barely managing to regain his footing. Staring at Qin Ming, who was spinning and transforming back into human form, almost completely unharmed, he gritted his teeth fiercely and once again hoisted his iron rod.
Seeing Sun Wukong, who had taken several of his attacks head-on and was still perfectly fine, Qin Ming also felt a headache. He possesses an SSS-grade passive defense skill! This monkey is really tough! Now two immovable objects have met! How are they supposed to fight? They'd be fighting until the Year of the Monkey and Horse!
Gritting his teeth fiercely and racking his brain for a long time, Qin Ming still couldn't figure out how to break through Sun Wukong's defense and couldn't help but curse, "You plague-ridden Bimawen [an official title given to Sun Wukong that means 'Keeper of the Royal Horses', used here as an insult]! Why aren't you doing your job! Carrying out your re-education through labor! Why did you come to provoke me!"
Sun Wukong, insulted again, heard the three words "Bimawen," and his face instantly darkened. "Hey! You bat demon! How dare you capture my master! Quickly return my master! Otherwise, I, Old Sun, will tear down your bat's nest and smash your bat cave today!"
"I captured your master? Why would I capture a monk for no reason! I'm not a female demon!"
"This area, five hundred li around, is your territory! Other demons wouldn't dare approach! My master was taken away by a demonic wind! If it wasn't you who captured him, then who was it!"
"Huh? So, according to you! You, Bimawen, are a horse groom! If my grass suddenly disappeared, could I also go and find you!"
"Eh?"
Staring at the enraged Qin Ming, Sun Wukong couldn't help but be stunned, holding his iron rod, his eyebrows gradually furrowed, and his eyes darted around. He had also fallen into a common misconception; along this journey, basically, whenever his master got into trouble, it was always the local big shot causing mischief. This led to his immediate reaction, once his master went missing, to come here to demand an explanation, since there was only this one group of demons here.
Now seeing Qin Ming's extreme reaction, seeming unlike he was lying, and most importantly, his strength was actually very formidable. This kind of short-tempered, strong guy didn't seem like the type to secretly capture people, grab them and run, and then deny it stubbornly when caught.
"It really wasn't you who captured my master?"
"Why would I capture him?"
"Eating my master's flesh can grant immortality!"
"With my abilities and identity, do you think I still need to eat his flesh to gain immortality?"
Qin Ming's words made Sun Wukong pause, and he quickly understood. A guy who could absorb blood and turn into blood, as long as he had blood, he could continuously recover; this seemed to be immortality itself, this...
The rod in his hand gradually lowered, and Sun Wukong's angry expression slowly faded, instead becoming very awkward.
Opposite him, Qin Ming's eyes slowly narrowed upon seeing this. "Monkey."
"Hmm?"
"About smashing my temple, how do you think we should settle this?"
"..... I, Old Sun, already said not to wrongly accuse others! It was Bajie, that simpleton, acting on his own! I, Old Sun, will go and teach him a lesson right now!" With those words, Sun Wukong turned and ran.
After flying into the temple, he grabbed Pigsy and Sandy and tried to slip away. This made the two, who were currently fighting, pause in surprise.
"Senior Brother, what is this?"
"Oh no! We hit the wrong person! Quickly retreat!" As he spoke, Sun Wukong had already rushed toward the exit.
However, before he could even dash out the door, with a loud bang, the massive door slammed shut. Qin Ming appeared at the doorway, arms crossed, leaning against the frame, his face expressionless as he looked in their direction.
Sun Wukong and the others quickly halted their steps. Seeing Qin Ming's unfriendly gaze, and then the other two closing in from behind, Sun Wukong, knowing he was in the wrong, forced a stiff smile. Though this guy's strength was astonishing and his methods ruthless, he was actually quite reasonable. Generally, when he was in the wrong, his first reaction was always to run, not to act out of shame and anger by using his strength to bully others.
"Ahem, well, Master Blood God, there might be a slight misunderstanding between us, but as the saying goes, 'no discord, no concord,' right? We could say we're fated. Considering your losses aren't too great, how about we part ways here?" As he spoke, Sun Wukong smiled and spread his hands.
But just as his voice faded, a loud crash echoed in his ears. It was the half-destroyed statue beside them, wobbling and finally collapsing completely. Observing the great hall, riddled with holes everywhere, and the statue that had completely shattered into dust, the awkward smile on Sun Wukong's face gradually disappeared.
"..... We'll compensate."
A short while later, the damaged temple had been completely restored. As for who restored it? Of course, it was Sun Wukong. This fellow possessed a skill called the Seventy-two Transformations of Earthly Fiends, which was more than just simple shapeshifting. The so-called Seventy-two Transformations actually referred to seventy-two abilities, seventy-two divine powers, and the art of transformation was merely one of them. Sun Wukong knew many things! He even knew how to sculpt and build walls!
He plucked a handful of monkey hairs and blew on them forcefully. Instantly, a large group of small monkeys appeared, whom he commanded to quickly restore the ruined building. As Qin Ming watched his building being rebuilt and the statue re-carved, his stern expression finally softened a little.
Don't think that smashing someone's temple was a small matter; in the East, it was a huge deal! Otherwise, Sun Wukong wouldn't have been so clearly in the wrong. After all, smashing someone's temple was tantamount to cutting off their incense offerings, a grievance no less profound than killing their parents! It was already good that Qin Ming didn't immediately fight Sun Wukong to the death; if it had been a local, they would have fought until the world turned dark.
Qin Ming held a specially shaped treasure bead in his hand, his face expressionless. This treasure bead in his hand was the compensation given by Sun Wukong and the others—a special consumable item: the Immobilization Bead!
Name: Immobilization Bead Category: Consumable (Dim Silver Grade) Usage Requirement: None Effect: Upon activation, immobilizes up to ten enemies for ten seconds. The immobilization effect is removed if the target is attacked. Description: One of the magical treasures from the Journey to the West world, unfortunately, it's just a single-use fake.
After repairing the house and offering a magic treasure as compensation, Sun Wukong and the others, having been busy for half the day, quickly turned to leave. After all, they still had to find their master, and if they delayed for too long, what if their master was actually eaten?
However, just as Sun Wukong and the others turned, Qin Ming suddenly flicked the treasure bead in his hand and spoke softly. "What? Are you just leaving? I am the local big shot here, after all. Aren't you going to ask me about the situation nearby?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong and the others stopped in their tracks and excitedly turned around. "Brother, are you still willing to help us?"
"I'm not that resentful, and certainly not so petty. Besides, this is my territory after all. If someone causes trouble on my turf, I can't just ignore it, can I?" Gripping the Immobilization Bead in his hand, Qin Ming's gaze flickered slightly. Running onto my territory to capture someone! You're asking for death!