135: Chapter 135 Hot-tempered Boy

Inside the lobby of Hotel Transylvania.

Mavis was gesticulating wildly, vividly recounting to Wednesday the legendary battle that had taken place one day ago at the Ice and Snow Castle.

"You didn't see the scene!" Mavis said, her cheeks flushed with excitement, gesturing as she spoke, "Qin Ming just snapped his fingers! That Archangel named Gabriel, like an on-call bodyguard, suddenly popped out six golden wings with a boom!"

Wednesday sat in a single armchair, rarely not zoning out while someone else was speaking, but instead narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Pure holy power?" Wednesday's voice remained flat and emotionless.

"More than just torn to shreds!" Mavis's eyes lit up, "That monster called Dracula was burned to ashes directly by holy fire! Not even a speck of dust was left!"

At this point, Mavis suddenly paused, turned her head, and looked at her old father, who was cowering behind the bar counter wiping a goblet.

"Of course, Father," Mavis pursed her lips, her tone carrying a hint of teasing, "I'm not targeting you. After all, you are also named Dracula."

The old Vampire behind the bar trembled, nearly crushing the goblet.

He hurriedly put down the cup, straightened the collar of his somewhat tattered tuxedo, cleared his throat, and tried to regain some dignity as an elder in front of his daughter and the guests.

"Of course, my little blood orange," the owner walked out from behind the bar, puffing out his chest, "That guy hiding in the Ice and Snow Castle is a pathetic heretic! He is a bloodthirsty monster created by humans sacrificing their souls. But I am a noble, born Vampire. We are fundamentally different!"

Wednesday glanced at him coldly.

"The difference is that a pure-blooded Vampire gets locked in a cage by a heretic using a few black chains."

"Pfft."

Qin Ming, who was sitting on the sofa nearby drinking black tea, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Dracula opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but after looking at Qin Ming sitting not far away, he recalled the scene of Gabriel kneeling on one knee yesterday.

The old father wisely chose to shut up and scurried off to the wine cellar to fetch stock.

Couldn't afford to offend him, absolutely couldn't afford it.

...

Another day passed.

The weekend holiday ended, and it was time to return to school.

Qin Ming and his group left Hotel Transylvania. The exclusive black hearse of The Addams Family was already waiting at the foot of the mountain.

After a few hours of driving.

The hearse stopped at a street corner in the small town, and Qin Ming pushed the door open and hopped out.

"See you at school tomorrow." Qin Ming waved at Wednesday inside the car.

The hearse puffed out a cloud of black smoke and slowly drove away.

Qin Ming turned around and pushed open his front door.

It was already eight o'clock in the evening.

The house was filled with the aroma of pan-seared steak and butter.

"Brother!"

A petite figure sprang up from the sofa in the living room, like a small cannonball fired from a chamber, and accurately dove into Qin Ming's arms.

Emma wore her hair in two cute pigtails.

She tilted her head up, and a brilliantly radiant smile bloomed on her small face, which was as exquisite as a doll's.

"Where's my gift?"

Emma stretched out her fair, tender little hand, holding it out in front of Qin Ming with justified confidence.

Qin Ming smiled and ruffled her hair.

Like a magic trick, he swiped his right hand through the air.

A cross about twenty centimeters long, made entirely of pure silver, lay quietly in his palm.

This was a trophy he had casually picked up in the Ice and Snow Castle.

Although it wasn't a top-tier magical item, the material was excellent, and it had been tainted with the aura of holy light.

Emma blinked and took the cross.

This thing was unexpectedly heavy. The silver surface had been specially polished, without a single burr.

The most crucial part was that the bottom end of the cross had been sharpened to an extreme point.

Emma lightly rubbed her fingertip against that sharp end.

A slight stinging sensation came.

What a perfect construction; it was truly the best piercing tool.

She thought to herself.

"Thank you, Brother!"

Emma smiled sweetly and kissed Qin Ming on the cheek without hesitation, "Brother is the best, I love it!"

She casually tucked the cross into the hidden pocket of her dress.

The sliding door of the kitchen was pulled open.

Rob Lowe walked out carrying two plates of sizzling steak.

"Oh, our family's great adventurer has finally decided to come back."

Robert placed the plates on the dining table, took off his oven mitts, and sighed with feigned grievance, "Emma got such an exquisite cross, but what about me? Dad has been working hard cooking at home, surely I'm not even getting a travel souvenir?"

He was just joking. The greatest joy of a single father was watching his son and daughter bicker in front of him.

Qin Ming pulled out a chair and sat down, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course there is."

Qin Ming reached into his pocket.

"Clang!"

A dull, loud sound.

A fist-sized, irregularly shaped piece of metal with a pitted surface and a dull golden luster was tossed casually onto the dining table by Qin Ming.

Even the oak tabletop was slightly dented by the impact.

Robert's gaze fell on the metal block, and the smile on his face instantly froze.

He was stunned for a few seconds, then reached out a trembling hand in disbelief, wiped it hard on his clothes, and then carefully lifted the metal block.

An oppressive weight. And that charming, natural luster without any traces of human craftsmanship.

"Nugget... gold nugget?"

Robert gasped, his voice floating, "My God. How many pounds is this? Where... where did you get this? Do souvenir shops at tourist attractions sell this now?"

"A local specialty from Transylvania." Qin Ming picked up his knife and fork, cut a piece of steak, and put it in his mouth, "I just picked it up on the mountain. It looked shiny, so I brought it back. Do you like it?"

Robert opened his mouth, feeling his brain go blank.

"Oh my God..." Robert hugged the gold nugget tightly, not even bothering to eat his steak, his eyes unfocused, "I have to find an appraiser tomorrow, and I have to check how to pay taxes on this thing... Heavens, God bless!"

The family sat at the dining table, with the TV playing in the living room nearby.

Robert was nervously stroking the gold nugget while occasionally looking up at the TV.

"Vroom—BOOM!!!"

On the TV screen, a deafening roar of an engine suddenly erupted, drowning out the voice of the news anchor.

The TV picture was forcibly cut to a dynamic advertising channel.

Accompanied by high-impact heavy metal rock music, a huge open-air venue appeared on the screen.

"This weekend! The exciting moment is coming!"

The announcer roared in the voiceover with an extremely exaggerated, hoarse voice: "Right at the SoBe Dome stadium! The King of Stunts! The Undying Myth! Johnny Blaze will bring the craziest performance of his career!"

The scene flashed rapidly.

A man wearing a black leather motorcycle jacket, with wild, long hair and sunglasses, was straddling a heavily stylized, heavy-duty Harley motorcycle. The exhaust pipe spewed out scorching tongues of fire.

"He will ride his steel beast! Without any safety net! Jumping over fifty heavy-duty trucks lined up side by side!"

The announcer's roar almost blew the roof off the studio: "Don't blink! This weekend at 8 PM, witness the birth of a miracle!"

The advertisement ended abruptly with a close-up of burning tires.

At the dining table.

Qin Ming stopped cutting his steak.

He stared at the close-up of the biker on the TV screen, a glimmer of interest flashing in his eyes.

Johnny Blaze?

Johnny Blaze.

If he remembered correctly, this was the unlucky guy who signed a contract with the Hell Lord Mephisto and sold his soul to the devil.

Hellfire, Ghost Rider.

The corners of Qin Ming's mouth curled up slightly.

This world was truly fascinating; just after solving a Vampire Progenitor, the plot of the Hell dimension continued immediately.

"Interesting." Qin Ming put down his knife and fork.

Robert finally moved his gaze away from the gold nugget.

He looked at the ad on TV, then at his son, who was clearly interested.

"You like this?" Robert laughed, carefully setting the gold nugget aside, "This kind of extreme sport full of gasoline smell and adrenaline is indeed suitable for boys of your age."

Robert wiped his hands, appearing very generous.

"Then I'll go buy tickets tomorrow morning! Front-row VIP seats. Next weekend, our whole family will go see Johnny Blaze together." Robert pointed at the gold nugget on the table and winked at Qin Ming, "Consider it a return gift for this rock, how about that?"

"Sure."

Qin Ming picked up a napkin and wiped the corner of his mouth, smiling with extra 'kindness'.

Wonder if Archangel Gabriel's holy power could move Ghost Rider or Mephisto enough to make them voluntarily polish his shoe soles?