"It's a certain kind of relationship, but it's not that serious!" Lin Mei said vaguely.
Whistler wasn't interested in the details and didn't press further.
Lin Mei continued, "I killed one of the two vampires guarding my doorstep. The other one got rescued. To keep those bloodsuckers from bothering my family, I came to you."
"Bedbugs—I like that term!" Whistler chuckled.
"Kid, are you here to be bait for those vampires hunting you?" Blade asked, his grip tightening on his sword.
Lin Mei shook her head. "That's too slow. I already know where the two who escaped are hiding. Let's go straight to them."
Blade raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"
Lin Mei shrugged. "I tracked you guys down, didn't I? You think I can't find a couple of low-level vamps?"
"Eric, the kid has a point," Whistler said, clapping Blade on the shoulder. His tone suggested that Blade should just let Lin Mei handle this.
Blade sighed. "Fine. Lead the way, kid."
Without hesitation, Lin Mei raised her hand, activating a glowing suspension ring. A swirling portal opened before them, revealing the two vampires—one who had escaped and the other who had rescued them.
"Johnny's here!" Lin Mei quipped, mimicking the famous scene from The Shining.
The injured vampire, wrapped in fresh bandages, recoiled in terror. "Demon! That thing is a demon!"
Around them, other vampires, unaware of Lin Mei's reputation, bared their fangs and hissed.
Lin Mei stepped through the portal, Blade right behind her.
"This is pretty convenient," Blade admitted. He had expected a long drive but was already at their destination.
"Blade! It's Blade again!" One of the vampires shouted in panic.
Lin Mei pointed at the two vampires she had been tracking. "These two are mine—I have questions for them. You can have the rest. Hope you have fun tonight."
Blade smirked. "No problem." His instincts told him more vampires were closing in. This was going to be a long night.
The two vampires Lin Mei had marked made their move. One, a speed-type, lunged at her, claws reaching for her throat, ready to tear it apart.
Lin Mei smirked. "Oh, you're the one who played hero earlier? Let's see how that works out for you."
Her fist ignited in blazing flames. With a single, explosive punch, she obliterated the vampire's hand mid-swipe. It howled in agony, stumbling backward.
The second vampire, seeing an opening, charged at Lin Mei from the side.
She caught its head with one hand and, without hesitation, slammed it into the floor. The impact was brutal, cracking the ground beneath them. Every movement she made was precise, effortless, as if honed through relentless training.
The speed vampire screeched, clutching its mutilated hand. Lin Mei didn't give it a second to recover. She spun, dodging another desperate strike with the grace of a dancer, and countered with another fiery punch. Her fist struck its chest, sending it hurtling into the wall with a deafening crash. Dust and debris rained down.
"Trying to sneak up on me? Cute." Lin Mei's voice dripped with confidence and mockery.
The vampire pinned under her hand struggled, face caked in dirt and panic. It clawed at the ground, trying to resist. But Lin Mei's grip was unyielding—unyielding as death itself. With a sharp twist, she snapped its neck with a sickening crack.
The speed vampire, still reeling, forced itself up. Its remaining arm mutated rapidly, claws elongating into lethal daggers. It prepared for a desperate last stand.
However, Lin Mei merely gazed at the vampire coldly. Slowly, she raised her hands, and two blazing spheres of fire ignited in her palms—miniature suns that bathed the entire room in an eerie glow.
"It's over," she murmured.
With a swift motion, she hurled the fireballs forward. Like meteors streaking through the night, they struck the vampire dead-on. Flames erupted, instantly engulfing the creature. It writhed and howled in agony, its piercing screams echoing through the room. Lin Mei had held back, using only a fraction of her magic—otherwise, the vampire would have been reduced to ashes in an instant.
She withdrew her hands, her face remaining impassive, as if she had done nothing of significance.
Turning her gaze, she watched Blade carve his way through the remaining vampires with deadly precision. His movements were fluid and unrelenting, each strike slicing through flesh and bone as effortlessly as cutting paper.
"Looks like you're enjoying yourself," Lin Mei teased, a smirk playing on her lips.
Blade chuckled, his sword tracing a gleaming arc through the air before another vampire crumpled at his feet. "Yeah, though they may have numbers, they're nothing but fodder."
Lin Mei scanned the room, confirming that the fight was over. "That means it's time to find out who's pulling their strings."
Blade flicked the blood from his sword, his eyes hardening with resolve. "I assume you have a way of making these bedbugs talk?"
They exchanged a knowing glance, an unspoken understanding passing between them.
Without hesitation, Lin Mei retrieved an ancient gray wand from somewhere unseen. Though unfamiliar, it radiated a sinister power.
Smirking, she said, "To ensure you grasp the cost of deception, let's start with a little soul-rending lesson."
"Heart-Wrenching Curse."
Lin Mei pressed the wand against the scorched vampire's forehead. As her voice dropped into a cold, incantatory whisper, an invisible force slashed through the creature's fragile mental defenses like spectral claws.
The vampire's face contorted in sheer horror. Its bulging eyes reflected unspeakable agony. Its body convulsed violently, muscles seizing as if every nerve was set ablaze. A shriek tore from its throat—a sound so raw, so inhuman, it sent chills through the air. It was the wail of a soul being shredded, pierced by a thousand unseen needles.
The very room seemed to tremble in response, thick with the stench of dread and despair.
Across the room, the second vampire—its neck twisted grotesquely from Lin Mei's earlier attack—stared at the scene in abject terror. Trembling, it curled into a corner, eyes wide with desperate fear, as if trying to disappear into the shadows.