Smack! Smack! Smack!
Huge palms flew, slapping the Flower Sprite-like creatures away one after another.
The creatures tumbled through the lava. By the time they stopped, their entire bodies had swollen three sizes.
"Why are you hitting us?" A Flower Sprite-like creature clutched its head, looking aggrieved. "We only released some fragrant smoke for you to enjoy. How can you not appreciate a good thing?"
Wang Quan offered no explanation. Instead, he grabbed them and shook them hard a few times. "Now, I ask, you answer."
"Understood?"
Terrified that Wang Quan would kill them, the seemingly friendly Flower Sprites nodded vigorously.
"Have you seen this umbrella?"
Wang Quan used Visualization to conjure the black umbrella the Purple-Robed Marquis had left behind.
The Flower Sprites shook their heads in unison. "Never seen it!"
Bang!
Wang Quan tightened his fingers, crushing them apart. "You little shits know nothing. What use are you?"
As he spoke, he grabbed a few more Flower Sprites. "Seen it?"
These Flower Sprites were clever. They nodded frantically. "Yes!"
"Where?"
"Uh..."
Bang!
Wang Quan crushed the Flower Sprites apart. "You little shits, hemming and hawing. What use are you?"
He grabbed another handful of Flower Sprites.
With their companions dying around them, these Flower Sprites' clever wits frantically seized the high ground. "The black umbrella is..."
Bang!
His five fingers closed, and the Flower Sprites burst apart. A surviving head spun away, letting out an indignant roar. "I was about to tell you! Why did you crush me anyway?"
Wang Quan...
"Sorry. Force of habit."
Plop!
The Flower Sprite's head fell into the lava, bewildered and uncomprehending.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
The head bubbled and rapidly dissolved.
The remaining Flower Sprites trembled all over, not daring to move.
Wang Quan took a deep breath. No longer inclined to waste time