The Demon King is back, leading adorable kids on an adventure around the world!

The next afternoon, people came from outside the valley.

The crooked wooden door of the Fang family's house had not yet been repaired. Niannian sat on the threshold and saw several gray shadows emerging from the low slope at the entrance of the valley. Their steps were neither fast nor slow, but very steady.

She didn't stand up or call out to anyone; she just sat on the threshold and watched the figures approach.

After emerging from the shadows of the low slope, the gray figures gradually revealed themselves.

There were five people in total. The one walking in front was rather thin and wore a grayish-colored robe. His cultivation level was unknown.

But his aura made the four people behind him seem to be dimmed, as if walking behind him would block out some of the light.

Niannian glanced at it a few times, then stood up, turned around, and went back to the courtyard.

She walked up to Luo Tian and said calmly, "Dad, five people have arrived."

"What kind?"

"The one in the lead was wearing gray clothes, followed by four others. I couldn't tell their cultivation level, but they looked more powerful than the one from yesterday."

Luo Tian nodded, stood up and walked to the courtyard gate, but did not step out; he stood inside the gate frame.

The elderly man with gray hair from the Fang family also came out of the house, carrying nothing in his hand, and stood not far behind Luo Tian.

Xiao Jin was squatting by the well, still tying his shoelaces. After finishing, he stood up, stretched, and then slowly moved towards the courtyard gate.

Luo Nannan stood under the eaves, leaning against the pillar, without moving.

Niannian glanced back, then turned back to look in the direction of the courtyard gate.

The five men had reached the river valley beach outside the Fang family's courtyard gate and stopped about ten zhang away from the gate.

The leader looked at the crooked wooden door, then at Luo Tian standing inside the door frame.

His gaze seemed to peer through a crack into the depths of the house before returning to his own, and he spoke:

"The Tianyuan Sect has come to demand an explanation. What happened yesterday deserves an account."

Luo Tian did not answer.

Niannian stood by the door frame, peeking half her head out through the crack in the door, then pulling back in, and looking up at Luo Tian to ask:

"Dad, does what he said mean that we have to give him money?"

Luo Tian didn't lower his head, but his tone remained unchanged: "Don't worry about it."

Niannian peeked out and then pulled her head back in: "What does he want?"

"We must win."

Niannian said "Oh" and then squeezed out through the crack in the door, standing on the open space outside the courtyard gate.

When the five men saw her come out, they didn't react. The one in the lead didn't even look down at her, even though her head only reached his waist.

Niannian looked up at him, making sure she wasn't mistaken, then turned to ask Xiao Jin, who had followed her out:

"Xiao Jin, how much higher is this one than yesterday's?"

Xiao Jin followed her out, put his hands in his pockets, and looked up at her: "He's about half a head taller."

Niannian looked up again and said, "I think so too."

The leader glanced down at Niannian, but didn't respond to her. His gaze went over Niannian's shoulder and landed on the figure inside the doorway who hadn't stepped out.

He paused again, as if confirming something: "You're not planning to hand over the people?"

Luo Tian's voice came from inside the doorway, his tone flat: "I won't hand it over."

The leader nodded; this answer was already within his expectations.

He tilted his head slightly, and the four people behind him dispersed, splitting into two groups and moving to both sides, forming an encirclement as they approached the courtyard wall.

Niannian stood at the door watching them disperse, then turned back to ask Xiaojin:

"Shall we fight?"

Xiao Jin didn't say anything, but she had already taken her hand out of her pocket.

The leader moved. He didn't rush towards Luo Tian, ​​but instead swept his palm towards Nian Nian's direction.

The palm strike came from the side, faster than any of his previous attacks, and was covered with a layer of dark gray spiritual energy.

Niannian dodged to the side, the palm wind grazed her shoulder and landed on the courtyard wall behind her, leaving a shallow mark.

After she regained her balance, she said, "That was pretty fast."

Then he stepped to the side and moved close to the man's side, slashing horizontally from below with his hand, aiming straight for the man's wrist.

The leader took a step back, deflected Niannian's hand chop with his backhand, and turned the back of his hand towards her shoulder.

Niannian crouched down, letting his fingers brush against her shoulder, and in the gap as he withdrew his arm, she took half a step forward and stepped on his instep.

It was heavy, and the step made him take half a step back.

He glanced down at the tips of his shoes, then looked up at Niannian, his face expressionless, but his hand rose much faster.

Niannian didn't directly confront the issue; instead, she took a step back and said:

"Why are your feet so hard? They're all hard to step on."

The man ignored her. When his second palm came down, Nian Nian dodged to the side and slashed his side ribs with her hand.

The man's movements were not as agile as before. As he pulled back, Nian Nian's fingertips grazed the edge of his robe but failed to cut into his flesh.

But he did take two steps back, and the distance between the two changed from close to just a step, as if they were separated by a force.

He glanced down at the smudged mark on the edge of his robe, then looked up at Niannian, his gaze darkening.

Xiao Jin came up from the side and stopped on Nian Nian's flank.

He didn't go around behind the person, but simply stood next to Nian Nian, about ten feet apart.

Luo Tian was still inside the doorway and had not come out.

The old man from the Fang family stood behind him. When he saw Nian Nian facing the man in gray alone, his lips moved slightly, but he didn't say anything.

Xiao Xiao stood in the courtyard, her hand already poised, a green light condensing at her fingertips. Qi Qi squatted on the wall, while Qian Qian stood on the low wall beside her.

The gray-clad leader glanced at both sides; his men had failed to complete the encirclement, as Xiao Jin and Xiao Xiao had each blocked their path.

His gaze returned to Nian Nian's face: "What's your name?"

Niannian looked at him: "Why are you asking this?" The leader glanced at her again, as if he had memorized her face.

He withdrew his gaze, glanced to both sides, and said, "Withdraw."

The four people stopped in their tracks.

Without hesitation or delay, the five people turned around and retraced their steps, disappearing behind the low hill.

Niannian stood there, watching their figures disappear behind the low slope, before looking down at her own hands.

There is a faint red mark on the pad of my right thumb, from the friction just now.

She shook her hand, turned and walked back into the courtyard, pausing briefly as she passed Luo Tian:

"Dad, they've come to test us."

Luo Tian glanced at her: "Yes, there will be more in the future."

Niannian thought for a moment and said, "Then next time they come, can I go first?"

"Can."

She smiled and walked into the yard.

After walking a few steps, she looked back at the direction of the courtyard gate. The crooked gate was still there, and the light coming through the crack was a little dimmer than before.

She looked at her hand again; the red mark on her thumb was almost invisible, like a scratch from the brush, fading away quickly, like a scratch on the water's surface being smoothed out by the current.

She looked at it twice more to make sure it was really about to disappear before putting her hand down and continuing to walk into the yard.

She walked to the well, squatted down, dipped her hands in the cold water, and then looked up at the sky.

The clouds were thicker than before, and a wind was blowing in from outside the valley, carrying the smell of sand and dust and the dry air from afar.

She lowered her head again, looking at her reflection on the water. The water rippled gently, and her face swayed slightly with it.