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

On the morning I left the Fang family, Niannian stood at the gate and called out back:

"Dad! Let's go!"

Luo Tian came out of the house, leaned against the door frame, and without saying anything, just glanced at her:

"Find a place to stay when you arrive, don't sleep outdoors."

Niannian waved her hand: "I know! It's not like it's the first time I've gone out!"

She turned and took two steps, then turned back:

"If anyone comes to the Fang family to cause trouble, remember this, and I'll deal with them when I get back."

Luo Tian didn't reply, so she took it as a yes and walked briskly out of the courtyard.

Xiao Xiao walked beside her, habitually quickening her pace to keep up with her:

"What you just said sounds like you're going to start a brawl."

Niannian said, "We're going there for a group fight anyway, aren't there some kind of competition over there?"

Qiqi followed behind, walking unsteadily, glancing down at her shoelaces as she went.

The shoelace was half-undone and dragging on the ground when Qianqian pulled it from behind: "Your shoelace is untied."

Qiqi squatted down to re-tie it, and when she stood up after finishing, Niannian was already ten steps ahead. She jogged a few steps to catch up.

Niannian walked a few steps and saw a shrub with tiny white flowers by the roadside. She stopped, bent down and looked at it for a while. The petals were very small, with a little light purple at the edges.

She reached out and touched it; the flower didn't fall.

"I've never seen this flower before. It's harder than the small flowers on Earth, and the petals are thicker."

Xiao Xiao also squatted down to take a look: "It's probably a variety from here, it's not easy to dry."

Niannian touched it again, then stood up and continued walking.

At noon, I passed through a small town with a tea stall at the entrance.

Niannian went inside and sat down, pouring herself a cup of tea from the teapot. The tea was dark in color, and she frowned after taking a sip: "It's a bit bitter."

Xiao Xiao took it and tasted it: "It's alright, I can drink it."

Niannian took another sip, put the cup down, took out a few pieces of dry food from her pocket, placed them on the table, broke off a piece, and chewed it.

Qiqi sat next to her and tried to break off a piece like her, but she couldn't. Niannian broke off half of the piece in her hand and handed it to her.

She took it and took a small bite, glancing up at what was left on the table as she chewed, as if to confirm whether she could get it next time.

In the corner of the tea stall, an old woman sat on a low stool, picking vegetables while glancing at Niannian a few times.

Niannian noticed, but didn't pay attention. After finishing her tea, she placed a few low-grade spirit stones on the table, stood up, and patted the crumbs off her hands.

"Let's go, we need to find a place to stay before dark."

When Hecheng came into view, Niannian leaned forward from the edge of the rocks on the low slope.

It was as if he was looking at the height of the city wall and the number of gates in the distance, then he pulled back and dusted off his hands: "What a huge city."

Xiao Xiao also lay on the rock and watched for a while:

"It's much bigger than the towns we've passed through."

Niannian stood up and dusted off her knees: "Let's go into town and take a look."

There were many people at the city gate, and Niannian was almost bumped by a spirit beast carrying goods. Xiaoxiao pulled her away to avoid it.

After she regained her footing, she glanced back at the spirit beast:

"It walks so fast, it doesn't even look where it's going."

Xiao Xiao didn't reply, but pulled her by the cuff and tugged at her sleeve, leading her to the side.

After entering the city gate, the streets were wide, with stalls and shops lining both sides of the road, selling spiritual materials, magical artifacts, elixirs, and even candied hawthorns.

Niannian paused as she passed the stall selling candied hawthorns, glancing at the spirit fruits coated in syrup.

I glanced at the stall owner again. She was a woman in her thirties, who was bending over and skewering fruit.

Niannian stared for a couple of breaths before taking a step forward. After a few steps, she muttered to herself, "It looks pretty delicious."

Xiao Xiao walked beside her, heard her but didn't say anything.

After finding a place to stay, she put her things down and then went out for a stroll.

When she returned, she had a few more things in her arms: a small bag of candied fruit, a roll of map, and two light-colored minerals.

She placed the dried fruit on the table and glanced at it briefly:

"Didn't you say you didn't buy it?"

Niannian tore open the paper package, took one out, and put it in her mouth:

"That's what I was saying earlier. I saw it while browsing later and bought it."

She chewed on some dried fruit, spread the map out on the table, and pointed to the center of Hecheng with her finger:

"The competition venue is here, not far from where we're staying, about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to walk there."

She then traced a line that extended outwards: "There are a few more alleys ahead; you can take a detour."

Xiao Xiao leaned over to look at the map, then looked at Niannian:

"Which show is yours tomorrow?"

Niannian took the wooden plaque out of her bosom and looked at it:

"Show number three, the first show tomorrow morning."

She placed the wooden sign next to the map, then took a piece of candied fruit and popped it into her mouth:

"It's good to finish the first game sooner so we can come back sooner."

Qiqi squatted on the windowsill, her hands gripping the edge of the window as she looked out, seemingly looking at something.

Qianqian leaned against the wall, flipping through an old book she had bought on the street. Her long, silvery-white hair was gently lifted by the wind blowing in from the window.

That night, Niannian went to bed early. While lying in bed, she turned her head and asked Xiaoxiao, who was in the bed next to her:

"Are you going to come cheer me on tomorrow?"

Xiao Xiao said, "Go ahead." Niannian rolled over, "Then I'm sure I'll win tomorrow."

Xiaoxiao didn't reply, but she smiled.

Outside the window, you can still hear the occasional voices and footsteps from the street, but they become very faint when they get into the room through the wall.

It's like looking through a thin veil; the edges are so blurred that the specific details are indistinguishable.

Niannian rolled over again, pulling the blanket up to her chin:

"If we win after tomorrow's match, I'm going to buy another bag of dried fruit, the kind with lots of sugar."

The little girl said "Okay," and the sounds outside the window quieted down a bit.

Niannian lay there for a while and gradually calmed down.