Muzan: My daughter can't be that weak!

Muzan put Yukina down, took her hand, and walked forward.

The moonlight shone down sparingly, outlining the shadows of two ghosts, one large and one small, on the ground.

"dad,"

Instead of moving forward immediately, Yukina pulled Muzan's hand back, tilted her head up, and said, "I don't like them."

As a ghost, her senses were far more acute than those of a human.

The boys' malicious laughter, the sounds of kicking and smashing stones, and the increasingly faint sobs coming from the dark figure in the middle...

Everything clearly penetrated her ears.

Although it was obscured by the boys' figures, making it impossible to see exactly what it was, it was undoubtedly a life suffering in pain...

"No need to like it."

Muzan's gaze was already fixed on the tallest boy named Yota, sweeping over his still somewhat immature but already sturdy physique.

This amount of meat, plus the other two... should be more than enough to feed this idiot next to me.

He thought about it casually.

"Hey! You've gone the wrong way, there's no road here, get lost!"

The boy in the old blue clothes was the first to notice the two people emerging from the shadows. He waved his hand impatiently to shoo them away, speaking rudely.

These children have never been liked by the adults in the neighborhood, and they also dislike the adults who always lecture or scold them.

They felt an instinctive aversion to the well-dressed, pale-faced young man in front of them, and to the little girl he was leading, who was also pale-faced despite being well-dressed.

Especially that girl, she looks like the kind of annoying person who cries and complains.

Muzan ignored their clamor.

He even turned his head slightly to look at Xue Nai, who was tightly gripping his fingers and had a tense face, a hint of consideration flashing in his eyes.

Should we deal with these noisy bugs directly, or... let this kid try it himself?

After all, even a half-baked ghost should gradually develop basic hunting instincts and abilities.

Relying solely on feeding is not a solution.

He was still weighing his options when a sudden change occurred.

"Woof...woof..."

A weak, painful, trembling cry suddenly rang out from among the boys.

The little hand gripping his fingers suddenly tightened, with astonishing force.

Muzan lowered his eyes and saw Yukina suddenly open her eyes wide and look towards the source of the sound.

At the same time, Yang Tai was obviously startled for a moment because the thing on the ground suddenly made a sound, which might attract more attention. He subconsciously kicked the thing hard again, trying to shut it up.

But soon, he regained his composure, and the panic on his face was replaced by a sense of self-righteousness.

So what if these two strangers saw us?

It's just a stray dog ​​that came out of nowhere!

Even if they complain, Mom will at most scold herself a couple of times. Would she really hit him for the sake of a beast?

With this thought, he grew even bolder, put his hands on his hips, and raised his voice towards Muzan and Yukina: "Hey! I'm talking to you! Don't you hear me telling you to get lost?! Stop getting in the way!"

At that moment, Xue Nai's gaze had already pierced through the gap between the boys' legs, and she could see the lump on the ground clearly.

It was a skinny, yellow mongrel dog, covered in mud and dark red blood.

One of its hind legs was bent unnaturally, and the most shocking thing was its tail, which seemed to have been haphazardly cut off by some sharp weapon, leaving only a short, bleeding stump.

It curled up there, its small body trembling with pain, its wet black eyes gazing in Yukina's direction, whimpering.

"You...are bad guys!"

Yukina's voice suddenly rose, filled with anger, and her eyes instantly reddened, "Hit the puppy! You bad guy! Get out of the way!"

Extreme anger overwhelmed her slight fear of the unfamiliar environment and her disgust for the boys.

She abruptly released Muzan's hand and ran over, wanting to check on the dying puppy.

"Hey!"

The boys immediately moved and formed a human wall to block her again.

One of the boys who had just joined in the commotion, seeing that Yukina was so anxious that tears were welling up in her eyes, not only did he not feel embarrassed, but he also showed a wicked smile.

"What's it to you? It's not your dog! All you do is cry and whine. You can't beat us, let's see how you get away with this, nyah nyah nyah—"

As he spoke, he exaggeratedly stuck out his tongue and made faces.

However, before his grimaces and mocking words had even faded...

A muffled thud was followed by the faint cracking sound of bricks and stones shattering.

The boy didn't even see how Yukina moved; he only felt an irresistible force slam into his chest.

He was thrown backward and crashed hard into the mottled earthen wall behind him.

"Bang!"

Dust settled down.

The boy was embedded in the slightly recessed wall. It took a full two seconds for the excruciating pain to explode from his back and engulf his entire body.

"Waaah...cough cough...brother, brother..." He couldn't even cry properly. He coughed twice, looked at the boy in the blue clothes, and tears streamed down his face.

The other boys, including Yota, froze on the spot, their arrogant expressions instantly replaced by disbelief, astonishment, and fear.

They didn't even see how the little girl in the pink dress made her move; her movements were so fast that she was just a blurry shadow.

And... that wall... how could that wall be dented?!

How could human strength possibly...?

As the leader of the children, Yang Tai was the bravest, but at this moment his heart was pounding and his palms were sweating.

But he forced himself to suppress his fear and desperately tried to find reasons for himself:

This little girl must be naturally strong...

No, it's because that wall is too old and wasn't sturdy to begin with!

Yes, that must be it!

But if the wall is damaged and the adults find out, I'll definitely get scolded...

It's all because of those two guys who suddenly appeared!

Thinking of this, anger overcame the initial fear.

Just as he was about to step forward to argue or even resort to violence to save face, the boy in blue suddenly grabbed his sleeve, his face pale, and desperately gestured with his eyes for him to look at the clothes on Muzan and Yukina.

The fabric and workmanship were far beyond what children like them could afford; they were even better dressed than the children of the wealthiest merchants in town.

Yang Tai reacted instantly and abruptly stopped in his tracks.

The two children exchanged a glance and instantly reached a kind of consensus.

They ignored their companions, who were still groaning inside the wall, and instead puffed out their chests, trying to appear fierce.

"Hello!"

Yota pointed at Yukina, his voice trembling with tension, but he tried his best to appear fierce.

"You hit his brother! See? The wall's all broken! You...you have to pay for this! Otherwise, we'll report you to the authorities and have them arrest you!"

Yukina did not respond immediately.

She felt an unprecedented surge of heat explode from her heart, instantly flowing to her limbs and bones.

The blood beneath her skin seemed to boil, a strange sensation mixed with anger rampaging through her small body.

She clenched her fists so tightly that her fingertips almost dug into the flesh of her palms.

Muzan, who had been watching from the sidelines with his arms crossed, raised an eyebrow slightly.

He certainly noticed the change in Xue Nai's aura.

He had originally raised his hand, ready to casually dispose of the children, but then lowered it again.

A look of keen interest and inquiry flashed in his eyes.

Oh?

It had to be at a time like this...