Su Yu slowly removed his hand from Tang Wu's eyes, moving gently.
The air was thick with the stench of blood, mingled with the earthy reek of mud, assaulting their senses.
The two bandits lay in the dark-red mire, their bodies completely rigid, eyes still wide open, the madness and terror of their final moments lingering in them.
Su Yu stood where he was, light shimmering in his golden eyes.
He activated the Eye of Truth and carefully scanned the two corpses.
Only after confirming that the two crude green System Panels had shattered and vanished completely, without leaving behind even a trace, did he finally let out a breath.
Those two were well and truly dead.
"Xiao San, you can open your eyes now."
Su Yu spoke softly, his tone steady, as if everything that had just happened were nothing more than a trivial farce.
Tang Wu's long eyelashes trembled a few times before she slowly opened her eyes.
When she saw the bloody, mangled scene on the ground, she still couldn't help shivering, her little face turning pale.
But she didn't scream or look away. Instead, she clutched Su Yu's clothes tightly and pressed herself even closer to him.
"Brother Yu, are they... are they really dead?"
Tang Wu's voice trembled a little.
"They're dead."
Su Yu patted the top of her head, his voice carrying a cold rationality. "They wanted to rob us, and even sell you. In this world, showing mercy to your enemies is cruelty to yourself. They got what they deserved."
Tang Wu nodded, only half understanding.
She didn't understand any grand principles. She only knew that if not for Brother Yu, they might have been the ones lying in a pool of blood.
Su Yu let go of Tang Wu's hand and walked toward the two corpses.
He didn't show the slightest revulsion. He bent down, his gaze falling on the few gold coins scattered in the muddy water.
They were spoils that had rolled out of the bandits' tattered pockets.
Su Yu reached out and unceremoniously picked up the few Gold Soul Coins, one by one, their surfaces streaked with dark-red blood.
They felt heavy in his hand, with the distinctive chill of metal.
This was hard currency on the Douluo Continent.
For two paupers who had just left their village with only a dozen Copper Soul Coins in their bundle, this was an absolute windfall.
Su Yu weighed them in his hand, then rubbed them against his coarse clothes.
The rough fabric wiped the blood off the coins, revealing their dazzling golden shine once more.
He tucked the few Gold Soul Coins into his inner pocket and patted it with satisfaction.
"Money comes in handy when you're away from home. Once we get to Nuoding City, we'll need it for food and lodging."
Su Yu turned and smiled at Tang Wu.
Tang Wu nodded obediently, her big eyes blinking. "Brother Yu is amazing. You even got the bad guys' money."
After collecting the spoils, Su Yu stood still and took a deep breath, then slowly closed his eyes.
He needed to carefully assess how much Soul Power he had used.
He had just used his Second Martial Soul, the Conceptual Eraser, to alter the bandit's system mission. Though it had only taken an instant, he needed to precisely understand the cost of using this rule-based ability.
It was a trump card that could save his life in the future.
His heart beat a little faster as he sank his mental power into his dantian.
With his inner vision, he could see the swirling mass of Innate Full Soul Power within him, previously brimming with energy.
The moment he saw it, his heart leapt with joy.
The energy vortex representing his Soul Power was still robust.
That one forced alteration of the System Panel had consumed only about a third of his Soul Power!
It was a huge surprise, and an even more exciting discovery.
Su Yu quickly replayed the fight in his mind.
What he had altered was the target phrase in the bald bandit's system mission.
He had erased the words "two children" and replaced them with "accomplices."
Those words weren't part of the low-tier system's core logic, nor were they some heaven-defying reward mechanism. They were merely an ordinary instruction specifying the target of a mission.
The fact that altering this non-core wording had consumed only a third of his Soul Power made the cost-to-benefit ratio absurdly good!
Su Yu's mind raced as he silently worked out the practical rules.
If he had chosen to erase the entire bandit's system or tried to alter its core reward mechanism—for example, changing that pitiful 100 points into a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring—the Soul Power consumed would have been astronomical.
With his current feeble strength, having only just awakened and not yet possessing a single Soul Ring, he would surely have been drained dry in an instant. He might even have suffered a backlash from the rules and exploded.
But if he did what he had just done—cleverly changing one or two non-core words, shifting a mission's target or conditions—he could achieve the perfect effect of killing with a borrowed knife at minimal cost.
Using four ounces to move a thousand pounds!
He had grasped the basic rules of practical use.
The right way to use the Conceptual Eraser wasn't to go head-to-head with a system's core code. It was to exploit loopholes, alter details, and use the system's own rigid logic against its host.
Su Yu opened his eyes, confidence and wisdom shining in their depths.
With this rule in hand, he would have a vast range of options when facing those cheats with all sorts of bizarre systems.
He didn't need to compete with them over who had more trump cards. He only needed to use the eraser at a critical moment, change the mission target or the penalty conditions, and let them bring about their own downfall.
The feeling of playing those lofty systems like toys in the palm of his hand, of controlling the whole situation, made Su Yu feel utterly refreshed. Even the fatigue of traveling vanished.
Just then, a light patter of footsteps interrupted his thoughts.
Tang Wu came running over and stopped in front of Su Yu.
She took a faded, freshly washed cloth handkerchief from her clothes and rose onto her tiptoes.
"Brother Yu, you're sweating."
Tang Wu's voice was soft and sweet, tinged with concern.
The tense standoff and the expenditure of Soul Power had indeed left a fine layer of sweat on Su Yu's forehead.
Tang Wu stretched out her slender arm as far as she could and gently wiped the sweat from Su Yu's forehead with the cloth handkerchief.
Her movements were very gentle, as if she were afraid of hurting him.
Because of the difference in their heights, Tang Wu had to stand on tiptoe, her body naturally leaning forward.
The distance between them instantly shrank.
Close enough for Su Yu to clearly smell the faint fragrance on Tang Wu. It was a lovely scent, a mixture of sunshine and some unknown flower.
The warm breath from Tang Wu's lips brushed against Su Yu's neck without hindrance, bringing a tingling sensation.
The feeling made Su Yu's heartbeat skip involuntarily.
Su Yu lowered his head slightly, meeting Tang Wu's clear, limpid eyes.
The fear and panic she had felt when facing the bandits were now completely gone from those eyes.
All that remained was undisguised admiration and deep dependence.
In Tang Wu's young heart, Brother Yu was an invincible god of war.
He could see through the bad guys' tricks and even make them kill each other without breaking a sweat.
As long as Brother Yu was by her side, she wouldn't be afraid in the slightest, even if the sky came crashing down.
Feeling the warm breath against his neck and looking at the delicate, adorable little face before him, filled with trust, Su Yu felt a powerful urge to protect her.
He raised his hand and couldn't help pinching Tang Wu's soft cheek.
It felt wonderful, smooth and tender.
"Thanks, Xiao San."
Su Yu smiled, his gaze gentle.
Tang Wu's cheeks instantly turned rosy, like ripe peaches.
She lowered her head shyly but didn't pull away from Su Yu's hand. Instead, like a docile little kitten, she leaned in and gently rubbed her cheek against it.
Su Yu smiled faintly and tapped her on the forehead.
"Alright, we still have to keep going."
With that, he took Tang Wu's hand and continued on their way.
On the distant horizon, the tall walls of Nuoding City were already faintly visible.
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