Once he confirmed the Human-faced Spider was dead, Su Yu sheathed his blade.

CLANG!

The crisp sound of the blade sliding home was exceptionally clear in the quiet dawn. He turned and walked toward the few people nearby, his expression calm.

"It hurts! It hurts! This pain is killing me!"

"My eyes! My face! You worthless bastards! What are you standing around for? Get me back to the Zhu Family! I need the best physician! Hurry up!"

Su Yu glanced at the frantic Zhu Rui. He was clutching his face with both hands, dark red blood seeping between his fingers. His entire face was a pockmarked mess, corroded by black energy, and his eyes were now just two bloody holes. He was clearly crippled.

"How is Zhu Rui?"

Song Mirror wore a pained expression. "My lord, Brother Zhu’s injuries are severe. His face was corroded by the poison, and his eyes... I’m afraid they can’t be saved. Fortunately, we treated him in time, so his life is not in danger."

After speaking, he turned to comfort Zhu Rui. "Brother Zhu! Hang in there! The lord is here!"

His life was safe, but his future was ruined.

Su Yu understood.

For a disciple of a Martial Arts Clan, being blinded and disfigured basically meant being cast aside.

"Zhao Tie," Su Yu ordered, "carry Zhu Rui on your back and head back to the city for treatment immediately. This cannot be delayed."

"Yes, my lord!"

Zhao Tie didn’t dare to delay. He stepped forward, hoisted the still-cursing Zhu Rui onto his back, and ran toward the city at a great pace.

Once the sound of Zhu Rui’s frantic curses faded into the distance, Su Yu looked at Song Mirror and asked calmly, "How was Zhu Rui injured?"

Song Mirror straightened up and answered impeccably, "My lord, Zhu Rui was greedy for glory and rushed ahead, disobeying orders. He was ambushed by that Bird Monster aberration. Zhao Tie and I fought desperately to save him, but the aberration was too ferocious... We can’t be blamed for this."

Su Yu nodded slightly.

Zhu Rui’s performance on this mission had crossed a line. There was no way Su Yu could keep him on the team.

However, if he had let Zhu Rui get killed, it would have been difficult to answer to the Zhu Family.

He had to admit, Song Mirror had handled it quite well.

Severely injured, with no loose ends left behind. The Zhu Rui problem was solved.

"Well done," Su Yu commented lightly. "I’ll put you down for a merit point when we get back."

Just then, a sickening SIZZLE came from behind them, like cold water being poured onto hot oil.

The two of them whipped their heads around.

Under the rays of the rising sun, the headless corpse of the Bird Monster had begun to smoke violently.

Its black fur and flesh rapidly melted and collapsed, turning into a foul-smelling puddle of thick, black ichor that seeped into the ground.

’This thing... can’t be exposed to light? No, that’s not right. There are aberrations that appear during the day, too. It’s just that their dead bodies can’t stand the light.’

A thought struck Su Yu, and he immediately looked toward the Spider Monster aberration on the other side.

Sure enough, the massive spider corpse was also undergoing the same strange transformation. Its carapace softened, its flesh turned to sludge, and plumes of black smoke billowed up, carrying a pungent odor.

In just a few moments, the two aberration corpses had completely vanished, leaving only two black stains on the ground.

"Hm?"

Su Yu’s sharp eyes spotted a faint glimmer in the center of the putrid puddle.

He walked over, used his scabbard to push aside the filth, and picked out an object.

It was another Black Stone!

But this Black Stone was different from the one he had seen before. It was the size of a fist, and its once-rough, honeycomb-like surface had become much smoother. The holes had closed up, giving it the rounded, lustrous quality of a pearl or jade.

It felt heavy in his hand, and still gave off a bone-chilling cold.

"My lord! There’s one over here, too!"

Not far away, Song Mirror also picked one up from the Bird Monster’s ichor.

Su Yu took it to compare.

The one Song Mirror found was smaller, its surface still pockmarked and uneven. The one in his own hand, from the Spider Monster aberration, was clearly of higher quality. It even seemed to be vaguely condensing into a core.

"My lord, what are these things?" Song Mirror couldn’t help but gulp as he looked at the two sinister stones. "How can... stones grow inside an aberration’s body?"

This series of bizarre events was beyond his comprehension.

Instead of answering directly, Su Yu turned and walked into the tiled-roof house. From beside the shattered water tank, he picked up the bait he had laid—the ordinary, honeycomb-like Black Stone.

"The bait I used was also a Black Stone," Su Yu said, placing the three stones together.

Song Mirror was startled, a glimmer of understanding flashing through his mind. "My lord, these aberrations are so drawn to the Black Stone. Does it offer them some kind of benefit?"

Su Yu nodded, his gaze profound as he added, "Normally, this Black Stone shows no abnormalities. But once placed in water, it emits an aberrant aura. That aura is the key to attracting the aberrations."

"As for what benefit the Black Stone provides them, I can’t say for sure. But from the looks of it, they most likely want to devour it. I don’t know what would happen if they succeeded."

...

Dawn broke, and golden sunlight tore through the gloom that had shrouded Wang Family Village.

Su Yu and Song Mirror walked out of the half-collapsed house and stood on the devastated street.

All was quiet until a first door was cautiously pushed open, followed by a second, then a third...

The villagers, who had hidden all night like startled birds, carefully emerged. When they saw the two black stains where the aberrations had melted into ichor, and the two calm figures of Su Yu and Song Mirror, the dead-silent village erupted with suppressed sobs and cries.

"They’re dead? Lord, those man-eating aberrations... are they really dead?" Wang Youquan asked, trembling as he approached with his cane, his voice filled with disbelief.

Su Yu nodded slightly, his voice steady and powerful, carrying through the street. "The aberration menace has been eliminated. From this day forward, you can all rest easy!"

Those words were like a heavenly pardon.

"Wonderful! The aberrations are dead! We can live!"

"Lord Su is wise and mighty! He killed the aberrations! He’s the great benefactor of our Wang Family Village!"

"SOB SOB... If my husband had only lived one more day, he would have seen Lord Su arrive..."

"We can live, we can live! Thank you, my lord, for saving our lives!"

"Quick! Kowtow to the lords!"

Overcome with emotion, Wang Youquan led the way, dropping to his knees. Behind him, the dense crowd of villagers immediately followed suit, and a chorus of sobs and thanks rose up as one.

Looking at these ragged, emaciated people, Su Yu felt a ripple of emotion in his heart.

’It’s hard to survive in chaotic times,’ he thought. ’When it’s within my power, I should do more to help them.’

He made a gesture to help them up. "Royal Elder, have everyone get up. Live well from now on. The Law Enforcement Team will come by to check on you all more often in the future."

Hearing this, tears streamed down Wang Youquan’s aged face as he climbed up from the ground.

This lord was different from the others. He didn’t see them as ants; he was truly here to get things done.

After calming the villagers, Su Yu didn’t leave with Song Mirror immediately. Instead, he led him back to the house where Zhu Rui had been attacked the night before.

Last night, he’d had a feeling that he’d heard more than two aberrations breathing.

Inside the house, the faint, foul smell of blood and decay still lingered in the air.

Song Mirror crouched in a corner, his expression grave as he pointed to a section of the floor that had been torn up by sharp claws.

There was a clear footprint in the bloody mud.

"My lord, your guess was correct. This footprint is large, with hook-like marks at the tips of the toes, and it’s pressed deep into the ground." Song Mirror analyzed. "I fought the Bird Monster last night. Its talons were long and slender, like an eagle’s. Different from this..."

"As for the Spider Monster aberration, it crawled on more than a dozen legs, and its tracks were more like points. They don’t match either."

Su Yu’s gaze was like a torch as he stared at the footprint. A long-buried memory suddenly became crystal clear in his mind.

That night, on the Black Water Riverbank.

It was his first encounter with an aberration. The creature had been breathing behind him, never showing itself, but the next morning, the tracks it left on the riverbank were... exactly these same large, hooked footprints!

"Just as I thought." Su Yu stood up, his eyes dark and profound. "More than two came last night."

"There was another one... perhaps the most cunning of all. It was hiding in the shadows, watching. It might have even... slipped away right under our noses."

Hearing this, a chill ran down Song Mirror’s spine.

Su Yu was silent for a moment, then waved his hand. "No matter. Since that aberration didn’t show itself, it must be extremely cautious. I doubt it will dare to appear again anytime soon. For now, we’ll record this in the mission file and report back to the city."

...

「Black Stone City, Law Enforcement Team Government Office.」

The moment Su Yu stepped through the main gate, he felt countless gazes converge on him.

The news that Zhu Rui had been brought back severely injured and disfigured had already spread throughout the entire Government Office. Close behind it, the news that Su Yu had slain the aberrations and taken first blood flew as if on wings.

"Look! That’s Su Yu from the Golden Scale Team’s Jiaomu Squad!"

"I heard that on his very first mission last night, he found the trail of an aberration nobody else could, and even single-handedly slew an aberration comparable to a First Acupoint cultivator!"

"So young and promising... His strength and methods are probably top-notch!"

"A limitless future, that Captain Su! Slaying the aberrations and taking first blood—the reward for that won’t be small."

"But that great achievement didn’t come easy. I hear one of his subordinates was gravely injured. The losses were heavy!"

As he crossed the main hall, Su Yu ran into a few acquaintances.

Cui Wanhe was wiping down the Nine-Ring Saber on his back. When he saw Su Yu, the perpetually arrogant Martial Champion Scholar actually stopped what he was doing, looked up at Su Yu with a burning gaze, and then nodded.

Su Yu was a little surprised, but he cupped his fist in return.

In a corner, Dai Xing was still holding his longspear, standing there like a wooden post. When he saw Su Yu, his cold, stern face stiffened slightly.

Liu Li, on the other hand, the young master of the Liu Family, was all smiles. "Brother Su! Amazing! I’m still chasing down clues over here, and you’ve already slain the aberrations. I’ll have to treat you to a drink some other day so you can share some of your experience!"

"Brother Liu, you’re too kind. We’ll definitely have to get together when we have time."

...

「Law Enforcement Team, Second Floor.」

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

"Enter!"

Su Yu pushed the door open and walked in.

The room was pleasantly warm. Li Jingxuan was humming a little tune as he used a pair of delicate, small scissors to trim the leaves of a pot of prized Purple Gold Bamboo on the windowsill.

When he saw Su Yu, his eyes lit up. He immediately put down the scissors, his chubby face breaking into a sincere smile as he strode forward to greet him. "HAHAHA! Su Yu! You really are my lucky charm!"

"How many days has it been? Huh? Two days! And you’ve already brought me such a great gift!"

"Everyone else is still racking their brains trying to find the aberrations, and you’ve already gone and killed two of them! This is a first-class merit for our Golden Scale Law Enforcement Team!"