Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 101: Caught For Crime

Location: Twin Leaf Sect - Disciplinary Hall, Sub-Basement Three (a.k.a. "The Room With One Chair and a Disapproving Aura")

Han Yu sat shackled to a stone chair. The shackles weren’t actually locked—just very judgmental—but they clinked menacingly anytime he moved. Across from him sat Senior Servant Zhang, a man who once made a junior cry just by breathing too loud.

Elder Jiang or his disciple certainly wouldn’t be the ones to deal with a small matter such as this so they had left it to this man.

Zhang leaned forward, resting his elbows on a table so polished it reflected all your guilt.

"You know why you’re here," Zhang said.

"Because the sect finally realized I’m too powerful to be left unsupervised?" Han Yu offered.

"Because you stole an Inner Court disciple’s sock," Zhang snapped. "A sacred piece of fabric woven with spiritual silk, embroidered with plum blossoms, and—this is in the report—’smelled faintly of superiority.’"

Han Yu blinked.

"...You could just say ’sock.’"

Zhang slammed a scroll onto the table.

"Do you deny your involvement?"

Han Yu opened his mouth to lie—but then paused.

"Wait. How did you even find out it was me?"

Zhang’s eyes narrowed.

"Do you know what a Spirit-Traced Thread Imprint is?"

"...Is it something good?"

"No. It’s a subtle tracking formation woven into high-grade garments by Inner Court disciples—mostly to catch thieves, creepy admirers, and laundry mix-ups. When that sock left its rightful owner’s possession, it recorded its journey. Step by step. Rat by rat. Idiot by idiot."

Han Yu’s soul quietly tried to slide out of his body again.

"But Li Mei swore no one would know..."

Zhang unfurled the scroll. It showed a spiritual map traced with golden thread-lines. It started at an Inner Court laundry rack... then detoured through a rat tunnel, paused for an uncomfortable length of time in a peanut barrel, twitched erratically through the pill-testing hut (twice), and finally came to rest in Han Yu’s room.

Zhang jabbed a finger at the final location.

"We found it here. In the poession of Outer Court Disciple Liu Bei who quickly claimed that he didn’t steal it and someone else did it for him.’"

Han Yu winced.

"Okay. In my defense... I didn’t think the sock would snitch." Han Yu said. "Also how did you get it so fast? I swore my senses saw Outer Disciple Liu Bei rubbing his face on it just a while ago." he was confused while Servant Zhang was stunned.

A side door creaked open.

In stepped Disciple Yan Qiao—the original owner of the sock, a famed beauty of the Inner Court with the cold poise of a winter glacier and the fashion sense of someone who would absolutely curse a garment just to prevent wrinkles.

She walked in without looking at Han Yu, placed a sachet of fragrant herbs on the table, and then—very pointedly—put on a single sock.

The spiritual energy in the room tensed like a fist.

Han Yu coughed nervously.

"Uh. Hello. You have... a very commanding left foot."

Yan Qiao turned her gaze upon him. Her eyes glowed faintly.

"You desecrated my laundry."

"I’d like to think I... spiritually borrowed it for a good cause?"

"You used it as a bribe for an Outer Court disciple in exchange for..." Yan Qiao turned to the servant.

"Some Black Bellied Boar meat." The servant replied.

"Hey, I didn’t even know it was him that wanted it!" Han Yu retorted. "Besides how did you find that out too?"

Han Yu had thought that the rats would be good at smuggling it out.

Zhang sighed deeply, rubbing his temples. "We keep a record of all food stock you know?"

"Han Yu. This is the third incident of concern you are invovled in. Why shouldn’t we expel you?"

Han Yu swallowed.

This was it.

He had to say something profound. Something to justify his chaotic existence.

"...Because Li Mei was the one go gave it to be and I got it because I’m the only one dumb enough to test Li Mei’s pills without insurance?"

There was a pause.

Zhang slowly sat back.

"...Damn it, he’s right."

Li Mei was a trouble for a lot of people and when she couldn’t get servants to test things on she went to other disciples.

At that moment, the door burst open again.

"THERE you are!" Li Mei marched in with her sleeves rolled up and a bag full of clinking vials. "Han Yu, I’ve been looking all over for you! We need to test the Reverse Soul Polisher Pill—oh, and possibly the Cursed Plum Elixir, although it’s technically not cursed, just misunderstood."

She looked around.

"Oh. Are you being interrogated again? Do I need to bribe someone or just find another disciple to test things on?"

Yao Qian pinched the bridge of her nose while Zhang trembled at the thought of becoming a pill tester.

"Why is she here when he’s the one in trouble?"

"Because I caused most of it," she said proudly. "Now come on, Han Yu. I need your Qi signature before it stabilizes again. Your eyebrows just grew back—we can’t waste this window!"

Just like she had promised Han Yu before, she did indeed prepared a pill that fixed his eyebrows.

Han Yu looked between the stern faces in the room, then at Li Mei.

"...So I can go?"

Zhang grunted. "Only because she isn’t bother other servants or disciples for the time being."

"That’s right!" Li Mei huffed. "As long as I got my perfect test subject you all are safe."

As Han Yu stumbled after her, he looked back at the scroll on the table.

"Can I at least get the offense removed?" He requested.

Yan Qiao raised an eyebrow.

"Fine but just this once." Yan Qiao said before turning to Li Mei. "And you, stop taking away our things for your experiments!" She warned.

Han Yu watched while Li Mei didn’t seem to be bothered by the warning.