Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 117: Trauma, Tea, and Recovery

Han Yu limped up the winding path back to the sect under the light of the moon, blood still crusted on his robes, one eye slightly swollen, and a mind replaying every split second of that fight like a broken puppet show.

He reached the familiar stone steps of the Twin Leaf Peak and sat there for a long while.

He’d survived.

Somehow.

But the fear... it hadn’t gone. It clung to him like sweat, like a ghost whispering in his ear: "You’re not ready. You’ll never be ready."

He finally staggered to his room and collapsed into bed.

He needed rest.

He needed therapy.

He needed to never again get matched with a Qi Refining psycho with neck tattoos.

The next morning, Han Yu awoke to knocking. Then banging. Then what sounded suspiciously like someone trying to kick the door down using a horse.

"WAKE UP!" Li Mei’s voice rang through the wood, perky and merciless. "Time for pill testing!"

Han Yu groaned into his pillow. "No. No more. I’m emotionally compromised and physically leaking."

"Great. That means your meridians are open and more reactive to chemical catalysts. Excellent test conditions!"

"I almost died, Li Mei!"

"That’s good data!"

The door exploded inward as Li Mei kicked it open without a hint of shame. Han Yu, still in his blood-stained robes, sat up looking like a zombie who had seen too much.

"You look terrible," she said cheerfully, taking notes immediately.

"I fought a Qi Refining butcher in an illegal murder arena, and I won by headbutting him in the nose while on fire!" Han Yu rasped.

Li Mei’s pen paused mid-scribble. "...Really? That’s actually pretty impressive."

She reached into her bag and dropped something into his lap—a bag of dried herbs, a pair of mild pain-relief pills, and a freshly brewed cup of tea that smelled like cinnamon and deep personal regret.

"Here. This will help with the bruising. And your Vital energy flow. And maybe your trauma."

Han Yu stared at her with dead eyes.

"I’m retiring," he muttered.

"Nope. You’re still under contract. Remember? Personal servant."

Han Yu winced. "Can I get hazard pay?"

Li Mei tossed three more gold coins into his lap with the casual air of someone handing treats to a misbehaving dog.

"...Accepted," Han Yu said solemnly.

Later that afternoon, Han Yu sat slumped on Li Mei’s alchemy lab floor, swaddled in gauze and minor healing runes, while she excitedly held up two pills.

"These are new prototypes," she said, her eyes sparkling with mad-scientist glee. "I figured since you want cultivation progress and survivability, we could combine effects. These pills will either boost your spiritual energy dramatically... or melt your shoes. Possibly both."

Han Yu groaned. "Do I even want to know the ingredients?"

"No, but here’s a hint: one of them includes powdered Soul Moss and phantasmal duck blood."

He blinked. "That’s a real thing?"

"Now it is."

She handed him one of the pills. It glowed faintly. It hummed. It twitched like a tiny, caffeinated bug. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

"I swear this thing moved."

"Just take it."

Han Yu sighed, popped the pill, and braced himself.

A minute passed.

Then another.

Then his hair stood on end and his pupils dilated.

"Li Mei..." he rasped. "Why does my spine feel like it’s vibrating?"

"Oh good! That means your chi gates are opening. Or you’re about to sneeze your soul out. Either way, progress!"

Han Yu’s entire body glowed faintly, and a warm surge of energy pooled in his dantian. It wasn’t a breakthrough, but it was close—like standing at the edge of a cliff with a jetpack strapped on.

"Okay," he gasped. "Okay. That one was actually good. Dangerous, horrifying—but I feel at least 10% stronger. No nose, tail, or second youth. I’ll take it."

Li Mei beamed like a proud madwoman.

Then she pulled out three more pills.

"Let’s ride this momentum!"

Han Yu’s soul visibly left his body for a moment.

He had little respite though, as Li Mei was insistent on feeding him the pills like a deranged mother bird.

He managed to muster a bit of courage after having seen the results of the earlier pill.

’At least they didn’t kill me,’ Han Yu thought as he swallowed the next pill.

GULP

As soon as he did, similar effects like before happened—his spine vibrated while a heat rose within his body. This time around though, he didn’t feel as uncomfortable as before.

"Huh... It’s actually better," Han Yu muttered, almost shocked.

"Good, good. Tell me your feelings," Li Mei chirped.

"Spine vibrating, body hot, and mind confused."

"So mostly the same," she said, scribbling furiously in her notebook.

The pill took a couple of minutes to work, after which Han Yu felt the energy within him swell once more.

SHUA!

Han Yu clenched his fists. His Vital Energy had increased once again.

"Another ten percent!" Han Yu cried in delight. "Gimme more!" He was a lot more eager now, eyes practically sparkling.

"So impatient. Who was the one who didn’t want to take the pills?" Li Mei teased.

"I take all that back." Han Yu snatched the next pill from her hand like a greedy raccoon.

GULP

He swallowed it with reckless abandon—but this time, he immediately regretted it.

A shiver ran down his spine.

"I feel... sick," Han Yu whimpered, keeling over like a folding chair.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, this pill is a bit different," Li Mei said nonchalantly, examining him as if he were a bug under a magnifying glass.

GURGLE

Han Yu’s stomach churned and he felt a wave of nausea building up inside him.

"Ugh... What does this one do?" Han Yu asked, realizing that he might have made a terrible, terrible mistake.

"It’s also meant to increase your Vital Energy, but I used different ingredients in it," Li Mei answered.

"Like what?" Han Yu croaked, clutching his stomach like a man betrayed.

As for which end the disaster would exit from? That was yet to be seen.