Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 183: Retreat

"No," Han Yu said. "It really wasn’t."

Seeing that the odds were against them now, the veiled woman quickly threw a smoke talisman to the ground. frёewebηovel.cѳm

FWOOOSH!

Mist exploded outward. It swirled unnaturally, tugged by a formation they hadn’t seen before, masking her escape. The last disciple followed, limping, disappearing into the veil of fog.

By the time it cleared, they were gone.

Silence fell.

Broken bodies lay scattered around them. The mist was still—but it no longer felt oppressive. Whatever illusion they had been trapped in had collapsed.

Han Yu exhaled deeply, swaying a little.

"Is it over?" Fatty Kui asked, finally standing and wiping blood from his nose.

"I think so," Wu Shuan said. "But we need to leave. Fast."

Han Yu nodded, glancing down at his bloodied fist. The static was gone, but the echo of power still lingered.

He didn’t need all of his Soul qi to fight, only the amount that was required. A few well placed attacks were enough.

The fight had shown him something important.

He could stand on his own now—not fully, not flawlessly—but enough to start pushing back.

Enough to begin climbing.

A while later, the mist was gone.

The fog that had choked the area like a silent predator had finally lifted, leaving only the stench of blood, broken weapons, and the scattered bodies of the defeated.

Han Yu staggered over a moss-covered rock, rubbing at the thin gash on his arm where the illusion-dagger had struck him earlier. The cut had mostly dried, but his shirt was still torn and stuck to his skin with sweat and blood.

Behind him, Wu Shuan leaned against a boulder, one leg stretched out stiffly. His pants were soaked red from a deep cut on his thigh. Fatty Kui sat nearby on a flat slab of stone, panting heavily, his left shoulder wrapped in a bloodstained strip of cloth.

"We need to find shelter," Wu Shuan said through gritted teeth. "Fast."

"There’s a hollow over there," Fatty Kui pointed toward a rocky outcrop near the base of a nearby hill. "Smells like a spirit wolf den, but it looks empty now. We can use it."

"I’m not picky," Han Yu muttered, half dragging Wu Shuan as they made their way inside.

The cave was shallow, but dry and shielded from the wind. The scent of old animal musk and urine lingered on the walls, but it was better than being out in the open.

Once inside, the three collapsed like bags of stones.

"Okay," Fatty Kui wheezed, digging through his pouch. "I’ve got blood clotting powder... and one minor recovery pill. Wait—no, that’s a grilled meat bun. Whoops."

"That is not going on my wounds," Han Yu said firmly.

"Speak for yourself," Fatty grinned, then applied a salve to his shoulder. "Ow. Ow ow. Hooo... spicy."

Wu Shuan fished out a few small jade bottles from his own pouch and passed one to Han Yu. "Here. Apply this on your wounds. It stings, but it works."

Han Yu took it, but paused.

His gash had already closed.

Not completely, but noticeably more than it should have after just a short time. A crust had formed, and the skin around it had darkened slightly, almost as if it was... reinforcing itself.

He touched the wound, frowning.

"No blood?"

Wu Shuan raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Han Yu slowly removed his outer robe and inspected a second injury—this one a cut along his ribs. It too had stopped bleeding entirely. In fact, faint traces of vital energy were gently pulsing underthe surface of the wound, knitting it closed.

"I think... my body’s healing on its own. Faster than normal."

Fatty Kui squinted. "Did you take a regeneration pill or something?"

"Nope. Haven’t taken anything yet."

Han Yu looked down at his hands, then at the faint pulse of vital energy that lingered in his chest. It wasn’t overwhelming, but it was active—working without his command.

’Is this from my soul cultivation? Or due to my body being rebuilt from the Undying Life Charm...’

Whatever the case, he wasn’t about to complain.

Instead, he reached into his robe and pulled out a small box Li Mei had given him before their mission. He remembered her words clearly—mostly because she had threatened to test the pills on him again.

But this time, he was grateful.

"Li Mei’s special-grade spirit qi replenishing pill," Han Yu murmured.

"Wait—she gave you one of those?" Fatty Kui asked, eyes wide. "Did you have to sign a waiver?"

"No," Han Yu replied. "But I think she wanted me to."

He popped the pill into his mouth.

A rush of warmth surged through him as the spirit qi began to cycle through his meridians. It wasn’t overwhelming, but it restored the foundation of his reserves, just enough to kickstart his recovery.

Wu Shuan and Fatty Kui followed suit with their own pills, and soon the three of them sat in silence, their breathing gradually slowing, the pain dulling to a manageable throb.

They rested in the cave for the rest of the day.

None of them spoke much.

Han Yu used the time to meditate, cycling his qi slowly and focusing on simple recovery. The wounds on his body continued to knit together with faint spiritual vibrations—another sign that whatever his body had become, it wasn’t entirely normal anymore.

Fatty Kui, once his pain dulled, dozed off with a grilled rice ball in one hand and his stomach rising and falling like a sleeping hill. Wu Shuan sat sharpening his blade with silent focus, occasionally checking his bandages and redressing his leg.

When the faint glow of dawn trickled into the cave entrance, they knew it was time.

"Ready?" Wu Shuan asked, standing slowly with only a small wince.

Fatty Kui stretched. "As ready as someone who got stabbed in the shoulder can be."

Han Yu nodded. "Let’s get out of this cursed ravine."

The journey back to the Twin Leaf Peak Sect took twelve days.

Longer than expected.