Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 279: Safe Storage

Han Yu returned to his courtyard just as the final slivers of sunlight dipped beneath the horizon, casting warm orange streaks across the distant mountain peaks. He closed the courtyard gate behind him with a soft clack.

With a wary glance at the sky, Han Yu made his way back inside his modest wooden residence. The familiar smell of sandalwood incense and faint herbal remnants hung in the air, mingling with the soft creaks of old floorboards beneath his feet.

After locking the main door and sealing the windows, Han Yu walked straight to the far corner of the room. This wasn’t the same floorboard under which the vial of liquid flames was hidden—no, that one was farther across the room.

Instead, he knelt by the opposite wall, near the old wooden shelves stacked with blank scrolls and unused books.

He slid aside the low shelf, revealing another loose floorboard, almost identical in appearance. Pulling it up, he revealed a shallow cavity beneath, about the size of a large basin. It was shielded with a lesser concealment formation etched in his own hand—sloppy but serviceable.

From within his robes, Han Yu took out the small wooden box containing the Reverse Blood Fruit and set it inside carefully. Even through the box, he could feel the peculiar chill of the fruit’s energy pulsing gently, like a heart beating backwards.

Next, he unwrapped the two spools of Jade Heart Silk, their sheen like glistening moonlight on water. He laid them inside the box, ensuring none of the delicate threads were strained or crumpled.

With both materials safely stored, Han Yu replaced the floorboard and whispered a short incantation to reinforce the rune. A soft glow passed over the floor before dimming entirely.

Just in case anyone ever did find one of the caches, they wouldn’t find both. It wasn’t paranoia if people were actually watching you—especially in a sect where surveillance could come in the form of formations, beasts, or even nosy senior disciples.

Dusting off his knees, Han Yu flopped down onto the cushions in the corner of the room with a long sigh.

"That should be enough."

Now that the materials were secured, he turned his thoughts toward his dwindling stockpile of merit points.

He had started with a veritable mountain—one hundred and fifty thousand—a reward most disciples could only dream of. But spending fifty thousand for the Jade Heart Silk and Reverse Blood Fruit had cut a significant chunk out of it.

On top of that, the high-grade communication jade slip he’d sent through Chitterfang to Meng Jueyan had cost him another thirty thousand.

Han Yu winced slightly at the memory. It had felt excessive, yes, but it was the only reliable way to ensure long-distance two-way communication. Standard slips were fine for simple messages, but Meng Jueyan was far.

That left him with just over seventy thousand merit points—still a fortune for a Qi Refining Realm disciple, but it felt a lot less grand when he remembered the kinds of items he’d eventually need.

He leaned back and stared up at the wooden ceiling.

"What to do with seventy thousand points..." Han Yu muttered aloud.

’Pills?’

Sure, there were options. Pills to fortify the body. Pills to ease cultivation bottlenecks. Pills to soothe injuries, clear meridians, or even—if you believed the rumors—pills to attract fate.

But buying those from the sect’s stores would cost him a fortune.

And frankly, Li Mei’s concoctions, for all their eyebrow-singeing, occasionally limb-numbing, and throat-dissolving side effects... had worked surprisingly well.

In the past few months, Han Yu had risen all the way to the late stage of Qi Refining Realm.

A large part of that was thanks to her not-so-legal, mostly-unstable pill experiments.

He chuckled softly. "Haven’t died yet," he whispered.

At present, roughly half of his spirit qi had already condensed into liquid form, sloshing within his dantian like a quietly forming storm. Reaching the peak stage would require fully liquefying all of his spiritual qi until the dantian brimmed with essence, every strand coiled and swirling like dragons in a storm cloud.

That wasn’t going to happen overnight.

Especially not with his tendency to get distracted by squirrels, explosions, or divine misunderstandings involving stolen socks.

As for the Core Condensation Realm... frёeweɓηovel_coɱ

Han Yu snorted. "Still too far."

It felt like an entirely different world. And from what he’d heard, most disciples who reached that level only did so after securing a Core Forming Pill—an alchemical treasure that bolstered your chances of forming a stable golden core.

And those weren’t cheap.

Han Yu distinctly remembered Senior Sister Xuan Qing ranting about them when she first brought him to the sect. Something about "market fluctuation extortion," "five hundred thousand merit points," and "I swear I’m going to murder the next alchemist I see."

Yeah, not exactly within his budget.

He tapped the side of his head with a finger.

So no big purchases yet.

No need to blow the rest of his points on pills he could potentially survive through Li Mei anyway.

He would just wait.

Let things settle.

See what Meng Jueyan said.

Once she responded, he’d have a better idea of where to go next—whether that meant focusing the Soul Cultivation path further, exploring the mysteries of the Mist Eye Sect, or... just avoiding getting set on fire by Li Mei’s next "breakthrough."

Until then, Han Yu resolved to continue his daily cultivation. Slow, steady progress. Stabilizing his liquid spirit qi, refining his control, and testing his Soul Qi abilities in controlled conditions.

Not that he could resist a little mischief now and then.

But for now—calm.

Quiet.

Preparation.

Han Yu exhaled again and stretched out across the cushion, staring at the small wooden beams of his ceiling.

His fingers brushed against the edge of the tea table beside him, finding the familiar ceramic cup he always kept there. He took a sip, savoring the warmth of the lightly brewed chrysanthemum tea.

Outside, night had settled fully, and the courtyard was bathed in moonlight.

Crickets chirped.

A wind rustled the plum trees.

Han Yu closed his eyes.

Waiting.

Always waiting.

But something told him it wouldn’t be long now.

And next time, if someone was watching him...

They’d better bring peanuts.

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