Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 48: The Miserly Xu Qing

Hearing Xu Qing's words, Han Yu felt a pang of disappointment.

"I see... but isn't that boring?" Han Yu asked, suddenly doubting his grand dream of becoming a wealthy cultivator. 'What's the point of wealth if I can't enjoy food?'

"There's spirit food, but that's not cheap," Xu Qing added nonchalantly.

"Oh yeah! Spirit beast meat and spirit herbs!" Han Yu's excitement returned in full force. 'Alright, there's still hope for a life of gourmet luxury!'

GRUMBLE.

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His stomach, however, reminded him that his grand aspirations meant nothing in the face of immediate hunger.

"...I'll be back in a while," Han Yu sighed, rising to his feet. Food first, dreams later.

Just as he was about to step out, Xu Qing spoke.

"Don't go too far. I don't want to have to come find you if you get into trouble," she warned.

"Okay," Han Yu replied, stretching. "I'm too tired to wander far anyway."

For once, he actually followed through on his words. He only went to some nearby street food vendors and bought a few skewers along with a bowl of noodles for dinner.

Having not eaten since morning, he was positively starving. He had some dried beast meat in his pouch, but he preferred to reserve that for emergencies.

'If it really is as Xu Qing says, who knows what kind of food they'll serve at the sect. This might be my last proper meal for a while,' Han Yu thought grimly.

Once he finished eating, he made his way back to the inn, finally taking a proper look at the ratty old signboard hanging above its entrance.

"Yuzeng Palace Inn... Hah, if this is a palace, then my hideout was the Emperor's royal chamber," Han Yu snorted, amused at the confidence of the establishment's owners.

Shaking his head, he walked in and went straight up to his room. There, he found Xu Qing meditating.

Not wanting to disturb her, he lay down on the bed.

CREAK.

The bed, however, had other plans.

'Ugh. This damned bed,' Han Yu groaned internally, adjusting the suspiciously damp pillow under his head.

Despite the discomfort, exhaustion claimed him quickly, and within minutes, he was sound asleep. It had been a long day, after all.

Once she was sure he was out, Xu Qing cracked open one eye.

'Is he asleep?' she wondered.

To confirm, she gave him a poke. No response.

'Perfect.' She grinned and slipped out of the room.

"Now I can enjoy the food alone and save money!" Xu Qing was positively beaming.

If Han Yu could hear her thoughts, he would have realized that she was perhaps an even bigger miser than he was.

There was absolutely no way she was going to miss out on tasty mortal food now that she was out of the sect. All her earlier words had been nothing but an elaborate excuse to stop Han Yu from tagging along.

With newfound energy, she made her way through the bustling night market, buying meat skewers, stuffed buns, and everything that smelled even remotely delicious.

"Mmm! Nothing beats this!" Xu Qing was in pure bliss. 'At the sect, we only get Grain Pills or Fasting Pills. And spirit food? Rare as a dragon's tear.'

The Grain Pills were a lower-grade version of Fasting Pills, made from common grains mixed with a few spirit ingredients. They provided ample energy but had all the taste appeal of stale cardboard. The actual Fasting Pills, though more potent, were completely tasteless.

While convenient, eating them day in and day out was enough to make anyone go insane. Thus, whenever Xu Qing got the chance to leave for a mission, she never missed the opportunity to indulge in real food.

SIGH.

'It would be great if I could bring some food back with me,' Xu Qing thought wistfully. 'Can I get a better spatial storage treasure with my merit points?'

Unfortunately, not all spatial storage treasures could store food and keep it fresh. Even within the sect, only the Core Disciples and Elders had access to those treasures. Xu Qing had to make do with the standard-issue spatial pouch given to Inner Court disciples.

She sighed again, glancing at her nearly full pouch.

'Forget a storage treasure with preservation arrays—I need one that can at least hold more than a couple of spare robes and a few talismans.'

With her stomach finally satisfied, she returned to the inn and went to bed, determined to get as much sleep as possible before another long day.

'Just one more city, then I can take a Teleportation Array straight to the sect,' Xu Qing thought as she settled in. 'Ugh, do I have to pay for that myself? Can I get a reimbursement?'

Technically, she could fly straight to the sect and skip the Teleportation Array altogether, but that would take an extra week. While three hundred kilometers a day seemed fast, that was only because she had been traveling through relatively safe areas.

The real trouble would start after reaching the next city, which was a hundred kilometers away. From there, she'd have to cross dangerous lands teeming with rogue cultivators, spirit beasts, and worse.

And then there were the Ending Spine Mountains. Even she wasn't confident about crossing that region safely at her current level. That place was abound with Peak Core Condensation realm beasts and even Nascnet Soul Realm Beasts, none of which she had confidence to take out.

Forget fighting them, even escaping might be a pipe dream against them.

Using the Teleportation Array was simply the safer choice. It was one thing to travel alone, but dragging Han Yu along made things even riskier.

'I'll figure it out tomorrow,' she decided, rolling over and closing her eyes.

For now, the only thing she needed was sleep.

The next day, Xu Qing woke up and found Han Yu missing.

"Where did that boy go?" She wondered as she went down.

"HAHA! I WIN AGAIN!" Han Yu cheered.

"Damn, how are you so good?" Xiao Er asked.

"It's all in practice. I've played this more than i've probably eaten food!" Han Yu said feeling proud.