Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 604: Ruthless Ju Fan

The teenage boy's mother dropped to her knees at once, clutching her child closer, her forehead hitting the ground. The village head's legs gave out and he followed suit, pressing his palms to the dirt.

"Honored disciple!" he cried. "We greet you!"

The others did not need any prompting. They knelt or bowed, some so panicked they nearly fell over themselves, foreheads touching the cold earth, backs trembling.

"All beings prostrate before the Slaughtered Moon," a few voices chanted in unison, almost on reflex. "May its Divine Blood grant us eternal mercy…"

Despite the severe situation in front of them, they still acted like this. Their fear was like a choking mist.

Han Yu ignored the murmurs and worship. His eyes were on the intruder.

He walked up to him without hurry knowing the effects of Soul Needle would last long enough. The thief's gaze rolled frantically toward him, pupils shrinking. His jaw worked, trying to speak, but the Soul Needles locked the muscles in his face.

Only a strangled wheeze came out.

Han Yu's hand closed around the man's wrist first.

With a casual twist, he peeled the blade away from the boy's throat. The knife fell to the ground with a dull clatter. Han Yu nudged the boy aside with a light push.

"Go," he said flatly.

The boy stumbled back into his mother's arms, shaking like a leaf. She pulled him close and covered his eyes, as if that could shield him from what was coming.

Han Yu did not bother to look at them again.

His other hand shifted, fingers sliding from the thief's forearm up to his throat.

Skin, tendon, cartilage.

He lifted.

The man's feet left the ground. His body dangled, pinned in the air by nothing but Han Yu's grip around his neck. His face flushed red, then darkened, veins standing out like cords.

His eyes, though, were clear. Terrified. Fully aware.

That was important.

The villagers stared, frozen in shock and horror. No one dared move. The hunters lowered their spears. The burned man on the ground clenched his teeth to stifle his groans, unwilling to draw attention.

Han Yu's grip tightened.

There was no overt burst of power. No roaring Qi. No fancy technique.

Just brute, controlled strength.

The man's mouth opened in a silent scream. His tongue bulged. Saliva foamed at the corners of his lips. His legs kicked weakly in the air, boots scraping against empty space.

KACHA

A faint, ugly cracking sound echoed in the alley.

The villagers flinched.

The man's head bent to the side at an unnatural angle. His body jerked once, then went limp, arms hanging slack. The only movement left was a faint twitch in one hand, then that too stopped.

Han Yu held him there for a breath longer, letting everyone see, letting the image burn into their minds.

Then he released his grip.

The corpse dropped.

THUDDD

This time, the sound was not a crack, but a heavy thud as it hit the ground. Dust puffed up around it.

For a few heartbeats, there was no sound at all.

Then a girl near the back let out a strangled sob. Another villager turned away and vomited noisily into the ditch. Children buried their faces in their parents' clothes, shaking.

The village head trembled so hard his hands slipped on the ground.

"This…" he began, voice barely there, then forced himself louder. "This traitor disturbed the honored disciple's rest… His fate is deserved. Entirely deserved."

His forehead struck the dirt once, twice, in a hurried kowtow.

Thud thud thud

Around him, the villagers followed, foreheads touching the earth, shoulders shaking, not daring to look up at Han Yu.

Violet Fear surged around him like a tide, thick and suffocating. Underneath it, he could feel raw relief that the boy had survived, and a faint, reluctant satisfaction that a banished criminal had finally met his end.

Han Yu looked down at the corpse, then at the kneeling crowd.

His voice, when he finally spoke, was quiet but carried clearly. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"This is the price," he said, "for disturbing my rest and raising a hand in front of me."

The sentence hung in the cold air like ice.

Several people shuddered visibly. A few began to mutter the sect prayer again, as if that might shield them from his notice.

"All beings prostrate before the Slaughtered Moon. May its Divine Blood spare us…"

The village head forced himself to speak again. "Honored disciple, thank you for your righteous action. This man had been cast out long ago. His crimes are his own. We… we are grateful that you protected our child and punished the sinner."

Han Yu let his gaze linger on him for a heartbeat, then finally pulled it away.

His eyes drifted just briefly toward the shrine's direction, then back to the corpse. Inside the man's robe, pressed against his chest, he could feel the faint outline of the wrapped book he had stolen.

He would collect that later.

In front of the villagers, he had already played his part.

He flicked his fingers in the direction of the body.

"Clean this up," he said. "Do not leave such filth where I can see it in the morning."

The village head bowed so low his nose touched the ground. "At once, honored disciple. We will not let your eyes be sullied."

Han Yu turned away without another word. As he walked back toward the guest house, the crowd parted for him, backs bent, heads down, no one daring to breathe too loud.

Only when the door of the guest courtyard closed behind him did the first wails break out properly. Women cried. Men cursed the dead man under their breath. A few hunters moved forward with hurried steps to lift the corpse.

The boy clung to his mother's clothes, eyes empty, replaying the image of a man hanging in the air and dying without being able to resist.

From inside the guest house, Han Yu sat down again, feeling the lingering echoes of their fear.

"So this is what the sect's shadow looks like to them," he thought quietly.

Ruthless. Absolute. Unquestionable.

Exactly what Ju Fan should be.