Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 605: The Next Morning

The next morning, just as the faint grey of dawn began to seep across the village and the roosters crowed in uneven voices, Han Yu sensed a presence outside the courtyard gate.

Soft knocking followed.

It was hesitant, almost timid. Nothing like the heavy, urgent pounding of an intruder or the careless slapping of children. It was the knock of someone who wished to show respect.

Han Yu was seated on the woven mat inside the main hall of the guest house, finishing the last cycle of his morning meditation. His spirit sense swept across the courtyard before he even spoke.

The familiar figure of the village head stood at the gate. Along with him were two younger villagers, each holding a wooden tray covered with cloth. The warm scent of freshly cooked food mixed with morning dew and drifted faintly through the gaps of the gate.

Han Yu kept his posture still for another breath, then spoke with Ju Fan’s usual cold, clipped tone.

"Enter."

The gate creaked open.

The three villagers walked in with their heads bowed. The two carrying trays stepped forward with shuffling feet and placed them on the low table. Then they dropped to their knees, pressing their palms to the ground, and the familiar chant rose again in trembling voices.

"All beings prostrate before the Slaughtered Moon. May its Divine Blood grant mercy."

Han Yu let them finish before he even lifted his gaze. The village head remained kneeling, back stiff, eyes lowered to the floor.

He clasped his wrinkled hands and spoke with a respectful tremor. "Honored disciple Ju Fan, we have brought your morning meal. Freshly cooked. We also wished to thank you personally for your righteous actions last night."

Han Yu neither nodded nor showed approval. He simply regarded the old man with a cool stare. The villagers interpreted this as attention, which was enough to make their spines tighten even more.

The village head cleared his throat softly and continued. "We feared you might still be displeased, so I wished to explain the matter clearly. It was important that our village not appear ungrateful for your intervention. I also wished to make sure there were no misunderstandings that might reflect badly on us."

Han Yu already understood the man’s fear without needing to hear the explanation.

For a small village like this, even the slightest rumor that they had offended a disciple of the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect could destroy them. Bandits, rival clans, wandering cultivators, or even corrupt officials could twist such rumors into excuses to ransack the village in the name of justice or sect loyalty.

The village head was fighting for the survival of his people.

Han Yu raised one eyebrow slightly, a signal for the old man to continue.

The elder inhaled shakily. "The thief from last night... the man you punished... was unfortunate blood. He was the son of my younger brother." His voice cracked faintly, but he steadied it. "A disgrace who brought our entire family to ruin."

Han Yu kept his silence, letting the old man speak at his own pace. It seemed to help the elder relax enough to talk.

The village head bowed lower. "Before we settled here, all of us lived in the western outskirts, in a town called Shouming. We were simple people there. Farmers, weavers, basket makers, and hunters.

Our living was modest but stable. Our family had worked hard to raise our reputation, enough that we were given a chance to form a tie with one of the stronger clans in the town."

Han Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly. "A marriage alliance?" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Yes." The elder nodded sadly. "My vile nephew’s older brother was to marry the daughter of that clan. A good girl. Bright and talented. With that union, we would have gained protection and support. Only through that would we have been allowed to inherit a certain family legacy item. A book that had been passed down for three generations."

Han Yu glanced at the trays but did not touch the food. "This is the same inheritance your nephew killed his brother for."

The elder flinched as if struck. "Yes. That madness destroyed everything."

He clenched his hands together until his knuckles went white.

"He was jealous of his brother’s opportunity, jealous that the legacy was to be passed on only after the marriage and that too for his brother’s child. In his hatred, he killed his own blood, stole the book, and fled. When the clan learned what happened, they were enraged. They hunted the boy down. He fought them and escaped, but the blame fell upon us."

He bowed deeply, forehead touching the floor.

"We lost our land. We lost our workshop. We lost our rights to live in the town. We were forced to gather whoever would follow us and leave, wandering until we finally settled here ten years ago. We hid the book in the shrine, sealed away. It was a cursed object to us, the root of our disaster."

Han Yu spoke after a moment. "You believed he would never return."

The elder nodded once. "We thought he would not dare. But last night proved otherwise."

Han Yu already knew a thief would not risk returning unless the item was of substantial importance. Something that could grant enough power or wealth to justify murder and exile.

Han Yu’s cold gaze lowered to the elder’s hands. "The book. Where is it?"

The old man swallowed and reached within his robe. With both hands, he gently removed the wrapped object Han Yu had seen the thief take from the shrine.

The cloth was old canvas, tied with fraying string. The elder placed it on the low table and pushed it forward, keeping his head bowed.

Han Yu did not reach for it yet. He studied it with a faintly raised brow.

"You are giving away your inheritance so easily?"

The old man shook his head hard. "Not inheritance. Curse. This book brought only suffering to us. It led one son to murder, another to death, and the rest of us to exile."