Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 720: From Icy Fangs, To Icy River

The surface above the river sealed itself again in places as drifting shards collided and froze, erasing almost all signs that a man had plunged into its depths moments earlier.

ROARRRRRRRRRR!!!!

Far above, the Frost Wing Wyvern howled in rage, its fury tearing into the mountainside as claws and frost smashed stone and ice alike, yet the river did not care. It carried its prize onward, deeper into the frozen veins of the Harrow Mountains.

The cold infiltrated Han Yu's body, freezing his skin, locking his joints and thickening his blood. But Han Yu wasn't alone, Chitterfang was still hidden in his robes around his chest. So far, the heat from his Dancing Flame art had been enough to keep the rodent safe, but now the cold was affecting it too.

The beast twitched from the cold, still unconscious.

The cold river wished to take not one but two lives. But just as both their hearts were about to stop, a miracle happened.

SHUA!

Deep within Han Yu's body, a small flame awakened. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Han Yu unconsciously curled up in a fetal position, while being carried away by the water.

He did not feel the passage of time.

His consciousness was wrapped in a heavy, suffocating haze, thoughts dissolving before they could form. His body curled tighter upon itself, instinctively seeking warmth that no longer existed. Muscles locked and unlocked in weak spasms, joints stiffened and then loosened again as the strange internal heat battled the overwhelming cold.

Deep inside him, the tiny flame continued to burn.

It was no longer a flicker that appeared by chance. It burned with quiet persistence, steady and stubborn, as if it refused to be extinguished no matter how merciless the surroundings became. The flame spread its warmth through Han Yu's meridians, not violently, but thoroughly, like molten metal flowing through cracks in stone.

Where the cold had thickened his blood, the flame thinned it.

Where ice had crept toward his heart, the flame pushed it back.

The river water around him began to change.

At first it steamed faintly, thin wisps curling upward before being torn away by the current. Then bubbles formed, racing past his body as the temperature rose further. Yet the water did not explode into chaos. The boiling remained strangely localized, forming a warm sheath around Han Yu and Chitterfang, a moving pocket of heat sliding through the freezing depths.

Chitterfang stirred.

The small beast's whiskers twitched, its curled body pressing closer to Han Yu's chest as the warmth intensified. Orange light pulsed beneath its translucent skin, illuminating fine vessels and tiny organs that quivered as they drank in the energy without restraint or awareness.

Its heartbeat steadied.

Then strengthened.

The river twisted, narrowing in places before widening again, plunging through unseen caverns beneath the mountains. Jagged rocks scraped against Han Yu's body, tearing fabric and skin alike, yet the flame dulled the pain before it could register. Blood leaked from shallow wounds only to freeze and thaw in rapid cycles, sealing itself unnaturally.

Hours passed.

Or perhaps days.

In the timeless darkness beneath the ice, such distinctions meant nothing.

Eventually, the river began to slow.

The current lost its furious momentum, spreading into a broader channel where the water flowed deeper and calmer. Sediment gathered at the bottom, muffling sound and movement alike. The warmth around Han Yu persisted, preventing him from sinking too far, keeping his body buoyant as if guided by an unseen will.

The flame within him shifted.

It no longer merely resisted the cold. It adapted to it.

Each pulse of icy pressure from the surrounding water was met with a corresponding surge of heat, not in opposition, but in balance. The two forces entwined, creating a strange harmony within Han Yu's body.

His meridians expanded slightly, reinforcing themselves against the alternating extremes. His flesh, bone, and blood quietly changed, becoming more resilient, more tolerant.

Within his Soul Space, unseen by any external eye, the Eight Emotions Lotus stirred.

Its petals unfurled slowly, absorbing the distant sensations of fear, despair, and primal hunger carried by the river itself. The lingering emotions of countless creatures that had perished in these waters brushed against Han Yu's soul, feeding the lotus in faint but constant streams.

A dream began to form.

Han Yu stood beneath a sky split between fire and ice. Flames rained downward like falling stars, yet the ground beneath his feet was frozen solid, unyielding and sharp. He walked forward without resistance, each step leaving neither scorch marks nor frost.

Ahead of him, a vast mountain loomed, its peak shaped like a hook clutching the moon. From its slopes, rivers of fire and ice flowed side by side, never merging, never separating.

At the mountain's heart burned the same small flame that now lived within him.

Han Yu reached toward it.

The dream shattered.

"HAAAAAAAA!!!~"

Air exploded into his lungs as Han Yu's body breached the surface of the water.

"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"

He gasped violently, choking and coughing as freezing air assaulted his throat. His body convulsed, expelling water as he flailed weakly, barely managing to keep his head above the surface. The river was no longer buried beneath ice here. Jagged edges of frozen banks framed an open stretch of dark water, steam rising thickly from its surface.

Han Yu dragged himself toward the shore.

His fingers clawed at ice and snow, breaking off chunks as he hauled his body out inch by inch. When he finally collapsed onto solid ground, he lay there trembling uncontrollably, chest heaving as his breath came in ragged bursts.

The night sky loomed above him, stars faint and distant through drifting clouds.

He was alive.

For several long minutes, Han Yu did nothing but breathe.

The cold bit into him viciously now that the water no longer buffered it, but the flame within him answered without delay. Warmth spread through his limbs, stronger than before, more responsive, as if it now understood his body intimately.

And for the first time ever Chitterfang moved!