Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 726: Catching Up To Events
"This winter was bad," he said grimly. "Worse than before."
Another nodded.
"Beast attacks. Packs coming down from the mountains. The guards barely held them off."
"They had to call for reinforcements twice."
"And hunters…" the man hesitated. "Nearly eighty percent of those who went in near the end of autumn never came back."
A heavy silence followed.
Han Yu's grip on his cup tightened slightly.
"I also heard," someone added quietly, "that people have been disappearing. Even near the mountain entrance."
Han Yu lowered his gaze, hiding the cold flicker in his eyes.
'So it really had been Danqing Xun.'
As the conversation continued, someone else chimed in.
"Ah, right. There was also that herb."
"What herb?" another asked. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
"The rare one. I think they called it the uh... Cold moon? Cold Ice? No.... Cold Silk Orchid. Yeah, that's it."
A murmur spread through the group.
"I heard a team went after it."
"Only one came back."
"Frost Wing Wyvern," the man said grimly. "Tore them apart."
Han Yu nodded slowly, as if hearing confirmation of something he already knew.
"That deep, huh," he murmured.
The hunters sighed, shaking their heads.
"Some fortunes are just not meant for us."
Han Yu raised his cup and drained it in one go.
Inside, his thoughts were calm.
The orchid was already safe.
And he was finally out of the mountains.
Han Yu ended up staying in the tavern far longer than he initially intended, though not because he had forgotten his urgency. It was simply that once he loosened up and stopped radiating the aura of a half starved mountain specter, conversation came easily, and the people around him responded in kind.
After finishing his first bottle of spirit wine, he slapped his palm on the table and called out loudly.
"Another round. For everyone here."
The tavern froze for a breath.
Then erupted.
Cheers broke out instantly, cups were raised, and even the tavern keeper nearly dropped a tray in shock. Ten low grade spirit stones appeared on the table again, tossed casually as if they were copper coins rather than something most people here would hesitate to spend in months.
"You're generous, brother!"
"Hah! Looks like the mountains really did treat you well!"
"To surviving winter!"
Han Yu smiled faintly and raised his cup, clinking it against the others. As the alcohol flowed and the mood rose, he could feel the familiar warmth of Eight Emotions energy brushing against him, subtle yet distinct.
Yellow joy energy gathered in faint wisps, drifting toward him from every direction. It was not explosive or overwhelming, but steady and plentiful, like a river rather than a flash flood.
It was not a loss at all.
With the tension gone, people spoke freely. Stories spilled out. Complaints about the winter. Grievances about beasts. Rumors about nearby towns. Han Yu listened carefully, occasionally steering the conversation with casual questions, careful not to appear too probing.
That was when he realized something was missing.
He frowned slightly and leaned toward the hunter sitting closest to him.
"Hey," Han Yu said, keeping his tone light. "What date is it today?"
The man blinked, then laughed.
"What, did the mountains knock your sense of time loose too?"
Han Yu shrugged. "Hard to count days when you're lost under snowstorms and running from beasts."
That earned a few nods of agreement.
"Fair enough," another hunter said. "It's the seventh of March. Winter's nearly done."
The words hit Han Yu like a hammer.
March.
The seventh.
For a moment, the tavern noise faded into the background.
His mind raced.
Before he had passed out in the river, it had been late December. Around the twentieth, if he remembered correctly. Which meant…
"Over two months."
He had been unconscious for over two months.
Han Yu's fingers tightened around his cup. His breathing slowed, not from panic, but from the sheer weight of the realization pressing down on him.
Two months of silence.
Nearly fourteen months away from the sect.
Two months where anything could have happened.
Someone noticed his expression.
"Brother? You alright?"
Han Yu stood up so suddenly that his chair scraped loudly across the floor.
"I'm late," he said.
The tavern quieted.
"I'm so fucking late."
Before anyone could ask what he meant, Han Yu swept his hand across the table, leaving behind a small pile of spirit stones more than sufficient to cover the drinks, the food, and the inconvenience of broken furniture if any had occurred.
"Enjoy," he said abruptly.
Then he was gone.
A gust of wind rushed through the tavern doors, rattling them violently as Han Yu launched himself into the sky. The patrons stared at the empty doorway, stunned.
"…Core Condensation realm for sure," someone muttered.
Han Yu flew hard and fast, no longer conserving Qi. His halberd hummed beneath his feet as he poured spirit Qi into it, swallowing pills without hesitation whenever his reserves dipped. Spirit stones crumbled into dust in his palm as he absorbed them mid flight.
His destination was clear.
White Peacock Town.
Qing Luan.
He had promised her he would return before heading back to the sect.
That promise had long since expired.
And worse than that, his thoughts drifted to Meng Jueyan and Senior Sister Xuan Qing. He had instructed them not to leave his cave, and he had stocked supplies carefully, calculating generously.
But generously did not mean infinitely.
Even with strict rationing, two extra months of unexpected absence was dangerous.
They might already be running low.
They might be worried.
They might be hurt.
The thought tightened something unpleasant in his chest.
He pushed harder.
The last time he had traveled between Harrow Edge Town and White Peacock Town, it had taken three full days with rest, caution, and detours.
This time, he did not stop.
He flew straight through the night, through dawn, through the next dusk, driven by a single burning thought. By the time the sun rose again, White Peacock Town appeared on the horizon.
It had only taken him one day.
