Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 759: Chitterfang’s Steady Ascent

Han Yu did not move.

He remained leaning against the bridge's railing, his posture relaxed, his expression bored. To anyone watching, he was just another disciple killing time. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

But his spirit sense followed Chitterfang carefully.

The rat burrowed beneath the shrub, claws working quickly as it slipped into the soil. Unlike most beasts, Chitterfang had never been repelled by the sect's arrays. It was an anomaly, one Han Yu still did not fully understand, but was grateful for now.

The ground here was cold.

Not freezing, but steadily growing colder as Chitterfang moved toward the mountain. Frost Qi seeped into the soil, thickening with every meter. The rat slowed, adjusting its path, instinctively avoiding areas where the Qi pressure spiked sharply which were the signs of hidden formations.

'Good,' Han Yu thought. 'You feel it.'

Minutes passed.

Then tens of minutes.

Han Yu stayed perfectly still, enduring the oppressive aura of the river and the watchful presence of the mountain. His mind was sharp, alert, already running through possibilities.

If Chitterfang found a viable route, the next step would be timing.

If it didn't, Han Yu would need a new plan... one far riskier than this.

Either way, there was no turning back now.

Somewhere beneath the frozen slopes of the Second Kidney Peak, a small, mutated rat crawled forward through darkness and frost, carrying with it the faint echo of a flower that could change everything.

And Han Yu waited.

Time passed...

The bridge creaked faintly beneath Han Yu's boots as the Blood River rolled far below, its surface broken now and then by leaping scales or snapping jaws. He leaned over the railing with an air of practiced boredom, the long fishing rod resting against his arm as if this were nothing more than a lazy diversion between tasks.

In truth, his attention was split cleanly in two.

One part of him followed the tension in the line, the subtle tremors that told him when a Blood River Carp had taken the bait. The other part of him was deep inside his own mind, listening intently to the steady, cautious impressions sent by Chitterfang.

To anyone watching, Ju Fan looked completely at ease.

Fishing at the bridges was common. Some disciples did it to supplement their food, others for materials, and some simply because the act itself was calming in a sect where violence and bloodshed were daily occurrences.

The Blood Sect even encouraged it. Unchecked, the river beasts multiplied too quickly, and when they did, they sometimes surged up the tributaries and caused real trouble.

A fisherman here was not suspicious.

SPLASH

Han Yu flicked his wrist, setting the hook, and felt a heavy tug. With a smooth pull, he hauled up a thrashing Blood River Carp, its crimson scales glistening wetly as it snapped its sharp teeth at the air.

He dropped it into the wooden bucket beside him with practiced ease. The water inside was tinged faintly blue from a dissolved paralyzing agent. The fish convulsed once, twice, and then went still, eyes rolling but body locked.

"That makes three," Han Yu muttered softly.

He adjusted the bucket lid slightly, careful not to let the blood-scent spread too far. While the bridge was protected, attracting too much attention from river beasts was still unwise.

At the same time, a clear thought brushed his mind.

'Second gate passed. No danger.'

Han Yu did not react outwardly. He merely recast his line, letting the bait sink slowly into the dark water below.

"Any formations?" he asked inwardly.

Chitterfang's reply came with a mix of curiosity and faint pride.

'Some walls. Slid through them. Felt funny, like cold mist. Didn't hurt.'

Han Yu's eyes narrowed just a fraction.

'Formations, then.'

Likely detection and restriction arrays keyed to human cultivators, spirit beasts of a certain mass, or surges of Qi. Chitterfang was neither fully mundane nor clearly categorized anymore. To the arrays, he was probably just another insignificant vermin slipping through a crack.

That was good. Very good.

"Keep going," Han Yu sent back calmly. "Slowly. Don't rush. If anything feels wrong, pull back."

'Got it,' Chitterfang replied, then added after a pause, 'Found worms. Big ones.'

Han Yu almost snorted, but managed to suppress it. He could practically picture the rat pausing mid-espionage to consider a snack.

Another disciple wandered onto the bridge a short distance away, carrying a similar fishing rod. He glanced briefly at Han Yu's bucket, gave an approving grunt at the size of the carp, and set himself up a few meters down. No conversation followed. In the Blood Sect, silence was often the safest form of politeness.

Time stretched.

Han Yu caught another carp, then a Blood River Eel whose writhing body nearly overturned the bucket before the paralyzing agent took effect. He adjusted the water mixture slightly, keeping the creatures alive but harmless. Dead beasts bled and blood Qi from that attracted attention.

Inside his mind, Chitterfang's progress continued.

'Third gate. Still fine. Lots of cold now.'

Han Yu nodded faintly, eyes on the river.

The Kidney Peak was notorious for its frost Qi. Even the lower regions were harsh, and the higher one climbed, the more the cold gnawed not just at flesh but at spirit sense itself. For Chitterfang to be feeling it now meant he was already well within the peak's territory.

Han Yu also reckoned that the fire energy within Chitterfang was probably what was keeping it safe. For any other rat, going this far would mean death from freezing.

An hour passed.

Then another.

Han Yu shifted his stance, stretching one leg, letting out a slow breath as if he were simply tired of standing. In truth, tension coiled tighter inside him with every update.

'Fourth gate passed. Fifth too. Still no scary things.'

Han Yu's grip on the fishing rod tightened slightly.

By the fifth gate, only inner disciples and higher-ranking figures were normally allowed. Slaves passed through under supervision, but even they were monitored closely. For Chitterfang to slip through unchallenged spoke volumes about just how much the sect underestimated anything small and seemingly insignificant.

Or perhaps, Han Yu thought grimly, they simply never imagined someone would try something like this.