Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 181: Being Trapped

Wu Shuan peered upward. "They haven’t seen us yet. If we move quickly and stick to the shadows, we might be able to climb out without being noticed."

"And if we’re noticed?"

Han Yu gave a wry smile. "Then we pray they’re allergic to thunder."

They began their ascent immediately, wrapping the sword carefully and dousing their torches to avoid giving away their position. The climb was grueling even without the added pressure of being hunted—but they moved with urgency, using smaller paths and avoiding the main route.

Once, a stone slipped under Fatty Kui’s foot and clattered down the ravine—but the noise was masked by another loud call from further off, where the Mist Eye Sect disciples had descended a different path to investigate.

"They’re searching the salamander’s nest," Wu Shuan muttered as they paused behind a rocky outcropping. "That buys us time. Let’s go."

Step by step, they made their way upward, breath quiet, bodies low. The air grew colder the higher they climbed, and mist had begun to settle in patches—curling around stones and catching the moonlight like ghostly ribbons.

After hours of careful climbing, scraping, and praying, the three finally hauled themselves over the top edge of the ravine and collapsed into the moss.

"We made it," Han Yu whispered, chest heaving.

Fatty Kui spread out on the ground like a dropped dumpling. "Next time... let’s just send a spirit crane with a letter asking the Mist Eye Sect to return the sword. Maybe offer them a fruit basket."

Wu Shuan sat upright, already scanning the area. "We need to keep moving. They’ll realize we’re gone soon."

Han Yu nodded, rising to his feet, the wrapped sword slung across his back.

His fist still tingled slightly from the earlier strike.

Stronger.

Yes... he was getting stronger.

But so were the problems he was attracting.

And now, somewhere below, the Mist Eye Sect had caught their scent.

Their departure from the ravine was quick at first, driven by fear and the desperate desire not to be around when the Mist Eye Sect disciples discovered the broken salamander corpse.

But somewhere along the third hour of travel, Wu Shuan slowed, his brow furrowed.

"...Didn’t we pass that twisted tree already?"

Han Yu paused mid-step, scanning the gnarled pine with a distinctive lightning-burned scar across its bark.

Fatty Kui’s cheeks puffed as he muttered, "No way. We’ve been going in a straight line. I even left crumbs!"

Han Yu gave him a blank look. "Crumbs?"

"Spirit Wheat bread crumbs," Fatty Kui explained proudly. "I thought ahead for once!"

Wu Shuan knelt beside the tree, his fingers brushing against the bark. "No. He’s right... We’ve circled back. The soil’s disturbed. That’s my footprint."

Han Yu’s stomach dropped.

They’d been walking in circles.

Fatty Kui scratched his head nervously. "So... either we’ve collectively become geographically incompetent, or—"

"—We’re in some kind of formation," Wu Shuan finished grimly. "An illusion. A powerful one."

Han Yu glanced around, but now everything looked subtly wrong. The trees were eerily still. The wind had died. Even the mist that had begun to roll in was too thick—unnaturally so.

"I don’t know enough about formations to break an illusory formation," Han Yu muttered. "We’re stuck."

"Same," Wu Shuan said. "This is advanced work. They must’ve set it while we were in the ravine."

Han Yu tightened his grip on his belt, where he’d secured the sword. "Then they’ve either been planning for this or they’e been watching."

A shrill whistle cut through the air like a knife.

Before anyone could react, Wu Shuan grunted and dropped to a knee. A dagger had pierced his leg—clean through, blood already soaking his robe.

"Ambush!" he hissed.

More sounds followed—sharp whirrs and thip-thip-thip of high-speed projectiles.

Fatty Kui yelped as one embedded itself into his shoulder, staggering him back. Han Yu flinched as a dagger tore through his sleeve, nicking the flesh of his arm. Blood warmed his skin instantly.

He dove behind a nearby tree—but the moment he made contact, his body passed through it like mist.

"What the—?!"

A dagger struck his chest—but his instincts kicked in.

"Ironwood Stance!"

Thung

The impact reverberated through his ribs, but the dagger only carved a shallow cut across his chest before bouncing away. His qi-hardened skin had saved him.

"That wasn’t a real tree..." Han Yu muttered, panting. "None of this might be real."

They regrouped, staggering together near a stone outcrop that—thankfully—felt real underfoot.

"Nothing can be trusted in this formation," Wu Shuan hissed. His leg was bleeding badly now, and he was pale. "Visuals, cover, direction—all fake."

Fatty Kui ripped the dagger from his shoulder with a grimace. "This is bad... I’m bleeding too fast to snack this off..."

From the mist, figures emerged. Seven in total.

They wore dark robes with long sleeves and flowing sashes. Their expressions were cold, their movements fluid. Some wore bone masks, others veils. But all of them had eyes that glinted like polished obsidian.

Mist Eye Sect disciples.

One of them, a slender figure with pale green lips and sleeves trailing like silk, stepped forward. Her voice was smooth, almost dreamy.

"Well now... the little righteous bugs really do scurry fast when you start kicking their nest."

Han Yu instinctively stepped in front of the others. "You’ve been following us."

"We’ve been watching," she corrected. "You led us to the ravine. We let you retrieve the sword."

Wu Shuan grit his teeth. "Let us?"

She smiled faintly. "The elder who dropped it killed one of our initiates. It was... a matter of principle to make sure it didn’t return to your sect so easily."

A taller disciple to her left chuckled, his fingers spinning a set of throwing knives between them. "But we couldn’t pass up the chance for some sport. And of course, to see if the intel was true..."

Han Yu blinked. "What?"

The group fell silent for a moment. The woman tilted her head.

"You don’t need to know."

Fatty Kui whispered, "So uh... do we have a plan?"