Chapter 13: Miss Qiao is Truly a Master

The guards looked at the Supervisor, confused.

The Supervisor shook his head and turned back into the hall, leaving Li Furui to finally collect his thoughts.

The next moment, he let out a cry of shock.

"Lord Wang, did you see that just now? Did you see Miss Qiao and His Highness the Crown Prince just 'whoosh' and disappear?"

Li Furui was so shocked that he was somewhat incoherent.

In all his years, this was the first time he had ever seen someone vanish into thin air.

The Supervisor, Wang Xuanzhi, stepped forward and patted Li Furui on the shoulder.

"This Miss Qiao is formidable. Do not offend her in the future."

Fortunately, he was clever; he had established a good relationship with Qiao Niannian from the start and had given her his token. He must continue to maintain this relationship so that if the Imperial Board of Astronomy ever needed help, he would have an easier time asking.

Seeing that someone as important as Wang Xuanzhi felt this way, Li Furui became even more vigilant. He resolved that his attitude toward Miss Qiao must be nothing short of impeccable from now on.

She was a powerful figure with supernatural abilities—she could catch a ball of evil energy with one hand and teleport with a single talisman. She was truly incredible.

Li Furui made a silent vow: whenever he saw Qiao Niannian in the future, his attitude would be respectful and devout, as if he were serving his own mother.

Qiao Niannian, who had teleported to a secluded spot, had no idea that someone was planning to treat her like a mother. She had followed the black orb here to the outskirts of the capital, a remote area inhabited by the impoverished.

Qiao Niannian walked up to a house. "This is the place. Let's go in."

Pulling Xia Rongyu along, Qiao Niannian walked straight through the wall and into the house.

She had expected the interior to be shabby, given that only the poor lived here.

But once inside, she discovered that there was more than met the eye.

The layout was elegant; the furniture was made of fine red sandalwood, the ornaments were Ru ware porcelain, and the tea set was exquisite, consisting of high-quality purple clay pots.

The room still held the lingering scent of incense—dragon ambergris, which cost thousands of taels of silver per ounce.

Qiao Niannian looked around, her gaze landing on a hidden door.

Xia Rongyu’s expression was complex. They were on the outskirts of the capital, a place that would take an hour to reach by horse, yet Qiao Niannian had brought him here in the span of a single breath.

And the wall-phasing technique she had just used—even the Supervisor couldn't do that. Qiao Niannian’s abilities had completely exceeded his expectations.

Fortunately, Xia Rongyu was quick to adapt; after a moment, he accepted the reality of the situation.

He looked up and saw Qiao Niannian studying the hidden door.

Xia Rongyu was well-versed in mechanical arts. He stepped forward, felt around the side, and found a small compartment containing a red latch. He flipped the latch, and the hidden door in front of Qiao Niannian swung open.

The two followed the secret passage inside, catching a faint glimmer of candlelight. As they drew closer, they saw the black orb they had been chasing float inside. Qiao Niannian reached out and caught it in her hand.

The black orb struggled violently, but Qiao Niannian immobilized it with spiritual energy, forcing it to go still.

Inside the secret chamber.

The man had no idea that anyone had broken in. He took a small doll dressed in imperial robes from a box, his expression ferocious.

"You dog of an emperor, I had intended to let you live a few more days, but that idiot almost got us discovered. I have no choice but to speed things up."

The man had already packed his bags, waiting only to finish off the emperor before fleeing into the night.

Qiao Niannian peered through a crack and saw the doll in the man's hand. It was identical to the one the Huo woman had burned previously, the only difference being a lock of hair tied to it.

The hair was stained with blood and carried a trace of the Emperor's aura.

The man sat cross-legged before an altar draped in white cloth, lit with candles and laden with fine offerings. Above the altar stood a statue.

The statue was pitch black, draped in a cloak, its hands forming a mudra, its head slightly bowed in a posture of compassion.

It didn't look like a Buddhist or Taoist figure; it resembled the attire of a Nanyue shaman, yet upon closer inspection, it wasn't that either.

Although she had never seen this object of worship before, Qiao Niannian felt a strange sense of familiarity.

Before she could figure it out, the man moved.

Qin Sang placed the imperial doll on the altar. He picked up a dagger, sliced his palm, and let his blood drip onto the doll.

Blood curses were the most mysterious and complex of all witchcraft, requiring the practitioner's own blood as a catalyst.

When enough blood had been shed, Qin Sang began to chant rapidly. The doll, which had been lying still on the altar, was instantly enveloped in a bloody mist.

Qin Sang raised his hands, shaking them, his head tilted back as if he had entered a state of madness. "Go! Souls harmed by the current Emperor, go and take your revenge! He is no longer the high and mighty Emperor; he is just an ordinary man. Go and kill him!"

As the man chanted, the bloody mist around the doll grew thicker. This was the final of the three stages of the blood curse, and its terrifying power was several times greater than the previous two.

Qin Sang’s eyes turned cold. "Die, you dog of an emperor!"

He traced a spell-casting gesture in the air and pointed his finger at the doll. The doll flew into the air. Qin Sang was overjoyed; he had unleashed the curse to find the Emperor. Once the curse entered the Emperor's body, the doll would instantly explode.

Thinking of that moment, the man couldn't help but feel excited. Just as he thought success was guaranteed, a golden light shot out from the doll.

The light was as sharp as a blade and struck straight at Qin Sang’s face. Before he could dodge, the golden light plunged into his body.

The next moment, Qin Sang slammed his hands down to support himself on the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"How can this be? How could my blood curse fail!"

He couldn't believe it. This was his most powerful blood curse; no one could break it.

Not even the Supervisor.

Qin Sang had staked his own life on this; he wouldn't have used his own blood as a catalyst if he hadn't been one hundred percent certain!

He had investigated the capable people around the Emperor; only the Imperial Preceptor and the Supervisor knew mystical arts.

The Imperial Preceptor was away traveling, leaving only the Supervisor by the Emperor's side. While the Supervisor’s magic was decent, he knew nothing of witchcraft.

The Supervisor hadn't noticed anything during the first two attempts.

If it wasn't the Supervisor, then who was it?

"Who broke my witchcraft and ruined my plans? Damn it!"

Qin Sang’s eyes were bloodshot, and in his rage, he spat out another mouthful of blood.

Qiao Niannian shook her head.

She hadn't even made a move yet, and this man was already on the verge of dying from his own anger. His temper was truly something else.

Xia Rongyu seized the opportunity and kicked the door of the secret chamber open.

Qin Sang whipped his head around, his eyes widening in shock the moment he saw Xia Rongyu.

Before he could react, Xia Rongyu charged toward the altar. Qin Sang scrambled to grab the doll, but he was a step too late.

Xia Rongyu used a suction technique to pull the doll toward him.

However, he didn't touch it with his hands.

The doll was still stained with Qin Sang’s blood, and he found it repulsive. He pulled a handkerchief from his robes and wrapped the object in it.

From start to finish, he didn't let the thing touch him once.

Seeing the doll gone, Qin Sang glared at Xia Rongyu. "Who are you? How did you find my secret chamber?"