ATMIWPT Chapter 16 Something Terrifying

Qin Muyao smiled and blinked playfully. “Why not?” she countered.

Her reasoning had been seamless, and she was brimming with confidence.

Fu Hanzhou lifted his eyelids slightly and replied at an unhurried pace, “Because Great Chu does not allow such things to exist. It would be far too easy to expose. If an opponent were to seize this as leverage, the consequences would be catastrophic.”

For Fu Kuangze, as a prince, such an act would undoubtedly be labeled as treason.

The emperor, unwilling to lose face, might choose to suppress the matter rather than announce it publicly.

Even though Fu Hanzhou now had some leverage against Fu Kuangze, it was far from enough.

If he truly wanted to deal with him, he would need more substantial proof.

Qin Muyao, still confused, pressed on. “Then why would Fu Kuangze do it?”

Fu Hanzhou glanced at her and explained in a calm tone, “He is taking a desperate gamble. This prince suspects he is in urgent need of something. And that very thing… was on Xiao Mu.”

If that were the case, he had even less reason to kill Xiao Mu.

After all, he would need to interrogate her first to find out where the object was.

Qin Muyao rubbed her chin, clearly unable to wrap her head around it. “Then… what exactly did he want from Xiao Mu?”

Suddenly, a thought struck her—Fu Hanzhou had previously asked her to search for the Wangchuan Ledger in the Marquis of Zhongyi’s residence.

Could it be… that was what Fu Kuangze was after?

Could Xiao Mu have been hiding an earth-shattering secret all along?

Fu Hanzhou’s long brows arched slightly. In the depths of his pitch-black eyes, something flickered briefly before he murmured, “A blood sacrifice…?”

No.

If Fu Kuangze knew how to perform it, he wouldn’t have simply sent assassins to kill Xiao Mu outright.

Because that method would yield nothing.

Qin Muyao rubbed her face, sighing in frustration. “Looks like there are still too many unanswered questions…”

Fu Hanzhou remained silent, deep in thought.

Eventually, Qin Muyao returned to the Marquis of Zhongyi’s residence.

…

Midnight.

Bang, bang, bang—

A faint rustling noise echoed from outside.

Qin Muyao’s eyes snapped open. She swiftly rolled off the bed, bundling her quilt into a lump to make it appear as if someone were still sleeping soundly.

Then, she concealed herself in the shadows, watching intently.

Xiao Ba the turtle groggily rubbed its eyes, clearly still half-asleep. The noise had disturbed its rest, but after yawning lazily, it curled up again and went back to sleep.

The door creaked open.

Two figures, clad in black, stealthily slipped inside.

They headed straight for Qin Muyao’s bed. After confirming that the figure under the quilt was sound asleep, they nodded to each other and split up, as if searching for something.

The first masked intruder grew impatient and whispered anxiously, “Did you find it?”

The second one shook his head. “No, nothing.”

“Are you sure you’ve searched everywhere?” the first one pressed.

“I’ve checked every inch,” the second confirmed, shaking his head again.

Suddenly, a thought struck them both at the same time.

“It could be on the bed.”

The first intruder hesitated, glancing toward the bed. “Not sure. Should we check?”

The second one nodded. “Let’s do it.”

Creeping toward the bed, they reached out cautiously, ready to lift the quilt—

“What are you looking for?”

A voice suddenly rang out behind them.

A light pat landed on their shoulders.

Expressionless, Qin Muyao stood there, her voice eerily calm as she asked the question.

“Ahhh!”

“Ahhh!”

A light, drifting voice came from behind.

The men in black turned pale with shock. None of them dared to look back, fearing they might see something terrifying.

——