Like credit card bills, like old classmates asking to borrow money, like a company dissolving and social security payments being cut off—bolts from the blue always came suddenly, without warning.
"Hm?" Wen Wen looked up.
"Huh?!" Tong Hua was shocked.
"Emmm..." Ye Chun wanted to speak but stopped herself.
"Ah?" Little An looked bewildered.
"Oh ho." That was the old man's sigh as he watched the drama unfold.
"..." Tong Shan had no idea how to react.
Amid this silence, complicated in every possible sense, all eyes converged on Ji Jue—shocked, doubtful, curious...
He suddenly understood a truth: sometimes, a person could be perfectly fine one second and dead the next.
Or perhaps only one breath away from death.
Instinctively, he wanted to explain, "My house doesn't have a basement!" But before he could finish, cold sweat broke out—no, wait, his house really did have one...
For a moment, after the chill and shuddering passed, he could only explain futilely, "There's no one in the basement!"
And all eyes fell upon Ghost Artisan again.
Ghost Artisan merely trembled slightly, and the scorch marks and mercury residue on his body vanished. The esteemed Matrix Holy Relic had suffered a loss from that first encounter, but it was hardly enough to send him tumbling into a ditch. He was simply in the wrong and unable to strike back, which had made him look somewhat disheveled.
Now, he spoke with earnest gravity. "It's one thing to fool other people, brother. Don't fool yourself..."
"How the hell did I fool you?!"
Ji Jue was so furious he was practically about to cry.
Especially when the looks landing on him once again started to turn dangerous.
"Kid, let me confirm this again..."
Wen Wen put down her wine glass, wearing a half-smile. "It's only been