Back at Gillianis's villa, Jia Xiu took out his Blood Clan research notes and wanted to test the effect of the Fruit of Inspiration.
But he didn't feel anything special.
For a moment, Jia Xiu wondered if this thing was fake.
That couldn't be right. It had been bestowed by the God of Knowledge, treasured by an ancient Brass Dragon, and its effects had been revealed through Insight. There was no reason for it not to be genuine.
The only explanation was that the notes weren't valuable or difficult enough.
He needed to meet a higher bar to earn the God of Knowledge's blessing.
Just then, voices came from downstairs. Margaret and the others must have returned.
Jia Xiu left his room to greet them.
When Margaret saw him, she suddenly put on a stern face. "This is terrible. I had such high hopes for you, and you were eliminated in the second round! Do you know what people are saying about your Phantom?"
"Oh? What are they saying?"
Jia Xiu asked with interest.
"They're saying, um, they're saying—"
"You didn't actually come up with anything beyond that one line, did you? You wouldn't make a living spreading rumors with that little imagination."
Nearby, Ram whispered to Mia, "Ram wins. You lose."
"Fine." Mia reluctantly handed over a one-Hell coin.
On the way back, Margaret had been thinking about how to scare Jia Xiu.
So Mia and Ram had made a one-Hell bet.
Of course, they weren't betting on whether Margaret could pull it off. They were betting on how many sentences it would take before she gave herself away.
They both agreed that Margaret wouldn't fool him.
Trust!
Ram bet she'd give herself away on the first sentence, while Mia bet it would take more than one. She figured