Aha Stole the Chapter Title

Afternoon, and the sunlight in Heaven Dou City was quite pleasant.

Luo Yan squatted under an old locust tree in the southern part of the city, listening to an old man selling herbal tea say, "Last two scholars got into a fight at Qingyun Pavilion last night. One claimed he was the real Aha, while the other cursed him for stealing his next installment."

"And then?" Luo Yan bit down on a bamboo skewer, his eyes shining.

"And then the City Patrol Guard came, and the two still refused to let go. One yelled I'll write you to death, and the other shouted Aha can never die. Honestly, what kind of mess is this."

Luo Yan burst out laughing.

He naturally knew that "Aha" was currently the least scarce commodity in Heaven Dou City.

Ever since his unofficial history spread, more and more people wanted to use the name to make a name for themselves.

There were those who claimed to be "Aha's only disciple," those who claimed to hold the complete upcoming chapters in their hands, and others even more reckless who simply set out paper and brush in teahouses to write on the spot and peddle it then and there.

"A fake Li Kui ran into the real Li Kui, and the real Li Kui is squatting under a tree drinking tea," he muttered softly, his eyes already straying toward a few people boasting on the street corner.

Tonight, I must send these impostors a grand gift.

That night, Heaven Dou City seemed covered by a layer of extremely thin mist.

Luo Yan looked out from the window of the old inn.

The night had already darkened, a few thin clouds pressing down against the moon.

"Almost time." He clapped his hands, pressing the Elation Mask against his face as one yellow and two purple soul rings manifested.

"First Spirit Skill: Pledge of Delusional Joy."

"Starting tonight, anyone in the city who has ever called themselves 'Aha' will, upon seeing Aha, speak the truth in public—there is only one truth: I am not Aha, I am a fraud."

The rule melted into the air, with no wind, no sound, only his first ring glowing faintly.

Then, Luo Yan set Floating Life Like a Dream in motion.

This time, he spread his willpower out, dividing it into seven strands.

Seven invisible puppeteers simultaneously pulled on seven shadows from seven directions.

Seven birds, seven Ahas.

At the Hour of Xu, when Heaven Dou City was at its liveliest.

On the north city bell tower, a grey-blue bird suddenly cried out.

"Aha—!"

The voice was sharp and strange, resembling both human laughter and a bird's call.

Pedestrians on the street all looked up.

Right after, in front of the old bookstore in the southern part of the city, the exact same cry came: "Aha—?!"

Followed by the exterior of the Soul Fighting Arena, the back alley of the Seven Treasure Hotel, the main street crossroads, the old locust tree in Grey Tile Lane, and even the withered tree outside the Crown Prince's East Palace—birds were calling from all of them.

The entire city heard it.

"Where is that bird coming from?"

"This voice... why does it sound like it's laughing?"

"Aha? A bird calling Aha?"

"No way..."

Before they could recover their wits, the grey-blue bird atop the northern bell tower suddenly stopped crying.

It leaped from the corner of the eaves, spinning in an extremely steep arc under the moonlight.

Then, the bird's body shuddered in midair, as if torn apart by the wind. One wing first turned into a sleeve, and the other became an arm.

The bird's head became a human face.

A grey-blue robed figure landed lightly on top of the bell tower.

He opened his mouth and laughed.

"Hahahaha—!"

"Aha—! He turned into a person—!"

"A bird! It really was a bird!"

"No... it's Aha!"

In the south, the north, outside the Soul Fighting Arena, and in the back alley of the Seven Treasure Hotel, grey-blue figures simultaneously turned from birds into humans, and after letting out a single laugh, dispersed like mist.

Heaven Dou City went crazy.

"I saw it! It called three times and then turned into a person!"

"That laugh of his... my legs went weak!"

"Same over here! It's like he knew we were looking for him!"

"Seven! I counted! At least seven!"

"Bulls**t! It's the same person! He flew from south to north!"

"Birds can fly! He definitely can fly!"

"Aha really is a bird—!"

Crying, laughing, running home, and rushing onto the street—they had all of it.

Several children ran all over the streets holding pinwheels, shouting as they ran: "Aha can fly! Aha can fly!"

As for those who had once called themselves Aha, they were all cowering in their rooms at this moment.

Some were trembling like chaff, others covering their mouths.

A few bold ones had barely poked their heads out the door when they heard a cry of "Aha" directly above them.

Terrified out of their wits, they dropped to their knees with a thud and shouted on the spot: "I'm not Aha! I was lying!"

Everyone's eyes were searching for the next grey-blue bird.

Luo Yan squatted in a narrow alley in the southern part of the city, clutching a grey-blue feather in his hand.

The feather was fake, made by him that afternoon using willpower; the moment the wind blew, it would scatter.

"Now."

He whispered, "Who can still tell whether Aha is a bird, a person, or that laugh?"

He stood up and tossed the grey feather into the wind.

The feather fragments shattered into extremely fine specks of light in midair, like a few grains of starlight drifting toward the north of the city.

"Seven Ahas."

Luo Yan laughed so hard he couldn't straighten his back, "No, seven birds, seven laughs. Seven cries of 'Aha'—anyone who falls asleep tonight won't have the face to step outside tomorrow morning."

He walked toward the old bookstore in the southern part of the city.

The shop was already closed, but people were still crowding the entrance, all of them tilting their heads up to watch the birds perched on the power lines.

"Stop looking."

Luo Yan passed by behind them, saying softly, "Aha just came out for a stroll."

No one paid him any mind.

He laughed even harder.

Willpower surged back like a tide from every street crevice in Heaven Dou City.

He was smiling even in his sleep.

That night, an entire grey-blue bird stole the sleep of Heaven Dou City.

Until the latter half of the night, people still lingered on the streets.

Children chased each other holding pinwheels, the pinwheels spinning with a whirring sound as if mimicking bird calls.

Several old folks carried small benches and sat at their doorways, saying not a word, merely lifting their heads to look at the sky.

Some lit lamps, while others simply ran out without even putting on their shoes, just to chase a grey-blue shadow to the end of the alley should one fly past again.

Luo Yan didn't return to the old inn.

He squatted inside the bridge arch of a dilapidated bridge in the southern part of the city, peeling the Elation Mask off his face.

The mask was still hot, scorching hot.

He cupped it in his palms, watching the patterns upon it. Those patterns seemed to come alive under the moonlight, twitching and laughing with every pulse.

"I'm stuffed to the brim," he muttered softly, and it was no exaggeration.

The willpower and punchlines were simply too much, so much so that he felt little bugs crawling beneath his skin.

Those laughs, rushing in simultaneously from the East City to the West Market, from the bell tower to the bookstore, poured in like hundreds of tiny streams.

The Elation Mask couldn't absorb it all, and even his spirit power rose along with it.

"If we do this one more time, I'm afraid I'll laugh myself to death by the roadside." He flexed his fingers, his knuckles cracking.

He closed his eyes and leaned against the damp, cool bridge wall while the commotion outside still hadn't ceased.

Someone shouted Aha is in the West City, while another yelled Bulls**t, he's above my apartment.

Heaven Dou City would simply have to do without him for a while.

It could run on its own, stir up trouble on its own, continue fabricating a hundred more Ahas on its own, and then chase after every last one of them.

"Almost time."

He lowered his voice, "Time to change places."

He slowly stood up and tucked the mask into his bosom.

The moon had broken free from behind the thin clouds, turning the surface of the river outside the bridge arch a stark white.

He thought of Tang San and Xiao Wu, of the old locust tree in Notting City, of Xiao Wu saying You'll run away sooner or later, and of Tang San saying You're just scared.

"Hehehe~"

He let out a chuckle, tossing a small pebble into the river. "My 'good friends', I'm coming~"

The pebble struck the water, shattering a pool of moonlight.

In the distance, another burst of "Aha" bird calls drifted over from the direction of the southern part of the city.

Luo Yan did not look back.

He walked along the path beneath the bridge, heading out of the city.

The night wind chased after him from behind, carrying the scents of candied chestnuts, old printing ink, and the lingering warmth left behind by everyone's laughter.

"Heaven Dou City."

He whispered, "Wait for me to come back, oh."