What on Earth Did I Do in My Past Life?

At that, Xianyu replied casually, "You'd better be."

He wasn't surprised that Aha had realized he was fishing for information.

Thinking the other party seemed carried away by emotion, he had tried an exceedingly clumsy trick. Even a paramecium could have caught on.

But what he had learned from that probing... well, he had dealt eight hundred points of damage to the enemy and taken a thousand himself.

Xianyu, who had been single since birth, had his reputation trashed for no reason, gaining a grown son and a romance with a ○ master.

Xianyu: My fists are clenching.

In the memories he knew of, he hadn't been able to beat Aha up because Yaoqing was short of money, among other reasons.

Now, he simply felt exhausted in body and mind, with no energy left for revenge.

Xianyu was afraid he might become a father out of nowhere again.

Besides, he had something more important to confirm than getting revenge.

Xianyu quickly browsed the Luofu Forum.

Had anyone on the Luofu noticed the arrival of the Aeon of Elation?

Aha did whatever struck their fancy, utterly unconcerned about the chain of butterfly effects they might cause.

Especially the effects on their victim, Xianyu.

The troublesome citizens and paperwork in his memories had already given him enough headaches! Work? Not a chance! He could only be a slacker on the clock.

Aha's head floated over, obstructing Xianyu's view of his Jade Abacus. "I'm serious. Don't doubt me, my dear friend."

Xianyu put down his Jade Abacus and breathed a sigh of relief. For now, nobody on the forum had noticed Aha's presence.

If I can't get answers out of them, can't I search online? If I look through every Yaoqing General's history, I'm bound to find myself, right?

Even if it was ages ago, and later generations altered and distorted the truth, surely I can piece it together?

It's not like I sealed away and erased everything myself, right?

Xianyu didn't reveal his thoughts. In a rare show of friendliness, he played along with Aha:

"Of course, my dear friend."

Upon hearing that, the head immediately stretched into an outrageously exaggerated grin, nearly reaching behind its ears.

Smiling, Xianyu continued, "Since we're dear friends, will you agree to my requests? How about we lay down three ground rules?"

Aha immediately seized the opportunity. "Sure! In exchange, you have to agree to three things too!"

Xianyu didn't agree outright. "Tell me what those three things are first."

For once, Aha grew solemn, their tone utterly serious:

"First, do not defy fate."

"Second, do not alter anyone else's fate."

The Aeon's eyes shifted, and they returned to grinning mischievously.

"As for the third... I haven't thought of it yet. I'll tell you when I do."

Xianyu thought for a moment, then said:

"I can do the first two. As for the third... I can only give you an answer once you've thought of it."

"Sure, you can decide then." Aha agreed without hesitation. "What about you, my dear friend? What do you want?"

Xianyu asked, "Will you agree to anything I say?"

"Of course," Aha answered without a second thought.

"First, don't lie to me."

At that, Aha sounded terribly aggrieved. "I didn't lie to you this time..."

Xianyu laughed in exasperation. "Fine, I believe you. That one doesn't count."

Aha paused for a moment, then grinned. "Actually, why don't we count that one after all?"

Xianyu couldn't be bothered with Aha. He carefully considered his wording, trying to get as much as possible out of a single condition.

"Second, I just want to live the peaceful life of an ordinary person, without anyone disturbing me... for example, Aeons, Emanators, and the like mustn't appear before me or my friends."

Aha fell into an eerie silence.

Xianyu narrowed his eyes and frowned, feigning displeasure. "Is that condition very difficult to fulfill?"

"That condition is too demanding. I can only guarantee that I'll follow it myself." Aha looked troubled. "As for the other gods, I don't know..."

Xianyu had a very bad feeling. "Other gods? What Aeons do I know besides you and Akivili?"

"Well, Fuli, for example..."

Hearing that, Xianyu immediately recalled the giant ice figure that had appeared in his dreams.

After seeing them, he had recalled the memories of his past life.

So the giant ice figure was the Aeon of Remembrance.

"Oh, I remember now. That's everyone, right?"

"And Qlipoth..." Aha said stiffly.

The Aeon of Preservation, the Amber Lord, cared about nothing beyond building walls and wouldn't go around causing trouble like Aha.

"The Amber Lord? Then that's fine."

Although Xianyu didn't know how he had met them, hearing that it was Qlipoth instantly put him at ease.

He had probably met them through Akivili.

"That's everyone, right?" he asked casually.

Aha secretly studied Xianyu's expression, lowered their voice, and added, "And Nanook..."

Xianyu: "..."

He couldn't believe it. What on earth had he done in his past life?! How did he even know the Aeon of Destruction?!

Veins throbbed at Xianyu's temples as he glared at Aha. "So, besides you causing trouble, I also have to watch out for Nanook?"

"What do you mean, causing trouble? That's finding amusement. It's serious business..." Aha muttered a protest under Xianyu's piercing glare, then added, "You don't really need to watch out for Nanook. Qlipoth is actually the bigger problem..."

Xianyu was numb from listening.

He no longer wanted to investigate how his past self had managed to offend Preservation, who was so dedicated to building walls.

Aha refused to spare him and continued, "Because of you, a huge section of their wall got blown up-"

"Because of me? Ha-"

Xianyu didn't believe Aha's account at all. They were being evasive, never explicitly saying what he had done, instead using such vague wording. There was clearly something fishy about it.

If he had truly offended Qlipoth, Aha would only bring him face-to-face with Qlipoth, then say with feigned nonchalance:

"My dear friend, let's blow up Qlipoth's wall again. Don't worry, it won't disturb your ordinary life-"

The god of amusement would only spring something shocking on him out of nowhere to provoke him, not casually toss out a "because of you."

The highest art of lying was not lying at all, making every sentence true. Swap cause and effect, reverse the sequence of events, and completely distort the truth.

The only possibility Xianyu could think of was the system's tech tree. In his past life, he might well have developed technology far beyond Neutron Annihilation.

Aha had very likely taken that technology to cause trouble. Naturally, they had pinned the blame on him too.

If they followed Aha's logic to trace the origins and find whoever had wronged Qlipoth, even a screw aboard the Xianzhou would probably have to be arrested and put on trial.

Xianyu leaned against the back of the sofa and said irritably, "Why don't you just tell me which Aeon I haven't crossed?"

Aha blinked, as though something funny had occurred to them. Their face contorted as they held back laughter, struggling to squeeze the words out of their throat.

"The Aeon of The Hunt."

Xianyu pressed a hand to his forehead and said irritably:

"Oh, thank you so much. Who doesn't know that The Hunt is the Xianzhou's Aeon?"

Even setting aside the fact that he was a Xianzhou native, there was the arrow that had given Xianyu a headache earlier.

As long as he accepted the divine power attached to that arrow, he could become an Emanator of The Hunt.

Xianyu could tell that The Hunt bore him no ill will.

Unfortunately, he had no way to accept that kindness. Once he became an Emanator, he would no longer be an ordinary person.

If he could, Xianyu wanted to tell The Hunt, Lovely gift. Don't send another...

"As your dear friend, of course I want to fulfill your wishes." Aha's expression looked exceptionally sincere. "As for what the other gods think, I don't know."

Xianyu already had so many problems that one more hardly mattered, but getting rid of Aha, the biggest troublemaker of all, would still be nice.

"Fine. As for the third, I'll tell you when I think of it."

He copied Aha's phrasing to leave himself a way out.

As for whether the Aeon would renege and flip the board, that wasn't something he could control.

Aha readily agreed, then said they were leaving the Luofu to find amusement.

Their entire head abruptly flew up, and they started clamoring for Xianyu to open the door for them.

You're an Aeon! Why do you insist on using the door like a normal person?!

If this head flies outside today, I'll be in the Prison of Deep Seclusion tomorrow!

Xianyu smiled brightly and picked up the trash can beside the sofa.

"Would you rather be flushed down the toilet or thrown out with the trash?"

Aha went silent. The head spun in place and vanished.

Xianyu opened the system map. After confirming that they had left, he had barely breathed a sigh of relief before noticing another person in his home.

More precisely, an Aeon.

The ice-carved lotus right before him faintly radiated cold, as though drawing closer would let a frigid wind sweep over his entire body.

It was Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance.

Xianyu: "..."

Have I stirred up a nest of Aeons?

Another one? Is this ever going to end?