After Losing My Memory, I Became My Rival's Palm-Sized Chirper - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Ascending to the Heavens

Qi Jia, who exactly is the scumbag beast that abandoned you? Do you have any clues yet?

When Qi Shaoxu returned from hunting, Qi Jia was seriously studying the latest “storybooks” (web novels) he had obtained.

“I have basically narrowed it down.”

For Qi Jia—a little parrot who was injured, amnesiac, and carrying a “chick”—nothing was more important than finding that scumbag. Qi Jia said:

“The culprit is either a heartbreaker who ‘pumped and dumped,’ or a piece of emotional trash.”

The chubby little parrot hovered in the air, his rounded belly protruding. With a flap of his small wings, the storybook automatically flipped to the next page. “According to the plots in these books, it’s definitely one of those two.”

“…I understand ‘heartbreaker,’ but what do you mean by ’emotional trash’?”

Qi Shaoxu, who never read storybooks, couldn’t keep up with Qi Jia’s logic.

The little bird’s voice was clear and crisp: “Most likely, he treated me as a ‘stand-in’ for someone else. Then his ‘White Moonlight’ (true love) returned, and I was forced to run away with his child.”

Qi Shaoxu: “…?”

He tilted his dog head. Sorry, still don’t get it.

“Sigh.” Qi Jia patted his round belly with the tip of his wing.

Actually, he didn’t really understand it either.

The rain had just stopped, and the sky over Mt. Budu remained gloomy. The mist-shrouded mountain looked like a monochrome ink wash painting; the only vibrant color was this chubby little bird resting on a flat rock.

However, Qi Jia was feeling incredibly lazy and listless.

Three months ago, when he opened his eyes to this strange world, he remembered nothing about himself except for basic common sense.

He was only certain of two things: he was a little parrot, and there was a trace of an external aura within his belly.

Fortunately, Qi Jia had good luck back then. He was picked up by the Ancestor of Mt. Budu, who provided him with a peaceful sanctuary and some guidance.

But three months had passed, and he still didn’t know whose aura was inside him!

That steady, continuous, and surging aura was so powerful it surpassed even Qi Jia’s own spiritual power. It was impossible to ignore. Before being rescued, the heavily injured Qi Jia had relied on this surging energy just to keep his spirit and his “bird life” intact.

For a long time, Qi Jia was grateful for this spiritual support.

That was until his amnesiac self realized—after the fact—that this situation usually only happened when spirit beasts were “with child.”

During his recovery on Mt. Budu, Qi Jia often sat in on classes out of boredom. It was there he learned that spirit beasts who lack the strength to nurture offspring alone often require the protection of a partner’s spiritual power. During “mating,” the partner injects their spiritual essence into the gestating party’s dantian to ensure both the parent and the offspring have enough energy for the duration of the pregnancy.

In summary: He was pregnant.

But he didn’t know who the father was!

The news was a bolt from the blue for the round bird.

And it had been three months since he woke up… but the unknown beast who knocked him up had never shown its face!

“Anyway, let’s not talk about that.”

Suddenly, his stomach growled. Qi Jia looked at the dog spirit watching him with concern. “Quick, let me see what you caught. What are we eating tonight?”

Driven by curiosity and hunger, the greedy little bird transformed from his bird form into a human and flew straight toward the large white dog.

“…” Facing Qi Jia’s sudden human form, Qi Shaoxu’s temper vanished.

“It’s… it’s carp…”

Bowing his head shyly, Qi Shaoxu’s paw trembled as he conjured a fish basket. The large carp inside were still jumping—extremely fresh.

Qi Jia leaned over, looked, and let out a bright, cheerful laugh.

Qi Shaoxu still didn’t dare look up.

It was strange. Qi Jia’s bird form was just a very ordinary parrot. Though he was excessively cute because he fed himself until he was round, he didn’t look much different from other birds on the mountain.

But once he became human, he was ten-tenths tall, slender, and handsome. Even a bit enchanting.

The youth standing by the basket had a lithe, elegant frame and a graceful neck. Because of his “Nongyan” (intense beauty) style, his phoenix eyes naturally tilted upward, making him look noble and cold at first glance.

However, his black hair was draped casually down to his waist. He wore a mid-length robe loosely over a red inner garment with undone sashes… giving him a relaxed, lazy posture.

His belly showed no signs of pregnancy. The long robe traced his overly slender waist and long legs. Qi Jia wasn’t even wearing shoes.

His round, jade-like toes peeked out from beneath his robe. Qi Shaoxu buried his dog head as deep as possible, pretending he saw nothing. Besides… even if he told Qi Jia to wear shoes, the bird wouldn’t listen.

This chubby bird didn’t listen to his “Big Senior Brother” at all.

Ever since Qi Jia was brought to Mt. Budu, Qi Shaoxu had unilaterally decided Qi Jia was his Junior Brother. Even though…

The white, equally chubby dog scratched the ground with his paw.

Even though this amnesiac Junior Brother’s spiritual magic was much stronger than his own.

After eating the carp caught by Qi Shaoxu, Qi Jia felt his “bird life” wasn’t so bad after all.

He took some time to pick fresh fruit and shared his treasured pine nuts with Qi Shaoxu. Once full, the chubby bird went back to his storybooks.

For an amnesiac parrot, finding the scumbag who knocked him up and abandoned him was no easy task. Mt. Budu was isolated from the world, and information was scarce.

The Ancestor who rescued him was a recluse who rarely appeared. When he found Qi Jia, he said nothing, only giving the lost bird a name. Afterward, no matter what Qi Jia asked, the old man only had three answers: “I don’t know,” “It’s a secret,” or “It cannot be said.”

It wasn’t until Qi Jia asked what kind of beast the spiritual aura in his belly belonged to that the Ancestor finally spoke. After a long silence, he answered:

“It is Dragon Breath.”

Still only three words.

But what exactly was a “Dragon”?

“Qi Jia, Qi Jia! We found out what you asked for!”

The voices of several young boys and girls rang out. Looking up, several colorful, chubby birds fluttered their wings and burst onto the mountaintop. They paused in unison: “Eh, Big Senior Brother is here too.”

“Senior Brother is still here?”

“As expected, Senior Brother is here again!”

Five chubby birds, looking like freshly steamed mochi, huddled tightly together on the only long branch at the peak. They were lined up like a row of fluffy, colorful flower buds on a bare branch.

These were the “Mt. Budu Five Mochi.” That was the nickname Qi Jia gave them.

Seeing them, Qi Jia ruffled his feathers and straightened up. “What did you find? Do you have news about the Dragon?”

He only knew from the Ancestor that he carried Dragon Breath. But he had no memory of what a Dragon was in this world.

Even Qi Shaoxu had rarely heard of them. Mt. Budu was cut off from the outside by a River of Blood; life was primitive and stable, with almost no external contact. Only these little bird spirits, who could fly far to gather news, could help him.

“It’s news about the Dragon!”

One mochi-like bird chirped: “But Qi Jia, are you sure you’re carrying a Dragon cub? If so, you’re in big trouble!”

“Big trouble!” The birds on the branch chirped in unison.

“Why?” Qi Jia asked.

“…You should know that the Dragon bloodline is rare and incredibly powerful. They are existences that defy the heavens, so their birth rate is extremely low. After our investigation, in all the four realms, there is only one Dragon left!”

“The only one in hundreds of thousands of years!”

“Yes, yes! And that Dragon…” The birds looked toward the distant sky. “Is in Yujing!”

“Yujing?”

“Yujing is the capital and palace of the Heavenly Realm.”

“Correct. That Dragon is the current Heavenly Emperor!”

Qi Jia looked upward as well.

The clouds had dispersed, and the sun hung high in the sky, so bright that living beings couldn’t look directly at it. It was a sight that inspired awe and fear.

The string of birds continued chirping: “The current Heavenly Emperor is famous for being solitary, wicked, and cold. He is not to be trifled with.”

“Absolutely cannot be provoked.”

“The Ninth Heaven is too far and too high. Yujing is even higher. Even though we are spirits with magic, we can’t fly that high.”

“And everyone knows there are restrictions in the Immortal Realm. Those who aren’t of the Immortal Race—demons, ghosts, and spirits—are strictly forbidden from entering.”

“You can’t get in even if you try. It’s impossible!”

“Qi Jia, do you… do you still want to look for him?”

The chubby bird hovering in the air was still staring at the firmament. Qi Shaoxu moved his paws restlessly, looking at Qi Jia with worry.

Like Qi Jia, Qi Shaoxu never doubted the Ancestor’s words. The surging aura in Qi Jia’s belly was indeed foreign and unlike anything he had ever felt; it had to be Dragon Breath. And no matter how isolated Mt. Budu was, every creature in the four realms knew that the supreme ruler of the heavens was a Dragon.

Qi Shaoxu just hadn’t realized there was only one dragon in the world.

Which meant the child in Qi Jia’s belly could only be…

Qi Shaoxu’s dog face turned solemn.

Seeing the white dog squatting beside Qi Jia, the row of birds tilted their heads. They never understood why Qi Jia, an outsider bird of unknown origin, got along so well with the Big Senior Brother.

To the spirits of Mt. Budu, Qi Jia was strange. He was incredibly beautiful, amnesiac, and injured—he had all the traits of a tragic protagonist from a storybook. Yet, Qi Jia was unpredictable. His words and actions were always unique and attention-grabbing.

Some of the birds were starting to feel sorry for him.

Injured, pregnant, and not knowing the father—that was bad enough. But now they knew the father was that “wicked” Heavenly Emperor, the most powerful and ruthless being in the four realms… How was Qi Jia supposed to find the father and make him take responsibility?

“Forget it, Qi Jia,” a red fox suddenly leaped out from the side. “Give up. You’re just a tiny spirit; you don’t dare go to the Heavenly Emperor for an explanation…”

The fox transformed into a youth, wearing bright robes like Qi Jia. This was Hu Lang, Qi Shaoxu’s junior brother and the Second Senior Brother of Mt. Budu, known for his cleverness.

Hu Lang: “Most likely, the Emperor had a one-night stand with you, refused to admit it, and beat you until you were heavily injured… Given how tyrannical he is, it’s lucky you aren’t dead. Qi Jia, don’t look for him anymore. Why humiliate yourself?”

Hu Lang looked at the worried Qi Shaoxu, his expression stiffening, then scolded Qi Jia: “Besides, the Ninth Heaven is too high. You can’t fly up there…”

“Since the clue is only there,” Qi Jia, who had been staring at the horizon, suddenly spoke.

Ignoring the red fox’s words, he murmured to himself: “Then I must go.”

Suddenly, he looked back at Qi Shaoxu, the Five Mochi, and the red fox. He said softly: “Thank you.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back. I still have to repay you!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he tucked away his storybook, and his wings suddenly snapped open! The bird shot like an arrow toward the high, bright sun.

“Qi Jia!” By the time Qi Shaoxu realized what the bird was doing, he started running. He wanted to chase him, but it was too late—the bird’s shadow had already vanished into the sky.

The lazy, food-loving Qi Jia often displayed incredible mobility and strength that baffled the other beasts.

The spirits were stunned once again by the bird’s unconventional behavior. Hu Lang looked at the sky and tutted: “Senior Brother, no need to worry. He’ll be back soon. After all, the Heavenly Barrier is something even the Ancestor might not be able to…”

CLANG!

Before the youth could finish, a heavy, deep sound echoed from the distant sky—like a heavy sword unsheathing and shattering the clouds, vibrating across the four seas.

The sky suddenly filled with light.

A radiance brighter than the sun flashed in the air, scattering purple and red glows. Against the deep blue sky, the colors were brilliant and excessively gorgeous.

“That’s…” Qi Shaoxu stared blankly. The string of birds on the tree froze in shock.

Hu Lang, the red fox, was too stunned to speak.

Everyone knew that was the sound and sight of a barrier being forcibly broken. And for it to be this terrifying, it had to be a legendary array…

Perhaps, it was the Great Array of the Heavenly Gates.

Qi Jia… had actually smashed through the Heavenly Gate barrier?!

Yujing.

“Have you heard? The Chief Minister is going to urge His Majesty to take an Empress and consorts again today.”

“After all, His Majesty’s 13,000th birthday is coming up. It is strange; no one has been the Heavenly Emperor for this long with a completely empty harem.”

“If you ask me, it’s because of the Great War ten thousand years ago. No matter how strong His Majesty is, his immortal body was heavily damaged. Perhaps even his ‘foundation’ was injured…”

Within the lingering immortal clouds of the Ninth Heaven, the palace maids and attendants whispered while preparing for the birthday banquet.

“So, it’s not that His Majesty is unwilling, but that he… can’t?”

“I was wondering why someone as handsome as His Majesty doesn’t even have a single consort by his side.”

A newly promoted attendant realized: “No wonder Lord Lao is presenting Great Golden Tonics to His Majesty every day!”

The new maids gossiped, sighing in pity. Suddenly, a senior female official scolded them: “Stop talking nonsense! His Majesty has injuries, but except for the medicine, he hasn’t touched any of the other pills Lord Lao sent!”

“Our Emperor is simply born cold-hearted…”

CLANG!

Before the maid could finish her sentence, the cloud-covered ground shook. A dull, massive sound echoed in their ears—not sharp, but terrifying in scale.

“What was that sound?” The maids looked at each other in confusion.

At the same time, in the Hall of Nine Heavens, a guard from the Heavenly Gate ran frantically toward the assembled immortals and the Emperor:

“Report! Report! The Heavenly Gate Array… has been smashed open by a bird!”