After Losing My Memory, I Became My Rival's Palm-Sized Chirper - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Piercing the Heavenly Gate

Half an incense stick’s time ago, at the Hall of Nine Heavens.

The Chief Immortal Minister bowed as he presented his memorial: “I report to Your Majesty, the Feast of Ten Thousand Years is only two months away. At that time, the Princess of the Demon Race will personally ascend to the Heavenly Realm to congratulate Your Majesty on your birthday. The Demon Princess originally hails from the Earth Spirit lineage. I recall that when Your Majesty was still the Crown Prince, you had many meetings with her…”

The Chief Immortal Minister described the various childhood ties between the current Heavenly Emperor and the Demon Princess with great emotion before finally getting to the point: “Currently, there are still disturbances within the four realms. The Demon Realm has voluntarily submitted to our Heavenly Realm. I believe Your Majesty can double the bond by forming a marriage alliance with the Demon Race and marrying the Earth Spirit Princess.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty is no longer young.”

“Furthermore, rumors are circulating in the four realms saying… saying that Your Majesty was injured in the Great Immortal-Demon War ten thousand years ago and is unable… unable… For the prestige of our Heavenly Realm, Your Majesty, the matter of nurturing a Dragon heir can no longer be delayed!”

Some of these words were unseasonable, but several elderly ministers took the opportunity to chime in one after another.

Primarily, everyone was feeling very uncertain.

Even though the Dragon race has an incubation and growth period longer than other races, according to historical records, a normal dragon enters estrus around three thousand years of age; even the slowest would not exceed five thousand. Moreover, compared to other races, the legendarily lustful Dragon-Serpent kin should generally be more indulged in matters of passion.

But their Emperor was already a thirteen-thousand-year-old dragon, yet there hadn’t been a single ripple of movement… it was as if he simply had no mind for such things.

This forced the elderly ministers to suspect whether His Majesty had truly injured his body in that great war ten thousand years ago…

One must know that as the descendants of the ancient Primordial Gods, over these millions of years, the Dragon race had become extremely rare. As the only dragon in hundreds of thousands of years, the current Heavenly Emperor’s physical health and the issue of continuing his lineage were naturally of the highest concern to the immortal officials—and indeed, the entire four realms.

Even though several immortal physicians had performed countless examinations and stated that His Majesty had no physical issues—suggesting he was alone perhaps because his fated marriage hadn’t arrived or he hadn’t met someone he found worthy—the Chief Minister, Immortal Jiyi, still ordered the Grand Old Lord to refine various “Great Tonic Golden Elixirs” to present to His Majesty from time to time.

Additionally, every few days, he would summon the Matchmaker God (Yue Lao) to anxiously inquire whether His Majesty’s fated one had finally appeared.

Today was no exception.

Immortal Jiyi continued his bow and advice, his voice steady and as resonant as a great bell.

However, even more steady than his posture was the Heavenly Emperor seated at the head of the hall.

Yu Baixi sat formally atop the dais, a long sword hanging at his waist, his expression solemn. This “Evil Heavenly Emperor” who inspired awe and fear across the four realms was as elusive as the rumors suggested. His joy and anger never showed on his face; even the veteran ministers found it difficult to fathom his thoughts.

At this moment, he sat in a dignified manner, his expression devoid of grief or joy, silently listening to the crowd of ministers below vehemently recommending he take a consort.

He did not stop them, did not respond, and did not state a position.

Only when everyone had spoken until their mouths were dry and the arguments had gone in circles for the third time did the seated Emperor finally move. He cast a sidelong glance toward the edge of the hall.

Standing in the second row, a young general clad in crimson battle armor immediately stepped forward and reported: “The Demon Princess comes to our Immortal Realm under the guise of celebrating His Majesty’s birthday, but it may not truly be for the sake of diplomatic relations between our two races.”

This general’s voice was equally loud, not losing out to the Chief Minister at all. He continued: “But regardless of the purpose of the Princess’s visit, we can simply receive her according to protocol. As for who His Majesty played well with in his childhood, such private matters really should not be discussed in this grand hall.”

As soon as the young general spoke, a new round of bickering erupted in the hall.

“Those words are mistaken! How can His Majesty’s marriage be a private matter!”

“The world outside is full of rumors that His Majesty has an ailment. If he does not marry and add to the family, I fear…”

The young general, however, adopted a completely reckless attitude: “The previous Heavenly Emperor and the Empress Dowager were not of the Dragon race; it stands to reason His Majesty’s offspring might not be dragons either. Since that is the case, what is the rush?”

Several ministers: “…You brat! Bold! How can you say His Majesty’s offspring won’t be dragons…!”

However, the Heavenly Emperor seated at the top had no reaction to the young general’s words. In fact, if his posture wasn’t so perfectly upright and his face so devoid of expression, one might have thought His Majesty was watching a play with great interest.

The young general ignored the elderly ministers’ criticism and continued: “Besides, even if our Heavenly Realm lacks a Dragon Prince for the time being, with His Majesty’s combat power and prime age, what storms could the other realms possibly stir up?”

This was actually the truth.

Even though everyone knew that ten thousand years ago, while still the Crown Prince, Yu Baixi was heavily injured when he suppressed the Demon Realm and slew the Demon God, in the subsequent ten thousand years, the various great powers and experts who had been ruthlessly “purged” by the “Evil Heavenly Emperor” served as proof of one fact: Even with battle damage, Yu Baixi remained the strongest expert in the four realms.

He was in the past, he is now, and he likely would be for a long time to come.

But this was not a reason for the ministers to stop nagging him to marry. However, due to the young general’s intervention, the debate shifted from the marriage itself to whether they should even be nagging in the first place.

Just as the ministers were debating incessantly, everyone felt the ground shake and vaguely heard a dull thud.

The immortal officials with higher spiritual power or veteran experience knew instantly: this was the sound of the Great Array of the Heavenly Gate being forcibly breached. For the rock-solid Heavenly Realm, this was clearly an extraordinary situation.

Ten thousand years wasn’t actually that long. Although the four realms had become peaceful under the Emperor’s “brutal” purges, and war had not reached the Heavenly Realm for ages, the lingering effects of the earth-shattering Immortal-Demon War still made those who lived through it feel palpitations. Even now, there were still demons causing trouble across the realms.

At this moment, with the Heavenly Gate breached without warning, the ministers all showed expressions of shock, tension, or panic.

But this tension quickly dissipated.

A faint, ethereal aura suddenly rippled out. The clear yet surging spiritual power merely swirled past, brushing against everyone, yet it made their minds vibrate and instantly become clear.

That spiritual energy originated from one person.

At the head of the hall, Yu Baixi sat calmly behind his desk, his attire impeccable, his aura majestic. His posture had not changed, nor had his expression.

The ministers: …That’s right, His Majesty is still presiding here. What are we panicking for?

The ministers’ panicked looks vanished, replaced by embarrassment at their loss of composure. The general responsible for the Heavenly Realm’s defense immediately signaled his subordinates to investigate the situation at the Heavenly Array.

Immortal Xuanjing, responsible for monitoring anomalies, also produced the “Heaven-Gazing Mirror,” an immortal artifact capable of peeking into the four realms.

But before anyone could report back, and before the mirror could even display an image…

A small bird, neon yellow and excessively rounded in shape, actually flapped its wings and flew directly into the hall.

In this Hall of Nine Heavens, where it was absolutely impossible for an ordinary animal or spirit to wander in, that chubby little bird flew as if it were taking a stroll in a quiet courtyard.

No one knew how it had bypassed the guards at the hall entrance. Just as no one knew how it had broken the restrictions!

The ministers only saw the little bird flapping its wings, flying at a decent speed past their heads, heading straight for… their Emperor’s desk.

“Report—a bird, appearing to be a parrot, has forcibly broken through the Great Array of the Heavenly Gate…”

The guard sent to investigate returned and reported truthfully. Even he couldn’t fathom how a single bird could break through a gate that generals of other races couldn’t take with an entire army…

On the ancient artifact, the Heaven-Gazing Mirror, an image finally appeared: a round, chubby little fat bird stepping through the array with one foot and charging straight into Yujing.

…Well, this image looked a bit familiar.

That neon yellow, overly rounded, yet clearly carefree bird… wasn’t it the one that just flew into the hall?!

The ministers’ hearts tightened again. The gate had just been broken, and the perpetrator had already reached the Hall of Nine Heavens. Its speed was so fast it exceeded the mirror’s ability to capture the image in real-time!

However, what truly left everyone agape was that the little fat bird, who had appeared out of nowhere and flown straight toward their Emperor, had now lightly landed on His Majesty’s shoulder.

The Heavenly Emperor had broad shoulders; the fat bird stood on one leg upon him, taking up little space and carrying little weight. It looked like a carved pearl or a mochi ball.

And in that moment, the mochi-like round bird suddenly lifted its wing. Under the watchful eyes of all the ministers, it fiercely slapped their Emperor’s shoulder: “You big scumbag dragon! It really is you! You abandoned your bird and your son! You ran away after sleeping with me! Heaven will not tolerate this!”

Ministers: “…???”

Yu Baixi: “…?”

Yu Baixi flicked his eyelids.

Actually, the man who had been as calm as a deep well just a moment ago felt his eyes flicker the moment the bird appeared in the hall. As the Heavenly Emperor who ruled all spirits of the four realms, Yu Baixi would not normally take offense at a bird’s approach before knowing the situation—even if this bird, despite its cute exterior, was clearly a violent one.

So, the Emperor remained motionless, allowing the other to fly close. Until the little fat bird landed, spoke, and slapped him.

The consistently indifferent and composed Heavenly Emperor finally changed his expression.

“You…”

His shoulders didn’t move, but his hand on the other side lifted slightly, clearly intending to catch the bird.

But this sudden change in His Majesty’s expression—and the fact that he didn’t move when the gate was broken but was now clearly moving his hand—made the immortal ministers even more shocked.

So… what did they just hear?

Abandoning… his bird and his son?!

“I didn’t hear wrong, that bird called His Majesty a ‘scumbag dragon’!”

In ten thousand years, this was the first time such a bizarre event had occurred!

The strangest part was that their Emperor—the most solitary and eccentric existence in the four realms—had been publicly called a “big scumbag dragon” in the grand hall, yet his outstretched palm was not to expel the presumptuous bird or draw the sword at his waist.

He actually simply said one thing: “Dismissed.”

With a flash of slightly blue-white light, the Heavenly Emperor’s figure vanished from the throne.

He took the bird with him.

The Heavenly Realm encountered three strange things today.

First, the Great Array of the Heavenly Gate, which His Majesty had personally reinforced over the years and was supposedly impregnable, was easily broken by a bird.

Second, that bird seemed to be looking for their Emperor to take responsibility. …Yes, that kind of responsibility.

Third, the Heavenly Emperor abruptly dismissed the court and disappeared with the bird. His perennially indifferent face even showed a rare change—an expression suspected to be panic.

The immortal ministers left behind in the hall looked at each other, unwilling to disperse.