After Losing My Memory, I Became My Rival's Palm-Sized Chirper - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Two in One

“Can’t you be a bit more serious?” Qi Jia was baffled. “Is it really that hard to answer what kind of person I was before?”

“I am not entirely sure,” the Heavenly Emperor replied coldly.

Initially, his expression was merely faint, making it impossible to discern his thoughts. Now, he suddenly lowered his eyes, and his tone shifted to a detached coldness: “We are not well-acquainted.”

Qi Jia’s attempt to fish for information was a total failure. “…”

Fine, fine, keep it up if you’ve got the guts!

The smile vanished from his face as Qi Jia lazily lifted his eyelids, returning to the previous topic. “…No matter what I was like before, it’s clear that the word ‘delicate’ isn’t exactly a high compliment for a Heavenly Queen.”

Yu Baixi fell silent for a moment. He asked, “Then what do you think a Heavenly Queen should be like?”

Qi Jia immediately straightened his back. “Solemn, elegant, and powerful!”

The Emperor: “Solemn, elegant, and powerful… but fond of visiting the Jade Immortal Brothel for pleasure?”

“…Yu. Bai. Xi!” Qi Jia gritted his teeth. “You know full well I didn’t go there for pleasure!”

He truly couldn’t understand why going to the Jade Immortal Brothel had provoked the Emperor so much. Before this, the man had never treated him like this.

Just a moment ago, he had been forced to do exactly… nineteen sets of ab-strengthening exercises!

Qi Jia felt quite aggrieved himself. Since he’d gotten his hands on that erotic picture book and suddenly remembered what “mating” actually entailed, he could no longer act as he used to—he couldn’t just bluntly demand that Yu Baixi mate with him anymore.

…Just imagining the scene made him feel awkward.

And on top of that, the Emperor wasn’t taking the initiative; he had rejected him multiple times. Qi Jia didn’t know what else to do, which was why he had specifically gone to the mortal realm to clear his head and find some “inspiration.”

He hadn’t expected the “Big Scumbag Dragon” to not only misunderstand him but also be so relentless. He hadn’t even done anything at the Jade Immortal Brothel, nor had he exposed his identity to embarrass the Heavens…

While Qi Jia was full of silent complaints, Yu Baixi suddenly spoke seriously again: “As the Heavenly Queen, you need not consider anything. You only need to be yourself.”

“Oh?” Qi Jia let out a cold snort. “And what does that mean?”

Yu Baixi said earnestly: “You do not need to be solemn and elegant, nor do you need to be powerful.”

“…” Hearing this, Qi Jia was stunned for a moment before becoming suspicious. “The Emperor saying this… you wouldn’t be looking for an opportunity to depose me, would you?”

Glancing at the book The Daily Life of Palace Intrigue still floating in the air, Qi Jia said: “The storybooks all say so. The Emperor doesn’t like the Empress at all, but has to marry her for various reasons. So, he indulges her in every way at the beginning, never requiring her to have virtue and telling her not to worry about anything. And the result? Two years later, he catches her in many mistakes and uses the chance to depose her.”

Yu Baixi listened carefully to his words. His gaze narrowed, and the popular mortal book fell into the Emperor’s hand.

Flipping through a few pages, he asked while reading: “If it were truly like that, what would you do?”

Qi Jia slowly looked at the Emperor, his gaze as lazy as strong wine being poured into a cup—crisp, fragrant, and thought-provoking. “Then I would… find another way.”

Yu Baixi slightly averted his eyes. After hearing this, he actually let out a huff of a laugh, an expression of approval. “Good.”

He sent the book back to Qi Jia. “However, such a thing will not happen.”

“…Well, that’s true.”

Qi Jia wasn’t moved by those words; instead, he continued to look worried. “Other Empresses have their maternal families for protection; an Emperor wouldn’t dare depose them lightly. But what about me? I’m just a bird with nothing, not even the Emperor’s favor. I’m like duckweed without roots. If I were deposed or ignored, I’d have nowhere to argue my case. I’d just be at your mercy, a laughingstock.”

Shedding his unhurried laziness and elegance, the youth on the couch transformed into a different image: weak, fragile, and fading like a wilting flower.

The Emperor: “…”

“I promise you,” Yu Baixi said after a short silence.

“Promise me what?” Qi Jia arched an eyebrow.

“I promise to come see you every day.”

“That’s more like it…” The “pity-me” act vanished instantly, but the youth leaning on the couch still frowned. “And what about sleeping together?”

For someone with his brilliant and vivid features, the impact of an occasional frown was significant. Qi Jia hadn’t spent his time in the Jade Immortal Brothel chatting with those boys for nothing.

As expected, the Emperor agreed: “…Sleeping together is fine.”

Yu Baixi had taken another step back, but he didn’t forget to emphasize: “But nothing else.”

Unexpectedly, Qi Jia agreed immediately this time: “Deal!”

His sudden cooperativeness actually made the Emperor uncomfortable. Yu Baixi remained silent for a long time before asking: “Why must you sleep with me?”

“Why are you unwilling to sleep with me?” Qi Jia countered with a question.

Yu Baixi didn’t answer.

The reason was simple: in his view, there were lines that could not be crossed. The Emperor stood his ground, as unshakeable as a steep cliff, merely using his grey-blue eyes to silently watch the youth on the bed.

Seeing that he wasn’t getting any useful information, the handsome youth irritably blurted out the truth: “Naturally, this Lord wants to sleep together to cultivate feelings with you!”

“…Cultivate feelings with me?” Yu Baixi’s eyes flickered, his expression showing a surprise that even the night could not hide.

“Yes.” Qi Jia didn’t hide his motive, but he was curious. “Why are you so shocked?”

“It is nothing,” the Emperor said, recovering his composure. “It is just that for many years, I have not heard anyone say they wanted to ‘cultivate feelings’ with me.”

“No way.” Qi Jia perked up, his eyes bright. “I never said it before either?”

Yu Baixi didn’t speak; he only looked at him.

Qi Jia understood and couldn’t help but offer an objective critique: “Then I used to be quite unromantic.”

To his surprise, Yu Baixi suddenly said: “In the past, many people liked you. They were all very willing to accompany you and follow you.”

Qi Jia: “?”

“Therefore, you did not need to deliberately get close to anyone or cultivate feelings.” The Emperor spoke in a serious, deep voice. “Including me.”

“Oh? Then where are these people who were so willing to follow me?” Qi Jia didn’t want to miss any information about himself, so he deliberately scoffed: “Where are these people who supposedly liked me?”

“They are all dead,” the Emperor said, suddenly dropping his lashes.

Qi Jia: “???”

Yu Baixi: “The vast majority were killed by me.”

Qi Jia: “…???”

“Some were your friends, some perhaps had… too close a relationship with you…” The Emperor looked up again, his grey-blue eyes meeting Qi Jia’s. There was no joy or sorrow in them, but his tall, thin figure seemed even more desolate, and his aura was as sharp as a sudden cold wind. “Now, are you still willing to share a bed with me?”

Qi Jia was stunned.

His long, phoenix eyes widened. After a long pause, he spoke with great gravity: “…I originally guessed that I had wronged you in the past, which is why you refuse to pay me any mind now. I truly didn’t expect your love for me to be so intense. Even if you were jealous of them, you didn’t have to kill them all?!”

Yu Baixi: “…?”

“It’s one thing to be jealous and possessive.” Ignoring the Emperor’s reaction, Qi Jia suddenly sighed. “But since you already have me and possess me alone, why can’t you cherish me properly? Why do you still give me the cold shoulder?”

Tapping the empty spot on the bed beside him, Qi Jia looked as if he wanted to open his arms to the man. “Playing hard to get is a no-go, Your Majesty. Don’t waste the opportunity!”

Yu Baixi: “…………”

Seeing the other figure standing motionless, the handsome youth on the bed was no longer surprised by his “impenetrability.” With a flicker in his bright eyes, Qi Jia thought of another plan: “You think if you scare this bird like that, I’ll believe you? …Unless you tell me the names and races of those who liked me, so I can go verify them one by one!”

The Emperor slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them, he returned to silence. He didn’t say a single word.

Qi Jia: “…”

He didn’t expect the man to actually give him any names. Sighing to lighten the mood, Qi Jia added: “By the way, Shuoling said many people used to try to climb into your bed. Did none of them ever say anything about ‘cultivating feelings’?”

“Perhaps they did.” The Emperor finally spoke again, his voice noticeably colder. “But dead people don’t count.”

Qi Jia: “…”

He felt he finally understood why this man was called the Evil Heavenly Emperor. This tall, handsome man truly felt “evil” at times. Talking about death and killing all the time made it hard to keep a conversation going!

“Don’t worry, I’ve just come to my senses.” Qi Jia was tired too, so he got back to the point. “You’re right. It’s only three months until I regain my memory anyway. Why be in such a rush to make you Dual Cultivate with me?”

One shouldn’t be in a rush. Feelings need to be cultivated in daily life to create sparks, and then everything will fall into place naturally. Recalling the topics the boys in the Jade Immortal Brothel talked about, Qi Jia felt he had truly learned a lot!

“So, as long as the Emperor is often by my side and doesn’t let me become the laughingstock of the Heavens, it’s fine. You’re right, let’s just pass these few months steadily. That’s good.”

As he spoke, the youth’s expression became more vivid, a smile gradually appearing on his face like blooming mountain flowers. Yu Baixi watched silently, then finally nodded, accepting his proposal: “Then you should rest for today.”

“And you?”

“I shall stay here and watch you fall asleep.”

As he spoke, Yu Baixi went to the small table outside the screen and sat down. This way, he could be considered to have stayed the night at Weiyang Palace, preventing rumors of discord between the Emperor and Queen…

“Don’t be like that, let’s sleep together.”

Unexpectedly, Qi Jia got up and lunged toward him. “No Dual Cultivating, just lying in the same place. Is even that not allowed?”

“…” Yu Baixi pulled his sleeve away with a slight but firm motion. “It is not.”

Qi Jia: “Why are you even more stubborn than Qi Shaoxu! I just don’t understand what could possibly happen if we just sleep together!”

“…” Yu Baixi looked up at the youth who had staggered to the table with his clothes in disarray. He said in a deep voice: “Then change back into a parrot.”

“Fine.” Qi Jia crossed his arms. “Then will you change back into a dragon?”

“…I will not.” Yu Baixi once again averted his gaze.

Qi Jia: “Why is it always ‘I will not’!!”

In the end, Qi Jia took a step back. He was truly sleepy and didn’t have the energy to toss and turn tonight, so he decided to sleep first. He tapped the Emperor’s arm, suddenly transforming into a round, fat bird perching on it. He waved a little wing: “Departure! We’re going back to Hongmeng Palace.”

Yu Baixi looked at the bird on his arm. He didn’t hide or move; compared to the first time Qi Jia perched on his shoulder, his movements and demeanor were much more natural.

“Why go back to Hongmeng Palace?” the Emperor asked.

The round bird was too lazy to turn its head, so it just gave the Emperor a lazy side-eye. “Don’t you have to soak in that ‘black soup’ every day?”

Scratching its belly with a claw, Qi Jia said: “This Lord isn’t the type of bird to make unreasonable trouble. For the sake of the Heavens and the Four Realms, Your Majesty’s health is very important.”

Yu Baixi’s lashes lowered slightly. “It is not a daily necessity.”

“Chirp?” The round bird gave a cheerful hop and finally turned around, looking up. “But Immortal Shuoling said the ‘black soup’ at Hongmeng Palace is never-ending, and you spend all day doing nothing but official business and soaking in the soup. And that day your hair turned white—can it turn back to black on its own? And, and, General Han also said that since the Great Immortal-Demon War ten thousand years ago, you had to… cluck?”

Before Qi Jia could finish, Yu Baixi suddenly raised his hand and tapped his round little head.

Qi Jia met his gaze. The Emperor’s brows were distant, and his smoky-cyan eyes were desolate. Every time he looked, there was a deep sense of sharpness and loneliness. But he wasn’t sure if it was an illusion—Qi Jia felt that the eyes looking at him now were slightly bright, as if a faint smile was spreading within them.

“It is not that serious.” Yu Baixi moved his long finger away. “Sometimes it is just because of boredom.”

“What?” Qi Jia didn’t understand. Isn’t soaking in soup all day even more boring?

But before he could ask, the Emperor stood up and placed the round bird back on the Queen’s cloud bed. “Sleep.”

“Chirp!”

For the next few days, the Emperor stayed at Weiyang Palace at night. This caused the rumors in the capital about the Imperial couple having no feelings and only a relationship of convenience to crumble on their own.

During the day, Qi Jia usually woke up when the sun was high in the sky. Every night before, he would say he was going to wake up early and attend the morning court with Yu Baixi. But by the next morning, he would change his mind. It was mostly because he was just too sleepy to open his eyes.

The Queen didn’t blame himself too much for this—he was “carrying a child” and had old injuries; it was normal that he couldn’t get up. Besides, he was still only the prospective Queen and didn’t have the official seal yet; why be so eager to start working?

In the words of Immortal Shuoling, that would be doing a permanent official’s work for an intern’s pay—that was exploitation, a behavior that disrespected birds!

Qi Jia, of course, would not disrespect himself. So the prospective Queen directly exempted himself from the morning court.

After waking up and having breakfast, the plump little bird would flap its wings and waddle-fly over to Hongmeng Palace. By the time he arrived, Yu Baixi had usually finished the morning court and seen the important officials, and was alone in the study reviewing memorials.

So, while the Emperor read the memorials, Qi Jia would huddle next to him and read along. The round bird stretched its neck, perching on the Emperor’s desk, looking serious and peaceful.

Qi Jia appeared before Yu Baixi in bird form more often than not. He had discovered that compared to his human form, the Emperor clearly preferred his “chirp-form.” The proof was that if he was in human form, Yu Baixi would find every possible way to avoid sleeping in the same bed.

But if he was just a neon-yellow, harmless little parrot, the Emperor would lie down side-by-side with him without a word and stay until dawn.

And if Qi Jia transformed into a human halfway through… Yu Baixi would vanish instantly! Once, Qi Jia woke up in the middle of the night and tried it, and ended up spending the rest of the night alone!

Though General Han later came to explain that His Majesty had gone to fulfill his duties because there were suddenly some people who needed killing.

Qi Jia: “…”

In short, Qi Jia felt that Qi Shaoxu’s previous analysis was wrong. Yu Baixi wasn’t lusting after his human beauty. The man was clearly a “fluff-con” (obsessed with fluffy things)!

Having made this judgment, Qi Jia mostly stayed in bird form lately. Except, of course, when he was eating.

On the Emperor’s desk, the round parrot stretching its neck to read the memorials suddenly tilted its head, followed by a shudder of its little body. This was the sign that Qi Jia had grown sleepy from reading and nearly nodded off. This happened often lately.

Qi Jia wasn’t embarrassed either—he was “carrying a child,” after all! It was normal to feel sleepier than usual!

Usually at times like this, Qi Jia would find a comfortable spot on the desk and actually fall asleep. He really liked Yu Baixi’s pen rack. There was a groove just the right size for a bird to wedge into, allowing him to sleep steadily.

But occasionally, Qi Jia would heroically choose not to sleep and continue learning about state affairs—because he discovered that if he slept too much during the day, he wouldn’t sleep well at night.

This time, after nearly face-planting from sleepiness, Qi Jia chose to force his groggy eyes open and endure. He stared straight at a memorial for a long time, nodding a few more times, instinctively curling himself into a ball. Realizing that wasn’t right, he forced his neck out again.

After he struggled like this a few times, the Emperor, sitting steadily across from him, lightly lifted his eyelids and slowly put down his vermillion brush.

Qi Jia suddenly felt a cold fingertip tap his “Baihui” point (top of the head). Then, a wave of cool spiritual energy flowed into his limbs and bones, reaching his inner organs. Qi Jia instantly felt much more awake.

The refreshed bird looked up at Yu Baixi with bright eyes and a vivid expression; even as a bird, a clear smile could be seen on his face. The little fat bird ran up to the Emperor with his wings tucked: “Again!”

Most of the time, handling state affairs was very boring. Qi Jia sometimes couldn’t understand how Yu Baixi could stay seated for a whole day.

When he reached the point of falling asleep while reading again, Qi Jia would look up at the Emperor. Yu Baixi still looked solemn with his black hair, upright and noble, as handsome as a spring pine in bloom.

From the bird’s perspective, no scars or bandages were visible, but Qi Jia knew that while the wounds on the Emperor’s neck had healed over the last two days, a long bloody scratch had mysteriously appeared on his arm.

Qi Jia wanted to know what was going on with him, but whenever he pressed, the Emperor would only calmly say it was nothing and that it would heal. He not only wouldn’t tell Qi Jia about the “baby’s” condition, but he wouldn’t tell the bird about his own condition either!

Qi Jia acted very angry about this. Yu Baixi would then reach out and patiently smooth his feathers with spiritual energy, stroking the little bird until he forgot everything in bliss, and the question would be dropped.

After that, Qi Jia asked around and only heard from Shuoling and General Han that these were old injuries from the Great Immortal-Demon War ten thousand years ago. They shouldn’t be fatal. His Majesty had been like this for ten thousand years; besides the occasional external wound and bleeding, it was nothing major.

One theory was that it was a backlash curse left by the Demon God when His Majesty killed him personally. Another was that to kill the Demon God, the Emperor had sacrificed half his cultivation and lifespan, and the current state was just one of the reactions to his body being severely damaged.

Because the Emperor’s reaction to this was so indifferent—no one had ever seen him break down or rage because of these unhealing wounds—the people of the Four Realms and the Heavens didn’t pay it much mind either. What they enjoyed talking about was the past event of Yu Baixi killing the Demon God single-handedly.

Qi Jia had heard a bit about that Demon God too. It was said he was the only person in tens of thousands of years to have stepped halfway into the Godhood Realm. He was only a few thousand years old at the time, a peerless genius. But the Demon Tribe had been restless, constantly inciting wars and causing suffering, which eventually angered the Heavenly Dao. That genius who led the demon army was eventually struck down by the even more talented and younger Crown Prince.

Since then, the demon army had collapsed. The Demon Tribe, originally of the highest combat power, fell to the bottom. But the price was that ten thousand years later, Yu Baixi, who was also about to enter Godhood, had his realm drop, and there was still no sign of him ascending. For tens of thousands of years, no living being had ascended to the Godhood Realm.

Listening to these rumors, Qi Jia always felt they were foreign. Because Yu Baixi never talked about these things with him. Because he felt the Emperor before him didn’t match the rumors of the cold-blooded half-god slayer… not to mention the stories of him killing his own father before taking the throne…

The feeling Yu Baixi gave him was always extremely indifferent and extremely pure. Pure as plain water, and untainted by a speck of dust.

Outsiders often said he was temperamental. But Qi Jia felt this man had no joy or sorrow at all. He didn’t even have basic emotions. So, the Emperor didn’t actually get angry or exert his authority easily.

But everyone feared Yu Baixi. Including the officials who respected him deeply. Everyone deliberately avoided the topic of the Evil Heavenly Emperor, and no one dared mention the events of the past…

It had to be said that ignoring the Emperor’s constant bleeding and his tendency to be as talkative as a stone, Yu Baixi was still very handsome. He perfectly matched Qi Jia’s aesthetic.

The little fat bird stared up at him for a long time until Yu Baixi slowly moved his eyes, and his neon-yellow little body was reflected in the Emperor’s grey-blue pupils.

Qi Jia: “…” He awkwardly turned his head away. He absolutely would not admit he had been staring until his neck was sore!

He stopped staring. After failing to learn state affairs again, the little bird started running around on the desk, moving things here and there. The Emperor picked up another memorial and read it calmly. Yu Baixi had great concentration and was almost never disturbed by him, letting him toss things around restlessly.

Until Qi Jia, while stepping over a book, accidentally tripped.

Qi Jia: “???”

As the round bird tumbled like a ball, Qi Jia hurriedly used a spell to steady himself. The Emperor’s suddenly outstretched hand also gave him a significant boost, so the round bird eventually landed safely in the Emperor’s palm.

Even so, Qi Jia was quite frightened—and quite angry. The fright was inevitable. After all, he hadn’t expected to trip. But more so, Qi Jia was shocked by his own clumsiness. Previously, when he blamed Yu Baixi for forcing him to do sit-ups, it was mostly just to find an excuse to make a fuss. Qi Jia knew perfectly well he wasn’t showing a belly and wouldn’t have a miscarriage from moving a bit.

But now he had fallen. Clumsily tripped by a book!!

Bah, bah, bah. What was that saying? The root of all anger is one’s own incompetence. Qi Jia felt that way now. He felt that Yu Baixi’s previous behavior of making him exercise wasn’t so incomprehensible or unforgivable after all.

After all, he was a bird who could trip himself while walking on flat ground! Maybe one day he really would have a problem just by walking… perhaps he really did need to exercise.

Of course, a fuming bird wouldn’t admit his mistakes for the time being, nor would he turn grief into strength. Especially while he was perched in the Emperor’s palm.

Everyone is strange like that: if you fall and no one comforts you, you can get up quickly, brush yourself off, and walk away as if nothing happened. But if you are being held tensely in someone’s palm…

The little fat bird: Hmph! Qi Jia curled into a ball and continued to be “fat-angry”!

“It is nothing, you are not broken,” the Emperor’s cold voice rang out. At first, it sounded as deep as ever, but it also seemed soft, like sinking into a cloud bed.

Qi Jia still tucked his head in, unwilling to open his eyes.

“You just tripped. Anyone can do that, it is not embarrassing,” Yu Baixi added. He was a man of few words, so he was used to hitting the mark; his comfort was quite sharp.

Qi Jia, whose thoughts had been seen through: “…”

Fine, I just felt I lost face for birds everywhere. Okay!!

The fat bird closed his eyes and curled up tighter, not wanting to speak at all. The Emperor stopped comforting him. After a long silence, he suddenly raised a finger and rubbed the soft feathers on the bird’s body.

“Shall I have someone bring some pastries for you to eat?”

“The fuming bird secretly opened a tiny slit in one eye. “…I want pea flour cake.”

After saying that, he closed his eye again and continued to fume: “And bring a plate of orchid crisps too!”

“Very well.”

In a place the bird couldn’t see, the extremely pure and indifferent man silently curled the corner of his mouth.