After Losing My Memory, I Became My Rival's Palm-Sized Chirper - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Two Updates in One

The following day, Prince Dezhao indeed came to Hongmeng Palace to ask his uncle to pass down teachings.

Yu Baixi first tested his skills and lessons, then brought out several memorials for him to read, instructing him to critique current affairs and speak his mind freely. The Heavenly Emperor would occasionally offer a comment or two.

On the surface, it seemed he wasn’t teaching anything specific, but in reality, he was teaching everything.

Watching from the side, Qi Jia felt that Yu Baixi was indeed a responsible uncle. And although Prince Dezhao was still terrified of the Emperor, he studied seriously. Seeing the uncle and nephew getting along harmoniously, Qi Jia didn’t want to intrude; he stayed for a while before finding an opportunity to leave.

Qi Jia had long since become familiar with the various immortals. Combined with his infiltration into the inner circle of the Jade Capital’s bird spirits—where he had to “check in” on the trees every few days—he was quite busy.

That evening, the neon-yellow little bird flew through the window of the grand study in Hongmeng Palace without announcement, landing with a flutter on the Emperor’s desk.

Only the Emperor was at the desk.

Yu Baixi’s frame was tall and upright. He had been looking down, brush in hand, reviewing memorials. But now he lifted his lashes, and the round bird on the desk looked up, naturally seeing its own vibrant color reflected in the Emperor’s smoke-blue eyes.

Man and bird locked eyes for a moment.

Yu Baixi was the first to look away.

?

Qi Jia squinted suspiciously. In the next breath, the round bird tucked its wings and hopped forward!

Its warm, soft, round chin rested directly on the Emperor’s wrist. The fat bird stepped half-way onto the Emperor’s sleeve, stretching a wing while peeking at the memorial Yu Baixi was reading.

“What are you looking at? Why is your expression so… unhappy?”

Yu Baixi’s hand stopped moving. He remained still, not pulling his hand away, and asked calmly, “Is it?”

“It’s not just the expression, it’s the mood,” Qi Jia said, recalling the scene. “You didn’t have any expression at all.”

The Emperor: “…”

The bird, neck stretched out, quickly finished reading the memorial.

“The Qiankun Mirror is about to appear?”

“Mhm.”

“Then shouldn’t Your Majesty be happy? The Qiankun Mirror can see everything that the physical eye cannot. It can instantly show whether this Lord is actually pregnant! Everything will be clear then!” Qi Jia looked up again.

Yu Baixi: “…”

The Emperor was certain he saw the bird roll its eyes at him. At the same time, the warm, round chin pulled away from his wrist.

Yu Baixi instinctively looked at his now-empty wrist. He lowered his eyes, still showing no extra expression or movement, only saying: “The Primordial Secret Realm will manifest soon. I will be away for a day when that happens.”

“Great!” Qi Jia’s attitude was indifferent, even eager. “This bird is going too.”

“…What are you going for?” The Emperor looked at him, his brow furrowing as his expression turned stern.

“Am I not the Heavenly Queen?” The little fat bird said as if it were common sense. “One cannot expect the Heavenly Emperor to do everything. Otherwise, what is this Lord here for?”

Yu Baixi’s brow relaxed slightly. After a moment of silence, he said: “You can understand it as the Emperor being Qian (Heaven)—’As Heaven’s movement is ever vigorous, so must a gentleman ceaselessly strive.’ The Queen is Kun (Earth)—’The Earth’s condition is receptive devotion; thus the gentleman sustains all things with great virtue.’ …So, what do you say you are for?”

Qi Jia: “You mean Heaven is firm and should be focused and undaunted, while the Queen, as the master of Earth, should be as broad as the land, possessing virtue that accommodates all things?”

“Mhm,” Yu Baixi said. “More or less.”

“Then there’s no problem. This Lord definitely has to go.”

Meeting the Emperor’s questioning grey-blue eyes, Qi Jia waved a wing. “Your body isn’t up to it! You need someone by your side to look after you. Isn’t that exactly the duty of the Heavenly Queen?”

“…My body is… not up to it?”

Yu Baixi lifted his eyes slightly, his tone rising with a rare hint of surprise—as if in ten thousand years, he had never heard anyone say the Heavenly Emperor was “incapable.”

But the little fat bird sensed no danger, saying clearly: “Yes! The injury on your neck flared up again. I saw it last night when we went to bed!”

Yu Baixi: “…”

Qi Jia continued: “Besides, I think those words shouldn’t be limited to the Qian or Kun positions. ‘Heaven’s movement is vigorous, a gentleman strives ceaselessly’ means anyone who is a gentleman should have that nature. Similarly, ‘Earth’s condition is receptive, a gentleman sustains things with virtue’ isn’t a quality only a Queen should have. Your Majesty is also vast and virtuous. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t take time out of your busy schedule to teach Prince Dezhao. The fact that you didn’t let his father’s actions affect him is proof of Your Majesty’s mercy!”

The little bird hopped and waved its wings passionately as it spoke.

Yu Baixi listened in silence, his expression as steady as a mountain, but his smoke-blue eyes emitted a rare light. They were filled entirely with the round, neon-yellow figure of the bird.

Perhaps finding the hopping bird overly endearing, the Emperor reached out a finger and gently rubbed the bird’s round back.

Qi Jia, immersed in his grand speech: “Chirp… so in conclusion! I feel that besides accommodating all things, the Queen can also rush to the front and walk side-by-side with the Emperor!”

“Side-by-side…” Yu Baixi murmured. His elbow remained on the desk, his fingers instinctively stroking the soft, warm down on the bird.

The Emperor suddenly said: “If possible, I too would like to walk side-by-side with you.”

Qi Jia opened his round eyes wide at the Emperor, putting his wings on his hips with a heroic air. “Then it’s settled. We go together!”

“…”

The Emperor’s long lashes swept down as he gave a low response: “Mhm.”

“So you agree to take me to get the Qiankun Mirror?” The bird’s eyes were full of hope.

“Mhm, I can,” Yu Baixi said. “But throughout the trip, you must listen to me.”

“Naturally!” Qi Jia nodded with satisfaction, his tone light. “When have I ever not listened to you? My whole bird-self belongs to you!”

Yu Baixi: “…”

“I heard General Han say that retrieving the Qiankun Mirror isn’t dangerous; the hard part is the investigation and searching once the secret realm opens. Is that right?”

“More or less.”

Qi Jia: “Even so, I feel I’m too weak. I wonder if there will be danger…”

Yu Baixi: “I will protect you.”

“But I can’t drag you down or delay your actions.” The fat bird curled into a ball, trying to look well-behaved. “So, for the Queen’s safety and this Lord’s pride, shouldn’t we also ‘Dual’…”

“No.”

The Emperor’s pale, thin lips cut off whatever the bird was about to say next. He vowed: “I will surely protect your safety.”

Qi Jia: “…”

“No, you won’t even let me finish my sentence now, will you?!” Having his little scheme seen through once again, Qi Jia took flight and dove straight for the Emperor’s handsome face, looking as if he wanted to peck him!

Yu Baixi, as if prepared, raised his hand to catch the colliding bird, cupping the complaining neon-yellow bird in his palm. His palm felt soft and warm. The Emperor rarely let his lips curl into a smile as he soothed: “It’s fine if you want to peck me, I only worry you’ll hurt your beak.”

Qi Jia: “…”

Qi Jia fell silent. He suddenly remembered that the night before, Yu Baixi had provoked him, and without thinking, he had pecked the Emperor’s pale arm. The result? The other didn’t lose a single hair, but Qi Jia’s beak hurt!

It was then that Qi Jia realized: no matter how handsome and human-like he looked on the surface, a dragon was still a dragon. Dragons had scales—extremely hard scales!

The bird continued to protest: “Chirp chirp chirp!”

That day, the Heavenly Generals guarding Hongmeng Palace heard a laugh. It didn’t come from the Queen… that laughter clearly belonged to their Emperor!

In fact, everyone in the Heavens had noticed that when with the Queen, the Emperor was always more relaxed and cheerful. Even if his expression remained solemn, the change was obvious to those who knew him. Everyone knew that when the Queen was by his side, the Emperor was much warmer… his voice even carried hints of laughter. He had become much easier to deal with!

As a result, the various immortal officials who had to report to the Emperor’s study alone recently all prayed that the Queen would be there. Led by Immortal Jiyi, the high-ranking officials even publicly suggested that the Queen should attend court and learn about political affairs.

This wasn’t just a sign of the Queen’s popularity. Anyone with eyes could see that Si Lao and other veteran officials wanted to solidify the status of the Queen and the dragon child in his womb. Since Prince Dezhao had been promoted to High Immortal and began attending morning court—even receiving personal guidance from the Emperor—the pressure was on.

In the eyes of the Chief Minister and others, setting aside the fact that Immortal Huaiji had conspired with the demons and been caught red-handed, the throne should rightfully go to the Emperor’s own child, not his nephew. If the succession wasn’t about bloodline but merit, Prince Dezhao had some talent, but it was nowhere near what the Emperor had at his age. Furthermore, the Emperor hadn’t even had a biological child born yet; how could they know a future Crown Prince wouldn’t be capable?

Thus, the veteran officials were rarely unified in their support for the Queen. Qi Jia’s reputation in court was very high.

There was another reason for this: the clan elders who had previously pushed for Prince Dezhao under Huaiji’s instigation had been extremely quiet and well-behaved lately. This silence was directly linked to the Emperor frequently calling them in for “private talks.”

The matter of Immortal Huaiji was not over.

Clearly, the Emperor still believed there were suspicious points in Huaiji’s dealings with the demon race. Therefore, all the elders and officials who were close to Huaiji were called in for tea one by one. Everyone knew the Emperor’s taboo regarding the demon race. If it were ordinary gossip, he might not care; but once it involved the demons—specifically the unrepentant tribes of Mount Furong—he would show no mercy.

The officials could clearly feel that whenever the Queen wasn’t around and the Emperor acted alone, he was even more cold, strict, and ruthless than before. This was why more and more officials hoped the Queen would be present during meetings. At least the Queen knew how to make the Emperor happy and keep the atmosphere from being too stiff!

The atmosphere in the entire Jade Capital was a bit strange recently, stemming from the Emperor’s unpredictable moods.

Even Qi Jia felt it—Yu Baixi seemed to be in a worse and worse mood lately. Although he always acted as if nothing was wrong in front of Qi Jia, Qi Jia could sense a trace of… melancholy and loneliness in those grey-blue eyes.

Of course, to Qi Jia, those were just faint, hard-to-capture feelings. The Emperor never hesitated when handling matters. When officials came to report work, Qi Jia could listen and interject; but when Yu Baixi met privately with the elders or Huaiji’s old followers, the Queen didn’t interfere, staying quiet even if he was there.

So, while general affairs proceeded in an orderly fashion, life was difficult for anyone who had been associated with Immortal Huaiji.

As the Heavenly Emperor, he seemed to possess a pair of “Fiery Eyes.” Others couldn’t see anything wrong with the demon spies or traitors who had infiltrated, but if the Emperor personally talked with them, they were easily exposed. After the Emperor summoned them one by one and personally caught two traitors serving as demon insiders—one of whom had been Prince Dezhao’s tutor for nearly a thousand years—the entire Jade Capital was terrified into silence.

As for the clan elders, they were nowhere to be seen. It was said they each had “new insights” into their cultivation and had closed their doors to guests, refusing to see anyone unless summoned by the Emperor.

Qi Jia was curious about Yu Baixi’s unique insight. No one knew how the Emperor distinguished the spies, and Qi Jia didn’t understand it either—especially since he had watched the tea-drinking process with the two traitors. He felt Yu Baixi hadn’t asked any specific questions, and those invited to tea didn’t dare say much. There seemed to be no flaws. Yet, once the tea session ended, the problematic person was sent straight to the heavy prison. Upon investigation, evidence of their collusion with the demon rebels was always found.

Witnessing this twice, Qi Jia had to admit that Yu Baixi’s “tea invitations” were far more high-level and ruthless than his own “tea parties.”

One day, the Emperor went out and didn’t return until late. Since Yu Baixi wasn’t there, Qi Jia brought it up with General Han:

“It would make sense if your Majesty had a way to distinguish between the Demon Race and the Immortal Race. But the problem is, the traitors caught this time were clearly Immortals. And isn’t it said that only Mount Furong and a few nearby tribes are causing trouble? Other demons are peace-loving, and Yu Baixi doesn’t exclude them… I remember when the demons suffered a natural disaster recently, their tribes sent people to ask for help, and Yu Baixi approved many spiritual treasures for them. So, how exactly does he distinguish spies and insiders from among the immortals?”

Han Mo answered, “His Majesty has his own methods; even my sister doesn’t know. …This small immortal can only guess it might be related to the Heavenly Emperor’s Treasure Mirror.”

“…The Treasure Mirror can distinguish between good and bad demons?” Qi Jia was even more curious.

“I’m not sure… Your Lordship is too sharp! Even your questions are so unique. This could be said to be the greatest secret of our Heavens!” Though he didn’t have the answer, Han Mo couldn’t hide his admiration. “My sister said the Heavenly Emperor is in charge of universal righteousness, purging the muddy to clear the waters, and distinguishing right from wrong. They say only by becoming the Heavenly Emperor can one know how they distinguish these things.”

“The Emperor has unique spells to see through the changes in the human heart? …That sounds cool. No wonder so many people want to be the Emperor.” Qi Jia rested his chin on one hand, thinking. “However, if no one else can see it and only the Emperor can… this time they found evidence of collusion, so the punishment has proof. But what if they don’t find any? What then?”

At this point, Han Mo couldn’t smile anymore. He coughed and dared to ask Qi Jia a question: “Does Your Lordship know how His Majesty’s title of ‘Evil Heavenly Emperor’ came about?”

Qi Jia’s beautiful eyes widened. “…Is it related to what I just said?”

General Han nodded slowly and sighed. “I only remember that many people died in the first few years after His Majesty took the throne. At that time… it had only been a few years since the Demon God fell. Although the demon rebels were defeated, they refused to give up. Many of them began to infiltrate the Four Realms—the Demon, Mortal, and Immortal realms all had their people. They were planning to regroup and attack the Heavens at any moment… and during that time, His Majesty disposed of many people.”

“Ah, I’ve heard of that,” Immortal Shuoling, who was listening nearby, couldn’t help but speak up. “I wasn’t born yet, but I heard that even the previous Demon King of the Demon Realm was killed by His Majesty because of that!”

“…Pfft.” Qi Jia almost choked. He thought: Yu Baixi kills Demon Gods and Demon Kings alike. Even if it’s out of wariness, it’s inevitable the two realms would spread rumors and ruin his reputation…

Beside them, Han Mo nodded and continued: “Some were seen to have problems by His Majesty, and evidence of their dissent was indeed found. Others… because the situation was too extreme at the time, were killed directly by His Majesty. It is said the previous Demon King was one of them.”

Shuoling nodded. “I heard His Majesty even killed the older brother in front of the current little Demon King… oh, the previous Demon King had no children, the current one is his younger brother, Lord Yaoji.” Concerned the Queen might be confused, Shuoling explained.

Qi Jia: “…What was the little Demon King’s attitude? To have your brother killed without evidence that he was raising an army—didn’t he fight His Majesty to the death?”

“Not at all,” Shuoling replied. “I heard from my father that at the time, the Demon Realm needed the Heavens’ protection. The reason the Great War of Immortals and Demons was so earth-shattering was that the Demon Realm had almost been conquered by the demon tribes. Many demons hated the demon rebels even more than the Immortals did.”

Qi Jia nodded; he knew this from reading the history of the Four Realms.

Shuoling: “Anyway, for all these years, at least on the surface, the Demon Realm has been very respectful to our Heavens.”

“How could they not be?” Regarding the secrets of the Demon King, Han Mo, who frequently visited the Jade Capital, knew more than Shuoling. “That little Demon King didn’t fight His Majesty to the death—he was scared out of his wits! They say when His Majesty killed his brother, the long sword was only half an inch from his own chest. Blood sprayed all over his face, and the little Demon King didn’t even know to dodge!”

“He’s been neglecting his duties all these years, spending his days in pleasure quarters, living in a dreamlike stupor. He doesn’t dare to face His Majesty and rarely handles affairs.”

“…His Majesty’s cruel reputation is largely due to scaring the current Demon King into a stupor.” General Han’s tone grew heavier.

Qi Jia: “…”

Shuoling also looked solemn. “Yes, and of the thirty-six provinces of the Demon Realm, only twenty-five are ruled by the current king. The people are mostly of the Earth Spirit and Holy Moon tribes. But there were originally four great races in the Demon Realm; the other eleven provinces are still being contested, and the situation is very complex. It’s possible rebel forces have already infiltrated the King’s subordinates… those people must hate His Majesty the most and likely spend their time slandering him.”

“…Oh.”

Qi Jia finally concluded: Being the Heavenly Emperor had a “cool” side—controlling life and death, possessing unique spells… it sounded powerful. But on the other hand, being an Emperor with unique techniques in a chaotic world wasn’t fun. There were too many things to balance, like Yu Baixi was doing now.

“…Past Emperors were known for benevolence and virtue; only Yu Baixi is known for slaughter…” Qi Jia murmured to himself, tapping the table. “Why is it like this? Just because the Demon God’s followers are still causing trouble? What was the Demon God’s goal anyway?”

“The Demon God’s goal was naturally to unify the Four Realms,” Shuoling said. “Who in this world doesn’t have the ambition to unify the realms?”

“But in the storybooks and texts I’ve read, they say what spirits pursue is ascending to the Divine Realm to gain eternal life.” Qi Jia looked at Shuoling with a bright smile. “If I understand correctly, the Divine Realm is the Upper Realm, and the current Four Realms are the Lower Realm. All cultivators want to become gods. Since that Demon God was already half-way to godhood, why couldn’t he let go of the Four Realms?”

“Though everyone longs for godhood, it’s been at least a million years since anyone actually ascended to the Divine Realm. Perhaps that’s the reason.” Shuoling didn’t know either and could only offer a guess. “That Demon God claimed to be in the Half-Step Divine State, but who knows what the true Divine State is like? Maybe he cultivated to the end and found he couldn’t progress further, or discovered there was no Divine Realm at all, so he started wanting to unify the Four Realms.”

“You have a point.” Qi Jia offered Shuoling some validation and noticed General Han had suddenly gone quiet. He looked at him curiously. “General Han, what do you think?”

Suddenly put on the spot, Han Mo said: “This… regarding the Demon God, I do not know, so I dare not judge.”

“By the way,” Shuoling’s eyes darted with mischief, “I was born late and never saw that Demon God, but General Han should have seen him, right?”

“Right, aren’t you the Emperor’s childhood friend?” Qi Jia remembered. “Then you must have seen that Demon God?”

Han Mo: “Ahem, Your Lordship is joking. I really cannot claim to be His Majesty’s childhood friend! I am nearly a thousand years younger than him! As for the Demon God… that’s thinking too highly of me. Not only was he of noble status in the Demon Realm—comparable to His Majesty’s status as Crown Prince—but the gap in power… I only saw him once when he attacked the Heavens. That time, His Majesty stepped out with his sword, using his newly forged ‘Sanqing Sword’ to fight the Demon God’s weapon ‘Beauty’s Bone.’ It was earth-shattering. Back then, my magic was weak; I was too busy running for my life to understand what was happening.”

General Han’s words summarized that he was weak and young back then, and thus knew nothing.

Qi Jia: “…That makes sense.” After all, Yu Baixi was a dragon that only appeared once in hundreds of thousands of years. It was normal that not everyone was like him.

After comforting General Han, the three continued to drink tea and talked of other topics.

Outside the towering palace, amidst the clouds above the eaves, a faint scent of blood lingered. A man stood tall among them—it was Yu Baixi, who had been away from the Jade Capital for an entire day.

Unlike his usual upright and dignified image, the Emperor not only had blood on his clothes, but his normally black hair had completely turned white.

“Your Majesty.” A female general in silver armor and red plates arrived beside the blood-stained, white-haired Emperor. She seemed accustomed to this scene. She listened briefly to the conversation below, catching Han Mo’s loud voice telling the Queen that the Emperor had disposed of many people…

Han Huangyu’s expression twisted for a moment. “My brother is outspoken and lacks propriety. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness!”

The Emperor made no reaction, only saying: “Since I let him follow him, I do not mind him telling him these things. Furthermore, in terms of secrecy, General Han has done well.”

Finally, Yu Baixi added cryptically: “He will recover his memory eventually. It is good for him to know what has happened over the years beforehand. To avoid…” To avoid what, Yu Baixi didn’t say.

But a rare look of loneliness appeared on the Emperor’s face, followed by a self-deprecating smile. “But it makes no difference. He will leave this place in the end. He will leave me.”

“Your Majesty…” Han Huangyu actually had many things she wanted to say and questions she wanted to ask. But facing the lonely and noble Emperor, General Huangyu only said: “I only know that even if the whole world misunderstands Your Majesty, the Queen… he will surely understand you.”

Hearing this, the Emperor’s eyes flickered as he turned to look at her. General Huangyu said nothing more. She wasn’t a talkative person by nature.

So the Emperor asked a rare follow-up: “And so? What do you wish to say?”

General Huangyu: “Years ago… it was because of the Queen that I was able to survive and guard Fancheng for Your Majesty. Though the Queen never spoke a word to me, I believe he saved me because he anticipated that the Four Realms would have a day like today.”

Yu Baixi: “…” The Emperor’s expression was stunned. He turned back to look at the palace below. Inside, the little General Han was gossiping with the Queen about how the new Demon King was scared stupid by the Emperor.

Yu Baixi listened with one ear while appearing to hear nothing, his expression vast and devoid of joy or sorrow. Finally, the Emperor nodded slowly. “You are right. He is so wise and transparent; naturally, he understands what I am doing.”

Therefore, there wouldn’t even be misunderstandings between them.

The Emperor suddenly thought of the storybooks the bird often read, which contained many tales of tortured love and shifting hatred. He wondered how such stories even developed.

“However, I believe Your Majesty could look forward a little. What if the Queen, after recovering his memories, is still willing to stay?” Han Huangyu eventually chose to say one more thing.

Meeting the Emperor’s sharp gaze, the General’s voice remained low: “After all, the Queen… he likely has nowhere else to go…”

“…Mhm.” The Emperor’s voice was even heavier than hers.

“And what I care about most is,” Han Huangyu quickened her speech, “if the Queen truly chooses to stay, how does Your Majesty plan to arrange things? How will you get along with him?”

Yu Baixi: “…” His blood-stained hem swayed in the wind, the scent of blood threading into the air. The Emperor standing in the clouds had an inscrutable expression and remained silent for a long time.

General Huangyu naturally fell silent as well, but eventually, she spoke to remind him: “Your Majesty, the Queen is still waiting for you. Your Majesty has spent an entire day consuming spiritual power in the Demon Realm, and your old injuries have flared up. Since you are back, why not go accompany the Queen instead of standing here?”

Someone who dislikes talking sometimes has to speak up before their superior just so they can finish work and go home to rest.

Yu Baixi was non-committal. “You may return. I am not busy.”

As he spoke, the Emperor looked down at his loose hair—the white hair had already turned back to ink-black. He then cast a cleaning spell on himself, shedding the disheveled state and the scent of blood. He changed his mind: “It is about time. I will go first.”

Han Huangyu: ?…?!

Under the utterly bewildered gaze of his most trusted subordinate, Yu Baixi explained calmly: “His old injuries have not healed, and he is very delicate right now. I do not wish to startle him.”