After Losing My Memory, I Became My Rival's Palm-Sized Chirper - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Playing Quite Wildly

As it turned out, the Heavenly Emperor’s rope was indeed an immortal artifact; not only could it expand and contract at will, but it could also change its dimensions.

A knot was quickly tied around Qi Jia’s ankle.

When Qi Jia transformed back into his human form and stood on the ground, the rope was long enough. The other end was tied firmly to the Heavenly Emperor’s wrist.

Yu Baixi said, “Only this Sovereign can untie this rope. It is to prevent you from breaking free on your own if you fall under the influence of some illusion inside.”

Qi Jia looked down at the rope, but his attention was entirely on his long robes—he couldn’t help it, his legs were so long that when he looked down, all he saw were his long legs. As his hem swayed, a section of the long rope appeared, making his fluttering sleeves and robes look even more ethereal.

Yu Baixi added, “If there is danger, shake the rope to alert me.”

“Okay,” Qi Jia responded. “Let’s go.”

Taking a couple of steps, Qi Jia didn’t feel any discomfort. He turned his head and gave the Heavenly Emperor a bright smile.

Others couldn’t see his true face hidden under the immortal artifact’s disguise, but the Heavenly Emperor’s eyes flickered intensely.

Yu Baixi lowered his eyelashes: “Move out.”

Seeing that the first group to descend had already vanished, a large number of beings in the sky began to scramble downward, looking like dumplings being dropped into boiling water.

Shuo Ling and Han Mo stayed behind to guard the outside of the barrier. Qi Jia and Yu Baixi mixed into the crowd and gradually descended. The crowd was dense, so the two of them had to walk shoulder-to-shoulder, very close together, yet they remained unhurried.

The Primordial Secret Realm opened once every twenty thousand years. This interval wasn’t particularly long, and because the dangers inside were rarely immediately fatal—usually just resulting in being trapped—countless people entered to seek treasure every time it opened.

However, after millions of years, the treasures inside had still not been fully cleared. Specifically, the Qiankun Mirror had never been found. This meant that being the first one in didn’t guarantee being the first one to find the prize.

Qi Jia had specifically asked General Han earlier, and Han Mo mentioned that the realm was full of illusions, but His Majesty possessed an immortal artifact that could break through these barriers to find treasures. Therefore, Qi Jia wasn’t in a hurry.

He carefully observed the entrance below. As they neared the bottom of the water, their bodies remained dry; not a hint of moisture could be felt. The closer they got to the entrance, the narrower and darker it appeared, looking like a very long tunnel inside.

Beings surged into the tunnel one after another. In the rushing crowd, only he and Yu Baixi moved at the slowest pace.

Even so, the rope tied to their joints was very obvious as they walked and easily spotted by others.

A young disciple from some sect, sent out for experience, followed behind them. Seeing the slender rope extending from Qi Jia’s ankle, he couldn’t help but say to his companion in surprise: “Everyone comes here to find treasure, so why is someone… why is someone on a leash?”

“What’s wrong with a leash?” his companion asked, puzzled.

“Ah, well, nothing really…” The young disciple’s face turned bright red. “It’s just that the most popular novels in the Demon Realm lately are all of this type. The Demon Lord keeps a ‘canary’ and has to tie them by their side day and night. That rope has… other special uses…”

“Oh, you’re talking about that. I’ve read those kinds of books too.” His companion’s face also flushed red.

“Exactly. You might not know, but lately, these kinds of… perverted games are very popular in the Demon Realm.”

Qi Jia, who accidentally overheard a bit from the front: “?”

He hadn’t felt it just now, but looking down at it now, the effect of using a rope to lead his human ankle vs. tying it to his bird claw was… quite different.

Today, Qi Jia wore a light gauze robe woven from cloud brocade with a matching cloak, making his figure look slender and agile. Every time he took a step, the rope on his ankle swayed, causing the layers of gauze to flutter like wind passing through a cloud curtain—lingering and indescribably beautiful.

It really was easy to associate this with a certain image from an Erotic Art book… Mainly because he had also recently read the type of Demon Realm novels they were talking about.

Moreover, under the joint research of Fairy Shuo Ling, he had even mastered the method of purchasing official versions of those novels through legitimate channels… the uncensored versions. Some books in the Demon Realm were not prohibited.

Qi Jia: …

No, wait, the point is, why are they thinking of that at a time like this? Didn’t we agree we were here to find treasure?

Qi Jia couldn’t help but look back. He saw that they were indeed a few young men, appearing young and inexperienced.

Qi Jia thought: Young people are indeed full of vigor.

Perhaps because Qi Jia glanced at them, the gossiping youths suddenly felt embarrassed, their faces turning even redder as they fell silent.

But after Qi Jia turned back, they began whispering again. Although they tried their best to keep their voices down, they were perhaps too excited to control their volume, and Qi Jia still heard some of it:

With looks like that, it’s obviously the kind of relationship you mentioned. No wonder they’re using a rope!”

“These days, people really come here for all sorts of reasons.”

“They say there are many barriers and scenes inside this secret realm… Those two look like they come from a Great Sect…”

A slick-looking youth let out a lewd laugh: “People from Great Sects play quite wildly (玩得挺花).”

Another youth next to him looked confused: “But that gentleman on the leash looks elegant and noble, like he was born into wealth. He doesn’t look like someone who is ‘kept’?”

“How does he not look it? Look at him clinging to his master’s side with those red lips and white teeth; he’s clearly a ‘pretty boy’ (小白脸). And I saw it clearly just now—he offered his own leg for the other man to tie…”

Before the youth could finish his sentence, he suddenly let out a tragic scream.

Yu Baixi, walking beside Qi Jia, drew his sword. In a flash of sword light, he sliced the lewd-faced youth right in half.

Two lumps of flesh hit the ground with a “thud,” and blood sprayed everywhere. The youth’s companions froze for a second before letting out screams of extreme terror:

“AAAAHHH! Murder! Murder!!”

“Someone is killing people in the secret realm!!”

The youths were so frightened that none of them ran for their lives; they just screamed at the top of their lungs.

The confused youth, who was closest to the dead one, was now covered in blood. However, he still showed some spirit. He pointed at Yu Baixi, who was holding the sword, his face contorted with rage: “You! You! We were just casually chatting, and you killed him just like that? Where is your sense of mo—”

Before the word “morality” could fully come out, Yu Baixi swung his long sword again, slicing this youth into two halves as well.

The remaining youths went completely mad, still forgetting to run. Two corpses lay limp on the ground, the blood no longer spraying but gathering into two rivers of red. The sticky red liquid flowed past their feet, and the entire tunnel was filled with a thick scent of blood.

Many people rushed over at the sound. Perhaps recognizing Yu Baixi’s identity through his sword, the Sanqing Sword, cries of “Murder! It’s the Evil Heavenly Emperor! The Evil Heavenly Emperor is killing indiscriminately again!” echoed endlessly in the dark, bottomless tunnel.

Yu Baixi had already sheathed his sword. Hearing people call out his identity, his face didn’t change at all. However, when he looked at the person beside him, a flicker appeared in his smoky-green eyes—like a still, cold pond suddenly hit by a stone, causing ripples. The Emperor’s eyelashes fluttered downward rapidly, but he said nothing.

Qi Jia was stunned by the scene. Two drops of blood had splashed onto his handsome, flawless face. Around them, more and more people were accusing them, accusing Yu Baixi of swinging his sword and killing people at will.

“The Heavenly Emperor is so violent and unreasonable, you might as well kill us all!”

“Exactly! They were just talking about your relationship with your ‘lover’ (姘頭), how could you kill them for that!”

“Even if they were disrespectful, you shouldn’t kill them. They are just children!!”

“Wait a minute, everyone quiet down!” Qi Jia finally looked at Yu Baixi and raised his hand to stop the noise.

There were layers of people, but it didn’t take long for the noise to subside. Perhaps because Qi Jia’s voice was clear and penetrating, and the people around them desperately needed an explanation at that moment.

Qi Jia raised his hand, drawing everyone’s attention. Once it was quiet, he said: “First of all, I want to clarify one thing. I am not his ‘lover.’ I am his legitimate, soon-to-be-married wi—”

Before he could finish, a wave of insults broke out.

“Pah! Who cares what your relationship is!”

“So what if you’re the Empress? You’re a piece of trash just like the Evil Heavenly Emperor!”

“This pair of dogs, coming to the secret realm to play dirty and then not letting people talk about it!”

Facing the insults, Qi Jia didn’t react much. Instead, he looked at Yu Baixi: “Do you want to chop these ones down too?”

The Emperor: “…”

The look Yu Baixi gave him was filled with astonishment.

“Secondly!” Qi Jia didn’t wait for the Emperor’s answer and raised his hand again to stop the cursing. Some insults were too harsh and needed to be stopped. Qi Jia said: “Secondly, and most importantly, none of you are real.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a white figure flashed beside him. Yu Baixi moved.

His long sword wrapped in sword light, Yu Baixi “executed” the few people nearby who were cursing the loudest. Then, a crisp “clink” sounded from somewhere. The echoing insults rang a few more times before abruptly vanishing. Even the dense crowd surrounding them disappeared instantly, as if they had never existed.

And disappearing along with those “people” were the corpses of the youths that had been lying at their feet.

Yu Baixi withdrew his sword and sheathed it; the tip of the blade did not carry a single trace of blood.

Qi Jia rubbed his face. He still felt the sticky sensation of hot blood splashing on him and slowly sliding down, yet the fingertips he used to touch his cheek were clean; there was nothing there.

In fact, they were no longer in the dark, cramped tunnel. The scene before them was wide open and brightly lit.

Perhaps… the space they were in wasn’t actually that large. It was just the eight full-length mirrors standing around them, constantly reflecting, that made the place seem infinite.

In the center of the eight mirrors, there was no trace of anyone else. Only he and Yu Baixi stood tall.

What a powerful illusion.” Qi Jia looked at Yu Baixi, his beautiful phoenix eyes filled with surprise. “Where are the others? Weren’t there many people who entered with us?”

Yu Baixi stood still, carefully examining the eight mirrors. He said, “We were likely transported to different areas upon entry. Two of these eight mirrors contain teleportation arrays.”

Qi Jia, who had been lazy in his recent studies of talismans and arrays: “…”

Oh, so it’s just a teleportation array.

Now that Yu Baixi mentioned it, he could barely pick out two arrays that looked like teleportation functions from the eight mirrors.

“Then it seems the rope worked; we weren’t separated.” Qi Jia shook his foot again, his robes fluttering.

Yu Baixi said, “Mhm.”

Qi Jia looked around and analyzed: “Then the way to break the array is to destroy the arrays on these eight mirrors… You killed exactly eight people just now.”

“Mhm,” Yu Baixi responded again. He suddenly curled his lips and said, “Clever.”

“Of course.” Qi Jia puffed out his chest.

Since he was no longer in his bird form, even though he puffed his chest, the movement wasn’t obvious. Instead, it further lengthened his already slender waist, which looked so thin it could be grasped in one hand even through his robes.

The Emperor’s eyelashes flickered again.

“When did you realize something was wrong?” Qi Jia asked.

“The moment we entered,” Yu Baixi replied flatly.

“?… Since the moment we entered??” Qi Jia was shocked. “How did you find out?!”

Yu Baixi looked at him and said, “This is only the lowest level of illusion. If you recover your memory, you will find they are not even worth mentioning in your eyes. Besides, even though you were a step slower, you still saw through the illusion just the same.”

“Well… saying it like that makes me embarrassed.” Qi Jia scratched his cheek.

He had realized something was wrong while walking through the tunnel with the crowd. It was indeed a low-level illusion—he and the Emperor were wearing treasures to hide their identities and looks, yet those youths were able to call out their identities directly. Once Qi Jia noticed that, he knew they had fallen for it.

But thinking about it, if Yu Baixi hadn’t suddenly drawn his sword and startled him, he might not have felt there was anything wrong with those people’s words.

In other words, he had fallen for the illusion initially. At least when those first two “youths” were gossiping, he had taken it seriously.

Qi Jia couldn’t help but look down at the rope on his ankle again. “…Why is the illusion here so strange? Usually, these low-level illusions work by attacking the vulnerabilities in a person’s heart, right? So why did this illusion arrange for people to gossip about you keeping me? And all that dirty talk about Demon Realm ‘bondage’ taboos? It was quite lewd!”

Qi Jia asked sincerely.

Yu Baixi looked at him again. He spoke slowly: “You are right. The mechanism of this type of illusion is to reflect the human heart and attack its weak points. …Therefore, the images you see in the illusion must be what you are thinking in your heart.”

Qi Jia: “…”

Suddenly silent.

The Emperor looked at him, his smoky-green eyes full of hesitation. “What… what do you usually think about?”

Qi Jia: “…”

Even though he usually clamored for “Dual Cultivation,” having his own dirty thoughts reflected back by an illusion was a completely different matter! A blush crept onto his peerless face.

Qi Jia suddenly heard the Emperor say earnestly, “The Heart-Clearing Incantation I gave you—you must remember to use it often.”

Qi Jia: “…………”

Qi Jia tried to struggle: “Is it possible that wasn’t what I was thinking, but what you were thinking?”

“Impossible,” the Emperor denied with a face of pure righteousness.

Qi Jia: …

Fine. Yu Baixi had realized it was an illusion from the start, so he naturally could control himself not to think too much. Besides, based on Qi Jia’s understanding of the man, Yu Baixi definitely hadn’t read those newly popular Demon Realm novels!

Failing to deny it, Qi Jia was mortified, considering whether to turn back into a little fat bird that wouldn’t blush or show embarrassment.

But suddenly, he realized something was off:

“Your Majesty knew we were in an illusion, so why didn’t you break the array at the beginning? Instead, you let them say so much nonsense. Could it be…”

With a bright gaze and red lips, Qi Jia suddenly leaned toward Yu Baixi: “You wanted to hear it too?”