Chapter 159: Your Highness Ah Yuan

After enjoying herself by the roadside for a while, Ayuan noticed that Xiyan had been quietly following behind her without saying a single word.

Ayuan turned her head and saw Xiyan smiling happily. She immediately went over to him, tugged at his clothes, and said in a soft, sweet voice, "Brother, why did you suddenly decide to come out for a stroll today?"

Xiyan squatted down, affectionately patted Ayuan’s head, and said to her, "Because I haven't made you happy in a while, I wanted to take you out to play. The scenery here is actually quite nice."

Hearing this, Ayuan happily ran back to the spot she was at just moments ago and resumed playing.

Seeing Ayuan looking so joyful, Xiyan felt a certain part of his heart soften.

"Ayuan, come on, let's go check out the place up ahead."

After a little while, Xiyan called Ayuan back. Although it was getting a bit late, it was still quite bright.

"Brother, where are we going?" Ayuan asked, holding Xiyan's hand, looking up at him, and hopping along after him.

Xiyan looked at the path ahead and replied, "To a dungeon. There should be a dungeon somewhere around here, let's go try it out."

"Okay!" Ayuan replied sweetly.

...

The two of them walked aimlessly near the service area, and before they knew it, they had left the vicinity and arrived at the ruins of the Third Survival Zone.

Although called ruins, the place was not overly dilapidated.

The buildings showed signs of having been uninhabited for a very long time, but the structures and the surrounding crumbling walls were overgrown with blooming flowers and lush greenery.

The setting sun cast its glow over the area, creating a remarkably picturesque scene.

Ayuan happily ran into the ruins, darting around and exploring with great delight.

"Brother! Come quickly! It's so pretty here!" Ayuan waved happily at Xiyan.

Xiyan walked toward Ayuan, but just at that moment, a white-haired old woman suddenly appeared right behind her.

"Ayuan!" Xiyan cried out in alarm. He had seen the old woman materialize abruptly behind Ayuan, and the woman's expression was extremely peculiar.

Hearing Xiyan's exclamation, Ayuan immediately turned around, only to find an elderly woman with a face full of wrinkles smiling at her.

Upon seeing Ayuan, the old woman became overwhelmingly emotional. "Y-You are Her Highness Ayuan!"

Ayuan looked at the old woman in confusion, then glanced back at Xiyan standing behind her.

The old woman didn't seem to have any intention of harming her, and strangely enough, Ayuan felt no urge to attack the woman either.

This was highly unusual, as Ayuan was always acutely sensitive to danger and would usually neutralize any potential threat instantly.

"Your Highness Ayuan! Do you not remember your old nurse?" The old woman took an excited step toward Ayuan, but Ayuan instinctively took a step back.

Ayuan's reaction seemed unbelievable to the old woman, whose face instantly fell into an expression of profound sorrow.

Xiyan had started running toward Ayuan the moment he spotted the old woman. Reaching Ayuan's side, he remained deeply puzzled by the scene unfolding before him.

Tentatively, Xiyan addressed the old woman, "Granny, are you... do you know Ayuan?"

Hearing Xiyan's voice, the old woman turned her head to look at him, gave him a thorough once-over, and snapped, "Ayuan? How dare you address Her Highness Ayuan so familiarly! That is a crime! You shall be executed!"

Xiyan's lips twitched in helpless exasperation. Executed? What era was this that people still talked about execution? Forget execution; in their current reality, people died accidental deaths from all sorts of things at any given moment. Talk of execution was absurd.

What truly concerned Xiyan, however, was the old woman's form of address. Why would she call Ayuan "Her Highness Ayuan"?

Titles like "Your Highness" belonged to ancient political systems; how could they possibly surface here?

"Granny, who are you..." Ignoring the threat of execution, Xiyan continued to probe for the old woman's identity.

The old woman looked at Xiyan with undisguised contempt and replied, "I am Her Highness Ayuan's wet nurse! Who are you? Why are you by Her Highness's side? Are you her new servant?"

Xiyan and Ayuan exchanged a glance, and then Ayuan said to the old woman, "This is my brother. Granny, whoever this 'Highness Ayuan' you just mentioned is, it's not me. You must have mistaken me for someone else."

Expecting the old woman to look perplexed, she instead replied with absolute, unyielding conviction, "No! You are Her Highness Ayuan! Our..."

At that point, the old woman suddenly stopped. As if struck by a sudden realization, she quickly glanced around at her surroundings, sighed softly, and shifted her gaze back to Xiyan and Ayuan.

"Forgive me, I lost my composure, Your Highness," the old woman said, her demeanor abruptly turning polite.

The old woman's sudden shift left both Xiyan and Ayuan bewildered.

How could someone change their expression so fast? A moment ago she had acted like a raving madwoman, and now she was suddenly overflowing with etiquette.

"I am indeed Her Highness Ayuan's wet nurse, but... our kingdom is no more," the old woman said, looking at Ayuan with sorrowful eyes.

These revelations only left Ayuan even more confused. What kingdom was the old woman talking about? What Highness?

"Could you... please explain in more detail?" Xiyan asked tentatively.

He sensed that this old woman was closely tied to Ayuan's background, and his passive predictive ability likely pointed toward her.

"Very well. Sit here, and I will tell you the whole story."

Xiyan and Ayuan nodded and followed the old woman to a collapsed stone wall within the ruins.

Thereupon, the old woman began to recount Ayuan's story...

Ayuan was the ruler of a kingdom, known as Her Highness Ayuan, and her full name was An Yuan.

'An' was the imperial surname; within the entire kingdom, only the royal family bore the surname An.

However, good times never last. Wars plague every era; although the kingdom had enjoyed peace and prosperity and possessed formidable military might under Ayuan's rule, there was always someone greater, and a far more powerful empire had eventually overthrown their kingdom.

The old woman's name was Nuoyi, and she was Ayuan's wet nurse—the person who had raised her from childhood.

During that war, alongside the enemy's victory, another extremely strange phenomenon occurred: none of the members of the royal family died, though their whereabouts became unknown.

Furthermore, the imperial family had acquired a very peculiar power—immortality.

Many people yearn for immortality, but when the reality of eternal life was actually thrust upon them, it proved to be nothing like what they had imagined.

Immortality meant never dying, remaining unscathed even by fatal injuries. As the long river of time flowed on, such an existence became utterly monotonous and tedious.

Initially, members of the An imperial family were thrilled to receive this power, but before long, they began desperately searching for a way to die.

Yet, not a single one of them succeeded.

As time passed, the family members scattered in all directions.

The royal family had also considered using their immortality to reclaim their throne, but perhaps by some twist of fate, they found themselves completely incapable of striking back against the empire that had conquered them.

Whenever they attempted to launch an attack against them, they would suffer excruciating torture, though death still eluded them.