We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 364 [The Kingdom of No Faith] [The Great Yan Royal Palace]

After a while.

Xia En and his companion left the Violet Cafe with the girl, An Bing.

Regarding the claim that "the woman in front of you is yourself from the future."

Although the girl, Anbing, appeared extremely shocked, she quickly accepted the situation and agreed to Anbing's request.

This is not only because of their strikingly similar faces, but also because...

The incredibly detailed and realistic future described by Dark Ice!
"So, I'll be this good-looking in the future!"

As they walked, the girl Anbing cautiously glanced at Anbing beside her and muttered to herself.

"As expected of me!"

Xia En couldn't help but chuckle.

She still has the mindset of a young girl, so it's normal for her to be concerned about these kinds of issues.

Soon, the three arrived at an inn in the city of Fanyan.

After renting a room from the hotel owner, the three of them went inside.

Only then did the young girl, Anbing, belatedly realize that she was somewhat wary and asked.

"By the way, what exactly is the favor you want me to do?"

Why did you bring me here?

"Actually, the favor I want to ask you for is very simple..."

A hint of guilt flashed in her eyes beneath the dark ice veil.

"That means you should take a nap first."

Then she reached out and gently patted the girl on the back.

"Varied……"

The girl, Anbing, was completely caught off guard. She felt a chill run down her spine, and her consciousness seemed to freeze.

He then fell into a coma.

"Feel sorry."

Anbing supported the girl's limp body and said softly.

"Go to sleep. When you wake up, everything will be over."

Throughout the entire process, Xia En simply observed An Bing's actions.

There was neither obstruction nor support.

Only then did Xia En speak.

"So...you intend to enter the palace directly under your own identity?"

"Yes."

Anbing readily admitted, "It's also the safest and most reliable method."

"As you just heard her say, I actually didn't see the King of Cin until the day of our wedding."

"By the same token, before that, he didn't know what kind of person I was either?"

"As for the other family members, I can fool them with a little disguise."

Anbing gave a bitter smile.

"It can be said that this is a plan that only I can realize."

"The only problem is the me that was created by this [Great Yan]."

"Actually, the best way is to just erase it."

"However, even though I knew she was just a figment of my imagination, I still couldn't bring myself to do it."

"I'm sorry, Captain Shane, you must have found this amusing."

Xia En shook his head: "I think you did the right thing."

"I only feel a chill down my spine when I think of someone who can kill even his past self without hesitation."

"And cannot regard them as companions."

"Is that so?"

Anbing glanced at Xia En with a complicated expression.

"Captain Shane, has anyone ever told you that you look a lot like the Lord of Cinder?"

"……Um?"

Hearing this, Xia En was stunned.

He hadn't expected Anbing to make such a comment about him.

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that Joey said something similar?

Perhaps... he and the Lord of Cinder do share some common ground.

This is probably why he and Yan Yan get along so well.

The two did not discuss the topic further.

After quickly settling the unconscious girl, Anbing.

Anbing then led Xia En away from the inn and headed towards a district in the city of Fanyan.

On the way, Xia En casually asked about the beliefs of the Great Yan Kingdom.

Dark Ice wasn't particularly surprised that Xia En had observed this, and readily admitted it.

"Yes."

"In the Great Yan Kingdom, people without faith are actually the majority."

Only a very small number of people pray to the gods.

Anbing explained, "The reason is quite simple."

"In fact, the first batch of citizens of the Great Yan Kingdom were those who were exiled."

"Many of them were banished to the far north because they offended the churches in the southern continent."

"It can be considered a legacy issue from history."

"Under the rule of the King of Cinder, the people of the Great Yan Kingdom also discovered that they could live a good life even without gods."

"Over time, fewer and fewer people believed in the gods, and even when foreign priests and pastors came to the Great Yan Kingdom to preach, the results were often minimal."

"Later, most churches even listed the Great Yan Kingdom as a country of no faith and stopped sending missionaries there, which eventually led to the situation we see today."

"【The Land of No Faith】..."

Xia En murmured the name repeatedly.

He suddenly understood why the Great Yan Kingdom was rejected by other countries in the first place.

Clearly, faith is an indispensable factor.

For some kingdoms, a country without faith is undoubtedly terrifying.

Especially when they have no faith, yet still possess a terrifying cohesion.

This would undoubtedly be regarded as pure heresy by many kingdoms!

As they were talking, the two of them arrived in front of a mansion with a cold and austere design.

Upon reaching the gate of the mansion, Anbing removed the veil from her face.

She seemed to have used some kind of disguise technique on her appearance, making her look slightly younger, and increasingly closer to a teenage version of Dark Ice.

Although that aloof demeanor still exists, it is difficult for anyone other than a close relative to notice such subtle differences.

Just like some transmigrators who, after transmigrating, are slightly different from the original owner.

But to outsiders, they would only think that he had suddenly changed his personality, and would not suspect that he had been replaced by someone else.

"Young Miss, you're back?"

Soon, the guards at the door came up to greet them respectfully.

"The clan chief has been waiting for you for a long time."

The other guard looked at Xia En, who was standing next to An Bing.

"Young Miss, who is this gentleman?"

An Bing remained expressionless and began to explain.

"This is the personal bodyguard sent by the Lord of Cinder, supposedly to protect my safety."

Upon hearing this, the two guards had no doubts whatsoever and immediately became respectful.

There were also differences among the guards.

The people sent by the Lord of Cinder are definitely of a higher status than them.

The two immediately stopped blocking them: "Young Miss, sir, please come in."

And so, Xia En and An Bing easily entered the mansion.

In the secluded passage, Anbing explained.

"This is our family's residence in [Flaming City]. It's usually where the younger members of the family live."

The older generation generally disliked the Great Yan Kingdom, feeling that they had disrupted the peace and purity of the far north.

"But young people are quite the opposite."

"After all, this city is much more lively than the desolate ice plains of the past, and it has all sorts of novel things I've never seen before..."

Just then, several young men and women walked over from not far away.

Upon seeing Anbing, one of the girls immediately smiled and walked over.

"Sister Anbing! You're back!"

"Xiao Wan..." Upon seeing this girl, An Bing's expression immediately became complex and tender.

"Congratulations! You will become the Queen of the Great Yan Kingdom tomorrow."

The girl named Xiao Wan joked, "Next time we meet, I'll have to call you Your Highness, Princess."

Anbing shook her head: "No, you can call me sister anytime you want."

Xiao Wan's expression was a little strange.

She felt that something about Sister Anbing in front of her had changed.

But they couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was.

Moreover, why is Sister Anbing looking at me with such sorrow?
Ignoring the strange looks from others, Anbing continued speaking.

"From now on, when I'm not by your side, remember to eat well and don't study secret techniques too late."

"It's best not to go out alone..."

She talked on and on like a mother hen.

Xiao Wan looked bewildered and confused.

"Sister Anbing, you're acting strange today."

Someone nearby explained, "It's probably because she's getting married tomorrow, and Anbing's emotions are a bit fluctuating."

"By the way, Miss Dark Ice, the clan leader is waiting for you in his room."

"You'd better hurry up and go, or she'll get angry again."

"I see."

Anbing nodded, glanced at Xiaowan reluctantly, and then turned and left.

After parting ways with the group, Anbing spoke to Xia En.

"Xiao Wan is my most beloved cousin. We've been the closest of friends since we were little."

Even after we got married, she would often come to the palace to visit me.

"But then one day, I suddenly learned that Xiao Wan had gone missing."

Xia En frowned: "Could it be..."

“That’s right. According to my investigation, she should also be imprisoned in that strange underground research institute.”

Anbing's smile was bitter, but her eyes were exceptionally resolute.

"I have made up my mind to find the truth of the past in the Great Yan."

"No matter what the final outcome may be, I will pursue it to the end!"

"This is a lesson I learned when I was young."

Then, Anbing looked at Xia En seriously.

"Captain Shane, may I ask for your help?"

Xia En was slightly taken aback; he hadn't expected An Bing to suddenly make such a request.

However, putting aside his relationship with Yan Yan, having already advanced to the level of a Guardian of Secrets, he wanted to advance and improve his strength.

The quickest way is to explore the secrets buried in history.

This coincided with Dark Ice's request.

Or rather, even without Dark Ice's request, Xia En would have done it anyway.

So he didn't hesitate and said it directly.

"Of course."

An Bing's face showed gratitude.

"Thank you, Captain Shane."

……

……

Not long after.

Anbing went to the room to look for her mother.

Since it was a mother and daughter meeting, it was inconvenient for Xia En to accompany them, so she could only wait quietly in a room.

Until late afternoon.

Dark Ice returned to Xia En.

"Captain Shane, because we need to prepare for tomorrow's wedding, we can enter the palace today."

"Please come with me."

Accompanied by Dark Ice and other guards from the [Ice and Snow People] family, Xia En finally arrived at the Great Yan Royal Palace.

This palace was different from any other palaces that Shane had ever seen.

It gives people a feeling of grandeur rather than exquisiteness.

The entire palace complex has very little decorative structure.

Things like reliefs and murals have completely disappeared.

The most numerous, and also the only, decoration is the peculiar and mysterious flame patterns on the walls.

It is said that the people of the Great Yan Kingdom call this the "Flame Mark".

It is both an image of fire and a symbol of their country.

Its simple and unadorned architectural style makes it appear more like an impregnable fortress than a royal palace at first glance.

To be honest, this is not quite the royal palace that Shane had imagined.

But it also fits the Great Yan Kingdom and the temperament of that King of Cinder.

Dark Ice had lived in this palace for so long that it could be measured in years, so there was no surprise at all.

Her expression held only a deep sense of longing.

The place that Shane and the others are going to is located behind the royal palace.

In the original history.

Anbing spent her last night before her wedding here.

Then, early the next morning, she was dressed and made up by a special person, put on elaborate and gorgeous wedding clothes, and completed a sacred and grand wedding.

Although Anbing is nominally only a princess.

But in reality, the King of Cinder has no intention of marrying any other woman.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that she is the de facto queen of the Great Yan Kingdom.

This wedding will naturally be extremely grand and solemn.

That's why Dark Ice needs to make these preparations in advance.

And the person who came to guide them was none other than an "acquaintance" of Xia En and his companion—

Irina, the Black Flame Walker!

However, at this time, Irina did not recognize Shane and the other person.

She glanced at Xia En with some confusion.

"Excuse me, are you..."

Anbing quickly offered a reasonable explanation: "He is a personal bodyguard sent by our family, so he is considered part of my family."

"He will leave naturally after the wedding."

Xia En's lips twitched.

Are you using this set of matryoshka dolls?

However, with Dark Ice's guarantee, the identity of a guard is actually quite credible.

At this moment, Irina had no doubts and understood.

"I see. We should be more careful."

"These past two days, it seems like some mysterious people of unknown origin have infiltrated the palace. I wonder what they're up to?"

"hiss……"

As soon as she said it, Irina realized she had misspoke and quickly shut her mouth.

This is something I shouldn't have said to the future princess.

"……Um?"

Upon hearing this, Anbing frowned sharply.

"A mysterious person who infiltrated the palace?"

In her memory, nothing like this happened on the eve of her wedding.

Is this a mistake or omission in [Da Yan]'s memory?
Or were there other factors that altered this memory scene?
Seeing Anbing's expression, Xia En quickly realized that something was wrong.

An unidentified outsider?
The first thing Xia En thought of was the other members of the infiltration operation.

However, he took advantage of Irina's inattention to open the communicator and check it.

The communicator still only shows Dark Ice as the target of communication.

Moreover, judging from the time frame.

A few days before this memory scene, Shane and his team should not have started their infiltration operation.

Thinking of this, Xia En suddenly came up with a guess that sent chills down his spine.

Is it...

Besides these members of the operation, were there other people who entered the interior of [Da Yan]?

(End of this chapter)