Martial Peak
chapter-3347

Chapter 3347, Stolen

Although what Fu Zhun was about to say was embarrassing, she wasn’t a sentimental person after all; therefore, after a moment of hesitation, she said, “I want to talk about Lin’er.”

Upon hearing the name, Zhu Yan frowned and sighed, “Many years have passed. Haven’t you put the matter down?”

Fu Zhun stared fixedly at him, “Have you put it down?”

Zhu Yan replied, “So what if I haven’t? There’s no hope anymore, so we should look to the future instead of being held up by the past.”

Fu Zhun shook her head, “I’m not resigned. We are both Tenth-Order Dragons so how was it possible that Lin’er didn’t inherit enough Source Strength?”

With a bitter smile, Zhu Yan asked “So what if we’re both Tenth-Order Dragons? It’s naturally difficult for the Dragon Clan to sustain our bloodline, and many such cases had happened in the past.”

He fell silent for a moment, “Enough about this. Let the past be the past.”

However, Fu Zhun still shook her head.

Zhu Yan was torn between tears and laughter, “What do you want, then?”

With her head hung low, Fu Zhun replied, “I’ve always felt that Lin’er wasn’t dead yet, and he’ll be born one day.”

“He’s already been placed in the Dragon Grave.” Zhu Yan placed his hand on her shoulder and persuaded her, “Stop thinking about it.”

Fu Zhun hung her head even lower and said in a hushed voice, “Lin’er isn’t in the Dragon Grave.”

Upon hearing that, Zhu Yan was startled for a moment before he looked awkwardly at her, “What do you mean?”

“Lin’er isn’t in the Dragon Grave.” Fu Zhun repeated her words and lifted her head to look into his eyes, “He’s on Dragon Island.”

Zhu Yan widened his eyes in disbelief and said, “You mean you didn’t put Lin’er into the Dragon Grave?”

It wasn’t the first time a Dragon Egg was stillborn. In fact, there had been many such cases in the past. Whenever such an incident happened, the dead egg would be placed in the Dragon Grave. Zhu Yan had never expected that Fu Zhun of all people would break this rule. It was an inconceivable idea. Anyone on Dragon Island might break the rules, but definitely not Fu Zhun.

“En!” Fu Zhun nodded.

Zhu Yan’s expression darkened as he bellowed, “Have you lost your mind!? If the other clansmen find out about this, your reputation will be ruined!”

She had always enforced the rules without the slightest leniency or mercy, so it was intolerable that she had broken the rules herself.

Knowing that she was in the wrong, Fu Zhun fell silent; however, she didn’t regret making this mistake because she still hoped for her child to live.

“Where did you keep him?” Zhu Yan asked in an exasperated tone, as he wasn’t even aware of what she had done until now. It was no wonder she didn’t allow him to follow her to the Dragon Grave at that time; it turns out she had already planned this back then. It was laughable that he had always been in the dark about this matter.

Fu Zhun looked vigilantly at him, “What do you want to do?”

Zhu Yan parted his lips, “What do you think I’ll do?”

“I’ll never allow you to put Lin’er into the Dragon Grave!” Fu Zhun said through clenched teeth.

Zhu Yan snapped back, “Why are you still so stubborn at this point? There’s… no hope for Lin’er anymore, so why did you place him somewhere else? The Dragon Grave is where the deceased should reside!”

Fu Zhun’s lips curved into a sneer, “I knew that I shouldn’t have told you about it.”

Upon finishing her words, she turned around and left.

Zhu Yan immediately took her arm.

“Let go!” Fu Zhun turned around and shot him a glare.

Zhu Yan’s chest tightened as he realised that she was truly infuriated. If he forcefully stopped her, she might flare up. Left with no choice, he released her and said, “Calm down.”

“I am calm!”

The corners of Zhu Yan’s mouth twitched as he gave it a thought and said, “Since you’ve hidden this secret from me for so many years, why did you decide to tell me about it today?”

That was what puzzled him the most. They knew each other extremely well, so she must have been aware of the consequences of breaking this secret to him; therefore, it was illogical that she would take the initiative and tell him about it.

Fu Zhun pressed her lips together and hesitated for a moment before she replied, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Zhu Yan was dumbstruck.

Fu Zhun took a deep breath, “For some reason, I’ve been feeling apprehensive and uneasy recently. I have a premonition that something bad is about to happen.”

“Does it have something to do with Lin’er?” Zhu Yan frowned.

“Yes.” Fu Zhun nodded gently, “That’s why I want you to visit Lin’er with me.”

“Okay,” Zhu Yan agreed to it directly.

However, Fu Zhun flatly declared, “But I’ve changed my mind because of your reaction just now.”

Zhu Yan put on a helpless smile, “Don’t worry. You have the final say regarding this matter. If you’re not willing, I won’t force you to put him into the Dragon Grave.”

That was the only thing he could say; otherwise, she wouldn’t bring him to see Lin’er. His plan was that he would find out about Lin’er’s whereabouts first before coming up with a solution later.

“Really?” Fu Zhun’s gaze glowed with pleasant surprise. The coldness in her eyes melted, which was then replaced by a tinge of softness.

“Really,” Zhu Yan nodded with a serious expression.

A smiling Fu Zhun crooked her finger and said, “Come with me.”

Upon finishing her words, she flew away first.

Instead of following her immediately, Zhu Yan remained in the same spot for a moment. That was because he hadn’t seen Fu Zhun smile for many years. The world seemed to have paled when she smiled just now. In the past, although she wasn’t someone who loved to laugh, she would still smile occasionally. However, after what happened to Lin’er, she had never been seen with a smile again. Whenever she was faced with anyone, she always remained cold and distant, which was why all members of the Dragon Clan were afraid of her.

[She doesn’t have to torture herself like this…] Zhu Yan sighed secretly before racing after her.

Moments later, the two Dragon Clan Elders landed on an unnamed island.

A shocked Zhu Yan asked, “Did you place Lin’er here?”

Fu Zhun pointed at the front, “That’s right. There’s a natural cave over there which is well hidden. Without intentionally searching for this cave, no one would notice it. Lin’er has been inside the cave over the years.”

Zhu Yan couldn’t help but admire Fu Zhun’s bravery, as this wasn’t a remote island at all. There were even two Spirit Islands nearby that belonged to their fellow clansmen. It was said that the most obvious place was the best place to hide something, but it was truly lucky that no one had discovered this secret over the years.

With Fu Zhun leading the way, they took a few twists and turns as they descended into the cave.

Zhu Yan could feel that Fu Zhun was somewhat anxious as she had started talking a lot. He understood her feelings because he felt the same way too. Although there was no more hope for Lin’er anymore, that didn’t mean Zhu Yan didn’t want to see his child again.

While they were feeling nervous, they finally reached the underground cave. As the Luminous Pearls illuminated the entire cave, Fu Zhun was rooted to the spot as she stared fixedly at a particular spot. At the same time, her body was trembling uncontrollably.

After scanning the cave, Zhu Yan asked with a frown, “Where’s Lin’er?”

There was basically nothing in the cave, let alone their child.

When he turned around and saw her expression, he realised that something must have happened as his chest tightened.

Just then, Fu Zhun shot forward and reached the spot where the Dragon Egg was supposed to be. After looking around in a dazed state, she looked up at her husband with bloodshot eyes, tearing up as she shouted, “Lin’er is missing!”

Zhu Yan asked, “Are you sure this is where you put him?”

With a listless gaze, Fu Zhun replied, “He has always been here. I visited him just half a year ago! He’s always been here!”

Fu Zhun’s expression soon transformed from one of shock to one of ice-cold rage. Murderous intent exploded as she said through clenched teeth, “Someone has stolen him!”

Zhu Yan also scowled as he muttered, “In that case, it must be one of our clansmen who did it. There are only a small number of them, so it isn’t hard to investigate.”

Fu Zhun said coldly, “If I find out who did this, I’ll never let them off!”

A shocked Zhu Yan quickly suggested, “Maybe it wasn’t intentional, so you shouldn’t jump to conclusions like that. After we find out who is responsible, we’ll just tell them to return the egg. This news shouldn’t be spread after all.”

Upon hearing that, Fu Zhun’s aura deflated as she nodded and gazed at him, “You’re right. Please investigate it quickly and tell the person to return Lin’er to us.”

Zhu Yan was lost for words as he watched her expression. It was the first time he saw her in such a helpless state. It was then he realised just how important their child still was to her, even after all these years believing he was dead.

It was no wonder she said that she had been feeling apprehensive lately, as something really had happened. Given her cultivation, it was reasonable to think that Fu Zhun had sensed that her child was in danger and had grown anxious as a result.

“What are you waiting for? Look into the matter right now!” Fu Zhun stomped her feet and urged him.

Zhu Yan sighed as he wasn’t even sure how he could even start to investigate.

There were only a small number of Dragon Clan members, so it wasn’t difficult to investigate. If one of the clansmen had really taken Lin’er away, it would only take him a day or so to figure it out. The issue was how he could look into this matter quietly.

It wasn’t like he could just ask each of their clansmen whether they had taken a Dragon Egg away from this place. If he really did that, the clansmen would find it suspicious, and the fact that Fu Zhun had hidden a Dragon Egg would sooner or later be exposed.

While he had to find Lin’er’s whereabouts, he also had to protect his wife’s reputation, so Zhu Yan felt that he had been put in a tight spot. At the same time, he was somewhat angered that one of his clansmen had dared to do such a thing; after all, Lin’er was also his child.

Meanwhile, on another Spirit Island, Yang Kai was still protecting the Dragon Egg in his Half-Dragon Form, seemingly having fallen into a peculiar state.

It was pitch black around him, and he couldn’t think clearly, like his mind was dazed. Everything he did seemed to be his instinctive reaction.

He tried to extend his limbs, but he felt that he had been restricted.

Just then, an idea sprang into his mind, [Am I inside an egg? However, why would I be in an egg?]

After trying to recall what he was doing, he finally remembered that he had been trying to hatch a Dragon Egg.

However, since he was outside trying to hatch the egg, how did he end up inside it?

While he was doubtful, Yang Kai felt a consciousness trying to approach his own. Feeling impatient, he tried to push the consciousness away; however, the consciousness was relentless as it leaned close to him again. At the same time, it expressed its desire, as if there was something in his body that it needed.

When the frustrated Yang Kai tried to push it away again, his brows twitched as he suddenly realised what it was.

It was the aura of the living creature inside the Dragon Egg. He now realized that he wasn’t inside the egg. Instead, his consciousness had sunk into the egg and resonated with the creature inside.