Chapter 68: Internal Strife

On the third day of Jing Xi hiding in her space,

Liu Jianchang and Zhang Rui, as a couple, had already started discussing arrangements for her funeral.

After all, she had disappeared without a trace, neither alive nor dead.

Given the situation, they wondered if they should at least set up a cenotaph in her honor.

However, Xiao Jie immediately rejected the idea. He argued that since they hadn’t found her body, there was still a good chance she was alive, and holding a funeral would be inauspicious.

Zhang Rui nodded repeatedly.

Being alive was undoubtedly the best outcome!

When Liu Yan and Liu Chun returned home and heard that Jing Xi’s house had burned down and she was nowhere to be found, the two sisters burst into tears.

Hand in hand, they went to the ruins of the house, searching through the debris.

With tear-streaked faces, they cursed Zhou Wenwu’s entire family relentlessly.

Then, still crying, they returned home.

For the past few days,

Fucha Village had been under an eerie cloud of tension.

The police had been visiting multiple times a day to conduct investigations.

They had questioned villagers over and over again.

As a result, the officers had practically memorized the entire village—how many people lived there and which family resided where.

In the end, the primary suspects remained Zhou Wenwu and the Zhang family of three.

However, the Zhang family managed to provide alibis, proving that they were out of the village arranging a marriage match for Zhang Jianjun. This cleared them of suspicion.

Now, the only suspect left was Zhou Wenwu.

At home, Li Fenghua cried every single day.

Zhou Shu, seeing his mother in such distress, felt deeply pained.

The moment he was discharged from the hospital, the first thing he did was seek out the gang that had “taught a lesson” on his behalf.

But things had gone too far.

The consequences of this “lesson” were more than he could handle.

No matter what, he had to get his father out of this mess first.

Zhou Shu hadn’t expected that those guys would actually dare to go so far—to the point of potentially causing a death.

This was a completely different matter.

No matter how close they were as brothers, even if they had acted to avenge him, causing someone’s death was another level of crime altogether.

---

In the courtyard of South Alley,

a run-down, red-painted, secluded compound on the outskirts of the city,

this was where the gang usually gathered.

The yard was overgrown with weeds.

The place had once been a brothel, but after a police raid shut it down, it was abandoned.

Seeing no one was guarding it, they took over the place.

Zhou Shu looked around to make sure no one was watching before stepping inside.

Following behind him, Liang Chen lingered at the entrance of the alley for a moment before edging closer to the doorway.

As soon as Zhou Shu entered, the yellow-haired and red-haired gang members came up to greet him.

Zhou Shu ignored them completely. “Where’s Lao Meng?”

One of the yellow-haired guys pointed inside. “He’s in there, bro!”

Zhou Shu shot them a glance. “I’ll deal with you two later.”

The two yellow-haired punks immediately looked aggrieved.

“Bro, we didn’t mean for it to turn out like this! We just wanted to teach her a lesson for you. We never intended for things to go this far!”

“Save it. I need to talk to Lao Meng first.”

A low, hoarse voice came from inside. “No need, I’m right here.”

A buzz-cut man shuffled out, wearing slippers, his face looking haggard.

The moment Zhou Shu saw him, his temper flared.

“Are you out of your damn mind?! You got my dad locked up! Do you even realize that?! I told you to teach her a lesson, not kill her!”

Lao Meng gave him a side glance.

“You wanted payback, and I handled it. Now that things went south, you’re backing out? If you want to blame someone, blame your useless father. I heard he spat on the girl and hit her—that’s why the cops suspect him. If he hadn’t made such a stupid move, I would’ve taken care of everything already.”

Zhou Shu was dumbfounded.

He hadn’t expected Lao Meng to talk to him like that.

Even the yellow-haired and red-haired guys quickly tried to mediate.

“Lao Meng, how can you talk to our bro like that?”

Lao Meng spat on the ground, his expression filled with disdain.

“Bro? What bro? You think throwing a few bucks around every month makes you the boss of this place? I’m telling you right now, I don’t respect you anymore. You couldn’t even handle a woman and ended up getting your balls kicked in—what does that say? It means you’re weak! You’re not fit to be the boss!”

The moment Lao Meng finished speaking, Zhou Shu couldn’t hold back his rage.

He swung a punch at Lao Meng.

“My balls are just fine, and they’re none of your damn business! If you’re not happy, then fight me! Let’s see who’s the real boss here!”

“Fine! Whoever wins gets to be the boss!”

With that, the two started brawling right inside the house.

Zhou Shu was shorter than Lao Meng by half a head, giving him a clear disadvantage in height.

They had never fought before, and their relationship had always been relatively amicable. Zhou Shu hadn’t realized just how much resentment Lao Meng held toward him.

But the moment fists started flying, Zhou Shu instantly regretted it.

Lao Meng’s punches landed hard.

Every single one hurt like hell.

Zhou Shu had no chance to fight back.

Eventually, Lao Meng pinned him down.

Only then did Zhou Shu finally admit defeat.

“Enough! Let’s stop here.”

Lao Meng stood up and looked down at him with contempt.

“Weakling.”

Zhou Shu felt utterly humiliated.

Especially with the others still standing there, watching.

The moment they saw Lao Meng win, the expressions on their faces became complicated.

Zhou Shu knew that from now on, it would be difficult for him to gain the respect of others, but no matter what, he had to get his father out first.

A true man knows when to bend and when to stand tall!

Since Old Meng refused to submit to him, he couldn’t just turn him in.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to escape responsibility either.

“Let’s end things here today. From now on, I won’t come to this courtyard anymore. You three can hang out with whoever you want. As for my father, I’ll handle it myself. I won’t rat you out!”

Zhou Shu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Before leaving, he glanced at the dead body.

Red Hair wanted to follow him, but Yellow Hair No. 1 pulled him back.

Red Hair hesitated for a moment but still watched as Zhou Shu opened the door and left.

“Come on, guys, this isn’t right. Brother Zhou has always looked out for us, buying us food, drinks, and even helping us make money. Now that his family is in trouble, we’re just going to abandon him like this?”

Old Meng gave him a cold glance. “If you want to leave, then leave. No one’s stopping you. But keep your mouth shut out there—say nothing. Otherwise, you know the consequences!”

Red Hair clenched his fists in frustration. He glanced at the two Yellow Hairs, who looked hesitant, then turned and ran after Zhou Shu.

Up on the rooftop, Liang Chen had seen everything.

=====

A whole week passed, but there was no progress in the arson case. Meanwhile, Zhou Shu had withdrawn his accusation against Jing Xi at the police station.

This surprised Zhou Jiwen a little, but at the same time, it made him even more suspicious that the Zhou family was hiding something.

When Zhou Shu got home, he took off his shoes and collapsed onto the heated brick bed.

Chen Xiaowen noticed the bruise at the corner of his mouth and the slight discoloration on his arm.

“Brother, what happened to your mouth? Did you get into a fight?”

Zhou Shu glanced at her. “Got into a fight with Old Meng. We’re done.”

Chen Xiaowen stared at him for a moment, then went out to get a clean towel.

“Why did you two end up fighting? You went to see them today?”

“Yeah. It’s nothing, just a small matter.”

Chen Xiaowen hummed in response and said nothing more.

But deep down, she had already begun to suspect something.

The first thing Zhou Shu did after getting discharged was go to the courtyard.

When he was in the hospital, Yellow Hair and Red Hair had visited him together.

The night Jing Xi’s house burned down, Zhou Shu had been in an exceptionally good mood, even singing a little tune in bed.

Could it be that Old Meng and his gang were involved in the arson?

As she wiped Zhou Shu’s face, she replayed everything in her mind.

These past few days, Li Fenghua hadn’t paid any attention to her. She was completely focused on trying to get Zhou Wenwu out of custody.

It seemed like she needed to find a way to sneak out.

She didn’t believe that Jing Xi had died so easily.

People like her had strong luck!

She was sure Jing Xi had escaped and was hiding somewhere!