Chapter 466: Let's Talk
Zhu Chen replied, "The Patriarch of the Fifth Clan suddenly fell ill—gravely ill. I heard he doesn't have many days left. I thought the Fifth Clan was free of conflict, but it turns out they're all the same."
"The Fifth Clan has split into two factions now, and they both invited me to read their faces."
"I looked, but I didn't say anything."
If he had said anything, it would have meant getting involved in the Fifth Clan's karma.
If people died in the struggle, some of the blame would probably fall on Zhu Chen.
Xiao Ye's interest was piqued. "Oh? If you weren't going to say anything, why did you go look?"
"Curiosity, of course. Both of their faces read pretty well, with no major issues."
"But from my own perspective, the younger one is more likely to win. Still, some things are subject to change."
Zhu Chen leaned back on the sofa. "I just wonder if the Fifth Clan itself will change because of this conflict. They're a family of martial artists. If they change, it'll be a shame."
Among the four families, the Fifth Clan has the best-preserved heritage.
Xiao Ye didn't want to see them get caught up in schemes and infighting either, but wherever there are people, there is conflict. It's unavoidable. The only difference is the scale.
「Two hours later.」
The plane landed.
They were in a very small county town. Even the affiliated city didn't have an airport.
Fortunately, theirs was a small plane, so they were able to land at an abandoned factory.
After getting off the plane, the two of them headed straight for the address they had investigated.
It was an old residential complex, mostly inhabited by the elderly. The young people had all left to find work elsewhere.
The county town was relatively lively with a good number of shops, but it still had an air of desolation.
"This is the place." Zhu Chen looked at the old-fashioned barbershop in front of them. "The Red Calamity Star we investigated is the owner of this shop."
With that, he pushed the door open and walked inside.
A middle-aged woman who looked to be in her forties heard the noise and immediately looked up. She froze when she saw two handsome young men walk in.
Her barbershop was usually only frequented by middle-aged and elderly customers.
"Are... are you here for a haircut?"
"No, we're here to see you," Zhu Chen said directly. "You're Ms. Zhang, right?"
"Yes. Who... who are you?"
Ms. Zhang looked a little scared, shrinking back slightly.
The timidity in her eyes wasn't an act; it was real.
You could tell she was a woman with very low self-esteem.
Zhu Chen's voice was gentle. "Ms. Zhang, please don't worry. We're not bad people. We just came to ask you about a few things. Is it convenient to talk?"
"Forget it. I don't know you. We have nothing to talk about."
"I hear you have a son in high school. He'll be off to college soon. Are you sure you have enough money?"
Ms. Zhang was taken aback. "What do you mean by that?"
"Answer my questions, and I'll give you one hundred thousand. How does that sound? Don't worry, we'll do it right here. If you're scared, you can even leave the shop door open."
"If I really wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't be wasting time talking to you here."
Ms. Zhang looked at him, then at Xiao Ye.
It wasn't just that the two of them were well-dressed; they also had a powerful presence.
One look and you could tell they weren't ordinary people. They had definitely been raised in wealth.
'I'm just an ordinary person, a poor ordinary person at that...'
'And I have nothing. In that case, what is there to be afraid of!'
"Fine, let's talk. Please, sit. What do you want to ask?"
Zhu Chen sat down in the barber's swivel chair, not at all bothered by the humble surroundings.
Xiao Ye was the same. The shop might be old, but it was kept very clean.
"Ms. Zhang, we've already looked into your background a bit. You just divorced your husband. When exactly did the divorce happen? What was the date?"
At the mention of her husband, Ms. Zhang was clearly fearful and disgusted. "Half a month ago."
That was the day she escaped his clutches, so she remembered it clearly.
Half a month ago—exactly when the Red Calamity Star appeared!
"Can you tell us about you and your husband?"
The more details they knew, the better they could deduce what might happen next.
She hesitated for a moment, but the thought of one hundred thousand yuan made her talk. Besides, plenty of people already knew about it anyway.
Ms. Zhang married her husband over twenty years ago. They were both factory workers, and life should have been good.
But not long after they married, her husband began to show his true colors.
The man who seemed so gentle and refined was not only a severe alcoholic but also domestically abusive.
Every time he drank, Ms. Zhang would face a horrific beating.
At first, her husband would apologize, but later, it got worse and worse, and the beatings became more and more brutal.
They originally had another child on the way, but he beat her so badly that she had a miscarriage.
It wasn't until the third child that she finally managed to give birth, and only with the help of the community director.
Ms. Zhang's expression was grim. "It's not that I never thought about divorce, but... but he wouldn't agree. He would always threaten me, either with our child or with my family!"
"I endured that torment for nearly twenty years. My parents passed away, and my son is now living with his uncle. That's how I was finally able to divorce him."
Zhu Chen and Xiao Ye exchanged a look.
If they weren't mistaken, the Red Calamity Star was very likely her.
And the reason she was a "calamity star" was because she had divorced her husband.
The husband was an extremely unstable factor. Before the divorce, he could take out his anger on Ms. Zhang.
After the divorce, he had no choice but to take it out on other people.
Although the woman was pitiable, her divorce was indeed the trigger.
This was how a calamity star manifested. But if you asked Xiao Ye, the real calamity star ought to be the abusive husband.
Zhu Chen continued to ask, "Do you know where your husband is now?"
"I do. To get the divorce, I left with nothing. Besides this barbershop, I gave him everything else."
"At this time of day... if nothing's changed, he's probably out drinking with his good-for-nothing friends. He usually goes home around seven or eight in the evening."
Zhu Chen put down the one hundred thousand yuan. "Don't worry, he won't be getting away with it for much longer. But just to be safe, you should probably deposit this money."
"Put it in a fixed-term deposit and take it out when your son goes to college."
Ms. Zhang couldn't believe it. She had just answered a few questions and had actually been given one hundred thousand yuan. It was like a dream.
Belatedly, she clutched the money to her chest. "Are you... are you going to go find him?"
"You have to be careful, then. He might look like a nice guy, but he's a vicious fighter. A lot of men bigger than him can't win in a fight against him."