PCJ – Chapter 272 Plans

Zhang Benrui tried to kick the hand away, but he was too preoccupied with his own safety to care about others. Moreover, he didn’t know whether the person under the bridge was human or something else.

However, the person under the bridge had managed to grab the last straw and wasn’t going to let go easily. Not only was the grip firm, but another hand reached up from below and tried to grab the bridge. Zhang Benrui quickly moved aside; if the person managed to grab him, he might be pulled down too.

“Let go, let go, let go!” Zhang Benrui stomped on the hand several times, but it wouldn’t loosen its grip.

Panicking, Zhang Benrui gathered his courage and pulled the person up from below the bridge. It was dark, and without a flashlight, he couldn’t see who it was.

“Hey, who are you?” Zhang Benrui shouted to dispel his fear.

“Help, help! I’m Chen Hongming!” the person’s voice was faint.

“Who?” Zhang Benrui felt a sense of unexpected relief, as if he had found something easily after a long search.

“Chen Hongming from the opposite mountain. Help me!” To Zhang Benrui’s surprise, the person was Chen Hongming. It was remarkable that he had survived despite being attacked by so many black cats. How he ended up under the bridge was a mystery.

“Helping you is no problem, but you need to tell me where my father is!” Zhang Benrui suddenly remembered he had come out looking for someone. Up until now, he hadn’t found any trace of him. Zhang Benrui felt that Chen Maozhong’s family might know something.

“Who’s your father?” Chen Hongming, desperate for rescue, tried to please Zhang Benrui but had forgotten who Zhang Benrui was.

“My father went to your house this morning to ask about immortals and hasn’t been seen all day. Do you know where he is? Is he hiding at your place?” Zhang Benrui asked.

Realizing who Zhang Benrui was, Chen Hongming struggled violently, as if trying to get away. “No, I don’t know.”

Chen Hongming’s reaction was highly suspicious, and Zhang Benrui grew anxious. He grabbed Chen Hongming and demanded, “What have you done to my father? Where have you hidden him?”

Chen Hongming was already weak, and Zhang Benrui’s grip made it hard for him to breathe. “It’s not my fault, it’s not my fault.”

Zhang Benrui, growing more desperate, shouted, “Tell me! What happened to my father?”

Despite his usual demeanor, Zhang Benrui valued his father’s life greatly. Even if he didn’t pay much attention to Zhang Genxin normally, he was deeply concerned in a life-or-death situation.

“He… he lay down on the mat after asking about immortals. I thought he was asleep, but he had died. The immortal told me to hide him. I had no choice but to hide him under my bed.” Chen Hongming said before falling unconscious.

Thinking Chen Hongming was dead, Zhang Benrui quickly let go and ran toward Meizi Pond without looking back.

In the horticultural field, the fat cat was thrown heavily to the ground. The fat cat’s eyes flew open, and it tried to escape, but the Mountain Leopard’s paw firmly held it down.

“Meow!” The fat cat let out a mournful cry.

“You’re really asking for it! How dare you attack our horticultural field!” Zhang Jiagen struck the fat cat with a stick.

“Meow!” The fat cat cried out in pain. It was now no different from an ordinary house cat.

“Jiaohua, this thing came into the village causing trouble, secretly draining people’s vitality. We can’t let it go! Don’t be fooled by its pitiful act. If we let it go, it will definitely cause trouble elsewhere.” Zhang Hanggao picked up a stick, preparing to smash the fat cat’s head.

“Meow!” This time, the fat cat let out a loud cry before the stick even landed.

“Stop, Hanggao. How we handle this matter should be decided by Jiaohua. The fat cat wasn’t caught by you two alone. Are you two going to take credit for it?” Zhang Wenrong quickly stopped Zhang Jiagen and Zhang Hanggao.

The Mountain Leopard proudly raised its head, but its claws firmly held the fat cat down.

“Jiaohua, how should we deal with this fat cat?” Zhang Jiagen asked.

“First, bind the fat cat with iron wire. Leopard, you keep watch over it. We’ll sort out the situation before taking further action,” Zhang Jiaohua said, not in a hurry to deal with the fat cat. Even though they had caught the fat cat and many black cats had escaped, killing the fat cat rashly might provoke endless retaliation. With the fat cat under control, the remaining black cats would likely hesitate to cause trouble.

“Listen to Jiaohua. Quickly get the iron wire, and make sure the fat cat is securely bound. We need to take turns guarding it,” Zhang Wenrong ordered.

Zhang Jiagen quickly went to get some iron wire, cutting a piece from the village’s spare broadcast cables. When binding the fat cat, he didn’t care about its comfort, tightening the wire as much as possible. If Zhang Jiaohua hadn’t instructed otherwise, Zhang Jiagen might have killed the fat cat right then and there.

The fat cat meowed pitifully, but no one paid any attention.

At that moment, Chen Shunchang and his wife finally opened the door and came out. “Jiaohua, is everything alright?”

“Hmm, it should be fine now. The fat cat has been captured,” Zhang Jiaohua nodded.

“Can I take a look?” Chen Shunchang asked.

Lin Hongfang complained, “What’s there to see?”

“The fat cat is locked in that room, bound with iron wire by Jiagen. If you want to see it, go ahead,” Zhang Jiaohua said, still considering how to handle the situation.

Ignoring his wife’s complaints, Chen Shunchang entered the room and saw a large black cat hanging from a beam.

Seeing Chen Shunchang, the fat cat’s eyes darted around, looking pitifully at him.

“My goodness, it’s so big! This isn’t the one that came to my house that night. It wasn’t this big but was much stronger,” Chen Shunchang said, still shaken.

“Of course, it’s not. It has many subordinates; it wouldn’t run errands itself. Tonight, a couple of hundred black cats came. This one stayed hidden. If Leopard hadn’t broken through the defenses with the mountain dogs, we wouldn’t have caught it. This thing is very cunning, never leading the charge but always staying behind to command. Once it’s out of the picture, the remaining black cats won’t be a threat,” Zhang Wenrong prodded the fat cat with a stick.

“Then why hasn’t Jiaohua killed it yet?” Chen Shunchang felt that killing the fat cat was the only way to ensure peace.

“Killing it might lead to endless retaliation from the black cats. Jiaohua’s approach is sensible. Even though the fat cat is detestable, it’s not an enemy of Jiaohua. If it were killed, Jiaohua would have to bear the consequences. Keeping it alive resolves the village’s threat and deters the black cats from seeking revenge. It’s a more prudent solution,” Zhang Wenrong believed Zhang Jiaohua’s decision was right.