PCJ – Chapter 306 Sense of Presence

Zhang Jiaohua was extremely anxious. The old Daoist was about to rush off to Dalubao to his death, but Zhang himself had just woken up. For a moment, he forgot that it had all been a dream. When the dream began last night, the first thing he heard was the old Daoist’s voice: “Chengdao, have you woken up yet?”

This morning, his uncle had called him awake again, shouting, “Jiaohua! Jiaohua! Wake up quickly!”

Zhang Jiaohua felt confused—he couldn’t tell which was the dream and which was real. Suddenly, he remembered the name from the dream: Chengdao. What a familiar name! Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t sure anymore if he should be called Chengdao or Jiaohua.

“Jiaohua, I made breakfast for you. It’s in the kitchen. Help yourself. I have some work to do in the garden. I’m heading out,” Zhang Youlian said as he walked out.

Fortunately, it was Sunday; otherwise, Zhang would have missed another day of class.

Still in a bit of a daze, Zhang Jiaohua couldn’t figure out what was going on with Dalubao. It all felt so real, not at all like a dream.

His stomach, however, was very real, growling with hunger. Eating was more important than anything, so Zhang quickly washed up and rushed to the kitchen to eat the hot meal waiting for him.

Originally, Zhang Jiaohua had planned to go back to sleep after breakfast, hoping to return to the dream and help the old Daoist master. He didn’t realize that in the dream, he was merely an observer. To his surprise, Xu Xuehe found him at the gardening field. Xu hadn’t returned to the city that Sunday. Being single had its perks—he could eat whenever and didn’t care much about going back to the city.

“Jiaohua, the basketball team is already on the court playing. You’ve got nothing going on, so why aren’t you there?” Xu Xuehe asked.

“They didn’t tell me they were going to play,” Zhang Jiaohua replied, scratching his head.

“You’re the captain of our second-year basketball team. I had originally planned to form a basketball team for Meizi’ao Elementary, with you as the captain. But a captain must be someone with strong responsibility. If you want to be the captain, you need to show more responsibility than others. The other team members all want this role, but I still want to leave it to you since your skills are the best. But you must lead by example.” Xu Xuehe carefully guided Zhang Jiaohua toward embracing the team.

Despite his unique qualities, Zhang Jiaohua was still a child, and he found the title of captain irresistible. This was one of his inner contradictions—the experiences from his dreams gave him unusual maturity, but his actual age and mindset still left him with some typical childhood needs.

“Why are you standing there in a daze? Go change into your sports gear and come with me,” Xu Xuehe urged, giving Zhang Jiaohua a push.

“Alright,” Zhang Jiaohua quickly changed clothes and followed Xu to school.

Zhang Jiaohua needed this collective activity. He craved interaction with other children to dispel the loneliness he felt inside. It was this need that made him fall in love with the basketball court. Nobody enjoys sitting alone in a dark corner. If it hadn’t been for what happened last year, Zhang would have been playing carefree with his friends every day. But that accident had robbed him of the joy a child his age should have been experiencing. Now, however, the opportunity was here.

“Jiaohua, why are you so late? We’ve been here forever!”

“Jiaohua, hurry up! We’re already losing by a few points, and Liu Wenbo is gloating.”

Zhang Jiaohua felt something special in his heart. He was starting to feel that he was needed by others, that he was an important member of the group.

Xu Xuehe was pleased to see this. He knew Zhang Jiaohua was an extraordinary child. Having worked in Meizi’ao for some time, Xu understood why Zhang was so withdrawn. He had tried to help Zhang with enthusiasm before but had little success. The other students, influenced by their families, were too dismissive of Zhang.

Now, finally, Zhang was beginning to blend in with the other kids. This was the greatest achievement Xu had seen since coming to Meizi’ao.

“Mr. Xu, come help us! We’re about to lose,” Liu Wenbo approached Xu Xuehe, acting like his loyal follower, as he always played on Xu’s team during games.

Xu had noticed that Zhang Jiaohua was improving rapidly, leaving all the other students far behind. Zhang’s learning ability far exceeded that of normal children. Xu wasn’t confident that even if he played, he could beat Zhang, and the bigger issue was, what if he lost? Would he still be able to command respect in front of Zhang?

“No way, a teacher can only be the referee, not a player. That’s the only way to keep things fair. Jiaohua, you come off the court and coach your team. As the captain, it’s not enough just to be good at the game yourself; you need to teach your teammates how to improve too, understand?” Xu Xuehe’s persuasive tactics worked well, and Zhang Jiaohua didn’t realize the trap. He even thought Mr. Xu made a lot of sense.

“That’s right. From now on, not only will you be responsible for the second-year team, but you’ll also be in charge of coaching players from other grades at Meizi’ao Elementary.” Xu generously handed more authority to Zhang Jiaohua—it didn’t cost anything, after all.

Zhang didn’t see through Xu’s scheme and was genuinely happy, immediately stepping into the role. “You guys, come here. Your fundamentals aren’t strong enough. First, you need to master the basics to play well. Look, you can’t even catch the ball properly. When you catch the ball, pull it back slightly, and that will help you stabilize it. During the game earlier, you dropped the ball several times.”

Xu was somewhat amazed by what he heard. He had read the basic theory in books before but never fully understood it. His lack of athletic ability didn’t help either. However, Zhang Jiaohua grasped it so clearly and had even developed his own techniques that Xu wasn’t aware of.

For a moment, Xu felt a little jealous of his student. Being around a genius was stressful, but coaching one was quite satisfying too. Xu realized he needed to improve himself. Next week, he would go to the city and buy some books from Xinhua Bookstore to strengthen his theoretical knowledge. If his physical abilities couldn’t compete with these kids, he’d outshine them with theory.

After training, as everyone went their separate ways, Xu called Zhang Jiaohua aside again. “Zhang Jiaohua, from now on, not only do you need to take the lead in basketball, but also in your studies. You can’t afford to skip classes anymore. From now on, you’ll also be the class’s sports representative.”

;

These positions cost nothing, and Zhang Jiaohua gladly accepted them.

After playing this game, Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t in such a rush to return to the dream. In fact, he often forgot about the ‘Chengdao’ from the dream, because he had begun to feel his own presence in the real world. In his previous life, Zhang Jiaohua had lacked a sense of existence. In Meizi’ao, he had been like air—ignored and dismissed by everyone. But now, he saw genuine respect in the eyes of the other children on the basketball team.

That night, Zhang Jiaohua drifted into a sweet sleep.

“Chengdao, I know you’re a good child, but the tomb is too dangerous. I promised to let you stay, but you must promise me something. No matter what happens inside the tomb, you must not take a single step inside. If things go wrong, leave Dalubao immediately. Go back and tell your senior brothers, and then live in hiding. Never reveal that you were my disciples again. Do you understand?”

The old Daoist master couldn’t argue with his disciple’s stubbornness any longer and finally agreed to let him stay. But before entering the tomb, he had to explain everything clearly.

“Take these talismans with you. If something happens, they might save your life,” the old Daoist said, handing over some valuable items to his disciple.

“What about you, Master?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty. Besides, once we’re inside the tomb and dealing with the spirits, what use will these be? If the elders of our Meishan Sect couldn’t use the sect’s treasures to subdue those spirits back then, what chance do we have now?” The old Daoist smiled slightly.

“Master Tianshi, we’re ready.” Pan Yongxi approached the old Daoist with a dozen warriors dressed in combat gear. “These are the warriors of Dalubao. Though their skills may be lacking, none of them fear death. Whatever you need, just command us!”

“If you all want to die, I won’t stop you. But once we enter the tomb, you must follow my orders. If anyone disobeys, don’t blame me for being merciless!” The old Daoist had no love for Pan Yongxi and showed no kindness to the people of Dalubao.

Pan Yongxi didn’t mind the old Daoist’s attitude and continued smiling, “Rest assured, Master Tianshi, these warriors will follow your commands.”

“We swear to follow Master Tianshi’s orders!” the warriors shouted in unison.

“Chengdao, remember what I told you!” The old Daoist’s tone softened as he spoke to his disciple.

Zhang Jiaohua followed the group out of the house. The buildings here were like fortresses, made of large blocks of blue stone, appearing solid and unbreakable. However, every house was covered with a thick layer of dust. This was a mining area, and the buildings had long been blanketed in mining dust.

The old Daoist led the group deeper into Dalubao. After about half an hour of walking, they arrived at a barren stone mountain. In the middle of the mountain, there was a dark cave, seemingly newly dug. But as they looked inside, all they could see was pitch-black darkness, like the mouth of a monster ready to swallow everything.

Standing at the cave’s entrance, Zhang Jiaohua could feel the cold air seeping out.

“Chengdao! Remember my words!” the old Daoist shouted.

“Master, please come back alive!”

Without turning back, the old Daoist led the group into the cave.

“Ah!”

Before they even entered, a blood-curdling scream echoed from inside the cave!