PCJ – Chapter 442 Jiaohua Has Disappeared

“Where’s Zhang Jiaohua?”

Li He walked into the cafeteria during lunch and noticed the boys in the class dividing their meals. He scanned the room but didn’t see Zhang Jiaohua anywhere.

“Zhang Jiaohua didn’t even cook any rice today. He must have gone out to eat,” Ma Yingjun quickly answered.

“Does his family have guests nearby?” Li He inquired.

“No relatives around here! But there’s a young man from the streets who often comes to our school to sell things, and Jiaohua is very close to him,” Ma Yingjun spilled everything he knew about Zhang Jiaohua.

“Has Zhang Jiaohua ever used his connection with that young man to bully classmates?” Li He instinctively imagined Zhang Jiaohua throwing his weight around and bullying others.

“Not at all. Zhang Jiaohua doesn’t interact much with the other classmates and has never bullied anyone. Although his grades are excellent, he hardly puts any effort into studying,” Liu Jun, the class monitor, interjected, worried that Ma Yingjun might steal all the credit and jeopardize his position as monitor.

“Excellent grades? How good?” Li He asked, intrigued.

“Probably the best in the entire grade,” Liu Jun admitted reluctantly, though he disliked acknowledging it. He couldn’t help but feel frustrated—Zhang Jiaohua achieved such results with seemingly no effort. If he ever decided to put in the work, wouldn’t he become unstoppable?

Li He was shocked. He had assumed Zhang Jiaohua’s academic performance might be above average, but not to this extent. A rebellious straight-A student was going to be challenging to deal with.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jiaohua was oblivious to Li He’s inquiry about him. He was busy cooking.

Qi Xia and Nie Tong looked worried.

“Jiaohua, do you think Mr. Li will cause trouble for us?” Qi Xia asked nervously.

“You’ve asked me that a dozen times already. If you’re that scared, just eat at the school cafeteria from now on. I can’t stand cafeteria food—it’s like pig slop. I need proper nutrition to maintain my strength for martial arts training,” Zhang Jiaohua replied with an air of justification.

“But Mr. Li warned you. If you keep disobeying, he’ll definitely come after you,” Nie Tong added anxiously.

“Enough! We’re already out here. Worrying about it now won’t change anything,” Zhang Jiaohua said, irritated. As a cultivator, he believed in acting on his own instincts, not pandering to others’ opinions—even if those opinions came from a teacher.

Seeing that Zhang Jiaohua was upset, Qi Xia and Nie Tong didn’t press further.

When they returned to school, they found Li He waiting at the gate.

“Zhang Jiaohua, what did I tell you earlier? Are you deliberately defying me?” Li He demanded.

“I can’t get used to cafeteria food. Why do the teachers get special meals?” Zhang Jiaohua countered.

Li He was momentarily at a loss for words but quickly retorted, “You’re here to study, not to enjoy life. The teacher’s meals aren’t special—it’s just that we have fewer people than the students.”

“I’m not here to suffer. I’m growing, and I need proper nutrition. If I end up too short, I might not find a wife in the future,” Zhang Jiaohua argued with a string of reasons, leaving Li He speechless.

Li He grew frustrated. “I’ve never met a student like you!”

“And I’ve never met a teacher like you,” Zhang Jiaohua shot back.

“Fine! Today you’re not entering the school. If you like eating outside so much, you can stay out there. Don’t come back until your parents come to school to explain this!” Li He snapped.

“Suit yourself,” Zhang Jiaohua said nonchalantly and walked away.

“Mr. Li, Jiaohua goes outside to eat because…” Qi Xia tried to explain but was quickly cut off by Li He.

“You two are just like him. If I catch you eating outside again, your parents will also have to come to school,” Li He warned sternly.

Qi Xia and Nie Tong didn’t dare say another word and quickly entered the school.

Zhang Jiaohua, meanwhile, didn’t go home. Instead, he headed into the nearby woods. Memories of his summer adventures were still vivid, and he hadn’t fully processed those events. He swung a small bell in his hand, producing a crisp jingling sound.

He had thought collecting these two bells would grant him entry into the dream world to solve the mysteries that haunted him: why Chengdao became a corpse king, what happened to his master, and many other unanswered questions.

While Zhang Jiaohua appeared calm, his emotions were anything but. During his confrontation with Li He, anger had nearly consumed him.

In the open fields and forests, Zhang Jiaohua felt free, as if he were a fish returning to the sea. His pace quickened. On winding paths through fields and rugged trails in the woods, he ran like a wild horse, unrestrained. Letting out a long howl, he felt his pent-up frustration finally release. For that, he was almost grateful to Li He. If not for being barred from school, he wouldn’t have had this opportunity to let his emotions out.

He ran until nightfall, not caring where he ended up or how far he had gone. Surprisingly, he felt no fatigue and simply kept running, accompanied by his loyal companions: Drill Mountain Leopard, Fat Cat, and Chubby Monkey.

Back at school, Li He began to worry. He had assumed Zhang Jiaohua would quickly return with his parents, but hours passed without any sign of them.

“Could he have run away?” Li He wondered, fearing the worst. If anything happened to Zhang Jiaohua, he would bear full responsibility.

That evening, Qi Xia noticed Zhang Jiaohua hadn’t returned and informed Zhang Yuanbao. Without hesitation, Yuanbao ran home to report it.

“Jiaohua hasn’t come back!” Liu Qiaoye’s face darkened as she immediately called Zhang Youping, who was attending a meeting in the county. Then, she herself headed to the school.

When she finally confronted Li He, the news she received was grim: Jiaohua was missing.