PCJ – Chapter 529 Exposed

“Jiaohua, why are you still outside today?” Wu Yuan was surprised to see Zhang Jiaohua sitting in the courtyard when he returned. Usually, Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t like this. Seeing Zhang Jiaohua waiting in the courtyard, seemingly waiting for him to return, stirred a long-lost feeling of home in Wu Yuan’s heart, and his eyes became slightly moist.

“I have something important to tell you,” Zhang Jiaohua said, not noticing Wu Yuan’s emotional shift.

“What is it?” Wu Yuan scratched his head, realizing he’d been too sentimental.

“Zeng Lei is currently on an assignment. If you run into him while you’re out, pretend not to know him,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

Wu Yuan immediately sensed this wasn’t a simple task. “What kind of assignment? It’s not dangerous, is it?”

“If you’re going to shout like that, then yes, it’s incredibly dangerous. The whole capital knows there’s an undercover cop who’s infiltrated a criminal gang. I bet by tomorrow morning, Zeng Lei will be exposed, and you’ll be picking up his body on the street,” Zhang Jiaohua replied grumpily.

Wu Yuan quickly lowered his voice. “Where is Zeng Lei now?”

“Out on the mission. He made time to inform us because he’s worried we might accidentally blow his cover. Especially you, Fatty—you must control your mouth. When you see him, be particularly careful. Don’t make any unnatural expressions that could give him away. The more suspicious you act, the more danger he’ll be in.” Zhang Jiaohua was genuinely concerned about Wu Yuan—this guy just wasn’t good at keeping things under wraps. If he met Zeng Lei face-to-face, it’d be a guaranteed giveaway.

“Don’t worry, I’ll just stay at the restaurant these days. I probably won’t have any chance of running into Brother Zeng Lei. Oh, and Sister Hao Yue seems to have gone abroad and won’t be back for a while, so we don’t need to worry about her running into him either,” Fatty said, showing surprising foresight.

“I still wonder what kind of mission Zeng Lei’s on? He’s just a small-time local cop. What kind of big case could he be involved in?” Zhang Jiaohua was puzzled.

“That’s not necessarily the case. You’ve got to remember—Brother Zeng Lei is a retired special forces soldier. He’s way more capable than your average police officer. I think if he does well this time, he won’t be stuck in a precinct anymore. He’ll probably move up to the city bureau.” Wu Yuan idolized Zeng Lei and wouldn’t allow anyone to downplay his abilities.

Zhang Jiaohua shook his head, not bothering to argue. “Anyway, I’ve told you what you need to know.”

“Oh right, Jiaohua, you’ll need to prepare some more of that seasoning,” Wu Yuan called out as Zhang Jiaohua was about to head inside.

“Already? It hasn’t been that long!” Zhang Jiaohua was surprised.

“Our restaurant’s doing really well. I’m thinking of expanding the storefront a bit. Chef Zhu said we could even consider opening a few branches in the capital. If we do that, the seasoning won’t be enough. The restaurant recently made some money, and since we plan to open more branches, I didn’t take any dividends and reinvested it all. We’ll keep the ownership shares the same as before.” Wu Yuan didn’t sound like his usual playful self when he spoke of this—he was all business now.

“Very nice—you’re starting to act like a proper boss,” Zhang Jiaohua laughed.

“I still work for you. Just make sure you prepare that seasoning—I’m counting on you,” Wu Yuan reminded him.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded. “I’ll get everything ready in the next couple of days. I’ll give it to you when you need it.”

Preparing the seasoning was a bit of a hassle. Many of the ingredients weren’t available in the capital—they were traditional spices commonly used by the locals back in Meishan. After Zhang Jiaohua’s special processing, they were blended into a uniquely flavored seasoning. To remake it, he’d have to return to Meizi’ao to gather the raw materials.

Zhang Jiaohua didn’t mind returning to Meizi’ao. After all, he’d been away for quite some time and missed home. He noticed that many of his classmates either lived with their families or could visit them every couple of weeks. But he also wanted to use this time away as a form of training—to overcome his dependence on home. The path of cultivation was never smooth, and he’d have to learn to endure separation and solitude.

He realized his personality had started to change. In Meizi’ao, no matter how old he was, he was always just a child at home. But in the capital, interacting with all kinds of people and constantly putting on different masks, it was hard to stand on his own. He wasn’t quite mature enough to navigate everything smoothly.

“I’ve finally started getting used to life here. If I go back now, I might have to start over,” Zhang Jiaohua muttered, scratching his head.

“Wait a minute… If I can visualize any kind of fruit tree in the Cultivation Diagram, can’t I do the same with the seasoning plants? And those future elixirs I’ll need to craft—like the Jasper Immortal Brew or the Ruby Immortal Brew—I should be able to create them in the Cultivation Diagram too. With the diagram’s properties, anything I produce will be of far superior quality.”

Zhang Jiaohua’s eyes suddenly lit up.

He’d never quite figured out the Cultivation Diagram. In theory, everything in it was formed by his own spiritual energy. But his energy wasn’t limitless, so why could he conjure endless things in the diagram?

He’d already drawn plenty of water from the streams inside the Cultivation Diagram without feeling any drain on his spiritual power. So where exactly did that water come from?

It was all too mysterious. He thought about it for a long time but couldn’t find an answer.

“Why bother worrying? If I run low on spiritual energy, I can just replenish it. First, let’s get that seasoning ready.” Zhang Jiaohua entered his room and shut the door. In the next instant, he vanished—and reappeared inside the Cultivation Diagram.

Beside him, a mountain appeared out of nowhere and began to grow taller and taller. It was covered in all kinds of plants and trees. Anyone from Meizi’ao would immediately recognize it—it was Black Rock Ridge. Although this version was smaller, every plant and tree looked exactly like the real thing, as if copied from the original.

Zhang Jiaohua quickly climbed the ridge. The vegetation matched the real Black Rock Ridge perfectly—though the surroundings were misty and didn’t resemble the area around the actual ridge.

He climbed down with a hint of disappointment. No matter how real it seemed, a copy was still just a copy. The spiritual connection and sentiment tied to the real ridge couldn’t be replicated. As the saying goes, “A mountain isn’t special for its height, but for the presence of a spirit.”

Still, the plants were all fresh and alive. Zhang Jiaohua collected everything he needed for the seasoning and immediately processed the ingredients in his internal space. He stored them all in porcelain jars—enough to supply several restaurants for at least a year or two.

There were also plenty of wild tea leaves growing there. Zhang Jiaohua transplanted them to a clearing in the Cultivation Diagram and had Leopard and the others harvest the leaves. He taught them how to process the tea, so he wouldn’t have to do it himself. The finished tea was stored in the diagram, ready to be used whenever needed.

Last time he went home, he had already crafted a large batch of tea. The Jasper Immortal Brew Group had started strictly controlling the sales of his handcrafted Jasper and Ruby brews. Their main products now used new mass-production techniques. Though the quality wasn’t as good, the key was scalability.

When Zhang Jiaohua left the Cultivation Diagram, it was already daylight—just enough time to make it to school.

“Zhang Jiaohua, you came just in time. For National Day, the school is hosting a cultural evening. Every class needs to present one or two performances. Our class has to prepare, or we’ll totally lose face!” Li Wenjuan, the class arts rep, lit up when she saw him walk into the classroom.

“You sure you’ve got the right guy for this? If it’s basketball, I can help, but I have zero talent for performing!” Zhang Jiaohua quickly shook his head.

“You guys can’t all act like this! It’s not just my job as the arts rep. I heard some classes even used family connections to invite celebrities. And here we are—struggling to come up with two decent acts.” Li Wenjuan grumbled.

“Wait—so we’re allowed to bring in outside help?” Zhang Jiaohua asked curiously.

“Of course! Our school is nationally renowned. Lots of celebrities’ kids go here. It’s no big deal for them to invite a few stars. Some parents are celebrities themselves. If we don’t put together at least a couple of solid acts, it’ll be embarrassing,” Li Wenjuan said, worried.

“You better find someone else then. I really can’t help you here.” Zhang Jiaohua initially thought of Chen Cheng and Tang Yan, but quickly dismissed the idea.

“Hold on a second, Zhang Jiaohua! I rewatched Tombstorm last night, and one of the hunters in the film looks just like you. That show was filmed near your hometown too. Did you take part in it?” Li Wenjuan pulled out a poster of Tombstorm. It really did show a side-profile of someone who looked just like him. Even though he was in costume, the resemblance was obvious.

“Also, the cast list says that character was played by someone named Zhang Jiaohua. Don’t tell me it’s just a coincidence?” No wonder she had come to confront him.