PCJ – Chapter 559 Targeted

The classroom seemed to be the same as usual, except that Zheng Wendong’s seat was empty.

Xu Chuan’an walked over and casually said, “Zhang Jiaohua, yesterday, Teacher Shen Hong came looking for you, but you weren’t here. Today, Zheng Wendong is also missing.”

“Zheng Wendong is on leave too?” Zhang Jiaohua asked, a bit surprised.

“Leave? He didn’t even show up today. Just now, Teacher Wei was asking about it. Teacher Wei was really upset. He said Zheng Wendong is too undisciplined. When he comes back, he’s definitely going to get an earful,” Xu Chuan’an replied.

“Maybe there was something urgent at home. You can’t really explain everything,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“That’s true.” Xu Chuan’an nodded.

Xu Xiaoting then walked over and stood behind Xu Chuan’an, clearing her throat to remind him of her presence. Xu Chuan’an turned around, saw Xu Xiaoting, and gave a playful smile, stepping aside with a hint of meaning in his expression.

Xu Xiaoting’s face flushed red, and she bit her lip but still sat down next to Zhang Jiaohua. “Zhang Jiaohua, these are the notes I took for the last few days. You should take a look at them. Don’t fall behind on your homework.”

“Oh, thanks,” Zhang Jiaohua said, slightly surprised.

“I’ll leave these notes here. When you’re done looking through them, just give them back to me,” Xu Xiaoting said before running back to her seat.

The classmates in the room started teasing, and Xu Chuan’an, mimicking Xu Xiaoting’s tone, joined in. This got Xu Xiaoting so upset that she threw a thick dictionary at Xu Chuan’an’s head. Xu Chuan’an hurriedly dodged, and the book barely missed, falling to the ground.

“Help!” Xu Chuan’an cried dramatically when he saw Xu Xiaoting wasn’t done and seemed to be looking for an even thicker book to throw at him.

The classmates found this even more entertaining. No one tried to stop it; instead, they cheered.

“Throw it! Harder!”

A few girls cheered for Xu Xiaoting. “Xiaoting, I’ve got a Longwen dictionary here. Why don’t you use mine?”

Xu Xiaoting rolled her eyes. That Longwen dictionary was so thick it could seriously injure someone. “I just want to hit him, not kill him!”

Zhang Jiaohua flipped through the notes Xu Xiaoting had given him. There were no hidden messages inside, so maybe she truly just wanted him to catch up on his schoolwork. Missing a day wasn’t going to cause much of a setback for him. A quick glance through the notes would be enough to make up for any lost time.

After school, Zhang Jiaohua returned the notes to Xu Xiaoting. “Thanks for the notes. They were really helpful.”

“If they were really that helpful, you wouldn’t have returned them so quickly,” Xu Xiaoting laughed. Zhang Jiaohua’s words still made her happy.

When Zhang Jiaohua returned home, he sensed something was off. It seemed like someone had been rummaging through his things. Although everything appeared to be in its place, the subtle signs of disturbance in the room couldn’t escape his notice.

Zhang Jiaohua walked toward the door and opened it. As soon as the door opened, a shadow outside the courtyard wall quickly hid.

Zhang Jiaohua cast an invisibility spell and disappeared instantly.

When the shadow peeked back toward the courtyard, Zhang Jiaohua’s door was already closed again.

“This guy’s quite alert. I was just getting close, and he almost detected me. Forget it. Looks like there’s nothing to discover today. I’ll go back and report to Hua Shaobo,” the shadow muttered to itself before swiftly leaving.

Not far from there, the shadow suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked back. “Strange, I feel like someone’s following me. Is it just my imagination?”

This shadow was one of Hua Shaobo’s men. Ever since Hua Shaobo had started suspecting Zhang Jiaohua, he had grown more and more interested in him. He had sent people to investigate Zhang Jiaohua’s identity and follow his every move.

Instead of going to the Xiyun Reservoir, the shadow sneaked into a nearby yard.

“Hua Shaobo!” The shadow knocked on the door of a room.

The door opened, and it was indeed Hua Shaobo.

“Did you find anything?” Hua Shaobo asked.

“Nothing. He just seems like a normal student. It’s really strange,” the shadow replied.

“Then why are you back already? Didn’t I tell you to keep an eye on Zhang Jiaohua?” Hua Shaobo glared at the shadow.

“But Zhang Jiaohua seems to have noticed me. A few times, I almost got caught,” the shadow explained.

“Fool! He probably already knows about you. And it’s likely he’s using you to find out where we are. Zhang Daoist, come out!” Hua Shaobo had actually not noticed Zhang Jiaohua but was trying to trick him.

Zhang Jiaohua, knowing Hua Shaobo was bluffing, appeared and said, “Young Master Hua, what’s the meaning of having people spy on me?”

“What do you mean? I invited you to the market, and yet you tried to sabotage the relationship between my Xiyun Sect and Kunlun Sect. What’s your real intention?” Hua Shaobo said.

“Hua Shaobo, you’ve misunderstood something. You were the one who asked me to go to the market. I didn’t go there on my own. I don’t know what relationship your Xiyun Sect has with Kunlun Sect, but with a powerless young master like you, do you really think your Xiyun Sect can cooperate fairly with Kunlun?” Zhang Jiaohua scoffed.

“Everything depends on what you do. But now you’ve caused a ruckus. Not only can our Xiyun Sect not connect with Kunlun, but we might also end up on bad terms with them because of you,” Hua Shaobo said harshly.

“You still don’t get it. I don’t owe any explanations to your Xiyun Sect. You should be thinking carefully if you want to follow in Luoxian Sect’s footsteps,” Zhang Jiaohua snorted and quickly advanced toward Hua Shaobo.

“Bold!” The shadow rushed forward to block Zhang Jiaohua.

However, the difference in power between Zhang Jiaohua and the shadow was enormous. With a casual wave, Zhang Jiaohua sent the shadow flying.

Hua Shaobo suddenly remembered that Zhang Jiaohua had single-handedly subdued the Luoxian Sect, and that strength was something even his father, Hua Zhaoyang, didn’t have.

“Misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding! Zhang Daoist, I was just trying to joke with you,” Hua Shaobo said nervously.

“Then tell me what you’ve done! If not, I’ll use every method to make you confess,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Please, please!” Hua Shaobo begged, but at the same time, he was retreating. Suddenly, he waved his hand and shouted, “Attack!”

As soon as he spoke, several black-clad figures rushed out from all directions, brandishing weapons and charging toward Zhang Jiaohua.

“Don’t hold back! Take him down!” Hua Shaobo said fiercely.