PCJ – Chapter 575 Amnesia

“Zhang Jiaohua, you’re here. Come on over. You little rascal, you never study properly. You’re often nowhere to be found. If you were my student, I’d have you standing at the podium every day,” said Shen Honggang, half exasperated and half amused as he looked at Zhang Jiaohua.

“Mr. Shen, I haven’t fallen behind in my studies. Xu Chuan’an said our school team has been doing pretty well lately,” Zhang Jiaohua replied with a smile.

Shen Honggang rolled his eyes. “Doing well? With students like you in the class? You and that Zheng Wendong—so much talent and skill, yet zero dedication to basketball. You both show up only when you feel like it.”

Shen Honggang was clearly frustrated. If Zhang Jiaohua hadn’t been skipping, or if Zheng Wendong, who had performed spectacularly in the last game, had been on the court, he wouldn’t have worried about any opponent. But neither of the two was reliable. Lately, they’d been taking turns skipping practice—sometimes even both at once. Without them, the Fourth High’s basketball team was just mediocre and fell apart when facing stronger teams.

Shen asked, “Be honest, Zhang Jiaohua—are you going to keep skipping practice?”

Zhang Jiaohua shook his head. “I can’t say for sure. Something might come up anytime.”

“You’ve got to give me your word. We’re heading into the knockout stage soon, and the opponents are all tough. If you don’t show up, we’ll have a hard time making it to the finals.” Shen Honggang gripped Zhang Jiaohua’s shoulders and gave him a firm shake.

“Alright, Mr. Shen. I’ll try. But let me be clear—after this tournament, don’t count on me anymore,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Fine. Just this one time. If we win the championship, I’ll get Principal Li to recruit some stronger freshmen. With the title, I’m sure more talented players will want to come to our school,” Shen agreed without hesitation.

Zheng Wendong woke up to find himself lying in a forest. He had completely forgotten what had happened before. In fact, he couldn’t remember anything from the recent past. It felt like he had woken from a very long dream, but he couldn’t recall a single detail from it.

Dazed, he instinctively walked toward the gym.

“Zheng Wendong! My little ancestor, you finally showed up. You and that whole Class 1 of Grade 10, I’m speechless,” Shen Honggang exclaimed, scratching his head. The training was nearly over by the time Zheng arrived.

Zheng Wendong was surprised by how important Shen Honggang seemed to think he was. He had no memory of recent events—his memories were stuck back when he had just joined high school and had barely managed to get into the school team with no real spot to play.

Scratching his head, he thought, “Since when did I become this valued?” He had expected Shen Honggang to give him a harsh scolding the moment he showed up.

“Zhang Jiaohua, why are you here training today?” Zheng Wendong asked, puzzled.

Zhang Jiaohua was equally confused by Wendong’s behavior. “Zheng Wendong, did you forget something?”

Wendong scratched his head again. “Feels like I had a really long dream. I can’t remember some things.”

Zhang hadn’t expected a side effect like this after striking him with the Xuan Thunder. But maybe it was a blessing in disguise.

“Well, forget it then. Hurry up and get changed,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

Even though Zheng Wendong had lost a chunk of his memory—and with it, the dark power from that evil technique—his basketball skills had actually improved significantly. As soon as he hit the court, his game was sharp and impressive.

“Zhang Jiaohua, isn’t it strange? I feel like my skills suddenly got a lot better,” Zheng Wendong said, now back to joking and playing around with Zhang like before. It actually made Zhang feel a bit uneasy. Who knew when this guy might suddenly turn hostile again?

As for the evil cult, Zhang still didn’t know much. Though he had trapped all the cult members in his cultivation scroll and planned to throw them into a secret realm for Wei Chenguang’s team to deal with, he was certain that those weren’t the cult’s top leaders. They would probably come looking in the future.

“Forget it. I won’t dwell on it. If enemies come, I’ll deal with them. There’s always a way,” Zhang thought, hurling the basketball from half-court. It arced cleanly into the basket—nothing but net.

“Zhang Jiaohua, your long-range shots are insane. We’ve got another game against the Affiliated High this weekend. Don’t skip it. They’ve got a few players from the national youth team—really strong. If you miss the game, we might not stand a chance,” said Li Gaoju.

“I’ll try,” Zhang replied.

After practice, Zheng Wendong wiped off his sweat and turned to Zhang. “Zhang Jiaohua, I’ve forgotten a lot of things recently. Did I do anything to offend you?”

“Of course not. I haven’t even fallen for any girls yet, so even if you wanted to steal someone from me, you wouldn’t get the chance. And even if there was someone, you’d still have no shot,” Zhang laughed.

Zheng Wendong scratched his head. “That’s not what I meant!”

He was quite frustrated—he remembered some things, but many were totally blank.

Zhang later went to the Xiyun Secret Realm and handed over the cult members to Wei Chenguang. “These guys are yours. Figure out what cult they’re from and deal with them as needed. I don’t want chaos on our turf.”

“I’ve heard of this before. It’s probably a rogue cultivator group. We never had much conflict with them, so we don’t know much. I’ll investigate—it won’t take long,” Wei said, having his men take the prisoners away.

Zhang finally enjoyed a brief period of peace. He attended school regularly, came home on time, and followed such a disciplined routine that even Wei Yunlong found it strange.

When the Affiliated High challenged Fourth High, Zhang played. He didn’t use his cultivator-enhanced body to crush the other students, but his long-range shooting alone was more than enough to dominate. With the re-energized Zheng Wendong as well, the opponent collapsed after a few rounds.

Xu Xiaoting had now become the captain of the Fourth High cheerleading squad and never missed a game Zhang played, always cheering loudly.

Wei Chenguang was frustrated to report that they had found the cult’s main base—but not the so-called cult leader. No one knew where he’d gone, but it was clear he was backed by a much larger organization.

“Master, I failed in my mission. I promised to get this done,” Wei said, bowing his head.

“This situation has its reasons. It’s not your fault. Just stay alert. If that cult leader dares show up again, we’ll settle all the scores at once,” Zhang said, not seeming overly worried.

“Oh right,” Wei added, “We’ve finished processing the tea from the secret realm. It’s rich in spiritual energy—we can call it ‘Spirit Tea.’ It can prolong life for ordinary people.”

Zhang had to admit—the cultivators in his circle were talented. The packaging of this Spirit Tea was far superior to his original Jade and Ruby Immortal Drinks.

“It’s not much use to us cultivators, but it’s great for regular people. Take some home for your family. The rest—we’ll auction it. Our operations have grown, and daily expenses are high,” Wei said.

Zhang nodded. “Alright. I’ll reach out to the Xu Auction House. I promised them we’d auction some items there.”

When Xu Yanzhang and Tang Jingxian heard that Zhang was auctioning his top-tier Ruby Spirit Tea at their auction house, they were ecstatic.

They had just held a major auction event that had shaken the industry. A second similar event could elevate their auction house to a new level.

Previously, they had exhausted nearly all their resources to make the last auction happen. Without time to gather more high-end items, they were stuck—until Zhang’s tea gave them the leverage they needed. Premium items existed; sellers just doubted that Xu’s house could attract enough wealthy buyers. With the prestige of Zhang’s tea, everyone would want a spot, hoping to ride the wave.

“Fantastic!” Tang Jingxian exclaimed, grabbing Zhang’s hand. “Zhang Jiaohua, you’re doing our auction house a huge favor. Don’t worry—we won’t charge any fees. Whatever it sells for, it’s all yours.”

Xu Yanzhang chimed in, “Exactly. Don’t say no. We’ll profit in other ways. With a big-name item like this, we’ll attract enough wealthy buyers to drive the whole auction. But we must build up the hype first.”

News of the new Jade Immortal Group product spread quickly through Beijing’s elite circles, then across the country and around the world.

The Jade Immortal Group was now the most luxurious tea brand globally, especially known for record-breaking auction prices of its elite products.

The upcoming Ruby Spirit Tea launch instantly put Xu’s auction house in the media spotlight.

“Chairman Xu, how did you secure the rights to launch the Jade Immortal Group’s new product?” asked Xu Lu, a reporter from Economic Times, in an interview.

Xu Yanzhang smiled slightly. “At our last auction, we featured products from Jade Immortal Group, which must’ve caught their attention. They’ve now agreed to make us one of their designated auction houses for future product launches.”

Xu Lu nodded. “Congratulations. Can you tell us how the new product differs from previous ones like the original Jade and Ruby Immortal Drinks?”

Xu replied, “It’s called Jade Spirit Tea. The key lies in the word spirit. You’ll need to drink it to understand its effect—it’s said to contain spiritual energy that can extend life.”

The interview was widely circulated, attracting even entertainment media. At first, Xu Yanzhang welcomed the publicity, but after days of nonstop interviews and a flood of new sellers wanting in, it became overwhelming.

Everyone was jumping on the bandwagon. Before, collectors ignored him. Now, they were lining up to offer items.

“Old Xu, I got an authentic Yuan Dynasty blue-and-white vase. Heard you’re planning a new auction, so I brought it over right away,” said a long-time client. He usually submitted low-tier items.

After his piece sold well last time, he’d promised to bring better stuff—if Xu got more of Jade Immortal’s goods. But now his items were still subpar, which frustrated Xu.

“Mr. Liu, I’m really sorry. Normally, I’d prioritize you as a loyal client, but there are just too many submissions this time. I simply can’t fit them all. Next time, I promise your item will go first—but for this round, there’s no space,” Xu Yanzhang said.