The Unlucky Black Cat

chapter 6

By the time the fish in its arms was gradually finished.

On the sloping riverbank, Jiang Sheng shook its ears that had been tickled by the wind. It carried the fish bones back to the river and then tossed the remnants, which were now just scraps, back into the water. What was this called? "Returning the original broth to the original meal"?

Indulging in its peculiar train of thought, Jiang Sheng lay on a stone about to be submerged by the current, washing its paws and face with river water. Although it wasn't particularly clean-freakish, the lingering scent of blood was uncomfortable. Not only did it smell bad after a while, but it also attracted flies. Especially in summer, Jiang Sheng didn't want to be woken up in the middle of the night by those annoying creatures. Sigh, if resentment could repel insects, that would be great. Clearly a supernatural substance, yet its function was so limited. What good is it to bring only misfortune?

Doesn't it know that the ultimate purpose of all developments in the present era is to serve life? Things that are inconvenient will eventually be eliminated.

While grumbling about its own "metabolic" product, Jiang Sheng shook off the water droplets from its face and licked its paws, completely forgetting that it had relied on resentment to catch its prey just moments ago. Suddenly, a passing fish leaped out of the water, slapping Jiang Sheng's face with its large tail fin before quickly diving back into the river and fleeing far away.

Jiang Sheng, almost twisting its neck from the slap, stood there stunned for a moment before finally curling its lips in frustration. Without a doubt, as the producer of resentment, its luck was also affected. Although this influence was always kept within an acceptable range, enough was enough.

With this in mind, Jiang Sheng, having nothing better to do, turned and chased after the direction the fish had fled. Of course, it wasn't really angry; it just wanted to stretch its legs. However, if it accidentally caught the fish, it wouldn't mind an extra snack at night.

...

When Jiang Sheng ran down to the lower part of the river without any gains, it was already close to three o'clock in the afternoon. This area was a bustling commercial street, crowded with people. Jiang Sheng couldn't act too strangely, so it simply stretched lazily and ran into a relatively deserted alley under the shadow of buildings.

It was necessary to explain that the resentment on its body might have different effects on different creatures. While the details were unclear, currently, an ordinary adult, unless in prolonged close contact with it, wouldn't be excessively affected by the resentment and wouldn't encounter severe misfortunes. At most, they might break dishes, scratch their skin, bump into pillars, or have unlucky draws from card packs. And this still assumed they had intimate interactions with Jiang Sheng.

From previous experiences, as long as Jiang Sheng didn't stay close to someone and didn't make physical contact, the effect of the resentment on humans was minimal, virtually non-existent. Once it started maintaining distance, the resentment entwined around the person would immediately dissipate.

Therefore, although Jiang Sheng didn't plan to actively approach humans, it also didn't deliberately hide in remote forests. The only thing it needed to specifically pay attention to was avoiding relatively vulnerable children in daily life.

Moreover, ever since it could see resentment, Jiang Sheng hadn't let anyone get close to itself. Even if it happened to meet someone, it would quickly move away, ensuring they left the area where the resentment lingered.

The maximum radius of Jiang Sheng's resentment currently extended to about one and a half meters. This was based on its own estimation, not entirely accurate, but enough for it to gauge the situation.

...Continuing to wander down the alley, Jiang Sheng began searching for a place to stay tonight. Originally, it could have just found an empty spot to rest. However, the moisture in the air and the dark clouds on the horizon made it aware of the possibility of rain later. So it believed it needed to find a place to shelter from the rain, like under a bridge or an unfinished building. Moreover, it couldn't have any "roommates."

Otherwise, if it encountered some stray cat or dog, they might be in danger when waking up. Indeed, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Although fate fulfilled my wish, this body is truly troublesome.

Grumbling helplessly, Jiang Sheng jogged out of the commercial district. It planned to check the eastern part of the city, where several empty factories might provide temporary shelter. However, at that moment, it suddenly saw a wisp of black gas floating in the distance, heading somewhere unknown. That was...At the first sight of the black mist, Jiang Sheng's pupils constricted slightly.

Grievance aura?

Without a doubt, this was the first time Jiang Sheng had seen "grievance aura" existing on its own.

And it was also very clear that it wasn't something pleasant.

Almost instinctively, the black cat leaped onto the roof, following the black mist with agile movements.

It was going to check where the other party was headed.

And if possible, it also wanted to try whether it could absorb it, just like how it absorbed souls earlier.

After all, it at least knew to stay away from people, whereas if the black aura had malicious intent or no consciousness, who knew what trouble it might cause in the surrounding environment.

Troublemakers were always disliked, and Jiang Sheng felt it shouldn't be left unchecked.

Finally, apart from these reasons, it also hoped to figure out the true nature of the black aura.

Thus, an agile black cat traversed through the city, moving as swiftly as a clouded leopard running across cliffs, ignoring the terrain.

The strong claws of a feline allowed it to run almost vertically up walls. Its unique body structure also protected it from most falling damage.

Finally, Jiang Sheng caught up with the grievance aura in front of an apartment building.

The lighting here was poor, but the ventilation was good.

The backlit area gathered energy, giving an eerie feeling.

The grievance aura hovered around the entrance of the building for a while before floating up to the sixth floor along the exterior wall.

Seeing this, Jiang Sheng also jumped up onto several balconies and air conditioner units.

Ordinary stray cats usually couldn't climb this high, but Jiang Sheng was clearly not normal. A three-meter gap between floors was not a challenge for it.

When the grievance aura fully "squeezed" into a room, Jiang Sheng also leaped onto the windowsill of the same household, peering inside through the window.

As long as it left promptly, it wouldn't inconvenience the residents.

But if the grievance aura lingered here, it would be hard to say what might happen.

Just then, a young man wearing black-rimmed glasses happened to open the window inside the room.

"Click."

As the window was half-opened, the young man and the cat stared at each other, both falling into a brief silence.