Chapter 44: Black-haired Girl

At this point, the black-haired girl reached into her coat pocket and took out a cellphone. With a gentle tap, she dialed a number.
"Hello? Who is this?" a male voice came from the other end of the line, sounding somewhat muffled as if some special processing had been applied.
"Hello... that... that person... seems to not... not have been killed..." the black-haired girl stammered.
"What person?" came the confused voice from the other end of the phone.
"I... three... months ago... spent money... to predict... strong souls..." the black-haired girl said.
Before the girl finished speaking, an impatient voice came from the phone: "I remember now, you're the one from the exorcism team. Three months ago, you specifically paid me to predict which people with strong souls would die... What was your name again? Hmm, why can't I seem to remember your name... Anyway, you tell me what's going on."
"That person... wasn't... beaten to death, someone... came out... and saved him," the girl with black hair said.
"Oh, let me check..." After a moment of keyboard typing, the voice on the phone continued, "That person is almost dead anyway, just finish him with one stab and it'll be done."
"Rules...rules...cannot..."
"Rules are dead, while humans are alive. Can't you make some flexible adjustments? Anyway, no matter how he dies, as long as he dies, you will be able to exceed the target for three consecutive months and obtain tens of thousands of spirit coins as a bonus for your team, right?"
The black-haired girl on the phone seemed a bit angry at the suggestion and said, "Your... your prediction... is inaccurate... refund..."
"This is a prediction, not some absolute destiny. First, we collect massive amounts of data and filter out the people who meet the criteria. Then, we further select those who are likely to commit a crime and fit their behavioral paths together. That's how we come up with the prediction. It's a solvable mathematical probability problem, and since it's a probability, there are naturally areas where it may not be accurate. But I just checked the previous records, and all 99 predictions before were perfectly accurate. Now we just missed this last one. Why don't you go ahead and fix it, and all will be well."
"I don't care, either give me another prediction by midnight tonight or give me a refund."
"Do you think predicting is that simple? I'm taking great risks breaking into the Spirit Tower and it took me over ten days to collect data from everyone in this city. Not to mention the massive amount of spiritual power needed for the simulation. Last time, I almost got caught by the law enforcement team. There's an easier way for you, but you chose the more expensive option... Hmph, you Soul Exorcism Team collects source energy from souls but only after they die, you bunch of hypocrites..."
"If you... keep saying that... I will... come to your door myself... and reap your... source..."
"......beep......beep......"
The black-haired girl hadn't finished speaking when she hung up the phone.
In the alley, tranquility had already been restored. The group of people with broken arms had escaped, leaving only the boy lying on the ground, exhaling more than inhaling.
A black-haired girl bit into an apple, grabbed a black longsword, exerted a little force under her feet, and her slim figure drew a perfect arc in the air, landing steadily beside the boy.
She thought that in a few months, the spiritual realm would undergo a transformation, and everything here would turn into ashes. This boy would naturally have no place to bury himself. In that case, it would be better to absorb his spiritual energy and complete the task to receive the reward.
With a clanging sound, I drew out a black long sword, gripping the handle with both hands and aiming it at the boy's chest.
While poised to strike, a sense of unease started to creep in.
This boy had not committed any crime, nor had he done anything wrong. In fact, he had acted bravely and righteously. Would it be morally acceptable to take his life for the sake of a reward? Can I truly feel at peace with the money I'll earn?
The cold sword glimmered, involuntarily lifting a few inches.
No, those twenty thousand spirit coins are a huge sum for me. With them, I can buy many things I want. If I let this opportunity slip away, I may never have such a chance again.
The long sword unconsciously trembled and lowered slightly.
Just as the black-haired girl hesitated, Zhang Yang strolled over after finishing his heroic act of saving someone from danger.
Seemingly thrilled with both avenging his grudge by rubbing Jin Siyang's face on the ground and his righteous act of saving a life, he felt extremely pleased in his heart.
Enter the alley and see a scene that shocks the soul to the core.
I see a young girl with black hair, dressed in black clothes, and holding a black sword. She has a red apple stuffed in her mouth, seemingly intending to do something inappropriate to that boy.
There were wolves in front and tigers in the back. He just got rid of a group of perverted wolves, and now there was a girl who wanted to harm him. This boy is so unlucky.
Immediately, a sense of justice surged in his heart, he was filled with anger, and shouted loudly, "Hey, let go of that boy!!!"
The black-haired girl was caught off guard by Zhang Yang's sudden return. Her face showed a panicked expression, as if she had been caught doing something wrong. She quickly put away her long sword and without a word, turned around and left.
Yang walked over to the boy and quickly checked for signs of life. Seeing that he still had a pulse, Yang dripped some essence energy on him, expecting him to wake up soon.
Yang also took a brief look around the surroundings but found no trace of the night she was killed.
However, the black-haired girl caught Zhang Yang's attention. She seemed to be a practitioner as well. Having studied spiritual power for so long, this was the first time he had encountered someone with spiritual power in the outside world. Since there were no other discoveries in this place, he became curious and decided to follow the girl.
......
At eight o'clock in the evening, the city is illuminated with lights and filled with a bustling nightlife.
Zhang Yang cautiously follows behind the black-haired girl, who seems to have noticed his pursuit and quickens her pace.
张扬继续以同样的速度跟上。
转过一个街角，黑发少女忽然停下脚步，手中长剑瞬间出窍，指向张扬。
张扬连忙停下，脸上堆笑，双手高举，表示自己并没什么恶意。
"Don't...don't follow...me..." the girl said hesitantly.
"Um..." Zhang Yang scratched his head, unsure of what to say.
Although the young girl is pointing a sword at herself, she doesn't seem to have any malicious intent. Moreover, in such a bustling street, the two of them standing there with swords pointed at each other are very conspicuous, yet the passersby seem completely oblivious. They talk and laugh, and walk by without even casting a glance at them, which piques Zhang Yang's curiosity even more.
After the girl finished speaking, she put away her longsword and continued walking forward. As she passed by a cake shop, she seemed to catch a whiff of the sweet aroma emanating from it, instantly freezing in place.
Following the scent, she walked up to the front of the cake shop and pressed her face tightly against the glass display window, staring at the cakes inside with wide eyes, as if unable to stop salivating.
Zhang Yang saw this and was moved in his heart, so he hurried to the store and bought two small cakes.
As he walked out of the store, the black-haired girl was still drooling by the shop window. Her face was pressed against the glass even closer than before, as if she could taste the delicious cake that way.
Zhang Yang cautiously handed over a cake, and the girl was delighted to see it. Without hesitation, she quickly took it.
Without using a spoon, she directly stuffed it into her mouth, her face covered with cake. In a matter of seconds, this small piece of cake was completely eaten.
After eating, the girl stared at the cake in Zhang Yang's hand and swallowed her saliva.
Zhang Yang had just taken a bite when he saw her staring at him like that. His mouth twitched and he said, "If you don't mind that I've already eaten some, then you can have this..."
The girl didn't even finish speaking, she immediately snatched the cake and stuffed it into her mouth.
After finishing, she still stared at Zhang Yang, seemingly not satisfied, wanting more.
Zhang Yang scratched his head and thought, since she doesn't seem like a bad person, let's invite her to eat cake until she's satisfied, consider it making a friend.
So I bought two more portions in the store, but Zhang Yang seemed to underestimate the appetite of this black-haired girl. Despite her petite figure, she kept asking for more and more, until she had eaten over twenty portions, and only then did she stop, seemingly still unsatisfied.
During the period of eating cake, the girl only focused on eating and paid no attention to Zhang Yang's questions, without answering any of them.
At the end of the meal, she burped, gave Zhang Yang a resentful look, and patted her bottom before walking towards the subway station.
Zhang Yang was full of question marks when he realized that he had spent hundreds of dollars and the other person didn't even say a word. The heartache was so intense that it was about to bleed. Unwilling to accept this, he continued to follow the girl.
The girl did not buy a ticket and enter the subway station; instead, she leaped over the platform railing and jumped in.
However, it seemed that she had eaten too much just now. When her body was in mid-air, she burped and lost her balance, resulting in a loud thud as she fell to the ground.
张扬见此，嘴角一阵抽搐。
Although the girl caused such a big commotion, the people in the subway station still remained indifferent. Those who needed to go through security did so, and those who needed to enter the station did so, as if nothing had happened at all.
Zhang Yang saw that she was not a soul but a real flesh and blood body. It seemed that people could also see her, but for some reason, they just couldn't catch everyone's attention.
Since the girl didn't say anything, Zhangyang didn't continue to follow her presumptuously, and had to turn around and continue his own practice.
......
Summer has not yet fully arrived, the weather in the early morning is a bit cool, and the both sides of the road are impatiently filled with green vegetation as tall as an adult, with colorful flowers and dense greenery, as if every minute slowed down, they would miss the whole summer.
Zhang Yang finished his cultivation practice for the night and walked along the quiet country road.
At the moment, he closed his meridians, restrained his spiritual power, and seemed like an ordinary person who had just finished morning exercises. He breathed in the fresh air and enjoyed the beautiful early summer scenery. His mood seemed to expand along with the rapidly growing green vegetation.
With the path of my self-cultivation on the right track, and possessing incredible spiritual arts, the day when I stand at the pinnacle of the world and overlook everything is just around the corner. By then, I will punch across the seas and kick in all directions, crushing anyone in my way, be it black-clad individuals or spiritual entities, and rubbing them vigorously against the ground.