Jin rested his hand against Reilei's forehead as the energy faded from within her body.
The crowd that was gathered nearby shook their heads as they could see that the young man was reluctant to let the woman go. However, there was nothing that could be done now.
"That young man must be devastated... His mother was the only family he had left." One of the building tenants said. He lived in the apartment buildings for quite some time now and had run into the two on a few occasions. They never caused any trouble and always said hello when passing by.
"Aye, to die so young and before one's time is a shame in and of itself..." An old man who saw Reilei's motionless body lowered their head.
Jin, however, did not pay any attention to the surroundings whispers and murmurs. At the moment, he had his gaze set on Reilei as if he were waiting for something to happen.
The sounds of the sirens and firefighters rushing to put out the flames were drowned out by Jin's high level of concentration.
A few moments later, something shocking and unbelievable took place that made nearly everyone present jump back in shock.
Cough! Cough!
"It's a miracle!" One of the people in the crowd said without even realizing it.
The others were left speechless by what they had just witnessed. Even the firefighter who was paralyzed in place due to the overwhelming pressure that descended upon him was in disbelief. It should not have been possible for her to still be alive!
Reilei, who was lying motionless just a little while ago, was now coughing and gasping for air as if her lungs were completely empty.
As her eyes shot open, she began to panic and all she could see was an intense blazing inferno everywhere she looked.
"No, Jin! Jin!" Reilei started to scream and yell as she flailed her arms wildly. From the look in her eyes, one could tell that she was terrified. It was like she was still within that burning hallway trying to make it to Jin's room.
"I'm right here, mother." Jin said as he tried to grab her hand and calm her down.
However, to Reilei, it was not Jin before her but a monster made out of pure flames. Everywhere she looked, everyone and everything was made up of flames.
"No! No no no no no! Jin... Jin..." Reilei held her head as her entire body began to shake in fear as she curled up when she saw that flaming hand headed right towards her.
Jin narrowed his eyes as he quickly struck a few pressure points which in turn caused Reilei to calm down and fall into a deep sleep.
'The experience must have been a greater shock than I realized. She should physically be fine after a few days of rest. The latent energy within her body will help speed up the healing process. However...'
Jin furrowed his brows. He was concerned about the current state of Reilei's mental health. While it may just be a temporary side effect of the built-up stress from physical and mental exhaustion, he was unwilling to risk any potential long term damage.
From his memories, he knew that there professionals in this world who may be able to deal with something like this, however, the success rate of such a thing was less than desirable.
Jin instantly cleared his mind as he believed he was getting too far ahead of himself. In truth, he had already made up his mind on what to do.
'There's no need to question my methods just because my strength is currently lacking. Since this world lacks spiritual essence, the possibility of spirit herbs growing in this environment is zero. I'll have to resort to other means.'
Jin had given it much thought and believed that now was the perfect opportunity to do so since a part of his own soul was now inside of Reilei.
If before Reilei's soul was just a ball of dust, now it was like a glass sphere the size of a fist. There was still an abundance of soul energy buried deep within her body, however, if she tried to absorb it all at once with her current physique it would tear her to pieces.
Therefore, the remaining amount of soul energy was dormant and would only resurface as Reilei's physique became more durable. But, there was just one problem. Even if Reilei trained her physique to the peak level, in the end, she was still a mortal.
At best, she would only be able to absorb around 5% of the soul energy within her body. While this would help with the overall recovery, there would still be scar marks left behind by the flames.
Jin could not allow her to carry around such unpleasant memories that would be carved into her very body as a reminder of this day.
'She is still unable to learn the Heavenly Golden Body physique, even with the recent increase of her soul strength. Hm... That may just work.'
Although Reilei was not suited to learn the Heavenly Golden Body physique, he still possessed a vast knowledge of different physiques. There was one physique, in particular, that would be perfect for Reilei known as the Eight Lunar Cycles physique.
While it was nowhere near as powerful as the Heavenly Golden Body physique that Jin used, it was still in another league of its own compared to the average physique.
'Even though it will be impossible to train it to a level of perfection, it should be possible to reach the Fourth Cycle naturally over time.'
The other reason Jin chose this physique was due to the unique nature of how one cultivated it. To advance further using the Eight Lunar Cycles physique, one's body needed to absorb the energy released by moonlight or something containing a powerful source of Yin energy.
Of course, finding a source that possessed a massive amount of Yin energy in this realm was next to impossible. Therefore, Reilei would have to rely on the natural moonlight to cultivate the physique.
There was another upside to this and that was the fact that she would be completely unaware of the physique itself. Naturally, it would extend her lifespan and make it so that she was stronger than regular mortals, but that was something to worry about for another time.
Jin immediately got to work and borrowed some of the latent soul energy within Reilei's body. He used the soul energy as a jumpstart to cleanse and open the blocked meridian pathways by channeling it through various areas.
'What heavy impurities...'
Even though Jin had expelled some impurities from her body earlier, that was different from what was currently blocking her meridian pathways. However, it was to be expected given the lack of spiritual essence in this realm, as well as the fact that Reilei had never cultivated a single day in her life.
A few moments later, Reilei's body that was shaking just moments ago stopped doing so. The previous expression on her face as if she were having a terrible nightmare had also vanished and was replaced by one of peace.
Jin's face was slightly pale by the time he finished. However, that was just due to continuously pushing his soul too far in such a short period of time. Although it was powerful, the soul was still the most delicate thing a cultivator possessed.
Having torn a piece of it away from himself and then go on to use it as a way to implant the Eight Lunar Cycles physique into Reilei's body, if it were any other cultivator such a thing would not have been possible.
'I need to rest for a bit to recuperate.'
Jin then stood to his feet and walked over towards the firefighter who offered to help earlier.
The firefighter had a strange expression on his face. Maybe it was just all in his head, but he felt that the person before him was different somehow.
"My mother needs medical attention. Will you see to it?" Jin said in a calm tone of voice.
The firefighter was dumbfounded at first, however, he soon snapped out of it when he remembered he had a job to do.
"Of course, young man." The firefighter called over the medics who had arrived on the scene as they rushed over with a stretcher.
Jin gently placed Reilei onto the stretcher and allowed the medics to treat her. Of course, he had already treated the serious issues, but he needed Reilei to be someplace safe for the time being. After all, he had a pressing matter to take care of now that she was no longer in any immediate danger.
'She should remain unconscious for about three days.'
One of the medics offered to treat Jin, however, he turned them down. He was not injured, it was just hard to tell due to the soot covering certain parts of his body, as well as, some pieces of his clothing that were burnt off.
As he thought back to that metal piece he saw earlier and the unnatural spread of the fire, his facial expression darkened. He did not know who, but someone had made a move against not just him, but someone he promised to protect. That was unacceptable.
However, the only people who would have a reason for doing something like this was the Dragon Stone gang. But he was careful to conceal his true identity, how could they have possibly linked anything to him?
It just didn't make any sense no matter how he thought about it. However, it was the most logical explanation he could come up with. After all, no one else held such a deep grudge against him or Reilei that they would wish for their deaths.
'I am certain of one thing, this fire was not an accident. I will find out who is behind this and once I do...'
A cold glint flashed through Jin's eyes. At the moment, there was not a single thought of mercy that crossed his mind. Once he found the people who did this there was only one outcome for them, death.
...
Around two days later...
It was late into the night with a full moon lurking in the sky above just behind the clouds.
"Aw, can't you stay a bit longer?" A woman said in an alluring voice as she tried to convince the two men leaving the room to stay.
"Heh, then why don't ya come back to our place for a good time? We'll make it worth your while ya know?" One of the men who were obviously intoxicated said with a large grin on his face.
"See? I told ya this would take your mind off things. You worry too much." The other man said to his friend.
They were the same two men that lit Jin's apartment on fire. At the moment, they were in a certain establishment celebrating and relaxing after having received their payment today. Also as a bonus, their positions in the Dragon Stone gang had risen!
Even though they could not be considered important members, at the very least, they were no longer mere lackeys.
The woman giggled and behaved in a coy manner as she locked her arms with the man who asked her to accompany them.
The woman moved her lips close to the man's ear and whispered softly inside, "I'll have to take you up on that offer."
"We're leaving!" The man said in an excited and energized voice. He was ready to leave this place and head back to the hotel they were currently staying in.
As the two men and the woman left the establishment, they failed to notice a pair of eyes locked onto them in the distance. These eyes were cold and not a shred of mercy lingered around inside of them.
'I've found you.'