Reilei did not enjoy crying in front of Jin, as she wouldn't want him worrying about her. However, she was too overjoyed to control herself properly.
Even the words she uttered out of her mouth were said without really thinking about it. To Reilei, this was a perfect example of one joy scatters a hundred griefs. Jin was her one joy in this life and to see him working hard, plus wanting to take care of her... This was her definition of bliss.
Jin gave a reassuring smile, it may have been because of how he recently completed total fusion with this body, but Izroth felt genuinely happy about what he was doing. Even if he was once the number one cultivator within the Seven Realms, matters of the soul were still mysterious.
It was seen as something that was solely controlled by the heavens and so while one could have a deep and unfathomable understanding of the soul, there were still many unknown mysteries surrounding it. Even someone like Izroth barely scratched the surface of the subject.
"How could you not be allowed to be happy? If you do not deserve to be happy, then this is a world that does not deserve you" When he spoke those words he meant that in a figurative way as well as a literal way.
Reilei couldn't help but giggle when she heard Jin say those words. She shook her head slightly, "In the end, if I had to do everything over again and be born into a different kind of life, I would be unable to do so. If there is a chance that life does not include you, Jin, I do not believe I could ever truly be happy" she pulled out a handkerchief from her purse to wipe her tears away.
A light shade of pink invaded her cheeks. "Making your mother cry so much in one day… How cruel, Jin..." Reilei pouted but that lovely smile did not leave her face for a moment.
Reilei was just embarrassed by the fact that she showed such an unsightly thing to Jin. But, she felt much better after finally being able to release all of her various frustrations.
Jin smiled helplessly as he waved over the waitress to pay for their meal. Afterward, both Jin and Reilei stood up from their seats and went outside to begin their trip home.
"Are you sure there's nowhere else you wish to go?" Jin asked as they were turning around the corner.
Reilei placed her index finger upon her chin as if she were thinking of something. "Hmmm... Ah, how about-" just as they were walking down the sidewalk, Reilei suddenly halted her footsteps.
When Jin noticed that Reilei was no longer moving, he turned back to check on her.
Reilei was shaking as she instinctively covered her right wrist with her left hand to try and calm herself down. However, it was not working very well as she could not stop shaking. Reilei even started to have cold sweats as she was reminded of that unpleasant memory.
Across the street hanging out in front of a convenience store were three people. It only took a single glance to realize that it was a group of troublemakers. They were antagonizing anyone that walked by and looked in their general direction. Most people just kept their heads down and continued forward trying not to make eye contact.
Jin frowned inwardly when he saw how afraid Reilei appeared to be out of nowhere. He followed, with his eyes, to the location that Reilei was staring at. When he discovered what, or rather in this case, who Reilei was staring at his heart grew extremely cold.
The three individuals he observed were the same people who used to bully the original owner of this body. There was even one time where the beating was so bad that he was sent to the hospital.
Hospital bills were not cheap and it caused his mother to take on even more burdens in order to pay for it. The police turned the other way on the assault and did not press any charges and till this day they never understood why.
Izroth was no fool, he understood perfectly clear that these were the culprits he was going to eventually have to search for that assaulted Reilei. Even if they never did anything to her, he would still take care of them for wronging the original owner of this body. This would just be killing two birds with one stone.
The three gangsters across the street spotted Jin and Reilei from afar. The one who assaulted Reilei, Rhodes, smirked when he saw them looking over in their direction. He then blew a kiss over at Reilei which made her entire face turn pale.
Jin's current facial expression was calm, but it was the scary kind resembling the calm before a vicious storm. Their fate had already been sealed. Jin rested his hand on Reilei's shoulder, he did not say a word and simply kept that calm look upon his face.
Reilei snapped out it when Jin touched her shoulder and soon realized that she had zoned out just then.
"No... Um... There's nowhere else I wish to go today, just home..." She looked down at the ground, she felt sick to her stomach just looking at those three guys. She just wanted to go home and get as far away as possible from them.
Jin nodded his head, "You've had a long day at work, you shouldn't push yourself and get some proper rest"
Reilei silently nodded her head, such a wonderful and dreamlike day had been shattered by such a simple encounter.
As they began to walk once more, Jin glanced over at the three gangsters and narrowed his eyes. Usually, he had a very carefree personality, however, there were certain lines that could not be crossed. Those three not only crossed it, but they even dared to taunt them after the event.
'Fools…' That was the sole word that crossed Izroth's mind.
...
Reilei and Jin arrived back home not too long after. Reilei did not speak another word on the entire trip back home. Though, she could not be blamed after what happened to her.
When they entered their home, she still forced a smile on her face as she looked over at Jin. "Jin, thank you for such a wonderful day. Today has been the most fun I've had in a long time, you're truly my happiness." She leaned in on her tippy toes and gave Jin a motherly kiss on the forehead.
"I'm a bit tired now so I must rest..." After Reilei said that she went off to her room and closed the door gently.
When the door closed all the way, that calm look Jin's face had finally vanished. It was replaced by a dark expression, one filled with actual killing intent.
"Good... Very good... Let's see how I deal with you all." He went into the room to change into some other clothing before leaving the house a few moments later.
...
Inside of an abandoned warehouse, three individuals were tossing rocks at beer cans. "Hey, did you guys see the look on her face? She was totally daydreaming about me." The one who spoke was Rhodes. He tossed a rock at a nearby can and just barely missed it. "Tch..."
"Daydreaming about you? Hahaha, if that's what you want to call it bro. But hey... Did you notice something a bit different about that Jin brat?" Victor tossed the cigarette he was smoking away since he finished it out before exhaling.
"Yeah, usually that loser doesn't dare to even look at us but he actually had the guts to do so this time. Heh, he just needs to be taught another lesson. It's been too long since we last put him in his place after all. Though, I shouldn't be too harsh on my future step-son hahaha!" Rhodes burst out laughing.
Dan shook his head, "Step-son? Dude, you actually want to get married one day? That's a trap, a trap I tell you. Trust me man, marriage drove my folks crazy".
As the three of them were talking, a shadow was perched upon one of the metal beams running across the ceiling of the warehouse. The shadow was dressed in all black clothing, wearing a masquerade mask that covered up the top half and nearly the whole left part of his face.
'Found you…' Izroth thought to himself as he looked down at the three having a joyous time. Put him in his place? What a joke!
The only reason he bothered to wear a mask was due to the laws of this world. Although he was unafraid of the consequences, it would be unfair to risk dragging Reilei into such matters. This was something he would take care of by himself.
After having fused with all of Jin's memories, Izroth knew all the hangout places of those three pieces of trash. He knew because they used to bring the original owner of this body to all kind of locations and come up with creative ways to bully him, it was often borderline torture.
He dropped down from the metal beam silently and once he reached the group he slowly walked out from that patch of darkness into the open.
As Dan, Victor, and Rhodes were talking to one another, Dan caught something out of the corner of his eye. He looked over and noticed that it was someone dressed in all black clothing wearing a strange mask. This was their hideout, even the other local gangs knew not to trespass in this place.
"Heh, looks like we have a lost little lamb here boys" when Dan spoke, Victor and Rhodes turned around to see what Dan was talking about.
Rhodes frowned, "Who the hell are you? Do you know who's territory this is?" He spoke but that person just stood there not saying a word.
Victor thought that the person was just scared stiff. They may have just been some weirdo hopped up on drugs and didn't even understand what was going on around them. "Hey, we're talking to you, are you deaf or something?!"
Victor walked over towards that person with the strange mask and tried to grab onto his shirt collar. However, that would be the last thing he remembered for a while.
Rhodes smirked as he saw Victor marching over to deal with the problem, but before he could even say another word Victor flew back like a ragdoll and crashed into some wooden crates laying nearby. His eyes were rolled into the back of his head, he had lost consciousness!
The eyes of Dan and Rhodes widened when they saw that. What just happened?! All they saw was Victor fly back when he was just about to grab onto that person and teach them a lesson. That person just stood there with his hands behind his back as if he hadn't moved a single inch.
Victor may not have been the best fighter amongst them, but he was still tough as a nail. To be defeated so easily meant that this person before them was probably an expert. But, they did not remember offending anyone who could be associated with such an expert.
After all, even though they were reckless, the three of them understood who they could and couldn't afford to offend.
"You... Who the hell are you?! What do you want?!" Rhodes was frightened by the sudden turn of events. He slowly reached towards his pocket keeping his hand on the handle of the knife, while staring at this person before them.
Dan was also on guard and picked up a rusty old crowbar that was laying on the ground nearby.
Was it a rival gang? But, he did not know any rival gangs with such a strange appearance. But if not, then who was this person and what did they want?
"Vengeance" he said that single word before releasing a monstrous killing intent that resembled an ancient beast awakening from a long slumber. This was vengeance, none of them should be thinking about escaping from this place in one piece.
Consider Patreon if you would like to further support the fellow DaoistZenFeng and have more chapters released or early access. This is a journey!
https://www.patreon.com/DaoistZenFeng
Vengeance? What did he mean by that? Dan and Rhodes were confused since when had they done anything that called for any kind of vengeance.
"Look, you probably have the wrong people. If you leave now, we'll look the other way on what you just did to Victor." Rhodes was buying some time and tried to bargain with the masked man. It was clear they were up against one strong bastard seeing how he sent Victor flying.
It would be much easier to resolve things without fighting if possible. However, he wasn't afraid of a fight if there was no other choice. The strong had a natural respect for those with strength and power. But, if faced with a challenge they wouldn't necessarily just back down.
Jin smirked as he heard the words that Rhodes spoke. He almost wanted to burst out laughing, but he only gave a light chuckle of amusement.
They'll look the other way? No, he wanted them to have a clear view of the consequences that would befall them for offending someone they should not have offended.
"You talk too much... Hurry up and draw your weapon if you want to, it won't make a difference. From the moment I appeared in front of you, your fate was already sealed. Your life is no longer your own, it now belongs to me." Jin's voice sounded much deeper and even a bit raspy.
"Tch..." Rhodes pulled out the knife hidden away in his pocket, holding it out in front of him in a threatening way. "Just because you're strong, doesn't mean that we're afraid of you. You may have caught Victor off guard, but we're not-" before he could even finish his sentence, a hand was covering his face.
"As I said, you talk too much..." Jin was suddenly in front of Rhodes with his hand covering his entire face. He gripped onto Rhodes' face and yanked downward causing his whole body to slam into the ground. Of course, his face was the first thing to hit the surface below.
Fast! They did not even see how he closed the distance between them.
Jin used an advanced movement technique to close the distance in a very fast way. It was not any kind of heavenly law, just a martial arts footwork skill. Its main purpose was to eliminate useless actions and reduce the amount of time it takes to move from one point to another.
This particular martial arts skill was known as «Light Feather Steps». The people of this world were not like cultivators from the Seven Realms, and so mastered martial arts techniques were considered very deadly in this realm.
Rhodes was completely oblivious to what had just happened. The last thing he remembered was talking to some weird masked guy and the next thing he knows, his face slammed into the ground.
It was a miracle that he was still conscious. However, how could he know that it was only because Jin did not want him to have such an easy way out?
From the way Rhodes looked at Reilei and behaved back when they were heading home from the store, Jin knew that he had to be the main culprit. The one who dared to lay his hands on someone he promised to protect. He would not have it as easy as Victor did.
Dan swung the rusty old pipe that he picked up earlier, aiming directly at Jin's head. Dan did not care if he injured this person severely, now was a chance to attack while they were focused on Rhodes.
Crrrrrrrrrrrck!
Dan had a smile on his face as he felt the bar in his hands hit something, but that smile did not last for long. His face slowly turned extremely ugly as he began to sweat profusely. "Gaaaaaah! My hand! You broke my hand!"
Dan was suffering from an intense amount of pain. The bones in his wrist completely shattered and his wrist was bent in an unsightly manner. The wrist of humans was not made to bend that way.
Jin did not bother looking over at Dan when they attacked. Such amateur movements were easy to predict. Not to mention that Jin had already advanced to the second stage of the «Heavenly Golden Body» physique, a rusty old crowbar wouldn't be able to put even a tiny scratch on him.
Rhodes was disoriented and tried to regain his awareness. He shook his head trying to snap himself out of it and a few moments later he struggled to look upward and what he saw then shocked him immensely.
It was Dan holding his wrist in pain, but it was bent in such a strange way that it looked inhumane. When Rhodes laid his eyes on Dan's wrist and then looked up, he could see a pair of demonic like eyes staring down at him.
For some reason at that moment, Rhodes felt as though he was looking at an actual demon. The amount of killing intent hidden in those eyes was unlike anything he'd ever seen before.
This wasn't someone from a local gang, this was a professional killer! This was someone who has ended countless lives! Rhodes shivered from head to toe as reality slowly started to creep up on him. It appeared that he finally grasped the kind of situation he was in.
Jin's eyes were coldly staring at Rhodes, he did not have a shred of pity in his heart for people like this. They did not care about anything and anyone but themselves, only when their lives were in danger would they finally realize their mistakes.
"L-Look... Sir... No, respectable sir. I do not know how we have offended you, but I'm sure my father would pay you a great sum for my safety!" Rhodes was terrified by this man before him. He was no longer arrogant and cocky, he feared for his life!
"He's a commander of the Dragon Stone, so he doesn't lack money." Rhodes said that name in hopes of scaring this mysterious person. The Dragon Stone is the strongest gang in this area.
Their power and influence even reached into the local police department, with some dirty cops on their payroll. That was how Rhodes and his friends got away with so many things throughout their lives. All his father had to do was give the word and everything would disappear.
Unless someone lived under a rock all their lives, they should know how dangerous the Dragon Stone gang was. There was no way someone would risk offending them! But what Rhodes did not know was that the person before him did not care about who his father was.
Even if he hated this person to the core, his fear was currently stronger than that hatred. 'Just you wait... When my father finds out about this, you'll have nowhere to hide.!' Rhodes thought to himself. He had never been so humiliated in his entire life!
Victor was instantly put out of commission, Dan was kneeling over in pain from a broken wrist, and he was unsure of what was going to happen to him. This was a dangerous situation.
"Oh...? Is that so...?" Jin held his hand out to Rhodes with a smile on his face, "I would like to pay a visit to this father of yours."
Rhodes had a smirk on his face as he thought to himself, "Heh... When they heard the name Dragon Stone, they must have realized who they were offending and now suddenly want to make peace..." But would he let them go so easily?
"If you know who the Dragon Stone gang is then... You know who you've just offended right? Well, maybe if you beg for forgiveness I can consider looking the other way. I'll even make sure my father shows mercy on you." Rhodes attitude took a full 180-degree turn.
Just moments ago, he was behaving in a docile manner, but now he was speaking as though he was the highest form of authority present. However, he was unaware of his own ignorance.
The instant Rhodes grabbed onto Jin's hand to try and stand up, Jin squeezed down shattering all the bones in his fingers.
"Ahhhhhhhh!" Rhodes shouted in pain, but no one would be able to hear his screams due to the location of this abandoned warehouse. It was the main reason they chose this place as a hangout, now it was coming back to haunt them.
Dan was staring daggers at Jin, his face was extremely gloomy. Rhodes father was a powerful man, this person had no idea who he was messing with. There would be no place for them to hide in this town.
Jin released Rhodes' hand as they held onto it in a great deal of pain. "Y-you...! You bastard! Do you not have any idea who my fa-" before Rhodes could even finish speaking, Jin punched out towards Rhodes' mouth.
Rhodes was sent tumbling backward. He covered his now bloody mouth with his hand, his teeth were scattered all over the ground from having been knocked out by Jin. There were still a few teeth left hanging in his mouth, but for the most part, he'd lost nearly all of them from a single punch.
Dan's face turned completely pale as he stayed as silent and still as possible. This person was unafraid! Even if they did get avenged, it was pointless if they were dead!
He thought to himself, 'I have to find a way to escape... I have to get out of here...!' He no longer cared about Rhodes, he wanted to live. "This guy, he's not a human... It's a demon!" that was the only thing that crossed Dan's mind at that moment.
"You're dead! You hear me, dead! You, your family, your friends, all of you are dead!" Rhodes words were hard to understand with his lack of teeth. His anger was now much stronger than his fear, he was not thinking straight at all.
He was furious at having been played with and even worse, getting injured. Not even his own father had laid his hands on him and yet some total stranger he did not even know had done so.
"Just this much and you're already this way...?" Jin's deep and hoarse voice sounded like the voice of a demon to Dan and Rhodes. "This is just the beginning... Your actions are to be paid a thousandfold."
Jin slowly took one step at a time, moving closer and closer to Rhodes.
"Staph rit der... Dun comth an clothmr! Dun comth her!" It was hard to understand Rhodes with his teeth missing, but it was obvious that he was trying to plead with Jin.
Each step felt as if he was moving closer to death. Rhodes at that time had the same thought as Dan, this was definitely not a human with that amount of killing intent... It was a demon!
...
"Boss!" A man ran into the room with an urgent look on his face. He appeared to be hesitant to speak.
"Hm...? What have I told you about bothering me when I'm in the middle of relaxing?" The man who spoke bore a striking resemblance to Rhodes. That was because he was the commander of the Dragon Stone gang as well as the father of Rhodes, his name was Jian.
There was a scar running across Jian's face, he was taller than the average person and had a strong build. He glared at the man who came in and interrupted his time of relaxation.
"It's..." The man did not want to be the one to deliver this news, but the others pushed the task onto him. He wanted to cry for having to be the person to do so.
"If you don't spit it out, I'll take that tongue of yours so that you no longer have to worry about it." Jian's tone was serious as he was already annoyed.
"It's... It's your son boss...! He's been, well... You should see this yourself!" The man's face was extremely pale. He would not dare to describe the state of Jian's son, it was too... That was not something a human would do!
"What about my son?!" Jian's eyes became fierce as he immediately stood up. But, he could never have prepared himself for what he was about to see.
So we've finally reached our first Patreon goal yay! You know what that means? A mass release is going to happen sometime next week! :) This would not have been possible without everyone showing their support so to all of my fellow Daoist, thank you.
RML Discord: https://discord.gg/W6N9MZk
Consider Patreon if you would like to further support the fellow DaoistZenFeng and have more chapters released or early access. This is a journey!
https://www.patreon.com/DaoistZenFeng