Chapter 13 — Champion Bodyguard of the Female President

Three days after the tense Board of Directors meeting, a heavy rain suddenly fell on Saigon at midnight, lightning streaking across the pitch-black sky. Tue Lam was in a fitful sleep when she was awakened by a strange noise coming from the apartment downstairs - the soft sound of broken glass, the sound of gingerly footsteps trying to keep it as low as possible.

Bach Nguyen, who always slept with his senses on high alert according to the habit of training for many years in the mountains, had woken up a few seconds earlier, realizing an anomaly in the rhythm of the rain falling outside - there were sounds that did not belong to the rain, footsteps moving calculatedly, not random noises of nature.

He immediately got out of bed, quickly put on dark clothes, and moved to Tue Lam's room in just a few seconds. "Wake up, someone's breaking in," he said softly but firmly, waking her completely awake in just a split second.

Tue Lam jumped up, her heart pounding in panic but also getting used to having to react quickly after many weeks of living in a state of high alert. "How many people?" she asked softly, quickly putting on her cloak.

"I haven't determined exactly, but at least four to six people, moving in an organized manner, not ordinary petty thieves," Bach Nguyen replied, his eyes already shining with the coldness of a warrior preparing for battle. "Stay in your room, lock the door, only open it when you hear my signal."

"Are you planning on taking on that group alone?" She clung to his sleeve in the dark.

He gently removed her hand, his voice strangely calm in the midst of an emergency situation. "This is when I need you to believe absolutely in what I've practiced for the past eighteen years. I promise I won't let anyone touch you."

He gently closed the door to Tue Lam's room, moving out to the living room in almost absolute darkness, with only the occasional flash of lightning through the large glass window illuminating part of the space. Just as he had just stabilized his position behind a large pillar, the balcony door was pushed open, three figures dressed in black, their heads covered with hoods, quietly slipped inside, each holding cold weapons in their hands.

Bach Nguyen did not give them time to react. He rushed out from behind the pillar like a gust of wind, his Van Bo body style made his steps almost make no sound on the tile floor. The first blow was aimed straight at the first man's throat, forcing him to step back and dodge, creating space for him to turn around and throw a horizontal kick at the second man's hip, knocking him into the wall.

The third guy, who seemed to be more well-trained than his two accomplices, pulled out a broad knife and rushed in to attack with dangerous slashes, targeting weak points on the opponent's body. But Bach Nguyen only needed a few gentle dodging movements, his body curved like a drifting cloud, each time he dodged he was only inches away from the blade, causing the attacker to become more and more panicked because he couldn't touch it even once.

Taking advantage of the opening when the knife-wielding man swung his hand too far, Bach Nguyen threw an Iron Shadow Fist straight at his wrist, causing the knife to fly out of his hand, then followed with a second strike that hit him in the chest, sending him flying back out onto the balcony, hitting the railing and collapsing unconscious.

At that moment, two more figures rushed in from the hallway, perhaps the rearguard group arranged outside the apartment. Bach Nguyen realizes the situation is becoming more complicated than initially expected — this is clearly a group of professionally trained, well-coordinated assassins, not amateur criminals.

He took a step back, creating distance to observe the entire situation, his eyes quickly scanning each opponent to assess each person's strengths and weaknesses. In that moment, a deep, hoarse voice rang out from the main door, where another tall figure had just entered, exuding the aura of a commander.

The tall man looked at Bach Nguyen from head to toe, looking like a merchant evaluating the price of an item. "You're the one who ruined our plan last time. To Manh Kha, it's my pleasure to deal with you personally this time."

"So you are the one who hired someone to assassinate you right at the company headquarters." Bach Nguyen did not move a step. "Who paid you?"

"Do you think I will reveal that easily?" To Manh Kha smiled faintly, pulled out a short stick and neatly tied it to his waist. "But I admit, you make me curious. A person with a body like that, certainly not from an ordinary background."

Not giving the opponent any more time to investigate, To Manh Kha rushed in to attack, the stick in his hand swung out dangerous attacks, skillfully combining strength and speed, showing that he was also a martial artist with extensive experience in real combat, different from the previous subordinates.

Bach Nguyen was forced to use everything he had practiced for eighteen years to cope. He dodged and counterattacked, each move calculated with precision to every centimeter, his body appearing and disappearing in the cramped living room space, taking advantage of every angle and obstacle to his advantage. The sound of collision between the stick and the iron fists of Iron Shadow Fist rang out loudly, mixed with the sound of furniture breaking when the two collided with tables and chairs during the fight.

After nearly five minutes of fierce fighting, Bach Nguyen found an opening when To Manh Kha swung his stick a little too much in a continuous attack. He dodged and at the same time unleashed a full-force strike that hit the opponent's shoulder, forcing him to step back, the stick almost leaving his hand. Seizing that moment, Bach Nguyen continued to approach, a horizontal kick caused To Manh Kha to lose balance and fall to the floor.

"Who hired you?" Bach Nguyen asked again, standing close, one hand holding the other's wrist tightly in a locked position, unable to move.

To Manh Kha, even though he was in a weak position, still smirked, his eyes clearly showing stubbornness. "Do you think I'm afraid of death to confess?"

At that moment, from the emergency staircase, the building's siren rang loudly, accompanied by the sound of people running loudly - the building security team had discovered the incident and was approaching. Realizing the unfavorable situation, To Manh Kha suddenly used his strength to pull hard, escaped Bach Nguyen's lock in a rare moment of vulnerability, rolled to avoid it, then rushed out to the balcony door, jumped over the railing to the lower floor with a previously prepared rope, disappearing into the night rain before Bach Nguyen could pursue.

He stood silently in the middle of the messy and broken living room, panting slightly because the fight just had consumed a lot of his internal energy. The three subordinates still lying unconscious on the floor will be a valuable source of information once the police come for questioning. Tue Lam's door opened and she ran out, her worried eyes scanning his body to check for injuries.

"Are you okay?" Her voice trembled, her hands still not shaking as they clung to his arm.

"I'm okay," Bach Nguyen replied, pulling her into his arms for a brief moment, clearly feeling her panicked heartbeat through her chest. "But the leader of this group has escaped. His name is To Manh Kha, he is definitely Luong Khac Viet's powerful henchman. At least, we have captured three accomplices, maybe they will reveal important clues."

The building security team and police quickly arrived, controlled the three unconscious assassins, and compiled a scene report. Tue Lam stood looking at the chaotic scene in her apartment, feeling both fear and relief mixed together. She knew that tonight, she was just a hair away from losing her life, if it weren't for Bach Nguyen standing by to protect him with everything he had trained for eighteen long years on Van Son mountain.

The police chief of the investigation team, after recording the initial testimony, turned to ask Bach Nguyen with eyes that were both respectful and curious. "You controlled three of the four professionally armed attackers, with just your bare hands. Where did you learn martial arts?"

"I was taught by a teacher since childhood, in a remote mountain area," Bach Nguyen replied, still keeping his familiar vague answer to avoid revealing his true identity related to Van Son Mon. "I was just doing my duty to protect the person I was hired to protect."

The police officer nodded, although there was still some doubt in his eyes, but it was not convenient to inquire further in this urgent situation. "The three arrested suspects will be taken to headquarters for interrogation that night. With clear evidence like this, we hope to be able to extract information about the person who hired them to carry out the attack."

After the police finished their work and left, taking with them the three suspects and the evidence they collected, the apartment returned to quiet, leaving only the scene of chaos as evidence of the fierce battle that had just occurred. Tue Lam sat down on the sofa, feeling her whole body exhausted from the tension that had been pent up all night.

"Do you want to move to a safer place?" Bach Nguyen asked, sitting down next to her, his eyes still a little worried even though the battle had ended.

"If you keep running away, there will never be an end," Tue Lam shook her head, her voice determined even though her body was still shaking. "I want to stay here, face everything head-on, with you by my side, I believe I can overcome it."

Bach Nguyen looked at her, a silent admiration appeared in his eyes at the resilient bravery of the small but iron-willed girl sitting next to him. He reached out and gently held her trembling hand, transmitting a wordless, reassuring warmth. "Then I will always stay here, not leaving even a single step, until all these dangers truly end."