The effect of the sirens in the near distance was instantaneous.
The attackers faltered, they were thrown off balance by the unexpected shrill sound.
Their aggressive momentum immediately broke.
They exchanged uneasy glances with one another, and subsequently, their earlier confidence wavered.
"Finally, backup!" Tang Lin breathed, a wave of relief washing over her.
It seemed like she had used all her strength to mutter both words because as soon as she finished saying them, she fell back onto the car seat.
One look at her and one would think she had no bones in her body.
Hsu Jin who was still facing off with some of the assailants on seeing the shift, used the moment of confusion and hesitation to his advantage.
He swiftly swung his hands, delivering a brutal series of blows that sent some of his immediate attackers sprawling.
The sirens grew louder and closer. Any moment now they would arrive at the scene.
The ambushers, realizing it was better to live to fight another day, began to retreat, deftly slipping into the nearby bushes.
Just the same way that they came.
Hsu Jin, finally getting a break, stood there panting.
His body was heaving, and his clothes torn and bloodied, but his stance remained straight and firm, not showing much weakness.
He stayed alert, his eyes still scanning the vicinity for any lingering threat.
Tang Lin, with her body trembling uncontrollably, watched the dark blue vehicles racing towards them with flashing red and blue lights.
Help had finally arrived.
They were safe.
Maybe because it finally registered in his mind that they were no longer in danger, Hsu Jin's body relaxed considerably.
He took a glance at his bloodied body and stepped over a few bodies to get to the car.
These ones had been left behind by their partners. They were probably dead or only knocked unconscious.
Either way, they would be dealt with by the police.
The stench of blood emanating from Hsu Jin hit Tang Lin's nose, causing her to snap out of her reverie.
She immediately looked through the haphazardly paced content of the emergency kit in search of something.
Finally, she grabbed a bottle of disinfectant, a pack of cotton wool, plasters and the pair of scissors that served as her weapon earlier.
She handed them to Hsu Jin.
"You should do something about your wounds until you can get to the hospital or something."
Hsu Jin hesitated for about three seconds before grabbing the items and throwing them on to the driver seat.
"No need for now. I can hold on for five minutes. The mess here needs to be handled."
Then he turned and walked towards the police vehicles that were arriving.
By this time, the police cars that had started blaring their sirens a minute earlier had arrived, each screeching to a halt one after another.
Each one maintained a short distance away from their car.
Then a car with a powerful engine drove over and parked close to them, followed by another one similar to it.
Both cars were black and looked like limited edition vehicles.
She saw the bodyguards step out of the first car and rush to the one behind to stand by the owner's door.
One of them pulled the door open, and the first gleam of a meticulously polished black leather shoe caught Tang Lin's eye.
Then a long, slender leg, wrapped in the expensive material, emerged.
It was followed by another black shoe, then the other leg.
Great things come in pairs, indeed.
After that, the man emerged, like he was unfolding himself from inside the car.
His dark grey trench coat made him look incredibly charming and the fabric of the trousers looked absolutely smooth.
For a moment Tang Lin thought he looked untouchable.
His legs were long and straight, making for the perfect sight.
Tang Lin was exasperated to find that her mind had wandered again at such a moment.
Sigh.
What a temptation!
Zhao Jun's face suddenly came into Tang Lin's field of vision, causing her to pay attention.
Zhao Jun stretched out his bony hand to pull the door. The hand was thin and elegant. She could immediately sight the Buddhist beads.
When he pulled the door but it wouldn't budge, Tang Lin remembered that the doors had been locked from inside.
She reached for the lock of the door closest to her and flipped the button.
Then she grabbed the handle and pulled it a bit. Both unlocking the door and opening it took very few seconds.
Zhao Jun who was standing outside the car calming leaned down slightly to check on her.
"Are you hu…?"
He gave her a once over and noticed her disheveled state and did not complete his question.
He looked around the inside of the car and took in the shards of glass and the scattered contents of the now upturned emergency kit.
"You must have suffered. Don't worry, I'll give you an explanation for this."
"As long as you know," she gave a curt response and didn't keep talking to him.
Tang Lin didn't know why every time she saw him she wanted to throw hands, but she didn't mind.
Her reputation for being sharp-tongued in their circles was not handed on a gold platter, she had earned it.
So, she had no qualms sparring with Zhao Jun, or anyone else for that matter.
Unless she was feeling lazy and couldn't be bothered to.
Zhao Jun chuckled and turned to walk away from her.
"Hold on for a bit. Let me speak with the police."
There was going to be a lot of back and forth to face, especially now that the police were involved.
Zhao Jun glanced at his trusted aide standing quietly with his back ramrod straight as if waiting for his next command.
It didn't even matter that there were police officers standing in front of them.
"Hsu Jin."
Hsu Jin raised his head a little and answered, "Young Master."
Zhao Jun took in his pretty sorry state and could not help but want to commend him.
It was because he held back the ambushers so fiercely that the woman, uh… Tang Lin was able to survive nearly unscathed until the arrival of the backup.
He looked at him for a few seconds, "just leave a behind and go get yourself treated. Someone will be over to take care of things here "
Hsu Jin hesitated for a second and agreed, "alright."
With his boss, insisting he could manage would seem too pretentious so he didn't bother.
He was quite injured and needed a needed a break after expending so much adrenaline just now.
Tang Lin observed their interaction and sighed.
Both were indeed the same kind of people. Couldn't he just ask his subordinate how he was doing?
She watched them talk with the police chief for a while before she averted her gaze.
Normally she should be called upon to give a statement as someone who had also witnessed the scene.
But considering who Zhao Jun was, it would probably be easy as pie having her exempted from the ordeal.
Of course she was happy to not be include!
Tang Lin was just about to close her eyes to rest for a few minutes when she began to feel that something was not right.
She could feel her consciousness slipping away, like she was swinging in-between people.
But she had just taken her medications not too long ago and it was supposed to last her until it was almost lunchtime.
So, why exactly was Tang Mei trying to show up now? Could the intense situation that happened earlier have triggered her?
Fearing what might happen if she were to transition into her alter at this point, away from her home, Master Wen and Little Zhou, she immediately tried to locate her bag and began a frantic search for something.
Any moment now and Zhao Jun would return. If he were to find her in such a state…
She lightly shook her head as she didn't want to think about it any further.
No, no, no. Where are you? Where are you?
She really had to find it before Zhao Jun and his people returned.