Chapter 7: The Raven (1)
"…You knew?"
Duan Po stroked her hair soothingly and said softly: "I've always known."
"Then why —"
"Why save you? Why help you, right?"
Elyse said, muffled: "Because you want to destroy Black Moses too."
Duan Po paused, then praised without reservation: "You little thing — sharp as they come."
The sky was slowly darkening. Vast swathes of grey-purple cloud churned at the horizon, and the waves were louder than whispers.
Duan Po tightened his arms, pulling her deep against his chest.
"Elyse, I like you very much. I don't want to watch you go die." He spoke into her ear, word by word. "I couldn't save Shen Huaiqiu back then. Don't be like her — don't die in some godforsaken corner where no one will ever find you."
Elyse tilted her head slightly. Her eyes blazed like lightning in the dusk.
"Commander, tell me about Black Moses."
Duan Po sighed and released her, letting her stand on her own feet again.
"Black Moses is an organization that's only grown powerful in recent years. The real boss is supposedly a man called Mr. Herod — I've never met him. Only Black Moses members can have an audience. This Mr. Herod controls a vast underground network of interests. Behind them are European crime syndicates, and behind those are multi-national political forces. It's a complicated landscape, and their business is DIRTY."
He took her hand and walked her slowly along the shoreline.
"Their reach keeps extending, into more and more territories."
Elyse listened intently. He turned his head slightly and continued: "Starting with certain interest groups in Southeast Asia — human trafficking, organ trade, narcotics… Black Moses has appeared in all of them, gradually. They began to infiltrate the upper echelons too, corrupting public officials."
He shot Elyse a pointed look, his voice dropping lower: "Not just Myanmar. Not just Southeast Asia. What they're plotting is enormous. Do you understand?"
She understood, of course.
A malign conspiracy of staggering scale — a black glove wielded by hostile forces, its tendrils silently spreading into a vast web.
Creeping, little by little, past the border markers on the other side.
Duan Po said: "Myanmar is about to change. For years, I ran legitimate business. My relationship with the government was always solid — I've even visited your country, officially."
The warlord was probing her, subtly.
In the fading dusk, Elyse's pupils contracted — almost imperceptibly. But she showed no reaction to his "legitimate business" claim. The hair on the side of her face was tucked behind a small ear, and she looked very well-behaved.
Duan Po studied her without giving himself away, and went on:
"The last assassination attempt against me was Black Moses's handiwork. I survived the first time — I may not be so lucky next. A wise man doesn't stand beneath a Crumbling wall. Before it's too late, I need to leave."
This was unexpected. Elyse blinked, momentarily startled. Duan Po quickly smiled and patted her head: "Going to miss me?"
Elyse sighed softly:
"I will."
Her voice was a little hoarse, a little forlorn.
Duan Po was silent for a moment. The sky was darkening now. He pulled Elyse back toward the house, a line of ground lights embedded in the sand leading the way like stars, connecting to the lit villa.
His coattails lifted in the wind. He said gravely, again: "Elyse, come with me. We'll go to South Africa together. I have a private island there with gorgeous scenery. You can live out the rest of your days as a free, wealthy woman."
He added, half-joking, half-tempting: "I have no heirs, and I'm getting old. When I die, everything goes to you."
Elyse laughed — a genuine burst of amusement. Then she went dreamy for a moment, as though imagining that grand and glittering life.
She smiled, genuinely happy.
Just as Duan Po thought she was about to accept, she asked: "Commander Duan, will you never come back?"
The smile froze on his face. Duan Po gazed at her deeply: "Who knows? When the enemy comes, I leave. When they're defeated, I return. Perhaps once Black Moses falls, this will be mine again."
Elyse nodded in agreement.
Duan Po said: "So what's your decision?"
Elyse asked instead: "Commander, among the people you know — is anyone a Black Moses member?"
Duan Po's expression grew unreadable. He exhaled two words: "Kunjiao."
Just as she'd guessed.
Then, with a kind of wistfulness, Elyse lifted her face — resolute, apologetic: "Duan Po, just hand me over to him."
It was like waking from a beautiful dream to nothing but cold, shattered shells on the floor.
In the darkness, Duan Po frowned. His hand still held hers, but his voice was curt with displeasure: "Little one, I gave you two choices — freedom, and revenge. You —"
Elyse said softly: "To freedom — my respects. But I choose revenge."
2.
Myanmar Federation Day.
A gala dinner for the upper crust, held at Alem Palace on the banks of the Irrawaddy, where lotuses bloomed.
Lamps wound through the ancient pagoda grounds, guiding guests into the most lavish ballroom in the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas.
The warlord of western Myanmar, Duan Po, rarely appeared at such events. This unpredictable figure, dressed in a well-tailored suit, was deep in conversation with several local officials behind a screen of golden-brown teak.
The matter must have been important — he'd even forgotten his companion.
The warlord's date seemed different from Burmese girls — paler, cooler, more slender and tall.
With those rare, for Southeast Asia, phoenix eyes.
Haughty and delicate.
She looked like a girl stepped from an ancient fresco — her red dress the most vivid bloom at water's edge.
More striking still, a scarlet silk scarf circled her long neck, tied at the nape. The gathered ends cascaded into long ropes of pearls that fell down her pale back, past her waist and hips.
Hundreds of cultured sea pearls swayed as she walked, opulent, aristocratic, devastating.
Many noticed her, but out of caution, no one dared approach.
The girl paid them no mind. She leaned against the pavilion railing, sipping champagne and watching the lotuses in the lake, yawning with boredom.
When she finished her glass of champagne and turned to get another, the empty tulip-shaped coupe was gently taken from her hand.
The cultivated middle-aged man set down the glass, extended his hand, bent slightly, and offered with a smile: "May I?"
Elyse hesitated for a beat. She folded her hands uncertainly, standing graceful before him, pearls swaying behind her.
Then she placed her hand on Li Yufu's palm, stepped into the ballroom floor, and together they began a slow, elegant waltz.
His refined voice came from above:
"Miss Elyse, I failed to appreciate you properly before. A pleasure."
Elyse kept her eyes downcast, seeming to retain some fear of him. She simply turned demurely, her skirt flaring like a blooming rose.
Li Yufu gave a soft laugh.
"Are you very afraid of me?"
The hand at her waist suddenly tightened, and Elyse pitched forward, her nose and lips grazing the shoulder of his expensive jacket.
Leaving a smudge of lipstick.
"I got it dirty…"
She said in a low voice.
Li Yufu glanced at it, unconcerned. "I'm the one who pulled you in."
His gaze settled on her smudged lips.
"It's fine."
A few more bars of music, and Elyse's eyes flicked to the side — a long, sweeping glance. Li Yufu followed her sight and saw that Duan Po had finished his meeting. He was holding a glass, sipping and watching them with an unreadable expression.
He did not look happy.
Elyse tried to let go, but before she could lift her hand from Li Yufu's shoulder, he yanked her back. She stumbled into his chest again.
"You —"
The girl clenched her teeth, turning her head away, too angry to speak.
"Stop pulling me around."
Her half-furious profile was comely. Li Yufu laughed again, even conceding agreeably: "Of course. But finish this dance with me first."
Elyse tilted her body gracefully, her steps rising and falling, the pearls casting warm, shifting light.
Duan Po took a sip of his drink.
His fingers turned the glass unconsciously.
Li Yufu's gaze met his in the air. Both magnates gave a polite smile — only Elyse turned her face again, trembling faintly, the small pearls at her earlobes swaying.
When the dance finally ended, she was drenched in cold sweat.
Li Yufu gripped her wrist and walked her toward Duan Po, his smile unflagging. "Don't worry — who's going to eat you?" he teased.
He greeted Duan Po aloud: "Commander Duan! How are you — long time no see!"
Duan Po observed him with amusement. "Boss Yu, you're still holding on to my girl. What do you intend?"
Elyse immediately tried to pull free.
Li Yufu patted her back consolingly. The pearls clicked together, a delicate chime.
"What's the rush?"