Chapter Eleven: When Thoughts Have Become Demons (1)
If it had been a few years ago, there might have been many people who wanted her dead.
In full view of everyone, she appeared to be relying on this man as she was taken hostage and brought into a car. The man, along with his two companions, was very courteous. If it were not for the gun pointed at her, she might even have thought this was arranged by Cheng Muyang.
He had said, “Someone will take you away.”
But Nan Bei believed that Cheng Muyang would never have someone take her away in this manner.
Her intuition told her it was the CIA.
In a foreign country, the only people who could recognize her at a glance had to be members of an intelligence agency with control over the China-Myanmar and China-Vietnam borders.
She believed the mystery would be cleared up soon.
The car drove all the way out of the estate, leaving the bustling populated area behind and entering a village by the coast.
She remembered what Kyle had once said. Because of the bloodshed and power outages, some of the villagers nearby had already been temporarily relocated. Those organizations were not large in number, and they had bases of their own. They would not spread their manpower thin by occupying these deserted villages. The government forces had already evacuated the civilians and would not be coming here for the time being either.
So, apart from their car, everything around them was silent, swallowed by darkness.
A very safe place, and at the same time, absolutely hidden.
The car stopped in front of an inconspicuous wooden house by the sea.
The others who had gotten out of the car with her remained beside it. Only the man took her into the wooden house.
The entire house stood over the sea. Wearing high heels, she sank deep into the fine sand with every step, walking slowly while also watching her surroundings for a possible way to escape. But it was only after she entered the house that she understood she really was trapped.
A house like this was clearly not something they had found temporarily. It was a long-term base.
It looked like an ordinary vacation house, but inside, it was full of mechanisms and hidden precautions. She was taken into a completely enclosed room, where she saw a familiar face. This was someone who had once appeared in Wanding, and even at the Myitkyina Casino in Myanmar. He was Asian.
“Miss Nan Bei.” The man extended a hand and politely indicated the sofa in front of them. “Please, sit.”
“Mr. Du.” Nan Bei smiled. “I didn't expect to see you here.”
“Believe me, Miss Nan Bei.” Du rubbed his temples and said with a bitter smile, “I absolutely didn't expect you to have a relationship with Cheng Muyang either.”
“So?”
“So?” he echoed with a smile.
Nan Bei sat down. “What are you planning to do?”
“Usually, when we deal with people on an assassination list, there are several methods.” Du looked at Nan Bei with interest. “For those whose sphere of influence is too large and whose cases involve international disputes, we have them personally record their testimony, then take them back to the United States for a public trial, to give the international community an explanation. Take the arms tycoon in Moscow last time, for example.”
She said nothing, signaling for him to continue.
“For some who have little international influence but pose a threat to the stability of the international community, we have an annual quota for assassinations. No authorization is required. We carry them out directly, but afterward, a complete assassination report has to be submitted.” Du lowered his hand and leaned back in the chair as he looked at her. “Of course, people who are completely insignificant are not within my consideration at all.”
Nan Bei still said nothing.
She believed Du would continue, until he got to what he truly wanted to do.
“Miss Nan Bei.” Du finally began to reveal the answer. “Your brother and I are very good friends. But Cheng Muyang is someone I've been trying to arrest for the past two years, and now he's got hold of my most important partner. How should I put it? I have to catch him. That's the reason I came to the Philippines. If you could, for the sake of my friendship with the Nan family, help me find him, I would be very grateful.”
“What if I refuse?”
Du looked at her. “I wouldn't mind writing an assassination report for you.”
Nan Bei looked back at him, completely unconcerned. “Aren't you afraid that your country will therefore anger a group of desperate outlaws?”
Du laughed.
It was a cool, detached laugh, one that was even somewhat amused.
“The last person you were with was Cheng Muyang. The two of you danced together in public at the banquet. And afterward, both of you disappeared without a trace. If, more than ten days later, your body turns up somewhere in the Philippines, what do you think Nan Huai will think? With your brother's temper, he'll definitely want Cheng Muyang dead, won't he?”
His hypothetical was very realistic.
Countless possibilities flashed through Nan Bei's mind. She had always refused to contact Nan Huai because she was afraid of exposing Cheng Muyang's whereabouts. But what she never expected was that, in the end, this would become the biggest problem of all. If Du really did make a move against her, in this deserted coastal village, no one except the CIA would know what had really happened.
Cheng Muyang would undoubtedly become the prime suspect.
And for the CIA to fabricate some “evidence” would be all too easy.
With her brother's personality, he would take revenge on anyone under suspicion, and it would not matter even if it were a misunderstanding.
A chill instantly spread through her veins. Her mind quickly cleared.
If her death caused the two people she loved most to turn on each other and kill one another, that would be the most terrifying thing of all.
Because she was calm, there was something frightening in her eyes as she stared at Du without saying a word.
Du looked into her eyes, then smiled again. “Believe me, you still have time to think about it. From this moment on, I'll give you three hours. Take your time and think it over.” After saying this, he looked seriously at Nan Bei.
He had worked with the Nan family of Myanmar for several years, but had rarely seen Nan Bei. Most of the time, the person who appeared in public was her “double.” This girl had a brother who cared far too much about her. If not for the need to arrest Cheng Muyang, Du believed he would never have touched her. Getting on the wrong side of the Nan family would be a tremendous headache.
“Du, you should believe in a Chinese saying.” Nan Bei looked at him seriously as well. “There are no walls in this world that keep out all wind. What you're doing may be known by my family tomorrow, or even within the next hour.”
“I believe that,” Du said. “But Cheng Muyang is far too important to us, far more than you can imagine. Miss Nan Bei, have you ever thought that he might be using you too? If you hadn't distracted our attention, he wouldn't have been able to leave so smoothly.”
After saying this, Du opened the door and left the room.
Nan Bei sank into the sofa, her nose filled with all kinds of mingled smells.
Extremely nauseating.
There was a very strong smell of tobacco in the room.
Hot and stifling, suffocating.
She did not care about what Du had said. Although Cheng Muyang had far too many secrets, the one thing she was willing to believe was his feelings for her.
The only thing she could pray for now was that her brother would find out where she was as quickly as possible, and that Cheng Muyang could leave the Philippines immediately. Everything needed time. As long as there was time, she would always be able to think of a way.
The door was tightly shut. There was no clock, and no one else was there.
She did not know how much time Du could give her.
Before Cheng Muyang and Katyusha entered the bedroom, they had been like a man and woman burning with passion, dry fire meeting fierce flame. But once the bedroom door was closed, he regained his composure. Together with Oman, who had been waiting for a long time, the three of them opened the back door and quickly left through the estate's passageways.
The car raced wildly along the bumpy road.
For once, he closed his eyes and allowed himself a brief rest.
This was not the first time he had made a temporary withdrawal from a country. At eighteen or nineteen, he had already had his own cargo planes and freighters, and had to deal with far too many international patrol ships, as well as the leaders of those terrorist organizations.
He had survived countless brushes with death and been tempered through endless trials.
Yet the scene from moments ago kept surfacing in his mind. Just seeing another man holding her as they danced had made him uncomfortable.
A strong wind blew in through the window. He instinctively touched his chest, where a ring lay.
“There'll be a plane tonight. We'll take a private flight back to Russia,” Oman told him. “The CIA has really made a major move this time. Our plane can't get landing clearance at any Philippine airport.”
Cheng Muyang nodded without saying anything.
From the moment the car entered the airport, the way ahead remained completely unobstructed, and it finally stopped at the northernmost end of the tarmac. A midsize business jet was waiting there. Cheng Muyang stepped out of the car when Katyusha suddenly received a phone call. Her expression remained very calm, but her tone was extremely unpleasant.
Cheng Muyang had already stepped onto the first rung of the stairs, but instinctively stopped.
He turned his head and quietly looked at Katyusha.
Katyusha's tone had always been like this, no different from usual, yet he sensed that something was wrong. It was an instinct cultivated through years of hovering on the line between life and death.
“Cheng?” Katyusha hung up and looked at him strangely. “Why aren't you boarding? It's time to leave.”
“Whose call was that?”
“Mark's.” Katyusha smiled. “The man who just now switched dance partners with you.”
Cheng Muyang looked into her eyes without saying a word.
Oman jumped out of the car and looked at the two of them standing in a standoff in front of the stairs, somewhat puzzled. “What's wrong with you two?”
Katyusha shrugged. “Nothing. I don't know what he's thinking…”
The mobile phone rang again.
A trace of astonishment flashed across Katyusha's face.
“Whose call is that?”
Cheng Muyang's voice came through the hot air.
“Mark's.”
“Whose call is that?” he asked again.
“Mark.” Katyusha looked at him. “It's Mark…”
“Katyusha,” Cheng Muyang interrupted her, “please hand me the phone.”
A direct order, leaving no room for refusal.
The people waiting to receive them, both on and off the plane, were all Russian.
They had been sent directly by the airline to receive a VIP, and the identity of this particular VIP was by no means unfamiliar to the Russians.
Under the sunlight, his face seemed veiled in a layer of shifting light, making his eyes appear even clearer. Aggressive, extreme, yet always maintaining the bearing of a gentleman, at this moment, he was the Lord of War in the eyes of Eastern Europeans.
Katyusha did not dare disobey and handed him the phone.
Cheng Muyang held it to his ear.
He heard an unfamiliar voice say, “Mr. Cheng Muyang, I'm very glad to speak with you.”
“Hello.”
“I know that you and the people at the top in Moscow are both hunting my friend. So I think we need to have a face-to-face talk.”
Cheng Muyang gave a short laugh. “All right. I'll arrive in Moscow tonight.”
The unfamiliar voice laughed as well, then told him in very few words that Nan Bei was with him.
Cheng Muyang did not believe what he said. His arrangements had been extremely meticulous. Unless there was a traitor… A traitor. He suddenly glanced at Katyusha, who was staring at him with her eyes wide. He quickly dismissed the thought.
Katyusha's father was one of the principal figures in this operation. It absolutely could not be her.
None of that mattered.
The moment Mark said Nan Bei's name, he was beside himself with rage, yet his voice remained calm. “Tell me the location.”
“The estate. I'll wait for you where you left, but I hope you'll come alone,” Mark said. “We don't want to kill too many people here, and I believe you don't want too many of your friends to die either.”
The connection was cut off. Cheng Muyang tossed the phone back to Katyusha and took off the suit jacket constricting him. “Give me a gun. Don't follow me. I'm going to find Nan Bei.”
“Cheng Muyang!” Oman’s face had gone somewhat pale.
He was clearly beginning to lose his reason, his eyes no longer focused on anyone around him.
Cheng Muyang reached into the gun holster at her side, took out a gun, and strode toward the car.
“Cheng Muyang!” Oman grabbed his arm. She had never been this frightened before. Cheng Muyang had never been a foolish man, yet he was actually going to give up his last chance. “Don't do anything stupid… Nan Bei will be fine. Cheng Muyang, you know the relationship between Nan Huai and the CIA. They absolutely wouldn't dare touch her. Think about what's behind you, the entire family. Aren't you afraid Nan Bei will cooperate with the CIA? After all, she's Nan Huai's younger sister…”
Cheng Muyang completely ignored her words and made his final decision. “The Cheng family still has Cheng Muyun. Let him take over everything. I'm withdrawing.”
With that, he pulled Oman's hand away and strode toward the car.
Katyusha suddenly rushed up from behind and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Cheng, don't go. They hate you. They'll definitely kill you! Why do you have to go looking for the CIA because of one woman? There are plenty of women in Moscow. There's me, and there's your empire. We'll get rid of the CIA's spies very soon. We'll be able to complete the plan soon!”
Katyusha's body trembled incessantly, her speech frighteningly broken.
Cheng Muyang turned around and pulled her away from him. “Go back to Moscow immediately. From now on, what happens to me has nothing to do with any of you.”
“No!” Katyusha suddenly snatched the pistol from him and pointed it at him. “If you leave, I'll shoot. You know I won't kill you. I only want you to go back to Moscow!”
A black gun muzzle, and a trembling arm.
Cheng Muyang took a deep breath and gestured to the two men beside Oman. His people obeyed him absolutely. Even knowing he was going to his death, they would never allow anyone to threaten the little boss with a gun. That was a matter of family honor.
“Katyusha.” Cheng Muyang looked at her, his voice already carrying a low, hoarse roughness. “If you fire, my people will shoot you dead. Don't try it.”
“Cheng.” Katyusha knew he was telling the truth. Her hand would not stop trembling, yet she stubbornly kept her finger on the trigger. “Come back to Moscow with me. Don't go and die for a woman. I swear, you're going to die. You must have lost your mind, you must have… You'll regret it. You absolutely will regret it…”
She was incoherent, hot tears continually rolling down her face.
He merely took half a step back, then reached out and closed his hand around the muzzle of her gun.
“Katyusha, you once asked me whether I really liked women or not. Do you remember?” His voice held a strange tenderness, but it was not for her. It was for the woman in his heart. “I'm telling you the truth now. I, Cheng Muyang, believed in Buddhism before I was fourteen. After fourteen, the only thing I believed in was her.”
Katyusha looked at him in despair.
She did not understand what he meant, but she could understand the feelings in his eyes.
Cheng Muyang had already lost all patience. He took the gun from Katyusha's hand.
Just as he reached for the car door handle, the door would not open. The driver inside had clearly been stunned senseless and had actually forgotten to unlock it. The next second, in front of everyone, Cheng Muyang smashed the glass with his fist, grabbed the driver by the collar, and said, “Get out!” The driver trembled as he undid his seat belt.
He threw the gun into the car, climbed in himself, quickly started the engine, and drove straight from the tarmac toward the airport exit.
Katyusha's expression was already one of despair. She cried out loudly at the departing car, “She'll definitely get you killed, Cheng! She'll get you killed with the CIA!”
Her desperate voice drifted across the tarmac, but it could not hold back his resolve to leave.
Oman walked over from behind, pressed down on her arm, and held her in her embrace. “You won't understand. Let him go.”
Cheng Muyang drove even more recklessly than he had on the way there, speeding along the bumpy road. He drove with one hand, wanting to make himself think, yet he knew it was impossible to calm down. All he could see was Nan Bei, the expression on her face as she looked at him when they said their final goodbyes. He touched the breast pocket of his shirt with his right hand, thinking of what he had said to her, and could not help but smile helplessly. He supposed he would have no chance to buy the ruby ring anymore.
He was not afraid of death. He was only afraid that they would make things difficult for her.
Even if he had to die, he had to get a few words in with her, force her to agree to marry him.
He would tell her when he had first fallen in love with her, and that it was even more than love. That the name Nan Bei had, for a very long time, been the only faith he had in life. Even if it meant betraying Buddha and descending into Avici Hell after death, he would willingly let his hands be stained with blood for her, becoming an asura.
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