Chapter 83: The Three—Master and Disciples

In these tumultuous times, power belonged to those who held a gun. Under such ruthless and unyielding pressure, the Pao Brother gang's influence crumbled, their members either dead or captured, and their defeat became inevitable. Yet, like a centipede that refuses to die, the remnants of the gang continued to rise up and cause trouble, but each time, they were crushed with iron-fisted suppression.

The entire takeover operation was fraught with struggle and bloodshed, its course marked by reversals and turmoil. It lasted over two months before it was finally completed to satisfaction. All the funds in He Feng's possession, along with those brought by Manager Wen at Ning Zhiheng's request, were invested, enabling them to acquire two whole blocks in Shapingba at an exceptionally low price.

He Feng, having wrapped up the main affairs, entrusted the remaining tasks—renovations of residences, sorting out shops, and other trivial matters—to Manager Wen, and hurried back to Nanjing yesterday.

Today, he called Ning Zhiheng to inform him of his return, inviting him to his home to discuss the matter of Chongqing.

"Come to my house for lunch today, and bring Liangbi with you. We two, master and disciple, haven't seen each other for quite some time," He Feng said over the phone.

Ning Zhiheng readily agreed, hung up, and immediately went to Wei Liangbi's office to relay the message. Upon hearing that their teacher had summoned them, Wei Liangbi was delighted and quickly accepted. The two prepared gifts and arrived punctually at He Feng's home at noon.

The door was opened by He Feng's daughter, He Wenxiu. Seeing Ning Zhiheng and Wei Liangbi, she gave a shy smile and said, "Father has been waiting for you. Please, come in!"

She then spoke gently to Ning Zhiheng, "Zhiheng, where have you been all these days? You haven’t visited for months."

Her familiarity with Ning Zhiheng made her words warm and intimate, while she was reserved with Wei Liangbi, who seldom visited, treating him with a slight distance.

Ning Zhiheng smiled as he walked inside, replying, "I've been swamped these past two months. There was never a spare moment to visit you and Madam. I'll tell you about it when I have time."

In the living room, He Feng sat upright, engrossed in a newspaper. Only when his two students entered did he lay it aside.

"Teacher!" Ning Zhiheng and Wei Liangbi bowed respectfully, then handed their gifts to He Wenxiu. Seeing her father silent, Wenxiu obediently accepted the gifts and left the room.

He Feng gestured for them to sit, glanced at the officer’s insignia on Wei Liangbi’s shoulder, and, surprised, asked, "Liangbi, didn’t you just become a major over a year ago? What happened?"

Wei Liangbi smiled modestly and replied, "Teacher, I’m not the only one promoted. I just moved up one grade, but Zhiheng was promoted twice—he’s already a captain now!"

He Feng looked at Ning Zhiheng, realizing he hadn’t noticed the change in his rank since Ning rarely wore his uniform.

"This is just a junior officer's promotion. Your rank is much higher, senior brother," Ning Zhiheng joked back.

The banter between the two astonished He Feng. So much had changed in just the short two months he’d been away—even Ning Zhiheng had moved up two grades?

"What happened? Tell me everything!" He Feng’s interest was piqued. The success of his disciples was his pride, though he had always felt a pang of guilt toward these two.

He had favored more than just these two; other students had served in the central army, putting their knowledge to use and displaying their talents. But these two, arranged by him into the Military Intelligence Investigation Division as so-called intelligence agents, were sometimes derided as ‘spies’ behind their backs.

This profession was unpopular, especially among the military, as their duties included investigating corruption and misconduct within the army, inevitably offending people. So, despite the division being respected, its agents were looked down upon by soldiers, considered not true military men.

Ning Zhiheng glanced at Wei Liangbi and said, "Better let senior brother explain. I’m afraid I won’t make it clear."

Wei Liangbi, shrewd as ever, immediately understood Ning Zhiheng’s caution, nodding inwardly at his brother’s prudence, even in minor matters.

The Military Intelligence Investigation Division was a special department whose work often couldn’t be made public. The most important requirement for personnel was strict adherence to confidentiality, as the saying went: "Don’t tell father above, nor wife and children below." Ning Zhiheng was unsure about what could be shared, so he let Wei Liangbi answer.

Wei Liangbi made no attempt to hide anything, revealing almost everything except for the scapegoating of Kong Liangce by Qian Zhong and the incident of leaking intelligence to a high-ranking military government official—everything else was told to He Feng.

If it wasn’t state secrets, Wei Liangbi withheld nothing, demonstrating his absolute trust in He Feng.

During the recounting, Wei Liangbi especially praised Ning Zhiheng: from apprehending ‘Windmill’ Fu Cheng, to capturing ‘Puppet’ Huang Xiansheng, to the daring move that forced ‘Snow Wolf’, a senior agent of Tokko, to his death, and finally uncovering the new leader of the Shadow Squad, ‘Black Sparrow’. Each event was linked to the next, the cases full of twists and suspense, sounding like a superb detective novel, with Ning Zhiheng the dazzling protagonist at its center.

In the end, Ning Zhiheng could hardly bear it, stepping forward to cover Wei Liangbi’s mouth and laughing, "Brother, you could make a living as a storyteller in a teahouse, your exaggeration knows no bounds!"

Turning to He Feng, he added with a smile, "Teacher, don’t listen to his tall tales. I was just lucky, nothing more than coincidence."

Wei Liangbi dodged Ning Zhiheng’s hand and laughed, "Teacher, Zhiheng is truly blessed. Everything we’ve done has gone smoothly—he’s our lucky star! Deputy Director Huang praised him at the celebration banquet, saying he was born for the intelligence business, and credited you for your excellent guidance!"

"He really said that? Ha! That fat man is useless in battle, but his judgment is sound! Ha ha!" He Feng burst into hearty laughter.

At that moment, Madam Li Lan came in, saying, "Lunch has been ready for ages. If you don’t eat soon, it’ll get cold. Let’s eat first."

He Feng's household was strict—when he discussed business, Li Lan and the children were not to interrupt. Even the mischievous son, He Wenxing, wanting to chat with Ning Zhiheng, was confined to his room until the discussions concluded, after which Li Lan came to hurry the three to eat.

"See, listening to your stories made us lose track of time. Quick, bring out the dishes so we can toast your promotions and bright futures!" Realizing how long they’d been talking, He Feng promptly called for Li Lan to serve the meal.

Li Lan and He Wenxiu swiftly set the table, and even the playful He Wenxing was let out. Everyone enjoyed a hearty and cheerful lunch together.

During the meal, He Feng said nothing of Chongqing. Only afterward did he signal the two to follow him to the study for a detailed talk.

Once seated in the study, He Wenxiu brought in tea, smiling and nodding to Ning Zhiheng and Wei Liangbi before leaving and closing the door.

He Feng then said to Ning Zhiheng, "This time, things in Chongqing did not go smoothly. Honestly, I underestimated the difficulty at first. Those Sichuan Pao Brothers were truly tough. In the end, I had to take drastic measures, find a pretext, and execute a batch to get things done."

Wei Liangbi knew his teacher had gone to Chongqing but not the reason. Curious, he asked, "Teacher, what did you do in Chongqing?"

He Feng replied with a smile, "Ask Zhiheng about that. I was just running errands for him, busy for over two months."

Ning Zhiheng looked gratefully at his teacher and said sincerely, "I troubled you with my affairs, Teacher."

He then turned to explain the situation to Wei Liangbi, detailing the origins and specifics.

Since He Feng had invited Wei Liangbi home and openly discussed Chongqing in his presence, it was clear he had no intention of hiding anything from him. Besides, there was nothing to conceal.

Planning ahead, arranging for the future, He Feng took the opportunity to urge Wei Liangbi to make his own preparations early.