It was that very incident that left Wei Xinghuo crippled, prompting the capital’s commander to frantically pull every string he had, sparing no expense to bring in the legendary healer Mo Wentian to save his adopted son.
Though Mo Wentian later managed, with great effort, to bring Wei Xinghuo back from the brink, his battered body could no longer support a military career.
Because of that, the capital’s commander harbored a deep grudge against Xu Fei.
If it weren’t for Mo Wentian taking a liking to Xu Fei as a promising talent and putting in a few good words, Commander Wei Kangnian might’ve thrown caution to the wind and gone after Xu Fei directly.
The rest of the story was predictable, Xu Fei easily claimed the title of China’s Soldier King, later apprenticed under Mo Wentian, and ultimately earned his reputation as a martial and intellectual prodigy, the famed Major General.
So this time, when Xu Fei arrived in the capital, Bai Zhan rushed to warn him, lest he forget this old grudge.
Hearing Bai Zhan’s reminder, Xu Fei responded, “I get what you’re saying, but while Commander Wei Kangnian might be a bit petty and selfish, given his age and status now, I doubt he’d still hold it against me.”
“Emotionally speaking, I’m the disciple of the man who saved his adopted son, he can’t touch me.”
“Logically speaking, my rank in the military isn’t below his anymore, and at his age, he’s got no reason to push things to a breaking point over a washed-up son, right?”
Xu Fei’s reasoning made sense, but Bai Zhan’s next words put him on guard.
“I understand what you mean, Major General, but you might not know, after Wei Xinghuo left the military, he didn’t leave the capital, that guy’s been holding a grudge against you all this time, you’d better watch your back there!”
Bai Zhan’s repeated warnings stemmed from genuine concern, and Xu Fei found them reasonable, so he didn’t argue.
“Got it, you keep an eye on things back home, make sure the Red Buddha Society doesn’t catch wind of anything there, understood?”
“Understood, Major General! Don’t worry, I’ve handed intel-gathering to Hell’s Ear recently, this time I’ll personally oversee your family’s safety!”
With Bai Zhan’s assurance, Xu Fei felt a lot more at ease.
He hung up, flagged down a taxi, and headed straight for downtown Beijing.
After Xu Fei’s taxi pulled away, a black van parked nearby slowly rolled down its window.
Someone inside pulled out a camera, snapped a flurry of shots at the departing taxi, then rolled the window back up and drove off.
The van’s owner was a chubby guy, scruffy-looking but clearly intimately familiar with Beijing’s layout.
He soon navigated to a narrow alley in the city, pulling up to a rundown courtyard and knocking on its weathered door.
From the outside, the place looked abandoned, like a derelict shack no one lived in.
But once he stepped inside, it was a whole different world.
In the noisy bar within, the van’s owner sauntered up to the counter with ease, plunking his camera down and saying, “Is Brother Wei around? I’ve got something good to show him!”
Besides the bartender, a manager was stationed at the counter, hearing this and recognising the chubby guy as a regular, he grabbed the camera and said, “Come on, follow me! Brother Wei’s in the back room!”
With that, the manager led the chubby guy into a private room.
Meanwhile, oblivious to all this, Xu Fei had reached downtown, and the moment he stepped out of the taxi, he ran into an unexpected visitor.
