Episode Summary
In this episode, undercover Communist agent Li Heng arrives in Chengdu. His attempt to meet a contact goes wrong when his new boss, Jia Yunwu, captures the contact. We learn Li Heng and Jia Yunwu have a complicated history, and Jia Yunwu is deeply suspicious of Li Heng's sudden appearance as a colleague.
Spoiler Alert
Yin Feng Episode 1
Alright, let's get into it. The show drops us right into 1949. The civil war in China is basically over. The Nationalists (KMT) are losing badly. Their last real stronghold is in the southwest, in Sichuan. Our story is set in the city of Chengdu. It’s the calm before the storm.
Our guy is Li Heng. He’s a Communist agent deep undercover. His fake job is a section chief for the Central Statistics Bureau. That’s one of the KMT’s big, nasty intelligence agencies. His real mission is to help the Communists take Chengdu peacefully. To do that, he needs to meet his contact, a man named Zhou Sihai.
A Meeting Gone Wrong
The meeting is set for a busy teahouse. But the place is crawling with spies. You can just feel it.
A Teahouse Full of Spies
Jia Yunwu is sitting at a nearby table. He’s a deputy director for the Central Statistics Bureau. He sips his tea but his eyes miss nothing. He's clearly hunting for someone.
Li Heng is there too. He’s keeping his head down, pretending to be focused on a bowl of wontons. He’s waiting for his contact.
Zhou Sihai, the contact, gets close to the teahouse. He immediately senses the trap. He spots Tang Meng, a captain from the Juntong. The Juntong is the otherbig KMT intelligence agency. They’re rivals with the Central Statistics Bureau. Zhou Sihai tries to send a coded warning to the people inside.
It’s too late. The trap is sprung. People scream and run. Tables and chairs go flying. Jia Yunwu stands up, pulls his gun, and calmly shoots Zhou Sihai in the leg. He captures him easily. Then he and Li Heng lock eyes across the chaotic room. They haven't seen each other in ten years.
Old Friends, New Colleagues
Tang Meng storms over. He's furious with Jia Yunwu for blowing up his operation. Jia Yunwu just fires back that Tang Meng was being sloppy. While they argue, we learn something important. Li Heng was the one who started the fire that created all the chaos. It was his way of trying to save the mission.
Tang Meng tries to arrest Li Heng for questioning. Big mistake. Li Heng moves fast and kicks him hard, breaking his rib. Jia Yunwu steps in. He warns Tang Meng not to touch his guy. After Tang Meng leaves, Li Heng shows Jia Yunwu his official transfer papers. The two men from ten years ago are now coworkers.
The Web of Connections
The show then introduces us to Jia Yunying. She's a Communist liaison. She gets the bad news about Zhou Sihai's capture.
Just then, Tang Meng shows up at her door. He’s still angry about his broken rib and wants to find a way to get back at Jia Yunwu. He also gets a little creepy when he sees Jia Yunying. She handles it perfectly. She stays calm and tells him she is Jia Yunwu’s younger sister. Tang Meng is completely stunned.
A Look into the Past
This whole situation makes Jia Yunwu think. He remembers a mission from ten years ago in a city called Fengtian. He was there with his mentor, a man called Mr. Cao. They were trying to assassinate a Japanese major general.
The target was surrounded by guards. Their original plan fell apart. They had to improvise a risky ambush. That mission was the first time Jia Yunwu saw Li Heng in action. He was blown away by Li Heng's skill and courage. Mr. Cao was also impressed. He tried to recruit Li Heng, but Li Heng turned him down.
So now Jia Yunwu is deeply suspicious. Why would a guy who refused to join them ten years ago suddenly show up as a Central Statistics Bureau agent? It doesn’t add up.
Playing the Game from Inside
Back in the present, Li Heng and Jia Yunwu meet their boss, Director Shen Yihe. The director knows Li Heng was a favorite of Mr. Cao. He decides to give Li Heng an important position.
Li Heng immediately makes a bold request. He wants to be part of Zhou Sihai's interrogation. This just makes Jia Yunwu even more suspicious. But Li Heng also impresses him. He points out all the sloppy mistakes the Juntong agents made, and Jia Yunwu seems intrigued.
The First Cracks
Li Heng and Jia Yunwu interrogate Zhou Sihai together. They get nothing. The guy is tough.
The Juntong station chief is angry that Jia Yunwu stole his prisoner. He’s convinced Jia Yunwu already has valuable intel. In a way, he's right. The Juntong did manage to break another Communist prisoner, a man named Qiao Kenian. He gave up the names of several comrades. But when they show him a picture of Li Heng, the traitor says he has never seen him before.
A Test and a Memory
Jia Yunwu isn't satisfied. He invites Li Heng out for drinks, trying to feel him out and catch him in a lie. Later, he sends Li Heng home in a car. During the ride, Li Heng sees Jia Yunying. We realize she is his first love. This is complicated. His new, suspicious boss is the brother of his ex-girlfriend.
The episode ends with Jia Yunwu asleep. He dreams of that mission ten years ago. He was trapped and about to die. Then, Li Heng appeared and saved his life. This makes his feelings about Li Heng even more conflicted. He suspects him, but he also owes him everything.
