Ever since Director Jiang took his film crew to the grasslands for location shooting, the Hengdian set became much quieter. There were hardly any people around. Yi Xing felt quite content to rest; with no one filming, he couldn't learn even if he wanted to.
He spent his few days off quite leisurely. Every morning, he would wake up and practice his lines by the window, which had become a habit. After practicing, he would wash up, return to bed, and drift off to sleep.
When he opened his eyes again, it was almost noon. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains onto him, warm and cozy. He stretched with a big yawn, lazily sat up from bed, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and picked up his phone.
He sent a message to his meal buddies, asking if they were awake and ready to go out to eat. That's right, his meal buddies were Li Yitong and Meng Ziyi. Usually, Yang Xuwen would also be there, but he had gone to the grasslands for filming and was forced to leave the group chat.
But it was only ever just for a meal. After filling his stomach, Yi Xing would return to his room, firmly refusing to participate in the two girls' subsequent shopping activities. Shopping with girls was more tiring than climbing a mountain.
Climbing a mountain was only physically exhausting; reaching the summit and enjoying the view below would heal one's entire body and mind. Shopping, however, was a double exhaustion, both physical and psychological, and he didn't want to suffer that.
Moreover, as mentioned before, he wasn't particularly interested in Meng Ziyi and Li Yitong. He simply found them good-looking and didn't desire excessive private contact. Wandering around with them was less appealing than staying in the hotel and chatting with Ju Jingyi.
This was Yi Xing's daily routine during his break. After a brief week of rest, the main film crew that went to the grasslands returned, and the set became lively again. Those responsible for setting up scenes, adjusting lights, and checking props all went about their duties.
Just as Director Jiang had said before leaving, the first scene to be filmed was Yang Kang's final moments. Because Huang Rong exposed his murder of Ouyang Ke, he, enraged, wanted to kill Huang Rong to silence her. He struck her with a palm, hitting her Soft Hedgehog Armor, and ultimately died from poison in the Iron Spear Temple.
He briefly explained the morning's filming plot on set, and soon everyone immediately sprang into action, taking their positions and waiting for filming to begin.
"All departments in position, Action!"
Huang Rong knew the truth, but it had to come from someone else's mouth. She helped the person on the ground up and softly asked, "Shagu, I ask you, are you saying you don't want to go back to Peach Blossom Island, that you want to stay home?"
Shagu nodded vigorously. As she walked towards the candlelight, she said, "But, I'll tell you, someone died in your house, and now, there are ghosts!" She held the candle in front of her face, creating a scary atmosphere.
"Good Brother killed him, there are ghosts, I'm not going back!" Shagu said, shaking her hands in a panic.
"Who did Good Brother kill?"
"Master, don't listen to her nonsense! Shagu, if you keep talking nonsense, do you believe I'll take your life!" At this point, Yang Kang couldn't sit still. If the situation continued to develop, the things he had done would no longer be hidden.
"I won't say, Good Brother told me not to."
Huang Rong, however, continued to scare Shagu, forcing her to reveal the killer. Under her intimidation, the other party quickly blurted out, "Ouyang Ke was killed by Good Brother."
The cold sweat on Yang Kang's face increased. He secretly channeled his internal energy and struck towards Shagu, but Ouyang Feng blocked him with his staff. Before the truth was clear, he would not allow anyone to act, not even his own disciple.
Under Ouyang Feng's protection, Shagu recounted exactly what she had seen at the time. Huang Rong also kept adding details and her own conjectures from the side. He finally couldn't bear it anymore.
"Die!" Yang Kang fiercely struck her shoulder with a palm. After striking, he looked at his hand in horror; there were countless holes constantly seeping blood.
"My hand, my hand..."
"Kang'er, are you alright? Someone, quickly!"
No sooner had Wanyan Honglie's words fallen than several people entered from outside. They immediately saw that Yang Kang was poisoned, and the scene instantly became chaotic.
None of the many people thought of detoxifying him first. Instead, they listened carefully to what Huang Rong said, understanding where the poison came from. Yang Kang was already hallucinating, excitedly holding a cushion and saying,
"Hahaha, the Book of Wumu, I finally have the Book of Wumu! I, Wanyan Kang, am finally going to dominate the world! Hahaha!"
"No, no, what good is getting the Book of Wumu? My parents are dead, Nianci is dead too! Woo woo woo!" The snake venom made him writhe in agony on the ground. He glared at Wanyan Honglie, who was shouting, "I am your father, look at your father," and said fiercely,
"It's you, you are the murderer, you killed my Nianci, you killed my mother! I'm going to kill you!"
Because he was completely delirious, and Ouyang Feng's poison could only be cured by himself, Wanyan Honglie was led away from the Iron Spear Temple by his subordinates.
Just then, Director Jiang shouted "Cut" and said, "Makeup artist, go do his makeup!"
Soon, the makeup artist sister specially prepared by the film crew came over and applied the poisoned makeup to Yi Xing's face, saying with great regret, "If I could, I really wouldn't want to put this makeup on you. It's ruining this face."
"It's okay, sis, come on. It's acting, there's always some sacrifice to be made. Besides, I don't plan to rely on my looks to make a living; I rely on my talent."
"You can say that to me, but don't say it outside. You'll easily get beaten."
"I won't." Yi Xing didn't care about this at all. He wasn't someone who paid particular attention to his image, otherwise he wouldn't have gone days without shaving before filming started. He only took care of his appearance when doing serious business.
Things like variety show recordings, auditions, or strolling on the street with Ju Jingyi—for these things, he would maintain a very good appearance to leave a good impression.
Before long, a freshly applied makeup appeared on his face, with prominent purple veins visible everywhere.
"Yi Xing, Ziyi, are you ready?"
"Ready." x2.
The subsequent filming mainly focused on what happened after Yang Kang was poisoned. He stumbled out of the Iron Spear Temple, gasping for breath, with an expression of difficulty breathing. He reached out a hand into the air, as if trying to grasp something.
He accidentally slipped, rolled down the steps, and fell to the ground, unable to get up again. He slowly turned his head to the side and vaguely saw a girl in red walking towards him.
He knew who had come to pick him up and showed a brilliant smile, weakly raising his hand to try and touch Mu Nianci's hand. But this was ultimately his own fantasy, and his arm fell heavily to the ground.
A jade shoe he was holding also bounced a few times on the ground, making a crisp sound. He closed his eyes. With this, Yang Kang was officially declared dead, and Yi Xing also wrapped up his filming.
"Good, cut! Excellent, excellent, the emotions were very full this time, nothing needs improvement." Director Jiang stood up, clapped, and then waved his hand for a staff member to bring over a bouquet of flowers.
He then said, "Let's all congratulate Yi Xing! He's officially wrapped up! Happy wrap-up!"
"Happy wrap-up!" xN.
The set immediately erupted in enthusiastic applause. A small number of people swarmed over, offering blessings, which momentarily overwhelmed Yi Xing. He happily hugged everyone, then took a group photo with them. He still had the poisoned makeup on his face, but it didn't matter anymore.
Finally, he walked up to Director Jiang and asked, "Director, now that I've wrapped up, do I have to leave the film crew? Can I stay here to continue learning?"
"Of course, as long as you want to learn."
"Great, thank you, Director!"
Yi Xing excitedly left after receiving a satisfactory answer. This made him even happier than knowing he had wrapped up. He could now continue learning with the film crew for a while, which helped fill his free time when he didn't have work.