Chapter 89

Chapter 89

After two months of in-house training, the "Mandarin Duck Knot" crew chose an auspicious day to officially start filming at the Hengzhou Film and Television City.

This was also Chu Hengyi's first time participating in a film crew's opening ceremony as an actor. Although he only played a minor role with less than five minutes of screen time in the movie, Chu Hengyi was also an investor in the film. To show respect, the "Mandarin Duck Knot" crew arranged for Chu Hengyi to offer incense alongside the lead actor, Ye Mingzhao, during the opening ceremony.

It was undoubtedly a unique experience. Chu Hengyi watched curiously as the staff busily set up a large black lacquered table in the center, on which was placed a large bronze relief incense burner. In front of the incense burner, there was a crispy-skinned roasted piglet and several fresh fruits. Finally, a red cloth was carefully draped over the camera.

When the auspicious time arrived, Ye Mingzhao and Chu Hengyi led the main creative team to offer incense one by one. Chu Hengyi noticed that everyone's expressions were particularly devout and respectful, and some even murmured something silently while offering incense. Chu Hengyi couldn't help but feel a solemn respect as well.

After the incense offering, the director walked solemnly to the camera, his expression a mix of seriousness and joy as he unveiled the red cloth covering the camera, officially marking the start of filming for the "Mandarin Duck Knot" crew.

Following the opening ceremony, there was a press conference. The media reporters, seeing the star-studded and financially robust main creative team, were so excited that they nearly wore out their camera buttons. The press conference was filled with the rapid "click-click" of camera shutters, and the flashes of light were so intense that it was hard to keep one's eyes open.

Chu Hengyi, wearing sunglasses, sighed silently, finally understanding why Ye Mingzhao had handed him a pair of sunglasses before the ceremony.

Ye Mingxi, who also attended the opening ceremony but didn't have the benefit of his brother's thoughtful sunglasses, had tears in his eyes as he looked enviously at Chu Hengyi's sunglasses.

Don't ask why his eyes were teary—it was all because of the camera flashes!

The press conference lasted an hour, and all the attending reporters had been briefed by the crew in advance. All questions followed a pre-prepared script, and no one dared to deviate from it or ask any sharp, difficult-to-answer questions. As a result, the entire press conference proceeded in an orderly manner, appearing lively and colorful but ultimately lacking any real substance.

Ye Mingxi suppressed the urge to yawn and finally endured until the end of the press conference, when the crew was ready to shoot the first scene.

As everyone moved to the set, the props team had mostly completed the set construction.

In the vast studio, a lifelike abandoned villa was built, complete with pavilions, towers, rockeries, trees, and decorative stones. The props team had also deliberately aged the broken doors, tiles, spider webs, and thick layers of dust on various pieces of furniture. The background was a large green screen.

This scene depicted a group of martial arts masters, after painstaking investigation, finally uncovering the true identity of the male lead hidden among them. However, no one knew why the male lead had killed so many people. The surviving villains, fearing that their past crimes of murder and theft would be exposed and that they would be picked off one by one by the male lead, gathered masters from various sects to discuss how to deal with the male lead, secretly planning to kill him to eliminate the threat.

The exposed male lead, taking advantage of the situation, sent out invitations to martial arts masters from all sects, inviting them to gather at the ruins of the once-great "First Under Heaven" villa on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. There, he would not only reveal the secret behind the villa's destruction but also make public the villa's ancestral treasure map and a martial arts manual that could enable one to open their meridians and become a supreme master within ten years.

The news sent shockwaves through the martial arts world. All martial artists rushed to the ruins of the "First Under Heaven" villa on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, including the villains with ulterior motives. They intended to use this opportunity to force the male lead to his death, unaware that the male lead also planned to expose their crimes and exact his revenge.

This was the climactic scene of "Mandarin Duck Knot" leading up to the finale. The crew chose this scene as the first to shoot after the opening ceremony mainly because the set construction was extremely labor-intensive, taking a full half-month to complete. Additionally, this scene involved the most important actors in the entire cast, making it the undisputed centerpiece of the film. The success of this scene would directly affect the movie's final quality.

After much deliberation, the director decided to place this scene first, hoping that all actors would be well-rested and ready to deliver their best performances in one take.

Ye Mingxi found this decision difficult to understand. When he received the shooting schedule, he even asked Ye Mingzhao in confusion, "Isn't it customary for film crews to start with easier scenes to ensure a good start? Why is our movie different?"

Starting with such a complex and large-scale scene involving so many actors was not only difficult to coordinate but also unlikely to be completed in one take. Although Ye Mingxi wasn't a professional actor, having spent so much time with the crew and interacting with various actors and staff, he had picked up some industry knowledge. For example, film crews usually avoid shooting difficult scenes at the start to prevent bad luck and ensure smooth filming later.

Hearing the investor's confusion, before Ye Mingzhao could respond, Li Xiongfei, the director of "Mandarin Duck Knot," explained, "That's because other crews have actors joining late, and their acting skills vary, with no guarantee of their condition. Crews are afraid of bad luck and avoid difficult scenes. But our crew is different. Before officially starting, everyone had already joined the crew two months early for training."

During these two months, everyone not only learned horseback riding, martial arts, and memorized lines but also rehearsed and ran through the more important scenes under the crew's arrangement.

In this context, the actors not only knew their roles inside out but were also in excellent condition. It was like a pond filled with water, just waiting for a trigger to release the energy accumulated over two months.

The first scene after the opening ceremony was precisely this trigger. After two months of practice, everyone was finally ready to perform in front of the camera. This pent-up energy and eagerness perfectly matched the male lead's decades-long wait for vengeance and the supporting characters' determination to either kill the male lead or uncover the secrets and treasure map through him.

Upon hearing the director's explanation, Ye Mingxi suddenly understood. However, he couldn't help feeling a bit regretful that he couldn't participate in such a lively and meaningful scene—he had also trained with the crew for over two months!

Feeling the urge to perform, Ye Mingxi decided to discuss with Ye Mingzhao, asking him to arrange a minor role for him among the crowd.

"It doesn't matter if there are no lines; what's important is the vibe."

After some consideration, Ye Mingzhao agreed.

Thus, Ye Mingxi, who plays the world's number one martial artist in the movie, landed another minor role as a background cheerleader for the supporting cast. We'll see if eagle-eyed viewers catch this little Easter egg once the movie hits theaters.

Thrilled about his new role, Ye Mingxi was raring to go. Meanwhile, in the makeup room, Chu Hengyi, who had just finished his makeup, stared dazedly at his reflection.

In the movie, he plays the role of the male lead's martial arts friend, the top assassin of the Mysterious Pavilion, known as Green Bamboo Viper. So, the props team decked him out in a black cloak, bamboo hat, and a mysterious sword.

The snug night suit hugged his slender frame, highlighting his well-proportioned limbs, broad shoulders, and long legs. His eyebrows, sharp as swords, arched into his temples, and his jet-black hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, revealing a smooth, full forehead with a slight widow's peak. His almond-shaped eyes with an inner curve and outer tilt, carefully painted by the makeup artist into phoenix eyes, gleamed like cold stars, and his nose was as sharp as a hanging gall. His thin lips were tightly pressed, exuding the unmistakable aura of a formidable martial artist.

Neither Chu Hengyi nor Ye Mingzhao had ever seen him like this before.

Seeing Chu Hengyi, who now radiated a cold, restrained allure in his ancient costume, Ye Mingzhao found it not only refreshing but also oddly thrilling.

Suddenly, he knew that having Chu Hengyi make a cameo was the right call.

Ye Mingzhao blinked, feeling like he had just discovered a whole new world!