On set.
"Hah—"
A burly man swung his hammer toward the person in front of him, never expecting the other to merely take a light step back, then raise the treasured sword in his hand to deflect a thousand pounds with four ounces of force, directly neutralizing the Meteor Hammer in the man's grip.
Immediately after, the young swordsman's treasured sword left its sheath. With his clean and sharp turn, a bloody gash appeared on the burly man's neck, blood spurting out instantly.
"Boss—"
Seeing this scene, someone let out a shrill, mournful scream. More people drew their blades and charged toward the young swordsman in the distance.
But the next moment, a fan flew out horizontally. In just one encounter, it swept across the necks of several men, snatching away their lives. Finally, after tracing an elegant arc in the air, it returned to the hands of the graceful young master.
In a corner, someone raised their hand, wanting to ambush the graceful young master ahead, but was instead pierced through the chest by another female knight-errant who descended from the sky.
Immediately following, with the muffled sound of hidden weapons whooshing out, several more people were shot through the chest, collapsing to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, among the people still standing on the scene, only the young swordsman in black, the graceful young master fanning himself, and the beautiful, valiant female knight-errant with a dashing aura remained.
Looking at the bloodstains on the ground, Liu Zhilin unfolded his fan to shield his eyes, his tone carrying a hint of disdain. "I never thought they were really hiding in the mountains and forests here."
"This area is close to caves and streams, convenient for them to hide, conceal themselves, and for daily water use. Following the mountain stream and creek water upward, naturally, their traces could be discovered."
Song Chenye lifted the collar of one of the corpses. After saying these words, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
"Now it's good. That tea stall at the foot of the mountain won't be troubled by bandits anymore."
Huo Wan'er put away the hidden weapons in her hand, let out a long sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on her face.
"Never expected that the three of us, passing through this place, could join hands to eliminate the wicked and remove evil, wiping out this bandit stronghold that plagued the area. Truly a fortunate event."
Liu Zhilin closed his fan, his tone slightly rising. "Let's go, down the mountain! That pitiful orphan and widow, it's also time for them to start a new life."
Song Chenye suddenly said, "Wait a moment."
Liu Zhilin stopped in his tracks.
Song Chenye crouched down, carefully rubbing the embroidery on the collar of the person on the ground, his tone turning cool. "This area is rampant with bandits and thieves. That mother and son, being able to run a tea shop here, must have their own unusual aspects."
"And this leader's clothes, although the edges are worn, the mending traces on the inside are obvious. It doesn't look like handiwork a big man would do."
Yet here at the scene, corpses lay everywhere, but not a single woman who might know embroidery could be found.
So, who left the mending traces on this leader's clothes?
Huo Wan'er also walked over and crouched down, her expression serious. "This embroidery has fine, dense stitches and exquisite patterns. It's definitely a work done with great care."
A woman taken by force would absolutely not mend clothes for such a heinous, evil person with such care.
Then it could only be...
"We've been deceived." Song Chenye sheathed his treasured sword. "But they also lifted a rock only to drop it on their own feet."
Not long ago, Song Chenye and his group passed through this area and discovered a tea shop halfway up the mountain. Only a woman and her four-year-old son lived in the tea shop.
Upon learning that Song Chenye and the others were chivalrous knights-errant who upheld justice, she knelt and begged the three to help her kill the bandits on the mountain, to return a stable life to her.
So, Song Chenye and the others directly charged up the mountain to kill.
Now it seems, all of this was a trap, designed to attract hot-headed knights-errant like them to go up the mountain to exterminate the bandits, only to be surrounded in the end and become a corpse in the mountains.
If not for Song Chenye and the others having formidable martial prowess, counter-killing these people, they too might have been buried here.
"Let's go, down the mountain first."
Song Chenye said in a low voice, "This is not a place to linger."
---------------------
The filming for the "Record of Chasing the Wind" production team was proceeding very smoothly.
From inside the mountain villa to the woods outside the villa, the filming plan on the mountain was gradually coming to an end.
At the end of September, Xiao He explained the situation to Deng Lei, preparing to first make an appearance at the "Cangyue Calamity" production team, just to show face.
This matter had been mentioned long ago, so Deng Lei wasn't surprised. He simply waved his hand, letting Xiao He go down the mountain.
Xiao He didn't delay either. He directly had Lao Qi drive him to the ancient town at the foot of the mountain.
Regarding the people in the "Cangyue Calamity" production team, Xiao He didn't know many. The person who came to pick up Xiao He was a plainly dressed, unremarkable middle-aged man. Listening to his self-introduction, Xiao He learned the other was the production team's assistant director, named Cai Hongli.
Director Cai was a man of few words, smiling rather shyly. Upon meeting Xiao He, he didn't engage in much small talk, directly leading him toward the set.
Because it was a rescue situation and a temporary entry into the crew, naturally, the "Cangyue Calamity" production team wouldn't hold any grand welcome ceremony for Xiao He. It was just that the moment Xiao He entered the set, everyone cast curious glances his way.
Xiao He was the first to spot a woman suspended on wire work, leaping from one side of a building to the other. Her movements were heroic and dashing, the overall look very smooth, as if she truly possessed qinggong, completely lacking the sluggish feeling often associated with wire work.
And when he saw her face, Xiao He understood.
—Yu Xuezheng, the "top sister" of Xingchen Entertainment, the female lead of "The Legend of Zhaohua," and also the female lead of this "Cangyue Calamity."
Although "The Legend of Zhaohua" previously failed upon broadcast, having fought her way to achievements over so many years, Yu Xuezheng was definitely not a mere pretty face like Yuan Sitong, but someone with genuine talent and learning.
At the very least, that set of consecutive moves just now, ordinary actors would find it hard to achieve that kind of natural, seamless smooth effect.
Xiao He didn't disturb their filming process. Instead, he quietly stood to the side, observing intently.
Yu Xuezheng didn't notice that an extra person had appeared on set, one of the culprits who had previously caused the collapse of her "The Legend of Zhaohua's" reputation. At this moment, she was seriously filming the scene.
"I need your help!"
She looked tearfully at another person in the center of the location.
Xiao He also followed her gaze to look over.
That was also a handsome, good-looking young man. The other wore a set of black ancient-style luxurious clothing, his attire carrying a hint of wickedness and indulgence. The look he gave Yu Xuezheng was filled with strong warning. "Don't you come near me—"
"Ah—"
As he waved his hand, Yu Xuezheng seemed to be hit by something. The wire rope beside her suddenly pulled taut, and then she rose up, "flying" backward.
Xiao He clicked his tongue in admiration from the side.
Truly worthy of a xianxia drama. The fighting relies entirely on special effects, and filming requires a certain amount of imagination and professional dedication.
—Otherwise, just watching them perform with imaginary objects, having to put on an injured expression, made Xiao He want to laugh.
Ahem, no, hold it in!
Xiao He, you must remember, you are already a mature, professional actor!
After Yu Xuezheng flew out, she was quickly pulled back by the wire work.
A person walked to her side, starting to help her arrange her skirt hem and exchanging a few words in a low voice.
Yu Xuezheng listened seriously, nodding from time to time.
It seemed that just now her skirt had gotten tangled in the wire work, so this takeoff sequence needed to be reshot.
Xiao He didn't go over. He just stood to the side watching the situation on set. He saw Yu Xuezheng walk to the designated spot, readjust her clothes, and prepare to take off again.
"Don't you come near me—"
When the male actor said this line again, an unexpected situation occurred—
Yu Xuezheng was once again lifted by the wire work, flying horizontally backward. But suddenly, the steel cable on the right rear side of the wire behind her inexplicably detached. Yu Xuezheng's entire body tilted instantly, immediately deviating from the originally designated backward flight trajectory. She was forcibly pulled into a turn, then, like a large turntable, directly swept horizontally toward the recording equipment to the side.
"Careful, careful!"
People on set shouted loudly. The woman who had lost control also showed a somewhat panicked expression, forcibly stabilizing her posture, trying to avoid the expensive filming equipment beside her. The cameraman closest to her also instinctively chose his "rice bowl," protecting the equipment and dodging to the side—
Unfortunately, it was still a step too late.
"Bang—"
The two sides collided fiercely.