Chapter 29: Whether Possible or Not, It Must Be Done

Chu Tianfeng had no idea that the Salt Society no longer intended to hold him accountable and had instead handed him over to the Mojin Sect.

But to him, whether it was the Salt Society or the Mojin Sect, there was little difference—they were all the same.

Besides, he had indeed killed a Mojin Sect disciple, so the Salt Society's so-called act of diverting disaster was, in truth, a stroke of luck.

This time, Chu Tianfeng had secluded himself for ten days, successfully cultivating to the third stage of Qi Refinement, and was already touching the barrier to the fourth stage—the middle phase.

Though he had already undergone marrow cleansing and his spiritual roots were nearly at full capacity, making him unconcerned about cultivating too quickly and upsetting his foundation, he still stopped his cultivation out of habit.

Moreover, the spiritual energy in the cave was nearly depleted; if he wanted to continue, he would have to absorb the demon core he possessed.

But he only had one demon core, and he was genuinely reluctant to use it.

Carefully returning to the film crew, he hurried to report to Zhang Qiang.

When Zhang Qiang saw him, he was overwhelmed with excitement, almost hugging him tightly. “You finally showed up.”

Goosebumps rose on Chu Tianfeng’s skin. “Director Zhang, I went home for a bit. I apologize.”

“No matter, you’re back now.” Zhang Qiang finally released him. “There’s a shot we should have filmed two days ago, but because you didn’t show up, the crew’s been publicly searching everywhere for a stunt double.”

“Oh?” Chu Tianfeng was a little surprised. “Have you found one yet?”

He was nervous. He only had eight thousand yuan to his name, the semester was about to begin, and his tuition still lay in the finance office of the crew.

“We did find some, actually two.” Zhang Qiang forced a smile. “No, now it’s three, counting you.”

“Ah? Who are the other two?”

“One is Cheng Gang, the double the crew found for Wu Bai; the other is He Yinghui, whom Wu Bai himself found.”

“What does the crew intend?” Chu Tianfeng wondered, how is Wu Bai everywhere?

“Director Yang leans toward Cheng Gang, but Wu Bai can’t be ignored. Then the action director, Director Chen, suggested having each of them film two takes, and picking whoever performs best.”

“Can I participate?”

If he couldn’t, Chu Tianfeng would be out of a job. Though he could write, calculate, and fight, and wasn’t afraid of not finding work, getting something satisfactory in the short term would be difficult.

“Of course. We’ll go see Director Yang in a bit. In fact, Director Yang has the best impression of you—he often praises you in front of everyone.”

Suddenly, Chu Tianfeng felt like a model student.

Afterwards, the two went to see Yang Yi. Hearing that Chu Tianfeng wanted to participate, Yang Yi gladly agreed and encouraged him once more.

Bidding farewell to Yang Yi and Zhang Qiang, Chu Tianfeng returned to the dorm, plugged in his phone, and turned it on.

Several missed calls appeared, most from Xiang Yanping and Jiang Ziyue, and a few from Hua Wu.

Chu Tianfeng called them back one by one.

As expected, Hua Wu knew about his stunt double work and was strongly opposed.

Her voice, as always, was icy cold, and in a few words she harshly criticized the job: too dangerous, no screen time, no future, and so on.

Chu Tianfeng didn’t want to argue, so he told her directly he’d have a stunt scene tomorrow night and invited her to watch.

Xiang Yanping and Jiang Ziyue were easier to deal with. They hadn’t seen Chu Tianfeng in a long time and were worried about his safety. He replied briefly and appeased them.

——————

The sky was as dark as ever, like Yang Yi’s thinning hair, and the scattered starlight could be likened to the dandruff appearing after he scratched his scalp.

A few days ago, unable to find a stunt double, Yang Yi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

But now, not only did they have a double, they had two extra.

Was this fate playing tricks?

So Yang Yi and the others decided on a performance competition, survival of the fittest.

The three would perform riding forward, being brought down by a tripwire, then springing up again, defeating several extras playing enemy generals, and finally hurling a spear at the actor playing Cao Cao, wounding his steed.

For fairness, the location, sequence, and shots were all the same, with each person given two chances.

However, Yang Yi made no requirements about props.

Originally, the scene involved two wire-harness actions, but for better visual effect, Yang Yi suggested shooting the whole thing in a long, continuous take. Thus, one wire-harness action was scrapped and replaced with a ground-based launch device; otherwise, switching between wire-harnesses would require cutting the shot.

Yang Yi announced the rules, repeatedly emphasizing the difficulty and danger of the actions involved. With one harness cut, the risk increased, and he urged the three to be mentally prepared.

Hua Wu stood behind Yang Yi, watching Chu Tianfeng’s profile.

His face was calm and resolute.

She had hurried over after lunch, but Chu Tianfeng had been busy adapting to the set and doing makeup, leaving her little chance to speak with him.

After hearing Yang Yi’s explanation of the scene, she was conflicted. On one hand, she didn’t want Chu Tianfeng to get hurt, so that Hua Zhengjun could be at ease. On the other, she almost hoped something serious would happen to him—ideally fatal—so she could stop worrying.

All the crew were discussing the competition, each speculating on the outcome.

Naturally, most didn’t think highly of Chu Tianfeng.

Wu Bai, standing beside Yang Yi, was the first to speak.

“Yunmeng, who do you think will win?” he asked Xiao Yunmeng, who stood on Yang Yi’s other side.

“Chu Tianfeng,” Xiao Yunmeng replied almost without thinking.

“Why?” Wu Bai frowned slightly.

He had fallen for Xiao Yunmeng from the first moment he saw her.

She was not only beautiful, but gentle, kind, and poised. Most importantly, she was well-known—any of her albums sold tens of millions of copies—so he already considered her his future wife.

Even though she treated him with indifference, he didn’t mind. He was confident; after all, he was an Asian superstar in film, TV, and music.

But that confidence had nearly collapsed during their last encounter on the beach.

Even now, he couldn’t understand how he had lost to a stunt double, a shadow!

“I only know him among the three,” Xiao Yunmeng replied, barely glancing at him.

“Actually, the other two are professional stunt actors. He Yinghui has done many action scenes with me,” Wu Bai pressed, wishing to say that Chu Tianfeng was the weakest.

“But I don’t know them,” Xiao Yunmeng said with a charming smile.

Her radiant smile almost made Wu Bai lose himself again.

Xiang Yanping, Quan Hengchang, and Han Xinwen mingled among the Cao army extras. They all knew Chu Tianfeng was competing and were full of expectations.

“Xiang, do you think your hometown buddy can do it?” Having spent years together as extras, Quan Hengchang had some doubts about Chu Tianfeng’s abilities.

“Why not? I believe he’ll be fine,” Xiang Yanping replied firmly.

“Heh, if he’s playing Wu Bai’s double, he has to pull it off, right?” Han Xinwen was optimistic.

“Exactly, no doubt,” Xiang Yanping laughed.

Tonight, Xu Yan and Jiang Ziyue happened to have no filming work. Hearing that Chu Tianfeng was competing, they came to watch.

“Xu Yan, do you think Chu Tianfeng will win?” Jiang Ziyue asked.

“I think he might,” Xu Yan answered calmly with a smile.

“Why? I heard the other two are professional stuntmen.”

“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling.”

Perhaps it was Chu Tianfeng’s serene demeanor, or perhaps something else.

After that night, she realized she could never see Chu Tianfeng the same way again.

“Hehe!” Jiang Ziyue laughed. “I think his chances are slim, though I hope he does win.”

“……”

Suddenly—

“Attention, everyone, attention! Thirty-sixth scene, sixth shot, first take, get ready!” Yang Yi’s familiar voice rang out in the night. “Three, two, one, action!”

Cheng Gang was first up. After the tripwire brought down his horse, he flew off with the harness, skillfully dodging a flying arrow. He truly lived up to his reputation as a professional stuntman, his movements in midair graceful and natural.

Once he landed, the extras playing enemy soldiers rushed in with swords and spears. Cheng Gang blocked them all, taking down several before leaping after the actor playing Cao Cao.

A supporting actor playing an enemy general met him with a spear. Cheng Gang dodged, knocked him off his horse, and leapt high.

But with poor visibility, he missed the launch device, landing on the grass and jumping about two meters high.

Although he couldn’t see the fleeing Cao Cao, he still hurled his spear parallel to Cao Cao’s direction.

Director Yang called, “Cut!”

After a ten-minute break, Cheng Gang filmed his second take. Perhaps dissatisfied with his first attempt, he was a bit nervous and made a mistake during his fight with the supporting actor, thrusting his spear at the actor’s head and startling him.

After both attempts, Yang Yi said nothing, offering no commentary.

Next was He Yinghui. Maybe Cheng Gang’s mistake made him nervous, too. While flying off the horse on the harness, his spear was knocked by a wire, causing it to veer off course in midair.

Yang Yi shook his head, calling, “Cut!”

On his second take, He Yinghui performed well at first, but in the final leap toward Cao Cao, he stepped on the edge of the launch device, was propelled sideways, crashed into several extras, and fell.

Yang Yi and the others were alarmed. Crew members rushed to bring a stretcher, carrying him off. Upon inspection, He Yinghui’s right leg was possibly fractured.

Wu Bai was disappointed with He Yinghui, but as He was carried off, Wu Bai patted his shoulder, telling him to rest well in the hospital.

The accident frightened Yang Yi and the others. Yang Yi even called Chu Tianfeng over, asking repeatedly if he still wanted to continue.

But Chu Tianfeng didn’t seem to care at all. He even smiled at Zhang Qiang and said, “That ten thousand yuan is mine.”