Chapter 47: An Inauspicious Start to Filming

An auspicious day for the production to commence.

Lai Shuiqing, a Hong Kong native, placed great importance on the opening ceremony.

It was truly a grand affair: the thunderous beating of drums and gongs, the crackling of firecrackers, fluttering red flags, and a sea of people...

The actors who had not participated in the intensive training also arrived.

Needless to say, the two leads from Taiwan were present, as were Grandma Yan Minqiu, who played the Abbess Miejue, and Xu Jingjiang, who played Xie Xun.

There was also the "Iron Triangle" of middle-aged actors who had starred in a massive hit a few years prior: Wang Gang, playing Antu Timuer; Zhang Tielin, playing Yang Xiao; and Zhang Guoli, who played the Hunyuan Thunderbolt, Ji Xiaolan...

Everyone gathered together to prepare for a large group photo.

After several days of working together, Lin Jing had become quite familiar with Zhang Yuan, but upon seeing Zhang Tielin, a hint of unease appeared on her face.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Yuan keenly noticed her abnormality.

Lin Jing leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I was in the crew of *The Legend of Lu Buwei* with Yang Xiao before. He always tries to take advantage of girls."

Hearing this, Zhang Yuan recalled a famous quote his "Imperial Father" once said to his pregnant girlfriend

"You girls are all untouchable; the moment I touch you, you get pregnant."

Thinking of this, he immediately swapped positions with Lin Jing to move her further away from the man.

Nearby, Chen Zihan, Gao Yuanyuan, and others overheard their conversation and Zhang Yuan's actions, which earned them a sense of goodwill toward him.

In this era, the social environment was not like the future; harassment of female actresses in the entertainment industry was a common occurrence.

Not just domestically, but overseas as well—figures like Weinstein and Epstein were merely the tip of the iceberg.

Gentlemen like him were rare.

"Come on, everyone, find your positions. Don't be messy."

Zhang Yuan, like everyone else, put on a professional business smile. After several flashes of light, the crowd finally dispersed.

"Zhang Yuan, what's wrong?" Chen Zihan asked curiously, seeing him looking pensive after the photo session.

"Have you noticed? Our crew has split into two factions," Zhang Yuan said with a look of worry.

Chen Zihan was easygoing, and both Lin Jing and Gao Yuanyuan were quite reserved; only the eldest, Xiao Tahong, who was rich in "jianghu experience," nodded slightly.

"It's not just the actors; the Hong Kong and Mainland staff are also split into two groups."

"Even during the group photo just now, they were divided into left and right sides," Zhang Yuan revealed his discovery.

He knew Yang Tao and Lai Shuiqing were at odds. After all, the power within the crew was split in two, so conflict was normal.

But what was even more serious was the clash of circles!

The Chinese entertainment industry was divided into three major circles: the Beijing Circle, the Hong Kong Circle, and the Shanghai Circle.

The Shanghai Circle was relatively moderate; as long as there was money to be made, anything went.

But the Hong Kong and Beijing circles were different. One had seniority and early development, while the other had vast connections and power. Neither would submit to the other.

One viewed the other as "country bumpkins," while the other viewed them as "southern barbarians."

During the previous training, Zhang Yuan had wondered why the Hong Kong actors hadn't participated.

Later, he privately asked the martial arts coordinator, Ma Yuchen, who replied cryptically

"Those people all have private instructors."

In truth, they had trained as well, but they had better training environments and hadn't been in the same batch as Zhang Yuan and the others.

From this point alone, one could see the severe fragmentation within the entire production.

They offered a pig's head, burned yellow paper, and offered incense to the gods of the four directions.

To ensure a smooth start and a good beginning for the film, the two directors had specially prepared several extra cameras just in case.

With everything ready, the crew entered the filming process.

And the very first day featured a major scene.

【The Six Major Sects Besiege Bright Peak】

This was a crucial scene in *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*, serving as a major turning point in the plot.

From this point onward, the protagonist Zhang Wuji would officially gain fame and establish his own legend in the martial arts world.

Why did the crew film this scene on the first day?

There was a reason.

Almost all the major characters were present in this scene, making it convenient for the actors to get to know each other and establish their positions.

On the other hand, many media outlets had been invited to the opening ceremony today to create a grand spectacle for photos and publicity.

By now, everyone had changed into costume and applied makeup, waiting for the crew to call "action."

But as they waited and waited, no one received notice to enter the set for positioning.

Bored, Zhang Yuan pulled a bag of melon seeds from his pocket and shared them with several girls; sunflower seed shells were already scattered all over the ground.

Just as everyone was becoming restless with the wait, several coarse, loud voices drifted from not far away.

"Are we filming or not? You bastards!"

"Don't be so impatient! This is all because of you Hong Kong boys!"

"What did you say?!"

"A monkey who can't even speak Mandarin."

"I'll mother your..."

The two groups—one speaking Beijing dialect and the other Cantonese—were thick with hostility, looking as if they might erupt at any moment.

"What's going on?" Zhang Yuan squeezed through the crowd to the front.

At that moment, Yang Tao and Lai Shuiqing appeared, each restraining their own people, clearly attempting to quell the conflict.

"Everyone, take a break for a moment. There's a small accident, but it will be resolved shortly," a production assistant shouted through a megaphone. The actors, looking confused, went to find places to rest.

Zhang Yuan did not follow the crowd; instead, he went to Yang Tao's side.

"Director Yang, what happened?"

Yang Tao's face was as dark as water. Seeing it was Zhang Yuan, he managed to squeeze out a bitter, hollow smile.

"Sigh, don't even ask."

Treating Zhang Yuan as one of his own, Yang Tao poured out the whole story.

Although today's scene was "The Six Major Sects Besiege Bright Peak," the content was actually a dialogue-heavy confrontation between the two sides, rather than a fight scene.

The action scenes required special effects, and the on-set visual effect wasn't great.

As for the dialogue scene, it required many people—dozens of actors plus hundreds of extras. Standing there would create a magnificent, grand atmosphere that would look great in media photos.

And the dialogue scene was Yang Tao's responsibility.

But just as they were about to start, his assistant director had come running over in a panic, sweating profusely and looking as anxious as if he had bought a failed real estate project.

"Director Yang, things have gone wrong! There's a problem with the extras!"

This grand scene required over 300 extras alone, but the crew suddenly couldn't find any!

Yang Tao realized immediately that on such an important day as the opening of a production, such an occurrence could not be an accident; someone was definitely sabotaging them.

His first thought was Lai Shuiqing, who was at odds with him, and he went to confront him angrily.

But if one were to say it was Lai Shuiqing's doing, that wasn't actually the case.

Lai was a serious director; he wouldn't do something that harmed others without benefiting himself, as problems in the crew benefited no one.

But to say it had nothing to do with him would also be untrue.

Because Lai Shuiqing had offended someone.

To be precise, a woman.

Qiong Yao!

How did this happen?

The clues could be seen among the cast of *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*.

Su Youpeng and Zhang Tielin were two of the main stars of the massive hit Qiong Yao drama *My Fair Princess* in recent years!

And *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber* had a scheduling conflict with *My Fair Princess 3*.

After consideration, Su Youpeng chose *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*.

Firstly, he wanted to change his image and broaden his acting range.

Secondly, Qiong Yao was paying too little!

2,000 yuan per episode—that was Su Youpeng's rate for *My Fair Princess*.

Here, it was 70,000 yuan per episode, a staggering 35-fold difference.

Qiong Yao and "Big Beard Zhang" were both famous in the Chinese entertainment industry for being extremely stingy.

Both relied on their fame and ability to make stars to offer extremely low salaries.

For the same reason, Zhang Tielin also turned down *My Fair Princess 3* to join the *Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber* crew.

Lin Xinru and Zhao Wei were clever; as soon as they saw the others leave, they also took other roles and didn't join *My Fair Princess 3*.

It didn't end there. Originally, for the role of Zhou Zhiruo, Lai Shuiqing had strongly pushed for "Princess Qing'er," Wang Yan, to play it, but she had declined.

Furthermore, Fan Bingbing had also clashed with the old lady over resources and income, eventually leading to a legal battle. The entire *My Fair Princess 3* crew underwent a massive overhaul, leaving only the original Erkang and Qing'er.

As everyone knows, the ratings were nowhere near the previous levels.

In the eyes of the old lady, this was no different from someone digging up her ancestral graves!

The *My Fair Princess* crew had been picked clean, which infuriated her immensely.

Therefore, the old lady, along with the capital behind her, decided to give them a "big gift" on the day the production opened.

She had personally contacted all the extras and head extras in Beijing, telling them that if they didn't go to *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber* today, she would pay them.

She just wanted to give them a "fly to eat" on the opening day to vent her anger.

This kind of tactic was considered mild in the entertainment industry; compared to the days in Hong Kong when people would resort to knives and guns, this was child's play.

"So that's how it is," Zhang Yuan said, after hearing the story, wearing the same conflicted expression as Yang Tao.

No wonder the two factions were blaming each other just now.

The scene was Yang Tao's responsibility, but the trouble was caused by Lai Shuiqing's blunder.

In the end, the crew had to foot the bill.

"Director Yang, they're making a scene outside again!"

While they were talking, the assistant director ran in; the two sides were arguing again outside.

"If this continues, the opening will be a total disaster. It's demoralizing."

"And if the media catches the crew being in conflict, that's a major taboo." Yang Tao scratched his head frantically, reaching the limit of his frustration.

"Is there no other way?" Zhang Yuan asked, crossing his arms thoughtfully.

"We've asked everyone. No one from Beijing is coming. If we call people from out of town, it will take at least until tomorrow."

"And since it's summer vacation, most film school students are away."

The ground around Yang Tao's feet was covered in cigarette butts; he was worried beyond belief.

"How about..." At this moment, Zhang Yuan spoke tentatively, "Let me try to think of a way?"