Chapter 59: An Unexpected Turn of Events

The following days were relatively peaceful, except that Zhang Yuan discovered Shi Xiaolong was avoiding him like the plague, refusing to secretly teach him any more martial arts moves no matter what.

Zhang Yuan thought to himself, *I'm not going to be bullied by a mere kid.*

He found an opportunity to track down Shi Xiaolong after they wrapped for the day.

"Xiaolong, you wouldn't want your mother to..."

As soon as Zhang Yuan mentioned Guo Feili, it worked instantly.

Once he found someone easy to squeeze, he wasn't about to let them go.

The next day brought another major scene.

In wuxia films, especially a production like *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*, there were many large-scale sequences.

There were about 500 people on set today. Zhang Yuan did a quick calculation and realized the cost of lunch boxes alone would run into several thousand yuan, and that was not even counting the extras' wages.

"Zhang Yuan, coordinate your positioning with Gao Yuanyuan in a moment. Pay attention to the camera," Lai Shuiqing said, pulling him aside to discuss the scene.

The content of this scene was the famous "Lion Dispersal Assembly," where the martial arts world gathered for a competition at Shaolin.

Ultimately, Song Qingshu would be heavily injured, and Zhou Zhiruo would steal the spotlight.

The first scene was the fight between Song Qingshu and the Beggar Clan Leader.

"Zhiruo, let me experience the skills of the Beggar Clan!"

Zhang Yuan furrowed his brows, leaped onto the stage in two steps, and stepped in front of Gao Yuanyuan.

The two of them were positioned exactly half a meter apart, allowing the camera to capture both of them simultaneously.

The camera first focused on Zhang Yuan, then shifted focus to Gao Yuanyuan's beautiful face to capture her changing expressions.

"Not ruthless enough, and not hateful enough," Lai Shuiqing whispered, though he didn't call a halt.

At this point, Zhou Zhiruo should feel a bone-deep hatred for Zhang Wuji, while her attitude toward Song Qingshu should be one of utility, mixed with a hint of pity and disgust.

However, Gao Yuanyuan was not a professional and had never played a villain before; she was clearly not adept at expressing such negative emotions.

The actor playing the Beggar Clan Leader held a wooden staff with a slightly protruding tip, shaped somewhat like a small bronze hammer.

Zhang Yuan held a precious sword, performed a flourish with his wrist, and stepped forward with the blade raised.

*Clang!*

As the weapons met, the actor playing the Beggar Clan Leader, who had a martial arts background and had rehearsed the choreography in advance, made the fight proceed very smoothly.

The sharp sounds of combat rang out continuously, and Lai Shuiqing nodded in approval from the side.

"Such agile movements."

"Zhang Yuan's fight scenes are indeed smoother than others. Looks like we might wrap up early again today."

The other actors watching from the sidelines were also thoroughly enjoying the performance. Because Zhang Yuan fought with such fluid grace, they wouldn't have to suffer through repeated takes.

"This kid is progressing very fast," remarked Teacher Wang Gang, who played Song Yuanqiao, Zhang Yuan's father.

"Indeed, he's much stronger than when he first joined the crew," echoed Han Fu, who played Yu Daiyan.

"The best kind of youth are those who are eager to learn and intelligent; it makes everyone's job easier."

The various supporting actors nodded in agreement.

On the stage, Zhang Yuan also felt that today was going exceptionally well, with nothing going wrong.

But life is unpredictable. Just as everyone—from the director to the actors, and even the two on stage—felt things were sailing smoothly, fate, like an unfaithful ex-girlfriend, loved to throw a little surprise at the most critical moment.

*Clang, clang, clang!*

Zhang Yuan swung his sword continuously, clashing frequently with the opponent's wooden staff.

After three consecutive strikes, following the choreography, Zhang Yuan turned his body, looked toward the moon, and performed a handsome downward slash, striking the end of the opponent's staff with the blade of his sword.

It was a "parry-and-strike" move.

*Crack!*

But at the exact moment the metal struck the wood, Zhang Yuan's ears twitched slightly.

Something was wrong!

This strike sounded completely different from the previous ones.

He had scavenged some hearing attributes from his former roommate, Zhao Jin; his ears were sharper than before, making him more sensitive to sound.

Previously, the sound of the blade hitting the wood had been dull and sustained, but this time, it was crisp and short.

In the next instant, using the point of contact between the blade and the staff as the origin, the sword blade instantly snapped into two pieces!

A section of the blade, roughly 30 centimeters long from the tip, detached from the main body, carving a terrifying silver arc through the air straight toward Zhang Yuan's side.

Zhang Yuan was lucky. Although the broken blade flew toward his chin, it veered off course, leaving a generous half-meter of space. He didn't even have to move to avoid the disaster.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

But in the next second, his expression turned grave!

Behind him, in the direction the broken blade was flying, was exactly where Gao Yuanyuan was standing.

The director had just instructed them to stand apart to facilitate the camera movement for facial expressions, which meant she was standing precisely in the "free flight" trajectory of the broken blade.

And since Gao Yuanyuan was about 15 centimeters shorter than Zhang Yuan, the height of his chin was exactly level with her brow.

Zhang Yuan's heart tightened instantly.

*This is bad!*

With no time to react or swing his sword to deflect it, Zhang Yuan could only take his left arm, which was already raised in a defensive stance, and jerk it upward violently.

There was a sharp *shredding* sound.

The fragment was deflected by his arm, changing its angle and tilting slightly upward.

With a *whoosh*, Gao Yuanyuan, standing several meters away, felt a shadow flying toward her. Before she could react or dodge, it grazed past her scalp.

Two long strands of hair from her forehead drifted down a moment later, the cut perfectly clean.

At that moment, Gao Yuanyuan's mind went blank; she had no idea what had happened.

The surrounding crowd only reacted once the tip of the sword hit the ground, embedding itself into the soft soil of the set.

"Motherf***er!" Lai Shuiqing's eyes bulged in terror. "Stop! Cut! CUT!"

"Props! You piece of sh*t, get over here right now!!!"

"Quick, quick! Someone help her! Get a doctor!"

At that moment, Gao Yuanyuan's legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground as if she had lost all her bones.

Her face, which was already made up in the "Nine Yin White Bone Claw" style, turned deathly pale, devoid of any color.

The crew descended into chaos. The second female lead had collapsed!

Everyone rushed forward to check for injuries.

"Zhang Yuan, what happened to you!" It was Jia Jingwen who was sharp-eyed enough to notice something was wrong with Zhang Yuan.

"Your hand..."

Zhang Yuan was clutching the back of his left arm. Blood was gushing through his fingers, spilling onto the martial arts arena below. In just a few seconds, a pool of blood had formed, and the sleeve of his originally snow-white jacket was stained a deep crimson.

To ensure safety, the prop swords used by the crew were not sharpened; logically, even if one accidentally struck an arm, it should at most leave a red mark.

But unfortunately, as the fragment sliced across Zhang Yuan's arm, the jagged edge caught the back of his hand.

The break was not only sharp but also uneven like a dog's tooth; hitting the skin felt like being scraped by a small saw.

Fortunately, he had used the back of his hand to block it; had he used his wrist, he might have "cut his wrists" by now.

Zhang Yuan looked at his arm, then looked up at Jia Jingwen, and spoke with a bitter smile, "Do you have any Band-Aids?"

...

The production came to a standstill. It wasn't until the evening that Zhang Yuan returned to the hotel arranged by the crew from a nearby county hospital.

He had received seven stitches, and his left wrist was wrapped like a pig's trotter.

He didn't go to his room but was instead led to the hotel's small conference room.

As soon as he entered, the main cast—including Lai Shuiqing, Yang Tao, Su Youpeng, Jia Jingwen, and Gao Yuanyuan—along with the key crew members, were all present.

"Zhang Yuan, how are you doing?" Yang Tao treated him like one of his own. He had initiated this meeting, determined to get an explanation for Zhang Yuan.

"It's nothing serious, but I might struggle with action scenes for a while."

Seeing his relaxed expression and the fact that he wasn't lashing out, the staff members nearby relaxed slightly.

"Today's incident was extremely dangerous. I think it's necessary to conduct a proper investigation..." Yang Tao stood with his hands on his hips. "An actor is injured, and the production schedule is being hindered."

"And if Zhang Yuan hadn't reacted so quickly, the consequences would have been much more severe!"

At this, Gao Yuanyuan, sitting at the conference table, shuddered, still feeling the lingering fear.

It wasn't just her; Su Youpeng and Jia Jingwen also looked grim and nervous.

Logically, this scene had nothing to do with them, so why were these two so terrified?

After Zhang Yuan went to the hospital, Jia Jingwen and Su Youpeng had huddled nearby to watch the crew members inspect the scene.

The props master had checked repeatedly and found several nicks on the sword blade, suggesting there had been internal damage that caused the breakage.

The crew's swords were all numbered and were not mixed up, so the props master felt the issue was caused by the actor himself.

But Yang Tao certainly wouldn't accept that answer; someone had to take the blame.

Jia Jingwen was clever; she remembered that she and Su Youpeng had been playing around with swords yesterday, and Old Su had used Zhang Yuan's sword!

The two of them had concluded that the incident was most likely related to them.

Furthermore, Lai Shuiqing had filmed them playing around yesterday; the evidence was irrefutable.

Now that the crew was investigating, how could they not panic?

Even if there were no legal issues, they were on good terms with Zhang Yuan, and they felt guilty for causing his injury.

Just as they were debating whether to confess proactively...

Zhang Yuan raised his hand and waved, interrupting Yang Tao.

"Director Yang, this matter is actually quite clear. There's no need for such a big fuss."

Jia Jingwen and Su Youpeng swallowed hard, their toes curling in nervousness.

The head of the props department also broke into a cold sweat, thinking he was definitely going to take the fall.

"Alright then, Zhang Yuan, you speak." Yang Tao was stunned. He hadn't expected Zhang Yuan to take the initiative. Thinking that Zhang Yuan might be harboring resentment, he simply handed him the floor.

Director Yang treated Zhang Yuan very well, after all, he had helped him seize much of the control over the production. Today, he had planned to help Zhang Yuan establish his authority!

"Fine, then I'll say it."

Zhang Yuan stood up and spoke with a warm smile.

"Today's incident was purely an accident. My injury isn't heavy, so there's no need for everyone to worry."

"You..." Yang Tao never expected Zhang Yuan to downplay the matter.

It felt as if he had punched a ball of cotton.

"Oh." Lai Shuiqing was also surprised, and at the same time, his respect for Zhang Yuan grew significantly. "Since Zhang Yuan has said so, we'll leave it at that."

"Props team, go back and check all the weapons. Check the costumes as well. If there's another problem, heh..."

He didn't need to state the specific consequences; a cold laugh was enough.

A meeting that had originally been poised for confrontation ended abruptly, and many people cast appreciative glances at Zhang Yuan.

【Received thanks from Su Youpeng: Acting +1, Learning Ability +3, Appearance +1!】

【Received thanks from Jia Jingwen: Acting +1, Appearance +2, Golf Basics +6!】

【Received thanks from Liu Dali: Prop Making +3, Carpentry +5!】

...

(End of Chapter)