Chapter 41: I Know a Little Bit of Martial Arts

“Heh, once the rice is cooked into meal.”

“When the wood has become a boat, and the melon is ripe and falls.”

“You wouldn't have killed your husband, or even the father of your child...”

Zhang Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, a look of petty triumph on his face. He swayed his head slightly, looking quite smug.

The segment he was asked to perform involved Zhou Zhiruo being captured by the Beggar Gang; under Chen Youliang's temptation, Song Qingshu turns dark and intends to commit an indecent act against her.

The smile curling at the corners of his mouth was so wicked, written with the raw desires of his heart.

The female employee who had just acted as the "announcer" was temporarily playing the role of Zhou Zhiruo. She stood directly in front of Zhang Yuan, observing this stranger's acting up close.

Is he bad... or is he actually quite handsome?

In the eyes of most women, especially young women, men with a hint of sinister charm in their eyes possess a greater allure.

And at this moment, Zhang Yuan was exactly that.

The female employee knew he was bad, that he was evil, but she found she couldn't bring herself to hate him.

"Cut!"

Lai Shuiqing called for a stop. The Zhang Yuan who had just been wearing a lecherous expression changed his face in a second, reverting to the elegant gentleman he was before.

The character of Song Qingshu was much like Murong Fu from *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*; the higher he was held up in the beginning, the more tragic his fall would be in the end.

The most important and difficult aspect of this character was his duality.

Unlike the protagonist Zhang Wuji, who experiences conflict, pain, and growth while remaining a handsome, chivalrous youth, Song Qingshu was different. His growth curve began a rapid descent the moment he met Zhou Zhiruo, and when he finally hit the ground, he was as miserable as the Chinese stock market in 2023.

[A total wreck.]

And Zhang Yuan, who had just appeared in Wudang attire looking elegant and refined, contrasted perfectly with the Zhang Yuan who had just displayed such evil possessiveness toward a woman. This duality fit the character perfectly.

Lai Shuiqing showed no expression, but in his heart, he had already acknowledged Zhang Yuan's acting.

"Not bad. Not only does it meet the requirements of the character, but he's also top-tier among his peers."

"I didn't pay much attention during the meeting upstairs, but seeing him in costume now, this kid's appearance is indeed good. Even a middle-aged man like me appreciates it."

Most men, when they were young, believed they would be Zhang Wuji—gifted and surrounded by beauties.

Lai Shuiqing had been the same, but he later discovered that being Zhang Wuji was impossible; no women were surrounding him. At most, he was Song Qingshu, desperately chasing a dream goddess only to potentially fail.

Now, seeing the Song Qingshu played by Zhang Yuan, he felt he had perhaps overestimated himself. Compared to Zhang Yuan's image, he was, at most, You Tanzhi...

"Director Lai, what do you think of the performance just now?" Yang Tao looked toward Lai Shuiqing, his rival, with a self-satisfied smile.

*Come on, see if our little brother has brought us honor.*

Lai Shuiqing gave a cold snort and spat out two words with great reluctance: "Passable."

Yang Tao sneered. *Passable? Are your eyes filled with sheep dung?*

To be honest, Li Dawei had been praising Zhang Yuan's acting, and Yang Tao had been skeptical, fearing the man was exaggerating due to personal feelings. Now that he was seeing Zhang Yuan perform for the first time, even though he had prepared himself, he was still slightly stunned by the brilliance.

*That makes sense. He said "passable" and then went silent. If Zhang Yuan's performance truly had major flaws, this old man would have started blasting immediately instead of being so taciturn.*

*He's just being stubborn, still holding a grudge over this morning's incident.*

Having figured out Director Lai's psychology, Yang Tao understood that Zhang Yuan's role was essentially secured.

However, in this world, things often go terribly wrong just when people think everything is going smoothly.

"Director Lai, Zhang Yuan's performance just now was quite good, but this is a wuxia drama with many fight scenes. The character of Song Qingshu also has many martial arts sequences. Shouldn't we see how Zhang Yuan performs in that regard?"

The speaker was Ma Yuchen, a martial arts choreographer.

Most people might not be familiar with his name, but his teacher was legendary. He was none other than Cheng Xiaodong, the "Golden Choreographer" of the Chinese film industry!

He was part of Lai Shuiqing's core team, having come from Hong Kong to Beijing to serve as the martial arts instructor for *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*. Since he was part of Lai's team, his words and actions naturally leaned toward his boss.

He had been observing. Seeing that Lai Shuiqing's attitude toward Zhang Yuan was relatively cold while Yang Tao's was very enthusiastic, he realized this boy was Yang Tao's man. Thus, he came up with a plan to test Zhang Yuan's martial arts foundation.

Ma Yuchen was a smart man; his move was tactful. Having followed Cheng Xiaodong for so many years, he knew almost every practitioner of martial arts among the young people in the mainland. Therefore, he concluded that Zhang Yuan was not a trained martial artist and was not skilled in action scenes.

By proposing a martial arts test, he was essentially handing a weakness to Lai Shuiqing. *Zhang Yuan acts well, but he doesn't know martial arts, so he's not suitable for our crew...* such words could serve as a reason for rejection.

But he didn't know that Director Lai was merely being stubborn; in his heart, he had already accepted Zhang Yuan. This move was entirely redundant.

Hearing his words, Yang Tao's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly intervened.

"There's no need for that. The crew will have specialized training for the action scenes..."

"I actually think we should take a look," Lai Shuiqing countered, immediately taking the opposite side.

*Two old men acting like children—if you oppose, I agree...*

"Give Zhang Yuan a sword." Seeing his boss speak, Ma Yuchen quickly ordered someone to bring out a practice iron sword from a corner.

Zhang Yuan accepted the sword somewhat dazed. It hadn't been mentioned that there would be a martial arts test during the audition.

"Zhang Yuan, have you ever wielded a sword?"

*I think you're just looking for trouble!*

Zhang Yuan shot a glance at Ma Yuchen, turned the sword tip downward, gripped the hilt with both hands, and bowed forward.

"Directors, teachers, I have never practiced the sword."

"Oh, but this is a wuxia drama. If you don't have a martial arts foundation..."

Before Ma Yuchen could finish, Zhang Yuan looked at him with a serious expression and interrupted.

"However, I know a little bit of combat!"

*Whoa!*

Ma Yuchen smiled. This kid was seeking his own death, daring to claim he knew combat in front of him.

*The kid is still too young. At a time like this, he should just bow his head, take a step back, and say he doesn't know. Why try to show off...* Yang Tao showed a look of regret. He had thought Zhang Yuan was very prudent, but now he was deeply disappointed.

"Fine, then let's see." Lai Shuiqing had filmed many wuxia dramas and seen many masters; he also wanted to see if Zhang Yuan could catch the eye of an "expert" like himself.

Zhang Yuan gave a slight nod, then relaxed his entire body, adjusted his stance slightly, and stood sideways.

He stepped out with his left foot, and with his right foot, he rotated clockwise using the sole of his foot as a pivot, forming a 90-degree angle with the left foot.

The left foot was the "empty" (unsupported) foot, and the right foot was the "solid" (supporting) foot.

At this moment, both knees were naturally bent. His right hand pressed horizontally against the front of his left abdomen, while his left hand pushed outward and forward to the left side.

The right palm facing down was *Yin*, and the left palm facing up was *Yang*.

Seeing this, Ma Yuchen's eyebrows shot up in shock.

"Huh?"

"What is it?" Seeing his reaction, Lai Shuiqing asked.

"This is... let me look closer." Ma Yuchen's expression was uncertain.

At this moment, Zhang Yuan, having set his stance, began to move. His feet alternated between empty and solid, constantly moving forward. His arms did the same, with his palms alternating between Yin and Yang, moving forward in a continuous arc.

Yang Tao didn't understand martial arts.

*What on earth is Zhang Yuan doing?*

He was walking forward with a hunched back, his hands spinning incessantly like he was pedaling a bicycle. It didn't look good at all.

*Does this kid think he can just wing it and get away with it?*

Director Yang already covered his face, unable to watch.

But at that moment, the choreographer Ma Yuchen suddenly stood up, pointing a trembling finger at Zhang Yuan.

"You are performing the Inner Circle Hand of the Ziran School!"

Only then did Zhang Yuan stop, finished his form, and bowed. "Indeed."

"Good, good fundamentals!"

As the saying goes, the layman watches the spectacle, while the expert watches the technique.

Ma Yuchen was a true professional. He had seen plenty of flashy, hollow moves; that was his daily job. But the Inner Circle Hand Zhang Yuan was performing was the most basic training method of the Ziran School, devoid of any unnecessary flourishes.

Yet, it was precisely because there were no flourishes that it demonstrated true, solid foundation. That was where Ma Yuchen's surprise lay.

"What are the Ziran School and the Inner Circle Hand?" Lai Shuiqing pulled the excited Ma Yuchen back into his seat.

"There was a TV series last year called *Chinese Hero*, produced by Ka Wah, starring Shao Bin, Cao Ying, Tao Hong, and Xiu Qin. Do you remember it?"

Lai Shuiqing shook his head.

"That film was originally called *China's Number One Bodyguard, Du Xinwu*, and it was adapted from a true story."

"A Hong Kong version was also filmed in '87, starring郑少秋 (Adam Cheng), 任达华 (Simon Yam), 刘嘉玲 (Carina Lau), and 周海媚 (Kathy Chow). Do you remember that one?"

Oh... once Hong Kong films were mentioned, he had an impression.

"This Du Xinwu was a grandmaster of the Ziran School, and the Inner Circle Hand is the fundamental technique of the Ziran School."

"Look at what Zhang Yuan just did. His hands were constantly drawing circles, and his walking path was a perfect circle. This is the signature movement of the Ziran School."

"This circular motion is actually building momentum. Once power is released, the strikes can attack the opponent from any angle of the arc, making them extremely powerful."

"This method of building momentum is actually quite similar to Tai Chi."

"And the Song Qingshu in our film happens to be the great-grandson of the founder of Tai Chi, Zhang Sanfeng!"

Ma Yuchen thought to himself how incredibly coincidental this was; Zhang Yuan's martial arts set happened to align perfectly with the character's background.

But where did Zhang Yuan get this set of moves?

From Wang Bozhao in *The Story of a Noble Family*!

As mentioned before, this character had played the White Dragon in the *Journey to the West* crew and had learned quite a bit of basic martial arts from the choreographer Lin Zhiqian. And Lin Zhiqian's teacher was Wan Laisheng, whose teacher was none other than Du Xinwu!

If one were to calculate by lineage and generation, Zhang Yuan was technically Du Xinwu's great-grandson disciple...

Furthermore, his skills were "plucked" directly from the source, containing no impurities, only the essence. Although the points plucked from Wang Bozhao weren't many and could only allow him to perform basic fundamentals, they were exceptionally pure.

Having seen Zhang Yuan's movements, Ma Yuchen had only one thought

"This kid's purity is too high!"