In the distance, there are mountains one after another, and clouds and mist linger on the hillside.
Liu Wen was in the lake, looking at the ripples on the surface of the lake under the scorching sun.
The oil layer spread out on the water surface, and the grease wove a layer of colorful silk. The moment it came into contact with the sparks, flames instantly swept through.
"Liu Wen, Liu Wen!" Wang Xiu's face was covered with tears. She stumbled towards the lake and was stopped by the little Taoist priest.
In the firelight, the girl's face was rosy, just like when she was a child.
Liu Wen recalled the scene when he walked into this body of water a hundred years ago.
At that time, the lake was still very lively, with a constant stream of people walking on the bridge and boatmen paddling and singing under the bridge.
He wanted to die here. After death, he could still watch the flower girl on the bridge and the porter accompany each other for the rest of their lives, and listen to the boatman humming a leisurely song. That would be pretty good.
The top scholar who passed the imperial examination that day jumped into the lake.
But not long after, a flood washed away the bridge. Later, fewer people walked by, and the fishermen disappeared, and the place gradually became desolate.
Liu Wen was in a daze, and only gradually came back to his senses when he heard Wang Xiu's crying.
The flames were already baring their fangs and claws at him, and Wang Xiu suddenly knelt down in front of the little Taoist priest.
"A Xiu, what are you doing?" The young Taoist priest was shocked and tried to help her up in panic.
Wang Xiu looked up at him and begged him tearfully: "Please, save Liu Wen, save him, please..."
She was just a little female doctor. She had no magic and no body that was immune to water and fire. The only way she could think of to save Liu Wen was to kneel down.
The young Taoist priest looked at the kneeling Wang Xiu, pursed his lips stiffly, and felt a dull pain in his chest.
Seeing that the young Taoist priest ignored him, Wang Xiu turned around and stared at Liu Wen in despair.
"A Xiu." Liu Wen looked at her and smiled palely in the firelight, "I wanted to accompany you for life, to see you marry a good family, have children, and have many grandchildren..."
Who would have thought that once the desire came, there would be no turning back.
Wang Xiu shook her head and burst into tears.
She finally realized that the person she loved was Liu Wen.
She should not have hesitated, and should not have been greedy for the visible and tangible companionship of the little Taoist priest.
If everything was the same, if she didn't let the little Taoist priest into her life, Liu Wen would be fine and nothing would change.
With her lips moving, Wang Xiu cried heartbreakingly: "Save him, save him!"
The young Taoist moved his hands and hesitated.
"You must take good care of yourself in the future." In the firelight, Liu Wen looked at Wang Xiu, and his body dispersed like water and mist.
"No, don't!" Wang Xiu watched Liu Wen's body gradually fade away until it disappeared, shook his head, got up from the ground and was about to rush into the fire.
The young Taoist priest quickly grabbed her and said, "A Xiu, are you crazy? He has been reduced to ashes!"
Wang Xiu's body suddenly stopped, as if he heard something unbelievable.
"Everything turned to ashes..." Wang Xiu suddenly calmed down.
"Everything is reduced to ashes." She laughed softly, and this smile on her tearful face showed a sense of total despair.
She recalled her childhood conversation with Liu Wen.
"Today, my mother took me to a teahouse in town, and the storyteller said that a female ghost turned to ashes for a scholar. Brother, what does 'turned to ashes' mean?"
Liu Wen told her: "To be reduced to ashes means that one cannot even be reincarnated. He or she has completely disappeared from this world."
"Then why did she turn into ashes? Doesn't she have any magical power?"
Liu Wen smiled gently: "She had greed that she shouldn't have, and God gave her this path to punish her."
"What greed?" Wang Xiu asked.
After a long time, a low sigh was heard.
"How can ghosts and humans stay together?"
It was reduced to ashes. It was reduced to ashes.
From then on, there was no more Liu Wen in the world.
Wang Xiu's eyelashes trembled, and she calmed down. She looked as calm as she was when she was treating patients in the past.
She folded her arms and stumbled back.
"A Xiu?"
"A Xiu, let me take you back."
The villagers gathered around and looked at her worriedly.
But she ignored everyone, looked straight ahead, and walked back step by step.
The villagers looked at each other, and finally turned their gaze to the little Taoist priest.
"Little Taoist priest, it's all thanks to you that we were able to get rid of this monster and this ghost!"
"Yes, young Taoist priest, otherwise I don't know how many more people would be killed."
The young Taoist priest looked at Wang Xiu's back and pulled an ugly smile from the corner of his mouth: "If there is nothing else, please go back, uncles and aunts."
After hearing what he said, the villagers nodded repeatedly, spat on the ground several times, and then dispersed.
When the young Taoist saw that everyone had left, he covered his chest and suddenly coughed up blood.
The fallen leaves floated down and landed on his temples, then drifted away with the wind, leaving behind a few strands of gray hair on the leaf stalks.
He spread out his palm, and in his palm lay a small jade bottle half a finger long. In the jade bottle, a faint blue flame could be seen.
Facing the jade bottle, the young Taoist murmured, "I came down the mountain to subdue demons and uphold justice. But for my own selfish desires, I took advantage of people's fear to harm you. I know that I have such evil thoughts, and I will definitely have demons in my heart in the future. Now I will use twenty years of my life to preserve a wisp of your spirit."
"The ancestor of the Heavenly Master said that humans rule during the day, while ghosts walk at night. Yin and Yang are separate, and each has its own responsibilities. Those who violate the law will be punished. Thus, in the underworld, humans and ghosts have different paths."
"You are stained with the foul aura of the slug spirit, and you have no destiny with the Great Dao. After being burned by this fierce fire, even though most of your body has dissipated, it is not a bad thing. Leave behind your essence and spirit to wash away the filth, and you will be nourished by the lake water here. I hope you will take good care of yourself in the future."
"As for that slug monster... He has killed more than a dozen people. Karma is the cycle of karma. He deserves to die."
After staying there for a long time, the young Taoist priest held the jade bottle tightly, walked to the lake, and sank it to the bottom of the lake.
The fire was out and everything was at rest.
The wind stopped and the lake was calm, as if it was in a long sleep.
The young Taoist priest stood by the lake and looked back in the direction where Wang Xiu left.
He moved his feet and headed towards another path.
…
"Click!" Hu Zhenghua shouted, and the camera froze on the back of the young Taoist priest played by Li Chengxuan.
"Thank you for your hard work!" Hu Zhenghua patted the script in his hand, smiling, "Everyone performed very well, this part is over."
Everyone looked at each other and cheered.
After this scene, the filming in Guangxi was basically over. After some more shots, "Water Ghost Volume" will be officially completed.
There are five stories in the entire script of A Hundred Ghosts. After filming the water ghost, there was still one story left, so Xu Qiao and the others didn't have to worry about the rest.
Li Chengxuan breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Xu Qiao with a complicated expression. Li Feifei was holding hot water in front of him and asking about his health. It was unknown what she said, but Xu Qiao rolled her eyes at him.
Only by acting with Xu Qiao in person can you understand the pressure involved.
A water ghost and a slug spirit, two completely opposite characters. But even without makeup, Xu Qiao standing there, with just one look, people can tell whether he is a slug or a water ghost, and there is absolutely no mistake.
In the previous scene, I had to face two roles played by Xu Qiao, and the pressure was enormous. I failed to keep up with the performance several times.
Fortunately, the filming was completed smoothly.
Li Chengxuan withdrew his gaze somewhat unwillingly.
Li Feifei handed the hot water to Xu Qiao and wiped his hair with a dry towel. She was very happy and said, "Brother, we are finally done with the filming. I would go crazy if I stayed in the mountains every day."
"I don't think you're stupid." Xu Qiao took a sip of hot water and glanced at him.
Li Feifei chuckled twice: "Brother Cheng Hong has booked us a flight for tomorrow afternoon. We can sleep in our own home tomorrow night. It's so comfortable."
Hu Zhenghua explained some things over there, then walked up to Xu Qiao and patted him on the shoulder: "Xu Qiao, there's a wrap-up party tonight, remember to come over, I'll introduce you to some friends."
Hu Zhenghua privately formed a group with many of his good colleagues, and during this period he often praised Xu Qiao in the group. As a result, his fellow director friends became interested in Xu Qiao.
It just so happened that several directors in the group were in Guangxi, and Hu Zhenghua held a wrap-up party and invited them to come. Several directors did not refuse and agreed with the thought of just coming to see Xu Qiao.
In this line of work, personal relationships are indispensable. Hu Zhenghua was optimistic about Xu Qiao and admired him from the bottom of his heart, so he was generous in doing him a favor and helped him get to know several more famous directors.
The scenes of "One Hundred Ghosts" had not yet ended, so there was no big wrap-up party. Hu Zhenghua booked a hotel in the town at the foot of the mountain and set up a few tables.
Xu Qiao removed her makeup, took a quick shower, changed into clean clothes, and went to the hotel with Li Feifei.
The director and the main creators were in a large private room, and the staff were in another room. After Xu Qiao went in, he saw a few unfamiliar faces next to Hu Zhenghua, and they seemed to be having a good conversation.
"Hey, our male protagonist is here!" Hu Zhenghua saw Xu Qiao and waved.
After Xu Qiao sat down, Hu Zhenghua said with a smile: "These are all my friends. Come, let's get to know them."
Several people greeted each other, got to know each other, and exchanged contact information.
The waiter started serving the dishes, and Hu Zhenghua held the bottle and poured each person a glass of white wine.
Xu Qiao couldn't drink much, and when he saw everyone clinking glasses, he hesitated for a moment and then drank the white wine in his glass.
After three rounds of drinking, several big directors were all drunk, their faces were red and their necks were thick, and they started to talk more.
At this time, the door of the private room was opened and Xu Siyi walked in.
"Sorry, something delayed me."
He had some roles in Hundred Ghosts, and this time he served as Xu Qiao's stand-in, so Hu Zhenghua naturally called him over.
When they saw Xu Siyi, the directors became obviously much more enthusiastic.
Xu Siyi greeted a few people, then naturally walked to the seat next to Xu Qiao, pulled out a chair and sat down.
Seeing Xu Qiao's eyes were particularly bright and his breath was still spicy with the smell of alcohol, Xu Siyi glanced at him and asked, "Did you drink?"
Xu Qiao nodded.
Several directors were chatting animatedly nearby.
"Old Hu, you're always showing off Xu Qiao's acting skills, why don't you show me some appreciation?" someone asked.
Others echoed.
Hu Zhenghua laughed twice and took out his phone: "These are not to be shared with others. I saved a few clips on my phone. Here, I'll show them to you. Just show them once."
Several people gathered in front of the phone screen.
Seeing Xu Qiao's eyes wandering, Xu Siyi couldn't help but ask, "How much did you drink?"
Xu Qiao felt a little dizzy. He turned to look at Xu Siyi and shook his head: "Not much."
“How much is a little?”
Seeing that Xu Qiao couldn't count, Xu Siyi knew that he probably drank a lot, and with some helplessness, he served him a bowl of Tremella soup: "Drink some."
Xu Qiao shook his head and rubbed his temple: "A little dizzy."
Xu Siyi saw that he wanted to lie down on the table for a while, and the table was full of dishes, so he moved closer and lifted his head and placed it on his shoulder.