Chapter 23. Ghostly-faced Fire Demon
For this three-way epic battle, there was a great increase in the number of actors in the scene; thus, the rate of mistakes was higher. Luckily the only thing Feng Hui Xue needed to do in the beginning was stand at the side and stare at the Sect Leader tenderly before glaring at the Female Lead in hatred. While pouring wine for the Sect Leader, he just had to add a little something into the Female Lead's wine.
The most important scene was the hostilities between the Sect Leader and Great Elder.
The two of them had tongues sharp enough to draw blood and their clash of auras was incredibly intense. The senior playing the Sect Leader had a cold and sharp aura, with words as cutting as knives and a domineering, frosty demeanour. He was remarkably alike a demonic cultivator; in fact, his aura was even more demonic than actual demons and monsters. Watching from the side, Fei Ka and his assistant Crow Hei snapped pictures to use for reference. They privately discussed about imitating the photos' posturing the next time some dolt with the intent of purging demons came knocking on their door.
The one acting alongside him was a sect's disciple who left the mountain. This brother was used to seeing those Martial Uncles and Martial Ancestors of his sect speak nonsense in a leisurely manner. At this time he was unhurriedly exchanging verbal blows with the Sect Leader. Those drawn-out syllables, that careless attitude, that relaxed gaze, he had managed to portray them profoundly. The feeling it gave off was simply dope. However, when compared to his seniors from his sect, this brother pretending to be a wise old geezer seemed scatter-brained and artificial instead. He managed to transform the otherworldly aura his elders from his sect possessed into that of a lecherous old man.
Nevertheless, this suited the character setting of the Great Elder; always believing he was right, greedy for glory and incredibly obstinate. Not to mention, he was also incredibly talkative. A brainless Sect Leader whose IQ went offline after becoming infatuated with the Female Lead, even though he was so dignified and domineering before and a foolish Elder who became gullible and easily trusting of other people after his rebellion, even though he had previously been astute and possessed deep foresight - their acting was amazing and the performance they put on was especially entertaining, causing the onlookers to be unable to shift their gaze.
He Bai, who was seated by the Sect Leader watched until she was completely engrossed. She had never imagined that these ordinary mortals could be this brilliant and their abilities so bottomless. The character setting of the Devil Sect's Sect Leader was slightly unhinged, and to be able to act out this kind of a crazy person, furthermore, to act it out so well…… this senior was truly impressive!
He Bai watched and watched until she forgot she was still filming, that there was a camera still filming her. When a particularly engrossing bit came, her sleeves fluttered and she was on the verge of slapping the table in praise. Thankfully Hua Ji was just across from her and he didn't want He Bai to mess up the filming. Constantly re-taking a scene was exhausting, so he decisively thrust out his palm under the table.
The wind from his palm attack wasn't strong, but it was unusually cutting. Luckily, He Bai had the Concealed Light Sword hung from her waist. When it sensed an attack with demonic energy, the Concealed Light Sword flashed and jolted He Bai back to her senses, at the same time dispelling the blow. He Bai instantly glared furiously at Hua Ji - the damned fox sneak-attacked her again!
Hua Ji didn't seem to notice her furious gaze. He slightly inclined his head, letting his exquisite visage block the camera, yet he lightly glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
His eyes were narrow and delicate, the long eyelashes fluttered like a small fan and casted a layer of shadows, which made it difficult to read the emotions in his eyes. From the perspective of the cameras, this image was exceptionally charming, but to He Bai, this look weighed more than a thousand jin[1]!
Between those long and thin lashes, under the grey shadows, a wild glint flashed by; the indifferent and frosty eyes watched her. It was obviously a beguiling red, but the chill was cold enough to freeze over a person's heart and pierce deep into the marrows. Yet at the same time, it was like a sharp blade that stabbed deep into the heart and drew blood before it swiftly pulled back.
The fierce words that were on the tip of her tongue instantly scattered into nothingness. The intricate set around them also seemed to lose its colours and fade into the background. He Bai's body was stiff, an expression of alarm frozen on her face. In a short period of time, she was unable to come back to her senses.
Ghostly-face Fire Demon, Shangguan Hao.
He Bai's strange behaviour did not cause any issues. Although Director Yu noticed that the girl's state of mind wasn't normal, this scene didn't require much expression on her part; her acting was ordinary, and at this moment she only needed to be a wallflower.
Very quickly, this scene was over; Director Yu immediately gave orders to begin shooting the next scene.
The next scene was an action scene. The Great Elder revolted, flipping the table as a signal.
He Bai still had not come back to her senses. Li Shun Hua noticed that something was not right with his Junior Martial Sister and ran over to call out to her, even going so far as to use spiritual energy before he could wake her up.
The first thing she did when she awoke was to glance around. When she saw Hua Ji, who was sitting across from her, she unconsciously hugged her Senior Martial Brother's elbow, as if seeking protection.
Li Shun Hua felt his Junior Martial Sister's hand. Aiya, why was it so cold?
He immediately glared at Hua Ji. "Damned fox, what did you do?"
Hua Ji gracefully stood up. As filming for the next scene was about to begin and his make-up didn't need any touch up, he sat back down in his previous seat. This was quite close to the Martial brother-sister pair. He lazily said, "How should I know? The girl hasn't seen the world yet; becoming dazed after watching and watching, what does it have to do with me?"
Li Shun Hua had the intention to continue questioning, but on the screen behind Hua Ji suddenly appeared a milky-white head that blinked with dots of light= =
Li Shun Hua was thoroughly enraged. He furiously pointed at Hua Ji. "Good, good. When the filming for the show is done, if you have the ability, don't leave the country!"
Hua Ji smiled coldly. "Would I be afraid of a soft egg like you who only knows how to kill with a borrowed knife[2]?"
Two people faced off, one livid and the other mocking, the surrounding air had tensed up. At this moment, He Bai reached out a hand and tugged at her Senior Martial Brother's sleeve.
"Senior Martial Brother, don't be angry, it's my fault." She said with some difficulty, "I shouldn't have let my attention wander during filming."
He Bai's fingers were tightly clenched. Was she angry? Of course she was. Being looked down upon by a fox spirit, her heart was naturally filled with anger. But the root of the matter was, she was the one in the wrong. There was no use in flying into a rage because she felt humiliated. Acting spoiled and stirring up trouble would only shame her sect and disappoint her Master.
She said to Hua Ji, "I'm sorry. I was too engrossed in those two seniors' performance. No wonder my Master once told me, 'Precisely because mortals are ordinary, they are extraordinary.' It was me who was too naïve."
He Bai earnestly told Hua Ji, "In the future, I will give my all when acting." After a small pause, she added, "After all, right now I am an actor."
Hua Ji narrowed his eyes slightly and carefully assessed Hua Ji, only after a while did he slowly say, "It's good that you know your wrongs."
When compared to Li Shun Hua, this girl was more pleasing to the eye.
However…… Hua Ji raised an eyebrow, with a smile that wasn't a smile on his lips. Did this girl really understand the hidden meaning behind acting to existences like them?
Or could it be not just acting, but including other careers and to all the nonhumans currently living in the human world, choosing a profession was nothing more than a means to communicate with other people?
For example, Hua Ji himself. As a fox spirit, he actually had perfect acting skills. However, he generally didn't put in all his effort. Acting was only a way for him to experience life and the human world. After all, could it be that a fox spirit who became the world's most illustrious Movie Emperor, after putting in all his time an energy in pursuit of the craft, would still be able to increase the number of tails attached to his butt?
To the fox race, three tails was a demon; six tails was a master; and nine tails was an ancestor. Only when the number of tails reached three would a fox with sentience be able to call itself a fox demon. Only when they had six tails could they return to Qing Qiu[3] Ancestral Grounds to take in disciples or take a mate and have offspring. And only when a fox managed to cultivate into a nine-tailed fox would they be able to become an ancestor of Qing Qiu and break off to begin their own clan.
When Hua Ji was born, he had one tail and had to go through many trials and tribulations in the mortal world. From the end of the Qing dynasty until the present day, over a hundred years had passed. He used the enlightenment he had experienced during the period where China underwent great changes to condense his second tail. And now, he was about to face the most important period in his entire life. He was about to grow his third tail.
Three, six and nine were important milestones. He needed to accumulate demonic energy, sharpen his heart and temper his body and spirit. That is why acting was not important, what was important was the people he met during his career and the situations he faced, as well as the changes that arose because of them.
He thought and thought, and for some reason thought of Lord Jellyfish.
Fortuitous meetings…… If he thought about it this way, then what kind of changes would appear in his future because of his meeting with Lord Jellyfish?
Thinking of Lord Jellyfish's light sigh behind his ear and recalling the sensation of the water brushing across his skin, Hua Ji was once again distracted.
At the time, Lord Jellyfish's voice rang out from behind his ear.
"Is that He Bai girl pretty?"
He said, "I saw that you kept looking at her."
Hua Ji: "……"
TN: Quick question, would you guys prefer I use Shixiong/Shidi, Shijie/Shimei instead of Senior Martial Brother, Junior Martial Sister etc? It’s much shorter and less clunky to type.
In case you don’t know, Shixiong/Shidi means Senior/Junior Martial Brother respectively and Shijie/Shimei means Senior/Junior Martial Sister respectively.
[1] – 1 jin (斤) is 500 grams or roughly 1.1 pounds.
[2] – Killing with a borrowed knife means to get others to do the dirty work for you.
[3] – Qing Qiu (青丘) can also be translated as Green Hills but I chose not too because Green Hills Ancestral Grounds just sounds wrong.