Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 149: Ancient Tomb Under Construction

In the afternoon, the main creative staff of The Return of the Condor Heroes finally arrived at the hotel.

The bearded man didn't take much rest and dragged the two directors to Xiangshan Film and Television City.

Hu Xiaobei had just greeted Zhou Xiaowen and hadn't chatted for a few words when he was also pulled over.

Including Xiao Jiang who was filming a documentary, a group of nine people and three cars first arrived at the southwest of Xiangshan Film and Television City base - the location of the ancient tomb.

The ancient tomb was still under construction at this time, so all you could see was a large building surrounded by green outside.

Xiangshan has a subtropical monsoon humid climate. January is winter with low temperatures. Coupled with occasional rainfall before that, the ground leading to the ancient tomb is muddy.

As soon as you step on it, you will inevitably step on wet mud. If you go in and out twice, you can scrape off half a pound of mud from the soles of your shoes.

The ancient tomb is located behind a forest. The entrance is a hidden cave, which looks quite gloomy.

Led by the staff, the nine people walked with difficulty into the unfinished ancient tomb.

As soon as I entered, the pungent smell of sawdust, dust and dampness hit me in the face.

Various construction materials are scattered on the ground, with steel bars, wooden boards, and bricks piled up randomly. When you step on them, not only will dust be raised, but you also need to pay attention to hidden nails.

There are still traces of scratches from construction tools on the cave wall, and above the head, the scaffolding crisscrosses like a huge spider web.

Although the Tomb of the Living Dead in the original novel is called a tomb, it is actually an extremely spacious and grand underground warehouse.

Before Wang Chongyang started the uprising against the Jin Dynasty, thousands of people were mobilized and it took several years to complete the construction.

Wang Chongyang hid a lot of weapons, armor and food in it, and built it like a tomb to hide it from the eyes and ears of the Jin people. Fearing that the Jin soldiers would attack, he laid countless ingenious traps in the tomb.

After the failure, Wang Chongyang lived in seclusion in an ancient tomb.

It was not until later that he lost the bet with Lin Chaoying over the Tomb of the Living Dead, and then he moved out and founded the Quanzhen Sect.

The Tomb of the Living Dead became the home of the Ancient Tomb Sect, and it was also the place where Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu lived and practiced martial arts together in The Return of the Condor Heroes.

Although some scenes of the two practicing swords were filmed in Yandang Mountain before, some of their entanglements with the Quanzhen Sect, as well as most of their emotional scenes, were filmed here.

In reality, the construction of ancient tombs combines natural caves with artificial excavation. There is a stone mechanism that can close the tomb passage when entering the tomb door.

Six spaces are designed inside the tomb according to the plot, including a living room, master bedroom, storage room, training room, tomb within a tomb, and lower level.

When I came to the living room, I saw a thick layer of plastic sheeting on the floor to protect the unfinished floor. The walls around were only half painted, with different shades of color, which was very abrupt.

In the corner lay several unassembled wooden furniture frames, scattered with nails and hammers.

There is also a mechanism above the bed in the master bedroom that allows the wall to rotate 180 degrees to enter the next space.

There are two huge stone tables in the lower space, with parts of the "Nine Yin Scriptures" engraved on the four walls. One end is connected to the waterway, and there are small boats that can row out of the secret exit and sail into the river and lake.

Of course, these have not been built yet, so we can only imagine based on the drawings.

There wasn't even any lighting inside, so everyone could only hold lit candles and grope their way forward in the darkness to check the environment inside the ancient tomb.

The faint candlelight flickered in the darkness, illuminating the unfinished scene around it. The shadows on the wall swayed with the candlelight, appearing particularly eerie.

The accumulated water on the ground reflected the faint light, forming irregular spots of light, making it difficult to see the road under your feet.

In this situation, how can you see anything? You can only rely on the vague direction to get a general idea.

The brightest part here is undoubtedly the exit above the ancient tomb, which is also the top exit through which Xiaolongnu and Yang Guo enter and exit by relying on the hanging vines in the play.

Taking advantage of the rare light, everyone stopped and started talking.

Uh...it was mainly the bearded man and the two chief directors who were talking about what to do here and what to do there.

After all, it wouldn't be a wasted trip, even a few awkward conversations would be good. The bearded man frowned, the candle in his hand swaying slightly, the dim candlelight shining on his serious face.

He raised his arm and slowly pointed his finger at the corners around him that were so dark that the outlines were almost invisible, with a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice.

"The light in this ancient tomb is too dim. It will definitely affect the filming. We have to think of a way to improve it." As he spoke, his brows furrowed even tighter, and the wrinkles on his forehead were like ravines.

Yu Minjie nodded continuously, his eyes full of approval.

The corners of his eyes wrinkled slightly, forming a few fine lines, and he agreed, "Yes, yes, and this space layout is too cramped.

Look at the narrow aisles here. The actors have a hard time turning around in them. It must be inconvenient for them to move around and film."

As he spoke, he gestured with his hands to indicate the size of the space, waving his arms in the air as if trying to expand this cramped space.

Zhou Xiaowen tilted his head slightly, supported his chin with one hand, and fell into a brief period of thought. Then he cleared his throat and tried to express his opinion.

"As for the setting up of these mechanisms, we must be extremely careful. We must ensure the safety of the actors while also achieving the ideal filming effect."

There was a hint of worry in his eyes, and his gaze swept back and forth to every corner of the ancient tomb, as if looking for potential problems.

In fact, everyone knew in their hearts that the architectural drawings had been finalized long ago and handed over to the construction party, so most of what they said was nonsense.

But the crowd walked on the muddy road, taking one step deep and one step shallow, and finally walked into the ancient tomb holding flickering candles.

If I just leave without expressing my opinion, I'll feel like I've come here for nothing.

However, the weak light from the candle made visibility too low. The dim candlelight flickered in the darkness and could only illuminate a small area in front of the eyes.

Everyone could only chat awkwardly for a few sentences, but after a while, the voices gradually became lower and the atmosphere fell into a dull silence again.

Hu Xiaobei was different. Although there was a lot of mud on his feet, it was blocked by his shadow ability and his shoes were not really dirty.

Moreover, within his perception range of 16-20 meters in radius, the scenes inside the ancient tomb were clearly visible in 360° as if in daylight.

It doesn't matter to him whether there is light or not.

At this moment, everyone fell into silence, and the atmosphere was so depressing that it made people feel a little breathless.

Just when the depressing atmosphere was about to freeze, Hu Xiaobei coughed lightly, and the sound was particularly clear in the silent ancient tomb.

He raised his head slightly and looked at everyone with a firm gaze.

Then he took over the topic slowly, pointed to a shallow area, and said firmly: "The shallow water here is best paved with cement to ensure the introduction and discharge of tap water.

This way the water will appear relatively clear, which is more in line with the setting of the ancient tomb. Otherwise, after a few days, the water will become smelly, and the beauty of the paradise will be lost. "

Everyone was worried about having no topics to talk about, and Hu Xiaobei's words hit the mark exactly. Their originally gloomy faces instantly showed expressions of surprise.

The bearded man's eyes suddenly lit up, and he clapped his hands vigorously, almost knocking the flickering candle off his hands, and praised loudly: "Xiaobei, your idea is good!
How much does it cost to lay some cement and connect tap water? Making our filming more reasonable and professional is the top priority."

As he spoke, he rubbed his hands excitedly, his face full of approval.

The others nodded as well, with smiles of approval on their faces.

Someone kept clapping and cheering, muttering, "This is a good idea!" It turned out to be Zhou Xiaowen who was supporting Hu Xiaobei.

Everyone was talking at once, engaging in a heated discussion about the shallow water area, and the voices echoed in the dim ancient tomb for a full ten minutes.

The originally dead and silent ancient tomb also became more lively because of their high enthusiasm.

Seeing that the trip was going smoothly and the investigation of the ancient tomb was successfully completed, everyone walked out of the muddy ancient tomb area with one foot high and one foot low.

(End of this chapter)