A top star in the Chinese entertainment industry, but also a Taoist priest.

Outside the Qingming Riverside Scene area in Hengdian, Shouzhuo was enthusiastically sparring with a martial arts performer.

Both men moved quickly. Shouzhuo dodged a straight punch by sidestepping, then grabbed his opponent's wrist and pulled him outwards, while simultaneously sweeping his foot forward.

The martial arts brothers reacted quickly, using the momentum to flip over and land steadily, then followed up with a sweeping leg kick.

"Bravo!" Guo Hu, who was standing to the side watching with a cigarette in his mouth, was the first to applaud. "Brother Shouzhuo, that was a brilliant move!"

Several of the stuntmen around cheered, and one of them even whistled.

Shouzhuo spent almost a week with this group of people. At the beginning, they were very polite to each other, but now they were like brothers. Even the way they addressed each other was simplified from "Master Shouzhuo" to "Brother Shouzhuo".

Shouzhuo helped the person up, patted him on the shoulder, and grinned.

Putting aside other skills, Chen Shouyi's apprentice was faster at getting to know people than he was.

"That grappling and sweeping kick just now was incredibly effective in real combat." Guo Hu threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out.

But a stuntman next to him took out his phone, scrolled through the recordings, and frowned, saying:

"However, if this were filmed on camera, the movement would be too fast, and the audience might not be able to clearly see the force involved."

Shouzhu blinked, humbly asking, "Then what should we do?"

"We need to lengthen it a bit." Guo Hu walked to the center of the field, assumed the same posture as Shou Zhuo, and broke down his movements.

"After you've caught it, don't rush to sweep. Pause for a moment to let the audience see your hand clearly—then sweep. When you sweep, lift your leg a little higher, and then pause briefly after landing. This is called giving the camera time to react."

Shouzhuo nodded thoughtfully, then gestured a couple more times, and indeed felt it looked much better than before.

But I can't help but think: if it were a real fight, who would give you a pause?

Shouzhuo practiced with the martial arts team several more times, repeatedly refining a few key moves, and finally got the hang of it.

Guo Hu patted him on the shoulder: "Okay, let's go in this direction. Your master will be back in a couple of days, and then we'll go through it with him again."

"Alright!" Shouzhuo returned the greeting with a fist and palm salute, "Thank you, Brother Hu and all the brothers."

The stuntmen laughed and waved their hands, saying there was no need to be so polite. Shouzhuo grinned as well, just about to brag a bit to his brothers whom he had known for several days, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of someone standing not far away.

Chen Yao, wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, stood quietly under the shade of a tree at the edge of the shed area.

Shouzhuo was taken aback; Chen Yao rarely associated with martial arts performers.

However, Shouzhuo still respected this actress whom his master clearly valued highly. He walked up to her, stopped, and politely bowed, saying, "Benefactor Chen."

Chen Yao smiled and nodded at him: "Shouzhuo, you guys practiced very well just now."

Shouzhuo responded, then subconsciously glanced behind her, and asked curiously:

"What brings you here, Benefactor Chen? Don't you have filming today?"

"Don't mention it." Chen Yao waved his hand and explained, "Yesterday afternoon, Director Lin notified us that the script needs to be adjusted."

The schedule is currently filled with performances by Ruoyun and Qiao Xin, so there's nothing for me to do. I just came out for a stroll.

Qiao Xin plays Axiu, a key character in the "Axiu" unit, a rather quiet girl.

After listening, Shouzhuo immediately understood. His master had complained a lot about the script the night before he left. It seemed that the script adjustments were probably done by someone on his master's side.

Having figured this out, Shouzhuo smiled and said, "Then Benefactor Chen can take a rest these few days. Once the script is revised, you'll be quite busy."

Chen Yao glanced at him and casually asked, "Anyway, I'm just idling around, so it's more reassuring to stay on set. Shouzhuo, where's your master?"

She asked the question casually, but Shouzhuo wasn't stupid.

"Master went to Shanghai and hasn't returned yet," Shou Zhuo answered honestly, then scratched his head, a little puzzled. "Didn't Master tell you?"

"I did." Chen Yao paused, then asked again, "But did your master say when he'll be back?"

Shouzhu thought for a moment, then shook his head: "Master didn't tell me, it should take another two days."

Chen Yao didn't reply. She lowered her eyes and pursed her lips.

Chen Shouyi had clearly told her before he left that he was going to Shanghai to sign a contract and would be back soon. She thought she would see him yesterday, but there was still no news by this afternoon.

She was thinking about asking him via WeChat later, but then she felt that asking him first would seem too eager. Just as she was hesitating, she noticed that Shouzhuo was still standing next to her, so she changed the subject.

"What was that routine you guys were practicing just now? It looked pretty good."

Shouzhuo perked up immediately upon hearing this, as if he had been recharged:

"That's a set of moves that Tiger and I came up with together! It was specially designed, and you think it looks good, sir?"

Seeing his expectant expression, Chen Yao couldn't help but smile and nodded: "Yes, the movements were very beautiful."

"That's great!" Shouzhuo was overjoyed. "This was specially designed by Brother Hu and the others for Master to use when he's filming."

Chen Yao's expression became subtle: "Designed for your master?"

"yes."

"But—" Chen Yao pointed to herself, "I'm the one who has the most scenes with your master in this drama."

Shouzhuo nodded: "That's right."

Chen Yao looked at him, then glanced at the martial arts troupe, and pointed at Shou Zhuo, "So, those moves you just did were for your own master?"

"That's right."

"And that stuntman you're facing off against..."

Shouzhu chuckled: "It is you, benefactor."

Chen Yao covered her face.

She tried hard to recall the moves she had just seen: grappling, leg sweeps, and several large-scale somersaults. Just thinking about them made her waist and legs ache.

Chen Yao looked at Shou Zhuo with a very complicated expression: "I can't do any of what you guys just did."

Shouzhuo's smile slowly froze.

The two stared at each other for a moment, then Shou Zhuo chuckled dryly twice, scratched the back of his head, and his voice trailed off:

"Uh... really? Hahahaha."

He thought to himself that he was doomed. He had been so focused on designing the coolest moves for his master that he had completely forgotten about the opponent.

Speaking of which, Hua Yue is a fox demon. What fox demon would directly confront a Taoist priest who catches demons? Why didn't I think of that?

Chen Yao tried to force a polite yet awkward smile.

"Then... how about we wait for Master to come back and let him teach you personally?" Shouzhuo realized that he had put Chen Yao in a difficult position, and weakly added, "Master is definitely better at teaching than I am. Everything I learned was taught by Master."

Chen Yao glanced at him, her expression a mix of disdain and helplessness.

She glanced over there again and saw Guo Hu demonstrating some moves to a stuntman; the two were exchanging blows with great force.

With each glance, her expression grew more helpless.

Forget it, practicing martial arts is still a long way off. There are things that matter more to her right now.

She forced a smile and then took her phone out of her pocket.

"I'll ask your master myself when he'll be back."

She lowered her head and began typing.