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

On the day Chen Shouyi saw Shouzhu off, he carried the canvas bag he had brought with him, turning back every few steps, muttering, "Master, come back soon after you're done filming."

After walking a long way, he turned back and shouted, "Remember to get me an autographed photo!" Chen Shouyi waved his hand and told him to get lost.

Guo Hu and the other martial arts performers laughed uncontrollably, saying they were quite reluctant to see Brother Shouzhuo leave.

After Shouzhuo left, Chen Shouyi's life became much quieter.

No one calls him "Master" every day, and no one comes back after hanging out with the martial arts masters to report what new moves they've learned that day.

It's peaceful now, but I'm not quite used to it.

But before the peaceful days could even begin, Chen Yao came knocking on their door.

To be precise, they approached the martial arts training ground.

As Chen Shouyi was rehearsing his positions with Guo Hu, Chen Yao walked over carrying two scripts, followed by a stagehand to help carry them.

She stood quietly by the field for a while, and only spoke after Chen Shouyi sheathed his sword.

"Are you free?" Chen Yao waved the script in her hand. "Your first scene is scheduled to be filmed the day after tomorrow."

Chen Shouyi nodded, and Chen Yao sat down on the prop box by the side of the stage, spread out the script, and turned to the page marked with several pages.

"Zhuo Yun is not quite like you usually are," Chen Yao said, pointing to a character analysis section in the script.

"Look here, when Zhuo Yun first came down the mountain, he had only a vague understanding of human affairs and everything was new to him. However, because of the many rules of his sect, he was quite tense."

This was especially true when he encountered Hua Yue; he had never seen a fox demon who acted so unconventionally.

Chen Shouyi sat down next to her, took the script, and glanced at it. Chen Yao continued speaking from the side:

"You're too relaxed usually. You look like a master just by standing there, but Zhuo Yun isn't a master. He's just a greenhorn who just left the beginner village. You need to rein yourself in."

"How do we collect them?" Chen Shouyi raised an eyebrow.

"You need to get rid of this 'I know everything' attitude. The way Zhuo Yun looks at Hua Yue should be wary and confused, not his usual calm. Try it and see."

Chen Shouyi thought for a moment and adjusted his expression.

Chen Yao tilted her head and looked at it for two seconds, then burst out laughing: "That's not right either, it's angry."

Chen Shouyi changed his expression again, and Chen Yao laughed even harder: "He's spacing out."

"..." Chen Shouyi put down the script, looked at her, and said, "Teacher Chen, you are so strict."

"I'm not a teacher," Chen Yao quickly waved her hand, her ears turning slightly red, but she didn't stop talking.

"I've only acted in a few films, so I know what directors want. I can't explain the theory clearly, but I can tell if you're doing it right or wrong."

She thought for a moment and then added, "Your habit is to observe your surroundings, but Zhuo Yun doesn't. He hasn't looked at anyone properly since he came down the mountain; he's only focused on the mission objective."

Chen Shouyi nodded thoughtfully. Although Yao Mei's skills were limited, her observational ability was indeed quite good.

Her first reaction was still to observe her surroundings, which hit the nail on the head regarding his usual professional habits.

Over the next half hour, Chen Yao gradually explained Zhuo Yun's condition to him.

Her speech wasn't very systematic, and she would occasionally stumble, but every word she said was practical and relevant.

What should Zhuo Yun's walking rhythm be? What height should his gaze be at when looking at people? Should his tone of voice be slightly more tense or more relaxed than his actual voice?

Chen Shouyi listened attentively, nodding occasionally and asking a question or two now and then.

Guo Hu stood with his arms crossed, watching for a while. He then whispered to the stuntman next to him, "Teacher Chen teaches quite meticulously." Chen Yao heard him and looked up at him.

Guo Hu immediately shut up and gestured for him to continue.

After walking through it several more times, Chen Yao kept adjusting his movement routes to adapt to the positioning habits that Chen Shouyi had just adjusted.

The two met on the mountain path at the beginning and went smoothly all the way to the confrontation scene later. While acting, she casually explained to him the key points of facing the camera and finding the right position.

"When you move, don't face me directly. Move slightly to the left so that the camera can capture your face."

Generally, you only need to focus on the camera, but sometimes several cameras will be set up simultaneously on location. The director will tell you when you get to the actual location.

Chen Shouyi listened attentively. These things were indeed new to him. No matter how well he performed a ritual, it was completely different from acting.

"Let me ask one more question," Chen Shouyi said, "when acting with other actors, are the blocking positions fixed or can you adjust them yourself?"

"It depends on the director's style. Some directors like everything to be predetermined, while others prefer to give you more freedom. As for Director Xu," Chen Yao thought for a moment.

"He will usually have you follow the markings first, and after two takes, you can say so if you're not comfortable with it, and he can change it if you think it's okay. But when you make changes, remember the direction of the camera position."

Chen Shouyi nodded slightly, went over what she said in his mind, adjusted his angle, and stood up straight again.

At first, he was a little awkward the two times he tried, but by the third time, he became more and more fluent.

Chen Shouyi discovered that acting, like practicing martial arts, requires precise control of the body, which happens to be his forte.

He can replicate everything—which angle the camera can capture him from, which pause corresponds to which rhythm—by walking the route twice.

By the fourth take, he had perfected all the movements down to the millimeter, completing a full scene with each movement perfectly executed.

Chen Yao looked at him in surprise, and after a long pause, managed to stammer out:

"Is this really your first time acting?"

Meanwhile, the action direction for the stunt team was also in full swing on the other side.

Chen Yao insisted on not using a stunt double, an attitude that made Xu Huikang both gratified and troubled. He was gratified by the actress's dedication, but troubled because the girl really lacked basic action skills.

"Teacher Chen," Guo Hu stood in the middle of the room, trying to make his words sound less helpless, "you really don't need to do these things, there are substitutes."

"The script says that Hua Yue should sidestep and then flip backwards," Chen Yao said calmly, hands on her knees. "If the stunt double flips, the shot has to be cut, and the whole rhythm will be broken. I want to do it myself."

Guo Hu glanced at Chen Shouyi, his eyes practically screaming for help. Chen Shouyi smiled.

"No need to flip back," he took the prop sword from Guo Hu, beckoned to Chen Yao, "Come here."

Chen Yao stood up and walked in front of him. Chen Shou placed a sword with the tip pointing down at his feet and began to break out of the stance.

"The script doesn't say backflip, it says to sidestep and then use the momentum to spin around," Chen Shouyi raised his right hand, showing Chen Yao half a turn of his wrist.

"When you sidestep, your center of gravity has already shifted. Use that force to rotate smoothly. Your feet don't need to leave the ground; just rotate your waist until it's in place. If the camera is shot from the side, it will look like you've done a half somersault in the air."

Chen Yao tried it out with some skepticism, turning to the side, shifting his weight, using his waist to generate power, and rotating his body.

She turned around, but stumbled and almost bumped into Chen Shouyi. She quickly reached out and grabbed his arm to steady herself.

"Look," Chen Shouyi steadied her arm, "this is much better than a backflip."

Chen Yao looked up at him: "You've definitely improved a lot, but you're not photogenic enough. It would be better if you could spin faster."

"That's easy to handle," Chen Shouyi said. He stood behind Chen Yao, his left hand lightly pressing between her shoulder blades, and his right hand holding her wrist.

He applied very little force, only providing an initial push, leaving the rest of the movement to Chen Yao.

"Using leverage is not about exerting force. Just use the strength of your waist and abdomen to rotate."

Chen Yao was led around in another circle by him, and this time it was much smoother.

The two remained in a half-embracing position, and Chen Yao belatedly blushed.

Guo Hu silently took several steps back, exchanged a glance with the stuntman next to him, and muttered something under his breath:

"This isn't teaching moves, it's more like falling in love."