Huayu: Starting with Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu

Filming has entered its fifth week.

The film crew moved to an outdoor location in Hebei to shoot the second half of the Chu-Han Contention.

Chen Mo's condition is getting better and better.

Or to be more precise, as filming progressed, Chen Mo appeared less and less on set, while Xiang Yu appeared more and more.

He strictly adhered to the "shutdown" principle that Chen Daomin had taught him.

When the director yelled "Action," he was Xiang Yu.

The moment the director yelled "Cut," he pulled Xiang Yu out of his body and transformed back into Chen Mo.

It was decisive and efficient, without any unnecessary delays.

Even so, the staff on set could still sense a subtle change.

Chen Mo's performances in front of the camera are becoming increasingly "heavy".

It's not the kind of "heavy" that comes from excessive force, but rather the increasing amount of information conveyed in every glance and every movement.

It's like a cup of tea that gets stronger the longer it's steeped.

Ghosh was satisfied with this change.

Very satisfied.

But he didn't say it.

He would simply sit in front of the monitor after work each day and review the day's footage alone, watching the images repeatedly in the dimly lit tent, occasionally nodding or smiling.

On the Thursday of the fifth week, the crew filmed the most crucial scene in the entire series.

The siege of Gaixia.

This scene was extremely large in scale, involving hundreds of extras, more than a dozen warhorses, and a large number of pyrotechnic effects, making it the largest production in the entire filming period.

But for Chen Mo, the most difficult part of this scene was not the fight scenes.

It is Yu Ji.

To be precise, it was the one-woman show that took place after Yu Ji's death.

The original script design was: Xiang Yu holding Yu Ji's body, looking up to the sky and roaring, then chanting "My strength could uproot mountains, my spirit could cover the world, but the times are against me and my steed will not go."

As usual, Chen Mo contacted Gao hope before filming began.

This time, Gao hope spoke before he could even open his mouth.

"Want to change it again?"

"Um."

"explain."

"Xiang Yu would not wail and cry."

Gao hope looked at him, signaling him to continue.

"Xiang Yu never showed weakness in front of anyone in his life. Surrounded by hundreds of thousands of enemy troops, he was even less likely to collapse. His sorrow would not be expressed in the form of crying. He would..." Chen Mo thought for a moment, "He would swallow his sorrow and turn it into something else."

"What is it?"

"Killing intent."

Gao hope remained silent for five seconds.

Then he said three words.

"You decide."

These three words mean that Gao hope has handed over all creative rights to this play to Chen Mo.

This was the first time during the entire filming process.

This was also an extremely rare occurrence in Gao hope's thirty-year directing career.

Filming begins.

The night at Gaixia was one of utter devastation, with enemies on all sides.

Chen Mo sat in his military tent, listening to the folk songs of Chu that drifted from outside, all by the light of a flickering oil lamp.

The actress who plays Yu Ji is named Su Wanqing. She is in her early thirties, has solid acting skills, and is known in the industry for her "good crying scenes".

Su Wanqing, who plays Yu Ji, dances inside the tent and finally draws her sword to commit suicide.

She acted very well in this scene.

But what truly made everyone hold their breath was Chen Mo after Yu Ji fell.

He watched as Yu Ji's body slowly collapsed to the ground.

They didn't make it through.

There was no roaring.

There were no large physical movements.

He just sat there, watching her.

Looked for a long time.

After a while, Gao hope, who was behind the monitor, started to get nervous, wondering if the kid had forgotten his lines.

Then Chen Mo made a move.

He slowly stood up, walked to Yu Ji's side, and squatted down.

He reached out and gently tucked the stray hairs from Yu Ji's face behind her ears.

The movements are very slow.

It was so slow it was as if they were doing something extremely fragile.

It was as if she was afraid that if she exerted too much force, she would break.

His fingers traced her hair, paused near her cheek for a second, and then withdrew.

He never touched her face.

That "no touch" is more heartbreaking than any hug.

Because you can feel something heavier than the sky falling from that restrained movement.

It's not that he didn't want to touch her.

He dared not.

Because if you touch it, it will break.

Xiang Yu, however, would not allow himself to collapse.

Not now.

Not here.

Chen Mo stood up.

There were no tears on his face, no distorted expression, nothing at all.

It was as calm as a lake.

But his eyes changed.

It became empty.

That emptiness is not bewilderment, nor is it giving up; it is the void left after all emotions have been burned to ashes.

He glanced outside the tent.

The distant firelight illuminated the enemy flags that covered the mountains and plains.

The perilous situation continues.

He gripped the sword in his hand tightly.

Then he opened his mouth.

The voice was very low, as if speaking to oneself.

"His strength could uproot mountains, and his spirit could cover the world."

When the first sentence was uttered, Su Wanqing shed tears.

She's already "dead," so she shouldn't have any change in expression.

But she couldn't control herself.

That sound was too loud.

It was so intense that she felt she wasn't acting, but truly experiencing a life-or-death farewell.

"The time is not right, and my steed will not go."

When the second line came out, the set became extremely quiet.

There were hundreds of people, but not a single one made a sound.

Even breathing was suppressed to a minimum.

Fireworks effects flickered in the night sky, casting Chen Mo's face in shifting light and shadow.

His voice wasn't loud, and he didn't use any singing techniques; it was just the simplest and most primitive form of chanting.

But every word seemed to be squeezed out from the deepest part of his chest.

It was covered in blood.

It made the sound of bones cracking.

He carried with him the last vestige of pride that a man had after losing everything, a pride that refused to be extinguished.

"My steed will not go; what can I do?"

When the third sentence came out, Gao Xi gripped the armrest of the chair tightly.

He has been acting for thirty years and has seen countless actors cry, laugh, get angry, and grieve in front of the camera.

But he had never seen an actor portray sadness in this way.

don't cry.

Don't shout.

It won't crash.

He simply stood there, singing out that song from two thousand years ago, word by word.

Every word was spoken softly.

But each word felt as heavy as a mountain.

"Yu Xi, Yu Xi, what can I do?"

The last four words.

Chen Mo's voice trembled slightly at the words "奈若何".

It trembled slightly.

That tremor was like a crack in an iceberg.

Through that crack, you could see the magma churning beneath the iceberg.

That was a vulnerability that Xiang Yu never showed to anyone in his entire life.

He showed it for a second.

Then it was turned off again.

It's closed forever.

After singing the last two lines, Chen Mo lowered his hand that was holding the sword.

He looked down at Yu Ji lying on the ground one last time.

There was no goodbye.

He turned around, lifted the tent flap, and strode out.

The curtain fell behind him.

The wind made the curtains flutter loudly.

His figure disappeared into the firelight.

That figure wasn't the back of an actor after work.

That was the back view of a person walking towards death.

Resolute.

lonely.

But it's straight.

"Card."

Gao hope's voice was a little hoarse.

There was a long silence on set.

It was so long that it felt like time had stopped.

Then applause broke out.

Not just one person, but everyone.

Hundreds of extras and dozens of staff members clapped at the same time.

Several extras genuinely had tears in their eyes.

A young man rubbed his eyes vigorously with the back of his hand. Someone next to him patted him on the shoulder, and he waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, just some sand in my eyes."

Everyone knows where the sand came from in the outdoor shooting location in March.

The young man later posted a message on social media with only one sentence: "At that moment, I really thought he was going to die."

This post was unearthed after the broadcast of "Legend of Chu and Han" and received over 500,000 likes.

Gao hope sat behind the monitor, took off his glasses, and wiped the lenses with the corner of his clothes.

The lenses are not dirty.

He was wiping his eyes.

Chen Daomin stood on the outskirts of the film set, a cigarette dangling from his fingers.

His fingers were trembling slightly.

It's not cold.

It was caused by the shock.

He watched as Chen Mo walked out of the tent. The "Xiang Yu" look on the young man's face was fading away second by second, turning back into the quiet, calm and reserved Chen Mo.

Shut down.

Clean and neat.

Chen Daomin put the cigarette back in the cigarette case, and the corner of his mouth curved slightly.

They learn very quickly.

This child learns everything very quickly.