Chapter 57: From Arrogant to Compliant (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Standing with his sword in hand, an overwhelming aura of sharpness radiated from him!

Ji Yu looked on with contempt, his wrist turning slightly as the longsword in his hand traced a graceful and intricate flash of steel.

The stuntman lying on the ground stared at him blankly, his face flushing with humiliation!

A surge of anger rushed straight to his head. Glaring fiercely, he tried to stand up, but the silver light of Ji Yu's sword suddenly flashed and pressed firmly against his throat.

Lifting his gaze to Ji Yu, he found the actor's eyes cold, seemingly filled with a chilling, murderous intent.

In a fleeting daze, he truly believed that Yan Shisan was standing before him, not Ji Yu.

So alike!

Uncannily alike!

His gaze and temperament were chillingly cold beyond belief!

It clearly hadn't been like this just moments ago—how could he have changed so drastically?

Ji Yu looked down at him with indifferent disdain and asked, "Yield?"

"I yield..."

The stuntman lowered his head in defeat, sensing that if he dared to say otherwise, Ji Yu's sword would pierce his neck the very next second.

"Then get up and keep practicing. Are you waiting for me to help you up?"

"Coming, coming!"

The stuntman scrambled up from the ground immediately, an awkward yet ingratiating smile plastered across his face.

Deep shame and resentment?

Not at all. Having survived in the film crew for so many years, the golden rule was to know when to bow your head.

He was merely a stuntman; since his petty underhanded tricks had failed to take Ji Yu down, what else could he do besides accept the loss?

Especially since the man standing right in front of him genuinely possessed Yan Shisan's aura—it was genuinely terrifying!

Ji Yu gave an inward cold snort. The people on set probably had no idea about his reputation for making crying babies fall silent!

Standing in his original spot, he flicked the sword in his hand and said, "Come on."

"Got it, brother. Be careful now, I'm making a move."

This time, the stuntman didn't dare attempt a sneak attack. The person opposite him wasn't some elderly gentleman; sneak attacks were useless here.

Seeing the stuntman cave in so quickly, everyone else around secretly cursed him as a spineless coward.

Yet, they were also well aware that this newcomer was not someone to be trifled with.

Although they hadn't heard his name before, he wasn't as easily bluffed as an ordinary novice.

They would have to be more careful around him from now on.

As Ji Yu went through the choreography with him, a realization dawned on him: there was fierce competition among film crews.

Because *Detective Ke Lan* was his own company's production, there wouldn't be any messy complications.

*Treasury of Romance* was an anthology series where everyone was working on separate segments, so there wouldn't be any annoying drama either.

Even though Fan Bingbing and Le Jiatong were willing to be his friends, that didn't mean everyone else would.

Other people had friends too, and this incident was simply someone settling a score on behalf of a friend.

Who knew if anyone else would resort to covert tactics behind his back?

Makeup artists, lighting crew, camera operators, stuntmen, and so on.

There were countless petty tricks in a film crew, and he truly needed to keep his guard up.

Ji Yu exhaled lightly, refocused his mind, and continued practicing the choreography.

A dozen minutes later, Ji Yu and the stuntman finished running through the sequence.

At that moment, Jin Demao walked over, gnawing on an apple, and asked with a smile, "Not bad. I thought you wouldn't be able to handle it."

"You knew?" Ji Yu asked, looking at him strangely.

Jin Demao took a bite of the juicy apple and smiled. "This is my crew. Is there anything that happens here without me knowing?"

"So you were just standing by and watching, waiting to see if I'd back down?"

"You have to stand up for yourself and show others that you're not to be trifled with. There are far too many malicious tricks out there—you can't possibly be on the defensive all the time. Besides, I don't have the time to constantly clean up these messes for you; our shooting schedule is heavy."

The director's final sentence carried a pointed implication, suggesting that if Ji Yu couldn't handle it, he would seize the opportunity to replace him.

As the director, he remained neutral and would not blindly take sides.

His only concern was the filming. As long as it didn't disrupt the production, everything else was secondary.

Ji Yu looked at him thoughtfully. Was this his way of backing him up now?

Jin Demao pulled an apple from out of nowhere and tossed it over.

Catching it, Ji Yu wiped the apple against his clothes and took a crisp, loud bite.

"Sweet!"

Jin Demao laughed heartily, standing beside him to crunch on his own apple while casually discussing the current state of affairs within the crew.

On the set, everyone cast furtive glances in their direction, instantly realizing that the director was publicly backing Ji Yu up.

First, Ji Yu had single-handedly beaten the stuntman into submission, and now he had the director's backing. Any further petty schemes were out of the question.

The director had given them an opportunity to test the newcomer, but since they failed to seize it, they couldn't continue messing around and jeopardizing the shoot.

Those who had close ties with the original stuntman and had wanted to stand up for their friend immediately abandoned the thought.

Whether they could actually manage to trip Ji Yu up was questionable, but offending the director was definitely not worth it.

After chatting with Jin Demao for a little while, Ji Yu returned to the formal shooting.

Amidst the bustling crowd, Yu Feihong, disguised in men's clothing, stood before him, gazing at the notice board ahead.

Yamen officers were in the process of tearing down the wanted posters.

Ji Yu glanced sideways at Yu Feihong, wondering what kind of relationship she had with the original actor.

In the story, Yan Shisan and Murong Qiudi shared a very close bond with a substantial amount of shared screen time.

Perhaps their relationship in reality was just as harmonious.

As Ji Yu was pondering this, a sudden commotion erupted ahead.

"I am the Third Master, Xie Xiaofeng!"

The stuntman who had just practiced with Ji Yu was now impersonating the Third Master.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

As the camera swept across her, Yu Feihong gently flicked open her folding fan and fluttered it a few times.

Catching the cue, Ji Yu cast a deeply affectionate look at Yu Feihong before shouting loudly, "My! My young master is the true Xie Xiaofeng!"

Standing before him, Yu Feihong wore an inscrutable smile, standing gracefully with her paper fan in hand.

The crowd broke into whispers once more, praising Yu Feihong for her dashing demeanor and aristocratic bearing.

The scoundrel immediately shouted, "Perfect, I've been looking for you!"

With that, he drew his blade and lunged forward.

Yu Feihong quietly retreated behind Ji Yu, while Ji Yu wore a cold expression, drew his sword, and met the attack head-on.

Swords and sabers immediately clashed with a flurry of metallic rings.

The two engaged in a fierce battle, neither willing to give ground. After exchanging several blows, the scoundrel, realizing he was outmatched, tried to withdraw.

"Cut! Beautifully fought! Rig the wires!"

With a word of praise from Jin Demao, the next shot was immediately arranged.

Ji Yu let out a soft breath, turned to the stuntman, and said, "Great coordination."

"Just doing my job."

Through this sequence, everyone on set recognized that Ji Yu possessed genuine martial arts skill, earning a measure of respect from them.

Yu Feihong inwardly approved as well; his delivery and acting were solid, and the action choreography looked fantastic.

Soon, the wire rigs were set in place. At the shout of action, the scoundrel leaped into the air, and Ji Yu stamped his foot lightly to give chase.

During his time acting as the bat demon in the cast of *The Lotus Lantern*, he had performed many scenes on wire rigs, so he was already quite accustomed to it.

Mid-air, Ji Yu rapidly closed the distance to the stuntman, lifted his leg, and kicked him squarely in the shoulder.

*Bang!* With a light kick, he sent the man hurtling downward.

Following the trajectory of the wires, Ji Yu landed gracefully, pressing the tip of his sword against the actor's chest.

"Good! Cut! Excellent job, Ji Yu! The action looks fantastic!"

Jin Demao was thoroughly satisfied with Ji Yu now; his fight sequences were clean, crisp, and easily rivaled those of professional stuntmen.

His acting skills and line delivery were equally superb. Most importantly, his appearance was top-notch, and his detached, icy temperament captured the aura of a true martial arts master to perfection.

He possessed a solitary, aloof coldness that leaned ambiguously between righteous and evil.

He had truly struck gold this time.

Standing up, Jin Demao called out, "Ji Yu, come over here, let's talk about the next scene!"

Following this sequence, Ji Yu instantly became the director's favorite new star on set.

As soon as he finished talking with the director, someone proactively hurried over to curry favor with him.

"Go get your makeup touched up, I've already called the makeup artist over."

The person who approached was none other than the assistant director who had left Ji Yu hanging at the hotel the day before.

Observing his abrupt shift from arrogance to obsequiousness, Ji Yu smiled faintly and nodded in agreement.

After all, respect was a two-way street.