No Brains

"Master Yuen!" "Ah Qi!" At the main gates of Beijing Film Studio, Chen Qi personally welcomed the Yuen Brothers. Yuen Woo-ping embraced him with a hearty laugh. They knew each other well enough by now that pleasantries could be kept to a minimum. "Did you get *The Dead and the Deadly*?" "Got it!" "Then why haven't I seen my script fee in the mail yet?" "Whoa, I wired the money right away—thirty thousand Hong Kong dollars! Don't go slandering an honest man. Everything you write really is a winner. *The Dead and the Deadly* is fantastic; we're confident it can beat *Encounter of the Spooky Kind*." "Glad you like it. But hiring you is tough work—every visit costs me a whole script." "Haha! Write me a few more, and I'll do your action choreography for free!" As the group strolled inside, Yuen Woo-ping chatted about the recent happenings in the Hong Kong film industry. *Tai Chi* had ultimately raked in a whopping 19 million HKD, defeating Michael Hui's *Security Unlimited* to firmly hold the number-one spot for the year. Cinema City's *Beware of Pickpockets* came in third with 5.1 million. Fourth place was quite interesting: *Challenge of the Gamesters*, which took in 5.08 million, just trailing behind. The film had been written and directed by Wong Jing, and it was precisely this year that Wong Jing officially stepped onto the stage of Hong Kong cinema. "In August, Cinema City has *Chasing Girls*, Shaw Brothers has *Bewitched*, plus the animated film *Old Master Q*—not a single heavyweight in the bunch." "No moves from Golden Harvest?" "Golden Harvest staked everything on *Security Unlimited*, and you crushed it, so their year is pretty much washed out. Jackie Chan's *The Cannonball Run* flopped again, and word of mouth was terrible, so he's decided to come back and focus on Hong Kong. Next year's bound to be another fierce clash of dragons and tigers." Yuen Woo-ping worried about his own production company, but Chen Qi was thinking several steps ahead. For the next few years, Hong Kong would be dominated by the *Aces Go Places* and *Lucky Stars* franchises. In this era, the trend was joining forces for survival; even Jackie Chan couldn't carry a hit alone and had to team up with Sammo Hung. Cinema City was at the peak of its power, forcing Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers to join hands in resistance—and even together, they still couldn't hold their ground... With him stepping in to stir the pot, now *that* would be a real clash of dragons and tigers. The group arrived at the soundstage, where everyone was already familiar. After swapping greetings, the newcomers were introduced. Zhen Zidan had been itching for a chance all along. He rushed forward impatiently, trying to bridge the gap. "Master Yuen, it's me! My mother must have written to you. I'm also cast in this film!" "Ah, young Dan! I knew you'd joined the cast. What a coincidence!" Puzzled, Li Lianjie asked, "Master Yuen, you two know each other?" "My elder sister is his mother's apprentice!" Yuen Woo-ping explained, and realization dawned on everyone. Later on, Zhen Zidan would rely on this very connection to apprentice himself to Yuen Woo-ping. After another round of greetings, Chen Qi escorted the Yuen Brothers to his office. The small room was still rather modest. The administrative staff had gone out to handle outside affairs, leaving only the accountant sitting inside alone. "Ah Qi, you started a company?" Yuen Woo-ping asked, thoroughly surprised. "The state placed its trust in me and set up a small company for me. I guess I'm the vice manager, responsible for day-to-day operations. The films we make can be distributed overseas, and we can do co-productions with Hong Kong." *Co-productions?* Before Yuen Woo-ping could speak, Chen Qi smiled and added, "Only with Leftist studios!" "Oh, I understand. Rules can't be broken." Yuen Woo-ping nodded, exchanging a glance with Yuen Cheung-yan, both pleasantly surprised. The rules couldn't be broken openly, but things could always be done under the table. Chen Qi had an astonishing head on his shoulders; whenever he went to Hong Kong, they definitely needed to stay close. They weren't Leftists themselves, and joining the Free Association was purely for the sake of the Taiwan market. As long as there was money to be made, their stance was wonderfully flexible. Next, the group began discussing the action sequences for *Tai Chi 2*. The martial arts style would remain consistent with the first installment—fast, fierce, delivering that punchy, visceral impact. The scale had increased considerably, with many more participants. For the Boxer fight scenes, martial arts needed to be blended with mystic charlatanry—trembling after drinking talisman water, inviting the spirit of the Monkey King into their bodies, and then getting soundly pummeled by Yang Yugan... There were two critical set pieces. One was a massive battle involving a hundred people. The Red Lanterns, the Qing government, foreigners, opportunistic troublemakers, and Yang Yugan's group would all be involved. This sequence would be shot at a Leftist studio's lot in Hong Kong. The other was the duel between Yang Yugan and Nalan Yuanshu. "The cloth staff! We have to use the cloth staff!" Chen Qi's eyes lit up with excitement. "Take a bolt of cloth, twist it taut into a staff, soak it in water—it can be soft or rigid, thrust forward or pulled back, possessing immense power! A single strike could punch a hole right through a wall!" "And the fighting style?" "Nine-section whip plus bullwhip plus staff techniques!" "That much of a mash-up?" Yuen Woo-ping frowned. Rather than answering right away, he lowered his head slightly, staring blankly as he simulated the choreography in his mind. Then he traded a few trial moves with Yuen Cheung-yan. After a long moment, he said, "It can be done!" "Splendid! That's why I love working with you!" Chen Qi slapped the table hard. Running a film crew practically from scratch with an inexperienced team had been exhausting. That was why meeting someone as sharp as Li Jianqun had made him so happy, not to mention Yuen Woo-ping—you laid out the requirements, and he delivered, his professionalism unmatched. Every line of work favored seasoned pros. If you patted a mature woman on the backside, she'd know to roll over; pat a young girl, and she'd only ask, "Why did you hit my butt?" The feeling was entirely different! *** Preparations for *Tai Chi 2* followed roughly the same pattern as the first film. Li Wenhua had gained plenty of experience and could shoulder a significant portion of the workload, giving Chen Qi some breathing room. In fact, Chen Qi wanted to try overseeing only the opening phase before handing the dramatic scenes to Li Wenhua and the action scenes to Yuen Woo-ping, just to see if they could manage on their own. As for the newcomers, he still guided them hand in hand. He Qing and Tao Huimin didn't have much screen time, but their roles were designed to stand out. Chen Qi once again applied his crash-course "star acting method," setting up a few specific expressions and gestures for them to practice until they were second nature. With their traditional opera background, they picked it up with ease. Zhen Zidan, on the other hand, was a real handful. Nalan Yuanshu was the primary antagonist and a core character, so there was no room for half-measures. His Mandarin was poor, making communication difficult. More importantly, the guy was utterly lacking in emotional intelligence. "Nalan Yuanshu is a young Qing military officer, highly skilled in martial arts, and on good terms with Yang Yugan. Initially, they share the same goal, both believing that practicing martial arts strengthens the body and ultimately the nation. But over the Tan Sitong affair, a rift develops, and their conflict escalates deeper and deeper." That day, inside the soundstage, Chen Qi was giving a lecture. Zhen Zidan sat below with the others, head tilted up, listening attentively, but his posture radiated sheer arrogance. After speaking for a while, Chen Qi asked, "Do you understand all that?" "Understood!" "This character is ruthless and stops at nothing. You must bring that out. You need to practice one specific expression: looking at people out of the corners of your eyes..." Chen Qi gave a demonstration. Zhen Zidan frowned and raised his hand. "I'd like to ask, why do it that way?" "Looking sideways conveys an arrogant, sinister attitude! Your makeup will be somewhat pale, with the corners of your eyes drawn upward, and paired with more side-profile close-ups, the essence of Nalan Yuanshu will come right through." "I still have doubts. I don't think your method will work very well..." "..." The cavernous soundstage instantly fell dead silent. Everyone, Li Lianjie included, stared at him wide-eyed. *Brother from America, what's wrong with your head? Even I don't dare make a peep when Qi-ge is lecturing, and you just straight-up shoot him down??* He Qing and Tao Huimin also gave him a side-glance, quietly scooting a little farther away. Gong Xue tilted her head, covering her mouth with her hand as she whispered, "He's in for it now!" "Does Manager Chen have a bad temper?" Li Jianqun asked curiously. "He has a wonderful temper, but if someone challenges him without the real skill to back it up, his temper gets very bad..." Gong Xue chuckled softly. Li Jianqun arched a brow, watching the spectacle with keen interest. Zhen Zidan, utterly oblivious, continued on his own, "I want to act using my own preferred method. I've done my homework too."