Yu Hai was a native of Yantai, the caliber of martial artist selected for overseas goodwill tours and performance delegations, and currently served as the head coach of the Shandong Wushu Team.
The Shandong team's training facilities were somewhat modest. Such things were tied directly to results: the more gold medals you won, the better resources you were allocated.
Take Li Lianjie, for instance. His years of service had started counting toward his pension when he was only eleven. Every overseas trip brought a five-hundred-yuan subsidy, and after sweeping five gold medals at the National Games the previous year, his wage had jumped five tiers in one go to eighty-eight yuan a month, hitting the absolute ceiling.
Or Wu Jing, who ate special meals prepared just for him every day on his team while everyone else ate from the common pot. He even got milk. Wasn't that all because he was a champion?
As the three walked in, a group of athletes was in the middle of training. Yu Hai assumed Li Wenhua was the man in charge, talking animatedly as he showed him around, while Li Wenhua held a small notepad, jotting down notes from time to time.
"..."
Chen Qi merely scanned the crowd. There were far fewer familiar faces here than on the Beijing squad. After searching for quite a while, he suddenly spotted someone.
The young man was tall and lean with an elongated face, thick eyebrows reminiscent of Crayon Shin-chan, and particularly large nostrils. All in all, his features were strikingly distinctive and rugged—the sort of face that screamed martial prowess at first glance. He held a broadsword, whirling it with ferocious power.
"Coach Yu, could you call that comrade over?"
"That's Sun Jiankui. National runner-up in broadsword, and his fist routines aren't half bad either."
Yu Hai called Sun Jiankui over. The young man arrived looking utterly bewildered, but the moment he heard these visitors were from the Beijing Film Studio, his eyes lit up. "Hello, Director Li! Creative, Creative Planner Chen..."
"Just call me Xiao Chen!"
"Hello, Comrade Xiao Chen!"
"Hello, hello. Are you interested in acting in movies?"
"More than interested! I love watching movies. Are you making a martial arts film?"
"That's right. I see your broadsword routine is quite sharp. Do you know any staff techniques?" Chen Qi asked.
"If you need me to know it, I will definitely master it!" Sun Jiankui replied with absolute resolve.
"Haha, alright. We'll talk in detail later."
Sun Jiankui was not particularly skilled with a staff at the moment, but in *The Shaolin Temple*, he would play Monk Sekong, wielding a dazzling drunken staff with remarkable natural talent. After rising to fame through *The Shaolin Temple*, he went on to work in Hong Kong for a stretch, notably playing the eunuch in *Tai Chi Master*.
Chen Qi planned to cast him as the Miaojiang Staff King on the third tier of the pagoda. With his uniquely striking looks, he was tailor-made for the part.
Having made this pick, Chen Qi stopped looking. He spent the rest of the visit perfunctorily accompanying Li Wenhua before they all retired to an office.
Yu Hai brewed them tea and said with a smile, "Speaking strictly for myself, I'd rather you didn't pick away our best seedlings. We're raising them to win gold medals. But if they weren't good, you probably wouldn't want them either, so we'll just have to wait for the leadership to decide."
"Coach Yu, do you think martial arts athletes acting in films is neglecting their proper duties?" Chen Qi asked.
"How should I put it?" Yu Hai pondered for a moment and answered honestly. "Personally, I'm not against making movies. Movies are a wonderful way to promote Chinese martial arts. I've traveled to dozens of countries—the Soviet Union, America, France—and the people there were head over heels for Chinese martial arts. But relying solely on touring delegations to perform country by country is too tedious. Put it on film, and with one screening, everyone can see it... I don't understand filmmaking, of course, so don't laugh if I said something foolish."
"Not at all, not at all. You hit the nail right on the head. Film is indeed a fantastic medium for outreach."
Having said his piece, Chen Qi fell silent, yielding the floor to Li Wenhua.
Though Li Wenhua still felt a bit disgruntled, he had to admit this kid had an uncanny knack. The two people Chen Qi favored happened to align perfectly with his own choices. Li Wenhua said, "We think Sun Jiankui is excellent. There's a role very well suited to him. There's also one more person we have in mind, though we aren't sure if he's willing."
"Who is it? I'll help you talk him into it. Making a movie is a golden opportunity—refusing would just be ungrateful!" Yu Hai offered generously.
"You said it yourself, so no backing out," Chen Qi chimed in with a grin.
"A martial artist keeps his word!"
"Alright, then we'll consider it settled!"
"Well, spit it out! Who is it?"
"It's you!"
"Huh?"
Yu Hai's modest-sized eyes went wide in disbelief. "You're not looking for an athlete, you're asking a coach to act? I mean, when I was young, I was a handsome lad in the martial arts circle, but at my age now, how could I possibly act?"
"We'd like you to play the male lead's master. It's a critical role—the second lead of the entire film."
"No, no, that won't do. I've never acted before!"
"A martial artist keeps his word! Are you going to turn around and deny what you just promised?"
"Well, this..."
Yu Hai was torn, yet an eager spark had been ignited.
He had already won every honor there was to win. Now in middle age, with no grand ambitions left to chase, he genuinely wanted to try something new. He hesitated, saying, "What if the leadership doesn't approve?"
"Leave that to us. Just tell us: do you agree or not?"
"Since you don't mind having an amateur like me, I accept!"
"Excellent, then it's a deal! You're officially part of our *Tai Chi* cast. Now that we've chosen you, we'll begin making preparations on your behalf. If anyone else comes knocking, you must remember: first come, first served."
"A martial artist keeps his word! What I promised to you is yours."
Yu Hai thumped his chest.
And just like that, it was done!
Chen Qi had not gone straight for Li Lianjie because Li Lianjie was already reserved by Zhang Xinyan. Instead, Chen Qi headed down to the provinces to sweep up the supporting ensemble, catching them all in his net before Zhang Xinyan could get there.
He had no fear that Zhang Xinyan would look elsewhere, because *The Shaolin Temple* would inevitably scout the martial arts teams too, drawing from the exact same talent pool.
After wrapping up that discussion, Chen Qi added, "Coach Yu, we're still looking for an actor to play our main villain. He needs to be around your age, with an imposing aura and formidable skill. Do you have any friends you could recommend?"
"Uh..."
Yu Hai racked his brain for a long while before his head snapped up. "There is one! There's one! He's also from Yantai. The Ningxia Wushu Team invited him over to be their coach."
"So he's in Ningxia right now? What's his name?" Li Wenhua asked.
"Yu Chenghui!"
***
Chen Qi and Li Wenhua stayed in Jinan for two days before continuing south to Zhejiang.
The Zhejiang Provincial Wushu Team was quite impressive in its own right. While Li Wenhua found Chen Qi's uncanny instincts unnerving, this trip could easily be explained as following a map, scouting province by province.
After half a day browsing the team, they selected a man named Hu Jianqiang. Skilled in broadsword, staff, and Southern Fist, he was also a national-champion-level athlete. In the original timeline, he had played one of the thirteen cudgel monks in *The Shaolin Temple*, later appearing in *Kids from Shaolin*, *Martial Arts of Shaolin*, and *Drunken Master III*.
Yet Chen Qi failed to find his primary target. A wave of panic seized him, making him wonder if the butterfly effect had wiped the man from the roster. Fortunately, the coach spoke up: "We have a member who was advised to withdraw from the team. Would you like to take a look at him?"
"Advised to withdraw? What happened to him?"
"He was injured once and prescribed several doses of traditional Chinese medicine. The poor boy didn't know better and brewed the medicine in an aluminum pot. All his hair and eyebrows fell out. His appearance was simply too ruined, so we had to advise him to leave."
"Could you call him over?"
"Certainly, certainly!"
The two waited another day.
When they returned the next morning, they were met by a young man whose features were even more strikingly rugged. It was quite cold, and he wore a worn, faded coat, suggesting a humble family background. A hat was pulled low over his head, covering it completely, and looking closely at his face, he indeed had no eyebrows.
Chen Qi couldn't help but smile.
Li Wenhua's eyes lit up as well. A look like this was nearly impossible to find!
A born villain!
"Hello, Director! My name is Ji Chunhua, and I'm nineteen this year!"
"Do you want to act in movies?"
"Yes!"
"Show us a few moves. Anything you like."
Ji Chunhua stripped off his coat and snapped through a set of fierce, crisp fist routines.
"..."
Once the demonstration was over, Chen Qi asked Li Wenhua, "What do you think?"
"He works. With an appearance like that, whatever role he plays, the audience will never forget him."
"Great, then it's settled!"
"Thank you, Director! Thank you, Creative... Creative Planner Chen!"
Ji Chunhua bowed repeatedly, tears welling in his eyes. Having been let go from the martial arts team, he had fallen into such despair that he had contemplated suicide. He had never imagined a silver lining would appear so suddenly.
Everyone found Chen Qi's title awkward to say, but he didn't mind. He smiled and said, "Just call me Xiao Chen. Wait for our word. We'll sign a simple agreement shortly. Just remember, you belong to the *Tai Chi* production team now."
***
That night, at the guesthouse.
While Li Wenhua washed up, Chen Qi curled on the bed under a thin quilt, shivering as he wrote. Southern China lacked central heating, and the penetrating, bone-chilling damp felt like layers of magic attacks hitting him, leaving him terrified to even take off his clothes.
"Xiao Chen, why haven't you washed up yet?"
Li Wenhua walked in carrying an enamel washbasin.
Chen Qi said, "It's too cold. I'm afraid I'll freeze to death after washing. I don't have the courage to crawl out from under the covers."
"I was just like you the first time I came down south in the winter. Once you come more often, you'll get used to it..." Li Wenhua chuckled, then paused. "How about a swig of liquor? That'll warm you up."
"Is there any liquor?"
"I saw a little tavern nearby. I'll go buy some, and grab a handful of roasted peanuts while I'm at it."
"Alright, alright, then I'll trouble you, Director!"
Chen Qi stayed huddled in the quilt, unabashedly refusing to stick so much as a toe outside.
Li Wenhua shook his head. To call this kid lazy wouldn't be fair, since he was remarkably tough and professional when it counted; yet calling him diligent wasn't quite right either, as he was prone to slacking off whenever he could. Before spending time with him, Li Wenhua had assumed Chen Qi would be arrogant and conceited, relying on the studio head's backing. Now that they were traveling together, there was none of that—he was simply an amusing, interesting young fellow.
Left alone in the room, Chen Qi continued pondering.
It was precisely because Zhang Xinyan took his sweet time making films that Chen Qi had been handed this chance to beat him to the punch.
So far, four formidable talents were locked in: Yu Hai, Sun Jiankui, Ji Chunhua, and Hu Jianqiang. Yu Chenghui was out in Ningxia, which was too far for now; they could visit him after the Spring Festival. There was also Xiong Xinxin on the Guangxi Wushu Team—the man who would later play Clubfoot Seven.
Once they recruited a few more from the Beijing Wushu Team, the leads, supporting cast, and villains would all be accounted for.
The villains were crucial. To tackle the Tower of Seven Heroes, they would need at least seven top-tier masters!
Chapter 77