Trying to Wreck My Show?

The sequel to Bloodgun Detective was another resounding hit, selling even better than the first installment. Lu Yuanhai grew restless and conferred with Lu Yuanshan. "Brother, are we still pulling out? This has brought in a serious amount of money!" Lu Yuanshan pondered for a long time before shaking his head. "We still need to pull out. Money isn't the priority here. Dirty work is dirty work after all—we can't get in too deep." Lu Yuanhai was reluctant to let it go. "How about we consult Uncle Qiu?" "No need. Don't you know Uncle Qiu's temper by now? He'd definitely tell us to wash our hands of it as soon as possible. The stuff Ma the Fifth is churning out—watching it once or twice is fine, but watch too much and it just gets sickening. It's not a long-term plan, and we can't drag our family's reputation into it." In truth, this really was something they should have consulted Qiu Zhiheng about, because Qiu Zhiheng understood the situation better than anyone. Growing up in a prominent family, Lu Yuanshan and Lu Yuanhai had seen and experienced everything. The novelties on screen might have seemed fresh to them at first, but with repeated viewings, they truly grew tired of it. Ordinary folk, however, had never experienced such things. To them, the techniques and angles in those films were more than just a novelty; they inspired genuine yearning. How could they ever get sick of it? If they had been to the Outer States, they would have known that audiences could watch hundreds of such films without ever growing tired of them. Unfortunately, Qiu Zhiheng was busy with other business during this period and paid no attention to the films. Ma the Fifth had shot two installments of Bloodgun Detective back to back, clearly challenging the boundaries of what Puluo Province considered acceptable. Did no one want to step in? Did no one want to stop him? There were. Plenty of people wanted to intervene. The major newspapers and prominent commentators blasted Ma the Fifth relentlessly, and practically every day saw special opinion pieces condemning him. But flapping one's gums was easy; taking actual action was another matter entirely. The matter involved the Lu family, and it also involved Sanying Gate. Ordinary people didn't dare lay a hand on Ma the Fifth, and those who did dare didn't want to wade into these murky waters. Ma the Fifth had also learned to let it go. If the newspapers wanted to curse him, let them curse; the harsher the criticism, the more famous he became. If the Lu family wanted to withdraw, let them withdraw. Old Seventh was right: this industry was theirs for the taking, and they could become legendary masters in it. If the Lu family didn't want a piece of the pie, it served them right for lacking vision. At Jiuyang Pavilion, Li Banfeng and Ma the Fifth hosted a meal, treating Qin Tianjiu to instant-boiled mutton. Knowing that Qin Xiaopang was a Food Cultivator, Ma the Fifth immediately told the waiter to slice ten jin of meat upon arriving in the private room. Hearing this, Qin Tianjiu set down his chopsticks. Ma the Fifth was taken aback. "Brother Qin, what does this mean? Do you dislike this restaurant? If so, we can switch to another place." Qin Tianjiu shook his head. "Instant-boiled mutton is great, and I genuinely love it. But Fifth Young Master, if you only order ten jin of meat, we might as well just sit around and chat as a mere formality." Ma the Fifth was puzzled. Li Banfeng chuckled. "Brother, is it not enough to eat?" Qin Tianjiu gave a wry chuckle. "To be honest with you, Seventh Brother, ever since I ate that bug, if a meal is under fifteen jin, I don't feel even remotely full. Even after eating my fill, I'm hungry again in less than three hours. Even when I'm fast asleep, I wake up from hunger. The meager allowance the gang gives me all goes straight into my stomach. Not a single copper is left at the end of the month, and yet I've still starved into this state. Sitting here chatting with you and Fifth Young Master today... just talking for this short while has already left me light-headed with hunger. If we chat a bit longer, I'll have to go hunt for another meal." Hearing this, Ma the Fifth promptly summoned the waiter and added another twenty jin of mutton. "Whatever happens today, we can't let you go hungry." The three brothers chatted as they ate. When the conversation turned to Sanying Gate, Qin Xiaopang had indeed gathered some information. "The Ling family reached out to our gang to get this done, and our Second Chief agreed to it. But now that I've handled things the way I did, the Second Chief hasn't said a word, which basically counts as tacit approval. Seventh Brother, go ahead and keep shooting your movie. I can't speak for other things, but from Sanying Gate, no one will dare come look for trouble on your set." *** Inside the Ling Family Studio, Zhou Changhong's face was dark. "I said I wouldn't be picky about the severity, but after all the effort Sanying Gate exerted, this is all they managed?" Ling Miaoying sighed. "I spoke to their Second Chief about it too, but he said they did their part thoroughly." "What do you mean, thoroughly?" "Their men went there every single day. Ma the Fifth's production was indeed delayed. Last time they beat us to the punch, but this time they couldn't, falling behind by a full half month..." Ling Miaoying's voice grew quieter and quieter. Even with a full half-month head start, they had still lost at the box office. Ling Miaoying was now deeply doubting his own capabilities. Zhou Changhong shook his head. "They were late by half a month because they genuinely put real effort into the movie. The quality of this film wasn't the same as before. If we can't count on Sanying Gate, what about the other gangs?" Ling Miaoying didn't dare make promises. "I can have them give it a try, but they might not do much better than Sanying Gate." "No need to bother, they're all the fucking same," Zhou Changhong said, rising to his feet. "I heard they're more than halfway through filming their third movie. This time I'll take matters into my own hands. An eye for an eye—I'm going to burn their film." Ling Miaoying said, "That won't work. I heard Ma the Fifth kept plenty of negatives, more than just one copy." "However many copies there are, that's how many I'll burn. Have the spies around Ma the Fifth look into it, and burn down their film set right along with it!" *** That very night, fire broke out at Ma the Fifth's film set, and the film reels were burned. Ma the Fifth still congratulated himself that he had kept more than one copy. Yet the next night, Xiaoyaowu caught fire, and another copy went up in flames. Ma the Fifth panicked and instructed Zuo Wugang and the others to prioritize guarding the film company. Two days later, the film company caught fire again, and the film was destroyed once more. Who was so ruthless? Not only were they ruthless, but their intelligence was also terrifyingly precise. Now only a single copy remained. What would they do if it was burned too? *** Inside the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng was watching a movie with the wife. "Oh my, Husband, this is far too shameless! Where did this come from? Your humble servant can't be watching this!" "Why can't you watch it? This is unedited footage. Even if other people wanted to see it, they couldn't." "Th-this... tell me, what kind of techniques are these? Could our family's little husband do that too? Aren't you afraid of breaking something?" Hong Ying barked in frustration, "How do they do it? At least tell me!" The gramophone burst out laughing, "Bwahaha! Slut, you can't see, can you? It serves you right to die of impatience!" The last copy of the film had been hidden inside the Portable Abode, beyond Zhou Changhong's reach. However, filming was not yet finished. Ma the Fifth changed shooting locations and continued filming, but only two days in, another blaze erupted, reducing cameras, props, and sets to ash. Losing equipment was not the end of the world; they could always buy more. But if someone were killed one day, things would get out of hand. Ma the Fifth had Zuo Wugang step up security. Zuo Wugang didn't dare sleep at night, and the guards under his command added multiple shifts of sentries, locking down the set tight. Yet despite all these precautions, it was utterly useless. At three in the morning, the newly established set caught fire anyway. By four o'clock, the fire had been extinguished. The arsonist had left no trace whatsoever. How they came and how they left were things Zuo Wugang couldn't discern at all. The burning of the film sets even made the newspapers under the headline: "Ma the Fifth Knows No Shame, Flouting Public Decency; Righteous Chivalric Hero Steps In to Force Him into a Corner." The newspapers could simply be ignored. Ma the Fifth didn't blame Old Zuo either. However, another solution had to be found for the film sets, or the movie could never be finished. "Old Seventh, we've switched sets several times now. We've searched all over Lüshui City, and not a single place can last three days." Lüshui City, it seemed, was no longer an option. Li Banfeng had already conceived an idea. "If Lüshui City doesn't work, we'll change locations." Ma the Fifth blinked. "Where could we go? The manpower and equipment are all in Lüshui City. We can't just leave." "Why can't we leave? Back then, when the Ling family was afraid we'd cause trouble, they moved their set to Wuqin Township. Why can't we move?" Ma the Fifth pondered for a while. "Didn't you see through the Ling family's intentions back then? Wuqin Township is their turf. When they filmed there, they naturally had people watching their backs." "Listen to yourself. Don't we have our own turf?" Ma the Fifth was stunned. "You want to film in Lanyang Village?" "Lanyang Village won't do. We're going to Zhengjing Village! Bring Yanzi, Ah Qin, and the rest onto the job. I refuse to believe we can't guard a film set!" Ma the Fifth was dumbstruck. "Film in a newland?" Li Banfeng grinned. "You haven't tried it before, have you?" Ma the Fifth shook his head. "No one has ever tried it! What kind of place is a newland? How do we prepare supplies? Where do we find equipment there? Besides, what actor would be willing to go to a place like that?" Li Banfeng smacked his lips. "Isn't it all for the sake of art? I went to the theater yesterday to watch it. Don't think that just because your box office is good, audiences won't nitpick. Some viewers were saying you have too many interior scenes and not enough outdoor scenes—and what outdoor scenes you do have aren't grand enough! If we go to Zhengjing Village to film, what kind of scene couldn't we get? There are forests, wilderness, deserts, lakes, and all sorts of rare, wondrous beasts. Just imagine how grand the scale will be! If you're willing, we can let Yanzi and her sisters make a cameo, and you can play a scene opposite Yanzi. Wouldn't that be great?" Ma the Fifth shook his head. "It's pointless for us to talk about this. The actors definitely won't go, and neither will the crew. When the time comes, it'll just be the two of us left. I'd love to see what we could possibly film." "That's why I say you lack sincerity in your work. Go fetch Zuo Wugang. I'll discuss it with him, and tomorrow night, we'll invite the entire cast and crew over to Zhengjing Village." Ma the Fifth was never stingy when it came to manpower. To rush the schedule, his entire crew consisted of over three hundred people. The next night, Ma the Fifth gathered everyone together and broached the topic of shooting the movie in a newland. The outcome was just as he had anticipated: neither the crew nor the actors were willing to go. A newland wasn't a place just anyone could visit! For people with neither cultivation nor survival experience, going there was suicidal! With Ma the Fifth's words falling on deaf ears, it was Zuo Wugang's turn to speak. Zuo Wugang stepped before the crowd and cleared his throat. "Let's talk about this movie. It's a good movie! Why is it so good? Well, honestly, I don't understand it either—I'm a rough sort. Er, Old Cao, put that knife down." Cao Zhida stabbed his dagger into the table, glared at the actors and crew, and said to Zuo Wugang, "Boss Zuo, pay me no mind. You go right ahead." Zuo Wugang continued, "Our Seventh Master said making movies is art. What is art? I don't know that either. But I reckon art has to value loyalty and brotherhood. If you don't value loyalty, where's the art? Now, asking you all to go to a newland—I, Old Zuo, guarantee you right here that nothing will happen to you once you're there. With our brothers watching over you, nothing can possibly happen. I tell you... Zhen Jincheng, what the hell are you doing? We're having a civil conversation here, why did you pull your knife out again?" Zhen Jincheng put his blade away. "Nothing, Boss Zuo. You go right ahead." Zuo Wugang continued, "Everyone sitting here is a loyal brother of principle. The carriages are already prepared, so we're setting off right now. If anyone lacks loyalty and doesn't want to go, you can stay behind, and we'll have a private word." The cast and crew proved to be people of great loyalty; they all followed Cao Zhida and Zhen Jincheng onto the carriages. Xiao Chuanzi and Xiao Genzi had prepared over twenty carriages and transported everyone to Zhengjing Village through the night. Word of this soon spread across Lüshui City. Ma the Fifth had shipped over three hundred people to a newland overnight. What was he up to? Making a movie! Making a movie in a newland! Has the man lost his mind? What kind of movie is that going to produce? Sending the people over wasn't enough; there was also the equipment. Xiao Chuanzi and Xiao Genzi made several round trips. After delivering the equipment, they still had to arrange supplies—daily necessities for over three hundred people's eating, drinking, sleeping, and everything else had to be procured. Beyond living supplies, there were production needs: both exterior and interior sets had to be built, a massive undertaking that required a great deal of manpower. Fortunately, manpower was not in short supply here. Hunters who usually roamed the newland gathered in Zhengjing Village to work as laborers for the production. How much they were paid didn't matter; these hunters had only one wish: to show their faces in the movie. In Puluo Province, movies were still a novelty after all. Many hunters had never even had a photograph taken in their entire lives, so appearing on the silver screen was an enormous honor! As more and more hunters arrived, the construction expanded, and Zhengjing Village became lively. The surrounding territory grew bustling as well. A group of crew members was setting up a scene by the lake when Zhou Changhong slipped in among them, helping arrange camera positions and lighting. He had disguised himself as a hunter, and his disguise was so convincing that no one around him noticed. Throughout the production, Yanzi stood guard with three Madam Bagworm Moths, while Ah Qin patrolled with a group of sisters—and yet none of them had detected Zhou Changhong! Once the set was constructed, Zhou Changhong looked at the movie cameras on set. These cameras had all been purchased from Lüshui City. If they were smashed, new ones would have to be brought in from Lüshui City, and Zhou Changhong wondered if Ma the Fifth could afford the delay of making the round trip. His mind made up, Zhou Changhong was just about to make his move when he suddenly heard someone call out beside him: "Little brother, trouble you to help me lift this lighting frame." Zhou Changhong turned his head and saw a gaunt, octogenarian elder standing beside a lighting frame, waving at him. "Old sir, working here at your age?" The elder smiled. "Isn't it to see the novelty? I've never seen anyone shoot a movie in my whole life." The lighting frame was very heavy. Once the two carried it into place, the elder asked, "Young man, you've got quite some strength. Your cultivation must not be low, eh?" Zhou Changhong smiled. "I'm a Level Two Martial Cultivator." The elder marveled, "Level Two at such a young age? I only reached Level Two after getting to this ripe old age." "How should I address you, old sir?" "My family name is Shui. People nearby call me Old Shui. That elder brother over there is named Qiu; we all call him Old Qiu." As he spoke, a stout, elderly man walked up behind Zhou Changhong with a simple, honest smile. One in front, one behind—Zhou Changhong was sandwiched between them. He looked back and forth at the two elders and asked, "Seniors, what is the meaning of this?" The gaunt elder smacked his lips. "Young man, I can tell at a glance you're no ordinary mortal. I came over because I'd like to discuss something with you. We two old brothers enjoy a bit of hustle and bustle. As luck would have it, this place wasn't lively before, but now it has finally become bustling, and we'd like to keep it that way. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Zhou Changhong remained silent. The stout elder frowned. "Old Shui, you're always so indirect, no wonder people can't understand you. Little brother, let me put it simply: what we mean is, could you please fuck off?" *** PS: Zhengjing Village is located on the territorial boundary between Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye. With flourishing human presence, a newland has the chance to become proper land.