After Qiao Moyu finished speaking, she pulled over a table and propped up the candlestick she had brought with her. She then took out a bronze bowl and filled it with water before setting it next to several paper notes.
Luo Luo stood to one side and watched curiously as Qiao Moyu prepared. He dared not utter a word since he had promised her before they left that he wouldn't make trouble at her work.
So even if his eyes were wide with curiosity, he dared not speak or move.
Next to him, the director couldn't help but sigh as he stared at the Taoist child who looked only two or three years old.
He put his hopes on these two Taoist priests because his logic was muddled by his desperation. By the time Qiao Moyu lit up the candlestick, the director no longer felt like stopping them.
'The sky was black, and the earth was pale. The universe was formed in a chaotic mess….” Qiao Moyu said as she began to open the light. In fact, she could achieve the same effects without doing such rituals, but in order to appear more professional in front of other, she simply recited the text she studied back then.
She leapt forward while chanting; one moment, she was reciting from the 'Book of Changes' and the next she chanted from 'Tao Te Ching.' Despite her growing headache, she kept a straight face, acting as if she was some respectable master.
(T/N: Book of Changes is an ancient Chinese divination text and the oldest of the Chinese classics; Tao Te Ching is a Chinese classic text traditionally credited to the 6th-century BC sage Laozi.)
As she recited, Qiao Moyu picked up her peach sword and began to wave it about. Due to her martial arts training, her sword dance was quite skillful, enough to startle the director and the actors from the audience.
Although this priests appeared young, he must truly be a master!
Luo Luo stood by the side and watched his mother with interested. Whenever Qiao Moyu danced more rigorously, he followed along to her movements as well.
Luo Luo ran to a corner in order not to bother her while he attempted to imitate his mother's movements. The chubby little boy lacked a sense of balance; when he twirled around, he ended up falling on his butt and sitting on the ground.
The director and his companions laughed. Was this the so called 'unique' physique?
Qiao Moyu leapt onto the table and lit a paper note. When it had almost burnt out, she threw it directly onto the bronze bowl that was filled with water.
The blackened paper instantly melted into the liquid, causing the water to turn pitch black and cloudy.
Qiao Moyu gently caressed the bronze bowl and closed her eyes. She suddenly opened them again, but this time, with a glint in her eye. After picking up the bronze bowl, she approached the director and said, “Hand me a prop that you used in this movie!”
The director motioned to his men below, and soon, someone brought over a broken backpack.
“That's it?” Qiao Moyu asked.
“Yes,” the director said with a nod. “It's a prop that's used from beginning to end within the film.”
Qiao Moyu didn't say much. She sprinkled half of the water on the broken backpack and the other half on the director. After reciting a few more sentences, she waved her horsetail whisk and declared: “Open the light and succeed!”
The director felt remorseful about his damp shirt; it was actually worth more than a hundred shirts, and yet now it's been stained black!
However, what he didn't know was that after several days come to pass, he will eventually pick up this shirt and display it on his wall! He would call it his 'baby' without letting anyone touch it!
“So, Kai Guang Master, is it over yet?” The director had no hopes for Qiao Moyu in the end. After checking the time, he addressed the actors: “It's time. Let's go backstage.”
The premier started 20 minutes before the film was aired. When the director stepped out of his seat and looked at the audience behind him, he felt as if his heart was crushed into a pool of blood; dozens of people were chatting and whispering to one another in the audience.
Nevertheless, he had already prepared himself psychologically for this kind of disappointment. While trying to comfort himself in his mind, the director approached the host and said: “Thank you for today…”
At this very moment, outside of the theatre.
“Hey, isn't there a premier here? Let's go and see it!”
“Why is nobody here for the premier? Now that's sad, this babe decides to show her love and support then!”
“The director looks familiar, this Lady will give him a call!”
“The actor for this movie is so ugly. I, the Young Master, will go watch this movie to flaunt my superior looks.”
Outside the theatre, people kept coming for exotic reasons and bought movie tickets.
Chapter 59
Outside the theatre, people kept coming for exotic reasons and bought tickets. The directors and actors on stage noticed something unusual about those newcomers coming in through the movie theater doors; old grannies, young girls, and other people who look as if they don't normally watch this kind of film, all came in to watch.
As a result, the vacant seats were all filled up at an unprecedented speed. The audience below were quite enthusiastic. They even applauded at the dull jokes of the film, and the atmosphere was warm and welcoming.
By the end of the premiere, all of the seats were full. At this point, the director felt as if he were in a dream.
Backstage, his suddenly cell phone rang. Upon answering it, he heard his assistant's excited voice: “Director Wang! Listen to me! All 12 theaters in the city replied to us and said our premier was full! Almost all the seats were sold out at once this past 20 minutes! Not only that, our pre-sale tickets for the next few days are also on a hot sale! I'm looking at the data! 20%, 40%, 70%. WTF! All the tickets for the next week will be sold out soon! Is there something wrong with my phone, or am I dreaming?”
The director's hand tightly gripped his phone as the voices around him seemed to fade into the background. He couldn't help but stare at the leisurely mother and son sitting at their seats backstage.
The director's face turned white from uncontrollable excitement. His leg trembled as he turned to Qiao Moyu with tears in his eyes: “Master!”
Ever since earning her first pot of gold that day, Qiao Moyu was finally able to pay back her credit card and resolve her worries concerning the future.
The movie exploded in popularity online and its grateful director settled the income everyday and remitted it to Qiao Moyu's account. So these days, she received text notifications daily on her bank records.
The film was the center of discussion online. In one night, the number of movie theaters that agreed to air the film were a dozen a day, and the release time was directly extended to a month.
In an interview with the reporters, the director smiled calmly in front of the camera: “In fact, I don't know what made the film successful; I believe I must have been blessed by a divine man!”
At first, people thought he was simply being modest. However, someone from the background uploaded pictures of two young Taoist priests on Weibo, causing the discussion to shift to a whole new direction.
Everyone began asking about the identity of these holy priests, but no one knew.
Some people approached Director Wang to inquire, but since he was already forewarned, he disclosed none of Qiao Moyu's contact information. All he said was that if anyone ever needed to 'open the light' all they had to do was go to an abandoned Taoist temple at the northern outskirts of the city. If they leave their contact information and requests at that temple, perhaps the holy Master will choose a few and them and dial their numbers.
No matter how popular the 'Taoist Priest' was becoming, Qiao Moyu had no care for it. That's because 'First Light of Dawn' was finally beginning its shooting.
True to his usual style, Director Feng announced the list of all participating actors and put up a poster of the cast on the official website just the day before.
On the poster, Qiao Moyu and Ye Peicheng stood side by side in their military uniforms. Both of them had guns in their hands with cold gazes, but each of them had their own unique temperament.
Chapter 60
The man was deep and indifferent while the woman was cold and sharp. Just looking at the poster was like being immersed in the scent of war and gunpowder.
Almost all of the scenes to be filmed today were Qiao Moyu's and Ye Peicheng's scenes.
Today's venue was very special; they were filming at the governor's palace in the Imperial Capital. The governor's palace is a historical site that was built nearly 100 years ago. It is well preserved and has millions of visitors every year.
A few days ago, the crew received a special approval in advance and were allowed to go over to shoot a few scenes at the location.
That was why for these upcoming two days, they will have to work overtime to complete all the scenes that need to be shot here.
Meanwhile, Qiao Moyu was left speechless when she saw the arrangements that Xiao Su delivered to her from Director Feng.
Because the first part of the script was a bed scene.
This scene was after the commander brought the female lead to his mansion. She loathed him, but he didn't want to let her go. The male lead cornered her against a wall, and as she struggled and tried to beat him, the two ended up kissing. Then…
“Peicheng, your stand-in just called in saying he had an emergency back home so it would be difficult for him to come.” Zhang Zetu, who was Ye Peicheng's agent, apparently just received the phone call. He anxiously said: “Today's shooting has a kiss scene AND a bed scene. This stand-in is really giving me trouble!”
Ye Peicheng had already changed into his military uniform at this time. After hearing his agent's complaints, he glanced up at Qiao Moyu who was reading the script and said, “I will do it myself.”
“Peicheng, you?” The agent thought he had misheard and couldn't help reminding him: “Peicheng, have you seen today's script? Director Feng is very meticulous about details and being up close for the sake of the viewers.”
“Get ready,” Peicheng replied as he stood up. “The venue is rented for only two days and can't be delayed.”
After saying so, he strode to the camera.
In the governor's palace, Qiao Moyu laid in bed. She struggled to wake up and escape after being worn down by her illness. However, at this time, the door suddenly opened. Qiao Moyu raised her head and saw Ye Peicheng by the entrance. He apparently had just left the battlefield, carrying with him the scent of gunpowder and blood.
With a cold heart, she instinctively made a defensive gesture.
As soon as Ye Peicheng glanced at her, he realized her intention to escape.
Almost instantly, Ye Peicheng threw his uniform coat with force on the ground, then strode forward step by step, narrowing the distance between them speedily. He clasped Qiao Moyu's arm.
“You–” Qiao Moyu tried to retreat, but her back made contact with the wall behind her, leaving her no room to escape.
“Moyu, I treat you so well, but you still want to run away!” The man spoke through gritted teeth, his anger and disappointment evident in his low voice. Suddenly, a strong breeze blew into the room out of nowhere!
“I hate you!” Qiao Moyu raised her eyes and looked straight at him. “You can't take my people, and you can't take my heart!”
“Good! In that case, I'll take that place as your man!” As soon as Ye Peicheng said this, he held Qiao Moyu's hand high above her head, and his shadow fell upon her. His kisses fell all over her, filled with a man's aggression and desire.”
💋💋💋💋💋
T/N Kitty Jiu: Σ>―(〃°ω°〃)♡→
Ohoho Father Ye is truly a cupid xD