Huayu97: Starting with Wu Song Fighting the Tiger

After waving her hand, Liu Xiang handed a hot water bottle to an elderly extra who was shivering and stamping his feet, saying, "Grandpa, you can keep this. I'm young and strong, I can handle the cold!"

The old man, over sixty years old, was from Yangshan. His face was deeply lined with wrinkles, and when he smiled, he revealed two missing teeth. He took the hot water bottle and quickly thanked him, saying, "Young man, you're so generous! Our Yangshan peaches are sweet. I'll bring you two baskets when spring comes!"

Just as Liu Xiang was about to speak, Director Zhang's loudspeaker blared again: "Attention all departments! Actors, take your positions! Episode 20 of 'Drunkenly Beating Jiang the Gatekeeper,' river scene, take one! Action!"

Liu Xiang immediately stopped smiling, swaying slightly as if he were drunk. He held onto the gunwale with one hand and gripped his staff with the other, muttering to himself, "I, Wu Song, drunkenly fought a tiger and became famous throughout the land, but now I have to wander the world like this..."

The wooden boat drifted slowly with the current, the oars cutting through the water and creating ripples. The reeds on the bank rustled in the wind, and a few tattered apricot-yellow flags were planted on the distant earthen slope, creating a scene reminiscent of the Jianghu (江湖, a world of martial arts and chivalry) of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Director Zhang sat behind the monitor, his eyes wide, nodding repeatedly. He couldn't help but mutter to the assistant director, "Great! That's it! Liu Xiang's eyes are spot on! That sobriety within the drunkenness, that sense of a hero's downfall—absolutely brilliant!"

Three takes were filmed in total. The river crossing scene was considered acceptable. Next, the main scene was filmed: jumping off the boat and fighting with Jiang Menshen's men.

This scene required Liu Xiang to leap from the bow of the boat into the water, then step onto the slippery riverbank and beat up three thugs who rushed up at him. There also had to be a chase scene. During this time, the blower had to blow hard on the water to create a splashing effect, highlighting the intensity of the fight.

The assistant director, holding a megaphone, shouted, "Liu Xiang, have you thought this through? This water is really cold. If you jump in, you'd better hold your breath and not get cramps! If it's really too much, we can use a stunt double?"

Liu Xiang stretched her wrists and ankles and said, "A stunt double? That's so boring! How can we let someone else stand in for Wu Erlang's scenes? Don't worry! I can handle it!"

He knew in his heart that the effect of using a stunt double to film such important scenes was always a little lacking. What the audience wanted was the actors' real dedication. Moreover, his stamina was higher than that of the average person, so this little bit of hardship was nothing to him.

Director Zhang also came over and patted him on the shoulder: "Liu Xiang, do what you can. If you can't handle it, then stop. Don't push yourself too hard."

Liu Xiang nodded, turned and walked towards the bow of the boat, but in her mind she was already planning the fight scene. Jiang Menshen's three henchmen were all stuntmen from the film crew, each one burly and agile, and they needed to create a realistic, bone-crunching fight while being careful not to hurt anyone.

The extras on the shore were already in place, mostly locals from Yangshan and fishermen from Taihu Lake. Director Zhang had specially recruited them, saying that he wanted to capture that simple, down-to-earth atmosphere. Dressed in coarse cloth and carrying hoes and shoulder poles, they stood on the shore not far away, watching the film crew work with curiosity.

These extras all lived not far from the Water Margin City; some only took about twenty minutes to walk there. After work, they could rush home to cook dinner without interfering with farm work or family matters.

The blower hummed, instantly stirring up waves on the calm water. A cold wind carrying water vapor blew over, stinging like knives on the face and hurting the ears.

Director Zhang raised the megaphone and shouted the words that invigorated the entire crew: "The ship-jumping fight scene, take one! Action!"

Liu Xiang took a deep breath, leaped forward, her body drawing a beautiful arc in the air before plunging into the water with a "plop".

That chill was so intense it could freeze you to the bone.

Liu Xiang felt every pore on his body instantly contract, as if his blood were freezing. Icy water seeped into his collar, flowing over his entire body, making his teeth chatter. Gritting his teeth and holding his breath, he suddenly emerged from the water, shaking the water droplets from his head. He brandished his cudgel with ferocious force, shouting opera lines: "You cowards, how dare you block the path of Wu Song!"

Three thugs rushed up, yelling, and swung their wooden sticks at him, the wind whistling through the air.

Liu Xiang strode across the slippery riverbank, his body as agile as a fish. He slightly turned to the side, dodging a wooden stick that came flying at him, and with a backhand slap, he struck a thug's arm. The thug cried out "Ouch!" and dropped the wooden stick to the ground, wincing in pain.

Another thug lunged at him from the side, trying to knock him into the water. Liu Xiang bent over and slammed his shoulder into the thug's stomach. The thug was sent flying backward and fell into the water with a splash, choking him and causing him to cough.

The third thug panicked, holding his wooden stick but hesitant to step forward. Liu Xiang grinned, her eyes flashing with the ruthlessness of Wu Song from the opera, and approached step by step: "Come on! Why did you stop hitting me?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he charged forward, snatched the wooden stick from the other man, and with a backhand flick, the stick lightly struck the man's buttocks, sending the thug hopping away, which amused the extras on the shore who burst into laughter.

"Good! Well done!"

"Wu Erlang's fist and foot techniques are simply amazing!"

Director Zhang slapped his thigh and shouted, "Great! That's the spirit! One more take! Multiple angles! Capture the effect of the water splashing clearly!"

Liu Xiang wiped the water droplets from her face, shivered, and grinned, "Alright! Let's do it again!"

The entire afternoon was spent filming.

Liu Xiang didn't know how many times he had jumped into the water. Every time he came out, his whole body was frozen purple, his lips were bluish, and his teeth were chattering. Every ten minutes, Xiao Li, the stagehand, would wrap him in a military overcoat and hand him piping hot ginger soup. But as soon as he drank the ginger soup, before his body had warmed up, he had to jump back into the water.

Sometimes, if the movement wasn't executed correctly, Director Zhang would call "cut," and he would have to stay in the water a little longer. The icy water seeped into his bones, making his whole body numb, and even his fingers felt a little numb. But he gritted his teeth and never complained of hardship or fatigue.

The extras on the shore were stunned, while the villagers from Yangshan looked on with heartache, some even secretly wiping away tears: "This young man is so hardworking! The water must be so cold! We find the water too cold to wash vegetables at home, and he has to fight in it!"

The fishermen of Taihu Lake were also discussing it: "Being an actor isn't easy for him! He looks glamorous on the surface, but the hardships he suffers behind the scenes are unimaginable to ordinary people like us!"

On the fifth take, Liu Xiang lost his footing and slipped, falling heavily onto the riverbank. The splashing water soaked his costume, and the cold stones hit his back, causing a sharp pain.

Director Zhang immediately called for a stop: "Liu Xiang! Are you alright? Are you feeling okay?"

Liu Xiang gritted her teeth, got up, waved her hand, and said with a smile, "It's okay! I just slipped a little, it's nothing! We can do another take!"

He rubbed his back, preparing to keep going!

Finally, as the sun began to set and evening approached, the scene of jumping off the ship and fighting was successfully filmed.