I'm not mentally ill, I'm a master of a thousand faces!

Chapter 424, "October Siege"

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Rickshaw pullers in this era.

Their status can be described as quite low.

Li Yun thought of the story of Camel Xiangzi from back then—later, even being a rickshaw puller was no longer an option.

Originally, being a rickshaw driver should have been a very happy job.

Born under the emperor's nose, but outside the palace.

Because there were rickshaws to pull us around, it was already a blessing to have a bite to eat.

The rickshaw driver had a dream: to own his own rickshaw.

I've heard that rickshaws made in Germany are the best.

However, for the coachman, this was nothing more than a pipe dream.

Occasionally.

The coachman also pondered a question.

Why am I relegated to being a rickshaw puller, and why am I taught that my entire family should be rickshaw pullers?

Why are some people born to be rickshaw pullers, while others are born to ride in rickshaws? At this moment, Li Yun, who was pulling a rickshaw, saw the "master" he was carrying.

The master treats me very well.

He is very kind-hearted.

I'm very grateful.

But what if my master isn't a master?

These subtle thoughts began to spread within Li Yun.

When he saw the Manchu bannermen beating and scolding a beggar next to him, it was simply because the beggar's appearance caught his eye and offended his senses.

This awareness reached its peak, until that slap landed on him again.

By the way, rickshaw drivers aren't exactly clean either. At least, compared to the "Manchu bannermen," I'm not clean either; I'm a born commoner.

It was something that had offended the master's eyes.

Are we born to be this way?

This was Li Yun's original thought.

Then he found his friend, another rickshaw puller, lying motionless on the ground.

He was knocked down by another Manchu bannerman riding his horse.

The Manchu bannermen were smiling as they left.

And his friends didn't even have the chance to cry out.

The flies have arrived.

Those creatures that devour decaying matter.

They're having a blast.

At this time, Li Yun became a merchant, a wealthy merchant. Although he could not compare to the Manchu bannermen who had been high-ranking officials for four generations, and was considered a low-class person by scholars, he easily became addicted to the taste of being a master.

Gold and silver treasures, wealthy women, a beautiful wife and concubines at home—what a wonderful life!

Li Yun absolutely could not bear to give up his current life and status, where he was waited on hand and foot and lived a life of extreme luxury.

Damn it, it must have been so comfortable being a lord in the old society.

Li Yun never imagined he would have such a comfortable life, with a coachman accompanying him when he traveled.

Ah, coachman.

Isn't this the "me" from just now?

He looked at me.

He must be wondering why some people are born to be coachmen, while others are born to be masters.

Isn't that obvious?

Who doesn't want to be the boss!

Li Yun not only wanted to be a master, but he wanted to be a master for life, and he wanted to be a master for generations to come.

The businessman's motives are very clear.

You have to bet on both sides.

Because you don't know who the winner is.

The Qing Dynasty was established only after overthrowing the Ming Dynasty, so who knows if the Qing Dynasty will be overthrown by this so-called Mr. Sun?

The businessman funded the revolutionaries while also sending his son to study Western learning.

As the owner of the newspaper, he also launched a fierce attack on the revolutionaries who were disrupting the order of the imperial court.

He was utterly loyal to the imperial court.

Merchants pursue profit.

The pursuit of profit.

The pursuit of a sense of security.

I won't lose if I bet on both sides.

The only outcome is to win.

I, as an old man, only managed to follow the right master.

Only then can one achieve the status they have today and the future they will have.

When Li Yun arrived at this street, he saw the corpse with flies floating around it from afar.

He was a friend of the coachman.

Li Yun felt a tremor in his heart.

It wasn't just the rotting, maggot-infested corpses, but also the numb stares of those around them, and the joy of the Manchu bannermen.

"Let's take another route."

"Why, sir?"

"The master is kind-hearted and cannot bear to see suffering."

However, the happiness belonging to "Master" Li Yun came to an abrupt end here.

He went from being a "master" to an actor.

The feeling of being an actor also appeared in Li Yun.

A female martial arts performer

One minute on stage, ten years off the stage.

All they got in return was a few scattered cheers.

For actors

This is all there is to life.

At other times, he was nothing more than a "low-class person".

Unlike the status of modern actors, the "lower nine classes" at that time truly had no status whatsoever and were merely objects of amusement.

It was coated with ink that had a strange smell, which covered the original face and turned it into a 'character'.

This is how the term "lower nine classes" came about.

Don't say that men look down on us.

Even the head of the opera troupe looked down on things from the "lowest class".

Li Yun is performing opera.

The song was sung with blood, tears, and a hoarse voice.

I was born lowly. I came lowly, and I will leave lowly.

But why is it that it's lowly for me to earn money by singing, or to earn money by being ugly?

Some people go out to walk their birds every day and call it noble; they dine and dash and call it noble.

at this time.

Li Yun became a student again, and students are the easiest group to be swayed.

Young, passionate, and easily swayed by the "correct principles" preached by student leaders.

Students, young people.

They will only do what they feel is right.

Go fight for what is "right".

bleed!

at this time.

Li Yun was no longer an actor, a boss, a rickshaw puller, or a student.

It was Li Yun himself.

But Li Yun did not break away from the Qing Dynasty.

There was a person standing next to him.

Yan Xiaoguo was not a loyal and devoted minister.

It was Chen Shaobai.

He stood beside Li Yun, watching.

The death of a beggar, the humility of a rickshaw puller, the extravagance of a merchant, and the toil and lowliness of an actor.

The two people next to them are the Eight Banners soldiers.

"typical".

In terms of luxury, even merchants could not compare with the Manchu bannermen.

"I don't understand. As far back as I can remember, all of this has been taken for granted. Some people are born lowly, some are born noble. Some toil all day and can barely afford to eat, while others spend their days walking their birds, doing no work, yet they enjoy all the luxuries of the world."

at this time.

Chen Shaobai then asked Li Yun.

Is this reasonable?

"unreasonable."

"Yes, it's illogical. But that's what I've always taken for granted since I can remember," Chen Shaobai said. "It's just that I feel the world absolutely cannot operate on this principle."

"So? What do you want?"

"Therefore, we must innovate," Chen Shaobai said after a moment of silence, "overthrow this corrupt era."

"So they're going to die?"

Li Yun pointed to the actors, the coachmen, and the students.

innovation.

It's definitely not a dinner party.

"To achieve the happiness of civilization, one must first endure its blood and tears."

"They shed blood and tears, you reap the rewards. What's the difference between you and the Manchu bannermen?" Li Yun mocked. "Do they even understand reform?"

However, at this moment...

Just as Li Yun said this...

Actor, coachman, student

But he stood up.

Do they understand democracy?

Do they understand equality?

Perhaps they didn't understand the exact meaning.

But that doesn't mean they are being foolish.

They just don't understand this metaphysical thing.

They only understand the most basic thing.

Why is a rickshaw driver a rickshaw driver?

Why are actors considered low-class?

Why is the world so diverse?

These things were always taken for granted in the past.

Because ever since we came into contact with this world.

This is the most correct principle.

But has it always been correct since ancient times?

Should we just accept this injustice?

Even in death, it's a worthless life.

Life is as insignificant as that of an ant.

We are all human beings.

Living between heaven and earth.

The difference between a lowly life and a good life.

Are they really that big?

Until one day someone comes and tells us that people are not born with a distinction between noble and lowly, and that good and bad fates are just standards imposed by others.

Do we really not understand?

Only then did Li Yun realize.

Yes.

Why is it so hard for people to understand the pursuit of beautiful things?

Thinking that they can't understand or comprehend is nothing more than a kind of arrogant condescension.

I am sorry.

I shouldn't have done that.

When Li Yun woke up again.

But then he found himself back in that familiar place.

in the hotel.

The script was torn to shreds right next to it.

Then Li Yun smiled.

He laughed heartily, and laughed wildly.

At this moment, Li Yun was in a state of madness and inner conflict.

The mind is divided.

A feeling of being cut off.

For those who belong to Yan Xiaoguo, the feeling of loyalty is indelible.

But I am not just Yan Xiaoguo.

I am also the director of Bodyguards and Assassins, and Yan Xiaoguo is the villain.

I must both agree with and oppose his ideas.

I both agree and disagree.

This is mental torment for me.

It's absolutely insane.

The loyalty of the minister reminded Li Yun of a principle: first and foremost, as a human being, one must not forget morality and must never act ungratefully. This is the most basic thing for a person to live in the world, something that must be followed.

Meanwhile, Chen Shaobai and his group were telling Li Yun that the Qing Dynasty was a complete bastard, that the world had entered a new era, and that feudal dynasties were nothing but rotten bones in a tomb.

Love and hate.

How can two different ideas coexist in one mind?

A torn consciousness.

What made Li Yun laugh out loud in the room was, in fact, something that has to be said.

This sense of disconnect is also quite interesting.

I am Li Yun, I am Yan Xiaoguo, I am a coachman, I am Chen Shaobai, a student, a businessman, an actor, everyone is me.

In this contradictory and conflict-ridden world.

I play the role of everyone

Li Yun.

A dual elevation of body and mind.

[Host]

Even the system's complex notification sounds.

Li Yun needs to know all of this.

At this point, I was probably quite ill.

But Li Yun was able to overcome this mental anguish.

Experience the existence of happiness

Because happiness comes from fame and fortune.

It comes from my understanding of this film.

The understanding and feeling of the emotions in the script...flows unconsciously within my heart.

Crying and laughing

After a long while, Li Yun finally calmed down.

Looking at the script he had torn to pieces beside him

I already know what I'm really thinking.

At this moment, Li Yun took a shower and drank some water.

Then I called Xie Qingya.

"Hello, is this Cao Mengde?"

"."

"Although I like it when you compare me to an unparalleled hero, you don't need to call me that directly. I have my own name, Director Li." Xie Qingya was speechless for a while because of Li Yun's way of addressing her.

"Do you have high hopes for me? Thank you, sir."

"In a sense, I have high hopes for you."

Xie Qingya speaks very meticulously.

It has a subtle, almost imperceptible quality.

This can be considered as leaving Li Yun a way out.

Of course, she still said, "As long as it doesn't violate your principles, you can state your demands."

"It's not really a difficult thing."

"Go ahead and say it."

"I want to revise the script."

"."

"That's impossible. I've spent fifteen years polishing this script, and you think you can just change it like that? Do you think I don't exist?"

Chen Kexin found it somewhat unbelievable.

They even forgot their feelings of anger and rage.

I just felt a sense of disbelief.

A magical feeling.

Rewrite the script.

I've poured my heart and soul into changing this over the past 15 years.

The polished script.

This is a hymn written with one's own will and blood.

You're telling me now that you want to change such a perfect script?

That was enough to make him laugh in exasperation.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Chen Kexin realized she had messed up.

Originally, I wanted to find a good director that I could control.

But it backfired and got me into trouble.

He went completely insane; we need to rewrite his script.

This is no longer a question of whether or not we can control it.

This completely went out of control.

at this time.

The actors in the crew were also somewhat surprised by this.

They're doing this right before filming starts.

Rewrite the script.

It was changed in just one sentence.

"Of course, this revision hasn't had as much of an impact on the actors as one might imagine; they're basically still playing the same characters."

Xie Qingya then patiently explained it to her personally.

Li Yun pulled off a major operation right here.

A major event that caught everyone off guard.

Xie Qingya had also given it careful consideration.

She bet on Li Yun.

I have high hopes for him.

But to my surprise, the request he made was something else entirely.

It was a bit of a headache, but in a sense, I had no choice but to go all the way and bite the bullet to make demands of Li Yun.

"My script went through layers of selection and review over fifteen years. It was a script that you, Ms. Xie, approved back then."

"I know"

"So why are you changing my script again?" Chen Kexin asked very seriously.

It was even a bit serious.

"Of course it's because my script is better."

A voice came from behind.

"More excellent, more magnificent, and more entertaining! This is the script I'm presenting."

Li Yun's eyes were very calm.

He had already finished Yan Xiaoguo's makeup.

With her braid tied behind her back, she exudes a powerful and indomitable aura.

In a daze, everyone in the film crew...

Everyone felt this sense of oppression.

A powerful minister of the Qing Dynasty.

An exceptionally skilled martial artist.

Yan Xiaoguo.

The suffocating sense of oppression he exuded.

Filming hasn't even started yet.

You can feel the pressure this person exudes.

If he was with 300 assassins.

That pressure was truly immense.

"A big star is a big star. No wonder he has achieved such success and status at such a young age." Wang Xueqi said admiringly as he looked at the actor in front of him.

Under the age of thirty.

She earned the title of a big star in Hong Kong.

He truly possesses unparalleled talent and strength.

Seeing it now, it truly lives up to its reputation.

Wang Xueqi wasn't particularly concerned about the script; he could only think Chen Kexin's original script was good or not bad.

No matter how you modify it, you can do so from this foundation.

There shouldn't be any major problems.

Chen Kexin's face was still pale at this moment.

But he didn't say anything more.

Just as Xie Qingya said.

The core tone of the script remains unchanged.

It's still based on the foundation of Siege of October.

Even after reading the script, Chen Kexin felt something was off.

I have no idea what the point of these changes is.

His strange shouts and cries sounded more like the distribution of power among others.

The kind of anger that it brings.

The unpleasant feeling it brings.

If you dare to change my script like this today, do you want to change my position or my cast tomorrow?

When power is threatened.

This kind of reaction is actually quite normal.

This is a threat.

A threat to one's status.

Chen Kexin didn't want this to happen.

He even felt that...

This was Li Yun's provocation against his dominant position.

At least he can't see any major differences from the script right now.

But now Xie Qingya is there to support him.

"This is the last time; I will not compromise anywhere else."

After careful consideration, Chen Kexin...

They could only reluctantly agree to change the script.

This will not be repeated.

This will absolutely not happen again.

"It seems our film crew isn't exactly peaceful either. This Li Yun is just as arrogant as the rumors say." Fan Bingbing looked at Li Yun with great interest.

They've already pulled this stunt right after filming started.

It's inevitable that this will happen within the film crew.

There will be much discussion about this.

Some people who didn't have a good opinion of Li Yun to begin with.

This is the time to launch an attack.

This included Xie Tingfeng, who had previously spoken ill of him on set due to a bit of jealousy.

Everyone felt that he was too young to shoulder such a great responsibility.

If nothing unexpected happens, he'll probably say something like, "No wonder Emperor chose to withdraw its investment back then."

Jealousy was emanating from him.

The former prodigy is now a supporting character here, while the former supporting character is now above him, guiding the rhythm of the entire movie.

This feeling of jealousy is very profound.

Everyone was already prepared to hear Xie Tingfeng's complaints.

Unexpectedly, this popular idol star did not participate in any of the debates; he simply sat quietly in a corner, examining a book.

A script.

The handwriting on the script wasn't very neat; instead, it had a rough, manic, and distorted quality.

Li Yun's handwriting wasn't very neat.

All I can say is that it's very unique.

Xie Tingfeng stared at the handwritten script, lost in thought.

The handwriting is distorted.

Demonic.

But the writing style and power are evident in the words.

All of this struck a chord in Xie Tingfeng's heart.

The actor who plays the rickshaw driver Ah Si.

He became completely absorbed in the script.

(End of this chapter)