My Wandering Swordsman

As he spoke, he pounced on him again.

I secretly groaned inwardly.

This guy is a real tough nut to crack. He's strong and can withstand a lot of blows. I hit him several times, and he didn't even flinch.

The thief was leaping and bounding around, constantly looking for an opportunity to ambush.

With the highs and lows, my stamina gradually started to wane.

After another four or five minutes, all three of them were bruised and battered, with hardly any good spots on their bodies.

As the commotion grew louder, all the extras in the vicinity were drawn out.

"Alright! Go ahead and attack!"

"Shorty, poke his ribs, or poke a hair on his arm."

"Hey, pretty boy, where are you kicking? You can't kick that spot..."

The cheers from the surrounding crowd grew louder and louder.

I knew in my heart that if I continued like this, I would definitely be the one who suffered.

So I flashed my eyes, pretended to rush towards the Flower Monk, then turned around halfway and grabbed the thief's wrist behind me!

The thief didn't expect me to suddenly turn the gun around, and I grabbed him firmly.

I gave him a hard push, forcing the thief to his knees. I stood behind him and locked his neck tightly.

"Don't move!" I shouted.

Just as the Flower Monk was about to charge again, he suddenly stopped and abruptly halted his steps upon seeing this.

"Kid, let him go."

I laughed: "Let go? Sure, but stop hitting me first."

The Flower Monk clenched his fists, and after a long pause, he said in a muffled voice:

"You can refuse to play, but give me my money back!"

I laughed in anger: "You son of a bitch! I've lost five hundred bucks, who am I supposed to ask for it back?"

He stiffened his neck:

"This humble monk has even treated you to a meal!"

"I lost five hundred."

"This humble monk even offered you a bath!"

"I lost five hundred."

"This humble monk even treated you to karaoke!"

"I lost five hundred."

"Grass!"

The Flower Monk finally lowered his head, looking miserable: "No, your five hundred didn't even go into my pocket, what are you asking me for?"

I replied, "Okay, then let's go to the police station and have a go. If we can't agree, there's still the government."

The thief, who probably had a criminal record, immediately cowered upon hearing this: "Brother! Brother Hailong! Forget it, forget it, don't hit me."

The Flower Monk understood this principle, his eyes flickered a few times, and he slowly withdrew his moves.

"Stop?"

I shook off the thief: "I didn't really intend to fight..."

The thief, baring his teeth, rolled over to his brother: "That's settled, Brother Hailong, they lost five hundred yuan."

The Flower Monk gave his brother a solid slap on the back of the head:

"Why don't you say I'm making a scene everywhere in a bathrobe?"

Even so, his tone softened slightly: "Let's go back."

The monk, pulling the thief along, stumbled back. I shrugged and followed.

Yeah, they're all my roommates, I really have nowhere else to go.

Room 143.

Without any hesitation, the monk picked up the beer I bought, gulped down several mouthfuls, and let out a long sigh.

"My name is Hua Hailong." He pointed to the thief, "This is my cousin, Ma Xiaoliu, you can just call him Liuzi."

I nodded: "Ji Xiaosong."

"Ji Xiaosong..." the monk muttered, then took another swig of wine. "Kid, you're pretty good. You didn't embarrass the people of Foshan."

I pondered the meaning behind his words: "You've lived in Foshan before?"

"I served as a martial monk at Baolin Temple on Xijiao Mountain for several years."

"No wonder. Why did you come down the mountain? Missing a woman?"

He rolled his eyes at me, tossed a can of beer over to me, and didn't say anything.

I didn't press him further; everyone has their own story. I picked up my drink and clinked glasses with him.

After a few sips of wine, the tension finally subsided.

The monk sized me up for a few moments, then asked curiously, "Hey Ji, you don't look like someone who's short of money. You've got a thousand yuan on you, and you're doing extra work? Chasing your dreams, huh?"

"Screw you. I am..."

The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them back.

There was no need to tell two people I had just met about the three moles, so I changed my story and said, "I gave all my money to my aunt, so I can only work as an extra to make a living. At least they provide me with boxed lunches."

The Flower Monk sighed softly:

"Sigh, every family has its own problems. Oh well, let's drink!"

"Trying to force-feed me again?"

"Why would I feed you, you penniless wretch? To sleep with you, you think?"

......

The next few days passed like a photocopy, each day more monotonous than the last.

Every day before dawn, we have to get up and rush to the film set.

There was no way around it; the dressing room and fitting room were packed like a train station. If you arrived even a little late, half of your salary would be deducted.

As for the role, it's actually quite simple.

The crew has been filming scenes of "Consort Rong having an affair with a guard, and the guard's home being ransacked by the emperor" these past two days. So, most of us extras were assigned the roles of the emperor's lackeys, that is, the Imperial Guards who ransacked homes.

If you're asking where the Imperial Guards in flying fish robes came from in the Qing Dynasty, then you'd better not ask.

There's no way we'd actually take action. We, as subordinates of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, are basically just bystanders. The act of confiscating property and putting on a show is something for the centurions and commanders.

Standing for five or six hours a day is considered short.

After finishing work in the evening, queuing up to collect the money is even more nerve-wracking.

Niu, the production assistant, sat behind the table, clutching a wad of change. He called out names one by one, giving all sorts of reasons for deducting money: nine yuan for being late, five yuan for sweat stains on the costume, and three yuan for not queuing for lunch...

In short, getting the full amount is harder than climbing to heaven.

After three days, not counting the cost of bottled water, I received less than thirty yuan in total.

Life here is far worse than back in my hometown of Foshan.

What's worse, I also have to be constantly on guard against the frivolous monk and the thief.

Although they had drinks that night and became friends after a fight, you can't judge a book by its cover, and who knows what those two were really up to?

Especially the thief Ma Xiaoliu, whose eyes darted around, clearly wasn't one to stay put.

One night he even invited me to go with him to steal the incense money offered by the film crew.

Of course I refused, but he wasn't angry. He just chuckled and said, "You're such a coward, unlike my brother, who's skilled and daring."

I thought to myself, your brother, the Flower Monk, is really bold; he still wanders around in a bathrobe.

Ordinary humans don't have this skill.

Days passed by like this.

On the fourth day after filming wrapped, the production manager, Niu, gathered all the extras, including the original extras from the crew, together and solemnly declared:

"Listen up, the indoor scenes are over for now. Starting tomorrow, we'll switch to outdoor scenes!"

"The first scene tomorrow is the male lead's. Everyone here, without exception, has to be there. Be in the courtyard by 5 a.m. tomorrow morning for makeup. After that, go next door to pick up your costumes. Anyone who's late or angers the male lead is fired!"

My eyes narrowed when I heard that.

The male lead?

What a magnificent sight!