My Wandering Swordsman

Niu, the drama director, walked away without looking back, his figure disappearing at the end of the asphalt road.

I shrugged and walked back in a nonchalant manner.

Someone asked, "Brother Ji, you've gotten yourself into such big trouble, aren't you scared?"

To be honest, it would be a lie to say I'm not afraid.

After all, I'm just a young man who has just turned eighteen.

Niu, the production manager, made a very good point: if he were me, he would have bought a ticket and fled that very night. No matter how powerful Lü Guodong is, once he leaves Hengdian, his influence will be limited.

But... I can't.

Not to mention that I still need to find those three moles, I can't run away even for my aunt's sake.

Now everyone on the crew knows that my aunt and I have a good relationship, and some even think she's my backer. If I run away now, I don't doubt that Lü Guodong will take his anger out on my aunt.

Is my aunt capable of offending the investors?

I have a bad feeling about it.

Although my aunt may have some fame in Hengdian, the actors back then were different from those now. They still had some traces of the old era. Essentially, they were still considered low-class. How could they possibly compete head-on with investors who had real money?

Therefore, I have to bear this calamity myself.

Before I knew it, I had walked back to the tin shack.

Pushing open the door, the Flower Monk had already woken up Liu Zi, and the two of them were now giving the three extras a "moral education" lesson, one on each side.

"You guys are just too young! You sell yourselves for a few stinking bucks, and then come back at night begging and pleading. What do you call that? That's shameless! Chiang Kai-shek used the same trick back then, and what happened to him? He slunk away, didn't he?" The Flower Monk said shamelessly, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Liu Zi chimed in from the side, "All the other extras know to follow Brother Ji, but what about you? If you had surrendered earlier, you wouldn't be in this mess today. What do you call this? This is called not following the will of the people. You should know that the mass line is our Party's..."

I quickly stepped forward and slapped both of them.

If these two keep talking, this book will be gone.

Seeing me return, one of the extras immediately stood up and asked anxiously, "Brother Ji, how's it going on your end?"

"It's done," I said casually.

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief, their eyes instantly lighting up.

"Brother, you're truly our savior."

"If it weren't for you, we brothers would have been beaten to death tonight."

"I am deeply grateful... I cannot express my gratitude enough."

I waved my hand and interrupted them with a smile: "Alright, enough with the sentimental stuff. I've taken care of your business; now it's your turn to do me a favor."

The men's expressions turned serious, and they all looked at me, waiting for what I would say next.

I lowered my voice and said, word by word, "I need you... to go and see the First Prince for me."

The group was taken aback, clearly not expecting me to make this request. They were present that day and naturally knew about the feud between me and the First Prince.

"What is this...?" someone asked cautiously.

My expression turned serious: "I want you to infiltrate the Crown Prince's inner circle and find out what he eats, drinks, plays, sleeps, and wakes up at... in short, everything about him must be reported to me."

The group then realized what was happening and looked at each other.

Someone asked hesitantly, "You mean...we're sending us to be spies?"

I nodded: "Yes!"

"hiss--"

They gasped: "Will this work? We're just three extras, what are we going to do with them?"

"Hehe~" I casually moved a stool over and plopped down. "That's your problem. Well, if you can't get in, then you can forget about making a living in Hengdian."

"If you're so capable of making things impossible for us, so can I..."

Before the words were even finished, the faces of the three extras instantly changed color.

"Brother...brother, don't scare us!"

I crossed my legs and swung my toes: "Scared? If you're scared, it means there's still hope for you. Actually, it's not difficult. That idiot Crown Prince loves to show off. Go to him, flatter him a bit, and praise his acting. He'll immediately treat you like brothers. If you three are a little sweet-talking and a little quick-witted, you'll have no trouble getting in!"

The three were silent for a few seconds, then exchanged glances.

"become!"

I nodded in satisfaction and waved them away.

After the three left, the Flower Monk approached and whispered, "Brother Ji, why make things so complicated? That grandson of the First Prince dares to cause trouble; this humble monk will just give him a few more beatings."

That is incorrect.

In front of the two parties involved, Monk Hua and Liu Zi, I had nothing to hide and told them everything about the First Prince's background.

After listening, the two looked at each other, their eyes filled with seriousness.

These two guys may talk a big game, but they're actually from the bottom of society. They were thought to be nouveau riche, but now they've been dragged into this with big investors. They must be feeling pretty uncertain.

Seeing that they remained silent for a while, I slowly said, "What we brothers have done this time is quite significant. To put it bluntly, there's nothing shameful about buying tickets and leaving Hengdian now."

Liu Zi jumped, trembling, and asked me, "Brother Ji, are you leaving?"

I shook my head very seriously: "My aunt is here, I can't let her take the blame."

Liu Zi fell silent.

Silence began to spread.

After a long while, the Flower Monk suddenly stood up and punched me hard in the chest.

I looked up in confusion, only to meet the monk's fiery eyes.

"What nonsense are you spouting, kid? I, Hua Hailong, have been out in the game for so many years, what storms haven't I weathered? You're just an eighteen-year-old kid and you're not afraid of me? If I run away, what kind of man am I? Since we've recognized you as a brother, we'll face any difficulties together. If we can't handle it, we'll end up in the hospital, no big deal."

Seeing this, Liu Zi also stood up and patted my shoulder hard: "You two big brothers are standing up for me. If I pack my bags and run away, I'll be out of a job."

"I'll stay!" Liu Zi added.

"I'll go with you!" the Flower Monk said solemnly.

I paused for a moment, looked at the two people in front of me, and suddenly laughed.

Regardless of what happened before, I, Ji Xiaosong, now acknowledge these two brothers.

"Good brother."

......

The lights in the tin shack, which had been tinted all night, were finally turned off.

The three of them lay quietly on their respective bunks, not a single snore could be heard. I knew that none of them were asleep.

I stared at the ceiling, my mind flashing back to everything that had happened since I arrived in Hengdian, and suddenly I spoke:

"Hey guys, what do you think is the meaning of life?"

A moment of silence.

"Have some drinks," the Flower Monk said sullenly.

"Smoke some tobacco," Liu Zi added.

I shook my head, looking at the blurry sheet metal above my head: "Anything else?"

"To control some princesses."

"Watch some videos."

I was speechless for a moment, and suddenly felt that discussing life philosophy with these two was a complete waste of my emotions.

So I stopped talking and pulled the blanket over my head.

In bed, with the smell of alcohol on my breath, I murmured softly:

"Got some money..."

"Trying to look somewhat respectable..."

"Marrying my aunt..."

"Hehehehe..."