My Wandering Swordsman

The three of us didn't sit idle either. We grabbed our recording pens and, while the iron was hot, headed straight to the film set that very night.

Why do we have to come at night?

During the day, the film crew is surrounded by many people and eyes. Although the man surnamed Wang is a scoundrel, he is still an assistant director. During the day, there are people surrounding him in circles, so it is inconvenient for us to threaten him.

Go at night; there are fewer people, making it easier to get things done.

In short, we arrived at the film crew's residence at almost 8 p.m.

Look around.

Hey!

The person is still alive.

The entire filming location was pitch black, except for one side building where a light was still on. The door was wide open, and from a distance, you could see a baseball cap pointing and gesturing at three or four pretty actresses.

Who else could it be but Assistant Director Wang, that bastard?

I made a gesture, and the three of us crept over in the dark.

"Look, in this scene, the maids run out of the alley and bump into the Second Prince. They look up, their eyes meet, and you all need to show a feeling of instant attraction, understand?"

As Assistant Director Wang spoke, he groped an actress and said, "Come here, stand here and demonstrate for me. Look at me with those eyes, yes, just like that, a little shy, a little expectant..."

As he spoke, he slid his hand onto the shoulder of another actress:

"Come on, bend down and observe her expression. That face, all coy and alluring, got it?"

The actress forced an awkward smile, but didn't move away.

The three of us witnessed Deputy Director Wang's despicable behavior and spat in unison.

"Amitabha, this beast just went straight for it."

"He deserves to die..."

We were too lazy to hide anymore, so we just jumped out.

When Assistant Director Wang caught a glimpse of the three burly men appearing at the door, he paused for a moment, but his hands didn't stop moving.

The groping hand slid down the person's shoulder and landed directly on their waist: "Look at you, your back is too stiff. Acting requires softness, gentleness..."

I was cursing under my breath when I saw this.

Damn it! Does this guy have no shame? He's so brazen in front of others; who knows what he might do in private.

"Ahem! Something's up!"

I coughed loudly, my face grim.

Assistant Director Wang then turned his head towards us, pretending that he had just seen us.

"Oh! Komatsu's here. I need to talk to you about something."

He then released the actress's hand and cleared his throat: "Um... let's stop here for today. Go back and think it over carefully, and try to get it in one take tomorrow. Acting is all about being serious, understand?"

The actresses, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, quickly bowed and scraped as they left.

After the door closed, Assistant Director Wang put on a friendly smile again and waved to me: "Xiao Song, come, come, sit down and let's talk. Where's your cousin? She left this afternoon before we finished explaining the scene to her. Why is that girl so impulsive?"

Ha ha.

I sneered inwardly.

Still thinking about your cousin? Your cousin from Guangxi has already sold all your underwear.

I didn't want to waste my breath arguing with him, so I pulled out a chair and sat down expressionlessly.

"Six sons".

I gestured towards the door with my lip.

Liu Zi understood immediately and closed the door with a "click".

Noticing the three of us staring at him with unfriendly expressions, Assistant Director Wang's smile slowly faded: "You...you guys have something to say?"

"Snapped!"

I slammed my hand on the table, cutting straight to the point, and shouted, "You, surnamed Wang, how dare you! You're pocketing the extras' fees, pocketing five yuan from each person!"

"Monk, tell this bastard what kind of behavior this is."

The Flower Monk knew nothing of the Dharma, but he was bold enough to speak without thinking:

"You, surnamed Wang, have committed a crime!"

"According to our country's laws..."

"...Execute!"

I almost spat out my water.

Assistant Director Wang, being a seasoned veteran, remained completely calm, a faint, sinister smile playing on his lips. "Execute me? Execute me? Hahahaha. I, Wang, have always been a benevolent man. When have I ever withheld extras' pay? You, surnamed Ji, you'd better give me a straight answer today. If you can't give me a clear explanation, I'll report you for defamation to the police!"

He clearly knows more about the law than we do.

I was too lazy to waste any more words, so I just took out my voice recorder and put it on the table.

"I'm not going to talk anymore, you can tell me yourself."

Deputy Director Wang's pupils contracted.

I pressed play.

After becoming familiar with the underground noise, he then spoke the words he had spoken during the day:

"It's 25 yuan a day, the extras in our crew are paid relatively well in the area..."

"Huh? Eighteen? It shouldn't be twenty-one. Damn it, that damn production assistant!"

"..."

After the recording finished playing, the tin shack was so quiet you could hear someone breathing.

The more the assistant director listened, the darker his face became.

As soon as the last sentence finished playing, he suddenly stood up and grabbed the recording pen.

I've always been wary of this tactic of his.

Before the lecherous hand could reach out, he decisively grabbed the pen and gripped it tightly.

He grabbed the pen and stuffed it back into his pocket.

"How about it, Director Wang?" I gently shook the recorder. "Is this evidence strong enough?"

Assistant Director Wang's face finally crumbled, forcing out a smile that looked more like a grimace:

"Brother Xiaosong, why...why are you doing this? There's no need to go to such extremes. Let's talk things out and discuss it, shall we?"

I laughed: "Sure, how would you like to discuss it?"

He hesitated for a moment, then held up three fingers: "How about this, you three... I'll give you thirty yuan a day for being extras, and you give me the voice recorder, okay?"

Humph.

We both let out a cold snort at the same time.

"You, surnamed Wang, think you can buy us off for thirty yuan? Do you think we're that cheap? Ask the vast majority of extras if they'd agree to this!"

Assistant Director Wang gritted his teeth: "Then what do you want?"

"Hmm... simple. I'm thinking of finding a loudspeaker and starting tomorrow, playing this audio intensively throughout our film set every day. Director Wang, what do you think?"

His face turned pale instantly.

Although such things are not uncommon in Hengdian, they have never been brought to the forefront. If they were to be exposed, aside from the criminal charges and sentencing, if the higher authorities were to investigate, almost all film crews would be implicated.

Then his career as assistant director Wang would be completely ruined in the film and television industry.

He knew the implications, and after a full half minute of silence, he finally spoke with difficulty: "Tell me your conditions."

I'll cut to the chase: "No conditions. Just vomit up whatever you ate. I won't pursue the past. Starting tomorrow, I'll be in charge of distributing the extras' fees. It's 25 per person, not a penny less."

"You're in charge? You're no good at this."

"Hehe~" Seeing that he still couldn't tell right from wrong, I turned to the flower monk and said, "Monk, go out and buy a trumpet."

"Okay!"

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Assistant Director Wang jumped to his feet, waving his hands repeatedly: "Fine, I agree, just give me the recorder."

I chuckled and put the recorder back in my pocket: "Do you think I'm stupid?"

Assistant Director Wang's face turned from white to green, but he ultimately didn't dare to lash out: "Fine! You're ruthless, Ji. Keep this money safe, okay? When the Crown Prince comes out, have your family buy you plenty of paper money."

Making threats?

I stopped playing this game ten years ago.

I patted him on the shoulder nonchalantly: "Director Wang, you don't need to worry about my affairs. Harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth, hahaha~"

"Remember, I'll be checking accounts with Dr. Niu tomorrow morning."

After saying that, I turned and left.