From somewhere on the set, bursts of laughter suddenly erupted.
Then, as if it were contagious, the sound spread farther and farther, growing louder and more clamorous until its source was impossible to pinpoint. Looking around, it seemed as if everyone was laughing.
Rong Guang wore a helpless expression, looking at all the crew members who wanted to laugh but didn’t dare to be too obvious. Finally, she slowly turned her gaze to Chu Feiliang.
After her initial loss of composure, Chu Feiliang had already calmed down. She held the water bottle loosely, twirling it idly in her hand.
After all, she had been in the industry for so many years. What kind of storms hadn’t she seen?
She calmly finished the last sip of water, then played with the bottle between her hands. With a composed expression, she said, “Director, can we wrap up for today?”
Zhang Nanchuan stared at the megaphone in his hand for a long time, but in the end, he didn’t dare to use it.
He fell silent for a second, then strained his voice to shout, “…Wrap, wrap, wrap! We’re wrapping for tonight. Everyone get a good night’s sleep. We have to rush tomorrow morning, so everyone needs to wake up early. Keep your spirits up!”
Someone with a loud voice yelled out, the direction clearly aimed at Rong Guang, “Director—we’re all full of spirit! If we can’t get up tomorrow morning, you can just use the megaphone to shout at us again. We’ll definitely all be here in minutes. Just yell ‘We’re just waiting for you!’ That’s fine! We’re not picky!”
This sentence once again sent the entire set into gales of laughter.
The pointed nature of the comment made Rong Guang a little embarrassed, but she also didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. For a moment, she couldn’t even tell if it was unintentional or malicious.
However, the fatigue from her entire day had been completely swept away by the recent misunderstanding. Now, everyone was more energetic than the next, their eyes all shining with the light of gossip.
Chu Feiliang raised an eyebrow and glanced in that direction. Leaning against a stack of prop boxes, she retorted casually, “You want a megaphone to wake you up? Come on—give me your department and employee number. Tomorrow morning, I’ll have a dozen people with megaphones go to your room and wake you up. One sentence each, I guarantee no repeats.”
The person who had spoken wilted. After a long moment, afraid that Chu Feiliang would actually do it, he stood up on his own accord and said with a sheepish smile, “Teacher Chu, don’t be angry. I was just joking…”
“Mm, I was just joking too.” Chu Feiliang pointed at him with the bottom of the bottle, a half-smile playing on her lips. “A dozen people surrounding you with megaphones, shouting. How funny, how spectacular.”
On the way back, Rong Guang, wrapped in a thick coat, would glance at Chu Feiliang from time to time.
While filming here in Lu Xi, everyone in the crew was staying at a guesthouse the production had temporarily found. The conditions weren’t great; after all, the area was surrounded by villages, and it was already quite an achievement to find a guesthouse that could accommodate so many people.
Some places were much harsher than this. Forget guesthouses, they couldn’t even spare space in a villager’s backyard cowshed. The entire crew would have to pitch tents and endure it for months, reeking of sour sweat all day long.
Rong Guang sniffled. Although they had wrapped up early, it was said that it would snow in the next few days. The temperature difference between morning and night was huge, and the fog was especially thick.
She jogged a couple of steps and said, “Sister, are you angry?”
Chu Feiliang glanced at her, her hands tucked into her coat pockets. Her expression was quite calm as she shook her head. “Not angry. I just can’t stand people who push their luck, mistaking being obnoxious for joking.”
Rong Guang looked at her, her large eyes filled with disbelief.
This time, their rooms were right next to each other. On the way back, they ran into many other crew members staying there.
Rong Guang greeted them one by one, watching Chu Feiliang, who had put on her sunglasses and now had a rather unapproachable air about her. She was a little unsure of what to say.
Chu Feiliang’s mood had changed quickly. Rong Guang knew it wasn’t directed at her, but it still left her feeling at a loss. She knew Chu Feiliang’s emotional state was a bit off right now; it felt like it had suddenly plummeted.
It didn’t seem to be just because of anger.
She wasn’t as lively as she had been on set just a short while ago.
Rong Guang followed her all the way to Chu Feiliang’s door.
Their rooms were separated by just a wall. Rong Guang glanced over and shuffled toward her own door—if she was at her own door, it couldn’t be considered tailing.
Chu Feiliang took out her key and opened the door, not saying much to Rong Guang.
The door was pushed open a crack. A moment later, a slight draft seeped out from the opening, causing Chu Feiliang’s hair and unbuttoned coat to flutter in the wind.
Chu Feiliang had Wang Lujie go in and close the window. Chacha saw this and also quickly opened the door, burying her head inside to tidy things up.
Suddenly, only the two of them were left at the door.
Only then did Chu Feiliang gently close the door again. She took off her sunglasses, a weary look on her face, and said, “Were you scared?”
“What?” Rong Guang asked blankly. “Scared of what?”
Chu Feiliang stared at Rong Guang for a while, then let out a low laugh. “As long as I didn’t scare you, it’s fine.”
After speaking, she looked left and right, then turned sideways, took half a step forward, and, to Rong Guang’s surprise, reached out and hugged her.
Leaning against Chu Feiliang’s chest, Rong Guang felt that the touch and warmth were somewhat unreal. Even the faint scent of perfume filling her nose made her feel as if she were in a dream.
Only then did Chu Feiliang suddenly say, “You smell so good.”
Rong Guang was reluctant to push her away, so she mumbled from within Chu Feiliang’s embrace, “You smell good too… I really like this scent.”
It wasn’t just the perfume Chu Feiliang had given Rong Guang.
After all, the scent of perfume was an external fragrance that could be changed at any time. And after a while, or as it evaporated into the air, the scent would change.
But Chu Feiliang always had a very crisp, cool fragrance about her, something that was almost uniquely hers.
Rong Guang had never smelled this scent on anyone else, and it was a scent that had always fascinated her. Sometimes, she would even dream that she was inhaling Chu Feiliang’s scent.
Chu Feiliang chuckled softly and patted her on the back.
Rong Guang squinted. Under the influence of this scent, a wave of drowsiness suddenly washed over her. Her mind could still turn, but her eyes were extremely dry, and even blinking took effort.
She slowly nuzzled her head against Chu Feiliang’s chest and murmured, “It’s the same scent I smelled in my dreams…”
In her dreams, Chu Feiliang would also hold her like this, their bodies pressed together, sitting closely on the sofa, intimate, just like before.
Chu Feiliang’s movements paused. She narrowed her eyes and said, “In your dreams?”
Rong Guang hummed softly in acknowledgment, so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open.
Chu Feiliang’s voice lowered, as if she were trying to bewitch her. She noticed Rong Guang occasionally losing her balance, her body in a half-asleep state, unable to stand up on its own.
A smile tugged at her lips. Supporting Rong Guang, she coaxed, “What did you dream about?”
“I dreamed…” Rong Guang struggled to murmur two words, but she was probably too tired. Before she could even finish her sentence, she was already buried against Chu Feiliang’s body, letting out soft snores.
Her breath occasionally ghosted across Chu Feiliang’s neck, carrying a mix of heat and shivers that sent little goosebumps rising on Chu Feiliang’s skin.
The one doing the coaxing was captured instead. As if bewitched, she lowered her head, her eyes downcast, and gently kissed the corner of Rong Guang’s eye, so soft it was as if they had touched by accident.
In her sleep, Rong Guang sensed something, but after struggling for a moment, she ultimately couldn’t open her eyes.
Chacha and Wang Lujie came out at almost the same time. Seeing Rong Guang in Chu Feiliang’s arms, they whispered, “She fell asleep?”
Chu Feiliang nodded and, without a change in expression, helped them carry Rong Guang back to her bed.
The moment she touched the bed, Rong Guang let out a sigh of contentment, then grabbed a nearby pillow, hugged it to her chest, and buried her head, falling into a deep sleep.
Chu Feiliang kept staring at her sleeping face until Chacha walked up to her. Only then did she snap back to her senses and return to her room with Wang Lujie.
Only then did Wang Lujie reveal the medicine bottle she had been clutching in her hand. She hesitated for a moment and said, “Are you still taking the medicine tonight?”
Chu Feiliang’s body was already having an allergic reaction from taking these pills, and she hadn’t had time to go to the hospital to get it checked.
Chu Feiliang stared at it, thought for a moment, and suddenly said, “No, I’ll stop for a day and see. What about the incense Rong Guang sent over this afternoon? Light a stick and see. I quite like that scent; it might help me sleep.”
Her nose still seemed to be filled with the fragrance from Rong Guang’s body, a scent that could calm one’s heart.
Wang Lujie didn’t refuse and went to get a stick of incense to light.
When she returned, she smiled and said, “Teacher Rong included some personal extras. The portion she left for you even came with a white jade incense burner, specifically for holding incense sticks.”
Chu Feiliang took it and looked at it. It was warm and smooth to the touch. It wasn’t any extremely precious jade, looking more like a waxy type. It had a particularly comfortable texture when held in the palm, making one want to keep stroking it.
She touched it for a while and said, “Light it.”
After Wang Lujie lit the incense and placed it inside, she looked at Chu Feiliang leaning against the headboard and said, “I’ll put the medicine next to you. Take a pill if you can’t bear it.”
Chu Feiliang nodded, a faint gloominess in her brow. Staring at the wisp of green smoke slowly rising from the incense burner, she suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness and lay down directly. “Turn off the lights. Time to sleep.”
Wang Lujie was stunned. She stared at the incense burner for a long time, suspecting it might be stuffed with sleeping pills.
How could this be more effective than a tranquilizer shot…
The next morning, when Wang Lujie opened the door, she was surprised to find that Chu Feiliang was already awake, staring blankly at the incense burner in her hand.
She was stunned for a moment, then walked over and said, “You’re up so early?”
Or had she not slept at all?
Chu Feiliang thought for a moment and said, “I heard that some elderly people have many ancient methods for making incense. The scent of this incense…” She took an unlit stick and sniffed it, but couldn’t discern anything specific. She could only say, “It’s very comforting.”
“The effect was that good?” Wang Lujie felt much more at ease.
She looked at Chu Feiliang carefully again and found that she looked quite energetic. There were no dark circles under her eyes, and not a single trace of having stayed up all night. The whites of her eyes were clear.
She breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, “I’ll help you ask around later. If it’s really that good, you can get some to burn at home, or you could just ask Rong Guang directly.”
Chu Feiliang didn’t refuse, nor did she doubt the ingredients of the incense at all. She said, “Pack up the burner.”
She didn’t even throw away the burnt ash inside, but put it back into the box along with the incense burner and stored it away carefully.
After Chu Feiliang finished washing up and came out, she looked at the box on the table and said, “Bring it to the set.”
Wang Lujie pursed her lips. “That’s not very appropriate, is it…”
“What’s not appropriate about it? It’s a proper gift, after all.” Chu Feiliang adjusted her collar.
Seeing that she was about to leave, Wang Lujie thought for a moment and obediently took the incense burner with her. After leaving the room, she said earnestly, “You have no idea how many people I saw on my way to get water just now who said…”
“The incense Teacher Rong gave us works so well.” Two girls walking arm-in-arm passed by them. After greeting them, one said, “My sleep schedule has been all messed up these past few days, but I slept especially well last night. I don’t know if it’s just my imagination.”
“I slept especially well too.” The other girl looked just as refreshed. “I didn’t even have a headache when I woke up this morning. Burning agarwood in winter isn’t bland at all, and the scent isn’t overpowering. It’s so comfortable.”
“There are still more than twenty sticks of incense left. I don’t want to make do with a mosquito coil holder again tonight. I’ll go check out the nearby scenic spots later to see if they sell any incense burners…”
The sound of their conversation gradually faded at the stairwell. Chu Feiliang turned back to look at the incense burner in Wang Lujie’s hands. Thinking about how those two girls were making do with mosquito coil holders, she lifted her chin and said, “Only I have one?”
Wang Lujie nodded. “That’s right.”
Chu Feiliang was satisfied, and her mood improved considerably.
She turned back and asked, “Where’s Rong Guang?”
“She rushed to the set early this morning. I went over to look just now, she wasn’t there,” Wang Lujie said. “She has a lot of scenes today, and they’re all major ones. Director Zhang is probably already walking through the scenes with her.”
Chu Feiliang nodded and hurried towards the set without stopping.
Rong Guang was currently rolling in the mud.
The weather hadn’t been cooperative. It didn’t snow today; instead, a drizzling rain fell. But the weather was gloomy and the temperature was low, so it was uncertain if it would snow later.
The rain wasn’t heavy; you couldn’t even feel the slight sting of raindrops on your face. But this mist-like curtain of rain was the most likely to get a person soaked to the bone, a dense and uncomfortable dampness.
The ground was wet, and the country soil had long since turned into a yellow river. She had so much to film next, and her body wouldn’t stay clean.
When Chu Feiliang arrived, the costume and makeup team was wiping the excess mud off Rong Guang’s body. As they wiped, they asked, “Are you cold?”
Rong Guang pressed her lips together and shook her head, but the uncontrollable shivers running through her body told the real story.
Chu Feiliang frowned, glanced at the portable heater nearby, and directly picked it up and brought it over. She aimed it at Rong Guang and said, “Sit here and dry off while you work. It won’t dry in a short time, so what’s the point of toughing it out?”
The moment the little sun heater touched Rong Guang, countless wisps of white steam rose from around her, as if her whole body was smoking.
The intense heat spread across her face, and Rong Guang finally had a moment to breathe. She said, “Thank you, Teacher Chu.”
Chu Feiliang glanced at the time and asked, “How far have you filmed?”
“We’ve reached the fall of the city.” She pursed her lips and said, “After this explosion scene is over, I…”
She could basically declare that her part was wrapped up.
Chu Feiliang hummed in acknowledgment, knowing what Rong Guang’s unfinished sentence meant.
After a moment, Chu Feiliang said, “Have you settled on the format for the script?”
Rong Guang nodded. “It was revised overnight. Since the foundation is there, the changes weren’t major. It was just the final ending that was adjusted. We’re still sticking to the original plan of having two endings.”
Chu Feiliang frowned and glanced at the rather magnificent city tower. “How so?”
“We’ll film it according to the way I’m about to go offline, following the original plan,” Rong Guang said. “So we have to get it in one take if possible. Otherwise, repairing the city tower back and forth will delay us by at least a week for every mistake. After that’s done, we’ll continue filming the second version, where I didn’t die. You pull me out of the pile of dead bodies, send me back to Green Mountain Temple, and I’m kept in a Mystic Ice Coffin.”
Chu Feiliang was speechless. She couldn’t help but rub her knee and say, “So in the end, is she dead or alive?”
Rong Guang glanced at her, her lips curving into a smile. Her eyes crinkled as she said, “I don’t know either—I specifically asked the director. Director Zhang told me, whatever you hope she is in your heart, that’s what she is. He sounded like a big swindler.”
“An open-ended ending.” Chu Feiliang scoffed. She glanced at the gloomy sky, took an irritated sip of water, and said, “Fine, let’s shoot it that way.”
As the moon rose, Jiang Wenmou stood high on the city wall, watching the dark mass of heads gradually pressing in. She silently estimated their numbers.
“How many enemy troops are there in total?” Jiang Wenmou asked in a low voice.
“Over thirty thousand remaining,” the deputy general said in a low voice. “As per your instructions, an ambush has been set on Deer Cry Mountain. We’ll be able to block them all in the valley. The specialists you brought will lure poisonous insects and fierce birds of prey from the side. If all goes well, we can take out at least ten thousand of them.”
Jiang Wenmou nodded. “And the Princess?”
“She is preparing in the mountains. She… only took a thousand men with her up the mountain,” the deputy general said. “Although we only have five thousand men left, they are all elite soldiers who have followed the general into battle dozens of times and fought their way out. Even if the enemy also has elite soldiers and skilled generals, we have the upper hand.”
“I know.” Jiang Wenmou nodded heavily, gripping the hand warmer in her hands tighter. “These soldiers are all men of iron and bone, different from those who have never seen blood or been on a battlefield.”
Their eyes were filled with determination. They knew this battle would be arduous, but they were resolved to die—their willingness to stay behind with Ji Ying was proof enough of this.
The battle raged from dawn till dusk.
Lu Xi Commandery was easy to defend but hard to attack. They were left with just over three thousand men, desperately defending the city. The enemy, seemingly aware of their small numbers, pursued the ‘main force’ of a thousand men led by Ji Ying up the mountain, hoping for a swift victory.
Jiang Wenmou was tightly protected in the center by all the soldiers.
With two or three thousand men facing an army of over twenty thousand, the casualties were devastating. Fewer than a thousand remained. The enemy, with what looked like over ten thousand men, had all entered the city, forcing them all to the back gate. Yet, they were in no hurry to capture them, seemingly wanting to see how they would struggle in the end.
Her entire body was caked in mud mixed with blood. Facing the snowflakes drifting down from the sky, she gently covered her mouth and coughed a few times.
The deputy general beside her supported her. “Miss.”
“I’m fine.” Jiang Wenmou shook her head.
“Still not surrendering?!” The enemy general pulled his reins tight. His rough voice was particularly resonant in the empty city. “I’ve long heard that you are the so-called Little Zhuge, Jiang Wenmou, whose strategies and talents are comparable to the old Zaixiang, Jiang Huai, when he was alive—but now that I, this general, see you, you’re nothing special!”
Jiang Wenmou smiled. Though her body was covered in mud, it only served to make her face as pale as snow. “Wenmou is untalented, but I am still capable of taking you down, General.”
The enemy general was stunned. “What is the meaning of this?!”
“The general learned I was here and left nearly thirty thousand soldiers to breach the city and capture me alive, while giving up on Her Highness the Princess, sending less than ten thousand troops to encircle her.” Jiang Wenmou let out a soft laugh. “I must thank the general for going to such great lengths.”
Seeing he had been exposed, the enemy general let out a series of inscrutable laughs. He looked at Jiang Wenmou and said, “It seems I have underestimated you.”
Jiang Wenmou’s expression didn’t change. Seeing more and more soldiers entering the city, she finally smiled and said, “The general is truly confident. To have all ten thousand of your troops enter the city, are you afraid I might disappear?”
“I’ve long heard that Little Zhuge is skilled at feigning death to escape, even tricking that dog emperor Ji Zheng,” he said coldly. “I must be on my guard.”
“Since that is the case,” Jiang Wenmou sighed, her face showing an indescribable pity and sorrow as she swept her gaze over the troops in the city, “then you cannot blame me.”
Jiang Wenmou raised a hand and swung it down heavily.
The Beidi general frowned. The horse beneath him let out a long, uneasy neigh and took two steps back.
A great sense of dread and unease filled his mind. His instincts acted faster than his brain, and he shouted, “Something’s wrong—retreat—!”
Before his words had faded, countless buildings in front of and behind him began to collapse, and the city walls started to crumble.
The muddy ground burst upwards, rising into the air, only to be buried again by the overwhelming snow and rain, turning the entire area into a sea of mud.
“Rumble—!”
“Bang—!”
A series of violent and powerful explosions echoed from Lu Xi Commandery to Deer Cry Mountain. Ji Ying, standing on a cliff, heard the sound and instantly turned her head, her face still flushed with the joy of victory.
She turned back and asked, “How are the specialists?”
“Reporting to the Princess, everything went smoothly! The enemy’s fifteen thousand troops have all been lured into the formation. The only exit has been completely sealed with rocks, and they are surrounded by cliffs. They cannot escape even if they had wings!”
“Good!” Ji Ying laughed heartily, cracking her whip on the ground.
A piece of a corpse rolled down with her movement. She tilted her head up, looking at the circling birds and heavy snow in the sky, a wild and unrestrained smile of post-disaster relief spreading across her face.
She was almost desperate to return to Lu Xi Commandery and tell Wen Mou about today’s events.
Everything went smoothly. A great victory.
But her smile didn’t last long. A scout immediately came running and stumbling over, his face deathly pale. He knelt heavily on the ground and shouted urgently, “Reporting to the Princess—in Lu Xi Commandery… the entire army is gone!”
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