“Hey, did you hear? Teacher Jiang has scenes today.”
“Teacher Jiang? Which Teacher Jiang?”
“Jiang Nian—the one who played Yu Huatian in ‘Flying Swords of Dragon Gate’ a while back. That Teacher Jiang.”
“Huh??? Isn’t he with the ‘Sword Rain’ crew next door? What’s he doing on our set?”
“You didn’t know? A few days ago, Teacher Jiang signed a contract with Producer Wu and the others to play our show’s big villain, the Wheel-Turning King. Today, Producer Wu and the team talked it over and invited Teacher Jiang over to film.”
“Holy crap, seriously?! Then we’ve gotta go check it out. But wait—speaking of the Wheel-Turning King, if I remember right, isn’t he supposed to be an ugly old eunuch? Can Teacher Jiang really pull that off?”
“Who knows. Anyway, I heard Teacher Jiang’s already in the makeup room. Once he comes out, we’ll see.”
“True. But I gotta say, Teacher Jiang really is a eunuch specialist. Counting Lin Pingzhi from ‘Sword Rain’ next door and the Wheel-Turning King in our show, he’s already played four eunuchs. I heard through the grapevine he’s still looking for more eunuch roles these days. Is this stuff really that addictive?”
“No idea. Don’t know. But my personal advice is: best not to run your mouth. Talking behind people’s backs isn’t a good look. If someone finds out… you know what I mean?”
“Got it, got it.”
…
When word got out that Jiang Nian was coming to film, everyone on the “Sword Rain” crew showed tremendous curiosity.
Discussions about Jiang Nian kept popping up one after another.
Their words were full of curiosity.
After all, many of them hadn’t known beforehand that Jiang Nian had joined “Sword Rain.”
Plus, Jiang Nian’s popularity was sky-high right now.
Driven by herd mentality, they all wanted to see what this man—who’d been stealing the spotlight and riding high lately—was really like in person, and what he was like when acting.
And so, under everyone’s eager, watching eyes.
Who knew how long passed before the makeup room door was pushed open.
It was still a bit before noon.
The sun hadn’t yet climbed to its peak.
The warm light at an eighty-degree angle fell on Jiang Nian.
Shadow covered most of his face, leaving only an outline.
Long nose, pointed face, hollow cheeks.
That was…
“A wolf?!”
Someone in the crowd recognized the shape of that outline and let out a soft gasp.
The voice wasn’t loud, but it drew quite a few people’s attention.
“A wolf? Where’s there a wolf?”
“Bro, don’t mess around—where’s there a wolf? Don’t just say stuff!”
A stir ran through the crowd.
The person who’d spoken earlier realized his mistake and quickly corrected himself: “No, no, I didn’t mean a literal wolf. I meant this person. Look closely—doesn’t this person’s facial outline look like a wolf’s face?”
At those words, everyone looked.
And sure enough, it did.
“You are…?”
Korean lead actor Jung Woo-sung narrowed his eyes, looking uncertain.
Wasn’t the person in the makeup room supposed to be Jiang Nian, who’d directed them just a few days ago?
So why was someone else walking out?
Or rather…
“Are you Teacher Jiang?”
Jung Woo-sung asked, half-believing, half-doubting.
Hearing that, Jiang Nian nodded. “It’s me.”
Then he took a step forward, and as the glaring light was blocked behind his head.
His current appearance came into everyone’s view.
It was an incredibly aged face.
Time was like a rake, carving ditch after ditch across his face.
Eye bags sagging, nasolabial folds deeply sunken.
Hollow cheeks paired with those numb eyes.
He looked honest enough on the surface, but in truth, the sinister cunning lurking in the deepest part of his eyes—and the thin mustache stuck above his lip—exposed that his interior was nowhere near as placid as his exterior suggested.
This was also the core setup of the Wheel-Turning King character.
Clearly just a ninth-rank eunuch, yet he controlled the biggest assassination organization in the martial world—Black Stone.
Because of that, the actor had to portray the contradictory image of someone who seemed honest and harmless in public, but was ruthless and merciless behind closed doors, wiping out entire families.
And now, looking at everyone’s shocked, incredulous eyes.
It was obvious Jiang Nian hadn’t just pulled it off—he’d exceeded expectations.
“Are you really Teacher Jiang?”
Xu Xinyuan, who’d shared a night of madness with Jiang Nian, walked up with an incredulous look and asked.
As she asked, she reached out, wanting to touch Jiang Nian’s face.
Seeing this, how could Jiang Nian let her have her way? He smacked her hand down and said irritably, “Talk if you wanna talk, but hands are going too far.”
For this one makeup job, he’d sat there for over two hours.
Even he couldn’t bear to touch it—how could he let her mess around with it?
Jiang Nian shot Xu Xinyuan an annoyed glare.
Xu Xinyuan gave an awkward laugh, quickly withdrew her hand, then circled around Jiang Nian, clicking her tongue in amazement.
By this time, the others had recovered too, and couldn’t help but chatter:
“The makeup is so good. When Teacher Jiang first came out, I didn’t even dare recognize him.”
“Tell me about it. I thought maybe the info was wrong—that it wasn’t Teacher Jiang filming today, but someone else.”
“But now that I look closely, you can still see a hint of Teacher Jiang between the brows.”
“It’s hard to believe this is the same Yu Huatian who held power over the entire court.”
“True. But from another angle, maybe this is what Yu Huatian’s retirement years actually looked like.”
“Haha, that’s a wild take, but honestly? It kinda works.”
…
Everyone marveled at Jiang Nian’s makeup.
Just then, director Su Zhaobin noticed the commotion and walked over. “What are you all gathered here for? We’re shooting soon—are the sets and everything ready?”
At his words, the people who’d been chatting so lively all shut their mouths, not daring to make a sound, and scattered like birds and beasts.
Seeing this, Su Zhaobin let out a cold huff.
Then he looked at Jiang Nian, and when he noticed his current makeup, a look of surprise appeared on his face—followed by delight.
Because Jiang Nian’s current makeup was almost identical to the Wheel-Turning King he’d envisioned!
He couldn’t help but step forward to exchange a few pleasantries, then invited Jiang Nian to follow him to the set to film.
Although he hadn’t yet practiced the Wheel-Turning King’s martial techniques, he had his memories.
Jiang Nian slipped into the role of the Wheel-Turning King with ease.
Aura, expressions, demeanor, tone—all at a top-tier level.
Su Zhaobin and Wu Yusen watched, inwardly cheering with delight.
But it made the people acting opposite Jiang Nian suffer endlessly.
Among them, the one most affected was the Korean actor Jung Woo-sung.
As the lead of this drama, and a veteran actor from Korea.
His acting skills were guaranteed.
Though not on the level of the old masters, he rarely had problems.
But today, facing Jiang Nian.
Jung Woo-sung felt like he’d gone back to just debuting—a complete rookie, getting outclassed by Jiang Nian at every turn.
At first, he was a bit unconvinced.
He figured he’d fought his way out of Korea’s hyper-competitive grind, so he wanted to compete with Jiang Nian.
But slowly, as time went on.
Jung Woo-sung gave up.
Because he discovered something utterly despairing: Jiang Nian’s acting was adaptive.
When his own acting improved, Jiang Nian’s improved along with it.
It wasn’t so overbearing that it crushed him at every turn and left him breathless.
But wanting to surpass him? Absolutely out of the question!
“Is this guy a monster?”
When a scene ended, Jung Woo-sung sat on the steps, dazed, watching Jiang Nian, despair filling his eyes.
Too much.
The pressure was too much!
That suffocating feeling, like a python coiling around him, made him start to doubt whether he was even suited to be an actor.
Seeing him like this, Yu Wenle next to him couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher Jung, what’s wrong? Not happy?”
Jung Woo-sung shook his head, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag. “No, just thinking.”
“About what?”
“Whether I should go back home to develop my career. How come you guys here are even more competitive than where I’m from?”
Jung Woo-sung was a bit broken.
Hearing that, Yu Wenle: “???”
Jiang Nian had no idea that, because of him, Jung Woo-sung had lost his dreams.
He just, after finishing today’s scenes, saw that it was still early, so he looked at Wu Yusen, who was getting ready to wrap, and said, “Producer Wu, I’m in such good form today, and the makeup’s good too. Isn’t it a bit of a waste to just stop here? Want to shoot some more?”
At those words, Wu Yusen was slightly taken aback.
He looked at Jiang Nian with some surprise, clearly not expecting him to make such a suggestion.
Not that he’d never seen anyone volunteer for extra shooting in all his years in the film industry.
But with someone of Jiang Nian’s stature, that didn’t seem like something he’d say.
You see, in the film world, the more talented someone is, the prouder they tend to be.
Take Tony Leung, for example.
Back when filming “Infernal Affairs,” Andy Lau—one of the Four Heavenly Kings—would stay on set twenty-four hours a day, obsessively studying the script and delving into his character.
But Tony Leung?
He’d clock in right on time every day, slip into character the second he hit the set, finish his scenes, and leave.
Forget overtime—he barely even made small talk. Not a minute wasted. Arrogant as hell.
Even his wife, Carina Lau, joked that Tony Leung would come home after only three or four hours of work. Before her nap, he was home. After she woke up, he was still home.
In Wu Yusen’s eyes.
Jiang Nian was just like Tony Leung—maybe even more of a genius than Tony Leung.
And a genius like that was volunteering for overtime…
“Alright, I’ll arrange it right now. Teacher Jiang, what kind of scenes do you want to shoot?” Wu Yusen asked.
Jiang Nian thought for a moment. “Anything’s fine. I’m not picky. You arrange it. My only request is to shoot as much as we can today. This makeup is too much trouble to do.”
Wu Yusen understood:
“Got it. Stagehands, props—everyone get ready. We’ll shoot the next scene right after. Let’s push hard today and finish Teacher Jiang’s scenes for the next two or three days.”
“Then finance, get ready. Everyone’s working hard today, so after we wrap, we’re handing out red envelopes. Come on, everyone, move it! Finish early, rest early.”
As his voice fell.
The people who’d been reluctant about overtime instantly perked up and got busy.
Seeing this, Xu Xinyuan next to him looked at Jiang Nian and teased, “Teacher Jiang, you really know how to work people, huh. One word from you and everyone’s running around.”
Hearing that, Jiang Nian shrugged. “Nothing I can do. I’m too handsome. Even making me look ugly takes an hour or two. It’s such a hassle. If I want to be efficient, I’ve gotta put everyone out a bit.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, Teacher Jiang, you’re so full of yourself.”
“Narcissism aside—just tell me, is your buddy handsome or not?”
“Handsome, handsome, Teacher Jiang, you’re the handsomest. Every time I see you I can’t control myself. I want you so bad.” Xu Xinyuan curled her lips, her eyes seductive.
Seeing her like that, Jiang Nian pondered for a moment. “Then you really are slutty. My advice is, if you can’t hold it in, grab a slipper and smack it.”
“???” Xu Xinyuan was stunned, then immediately bristled. “Hey, no—Jiang Nian, are you a dog? Is that even human speech? Huh?”
Jiang Nian looked puzzled. “Isn’t that what you said? What, you think the slipper’s too soft?”
“You—” Xu Xinyuan choked on her words. “Forget it. No fun. I’m going to change clothes. Bye!”
With that, she turned and stormed off huffily.
Just then, Jiang Nian’s voice drifted lazily from behind. “See? And now you’re mad.”
Xu Xinyuan: “…”
“Seriously, aren’t you going too far? Chasing me down to kill me?”
Actually, regarding the Wheel-Turning King’s storyline.
It wasn’t a lot, but it wasn’t little either.
If every take could be done in one pass, with Jiang Nian’s filming speed, he’d wrap in a week at most.
But obviously, having the entire crew film only him was unrealistic.
Because many scenes could be reused.
Like right now.
Standing in the room, watching Xu Xinyuan’s male body double—bare-chested, wearing a loincloth—stab Ye Zhanqing’s husband to death with one blade.
This scene could be reused too.
Just remove the light-blocking cloth and switch up the set.
“Teacher Xu, do you need a body double?”
Before filming, Producer Wu Yusen asked.
After all, this scene took place after Ye Zhanqing and Lei Bin assassinated Jiang Asheng. Ye Zhanqing, injured, comes to the Wheel-Turning King for healing.
Ye Zhanqing would bare her back, and in the heat of the moment, share a passionate kiss with the Wheel-Turning King.
Not every actress could be like Teacher Tang from “Lust, Caution” and bare it all for art.
So they had to ask her opinion.
Hearing that, Xu Xinyuan—who’d just changed into a blue rough linen outfit—smiled slightly. “It’s fine. No big deal. Just some simple intimate scenes. I can handle it.”
“Good.”
Hearing her say that, Wu Yusen didn’t waste words and hit the clapper.
The classic “Sword Rain” scene—Zhanqing Asks About the Chicken—officially began filming!
