When the director pointed out her odd behavior in front of everyone, Yang Rong’s face instantly flushed bright red.
She didn’t dare to look at Jiang Nian, and stammered, “Director, don’t… don’t talk nonsense. What do you mean ‘loving glances’? There’s nothing like that, okay?”
“Really?” Huang Junwen didn’t quite believe her. He’d been in the entertainment industry for so many years that his eyes were like a ruler—could he really have misjudged?
“For… for sure! Ugh, just stop talking nonsense, will you? Stop playing matchmaker for no reason! It’s so annoying!” Yang Rong snapped, a little flustered.
Seeing her reaction, the director fell into thoughtful silence and didn’t press further. As for Jiang Nian, he just looked at Yang Rong with a slightly strange expression. To conclude that she liked him just because of one comment from the director—he felt that was a bit too presumptuous and unrealistic. After all, they’d only known each other for such a short time. How could feelings develop that quickly? Jiang Nian figured that at most, Yang Rong was just a little curious about him. It was probably just the angle that made it look like she was gazing at him with affection.
“Teacher Jiang, don’t listen to the director’s nonsense, okay?” As if still feeling uneasy, Yang Rong said to Jiang Nian again.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Nian nodded: “This eunuch knows.”
“Huh? Ah…”
Seeing Jiang Nian’s calm response, as if he’d already expected it, Yang Rong was suddenly at a loss for words. In the end, she could only mumble a few sounds in acknowledgment, then lower her head with flickering eyes, lost in her own thoughts.
Jiang Nian, however, paid it no mind. He took this time to rest a bit. Then, when the director called out “Action” again, he got back into character, looked at Yang Rong, and continued performing.
There was nothing particularly special about this scene. It was just Lin Pingzhi chatting with Yue Lingshan after saving her, the girl who “didn’t know martial arts.” Then, when Yue Lingshan was leaving, Lin Pingzhi noticed that her ankle was injured and bleeding. Out of kindness, he offered to carry her back on his back.
It seemed like a simple scene—just some dialogue that would be filmed quickly. But in reality, it was rough and stumbling. They had to cut several times and wasted over an hour before finally getting a passable take.
Of course, the problem wasn’t with Jiang Nian. With Lin Pingzhi’s memories, he was practically Lin Pingzhi himself, so performing in character came naturally—how could he make a mistake? The issue mainly lay with Yang Rong’s portrayal of Yue Lingshan. Whether it was because of the director’s earlier comment, Yang Rong often lost her focus mid-scene. Several times, she turned Yue Lingshan—a pure, lively, innocent, and kind girl-next-door—into a resentful woman. Huang Junwen was quite helpless and could only keep guiding and correcting her.
After finishing this segment, Huang Junwen had Jiang Nian and Yang Rong shoot an underwater scene and a diving scene. The underwater part involved them going to a room covered in green screens, performing while suspended by wires, with the effects to be added in post-production.
After all this was done, Jiang Nian’s scenes for the day came to an end. After all, Lin Pingzhi was just a supporting character. Although he had a decent amount of screen time, the main focus was still the protagonist, Linghu Chong.
Upon learning that he had no more scenes for the day, Jiang Nian checked the time and saw it was only two in the afternoon. So he cheerfully changed his clothes and got ready to go practice martial arts.
On the other hand, Yang Rong seemed a bit down after finishing her scenes. Seeing this, the other actresses couldn’t help but ask curiously:
“What’s wrong, Rongrong? You’re done filming, so why aren’t you happy?”
“Did the director’s words make you upset?”
“Come on, don’t be mad. Don’t take it to heart.”
“Yeah, and the director wasn’t trying to be difficult on purpose—he just wants the scene to be better.”
They spoke one after another, comforting Yang Rong. But she just shook her head. “It’s not the director’s fault.”
“Huh? Then who? It can’t be Teacher Jiang, can it?” asked Yuan Shanshan beside her.
It was just a casual remark. After saying it, she even thought it was impossible and dismissed it. But when it reached Yang Rong’s ears, it only made her more silent. At this point, even the slowest person could tell something was off. Yuan Shanshan looked at Yang Rong in disbelief: “Rongrong, you’re not seriously upset because of Teacher Jiang, are you?”
“Mm.” Yang Rong nodded quietly.
Everyone gasped. Wow, this piece of gossip… was huge! They perked up with interest:
“What exactly happened? Teacher Jiang didn’t bully you or anything during the shoot, so why…”
“Yeah, what went on in between?”
“Wait, don’t tell me the director’s comment made Teacher Jiang misunderstand something?”
“But that shouldn’t be it. Teacher Jiang isn’t that narcissistic, is he?”
“Exactly. He seems very rational—he should be able to tell it was just a joke.”
“Then what’s the real reason?”
They analyzed it but couldn’t figure it out, because they didn’t think Jiang Nian was that presumptuous. Hearing all this, Yang Rong’s expression grew worse and worse.
“You guys chat. I still have scenes to shoot, so I’m heading off first.” She stood up, said that, and walked away without looking back.
The women were baffled: “What’s up with her? What did we say that upset her?”
“No idea. Forget it, let’s not worry about it. Anyway, I still think Teacher Jiang couldn’t possibly be that arrogant!”
Meanwhile, Jiang Nian had no idea that the women were now having an intense discussion about him. He was just practicing martial arts.
After using his memories to push the Bixie Sword Technique to the “Minor Accomplishment” level, Jiang Nian had gained some insights into this top-tier martial art. And because he’d been frequently delving into his memories, he increasingly felt that something was off about the Bixie Sword Technique. The story of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer was far more complex than it appeared on the surface!
Anyone who’s read The Smiling, Proud Wanderer should be familiar with its ending. At the end of the book, although the Five Mountain Sword Sects successfully merged, they were almost completely wiped out. Sect Leader Tianmen of Mount Tai died. The most capable leader, Zuo Lengchan, died. The most scheming and most skilled martial artist, Yue Buqun, died. Even the kindest, Sect Leader Dingxian, was killed at Shaolin Temple. The only one left was the timid Elder Mo Da, but he was a complete and utter failure! The once glorious five major sects ended up with only the little nun Yilin to represent them.
On the other side, the Sun Moon Holy Cult, their rival, was in almost the same predicament. And their downfall was all tied to one person—Linghu Chong! As the protagonist of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, and the young hero favored by both the Shaolin Abbot and the Wudang Leader, it seemed normal that he could single-handedly bring down two of the martial world’s greatest powers.
But upon closer inspection, there were far too many inconsistencies!
Zuo Lengchan, Yue Buqun, and Ren Woxing—they were indeed no saints. But they all shared one common goal: to unify the Five Mountain Sword Sects, and even the entire martial world. Among them, Ren Woxing looked down on everyone and wanted to use brute force to subdue all sects, claiming to “spread civil and martial virtues, and bless all beings.” Yue Buqun, branded a hypocrite, said: “Most of the disputes in the world and the killings in the martial arts stem from sectarian bias. People always insist on distinguishing friend from foe. If we were all united and treated each other as fellow disciples, wouldn’t that bring peace? Why fight and kill every day?”
One might ask—should such people really die? From a modern person’s perspective, Jiang Nian’s answer was “No!” Because their actions were at least aimed at ending conflict and reducing bloodshed. After all, the general trend is that long division leads to unity, and long unity leads to division. If the martial world could unite, with less killing, it would naturally develop better.
But the outcome was clear—they all failed. Who was stopping them? Linghu Chong? After going through Lin Pingzhi’s memories, Jiang Nian didn’t think Linghu Chong had that kind of ability. At best, he was just a pawn. The real obstacle to unification was the chess player behind Linghu Chong—Wudang and Shaolin! Setting aside what these two represented behind the scenes, in the martial world, Wudang and Shaolin were undeniably the top powers. The Five Mountain Sword Sects and the Sun Moon Holy Cult were the rising stars.
Anyone who’s ever dined out knows that if a friend pays first, you can’t pay later. If you insist, the only outcome is a fight! The Five Mountain Sword Sects and the Sun Moon Holy Cult wanted to unify the martial world, which meant contending with Wudang and Shaolin. That was why Fangzheng and Chongxu were so hostile toward Zuo Lengchan, Yue Buqun, and Ren Woxing.
On the surface, The Smiling, Proud Wanderer tells the story of Linghu Chong’s carefree adventures. But in reality, it’s about the ownership of the martial world. Outsiders might find this interpretation far-fetched, since both the Five Mountain Sword Sects and the Sun Moon Holy Cult collapsed due to internal strife. But in Jiang Nian’s eyes, armed with Lin Pingzhi’s memories, this was the truth! Because he held the very core that had caused the internal conflicts of both factions—the Bixie Sword Technique! Or rather, the Sunflower Manual!
Where did the Sunflower Manual come from? It first appeared at Shaolin Temple, kept by then-Abbot Hongye. By chance, Yue Su and Cai Zifeng of Mount Hua visited and secretly read it. In their haste, neither could finish the entire text, so they split it, each reading half. But Hongye discovered them and, believing it was a harmful text that should not remain in the world, burned it. After returning to Mount Hua, Yue and Cai compared their copied halves and found they didn’t match at all. Suspicion grew between them, leading to brotherly enmity and sparking the conflict between Mount Hua’s Sword and Qi factions.
Later, the Sun Moon Holy Cult launched a massive attack on Mount Hua to seize the incomplete Sunflower Manual that Yue Su and Cai Zifeng had transcribed. After a fierce battle, ten of the Sun Moon Holy Cult’s elders died on Mount Hua. The incomplete manual was taken by the cult and eventually passed to Dongfang Bubai. Meanwhile, the disciple Duyuan, sent by Abbot Hongye to persuade Yue and Cai, secretly memorized most of the martial arts from them before the battle. Based on his own understanding, he created the Bixie Sword Technique in a cave, combined with insights from the manual. He then changed his name to Lin Yuantu and shook the martial world.
All of this was told by Abbot Fangzheng and Daoist Chongxu during their secret meeting with Linghu Chong. Wasn’t that strange? Not only did this evil text come from the so-called righteous Shaolin Temple, but the former abbot’s disciple, sent to persuade others, ended up learning it himself, becoming a monk, founding the Fortune and Prestige Escort Agency, and rising to fame. It was practically an open invitation for the world to know that the Bixie Sword Technique was formidable and the Sunflower Manual even more so.
What’s more, Lin Yuantu knew that after his death, the Bixie Sword Technique would inevitably attract covetous eyes. Yet he still resolutely passed the Fortune and Prestige Escort Agency to his second son, Lin Zhongxiong, who had mediocre martial arts talent. He left behind the instruction: “Do not recklessly open the ancestral relics in the old residence on Xiangyang Lane.”
Honestly, when Jiang Nian realized all this, he couldn’t help but laugh in frustration. Even if Lin Yuantu was considering future generations and didn’t want them to practice such twisted martial arts and lose their descendants, couldn’t his descendants have raised one child specifically to learn the Bixie Sword Technique and protect the family? There was a risk of betrayal, sure, but they were still family. No matter what, things wouldn’t have ended up like they did for Lin Pingzhi—his family destroyed! And after Lin Pingzhi’s family was ruined, the Five Mountain Sword Sects started fighting over the Bixie Sword Technique. At the same time, on the Sun Moon Holy Cult side, Dongfang Bubai, who had learned the Sunflower Manual, went to war with Ren Woxing.
“Everyone who wanted to unite and face external enemies in this book met only death.”
“The Sunflower Manual was their chess piece.”
“Even if there were no Yue or Cai from Mount Hua, there would have been Zhao or Bai from Mount Tai, or Zhang or Wang from Mount Heng.”
“Linghu Chong seemed free and unfettered, but the Shaolin Yijin Jing he eventually learned also sealed his fate!”
Realizing this, Jiang Nian couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. He had to admire Jin Yong’s skill. He also recalled Jin Yong’s evaluation of Lin Pingzhi in the afterword: “Lin Pingzhi is a political figure.”
Initially, he hadn’t taken it seriously, thinking Jin Yong was just showing off. The character had been written into such a miserable state, yet Jin Yong talked big. But now, if Lin Pingzhi didn’t count as a political figure, then few people would. A pawn indeed.
“Once you’re in the martial world, you have no control over your own fate!”
With a sigh of emotion, Jiang Nian looked up again.
“What the hell? I was just immersed in practice and thinking about some things, and now it’s already dark?!”
“What time is it?”
“Whoa? Two in the morning?”
“Why didn’t that bastard Zhang Linyu come to get me?!”
