“Sis, what are you doing here? I could have come alone.”
“It’s fine. I just finished working out and wanted a walk anyway. Instead of pacing around the hotel room, I might as well come with you. Consider it a stroll.”
“It’s pitch black out here at night. We should have brought a couple more people.”
“We’re just picking up a phone. Is that necessary? The park’s closed by now. What’s there to be afraid of?”
In the empty film city, two women were walking towards Guiyun Manor. The dim yellow streetlights stretched their shadows long across the ground. The place was deathly silent; even their footsteps echoed loudly.
The taller one, with ordinary looks, was shivering and glancing around nervously, as if terrified a ghost might leap out from the shadows.
The shorter, petite woman showed no fear at all. Her steps were steady, her breathing deep and even.
They were none other than Zhao Xiaodao and her assistant.
The crew had filmed until past eight, adding a night scene, and only wrapped today’s schedule near nine.
Zhao Xiaodao’s last scene meant she had casually left her phone on a chair in the dressing room. When the assistant packed up, she accidentally missed it.
After finishing, Zhao Xiaodao returned to the hotel with her assistant, ate a light nutritious meal, hit the gym, and, wanting to scroll on her phone afterwards, realised it was gone.
After checking with the assistant, she remembered where she had left it. Deciding it would make a nice walk, the two headed back together.
“This place is so open. What’s scary about it? When I was little in the countryside, I walked alone at night all the time,” Zhao Xiaodao said nonchalantly.
“Sis, you’re amazing.” The assistant gave a thumbs-up. “But I’m scared of the dark!”
Even with the streetlights, the assistant kept her phone torch on, lighting the way.
They soon reached Guiyun Manor, entered the courtyard used for tonight’s shoot, went into the side wing, up to the second-floor inner room, and found the phone.
“Got it!” The assistant patted her chest, turned off the torch, and finally relaxed.
Although there was nothing scandalous on Zhao Xiaodao’s phone, if someone had picked it up and cracked it, the assistant would have been fully responsible.
“Right, let’s head back.”
Zhao Xiaodao showed no sign of relief whatsoever.
The crew had continued filming long after closing. All the tourists were gone. As long as she found it before the park reopened in the morning, the phone was never in real danger.
She picked it up, saw only a few new messages, and decided to check them later back at the hotel.
Just then, a metallic “clang-clang-clang” rang out from the courtyard.
“Wha—”
“Shh!”
Zhao Xiaodao yanked her assistant back and covered her mouth.
No matter who was out there, how many there were, or what they wanted, in the dead of night with only two defenceless women, the safest thing was to stay quiet if the others hadn’t noticed them yet.
Clang-clang-clang!
The sound of weapons clashing continued, accompanied by two voices.
“Since you lifted my veil and saw my face, you have only two choices: marry me, or die beneath my sword!”
“Hah! In your dreams. This young master drifts through a thousand flowers without a single leaf sticking. Two gentle, virtuous little wives await me at home. Why would I bring home a tigress like you?”
The woman seemed enraged by his playboy words. “I’m a tigress?”
“Even if not a tigress, you’re definitely a jealous vinegar jar.”
“Hmph! Take this!”
“Whoa, you’re serious?”
“Did you think I was joking?”
Clang-clang-clang-clang, another rapid flurry of steel.
Zhao Xiaodao and her assistant exchanged glances, struggling not to laugh. Clearly some crew members had got the acting bug, dragging their boyfriend or girlfriend into the deserted night-time film city to play-fight.
The assistant stifled her giggles and quietly pushed the window open a crack.
Then…
They saw two figures leaping like swallows across the rooftops of the courtyard, their longswords flashing like bolts of silk.
Clang-clang-clang!
The man in white wielded his sword so fast it became a sphere of silver light. Then he sprang, turning into an after-image as he crossed from one roof to another.
The woman in purple moved like willow branches in the wind. Her sword thrusts were lightning-quick. She followed him through the air, robes fluttering like an immortal descending from the heavens.
“Will you marry me or not?”
“Only if you agree to serve me together with my other two darling wives.”
“Keep dreaming!”
“Then I won’t marry you!”
“You… you seduced me and now you abandon me!”
“No, this is what we call a romantic young master!”
“Lecher, take my sword!”
The pair dropped from the roofs to the ground. Suddenly the entire back courtyard glittered with cold light.
Sword qi swept through two evergreen trees, sending leaves fluttering down. Many were sliced cleanly in half.
Moonlight washed the sky silver; sword light dazzled the ground; leaves fell like rain. The scene was breathtakingly beautiful.
After a few more exchanges, they leapt back onto the rooftops. Zhao Xiaodao and her assistant watched, jaws dropped, their entire worldview shattered.
The next instant, a gust of wind blew the slightly ajar window wide open, revealing two small heads poking out from below the sill.
“Hm?”
Both fighters instantly halted and turned their heads.
Zhao Xiaodao: (*°ω°*)!!!
…
Back in the modern city, Lu Zheng had relaxed considerably. He and Lin Wan changed into period costumes, waited until the film city was completely closed, even hacked the surveillance system to freeze the feeds for three hours, then slipped inside.
After scanning the area and confirming no one was around, Lu Zheng stopped paying close attention and simply enjoyed playing with Lin Wan.
Even so, his basic spiritual sense covered dozens of zhang in every direction. No movement of grass or wind could escape him.
By sheer bad luck, Zhao Xiaodao and her assistant had entered the park while Lu Zheng and Lin Wan were off in the Journey to the West section. They reached the second-floor side room, kept the windows closed, turned off their phone lights, and though they made some small noises, the sea breeze covered it all.
So while the couple played excitedly, fully immersed in their game and surrounded by rustling trees, they genuinely hadn’t noticed the two women for a moment.
But the instant that window opened, if they still hadn’t detected anything, they might as well give up cultivation altogether.
“Zhao Xiaodao?”
“What’s she doing here?”
Lu Zheng and Lin Wan stared at each other. Lin Wan was momentarily stunned, but Lu Zheng reacted instantly, covering his face with a thin layer of true qi. To ordinary eyes, his features would appear hazy and unclear.
Lin Wan had no such worries; she wore a purple veil that revealed only her eyes, and under the cover of night, the two women definitely didn’t have X-ray vision.
“You really didn’t notice?” Lin Wan asked.
Lu Zheng blinked. “Careless of me. When did she get here?”
“What do we do now?”
Before Lu Zheng could answer, Zhao Xiaodao took one step back, dropped straight to her knees, and kowtowed devoutly.
“Please, heroine, accept me as your disciple!”
