Chapter 29: Wrap

"Mother..." Zhang Wuji shouted as soon as Yin Susu finished deceiving the men.

Yin Susu knelt on the ground and pulled Zhang Wuji into her arms. "Wuji, Mother was only tricking them. Look, see how skilled Mother is at lying?"

She placed her hands on Zhang Wuji's cheeks, her eyes filled with reluctance. "Remember, never trust a woman. The more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to deceive you. Remember that!"

Having said what she needed to say, Yin Susu hugged Zhang Wuji close once more. A flash of ruthlessness crossed her eyes, and she plunged a dagger into her own chest.

Blood splattered onto Zhang Wuji. He let out a cry of "Mother!" before fainting.

...

"Cut! Print! Liu Jing, that's a wrap."

With his family watching from a distance, Liu Jing felt as if he had been guided by divine help; the shoot went smoothly.

Liu Jing performed a kip-up, springing to his feet from the ground.

It was a wrap, and he had nothing scheduled for the next few days. Since Teacher An had come to visit, he decided to take the family around Yandu and spend that twenty thousand yuan.

They would watch the flag-raising ceremony, stroll through the Forbidden City, climb the city towers, hike Fragrant Hills, visit Shichahai, and tour the Summer Palace—but they were definitely not going to the Great Wall.

Teacher An had an itinerary of his own: first Yandu for a few days, then Zhuozhou, where Sister Li had one final scene to shoot. After that, they would head south, taking young An Feng along to sightsee, as she would be starting elementary school soon.

Liu Jing had seen enough of the world; it was time to broaden his daughter's horizons.

With his scenes finished, Liu Jing dashed into the makeup room to change back into his own clothes. When he emerged, he found Zhang Min still sitting on the ground, a dagger protruding from her chest, her expression dazed, lost in thought.

"Hey! The ground is cold. How long are you planning to sit there?" Liu Jing asked.

There were no more scenes for Zhang Min for the rest of the day.

"I’m still in character. Pull me up," Zhang Min said, rubbing her temples.

Seeing this, Sammo Hung walked over and teased, "Kid, you sure know how to be a gentleman to the ladies."

"Uncle, you messed up your lines again just now," Liu Jing said with a look of disdain. The fat man had great martial arts skills, but he always fumbled his lines. Just a moment ago, Zhang Sanfeng had a line stating that Miejue Shitai’s master was Guo Xiang.

"What?" Sammo Hung looked puzzled. He had memorized that part for a long time; how could he have gotten it wrong? Afraid of being mocked by the kid again, he had specifically checked the script before the take.

"Miejue Shitai’s master was Fengling Shitai, and Fengling Shitai’s master was Guo Xiang," Liu Jing explained.

"Fengling Shitai?" The burly man was baffled, having never heard of such a person.

"Meeting Yang Guo once ruins a person for life. Back then, when Guo Xiang first met Yang Guo, it was at Fengling Ferry. Later, when Guo Xiang founded the Emei Sect, she named her disciple 'Fengling' to commemorate that meeting and that person." Liu Jing’s expression was distant; he hadn't paid much attention to it when he first read the books. It was only because he was filming *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber* that he reread them and finally understood the author's profound intent.

"Hey! Kid, you’re a little monster. No wonder Yongsheng paid such a high price to sign you. How about it? Any interest in switching camps and joining our stunt team? Being a martial arts choreographer is much more interesting than being an actor." Sammo Hung circled Liu Jing, looking at him as if he were a rare artifact.

"Ahem, I’m still standing right here," Zhang Min said indignantly. Poaching talent right in front of me—you really don't care about your reputation, do you?

"Haha, I’m off to shoot," Sammo Hung laughed heartily, nearly forgetting that she was the boss's lady.

Teacher An, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but remark, "Liu Jing, you really do read." He hadn't thought so before; he assumed a child of that age was just looking at the pictures, as reading was already an accomplishment.

"I read real books too," Xixi said, unwilling to let her father praise someone else.

"Hmm! Keep it up," Teacher An replied perfunctorily.

"Have you read *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber* too?" Liu Jing had been wanting to ask. Teacher An’s performance earlier showed he clearly knew quite a bit about Jin Yong’s martial arts world.

"In 1982, the State Publishing Administration issued a policy strictly limiting certain publications, including martial arts novels. Jin Yong’s novels, as representatives imported from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, were naturally on the list. Later, Mr. Jin Yong traveled north twice, which slightly changed the situation. In 1985, Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House was the first to obtain authorization, publishing legitimate copies of Jin Yong’s novels, which sparked a craze. This caught the attention of the authorities, and another ban was issued. It wasn't until the year before last, through the efforts of Mr. Shen Changwen, that it was finally relaxed," Teacher An explained in detail. He was quite knowledgeable about this history, having published journals himself.

"The more you ban something, the more people want it; it can never truly be banned," Liu Jing noted, speaking from experience.

Teacher An was long past being surprised by Liu Jing’s startling remarks. He continued, "Wherever there are Chinese people, there are Jin Yong’s novels. They appeal to both men and women, young and old alike. It took quite a bit of effort for me to get my hands on his books back then."

"So, the professor was reading banned books too. Your character isn't much better than your student's," Liu Jing muttered.

Teacher An instantly lost interest in the conversation. Does this kid speak like a human being? I read them openly and aboveboard!

"Liu Jing, your Auntie Li and I have something we’d like to discuss with you," Teacher An said, adjusting his glasses. It was time to get to the point.

"Discuss with me? It must be something big," Liu Jing said, surprised.

"You’ll be filming and studying in Yandu often from now on, and staying in hotels all the time isn't a long-term solution. Housing prices in Yandu have soared over the last two years, and they’ll likely continue to rise. We talked it over and thought it might be better to buy you a house here. You have a million in your account; no investment is as solid as buying property. What do you think?"

Buying a house?

Liu Jing scratched his head. He had never considered such a thing. In his view, hotels were fine. He didn't have to clean, there was daily housekeeping, and meals were provided. The hotel provided by the production crew was quite good.

But the mention of buying a house piqued his interest. Buying a place of his own wouldn't be bad. Although his home in Jiangcheng was nice, it wasn't *his* house. If he had his own place, he would be more free. If he ever had a disagreement at home, he could move out whenever he wanted.

"Sure! How much is a place?" Liu Jing asked, interested.

"They’ve just built some new commercial housing, and it’s over a thousand yuan per square meter..."

Before Teacher An could finish, Liu Jing interrupted, "I don’t want to live in those—they're like cages. I heard there are princely mansions for sale in Yandu. Let's buy one of those."

Lu Buwei’s residence in Xianyang had been comparable to a palace; Liu Jing’s standards had grown quite high.

Teacher An choked. He already thought his wife’s suggestion of buying a regular house was whimsical, but this kid wanted to buy a palace. Never mind whether they were even for sale—one would need the money for it!

His aunt chuckled, used to Liu Jing’s way of talking. "Little blockhead, why don't you just buy the Forbidden City?"

Before Liu Jing could reply, Xixi said excitedly, "Blockhead, let's not buy the Forbidden City; let's buy Tiananmen."

"They probably don't sell that," Liu Jing said, hesitating, not entirely sure.

Sister Li rolled her eyes. As if the Forbidden City was for sale! These two brats didn't know how high the sky was.

"Then go buy the Great Wall," Xixi quickly switched to her second choice.

"Forget it. It's just a pile of broken bricks and tiles; what's the point of buying that?" Liu Jing shook his head like a rattle. He had no interest in that place.

"Then buy our school, and you can be the principal."

"I can't do that. Let Uncle An do it."

"Never mind then, let's not buy it. Our principal is pretty good."