“Watch out!”
Jing Li’s expression sharpened as he reacted swiftly, throwing himself forward to shield Wang Lele and rolling them both out of the way.
Crash!
The snapped tree branch barely grazed their bodies before slamming heavily into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust that obscured their vision.
The sudden accident happened so fast that almost everyone present was too stunned to react at first. It was only when they heard Director Li yelling for them to hurry and check on the actors that they finally snapped out of it and rushed over anxiously.
Wang Lele had clearly been badly frightened by the accident too. His face was deathly pale as he stared at the spot where he had just been standing, which was now smashed to pieces. If Jing Li hadn’t pulled him out of the way just now, his head would likely have been smashed open, possibly even killing him instantly.
Just thinking about it sent a chill down his spine!
His whole body was trembling from the shock. It was only when he heard Director Li’s shouts that he finally took several deep breaths, hurriedly asking the man above him, “Are…are you okay?”
“Hiss, don’t move,” Jing Li gritted his teeth with a muffled groan. Although he had done his best to dodge, the tips of the branch still unavoidably slashed his back. The wound was now burning hotly, and any slight movement drove the embedded tips deeper, instantly increasing the pain.
Hearing this, Wang Lele hurriedly released his hands and lay still, not daring to move.
Fortunately, the surrounding staff quickly crowded around. They carefully removed the branch and helped prop Jing Li up.
“Ah, you’re injured!” the assistant suddenly cried out in alarm.
Only then did the others notice that Jing Li’s back was soaked with blood, the pristine white robes stained a vivid crimson that looked especially gruesome. They collectively gasped.
“It’s probably just a surface wound from the branch tips. Nothing too serious,” Jing Li quickly spoke up reassuringly before levering himself up with the help of his assistant. “Let’s clear the way so the crew can handle the scene.”
“Don’t move yet,” Director Li hurriedly reached out to stop him. After taking in the sight of Jing Li’s back almost completely saturated with blood, he shouted loudly, “Where’s the medic? Hurry, come take a look at him!”
Hearing the tremor in Director Li’s voice, the medics didn’t dare delay. Pushing through the crowd, they hurried over and first performed a basic check on Jing Li before speaking, “No broken bones, likely just a laceration. We’ll need to remove the robes to properly treat it.”
Hearing that nothing was fractured, Director Li finally breathed a small sigh of relief. He urged them on, “Then what are you waiting for? Bring him to the changing room!”
Jing Li nodded at him before allowing the assistant to help guide him after the medics.
As Jing Li had shielded Wang Lele with his body the entire time, Wang Lele escaped with barely a scratch, just a small scrape on his calf that wasn’t serious at all. After being looked over by his own assistant, he had just been about to go check on Jing Li when he saw the extent of the bloody mess staining the other man’s back.
He immediately closed his mouth, deciding to wait until Jing Li had his wounds treated before saying anything.
With such a sudden accident occurring, filming naturally had to halt. Director Li was also taking this incident very seriously, demanding the crew to thoroughly inspect all equipment before allowing work to resume once he was assured there were no more dangers. Still, he repeatedly reminded them to be cautious during later work, absolutely refusing to let a similar situation happen again.
The rest of the staff had also been badly frightened, naturally unwilling to take things lightly. They combed over their own areas thoroughly before feeling at ease.
With the initial panic fading, the mood gradually relaxed. Conversation soon turned to recounting Jing Li’s swift response to the accident and brave rescue.
“That was really dangerous just now. If not for Jing Li reacting so quickly, those two would probably be in the emergency room right now!”
“No kidding. Did you see his back? The blood stained his whole robe red. His own injuries are probably not light either.”
“I can’t believe he still remembered to protect someone else in such an emergency!”
“Yeah, he only just joined the crew recently, right? Probably doesn’t even know Teacher Wang1“老师” (lǎoshī), which directly translates to “teacher,” is also a respectful way to address professionals in various fields, including actors. It connotes respect for their mastery and expertise in their craft, acknowledging them as learned individuals and educators in the arts. . Being able to help a stranger like that, his character really is admirable.”
“He’s handsome, has good acting skills and a good personality, and I heard he’s a rich second generation? Oh my god, what a perfect man he is. I’m in love!”
…….
A group of people gathered together and murmured, getting more and more excited as they talked, and their words and expressions were full of admiration and love for Jing Li.
Zhang Yan was among them. She had started paying covert attention to Jing Li from the moment he had stunned her by emerging gorgeously costumed from the dressing room. Her phone album was filled with covert photos and videos of him.
She was well aware filming such things was strictly prohibited on set, but couldn’t resist capturing them anyway. Coincidentally, right before the accident, she had been secretly filming Jing Li. So, the entire incident had been recorded.
When she heard people around her praising Jing Li, she felt happier than praising herself, and she couldn’t help but want to share it with others. So when no one was paying attention, she secretly found a corner to edit the video she took and uploaded it to Weibo.
SmilingFaceV: A sudden accident occurred at a certain crew. The way my hero rushed to save people, so maaaaaanly! [heart] [heart] 【Video and pics attached】
She often uploaded amusing behind-the-scenes videos, so SmilingFaceV had decent popularity on Weibo. The moment she updated, fans swarmed in to view and comment.
“Smiling-jie is drooling over a new man again?”
“Is this a new crew? Looks like a period costume?”
“Holy shit! That video looks super dangerous! If not for that guy in white pulling the one in black away, they would’ve been smashed by the branch!”
“Even through the screen, I felt like I got a face full of the dust and gravel that got kicked up. I was so scared that I quickly leaned back!”
“I have to say, White Robe-ge saving the other at that critical moment looked soooo handsome and manly, my inner maiden heart is thumping madly!”
“Idk who the actor is, but just seeing him disregard himself to save another, I’ve decided to stan! Upright, positive artists like him are rare nowadays.”
…
The perilous and thrilling situation captured in the video swiftly attracted more views and shares. With its mentions of filming and a male god, it wasn’t long before the topic blew up, igniting fiery discussion among countless netizens.
However, because there was no indication of which crew it was from, many simply viewed it briefly before moving on, at most lamenting the difficulties actors faced. Of course, some guessed it was from this or that period drama set, and some brought up the currently popular Immortal Road, but because there was no actual evidence to support it, it did not cause much splash.
*
In the dressing room, Jing Li was lying motionless on the sofa, letting the medic treat his wounds, when he suddenly noticed specks of white light drifting in through the window.
There were a few sporadic dots at first, and then they slowly increased until they bypassed the other people in the room and flowed steadily toward him. Finally, they sank rapidly into his skin and disappeared.
He reflexively started to sit up to get a better look, but the medic tending his back hurriedly called for him not to move, saying it would be done soon.
Jing Li paused before reluctantly lying back down.
Fortunately, the lights weren’t too numerous, only dozens at most. In that brief time sitting up and lying down, they had already completely dissolved into his skin. Jing Li internally inspected himself but didn’t feel any discomfort. He could only temporarily suppress his doubts and continue waiting for the medicine to be applied.
The wound on the back was not serious. As Jing Li said, it was only scratched when the treetop fell and not cut deeply at all. So, it was quickly treated.
However, the moon-white robe he had worn before was obviously no longer wearable. The makeup artist had assistants bring a new set of light purple robes for him to change into and touched up his makeup. Once again, he looked every inch the elegant and noble immortal sect young master.
After everything was settled, Jing Li returned to the set with his assistant.
Having just injured his back, the wires for flying scenes obviously couldn’t be used. Besides, the crew was still preparing. But Jing Li looked equally stunning after he changed his clothes. Unwilling to waste this look, Director Li simply had the photographers shoot a set of costume stills and some short video footage to use for later promotions.
These didn’t require complex movements, so everything proceeded very smoothly. And thanks to Jing Li’s outstanding performance, the results even had the photographers praising enthusiastically. What was supposed to take just an hour or two dragged on and on thanks to their inspiration, not stopping until the memory cards were completely full, leaving them reluctantly satisfied for now.
Director Li was clearly also extremely pleased with the outcome, especially seeing the even more perfect effects in the footage. Impatient to have post-production touch them up, he couldn’t resist posting a Weibo announcement of finally finding the perfect actor for the sect young master role, tagging Jing Li’s account.
Immortal Road had attracted consistent attention ever since starting production, so this Weibo swiftly drew many fans. Hearing the news of the most anticipated young master role being cast ignited excitement, but when they clicked into the actor’s account Director Li had tagged, not a single useful bit of info could be found. The Weibo had just been registered and barely had a few dozen followers.
This discovery was like a bucket of cold water splashed all over the face in an instant. Countless netizens who came here in excitement came back disappointed. Many netizens and book fans even began questioning Director Li’s casting capabilities.
“Who’s this no-name extra? Did the director get paid off?”
“Why’s it a new account? Is the role going to some newbie who just entered the industry??”
“WTF…??? My beautiful and talented sect young master and you choose some total acting newbie to portray him??!”
“No joke, if you dare ruin our ideal young master, Director Li, I’ll personally shove blades down your throat!”
“I heard Lin Xiao lost a role he auditioned for to this guy, right? Really different with a rich backer, huh.”
…
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Please consider supporting the author directly.
You can also follow me on Ko-fi to get the latest updates on my translation progress and new projects. I appreciate your love and feedback.
