Granny Rong, Righteous to the Core

When Huang Xiaoming's horse had bolted, the set had descended into chaos.

But two of the four cameras had been fixed in place. They had probably captured Shen Qi saving him.

Given Zhang Jizhong's love of publicity, there was no telling whether he would use the incident to stir up attention.

Yin Zhiping risked his life to save Yang Guo!

A headline like that would be explosive.

It would be good for Shen Qi, too. It would raise his profile.

But if the media revealed that he had accepted a car from Huang Xiaoming, the whole story would change.

His heroic image would turn into a joke overnight.

With that in mind, Shen Qi stopped hesitating.

He firmly refused the car.

Huang Xiaoming had called it an old car Shen Qi could borrow, but they both knew what he really meant.

"I'm sorry..."

Huang Xiaoming looked mortified and even more grateful to Shen Qi.

"It really was no trouble," Shen Qi said, putting on an easy smile. "Don't dwell on it. If our places were reversed, I think you'd have done the same."

A favor was most valuable before it had been repaid.

If Shen Qi ever fell on hard times and Huang Xiaoming gave him a hand, saving him today would have been worth it.

Of course, if Huang Xiaoming refused to acknowledge the debt, there was nothing Shen Qi could do.

That would come down to Huang Xiaoming's character.

The next day, Shen Qi received his official script.

He immediately noticed that he was no longer playing Yin Zhiping.

He was playing Zhen Zhibing!

A closer look put him at ease.

Only the name had changed. Zhen Zhibing still did everything Yin Zhiping had done.

Lang Xuefeng, the screenwriter who had auditioned Shen Qi, explained that Jin Yong had requested the change.

In real history, Yin Zhiping had become the leader of the Complete Truth School after Qiu Chuji's death.

He held the position for eleven years.

Under his leadership, the Quanzhen Order enjoyed unprecedented growth.

He had also been a notable figure in the history of Daoism.

For no reason at all, Jin Yong had branded him a rapist for more than forty years, and the character had even died young...

Daoist groups had long been unhappy with the novel's portrayal of Yin Zhiping as a villain.

Now the mainland market was growing larger and larger.

If Jin Yong wanted a foothold there, he could no longer ignore what mainland Daoist groups were saying.

So he had asked for "Yin Zhiping" to be renamed "Zhen Zhibing" in the new television adaptation.

The revised edition of The Return of the Condor Heroes, due out next year, would make the same change.

As a result, Shen Qi was no longer Yin Zhiping. He was Zhen Zhibing.

The other characters would call him Daoist Zhen, Zhen Zhibing, or Junior Brother Zhen.

While Shen Qi memorized his lines, more actors arrived on set.

There were actors playing Quanzhen Order priests, the young Yang Guo, and Granny Sun, played by Li Mingqi.

The moment Shen Qi saw Li Mingqi, he felt an immediate sense of kinship.

People liked to stick with their own kind.

You played Granny Rong and Granny Wang; I'm the Dragon Knight. Neither of us is exactly one of the good guys.

With the Quanzhen Order actors and Granny Sun on set, Shen Qi finally had people he could record.

Six of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen appeared in The Return of the Condor Heroes.

Tan Chuduan had been killed by Ouyang Feng during The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

The six who did appear had little screen time, but they were all fine actors. Two had even come from theater troupes.

Shen Qi soon filled seven sheets of Parchment.

Whenever he filled them all, he would use one, then start recording again.

Every actor he recorded had something to offer.

Even studying them on his own, Shen Qi could learn things that would improve his acting.

The rich had technology; the poor had hard work.

Apart from working hard, he had no other choice.

As for Li Mingqi...

She was on another level.

In My Fair Princess, especially, Li Mingqi had brought Granny Rong's malice and cruelty vividly to life.

She had left viewers with a psychological scar they would not soon forget.

By the Magic Book's ranking system, she had to be at least above Sequence 4, a notch higher than Guo Da.

When she was at her best, she could even deliver a god-tier Sequence 3 performance.

The kind of performance that blew everyone away.

Ordinarily, Shen Qi would not have been capable of recording her.

But her role as Granny Sun in The Return of the Condor Heroes gave her little room to show what she could do.

And since filming always involved a few bad takes, Li Mingqi was not quite so far beyond his reach.

Shen Qi had successfully recorded Guo Da in Judge of the Song Dynasty by recording one of his bad takes.

Guo Da's performance as Diao Guangdou at its best was god-tier, too.

Besides, Shen Qi had an ace up his sleeve: he could discuss acting with Li Mingqi and improve his chances of recording her.

Before long, he struck up a conversation with her.

"Ms. Li, I'm lost... Completely lost!"

Shen Qi's Zhen Zhibing was arguably the show's most clear-cut villain.

Li Mochou was a villain too, yet she somehow had plenty of fans. Perhaps they thought she had retained her charm.

Guo Fu did not count. After all, Yang Guo had only lost an arm, while Miss Guo had lost her daddy's affection.

Hardly anyone paid much attention to the likes of Gongsun Zhi, Huo Du, or the Golden Wheel Dharma King, either.

"If you're playing a role like that, it's only natural to feel lost. But let me tell you something: portraying a villain teaches an actor more ways to express himself. It lets you feel the tension at the heart of a performance."

Li Mingqi knew almost exactly how Shen Qi felt, so she was happy to help him work through it.

"From your experience, how do you play a villain well?"

That question hit Granny Rong's sweet spot.

What else could he talk about with Li Mingqi?

Her proudest work, of course: the villains she had played so successfully.

"Experience takes time to build. Even if I explained it all, you might not understand. Let's just have a chat."

Everyone liked a young person eager to learn.

Even if he was Yin Zhiping.

Or rather, Zhen Zhibing now.

"Please, go ahead. If I'm not taking up your time, I'd really love to learn more from you."

Shen Qi took out a small notebook.

Sooner or later, people would come to expect him to take notes.

Listening this attentively without writing anything down would have seemed stranger.

"Oh my, young man. You're making me nervous now."

Seeing Shen Qi take it so seriously made Li Mingqi a little self-conscious.

"It isn't every day I get to learn from you. I'm afraid I might miss something or not quite understand it, so I'd like to write it down and think it over later."

Shen Qi sounded sincere.

Whatever else one might say, his words and actions left a deep impression on Li Mingqi.

She had met plenty of young people who only pretended to seek her advice.

They seemed humble and eager to learn, but they could not hide their arrogance. All they wanted was someone to help them get ahead.

Shen Qi was different!

Li Mingqi took a moment to gather her thoughts, then began to explain.

"With Zhen Zhibing, you mustn't try to sum him up in one sentence. That makes you lazy, and then you'll never capture the layers and hidden reasons behind his descent. You also need to show the details, the little things the audience can notice. Let them follow those details and see his desires grow as he slides toward the abyss, step by step..."

Li Mingqi had little formal education.

But she loved studying her craft, particularly villainous roles, and she had a wealth of genuine insight.

Much of it was new to Shen Qi.

Only when the director called Li Mingqi over to film did Shen Qi remember what he had meant to do.

He had actually wanted her to analyze Granny Sun's upcoming scene.

An actor's own analysis could greatly increase his chances of recording a performance.

Unfortunately, he had become so absorbed in her lesson that he had forgotten his original goal.

He tried recording her several times.

Every attempt failed.

It could not be helped. Their conversation had been about playing villains, while Granny Sun was the kindest elder in young Yang Guo's life.

As for the young Yang Guo—his actor was called Dingdang or something—he was unbearably noisy.

Shen Qi had been a teacher and was fairly patient with children.

But even he struggled to like a brat who kept shouting at the top of his lungs.

And he had no idea what the boy was doing with the role.

How could someone barely in his teens come across as so... sleazy? Shen Qi did not know what to make of it.

To Shen Qi's admittedly untrained eye, portraying young Yang Guo this way would probably be one of the show's weak points.

Of course, he would not say so.

If he could see it, surely the more experienced and capable people on set could too. Yet they simply got on with their work.

Fortunately, Li Mingqi really was kind.

Whenever Shen Qi had a question, she patiently explained it to him.

Shen Qi realized that as long as he was not asking for roles or connections, and only wanted advice on acting, people in the entertainment industry were quite approachable.

It was also the quickest way to get to know a stranger.

People had a weakness for teaching others.

The saying was meant as a criticism, but it was an urge many found hard to resist.

Especially older people.

They often wanted to share their experience with the young and help them avoid a few wrong turns.

People were sometimes asked what they would say if they met their younger selves from ten years ago.

The truth was, there was no point saying anything.

Without having lived through it, their younger selves would never understand.

With Li Mingqi's guidance, Shen Qi spent two days trying and finally succeeded in recording her once.

Once again, he had a "Granny Rong card" tucked away for when he needed it.