They knew this was their only chance to bring Si Qinglan down from her pedestal.
A siege began. Si Qinglan moved all her disciples to a safe place and stood alone in front of the Clear Pavilion Hall.
Disciples from various factions surged forward like a tide, only to be routed layer by layer under his sword.
Without Moon-Embracing in hand, he casually broke off a green bamboo branch from in front of the hall. Wherever the bamboo branch passed, magical artifacts shattered and formations collapsed.
The enemy suffered countless casualties, and he himself gradually became exhausted. Ling Xuan refused to leave and was besieged by three sect leaders on his way back.
By the time Si Qinglan shielded him behind her, Ling Xuan was covered in blood and barely clinging to life.
They were wrong. Even without the divine artifact and even with the dragon marrow lost, they were no match for Si Qinglan.
Si Qinglan clung to her last breath, her silver hair disheveled and draped over her shoulders, her moon-white robes stained with blood, indistinguishable as to whether it was her own or someone else's.
He held the bamboo branch horizontally in front of him, his voice cold yet overwhelming the wind on the battlefield. "I'll give you one chance. Leave quickly, and I might spare your lives."
The remaining men looked at each other, hesitant to gamble. They had already lost more than half their men in this battle, and continuing the fight would only bring trouble for everyone.
The sect leader gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and led the rest of his men away.
Si Qinglan stood still, making sure the last person's presence had completely disappeared from her perception range before she loosened her grip on the bamboo branch.
Ling Xuan, limping, rushed out from behind the palace gate, wanting to go to his master's side.
Before I even reached him, I saw a trickle of blood spill from the corner of my master's mouth, dripping down his chin and landing on the bluestone ground, where it bloomed into a dark red flower.
"Take good care of Ling Yan," Si Qinglan said softly. " Moon-Embracing will ensure your safety. From now on, you'll have to walk your own path. I'm tired."
He collapsed in front of Ling Xuan.
"No!" Ling Xuan rushed forward like a madman, reaching out to catch his master.
His fingers almost touched the blood-stained hem of her clothes, but in that instant, Si Qinglan's body transformed into countless blue specks of light, passing through his fingers and dissipating into the vast sea of clouds above Clear Pavilion.
Ling Xuan missed his target and fell heavily to the ground.
He reached for the specks of light with his blood-stained hands, grabbing a handful, only to have them slip through his fingers.
Points of light rose from between his fingers, like fireflies scattered by the wind, drifting further and further away, fading into the distance.
"Master! Master!" he roared, his voice going from hoarse to broken, " Si Qinglan! I won't let you go! Do you hear me!"
Overwhelmed by rage, he spat out a mouthful of blood, which splattered onto the bluestone ground, mixing with the bloodstain left by his master. His vision went black, and he collapsed forward.
The set was quiet for a while.
He Zeyu lay on the ground with his eyes closed, tears silently sliding down his cheeks and soaking into the fake blood in the props department's shop.
The director immediately waved for the cinematographer to zoom in, taking a close-up shot, and only after filming the last frame did he raise the megaphone and announce, "Cut! Perfect! Si Qinglan's scene is finished!"
Song Shi'an ran out from behind a pillar and squatted down next to He Zeyu, who was still pretending to be dead. "Dude, aren't you uncomfortable lying there? Get up."
He Zeyu turned his head away, quickly wiped his face with the back of his hand, sat up, and muttered, "None of your business."
Song Shi'an was speechless. He was just about to praise the actor for his excellent performance when the man started throwing a tantrum.
He ignored it and happily went to collect his wrap-up bonus.
Lin Fan followed behind, so excited he was almost incoherent. "Bro, that was awesome! That last shot of the light spots scattering, with added special effects, it'll be absolutely amazing!"
"Don't you even know who you are?" Song Shi'an raised his chin arrogantly, then asked impatiently, " Lin Fan, what are we having for lunch? Are we going down the mountain after lunch or are we going down now?"
"There's nothing much going on at the company now that this show's over, so you can arrange things yourself, bro." Lin Fan flipped through his schedule on his phone.
Song Shi'an was overjoyed; the holiday was finally coming!
He hummed an obscure tune as he walked, removed his makeup, changed his clothes, said goodbye to everyone in the crew, and left in a flurry.
That very night, I returned to Capital. As soon as I got off the plane, I took a deep breath, and the air felt so much fresher. Brothers, Hu Hansan is back!
Lin Fan followed behind, dragging his suitcase. "Brother, let's go through the VIP channel. The company has already paid, and there's someone to pick us up today."
Upon hearing this, Song Shi'an agreed and began operations.
As he exited through the VIP passage, a staff member led the way, and he was startled when he looked outside.
So many people outside! As soon as the fans who came to pick him up saw Song Shi'an, their screams instantly filled the entire arrival hall, and the light boards and banners merged into a rolling wave of light.
While greeting his fans, Song Shi'an said "Thank you for your hard work" several times before quickly getting into his car.
The moment the car door closed, the sounds outside were shut out and became a muffled background noise.
"Brother, you'll have to get used to it." Lin Fan excitedly peered out the car window.
Song Shi'an took out his phone and leaned back in his seat. "I'll try my best, but I didn't expect so many people. It gets bigger every time. It seems my last drama wasn't memorable enough."
Lin Fan smiled but didn't say anything. His brother was busy filming and figuring out the plot every day and had no idea how many times the online sentiment had changed.
Although it's true that Su Wenli is a pervert, this kind of character has an audience, and a large one at that.
People both loved and hated Su Wenli, condemning his values while being swayed by his appearance.
But more importantly, it's a recognition of Song Shi'an's acting skills. He has played every role so far convincingly, which is true recognition for an actor.
Song Shi'an went straight back to school. It was exam week, which is why he rushed back overnight.
Upon arriving at their destination, he waved goodbye to Lin Fan and said, " Lin Fan, get some rest. You've worked hard these past few days. Go home and have a good New Year."
"Okay, bro." Lin Fan nodded and walked away, dragging his suitcase.
Song Shi'an dragged his suitcase back to the dormitory, pushed open the door, and shouted in a booming voice, "Brother's back! Come and greet me!"
A crow flew overhead.
He noticed that they were most likely not in the dorm when he came back.
Pushing his suitcase aside, he sent a message in the F4 Group chat. "Brothers, where are you guys?"
Chi Xun replied instantly, "[Image] They're all cramming at the library at the last minute."
Song Shi'an zoomed in on the picture and looked at the sea of heads. He stroked his chin, wondering if he should also pretend to learn and get a perfect score on a test. Would anyone suspect anything?
He immediately asked in the group chat, "Are there any seats left over there? I'd like to join too."
Chi Xun a nodding emoji. "Hurry up and come over, there are two more seats next to us. Jiang Ye went to save them; he almost got into an argument with someone over seats earlier."