Chapter 149: Carefully Crafted
The crew of "Mu Guiying" did sufficient preparatory work in advance, and the filming progressed quickly after it started.
“Action!”
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Mu Guiying became a disciple of the Mother of Mount Li and learned her skills in Mount Li.
One day, when she was practicing archery at the foot of Mount Li, she suddenly saw a group of Liao soldiers chasing a young Song soldier.
As a Song citizen, Mu Guiying detested the Liao soldiers' repeated incursions and massacres of Song citizens. She aimed her arrows at the pursuing Liao soldiers. With divine skill, she dispatched each Liao soldier with a single arrow, saving the young soldier from distress.
Seeing that her arrows were all used up, Mu Guiying only had the bow in her hand. She picked up the longbow and flew into the middle of the Liao soldiers. The longbow was a sharp weapon, unstoppable, and smashed down on the Liao soldiers.
Mu Guiying was like a fish in water, and all the Liao soldiers who were hit by her bow were killed by her bow.
Seeing this, Han Chang, the Liao general leading the team, was shocked. He jumped off his horse and slashed at Mu Guiying with his long sword.
Mu Guiying calmly swung her longbow back at Han Chang. Seeing the ferocious attack, Han Chang didn't dare to resist head-on and quickly dodged. The half-man-high stone behind him was hit by the longbow and exploded with a bang.
The two men engaged in a fierce exchange, one wielding a knife, the other a bow, and the fight was so intense that anything they struck, whether it was a tree or a stone, was blown into the air.
Han Chang was ultimately defeated by Mu Guiying. After having one of his arms broken by Mu Guiying, he fled in a panic under the protection of his men.
Mu Guiying was concerned about the injured young soldier. She walked up to the young soldier and was slightly stunned when she saw his handsome features.
The young soldier was seriously injured, but he had managed to hold on until now. Seeing that he was saved, he relaxed and passed out. Before he fainted, he saw a woman in red, standing with a bow in hand, with a face as beautiful as a goddess.
Mu Guiying brought the young soldier to a cave and tended to his wounds. She was stunned by his handsomeness, even though he was unconscious. She had been training with her master on Mount Li since she was a child, and had seen very few men, but this was the most handsome man she had ever seen.
Seeing that it was getting dark, Mu Guiying returned to the mountain. The next day, she brought a lot of food and medicine to the cave, but she didn't expect that the handsome soldier had already left.
She hadn't asked his name yet, and he didn't know hers.
When the Liao army invaded, the Yang family led their people to resist. However, unexpectedly, the Liao state's imperial teacher set up a vicious Tianmen Formation, which trapped the Yang family army and caused them to be defeated repeatedly.
To break the Tianmen Formation, one must find the Dragon Subduing Wood. Yang Yanzhao sent his son Yang Zongbao, who had recovered from his injuries, to find the Dragon Subduing Wood to break the formation.
After much inquiry, Yang Zongbao learned that the Dragon Subduing Wood was the treasure of Mu Ke Village, so he led his troops to borrow the Dragon Subduing Wood. However, the leader of Mu Village was unwilling to give it to him, so Yang Zongbao had no choice but to injure him.
At this time, Mu Guiying returned to the camp after completing her training. As soon as she came back, she saw her father being beaten by Yang Zongbao. Even though she recognized him as the young soldier she had saved and had a good impression of, she was still furious and fought with Yang Zongbao in front of the battle.
One wields the Yang Family Overlord Spear, immovable as a mountain, swift as thunder, stabbing, piercing, entangling, blocking, and pouncing with unstoppable force and boundless power. Combined with his flowing white clothing, his movements are truly graceful and elegant.
One held a long sword, slashing, chopping, slashing, and wiping with endless variations and unparalleled ferocity. Although a woman, she was incredibly heroic, and her martial arts and demeanor were no less impressive than a man's.
The two fought hard, with sand and rocks flying everywhere.
Yang Zongbao used the Overlord Spear's most powerful counterattack, which was hard to defend against and almost made Mu Guiying fall into the trap.
Mu Guiying simply threw away her sword, formed a spell with her hands, and used the art of formation to suppress Yang Zongbao, then took out the broadsword she was good at. With a broadsword in hand, Mu Guiying completely suppressed Yang Zongbao, and finally captured him alive and took him back to the village to let his father decide his fate.
When the leader of Mu Village saw that Yang Zongbao was handsome and had a good family background, and thought that his daughter was old enough, he wanted Yang Zongbao to marry his daughter Mu Guiying.
At this time, Yang Zongbao also recognized that Mu Guiying was the woman in red who saved his life. He was moved, but thinking of the generals of the Yang family, he refused the marriage.
After many twists and turns and a long-lasting love story, Mu Guiying and Yang Zongbao fell in love with each other and eventually got married.
After marrying into the Yang family, Mu Guiying, with her uninhibited nature, stirs up a series of hilarious, yet heartwarming, encounters. Interspersed throughout her life are conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the bond between grandparents and grandchildren, and the crisis at Tianbo Mansion. After a series of hardships, Mu Guiying is finally accepted into the Yang family and becomes a member of the family.
With the help of the imperial teacher, the Liao army advanced with great force, and the generals of the Yang family died on the battlefield.
In order to break the Tianmen Formation and save the Song Dynasty from danger, all the women of the Yang family went into battle. Mu Guiying, despite being pregnant, went into battle to kill the enemy.
During the fierce battle, Mu Guiying lost her pregnancy and gave birth to a son in the Tianmen Formation, causing her blood and energy to rush. Mu Guiying took the opportunity to insert the Dragon Subduing Wood into the center of the formation, thus breaking the Tianmen Formation.
Although they won the battle, the scene of the Yang family women supporting each other in silence as they watched their sons and daughters die fighting for the Song Dynasty was extremely tragic.
“Cut!”
After the director called a halt, he reviewed today's performance with Hu Xiaoxiao.
Hu Xiaoxiao also made up for the scenes that were not filmed well and asked the director to shoot them again to achieve the best effect.
"In 'Rescuing Husband at the Gate', Yang Yanzhao thought that Yang Zongbao was neglecting military duties and violating military law by marrying his son without permission, and was about to execute his son according to military law. Mu Guiying rushed into the military camp to save her husband and filmed it again. At the critical moment when Yang Zongbao was about to be beheaded, Mu Guiying flew out, drew her bow and arrow, and shot the executioner's sword away with one arrow. She then offered the Dragon Subduing Wood to save Yang Zongbao..."
Director Shao asked Hu Xiaoxiao to reshoot this scene several times, carefully selecting each shot to keep the best ones.
"There's also the scene where the Liao general utters foul words in front of the battle line, and Mu Guiying kills him with one arrow. Xiaoxiao, let's do it again. I'll use several angles to film Mu Guiying shooting the arrow, making that arrow look majestic and powerful, swallowing up mountains and rivers."
This part was particularly difficult to shoot. Without any special effects, it relied solely on the actors' performances and the director's camera control skills, which was very challenging.
If someone other than Hu Xiaoxiao had played Mu Guiying, Director Shao felt the role would have been just fine. However, he was truly enamored with Hu Xiaoxiao's martial arts. Hu Xiaoxiao's archery skills were exquisite, and coupled with her immense strength and unerring aim, each shot evoked the uncanny feeling of a master archer. He desperately wanted to capture this feeling and express it on camera.
When encountering perfect actors, the director's requirements become more stringent and he pursues perfection in his work.
It took them two full days to shoot just this short segment.
Hu Xiaoxiao kept searching for the feeling, the momentum of his archery, the murderous look in his eyes, etc., grinding it out bit by bit. Fortunately, hard work pays off——
"Cut!" Director Shao shouted, then stood up and applauded, "It's done, perfect! Call it a day!"
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