Jiang Yue walked over to the weapon rack. His gaze swept past a row of longswords and spears, finally stopping on an unsharpened ring-pommel saber.
The blade was thick and heavy, with cold, harsh lines.
He reached out and gripped the hilt, weighing it in his hand before giving his arm a sudden flick.
“Swoosh—”
The sound of it cutting through the air was short and powerful.
Old Hong's eyes lit up.
“Brother Hong, please guide me.”
Jiang Yue held the saber in one hand and walked to the center of the training ground, slightly lowering his center of gravity.
Old Hong grinned, pulled out a brow-height staff from nearby, and strode into the arena.
The watching actors were dumbfounded. They had only just learned a few basic moves. How was this newcomer already squaring off against the martial arts director?
“Bang!”
Without any nonsense, Old Hong swept his staff out, bringing a gust of wind aimed straight at Jiang Yue's lower body.
Jiang Yue's eyes narrowed. Instead of retreating, he advanced.
Thanks to his weekly sparring sessions at the boxing gym, his reaction speed far exceeded that of an ordinary person.
He used the explosive power of his lower body to suddenly lunge forward. The ring-pommel saber in his hand blocked the long staff, then slid along the shaft to slice toward the outside of Old Hong's wrist. He pulled back the force just as it made contact.
It was incredibly fast and delivered from a tricky angle.
Old Hong flipped his wrist, and the long staff traced an arc in the air, crashing down toward Jiang Yue's shoulder.
The two instantly became entangled in a fierce struggle, the dull thuds of clashing weapons echoing continuously through the training hall.
The more Old Hong fought, the more startled he became. This kid wasn't just fast; his core strength and endurance were on a completely different level compared to before!
Many actors complained of exhaustion after just a few sessions, but this kid had been fighting for nearly ten minutes. Although his breathing was heavy, his gaze remained steady, and his movements never faltered.
This was absolutely not something that could be crammed at the last minute. This level of physical fitness only came from long-term, consistent training and exercise.
Just then, the doors to the training hall were pushed open.
“Stop!”
With a loud shout, He Chuan strode in, followed by several main members of the production crew.
The two in the center stopped at the same time. Jiang Yue was breathing slightly heavily, but his eyes were still bright. Old Hong, on the other hand, laughed heartily, fine beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.
“Old Hong, you're going all out the moment you meet!”
He Chuan walked over, looked at the two of them, and said with a smile, “I heard you pulled my male lead aside for a one-on-one session.”
“Director He, you've really found yourself a treasure!”
Old Hong tossed his staff aside and pointed at Jiang Yue. “I've worked with so many production crews, and I've seen talented ones and hardworking ones. But someone like him, who consistently trains on his own and treats his body like his greatest asset, is extremely rare! With a foundation like his, I don't even need to teach him from scratch. I can just give him the choreography, and he'll master it.”
Hearing this, He Chuan turned to look at Jiang Yue, his eyes full of smiles.
“Now that you're in the group, I won't stand on ceremony and call you 'Teacher'. We use first names on set.”
He Chuan smiled. “Jiang Yue, how do you feel?”
Jiang Yue lowered his saber and stood at ease. After calming his breathing, he smiled and said, “Brother Hong went easy on me. But it shouldn't be a problem.”
“That's good.”
He Chuan clapped his hands, gesturing for everyone to gather. “Everyone's here, right? For the next month, you're all in the hands of Old Hong and me. You won't just be practicing martial arts; you'll also be training in equestrianism and archery. I hope that on the day we start shooting, what I see are true martial artists of the Jianghu.”
He Chuan's gaze swept over everyone's faces, finally landing on Jiang Yue.
“Jiang Yue, go to the equestrian field first this afternoon. The coach is already waiting for you.”
He Chuan paused. “Even though we've tried to pick the gentlest horses for training, you should still take it easy.”
Afternoon, at the equestrian field on the west side of the Beijiao Film and Television Base, the autumn wind carried a cool, earthy scent.
A horse with a reddish-brown coat was quietly swishing its tail. Its eyes were gentle. It was a highly safe horse that the coach had specially selected for Jiang Yue.
Jiang Yue buckled his helmet and protective gear. Only after the coach led the horse around for two laps did he mount it with swift, clean movements.
He gripped the reins, squeezed his legs slightly against the horse's belly, and let his body rise and fall with the horse's gait.
“Keep your core stable! Feel its rhythm!”
The coach shouted from the sidelines.
At first, Jiang Yue felt like the bouncing was tossing his internal organs around, but he adapted incredibly fast.
Thanks to the core strength and sense of balance he had built from working out and boxing, his body was always able to quickly find its center with every jolt.
In less than half an hour, under the coach's watchful eye, he was already able to make the horse trot a short distance along the straight track. Though his posture was still a bit stiff, he had basically grasped the rhythm.
Once he grew familiar with the pace, with the coach's permission, he tentatively coaxed "Old Pal" to pick up the pace at the end of the straight track.
The horse beneath him seemed to feel his strength and rhythm, obediently executing the command.
The wind rushed past his ears, and Jiang Yue squinted.
He could feel his heart rate accelerating as a long-lost sense of novelty surged within him.
The wind whipped into his clothes as the scenery on both sides receded. A sense of freedom, of breaking free from all shackles, mingled with pure speed and power, sending a thrill through every cell in his body.
Exhilarating.
This was much more thrilling than sitting in a car with the windows down.
“Whoa—” Jiang Yue pulled the reins tight, and the horse came to a steady halt.
He dismounted, patting the horse's neck. Beneath the smooth coat, he could feel its burning body heat.
“Not bad! What comprehension!”
The coach walked over, his eyes filled with pleasant surprise. “I've trained so many actors, and you're the first one who got Old Pal to show some spirit in just half an hour.”
Jiang Yue blinked and asked, “This horse is named 'Old Pal'?”
“Yes, he's the gentlest horse in the stables, specifically reserved for actors with zero experience.”
The coach smiled. “When others ride him, he just strolls around lazily. I didn't expect him to show a bit of his former glory with you. It seems even horses know who can truly ride them.”
Jiang Yue smiled. “Old Pal was just giving me some face.”
In the second week of training, archery was added.
He Chuan had somehow sourced several replica ancient longbows. They weren't as easy to handle as modern recurve bows, relying entirely on arm strength and feel.
In the corner of the training hall stood several straw targets.
Jiang Yue held the bow in his left hand and nocked an arrow with his right. Taking a deep breath, he drew the bowstring, the limbs of the bow letting out a soft creak.
“Aim carefully before you release!”
Old Hong watched closely from the side. “Keep your shoulders level, pull back your back!”
“Swoosh—”
The arrow flew out, landing limply in the dirt in front of the target, without even touching it.
“Hahaha, Teacher Jiang, are you trying to play Whac-A-Mole with that arrow?”
A few actors resting on the sidelines burst into laughter, mostly teasing him in good fun.
Jiang Yue didn't mind. He nocked another arrow.
Instead of rushing to shoot again, he closed his eyes and carefully recalled every detail of the previous shot, from drawing the bow to releasing the arrow, as well as the angle and force of his arms.
This thing was just like writing code to debug; he had to find the variables first.
For the rest of the afternoon, he did only one thing: repeated the motion of drawing the bow, searching for a stable sense of muscle engagement.
Old Hong observed this and didn't say another word.
He had seen too many actors eager for quick success, but he rarely saw someone like Jiang Yue, who could remain so patient, starting from the most basic movements to find his feel.
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