Chapter 17: Return to the Extras

Bamboo leaves swayed, producing a rhythmic rustling like ocean waves.

Amid the dense bamboo forest, chaotic footsteps echoed as two figures—one tall, one short—tugged at each other.

“Let me try! Once you see it, you’ll know!”

“No.”

“I’m good at this—I won’t let you down.”

“Do you even have any shame?”

“I want money!”

“Fine, fine, you’re so annoying.”

Yuan Bin, finally worn out, slapped away the hand gripping him: “But you follow my orders. You’re going after extra roles? Do you even have any shame?”

“How much does that kind of work pay?”

Li Luo grinned, utterly unembarrassed: “I always follow your orders, don’t I? Besides, having someone with my skills on set saves you trouble!”

“Enough talking.”

The exasperated martial arts director pointed to a large truck nearby: “Go change your clothes!”

Li Luo beamed: “How much per day?”

Yuan Bin sighed helplessly and made a clear hand gesture.

“That’s too little!”

Li Luo argued fiercely, trying to win more: “Add a bit more—you know my sword skills are good.”

“Can you show your face?”

One sentence from the other shut him down completely.

Still, Li Luo didn’t give up. After more wheedling and persistence, he finally secured a hundred yuan, then cheerfully let go of Yuan Bin, who was rushing to the toilet, and strolled calmly toward the extras’ changing area.

The drama *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer* features many scenes set in bamboo forests.

The crew had already filmed here for a week.

They still had to continue.

After finishing his own scenes, the set was quickly rearranged, and filming for the Green Bamboo Alley battle began in full swing.

Li Luo, with nothing else to do, didn’t want to rest.

He promptly sought out Yuan Bin for a stunt job—after all, the Green Bamboo Alley battle needed many extras, and standing in the back waving swords randomly wouldn’t be noticeable to viewers.

Unlike other actors, his next job was still unknown.

Between pride and money.

He chose money.

“Lo Ge.”

“Good morning, Lo Ge.”

Amid the chaotic calls, Li Luo nodded and smiled at the extras, then walked straight to Lin Can.

For this large-scale brawl scene, the crew’s stunt team had to be fully deployed.

Most extras could only swing wildly without skill.

Those of us with real martial arts had to stand at the front line, surrounding the protagonist, matching his moves precisely so the fight scenes looked convincing on screen.

“Aren’t you sleeping in the hotel? What are you doing here?”

Seeing Li Luo, Lin Can yawned, still sluggish from drinking until past one a.m.

Every movement he made clinked and clattered.

The guy was dressed as a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect.

Not only was his hair tied into a topknot, but he wore a belt of straw around his waist—though it was less a raincoat and more like a grass skirt.

He looked absurd.

“Here to change clothes.”

Li Luo couldn’t stand the thought of hopping around in a grass skirt—he grabbed a nearby black cloth and swiftly wrapped it around his head.

Next, the assault on Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying involved three groups.

One group only needed to wear black clothes.

The easiest option.

“Huh?”

In Lin Can’s stunned stare, Li Luo snatched up a pair of wide black pants and pulled them over his jeans. In moments, he transformed from Lin Pingzhi into an ordinary extra.

“Not quite right.”

He thought for a moment, then bent down and slapped the ground.

He rubbed his dusty hands hard across his face, then grinned triumphantly at Lin Can: “Still recognize me?”

“Of course.”

Lin Can nodded firmly: “You’re a lunatic!”

Li Luo didn’t care about others’ strange looks—white silver was what mattered.

He grabbed a random prop sword.

Then wandered over and sat down among the extras.

“Lo Ge?”

“What are you doing?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be Lin Pingzhi? Don’t you have any lines today?”

Seeing him sit, the extras were baffled and asked questions all at once.

“We’re short-handed.”

Li Luo waved his light sword around, making up nonsense: “Yuan Zhi saw I had nothing to do, so he told me to come over and practice moves. Hey, I’m just a helpful guy—I couldn’t say no.”

“Don’t be shy!”

Seeing the others tense, he grinned: “We’re all the same—I used to be an extra in Hengdian.”

“Don’t treat me like some star!”

With that curse, the atmosphere instantly loosened.

Hearing he’d once been an extra too, the crowd of extras immediately gathered around, excitedly asking about his past.

With nothing else to do,

He chatted wildly, leaving the extras stunned and wide-eyed.

Rarely did they meet someone with their own background who’d now landed such an important role—admiration and envy rained down on him.

Only when Yuan Bin returned from the toilet did the extras scatter.

Seeing Yuan Bin’s hostile glare,

Li Luo grinned and quickly dodged away, swinging his long sword.

“Linghu Chong!”

“Come out and die!!!”

Under the assistant director’s command, the three groups standing in the bamboo forest shouted and banged noisily at the elegant courtyard ahead. Li Luo, with a semi-transparent black cloth tied over his eyes, wildly waved his sword.

This kind of job—no camera focus, no acting required—carried zero pressure.

Just one word:

Play!

He walked back and forth several times.

His throat went dry from shouting—finally, the scene ended.

Zhang Zhong saw Li Luo, dressed as a black-clad thug, wildly swinging his sword, and stared blankly. After Yuan Bin explained, he could only smirk, then kicked the kid before giving up on saying anything.

After lunch, Li Erpeng as Linghu Chong finally appeared, launching into a long rant.

He struggled through half an hour of lines before finally reciting them smoothly.

“You’re full of shit!”

At the leader’s roar,

All the extras swung their swords and spears, charging toward Linghu Chong’s courtyard with loud war cries.

Lin Can and Du Yun, dressed as Qingcheng disciples, leapt into the small stream encircling the courtyard. A group of ducks previously placed there flapped wildly in panic, creating chaos.

All cameras were deployed, and the cinematographers focused intently on capturing this grand scene.

In one cinematographer’s frame,

Li Luo, sword in hand, leapt effortlessly over the stream.

He charged forward like a tiger, kicked out, and smashed the bamboo fence surrounding the courtyard—black-clad extras surged in behind him!

Once inside the courtyard, the crowd abruptly halted.

“That take was good.”

“But we need to catch the ducks, rebuild the fence, and do it again.”

Zhang Zhong stood on a chair, pointing his megaphone at the center of the crowd: “This time, you brats, stay back! If you charge forward like that again, I’ll make you run twenty laps around the set!”

“Hahahaha~”

Amid the crowd’s laughter, Li Luo reluctantly pulled off his eye cloth.