Chapter 211: Playing Cards at Night

The massive studio was transformed by the props team into the style of a magnificent nightclub.

The cost of this set alone was certainly not small.

The place was bustling with noise.

Staff members were moving equipment everywhere, preparing for the next scene.

Inside an iron cage in the corner.

A golf club whistled through the air.

The white ball was struck fiercely, flying up with a lingering blur, and with a 'Boom—', it landed on the canvas several meters away.

"Good!"

Scattered applause rang out.

"I told you Li Luo is a heavy hitter." Taking the bets handed over by Huang Bogao and Ren Dahua, Wu Dun laughed heartily and distributed half of it: "Don't look at how he's only half the size of Big Brother, his power is not a bit less."

Accepting the three thousand Hong Kong dollars, Li Luo nodded with a smile.

Two big investors had come to visit the set together, and while taking advantage of the time to change the set, several people came to the side to play golf.

"Let me try again."

Hong Jinbao bit down on a thick cigar and walked to the teeing area with a golf club in hand. His eldest son, Hong Tianming, ran over happily to help his old man place the ball.

At the same time.

He gave Li Luo a look.

Then he took a small step back.

"Bang!"

Another crisp impact, and the canvas shook.

Applause rang out again.

"Ah Luo."

Hong Jinbao leaned on his club and stepped back twice, exhaling smoke in defiance.

His thick frame made his maroon suit bulge.

His graying hair was slicked back.

He held a torpedo-shaped cigar between his fingers.

It must be said, the aura of a big boss was more than sufficient.

In comparison.

Wu Dun on the side looked like a little old man.

Li Luo weighed the club in his hand and returned to the teeing area. He had no eldest son to use, so he placed the ball himself and adjusted his stance slightly.

"Boom~"

The golf club swung again, leaving a blur.

At this moment.

Several sighs were heard.

"Plenty of power, but lacking accuracy."

Hong Jinbao commented casually with a laugh, then looked at Li Luo: "But it's already very rare. We'll have a chance to play on the course together sometime."

The money he had just received hadn't even warmed up before it was taken away.

Li Luo glanced sideways at Hong Tianming.

The latter put his hands together, sincerely indicating that the next time they went out to play, it would be on him.

The old man had an extremely strong competitive spirit.

As a son, he could only beat around the bush to flatter him.

Everyone except Hong Jinbao noticed their little interaction, and a few chuckles followed.

"Brother Hua."

After a soft call, the makeup artist walked over cautiously, holding up a large photo: "Some details on the face are not right, I need to help you touch up your makeup."

"Okay."

Ren Dahua tossed the club to Hong Tianming.

This guy was covered in blood.

It was quite ghastly.

Li Luo wasn't much better; he was wearing a black shirt that had been torn in several places, also covered in quite a bit of blood. This was to connect with the previous fight scene with Wu Jing, so he had to be injured.

And it couldn't be filmed casually.

When encountering such scenes, the production team would arrange for staff to photograph the actor's look at that time.

Then they would restore it.

Otherwise, it would be easy to have continuity errors.

When watching TV, discovering that an actor's decorations or makeup don't match up after just a few shots is actually because this part of the work wasn't done well.

After hitting a few more balls, Li Luo and Hong Jinbao walked to the side.

They began to rehearse the movements for the upcoming shoot.

Under the direction of Zhen Zidan, they began the first round of sparring. Their movements were very slow; rather than fighting, it was more like playing.

"Let's go through the movements first."

Seeing Huang Bogao's confusion, Hong Tianming explained: "They need to remember the direction, distance, and body positioning of the other's punches, and only then can they speed it up."

"Otherwise, it's easy to cause accidental injuries."

Having been immersed in this since childhood, although he didn't have much skill, he was very clear about these things.

He nodded.

Huang Bogao and Wu Dun sat down on the side.

Since they had invested money, they naturally had to come and see how the results were.

Even if they didn't understand.

They had to show an attitude of importance.

Just as Hong Tianming said, Li Luo and Hong Jinbao's speed gradually increased, their fists and feet connecting with a crackling sound.

Fighting with such a legendary boss.

Li Luo was on high alert in his heart.

As expected of a veteran action actor who had been in the industry since the sixties, he grasped the movements designed by Zhen Zidan very well and even offered some small suggestions to elevate them.

Despite his age, his strength was still quite fierce.

When they fought.

It was still as vigorous as ever.

However, after a long time, fatigue began to show.

He was old after all!

He didn't have the boundless energy of Fang Long, who could maintain a good state even ten years later.

"I can't do it anymore."

Hong Jinbao panted, waving his thick palm: "A young man is a young man; I can't keep up with your energy. You go practice with the stunt double for a while."

"Big Brother, you're already doing very well."

Wu Dun adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his flattery coming out instantly: "If it were me up there, I probably wouldn't last a few minutes!"

A man in his fifties being able to practice for over twenty minutes with such intensity.

Among his peers.

His stamina was already considered very strong.

Sammo Hung's stunt double quickly stepped forward to rehearse some of the larger movements with Li Luo. The two had similar builds, and after putting on the same clothes and wearing a wig, there was no difference in their appearance.

And he could take a hit and fight back, like a meat shield.

Li Luo was still full of vigor, leaping into a roundhouse kick.

Kicking the stunt double back several steps.

The move was executed beautifully!

Wu Dun and Huang Bogao looked at each other, and the latter clapped his hands in satisfaction.

This actor.

Was truly worth showing off.

Not only was he handsome, but his fighting was clean and crisp.

The rehearsal was already this exciting; the effect when officially filming would naturally go without saying.

After going through the movements again, Li Luo wiped off his sweat and returned to his seat.

Before filming.

There were still a few minutes of rest.

"Brother Luo."

Wu Yu was in her familiar two-piece set, handing over a water bottle and a towel.

"Thanks."

Taking the items, Li Luo's attention shifted to the newspaper on the side.

The little assistant was very observant.

She immediately handed over the entertainment newspaper.

"Ah Fei Returns to Hong Kong!"

The headline was a photo of Wang Fei, who was wearing a pair of toad-eye sunglasses, waving her hand at the reporters' cameras in a good mood, her plain outfit looking very high-quality.

She was walking out of the airport with her manager, dragging large and small suitcases.

This was today's news.

Raising an eyebrow, Li Luo took out his phone.

"Arrived in Hong Kong, playing cards tonight?"

Sure enough, there was a message from Wang Fei in his unread texts.

"OK."

Pressing the phone keypad, Li Luo replied: "Filming right now, talk tonight."

He put away his Nokia.

Taking a gulp of mineral water, he continued flipping through the newspaper.

"Guo Jing and Huang Rong rekindle old flames, drinking with friends until three in the morning."

The next piece of news piqued his interest; the photo was blurry, but one could still vaguely see the faces of the two people, Li Erpeng and Zhou Xun, whose actions were quite intimate.

The latter was leaning into Li Erpeng's arms like a little bird.

That thick-browed, big-eyed guy was also unceremoniously holding her.

Looking at their expressions.

The two were quite sweet.

Li Luo chuckled; Brother Erpeng really couldn't stay idle, eating the old grass again so quickly.

Next, there was another big piece of news.

It was rumored that Zhang Zhizhong was preparing for the filming of a new version of The Return of the Condor Heroes, still with his usual big-budget location shooting, and the investment amount would be quite astonishing; the preliminary casting work had already begun.

The Return of the Condor Heroes was a martial arts masterpiece that everyone was familiar with.

The named characters in it.

Numbered in the dozens.

The newspaper discussed the main characters of the original work, listing every male and female actor who had gained some fame in recent years, attempting to speculate on who would land which role.

His own name was among them, becoming a hot candidate for Yang Guo.

There were many competitors.

All of them were familiar names.

This news report made Li Luo perk up.

It seemed the preliminary promotion work had already begun, following Zhang Da Hu Zi's usual style: first blowing wind to the media, then conducting a casting war that would last for several months.

Finally, amidst the anticipation of the masses.

The mystery would be revealed.

This series of actions alone could build up the hype for The Return of the Condor Heroes before it even officially started filming.

After a few TV dramas, his routine had actually been seen through by people.

But as long as one could beat the old masters.

Then it was a good move.

Even knowing it was hype, the media, actors, audience, and investors wouldn't mind.

The media got the heat.

The actors could also show their faces in the newspaper; what if they were actually chosen!

The audience felt fully involved.

As for the investors, that went without saying.

In fact, this way of hyping is very beneficial to actors; newcomers can rise quickly, and if they aren't newcomers, they can create an impression of being able to suppress all competitors and stand out from the crowd.

They would be a head above others for no reason.

A few short minutes passed quickly, and Li Luo stood up at the assistant director's call.

The scene was ready.

The place where they were just playing golf had been cleared, and Ren Dahua, with his face covered in blood, stood on top of a box, his hands tied with hemp rope and hoisted up, looking listless.

Following the shout of "Action."

Li Luo walked in with a steady pace, carrying a travel bag and holding Wu Jing's short knife.

There wasn't much expression on his face.

But in his eyes, there was nothing but intense murderous intent.

He walked slowly past the main camera, first turning his head to look at Ren Dahua, who was hoisted by ropes and almost in a state of fainting.

Then he walked forward with cold eyes.

While walking.

Another camera rotated along with him.

It didn't stop until Hong Jinbao, who was on the stage, was included in the frame.

The latter sat in a single sofa like a big boss, his aura fully displayed; staff members hid behind the set with smoke pots, gently fanning them, and the permeating smoke made the atmosphere on set even more solemn.

"Cut~"

"Brother Hua, take a break."

"Stunt team, get the wire rig ready."

Ye Weixin grabbed the megaphone and rattled off a long string of instructions.

Except for a few actors, the entire set quickly adjusted to a working state, first untying the rope on Ren Dahua's hands, then tying the steel wire to the travel bag in Li Luo's hand.

The camera also quickly adjusted its shooting position.

A few short minutes later.

As Li Luo swung his arm high, the heavy travel bag flew easily for nearly twenty meters under the action of the wire rig.

"Boom."

After a muffled sound, dust rose.

"NG!"

"One more time."

Ye Weixin wasn't very satisfied with the landing point and signaled for another throw.

One after another.

It was either too close or too far.

It wasn't until the sixth throw that the travel bag containing the money rolled and landed steadily at Hong Jinbao's feet.

Next.

They tied the steel wire to the prop knife.

After tossing it in his hand, Li Luo threw it whistling towards Hong Jinbao.

This was even more troublesome.

After adjusting back and forth for half an hour, Hong Jinbao finally kicked the prop knife steadily to the side, and Li Luo quickly moved his feet towards the stage, confronting him.

With a 'click'.

Staff members swarmed up, sprinkling power on their hands and feet.

The camera also quickly moved over, set onto the tracks laid on the ground; after they finished, Li Luo set up his fighting stance.

"Wait."

Zhen Zidan called a halt to their movements, signaling him to set up a bow stance: "You are a head taller than Big Brother, lower your stance first, otherwise the sense of oppression from Big Brother won't be strong enough in the frame."

"OK."

Li Luo nodded, quickly arching his feet one in front of the other.

Just one stance.

Instantly, he was a head shorter than Hong Jinbao.

Coupled with the difference in their builds, that astonishing sense of oppression was instantly displayed in front of the lens.

No need to look at the monitor.

Li Luo also knew how the effect was.

Indicating he had learned another trick.

Under the gaze of everyone on set, Li Luo went up with a lightning-fast roundhouse kick, which was steadily caught by Hong Jinbao, who had been prepared, with a 'boom'.

Although not much force was used.

But with the help of the dust, it still looked quite powerful.

Fists and feet flew.

They fought until dust was flying everywhere.

With a 'swish', Li Luo's fist stabbed towards Hong Jinbao's waist; the protective plate padded inside dissipated most of his punch force, but the latter still felt a sense of tightness.

While marveling at the opponent's strength.

Hong Jinbao also quickly delivered a side kick, heading straight for Li Luo's waist.

His elbow pressed down quickly.

Wanting to block this sharp kick.

But before that, with a 'slap', the whip kick had already swung up; even though Hong Jinbao retracted most of his force in time, it still whipped Li Luo's body sideways, and his breathing stalled for a moment.

"OK, cut."

Zhen Zidan called a halt, coming over satisfied to adjust the movements: "Brother Luo, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Li Luo adjusted his breathing and made a gesture.

Action movie.

Bumps and bruises were normal.

It couldn't be just him hitting others; getting hit was also normal.

After adjusting slightly following the previous movement, their sparring continued; next was coordinating with Hong Jinbao's attack to reflect the opponent's sharp side, and Li Luo parried quickly with a crackling sound.

But with another 'boom' of a kick, he was struck on the thigh.

"My fault."

Hong Jinbao apologized quickly.

When there were many movements in a fight, it was normal to have some mistakes.

Li Luo waved his hand, signaling the other to continue.

It wasn't until nightfall that he dragged his tired steps to drive to Repulse Bay.

Heading straight upstairs.

The door opened, and a 'swish-swish' sound came from inside.

Following the sound to the bathroom, a beautiful woman in an apron came into view; bubbles were whipped up in the bathtub, and Wang Fei, wearing cleaning gloves, picked up a brush and was meticulously cleaning every corner.

With the vigorous swinging of her arms.

Her plump buttocks, wrapped in small black hot pants, also swayed back and forth.

Swish~ swish~ swish.

Each wipe made Li Luo's heart bloom with joy. ===== CHAPTER 212 =====