Chapter 531

The animated film *Great Sage Returns* or, considering production costs, the opponent arranged for Sun Wukong, the Chaos Demon King, was rather weak; after the Great Sage broke the seal, he was killed with a single blow.

On the journey to the west, he would probably not even match the Tiger Vanguard.

So the script definitely needs to be changed; we need to give the Great Sage a strong opponent. At least, like the Bull Demon King in *A Chinese Odyssey*, he should be able to fight the Great Sage for a few rounds.

Moreover, this character cannot be made up out of thin air; he should at least have a background, and it would be even better if he had some personal grudge against the Great Sage.

Thinking along these lines, it would merely be the heavenly gods or mounts who, because they were implicated in the 'Great Havoc in Heaven' incident, bear a grudge against the Great Sage.

Furthermore, there are Sun Wukong's few sworn brothers; for example, because the Great Sage caused havoc in Heaven, aside from the Bull Demon King who was protected, the rest were hunted by the Heavenly Court and lived rather miserably.

It is only natural for them to resent Sun Wukong, this trouble‑maker.

But from this perspective, the demons aren't so hateful, and the Great Sage isn't so innocent either.

Jiang Heng thought it over and still rejected this approach.

So, the ultimate boss comes from heaven.

Capturing children to make elixirs is for longevity; the reason is simple: because Sun Wukong's havoc in Heaven disturbed the Peach Banquet, the Heavenly Court, due to insufficient peach stores, halted the banquet.

Those who were initially listed on the Gods' List and became proper gods of the Heavenly Court, or achieved sagehood with their physical bodies, were not affected; they could live long without eating peaches.

But those who relied on their own cultivation to rise, not the kind who achieved sagehood with their physical bodies, could not survive; without peaches to eat, they would perish and their Dao would vanish.

The conception of the film's ultimate boss was roughly like that; I just typed a placeholder code into the document. When I later polish the plot, I'll give it a proper background.

Because the plot of *Great Sage Returns* was all in his mind, Jiang Heng knocked out the script in just over a day, even while handling some affairs in between.

After the script was finished, the next step was preparing the production and selecting the cast.

He subconsciously wanted to let Wu Jing play Sun Wukong, but then he reconsidered.

After makeup, you really couldn't tell who was playing the role.

It would be better to use Wu Yue; his fee is cheap, and his performance in *Black Myth: Wukong* is no worse than Wu Jing's.

As for Zhu Bajie, let Lin Zhixuan play him.

For the ultimate boss, the demon king, he wanted Chen Kun to play it.

Mainly because he felt that, in *The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate*, Yu Huatian's disheveled look made him natural as a demon king.

Since it's the male second lead and also a villain, Chen Kun might not necessarily accept.

Jiang Heng thought it over and decided to make the call himself.

"Hey, Chen Kun, what are you up to?"

"Hey, Director Jiang, I'm out of town attending an event, on my way to the airport by car! You called—is there something important?"

As usual each year, Jiang Heng would be preparing a new film at this time.

This sudden call—could it be to ask him to be the lead? Thinking this, Chen Kun's heart involuntarily stirred with excitement.

The male lead of Jiang Heng's effects blockbuster is a top‑tier resource in the Chinese‑language entertainment world!

Unexpectedly, Jiang Heng said, "Like this, I'm preparing to shoot another effects blockbuster based on Journey to the West, and I'd like you to play the male second lead, the ultimate big boss!"

"Male, second lead?"

Hearing this, Chen Kun felt somewhat surprised, and disappointment was inevitable.

But considering Jiang Heng's standing and ability in the industry, being the male second lead is fine!

Look, Liu Yifei's cameo as a magical ice‑snow queen in *Star Crossing Routes* boosted her popularity; if he acts well, he might still gain something!

Furthermore, Director Jiang asking him to play a villain also counts as owing him a favor.

Chen Kun's thoughts turned quickly; after a few seconds of hesitation, he laughed and said, "No problem, no problem—Director Jiang, if you need me, I'm free anytime!"

Jiang Heng instantly smiled upon hearing that, "Alright, thanks—I'll have someone send you the script later." "Okay, okay!"

After hanging up, Chen Kun's assistant beside him exclaimed, "The male second lead—what a pity!"

The agent laughed, "Nothing to pity— the male lead is Sun Wukong, made up with a furry face and Lei Gong's mouth; the audience wouldn't really recognize him anyway!"

The assistant gave an embarrassed smile, "Yeah, that's right!"

……

The plot of *Great Sage Returns* isn't complicated, nor are there many characters; compared to the films he's made these years, calling it a blockbuster is a bit of a stretch, and the result is that preparations went very smoothly—just a few days and everything was almost done.

The only problem was that he had misspoken about letting Zhang Ruozhu play the major villain, so he called her to the office to explain.

Zhang Ruozhu quickly said, "It's fine, it's fine—knowing I don't have to act in it, I really let out a sigh of relief!"

Jiang Heng laughed, "How so, feeling pressure?"

Zhang Ruozhu nodded, "I've never filmed fight scenes—I'm a bit scared!"

Jiang Heng thought it over and indeed it was true.

After checking, there wasn't a single mistake in the version!

In *Three Body 2*, the Zhuang Yan she played was just a quiet, melancholy beautiful girl; in *Hello Mr. Billionaire*, the Xia Zhu she played was merely an urban female white‑collar worker.

Such roles are relatively easy to shoot; for Zhang Ruozhu, whose acting isn't outstanding, the difficulty is truly not great.

However, since he had spoken up earlier, he would certainly give her a good role later.

Jiang Heng thought it over and said, "In a few days when school starts, study acting hard at school. When you're a sophomore, I'll give you a female lead role in an effects blockbuster!"

"Really? That's great, thank you!"

Zhang Ruozhu was overjoyed; the female lead of an effects blockbuster—how many people seek it in vain! She said many words of thanks before leaving.

Since there was nothing to do at the company, Zhang Ruozhu decided to go straight home.

Arriving at the underground parking lot, Miss got into a Porsche 911.

This car wasn't company‑provided; it was a personal gift from Jiang Heng, considered a present for accompanying him on a trip.

Jiang Heng originally wanted to give something better, but Zhang Ruozhu didn't dare accept it, so she chose a Porsche with a slightly lower price from among Jiang Heng's many sports cars.

Driving out of the underground parking lot, she soon returned to her residential compound, parked the car, and entered her own spacious flat.

Zhang Ruozhu casually kicked off her shoes, walked to the sofa, and flung herself onto it.

Mother Zhang frowned slightly, "You're quite a big girl now, what are you like?"

Zhang Ruo laughed, "I'm not tired, am I?"

Mother Zhang said, "How dare you say you're tired? You get up after nine every day, go to the company to loaf around a bit then come back—I see you're just idle!"

Zhang Ruo smiled, but didn't respond.

Mother Zhang said, "By the way, you have a play coming up in a few days, right? Take a look at the script!"

Zhang Ruo laughed, "No need to act!"

"What?"

Mother Zhang jumped in fright, hurriedly stood up, "What's going on? Did you make him unhappy?"

Zhang Ruo said, "No, it's just that Director Jiang feels there are many action scenes, and I can't handle them!"

"Oh oh, that's indeed true!"

"Moreover, he said, let me first go study acting properly, then when I'm a sophomore, let me play the female lead in a big-effects movie!"

"Really? That's really great!" (End of chapter)