Translator: Google Translate
Editor: Sai Hiroto
Chang Town* (常鎮) is extremely hot in summer.
[*Sai: I don't know how to translate this word, I think it's a place name, oh, I guess I'll leave it like that]
However, this is the largest film and television base in China. Even if the weather is hot, many crews are still busy here.
Su Xinghe stood in a long queue, waiting to apply for Chang Town's extra actor certificate.
When it was his turn, he quickly handed his materials to the elder sister at the window, filled out the form, and answered the questions. This was considered a passing test.
The eldest sister was dazzled by his white and tender face. She automatically ignored his dog-gnawed hair and seriously warned him: "Ordinary group performances rely on the group leader to take over the job. If the boss asks you to join the WeChat group, try to join a group, they will take more jobs."
Su Xinghe nodded repeatedly.
After getting the certificate, sure enough, a group leader asked them, a new group of people, to join the group.
Su Xinghe relied on his face to successfully break out of the twenty-odd newcomers and join the full group.
The other newcomers also joined their groups, and a few sensible people even stayed and wanted to treat the group leader to dinner alone.
In a place like Chang Town, there are countless extras. If you want to take on roles, you rely on connections, so as long as these group leaders don't have jobs, they still have a lot of dinner parties.
Liu Yong, the leader of the group, took the initiative to invite Su Xinghe to dinner.
"There happens to be a dinner party tonight, and I will be the host. Many extras from the group are coming. After dinner, we will sing and keep in touch."
It was Su Xinghe's good luck that he just came today and happened upon the group's monthly gathering.
Su Xinghe's eyes lit up when he heard this.
He almost vomited after eating instant noodles, so he could finally change his taste today.
And he is also good at singing! As soon as he opened his voice, the pigs in the mountains stopped roaring, the goose stopped croaking, and even the birds stopped opening their mouths.
Even the master praised him, saying that he was like a sinking fish and a falling goose, and the moon hides and the flowers are embarrassed to bloom.
[*Sai: I feel like your master is mocking you instead of praising you, little Xing XD]
He was about to nod, but when he thought of the master's instructions, he quickly asked, "How about drinking?"
The master firmly forbade him to drink.
Liu Yong looked at him like a child and said with a smile, "Don't force it, don't force it."
Su Xinghe couldn't help but laugh with his two dimples appearing. "Then thank you, Brother Liu."
They had just finished chatting here when the leader of the second group next to him said to Liu Yong, "I heard from Xiao Zhang that you have been looking for a fortune teller recently. Are you trying to change your luck because of bad luck?"
Liu Yong has always been at odds with the leader of the second group, so he knew that this was meant to ridicule him. Yes, he smiled politely and didn't reply at all.
The leader of the second group clicked his tongue again: "How about I introduce you to someone? I see that you have been a bit dark lately, otherwise, Hua Ge's* crew wouldn't be without your people for the time being."
[*Sai: ‘Hua Ge’ can be called 'brother' Hua]
Liu Yong just wanted to speak, but he listened to Su Xinghe next to him say, "It's not black."
At best, it can only be considered as a yellowish skin.
The leader of the second group frowned. He originally wanted to curse directly, but seeing that Su Xinghe's face was so good-looking, he could only swallow it first and continued with a smile: "This handsome guy can read faces."
Although Su Xinghe was an ignorant young man, he could tell that the leader of the second group was not a good person, so he ignored him and said to Liu Yong, "Brother Liu wants to find someone to tell his fortune. Why don't I help Brother Liu tell his fortune? Just think of it as Thank you, Brother Liu, for inviting me to dinner."
He has practiced Taoism for so many years, and what he is best at is fortune telling.
Liu Yong laughed. He had indeed asked someone to ask a master, but it was not to tell fortunes but to calculate a suitable name for his newborn son.
Moreover, he invited Su Xinghe to dinner because he was good-looking. Such a talent would be successful in Chang Town. Now, forming a good relationship is also a smooth favor.
Unexpectedly, the kid Su Xinghe was quite interesting, so he didn't refuse: "Forget it."
Su Xinghe took out a shabby tortoiseshell from his bag, and there were three ancient coins in it.
The leader of the second group was originally expecting to see a joke, but his eyes were glued to the tortoiseshell and the copper coins, and he couldn't laugh anymore.
He used to be a pipe maker on the set and had a poisonous eye. Judging from the quality of the thing Su Xinghe took out, it was a real thing. If you put it in a shop that collects secondhand goods, you can probably exchange it for a lot of money.
He couldn't help but look at Su Xinghe, but Su Xinghe didn't even give him the peripheral vision and only asked Liu Yong, "Brother Liu, what do you want to do?"
Liu Yong looked at the thing in Su Xinghe's hand and was stunned for a long time. After coming back to his senses, he said, "Anything will do."
Su Xinghe shook the turtle shell skillfully.
The people who were still in the union came together to watch the excitement.
Everyone watched as long as Su Xinghe shook.
"How's it going?" Liu Yong asked.
Su Xinghe was looking at the copper coins in his hand. After hearing Liu Yong's words, he said, "Brother Yong, your luck has not been very good recently, especially these two days. It's best not to go east."
The leader of the second group burst into laughter.
Liu Yong didn't take Su Xinghe's words to heart. He glared at the leader of the second group and led Su Xinghe out.
Seeing that he didn't care, Su Xinghe said: "My lucky hexagrams are nine out of ten, but all bad hexagrams are accurate. Brother Liu, you should be more careful lately."
Liu Yong has a good temper, and it seems that Su Xinghe is serious. He was worried but not angry, so he quickly changed the subject and asked about Su Xinghe's tortoiseshell and copper coins.
Su Xinghe said, "My master passed this on to me."
"Master? Are you a Feng Shui disciple?" Liu Yong asked curiously.
Su Xinghe shook his head seriously and said, "No, I'm a Taoist priest."
Liu Yong couldn't help but laugh. He patted Su Xinghe on the shoulder: "I believe you when you say you are a star. If you say you are a Taoist priest..."
He looked at Su Xinghe up and down, his face was white and tender, and he didn't look like a Taoist priest.
Where could there be a Taoist priest with such red lips and white teeth? Anyway, he had never seen him before.
But seeing Su Xinghe's serious face, he said, "Okay, I understand. Remember to arrive on time tonight."
The food stalls in the evening were very sumptuous, and Su Xinghe became familiar with the activists in the group.
Of course, the most important thing is that he finally filled his stomach.
He hasn't had a full meal for a long time since he came down the mountain.
It's a pity that Liu Yong suddenly answered the phone and the subsequent singing arrangements were cancelled.
Su Xinghe was a little disappointed that he couldn't show off his singing voice.
However, before Liu Yong left, Su Xinghe couldn't help but give him a few words, telling him not to go east in the past two days.
Liu Yong agreed and got into the taxi.
He was from the south and couldn't figure out the east, west, and north at all, and he didn't take Su Xinghe's words to heart at all.
As soon as Liu Yong left, everyone dispersed.
Su Xinghe returned to the rental house, read the scriptures for a while, and then took off the jade pendant he was wearing around his neck.
This jade pendant was given to him by his master before his death. He said that it was a treasure passed down by their ancestor. It should not be sold or thrown away. It should be collected well and passed on to the next generation.
However, he dropped the ancestor's jade pendant to the ground the next day.
The master didn't ride the evil wind to slap him, but the jade pendant flew by itself and almost gave him a concussion.
When he finally woke up, the jade pendant, which had caused him to lie on the ground all night, stopped after saying half a sentence.
"This is the most important inheritance from the master. If you want to get the inheritance, you must first remember this sentence: Life is like a play."
Life is like a play, and then what?
Su Xinghe pondered this sentence for a week, and after eating the last rice in the mountain, he finally concluded.
What the founder wants to say is that life is like a play, and play is like life!
This is to make him join the world!
So he took all his belongings: three sets of old clothes, two pairs of old shoes, some birthday gifts from his master, and five thousand private money, and went down the mountain.
The pigs in the mountains stopped hiding from him, the geese in the mountains stopped chasing him and biting him, and even the autistic birds in the mountains began to open their mouths.
It can be seen that everyone knows that his mission is glorious and the task is arduous.
He said goodbye to his friends and went down the mountain resolutely!
After coming down the mountain, he found out that his grandfather's words had profound meaning—life is like a drama, and having no money is a tragedy.
This profound realization suddenly gave him a life experience beyond the past eighteen years.
The Taoist mind has become more stable.
Therefore, to further practice the four words "life is like a play," he decisively gave up the promising job of moving bricks and chose to be an extra in Chang Town.
As soon as the jade pendant was placed on his forehead, the warmth on it made Su Xinghe unable to help but feel drowsy.
After a while, he originally thought that the jade pendant would ignore him as before, but to his surprise, the jade pendant finally responded to him.
The dying voice sounded again.
"This is the most important inheritance from the master. If you want to get the inheritance, you must first remember one sentence."
"Life is like a play..."
Su Xinghe pricked up his ears.
"It all depends on your acting skills!"
Su Xinghe opened his eyes in a flash.
What?! Isn't the last sentence of "Life is like a play" "A play is like life"?!
The weapon spirit didn't understand Su Xinghe's psychological activities at all, so it continued to ask, "Do you want to inherit the master's inheritance?"
Of course, Su Xinghe did!
His master said that he has a special constitution, and unless he succeeds in cultivating Taoism, his lifespan will be limited.
However, he had been practicing for more than ten years. Apart from memorizing scriptures, rituals, talismans, seal scripts, Taoist teachings, etc., he could not even find the threshold for practicing Taoism.
Even the best fortune-telling is inaccurate in nine out of ten hexagrams, which makes those who hear it sad and those who see it shed tears.
The weapon spirit didn't know that he was such an "excellent" seedling. When he heard that he agreed, he immediately poured seven words into his mind.
"The actor's self-cultivation."
....
Su Xinghe's expression cracked.
Grandmaster, is your most important inheritance the self-cultivation of an actor?
Are you a Lord God* (天尊) or a drama queen?
[*Sai: Heavenly Lord or Lord God?]
Fortunately, Su Xinghe's Taoist heart was still strong, and he stabilized after swaying for a while.
The weapon spirit was still solemnly saying, "There is still one condition to start the inheritance."
Su Xinghe pricked up his ears again.
The weapon spirit didn't keep him waiting. "You must first meet the minimum standards of an actor before you are eligible to start the inheritance."
Some people had the opportunity to start the inheritance, but they all failed without exception.
These people are also the proud ones of heaven, but they have never been able to meet the entry-level standards for actors.
I wonder if this young man can successfully start the inheritance today.
Sure enough, the conditions set by the master are still too difficult?
The weapon spirit had just finished sighing when he saw Su Xinghe quickly take something from his arms.
"I'm already an actor." He said.
"Look, the Chang Town Actors Guild just sent it to me today. It still has a fresh seal on it. I also paid ten yuan for the production fee."
The weapon spirit that originally wanted to explain what an actor is suddenly got stuck.
"What, what actor's certificate?!"
The owner taught him what a computer was and what a mobile phone was, but he didn't tell him that actors still have certificates.
Afraid that the weapon spirit wouldn't believe it, Su Xinghe took out his mobile phone and showed Chang Town's actor certificate to the weapon spirit.
"Look, this is a formal employment certificate issued by a formal organization." Su Xinghe said seriously.
He has real credentials!
The weapon spirit is completely dead.
It glanced at the actor's certificate in Su Xinghe's hand with some awe, always feeling that the official seal representing the organization's certification was particularly bright red and beautiful.
It was happy and gratified: "Since you are already an actor, let's start the inheritance."
"After so many years, the master may finally be able to find a satisfactory heir."
But Su Xinghe, who had high hopes, was in the first place. Guan was stopped.
"Submit performance work?" He tilted his head in confusion. "But I don't have any work."
He just got his acting certificate and has never acted in anything.
If the weapon spirit had pupils, the pupils would probably be like earthquakes.
"Then how do you get your actor card?"
Doesn't such a bright and beautiful official seal represent the organization's affirmation and high expectations?
Su Xinghe: "Chang Town's actor certificate does not require any performance work. You only need to answer ten questions and pay ten yuan to get it."
He also memorized the question bank in advance, so it was not difficult at all.
Weapon Spirit:...
Only silence can express its emotions. It is such a serious weapon spirit, but it has opened the wrong inheritance.
One person and one spirit were silent for a long time, and then the weapon spirit said with difficulty, "It doesn't matter. Although the customized guidance mode cannot be turned on, we can turn on other modes." If all of them are turned on, what else can we do?
Only by cultivating the person in front of him into a qualified actor can he have the dignity to meet his ancestor.
"Other modes?" Su Xinghe asked, "What other modes?"
The weapon spirit said, "Rookie mode!"
The next second, a light flashed in front of Su Xinghe's eyes, and his entire consciousness drifted to a vast place.
"The first inheritance of rookie mode is watching." The weapon spirit said.
"Here are the greatest works selected by the master in all the worlds. Your current task is to sit here and watch. The master often says that as an actor, you should always be exposed to the latest works, and you should always review the classic works."
Su Xinghe didn't care about whether he was a rookie or not: "Does the ancestor's inheritance only include acting? If he can act, can he have a cultivation inheritance?"
He is only interested in cultivation!
The weapon spirit said, "After you have watched enough movies and passed the exam, you can extract a treasure from the ancestor's treasure house. However, you are currently only receiving the inheritance from the rookie stage, so the magic weapons you can choose are limited."
"Treasure? Magical weapon?!" Su Xinghe's energy returned in an instant: "Is it a treasure for cultivating Taoism?"
The weapon spirit hummed a little guiltily.
The strange elixirs and strange magic weapons refined by the Patriarch should also be regarded as treasures for cultivating Taoism, right?
Su Xinghe immediately sat down on the sofa in a polite manner. Wasn't he just watching a movie?
He will watch!
Isn’t it just to be an actor?
He should!
As long as he can get the treasure of cultivating Taoism, he is not afraid of any difficulties!
"You can stay here for more than three hours every day. After I recover, the time can continue to increase."
"Okay, just watch it slowly. The first exam will be after you have watched five movies."
After saying that, the weapon spirit disappeared, leaving only Su Xinghe and the movie playing in front of him.
More than three hours later, Su Xinghe's consciousness returned to his body. He pondered for a while and felt that the time spent watching movies every day was too little. After all, if he had an exam, watching one movie would not be enough.
I wonder if this movie exists in reality.
Just as he said, he immediately took out his phone and searched.
Unfortunately, this movie does not exist in the real world.
Su Xinghe was a little disappointed. He glanced at the upper left corner of his phone and found that only one minute had passed in reality.
It is indeed the Lord God’s (天尊) method!
Su Xinghe became more confident in his path of spiritual cultivation.
Grandmaster is here, he will enjoy watching the movie!
***
The author [Tian Miao] has something to say:
Su Xinghe: I am here to work with my certificate!