After confirming the end of the shoot, Xiao He and Pu Rong walked and chatted, returning to the temporary dressing room their crew had rented.
“Pu Rong!”
A powerful male voice called out to Pu Rong.
Pu Rong flinched, turned his head, and indeed saw his grand-uncle.
“Grand-uncle, you’ve worked hard today too.”
Pu Rong immediately smiled obsequiously.
“Hello, Senior Ma.”
Xiao He also greeted him.
The person who arrived was an elder with white hair, looking about seventy years old, wearing a very ordinary sweat shirt and exercise pants, looking much like an old man strolling in the park, but his spirit was excellent, without a hint of the decrepitude of old age.
Ma Hongwu, in the recent scene, played the “elderly the thief catcher,” but in reality, he was not an actor but a true martial arts master with his own martial arts school in China. By seniority, he should be Pu Rong’s grand-uncle.
Xiao He had previously heard Pu Rong say that this Senior Ma was quite renowned in martial arts, having served as a committee member of the China Sports Federation and chairman of the China Wushu Association, teaching in many places, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) with students spread across more than twenty provinces and cities, and was even well-known internationally, an old senior respected by everyone in the industry.
However, about ten years ago, the old man gradually retired, only managing his own martial arts school on weekdays, rarely participating in martial arts-related competitions and activities.
Even Pu Rong himself rarely interacted with this old man.
But for some unknown reason, the old man suddenly volunteered to come to their small crew to play a cannon fodder role this time.
When they learned about this, not only was the crew shocked, but also others in Pu Rong’s martial arts sect were shocked.
That was a national martial arts treasure! Why would he think of being a supporting actor for his junior! It was simply a ghost story!
But it did happen.
And it happened right before everyone’s eyes.
Pu Rong didn’t know what his grand-uncle was thinking, but he didn’t dare to ask, always trembling and greeting Ma Hongwu cautiously whenever he saw him, fearing that Ma Hongwu might be dissatisfied and report him to his master later.
Then Pu Rong would be dead!
However, whatever Pu Rong did, Ma Hongwu seemed dissatisfied. This time, he even glared at Pu Rong with a look of disappointment, making the bewildered Pu Rong shrink his neck: “Grand-grand-uncle?”
Where had he offended him this time?
“Hmph—”
Ma Hongwu snorted coldly, then looked at Xiao He: “Young friend Xiao’s De-boning Knife Technique is truly excellent. Is it really inconvenient for this old man to know your master?”
Xiao He sighed helplessly: “I’m sorry, Senior Ma, I really can’t say.”
With his one-click proficiency, where could he find a master for him?
This old man, chasing him every day asking about it, was truly a headache.
Fortunately, the old man finished his scenes today and was leaving soon, so he wouldn’t have to see him again.
“Grand-uncle, don’t make things difficult for Xiao He.” Pu Rong also explained for Xiao He, “Isn’t it normal for such a rare knife technique to require concealing one’s master? Grand-uncle isn’t really trying to learn it, so why dig into the roots?”
Ma Hongwu: “...”
He squinted at the young man, snorting unhappily: “The martial arts juniors nowadays are truly getting worse with each generation.”
He couldn’t even recognize this life-threatening knife technique; he had wasted so many years learning!
Actually, what Xiao He and Pu Rong didn’t know was that Ma Hongwu came to the crew this time precisely because of Xiao He.
At that time, when Pu Rong returned to the martial arts school to recruit actors, Ma Hongwu happened to be there and accidentally saw Xiao He’s swift De-boning Knife Technique, which greatly shocked him.
As a master in the martial arts world, his judgment was naturally impeccable. This De-boning Knife Technique was not just for show; it was a genuine life-threatening knife technique! It basically required practical experience to master!
According to the strength Xiao He had currently displayed, without dozens of lives, this knife technique could absolutely not be mastered.
So, this kid Xiao He... he probably had big problems!
Thinking that it was now a new society, yet such a scoundrel had appeared in their martial arts world, Ma Hongwu couldn’t sit still for a moment. He immediately called Pu Rong and came to this small crew to be a cannon fodder supporting actor.
However, after observing for so long since joining the crew, Ma Hongwu had not found any problems with Xiao He.
On the contrary, he heard that this kid Xiao He had recently acted bravely, saving a little girl, and the police were even going to award Xiao He a certificate...
This made the originally certain old man Ma a little confused.
How did this guy... manage to do it?
Could it be that he was truly a martial arts prodigy, who just learned it by watching and practicing out of thin air?
Ma Hongwu suddenly fell into a long silence again.
Seeing the old man staring at him without speaking, Xiao He looked at Pu Rong with some confusion.
Pu Rong winked at Xiao He: “You go first.”
Xiao He: “Is that okay?”
“It’s fine.”
Just then, Xiao He received a call from Officer Li.
It turned out that his certificate for courageous action had been approved, and Officer Li asked Xiao He to pick it up.
Putting down his phone, Xiao He finally had a legitimate reason: “Sorry, I’m leaving now. I’m going to the police station to get my certificate.”
“You go quickly.” Pu Rong quickly interjected.
After Xiao He left, Pu Rong continued to persuade the old man: “Grand-uncle, I really don’t understand why you keep asking Xiao He about his master. Xiao He had already agreed to teach you before, but you’re still thinking about his master.”
Ma Hongwu angrily hit Pu Rong hard on the head: “Don’t call me grand-uncle! I can’t afford to lose face!”
Pu Rong: ┭ ┮ ﹏ ┭ ┮
...
Since they had moved to a different filming location, which was quite far from the police station near the Film and Television Base, Xiao He didn’t plan to inconvenience himself and just took a taxi.
It was around four in the afternoon, not yet rush hour, but the road to the Film and Television Base was still very congested.
Xiao He poked his head out of the car window, looking at the stagnant traffic ahead, and clicked his tongue slightly: “Why is this road so jammed?”
The taxi driver in front, however, was very familiar with the situation: “It seems a few celebrities have been filming at the Film and Television Base nearby recently, so all their fans have flocked here.”
“This is too exaggerated...” Xiao He exclaimed.
“Sigh, indeed.”
The driver clearly had a long-standing grievance against these fans and took the opportunity to complain: “That’s why we don’t really like taking orders from this area. We don’t earn much money, and it’s tormenting. You’re lucky today; I usually don’t drive here...”
Seeing the conversation gradually deviate to the difficulties of taxi drivers, Xiao He wisely chose to keep quiet.
Only the driver’s mumbling to himself remained in the car.
Twenty minutes passed, and the vehicle hadn’t moved an inch.
This time, the driver was genuinely annoyed. He picked up his phone to inquire about the road conditions ahead.
Taxi drivers had their own message groups, and road conditions spread extremely quickly. The driver soon received the latest information.
“What? The fans ahead started fighting, and the entire road is completely blocked and paralyzed?”
The driver asked incredulously.
Xiao He couldn’t help but prick up his ears to listen.
Whose fans were they? So crazy...
Without needing the driver to confirm the situation again, they heard the sound of police cars from afar. Immediately after, Xiao He saw several police motorcycles whiz past them, heading towards the Film and Television Base.
Xiao He blinked.
“Little brother, you heard it too. It seems we can’t go forward.” The driver turned his head, looking troubled, “You see, how about you... walk a few steps?”
Xiao He: ...Alright then.
Never mind, I’ll walk over and check out what’s going on!
