Chapter 157: Young Master Xia's Voice

Sammo Hung stroked his belly and laughed aloud, "Everything has its nemesis. Shanzis afraid of women, while the Second Miss is afraid of Boss Yang. The mutual restraint of Yin and Yang is the fundamental principle of all things in existence."

"Dabao, why have you suddenly become so profound today? I haven't heard about you converting to Taoism recently."

Yang Wan-cheng was clearly in a good mood.

Welcoming Liu Qing-shan and hosting a banquet for him was only the first part; using the opportunity to showcase his network was not his entire purpose either. The main point was undoubtedly to flex his muscles before Three Friends Film Corporation and even the Cheung Tung Group.

Although the guests he invited today did not include many government officials, they were all prominent figures across various industries.

Even though many top-tier moguls had only sent representatives to attend, at the very least, the underlying significance was already evident.

On the other hand, he was well aware that the value of future cinematic special effects would exceed all imagination, and leveraging this to draw closer to Liu Qing-shan was equally important.

Before leaving, Liu Qing-shan did not forget to leave the few cartons of cigarettes from his trunk behind. The car was borrowed—a cyan BMW belonging to Donnie Yen.

His scenes for the evening still involved assassination, with the location set in the small square beside the Tsim Sha Tsui fountain.

This time, the targets of the assassination were Wah and Kwok Tze-sum.

Kwok Tze-sum was played by Danny Summer, a name familiar to anyone involved in rock music in Hong Kong. He was among the earliest to play rock music in Hong Kong and was also a guitarist who had genuinely formed a band with foreign musicians.

In 1985, he was honored as the "Godfather of Rock," and to this day, he has been playing the guitar for over thirty years, continuing to practice every single day.

He sustained rock music to the present day with his strength, carrying a sense of mission to pass on the rock wave.

Just yesterday, Aidi had spoken with Liu Qing-shan about this man. Their relationship was exceptionally good, and Danny Summer belonged to that older generation of musicians who were still persisting in rock music.

The moment they met, Danny Summer waved the phone in his hand at Liu Qing-shan, naturally letting him know that he had already received a call from Aidi.

It was the first time Liu Qing-shan and this man had met face-to-face. Given their connection through Aidi, he actually wanted to walk over and pay his respects, purely out of admiration that someone of his age was still persevering with his musical dreams.

Unfortunately, his own scene was coming up immediately, so Liu Qing-shan had no choice but to let the idea rest for the time being.

Right now, that small plaza was completely surrounded by people. This was a major street feature of Hong Kong; with so many films being shot every year, being surrounded by curious onlookers was a regular occurrence.

What excited Liu Qing-shan was that someone in the crowd was actually shouting his name.

Subconsciously looking toward the source, he spotted a few schoolgirl-like young women.

Unlike the mainland, while star-chasing did exist here, it was usually an isolated phenomenon unless it involved figures on the level of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Consequently, those few individuals stopped after shouting a couple of times, though it prompted Donnie Yen to tease, "When I arrived just now, I didn't even get a reception like that. A few old fans merely greeted me half-heartedly!"

Ren Jiahua, standing beside him, chimed in amusedly, "Just how old are your fans? Shanzis only twenty-one; naturally, his fans would be students and other young people, so their voices are bound to be louder."

Before Liu Qing-shan could respond, Donnie Yen asked again, "I heard Boss Yang threw a welcome banquet for you. It seems he quite appreciates you."

Liu Qing-shan shook his head. "It was all very rushed, and without any prior notice. Those few hours were rather awkward!"

Ren Jiahua held back a smile. "Boss Yang wants to stay on your good terms. He was the first one you thought of for the script of *Kung Fu*, so if it were me, I'd have to show some gesture as well."

"You guys know about this too? Is it true that there are no secrets in the Hong Kong entertainment industry?"

"The circle here is just this small. Unless it's a top-secret matter, you can't keep it hidden even if you wanted to, and besides, you don't want to offend people, do you?"

"How will Master Sing's side view this? I remember when I called him that night, he specifically instructed me not to spread the word!"

"In Hong Kong, things don't go just the way you want them to. Besides, once an audition announcement is made public, any secret will be dug up! Shanzi, you must remember that Hong Kong's paparazzi are world-famous; you have to be careful whatever you do here!"

"Yeah," Donnie Yen nodded, "by tomorrow morning, today's events at noon will be splashed across all the major newspapers. Who knows, you might even get a little spark of fame, managing to get the boss of Emperor Entertainment Group to personally show up to support you—even Wah-jai and the others haven't received that kind of treatment in all these years!"

Wah-jai referred to Andy Lau, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, a representative figure of the middle generation in Hong Kong's entertainment circle with countless fans across Asia.

"I wouldn't dare compare myself to Brother Wah. Boss Yang values me because of our business cooperation."

Donnie Yen thoroughly agreed with this point, "I've heard about your Snowy Studio. If *Kung Fu* becomes a box-office hit, you'll quickly achieve great fame across the mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong! What, didn't you think about doing some special effects for our movie?"

Liu Qing-shan vigorously shook his head. "*SPL: Sha Po Lang* is destined to be an unsurpassable kung fu film in Hong Kong cinema. While utilizing certain stunt techniques is necessary, cinematic special effects are best left out—their effect would only be counterproductive!"

Sammo Hung walked up from a distance, applauding as he joined the conversation, "That's the honest truth. From its initial conception to formal filming, *SPL: Sha Po Lang* has poured the immense dedication of Hong Kong's martial arts stuntmen into it. Many martial artists not appearing in this film have not only offered ideas and strategies but have also pinned their highest hopes on it, especially Jian, who has been driving himself crazy with fitness training for over a year now!"

Shortly after, Danny Summer, having just finished filming, walked over, and Liu Qing-shan hurried forward to pay his respects.

"Aidi sent me your song *Chasing Dreams with a Childlike Heart*. Great song; it got my blood boiling. The rock music of China has successors!"

Liu Qing-shan wouldn't dare accept such high praise. "Overall, it's still a bit rough around the edges, with many areas that need refinement, mainly due to my own limitations in capability."

Danny Summer patted his shoulder. "Rougher is even better, especially your voice-cracking parts. I suggest not polishing them too artificially; that rawness is what makes this song a classic. Aidi and I had similar ideas before, but unfortunately, we never produced a mature work."

After the two of them chatted about the music for a short while, Liao Qizhi hurried over, and the three of them immediately began discussing the upcoming shoot.

During this time, someone brought over the costume props, and Liu Qing-shan changed into them on the spot under the watchful eyes of several people, sparking another round of cheers from outside the perimeter.

Half an hour later, they received the summons from the director.

In the script, this scene took place before Lok was assassinated, so Simon Yam was also present at the location.

Clearly, he had already discussed Liu Qing-shan's filming traits with Liao Qizhi and Danny Summer, and the three of them were now huddled together whispering.

As Liu Qing-shan passed by, he smiled and said, "Two big brothers, this scene doesn't have many actions. Just focus on your own performances!"

The plot was indeed very simple: Wah, played by Liao Qizhi, had just walked out of a telephone booth when the assassin, Ah-jik, suddenly appeared, stabbing him in the abdomen and neck.

At the same time, not far away, Kwok Tze-sum, played by Danny Summer, had just bid farewell to his daughter. With his back turned to the telephone booth, he gently stroked a watch his daughter had given him, wearing a warm smile.

Ah-jik, having killed Wah, strode up behind him, grabbed him by the neck, and delivered a fatal stab to his abdomen.