Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Greatest of Heroes Should Be Guo Jing

There was no doubt that the subtlety of expression in this passage was extremely difficult to control. At present, Liu Qingshan was only at an upper-intermediate level of acting, and by rights he should not have been able to capture its essence.

Had he not used the refined micro-expression conversion skill in advance, he would never have possessed such precise control over his expressions.

This skill sharpened facial-expression control and could effectively guide the fluctuations of inner emotion.

It did, however, come with a time limit. Twenty-five reputation points could be exchanged for only five minutes of use.

Fortunately, that was enough. Just over three minutes later, Zhang the Great-Bearded called out his brief order: Cut!

Almost at the same moment, thunderous applause broke out across the set, all for Liu Qingshan’s delicate and profound portrayal of inner conflict and shifting expression.

Jin Xishan could not help applauding as well. Her own acting was highly accomplished, and she naturally understood the difficulty of such an emotional scene.

Still, she was puzzled. Liu Qingshan had never before encountered a role like this, nor had he received any systematic training. How, just now, had he managed it?

By then Zhang the Great-Bearded was already speaking with obvious excitement. “Shanzi, were you hiding your true ability before? I had thought we’d need to do this scene several times.”

Liu Qingshan answered with customary modesty. He did not notice that, not far away in the crowd, a deep flicker of wariness had flashed in Huang Yiming’s eyes.

When this man learned that Liu Qingshan would be playing Guo Jing, he had felt a certain contempt. And since the one being replaced was Wang Luoyong, it only made the handsome young actor of the new generation even more displeased.

But after learning more about Liu Qingshan, he absolutely would not dare provoke him. He already knew that Liu Qingshan was regarded as a true master of the martial world.

What was more, Liu Qingshan commanded an entire stunt team, and even the famed Chen Zuming willingly served at his side.

Even so, Huang Yiming still did not think much of Liu Qingshan’s acting. A background extra who, only months ago, had been running around as a bit player could never, no matter how wildly he overperformed, surpass a youth prodigy like himself.

Unfortunately, the scene just now made this proud young man suddenly realize that he absolutely could not have played that part with such flawless perfection.

Standing close to Zhang the Great-Bearded, Jin Xishan heard his assessment and turned a questioning look toward him.

Although she knew Liu Qingshan had acted very well, she knew nothing of the original work, and so she did not fully grasp the specific significance of that inner scene.

As if understanding her confusion, Zhang the Great-Bearded stroked his beard and explained.

“Guo Jing is by nature simple and upright. He values filial duty and righteousness, is diligent, patriotic, and embodies every aspect of chivalric spirit. He spent his whole life fully realizing the grand ideal of serving the country and the people, and his immense moral force influenced everyone around him, including his family and the male lead, Yang Guo, silently guiding them onto the right road in life and onto the broad highway of reform.”

He did not directly judge the scene just now. Instead, he focused on Guo Jing’s character and his tremendous influence on others.

Then his tone shifted, and only then did he tie it back to the scene.

“Guo Jing’s opposition to the Jin was natural enough, but opposing the Yuan required struggle. After all, he grew up among the Mongols. Genghis Khan had the kindness of an elder toward him, and Tolui had the bond of brotherhood. For a man like Guo Jing, who valued affection and loyalty above all, that was a fierce inner battle. His later becoming a true great hero, a true champion, necessarily meant enduring the painful struggle we just saw.”

Only then did Jin Xishan truly understand Liu Qingshan’s earlier inner performance. Only then did she realize that he had also been portraying Guo Jing’s psychological transformation from innocence to maturity.

Indeed, it was precisely this that drove Guo Jing onto the path of opposing Genghis Khan, and it began with this very scene.

Or rather, this psychological segment was the turning point of the entire series.

Guo Jing’s later resistance to the Yuan was not merely for his mother, nor was it to prop up the decayed little court of the Southern Song. It was for the nation and its people.

He had personally witnessed the brutal slaughter of cities by Yuan troops. He could not bear to see the lands of the Southern Song fall beneath the iron hooves of the Yuan army, nor could he bear to see the common people of the Southern Song living out a miserable life as conquered subjects under the cruel and unfeeling Yuan forces.

So in the end, he used his own life to fulfill the ideals he had pursued all his life: that the greatest of heroes should protect their homeland, defend the country, resist invasion, and spare no cost, not even their own life.

Without understanding how the story ultimately unfolds, one cannot fully grasp the true meaning of Liu Qingshan’s inner scene.

And Zhang the Great-Bearded wanted to reinterpret the deeper meaning of the phrase “the greatest of heroes” by taking Guo Jing’s inner change as the beginning.

Now that Liu Qingshan had brought it off so beautifully, the great director’s long-suspended heart finally settled.

The brilliance of that scene was still being remembered at the evening banquet, and among those who could not stop talking about it was Ge Daqian.

By his account, as the most faithful reader of Master Jin, having read all of the other’s works, there was no character who lingered in Ge Daqian’s mind more persistently, nor one he pitied more deeply and endlessly, than Guo Jing.

Yet for most readers, unless they were truly devoted to this character, they would only notice Guo Jing’s effortless sincerity and simple honesty, and at most remember his heroic self-sacrifice.

Only those who truly loved him could better understand that chivalric ideal, one even less worldly than Qiao Feng’s. This was Guo Jing’s life, the life of a hero, the life of a great man of chivalry.

Of all the heroes, the greatest should be Guo Jing.

Clearly, Ge Daqian believed that Liu Qingshan had understood Guo Jing’s essence very well, which was why today’s scene had been brought to such success.

As for Liu Qingshan himself, of course he did not possess Zhang Jidong’s or Ge Daqian’s profound understanding. His ability to pass the scene by chance lay entirely in that micro-expression refinement skill.

But he would never show that. To be given such high praise was recognition of his acting, and he could only secretly grin to himself.

Not only did Kan Weiting attend the banquet, but the lead actor of The Judge of Great Song, He Bing, also came.

Compared with Ge Daqian and Zhang Peinian, whom Kan Weiting valued highly, He Bing was more interested in Liu Qingshan.

As an actor, he understood very well that this young man, despite his youth, already possessed formidable skills, and that his farsighted establishment of a special-effects studio had in fact revealed his ambitions for future development.

In the current entertainment industry, Liu Qingshan was not the only one who had recognized the importance of film and television effects in the years ahead.

The difference was that while others were still looking around and hesitating, his studio was already about to open its doors.

Setting aside whatever fortuitous opportunities or powerful assistance Liu Qingshan may have had along the way, that courage alone was remarkable enough.

One must know that special-effects research is a worldwide challenge. The technological factors involved exceed ordinary imagination, which also means the capital required is a bottomless pit, making it very difficult to budget accurately in advance.

For someone so young to dare put this into real action meant that his future could not possibly be ordinary.