Chapter 781: The part about pretending to be weak to deceive others...
Take Zhou Zhiyi, for instance. You could call him a fraud, yet he truly gets the job done. His two partners also have their own unique skills and flaws.
One was born with Yin-Yang eyes, allowing him to see anomalies and even conduct simple communication with ghosts. However, because he is naturally cowardly, he is terrified of ghosts—especially malevolent ones. Once targeted by a ghost, he is unable to protect himself. So, despite studying a great deal of knowledge, he remains stuck in the theoretical realm and was cast out by his family.
The other is an expert at drawing talismans and setting up formations. Logically, such a talent would be well-suited as a Feng Shui master, helping people arrange their home's Feng Shui. Yet, because he is self-taught, most of what he learned involves dark arts, often using blood as a medium to summon ghosts, attract spirits, or set traps... In any case, none of it brings blessings or good fortune. Far from helping with Feng Shui, it's considered a success if he doesn't turn the employer's house into a haunted mansion.
Separately, these three have fatal flaws, but together, they actually have a bit of a system going.
When there's a real anomaly, they handle it; when it's fake, they expose the fraud.
In a case involving an 'anomaly,' they have a clear division of labor: one is responsible for summoning the ghost, one for questioning the reason for the anomaly, and one for the cleanup, dealing with the root cause.
Through their collaborative efforts, they managed to make a name for themselves.
As for their specific performance—
Take the same house anomaly. A fake master invited from a street stall would claim it's haunted and set up an altar to perform rituals for forty-nine days. Not only would the money be gone, but the anomaly wouldn't be resolved.
But when Zhou Zhiyi arrives, he goes through the motions with a bunch of incomprehensible 'Western instruments' to inspect the house. He points out a series of very reasonable, scientific-sounding flaws and fixes them for the homeowner, ensuring the house is no longer anomalous.
On the surface, it looks like a total victory for science!
By using this contrarian approach, Zhou Zhiyi’s anti-metaphysical path became exceptionally popular. Many white-collar and middle-class people, thinking of their stubborn elders obsessed with feudal superstitions, were more than willing to seek Zhou Zhiyi's help. For some, their main goal was even to persuade their elders to stop with all the mystical nonsense! Ghosts and spirits are all fake!
But no one would ever suspect that Zhou Zhiyi and his crew are actually a team of truly capable Celestial Masters.
—And that included the audience at the start.
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Yes, Director Zhuang really has a knack for the 'playing a pig to eat a tiger' trope, and he knows exactly what the audience likes to see.
The script at the beginning of "Long" didn't immediately let the audience know that Zhou Zhiyi and his team were Celestial Masters. Everyone would just think these guys were little daredevils naturally unafraid of ghosts, warriors of anti-superstition who firmly believed in science.
It wasn't until the first supernatural incident in the opening was resolved that this fact was officially revealed.
So, a guy who was talking big about science one second is brandishing a peach wood sword to slay ghosts the next. How could that not be considered a satisfying plot twist in the early stages?
With this core of metaphysics wrapped in science, it was hard to tell for a moment whether Director Zhuang was truly trying to explain metaphysics with science, or if he ultimately accepted that things beyond human cognition are, in fact, metaphysics.
Well, that would have to wait until the movie's release, when netizens could voice their own opinions after watching it.
But without a doubt, the entire film, rather than being a pure ghost story, leaned more toward thriller and suspense, while also carrying a hint of dark comedy and humor.
It was clear that even with a work like this, Zhuang Hongyi had not abandoned his popcorn commercial film style. Much like the style of "phantom thief alliance," humor and suspense coexisted, yet he hadn't completely forgotten his original intention for creating this work; the necessary horror and bloody scenes were all there.
Looking at it this way, Zhuang Hongyi might truly be a genius; he was born to make money filming this kind of genre.
Even Xiao He, upon seeing the later parts of the script, couldn't help but feel this way.
“Where's Director Zhuang?”
After saying goodbye to President Mao, Xiao He walked along, feeling puzzled. “He was still here when we finished the scene just now!”
How could he have disappeared in the blink of an eye?
Xiao He had intended to continue discussing the script with him.
“Ah, I know about that,”
Xiao Chen answered in a low voice. “Someone from that hotel came to apologize again.”
Xiao He raised an eyebrow. “Just how ruthless is Director Zhuang being to force them to come and apologize every day?”
He clearly remembered that before filming started, the people over there had stopped making trouble. Xiao He had originally thought Director Zhuang had directly suppressed them, but he hadn't expected them to show up again.
This was a bit much.
“Ah, then I wouldn't know,”
Xiao Chen scratched his head.
“Forget it, let's go take a look.”
Xiao He was also curious and turned toward the building's temporary office.
After walking just a few steps, he saw the hotel owner from last time, bowing and thanking someone before turning to walk outside.
Seeing Xiao He approach, the man's footsteps paused, and he then offered Xiao He a fawning smile, his previous arrogance completely gone.
Xiao He ignored him, merely giving him a cold glance as he continued forward.
The man didn't want to invite a snub and lowered his head, quickly leaving the area.
As Xiao He reached the door, he happened to run into Zhuang Hongyi.
“What is it? Did something happen with the Film Crew?”
Seeing it was Xiao He, Zhuang Hongyi asked with some surprise.
“Nothing, I just heard that someone from that hotel came again, so I came to check,” Xiao He replied, while also asking with concern, “Is everything alright on your end, Director Zhuang?”
By now, his relationship with Zhuang Hongyi was quite good, so there was no longer so much restraint in their casual conversations.
“Ah, thanks, I'm fine.”
Zhuang Hongyi rubbed his brow, checked the time, and then stood up. “Let's go. It's just about time for dinner, we can talk while we walk.”
“Alright.”
So, the two of them walked out together.
On the way, Zhuang Hongyi finally explained the situation to Xiao He.
It turned out that fellow really was there to apologize, still for the incident that happened in the hotel lobby.
However, while apologizing this time, his main purpose was also to invite Zhuang Hongyi to attend the Hong Kong luxury cruise gala in September.
“A cruise gala?”
Xiao He was a bit surprised, grand scenes of luxury and dissipation flashing through his mind.
And in fact, it was indeed a grand scene.
“It's just a way for those guys to entertain themselves. During its peak in the early years, quite a lot of people went. Back then, it was full of influential big shots from Hong Kong. Every time it was held, it was a massive event. Many people inside and outside the industry fought tooth and nail to get in, and even the paparazzi would stake out the harbor, ready to transmit first-hand news.”
Zhuang Hongyi said, curling his lip slightly. “But later on, the Chen family, who was always in charge of organizing it, collapsed. The glory faded, and official regulations tightened, so they haven't held such a big event in recent years.”
“But just now, I heard that fellow say that several families seem to want to start it up again this year...”
Zhuang Hongyi shrugged. “And so, we're in luck; we just happened to catch it.”