I Rely on My Versatility to Reach the Top of the Entertainment Industry [Ancient Times to Modern] - Chapter 6

Jing Yi was applying medicine to the tiger’s paw.

A cotton swab dipped in medicinal powder was gently inserted into the small hole pierced by the nail, causing the tiger to tremble slightly.

“Grrr.” The large feline let out a low growl, nudging Lu Yuzhi beside it with its big head.

Lu Yuzhi absentmindedly patted the tiger’s head, his gaze still fixed on Jing Yi. The focused young man frowned slightly, as if troubled by the tiger’s pain.

Such a pure-hearted person—he had previously judged him based on mere fragments of gossip, assuming he traded his body for resources.

“All done.” Jing Yi soothed the tiger as he wrapped the bandage around its paw, tying a neat cross knot.

The tiger whimpered, tentatively placing its paw on the ground. Due to the pain, it only dared to rest it lightly without putting weight on it.

“I specially padded the bottom layer thicker to help alleviate some of the pain.” Jing Yi stood up, slightly tilting his head to look at Lu Yuzhi. “Mr. Lu, Lu Yi needs professional veterinary care and rest.”

“Mm, I’ll see to it.” Lu Yuzhi nodded, his amber eyes deepening in color. “Thank you for stopping Lu Yi from hurting anyone. I owe you a favor. If there’s anything you need help with, just let me know.”

“It’s alright. If it weren’t me, someone else would have stepped in. We still have filming to do, Mr. Lu. Take care.”

Jing Yi bowed his head slightly and turned to walk toward the director.

The director, fearing that too many people would startle the tiger, had instructed the crew to stay put. Seeing Jing Yi approach, he patted his shoulder and gave a thumbs-up. “Xiao Yi, well done!”

Beside them, Jiang Wenwen, her eyes tearful, whispered, “I-I’m sorry, Jing Yi. After how I treated you, you still stepped in front of me. Without you, I might not be alive. Thank you so much… I owe you a huge debt.”

“Benefactress, there is no need for such debts,” Jing Yi replied. “I only ask that you take better care of your health from now on and avoid anger.”

Jiang Wenwen was stunned.

Xue An, standing nearby, couldn’t help but interject, “Miss Jiang, you’d better listen to our Xiao Yi. If necessary, go to the hospital for a check-up.”

“Uh, alright.” Jiang Wenwen agreed in bewilderment. Having been saved by Jing Yi, it would be unreasonable not to heed his advice.

A faint smile appeared on Jing Yi’s lips, quite pleased with the outcome.

Every year, monks from his temple took turns traveling to cultivate their true nature. He had once journeyed with his uncle and learned that patients respond best to gentle reminders.

Others from the Seduce the Monk crew seized the opportunity to approach Jing Yi, offering concerned greetings and expressing amazement at what had just transpired.

Jing Yi responded to each person with calm humility and courtesy.

The crew couldn’t help but smile, creating a harmonious and joyful atmosphere.

“Director Guo, hello.” A deep male voice suddenly sounded from the side.

Everyone turned to see it was Lu Yuzhi speaking, their eyes lighting up. It was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the film emperor, but to hear him speak up close without disturbing him was even luckier!

The director of Seduce the Monk, Guo Lin, turned with a smile. “Mr. Lu, hello. Seeing you in person is better than hearing your reputation.”

He extended his hand, and Lu Yuzhi shook it. They exchanged a few polite words.

Lu Yuzhi took the initiative to say, “Lu Yi caused quite a scare and disruption to your crew. I apologize. If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, Director Guo, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Guo Lin smiled again. “Since you’ve said so, I won’t stand on ceremony.”

Although the two had never met directly, they had both heard of each other through another director.

Lu Yuzhi glanced sideways at Jing Yi: “It was our crew’s mistake to begin with. If Director Guo hadn’t spoken up, I would’ve felt uneasy.”

As a director, Guo Lin had sharp eyes—how could he not understand what Lu Yuzhi’s glance at Jing Yi meant? Expressing apologies for the crew was secondary; showing special favor toward this young actor Jing Yi was the main point, wasn’t it?

“Alright, your crew must be busy too. I’ll contact your assistant tonight.”

“Mm.” Lu Yuzhi turned and left.

Once the film emperor was gone, Guo Lin began arranging the crew’s subsequent matters.

Jiang Wenwen had just been frightened—it wouldn’t be right to make her continue filming immediately. He had her return to the hotel to rest and directed the props team to bring the wire rig over here.

The martial arts director had already finished discussing with the actor playing the Taoist priest and began communicating with Jing Yi, demonstrating a few moves for him to imitate.

Jing Yi didn’t refuse. After discussing a few points with the martial arts director, he incorporated his own understanding into some moves based on the plot.

When he executed several palm techniques, his stance was steady and his postures precise.

The martial arts director repeatedly praised him.

Coincidentally, the actor playing the Taoist priest was also experienced with wire work. The two changed into their wire harnesses and, at the call for action, delivered their lines from the script and began sparring.

The morning’s filming passed just like that.

By noon, the crew’s logistics team delivered boxed lunches.

Xue An ran to get them and exclaimed happily upon opening his: “Wow, the director actually gave us two chicken drumsticks today! Xiao Yi, you worked hard today, I’ll share one with you—”

Halfway through his sentence, he stared blankly at the two extra chicken drumsticks in his box.

But that wasn’t all—Jing Yi actually placed the other two meat-stir-fried vegetable dishes from his own box into Xue An’s bowl.

“I’ve been wanting to eat lighter recently.”

Before Xue An could refuse, Jing Yi picked up his lunch box and went over to the food truck. One box of rice wasn’t enough—he couldn’t get full on that.

“Sorry, we don’t have any extra rice.” The person in charge of meal delivery apologized, then thought for a moment and added, “How about this—the crew for ‘Desperate Rescue’ not far away is also supplied by us. Let me go ask if they have any rice left?”

“Alright, thank you for the trouble.”

Jing Yi returned to the stone step with his lunch box and sat down, eating his meal properly.

A short while later, the food truck staff member returned.

“Here you go.” It was a full box of rice, with grains that differed in size and sheen from those used in Seduce the Monk. “I heard Mr. Jing stopped the tiger that Film Emperor Lu adopted? Well, this rice was specially shared by Film Emperor Lu when he heard you didn’t have enough.”

“Oh?” Hearing this, warmth flickered in Jing Yi’s eyes. “Thank you. I’ll find an opportunity to thank Mr. Lu.”

“Alright, enjoy your meal.”

In the afternoon, Jiang Wenwen, who had been resting, returned to the set.

With her cooperation, there were no further mistakes during filming, and they smoothly progressed the plot to after the village murder case investigation.

In the storyline, the fox demon Shui’er develops affection for Xuan Kong after these events. After much thought, she decides to take the initiative to seduce him into intimacy.

Demons act on impulse—once the thought occurs, they act immediately.

The night scene began.

Xuan Kong was performing evening prayers in the Buddha Hall when Shui’er, dressed in red gossamer, did her utmost to seduce the meditating monk.

Jiang Wenwen no longer disliked Jing Yi and threw herself into this scene with great effort, holding nothing back.

The effect was that the demoness in translucent gauze exuded allure from her eyes and brows, rubbing suggestively against the devoutly chanting monk.

The candlelight flickered, the scene was intense, and the men present were finding it hard to restrain themselves. Some with more cunning thoughts even envied Jing Yi, their gazes drifting toward a certain part of his body.

Yet Jing Yi remained unshaken, as if he felt nothing at all, solely focused on reciting scriptures.

His composure was truly remarkable!

The cameraman couldn’t resist giving Jing Yi several close-up shots.

After this scene was filmed, some night shots were added, including one where Xuan Kong carved a wooden memorial tablet for the deceased rabbit.

There was extra wood, so Jing Yi asked the director for a piece. Back at the hotel, he used a small knife to carve a miniature memorial tablet.

The name engraved on the tablet was Jing Yi.

Though he didn’t know the reason for his transmigration, that Jing Yi had died silently, unnoticed by anyone… He felt he should do something, praying for his soul to find a good place in the next life.

After finishing the tablet, a group notification suddenly appeared in the crew’s chat.

Jing Yi opened the group chat.

“Everyone, come out and welcome Teacher Lu to the crew. @everyone”

A wave of exclamations and cheers followed, with Xue An being the most active. Amid a flood of cute welcome stickers, an @Kong also appeared.

This account belonged to the original Jing Yi, with the username simply “Kong.”

“Welcome, Mr. Lu, to the group,” Jing Yi slowly typed out and sent.

Lu Yuzhi, who had been silent until then, replied, “Thank you, everyone. After work, I’ll treat everyone to a meal.”

The group erupted in excitement again. Although Jing Yi had learned how to use a phone from the original’s memories, he was still a novice and found typing quite cumbersome, not particularly fond of chatting.

He set down his phone, about to recite scriptures for that Jing Yi’s salvation, when the screen lit up again.

“Yuzhi requests to add you as a friend.”

Jing Yi was momentarily stunned by the message.

In this world, a WeChat account was a very private thing, not something shared with anyone other than close friends and family. In the entertainment industry, these boundaries were even stricter.

With Lu Yuzhi’s status, why would he add him as a friend?

Thinking that he did have something to say to Lu Yuzhi, Jing Yi accepted the request and proactively started typing.

Before he could finish, a new message arrived from Lu Yuzhi, whose profile picture was a tiger named Lu Yi.

“Good evening. How is your arm?”

Jing Yi had to abandon the message he was composing and replied, “It’s fine.”

“I consulted a friend. After sudden overexertion, to prevent soreness the next day, you need to massage it for 30 minutes.”

Lu Yuzhi’s reply came quickly.

“Thank you, I’m alright.”

After Jing Yi sent his message, on the other side of the screen, Lu Yuzhi looked at Jing Yi’s profile picture—a smiling selfie with heavy photoshopped makeup—and couldn’t help zooming in.

The facial features in the photo were the same as the Jing Yi he had met today. Only the aura was worlds apart.

Was it because he had shaved his head?

Lu Yuzhi minimized the picture and continued watching the chat box.

Jing Yi was still typing.

“Thank you for the rice today. How is Lu Yi?”

“He’s fine. I’ve already arranged for a specialized veterinarian to care for him. Lu Yi had a good appetite tonight, though he kept whimpering in his cage.”

“Why was he whimpering?”

Lu Yuzhi smiled, found an old photo of Lu Yi, and sent it over.

“Lu Yi is very clingy to people he likes. Even when I’m with him, he doesn’t stop. I think he must be missing you.”

The photo showed an intimate picture of Lu Yuzhi with a tiger. In one shot, Lu Yuzhi was about to exit through a glass door while Lu Yi clung to his leg, biting his clothes to prevent him from leaving.

Jing Yi couldn’t help but smile faintly as he slowly typed, “Lu Yi is adorable.”

Seeing this praise, Lu Yuzhi naturally extended an invitation: “If you have time, you should visit him too. It’ll help him forget the pain. Although he’s a tiger, Lu Yi is quite timid and afraid of pain. After getting vaccinated, he’ll lick his wound and mope for days.”

“Alright,” Jing Yi agreed to the invitation. Glancing at the time, he added, “Mr. Lu, you should rest early. I still have evening classes to attend, so I won’t disturb you further.”

Lu Yuzhi’s gaze lingered on the words “evening classes” for a few seconds. Recalling the information he’d previously researched about “monks,” he wanted to ask Jing Yi: Are you studying for a role?

But since the other party had already indicated they were ending the conversation, he could only suppress the question and close the chat window.

Just then, his assistant called.

The script for “Seduce the Monk” had been sent over.

“Boss, is it necessary to invest in such a small production? And you actually agreed to make a cameo? It’s not really like the rumors say, that you’re trying to promote that young actor named Jing Yi, is it?”

“Yes,” Lu Yuzhi didn’t conceal his intentions in the slightest. Given his capabilities and status in the entertainment industry, there was no need for him to hide it.

“…I see.” The assistant fell silent for a moment before continuing, “Jing Yi has had a rather poor reputation before. He was always trying to latch onto influential people to advance his career. The fact that he landed the male lead in this web series… he might have taken some shady shortcuts…”

This was a subtle warning.

Lu Yuzhi had already looked up Jing Yi’s past news. Or rather, the entertainment circle could be both vast and small—he had long heard about Jing Yi’s previous behavior.

But Lu Yuzhi trusted his own judgment.

His mind involuntarily recalled Jing Yi’s smiling face from earlier in the day. Curling his lips, he replied to his assistant, “I know what I’m doing. By the way, coordinate with Guo Lin. I’ll be fully responsible for tomorrow’s meals.”

Before going to bed, Jing Yi also received the script.

Xue An sent a voice message, his tone uncontrollably excited.

“Oh my god, Xiao Yi, you must be about to have a stroke of luck! The screenwriter added a new character, and Film Emperor Lu will have a scene with you tomorrow! Make sure to read the script carefully! Oh man, I definitely won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

Changing the script again?

Jing Yi opened it and scrolled to the bottom.

The new character added by the screenwriter for Lu Yuzhi was named Liao Chen, a pure human Buddhist cultivator. Liao Chen settled in the mountains and, after hearing villagers say that a tiger demon often harmed people there, went to convert it. The tiger demon was sharp-tongued and ended up debating Buddhist doctrines with Liao Chen.

“I was born a tiger demon, destined by nature to feed on flesh and blood. What you call converting me is nothing more than making me abandon my innate nature and turn vegetarian. Such a cruel act that goes against my original will and violates the natural order of the world—how can you commit it?”

Liao Chen only chanted Buddhist mantras without replying.

The tiger demon pressed further, saying, “Why should I lay down my butcher’s knife and sacrifice the bloodthirsty cultivation method I’ve practiced until now? This is unfair to me. Since you, monk, preach compassion with every word, how about this: you follow the example of Sakyamuni Buddha and offer your body to feed the tiger. Then I will willingly abandon my demonic cultivation, devote myself to Buddhist practice, and only perform good deeds from now on.”

The tiger demon thought these words would make Liao Chen give up on converting him.

Unexpectedly, Liao Chen actually brought him back to the temple.

“I am willing to offer my body to feed you, but before that, you must practice cultivation with me in this temple for forty-nine days. If you can accomplish this, I will believe that after devouring me, you can covertly cultivate Buddhism.”

The tiger demon became intrigued and made an agreement with Liao Chen.

After forty-nine days passed, the human and the demon fulfilled their vow before the Buddha.

Having abstained from meat for forty-nine days, the tiger demon, now able to eat flesh, revealed its savage nature and swallowed Liao Chen whole in one gulp. Yet, after devouring him, it found the act meaningless and wept bitterly, shaving its head to become a monk.

From then on, the mountains and forests lost a Liao Chen and a tiger demon, but gained a Buddhist cultivator with the Dharma name Xuan Kong.

After understanding this part of the script, Jing Yi lowered his gaze with a soft sigh and continued reading.

The evil cultivators’ conspiracy was exposed, and in their shame and anger, they joined forces with their fellow disciples to attack the temple.

Xuan Kong fought one against three without being at a disadvantage, but the fox demon Shui’er lacked the skill and was captured.

Xuan Kong gave up resistance, and the evil cultivators released the fox demon, only to unleash a fatal strike on Xuan Kong. At the critical moment, Shui’er threw herself in front of her beloved, taking the blow in his place.

Shui’er died, but the evil cultivators did not cease their attacks.

While resisting, Xuan Kong spat out his inner core to revive Shui’er. In doing so, his true form was revealed, and he died under the evil cultivators’ assault.

Demons can harm humans, but they can also save them. The evil cultivators looked at each other in disbelief, unable to accept that the one who had battled them with pure Buddhist teachings was a tiger demon. At that moment, a monk descended on a cloud—it was Liao Chen.

Liao Chen revived the tiger demon and, with a few words, enlightened the evil cultivators. He then took Xuan Kong away, leaving only the fox demon Shui’er behind, clasping her hands in a bow.

After reading the entire plot and visualizing the scenes in his mind, Jing Yi suddenly felt a strong surge of interest in tomorrow’s acting with Lu Yuzhi.

Even though the Liao Chen in the script was fictional, he still wished to cultivate alongside such a venerable monk.