The main plot of “Xuanji: Transformation” is not overly complex, essentially boiling down to a typical adventure story of protagonists saving the world.
The three main characters, newly recruited to the Anomaly Management Department’s Bureau 19, encounter a series of strange occurrences across various locations. Separated from others during a mission, they accidentally stumble upon villains conducting a ritual to forge an evil bead. They manage to kill the villains with great difficulty, but the unformed evil bead disperses into three streams of turbid energy, merging into their bodies.
The three protagonists vaguely sense that the evil bead’s formation process hasn’t ceased. Bureau 19 analyzes the situation and believes that the previous events were deliberately orchestrated to find vessels for the evil bead. The bureau uncovers ancient documents about the evil bead, written in an extinct script that no one can decipher.
After extensive inquiries, they hear of a bookstore owner in a remote town who might be knowledgeable about the ancient script. With strange events still occurring and Bureau 19 short-staffed, they dispatch one of their elite core members, He Jing, to lead the three protagonists in search of the bookstore owner, Liu Nanyue.
Liu Nanyue successfully decodes the ancient text. To forge the evil bead, an enormous array must be set up. To prevent its completion, they naturally need to destroy the array. Once the evil bead is fully formed, there will be no way to destroy it.
Subsequently, He Jing leads the protagonist team on a journey to destroy the array. Liu Nanyue volunteers to assist, which He Jing initially refuses. However, when Liu Nanyue follows them anyway, He Jing, finding him highly suspicious, decides to keep him in the team under his personal surveillance.
With the cooperation of their comrades from Bureau 19, the protagonist team undergoes arduous adventures and battles. They naturally succeed in destroying the array and capturing the main villain. The hints of each character’s background that emerge during this process lay the groundwork for subsequent series.
Jiang Lin’s character, He Jing, is recognized as the strongest combatant in Bureau 19. In reality, He Jing is a person whose “body time has stopped” – in other words, he’s immortal. Having lost most of his memories, he suddenly appeared in a village thirty years ago, was taken in by Bureau 19, and has been working there ever since.
Li Qianxing’s character, Liu Nanyue, is an orphan adopted by a master as a child. However, his master was not a good person, but a professional con artist who specialized in swindling wealthy families. He adopted Liu Nanyue because having a child made it easier to deceive people.
Liu Nanyue didn’t have a good childhood, but as he grew older, strange knowledge began to appear in his mind. At sixteen, he engineered the exposure of his master’s scam. His master was arrested, and Liu Nanyue, as a victim, finally gained freedom.
The true identities of He Jing and Liu Nanyue are not revealed in this work. However, Tang Yu has already completed the design, and the full character profiles were included in the introductions Yan Yi gave to Li Qianxing.
Five hundred years ago, another incident of forging the evil bead occurred. The ancient text in Bureau 19’s possession was a summary of that event’s course, written by the Imperial Advisor of that time.
Back then, everyone was groping in the dark, and with the poor transportation conditions of ancient times, they managed to kill the person conducting the ritual but failed to destroy the array in time, allowing the evil bead to manifest. In desperation, the Imperial Advisor reasoned that since the evil bead was forged using humans as vessels, they should gamble on using humans to destroy it as well.
Two individuals whose cultivation methods were most suitable for countering the evil bead were He Jing and Liu Nanyue.
It was almost certain that destroying the evil bead would cost them their lives. Despite He Jing and Liu Nanyue’s usual mutual dislike, they both volunteered without hesitation. After careful consideration, the Imperial Advisor attempted to let them share the burden, hoping for a slim chance of survival.
That slim chance indeed appeared. After drawing the evil bead into their bodies, the two didn’t die immediately but fell into a deep slumber. Their cultivation methods began to slowly erode the evil bead. However, it was uncertain how long this process would take and whether they would ever wake again.
The Imperial Advisor placed them in a location rich in spiritual energy. Due to their different cultivation methods, He Jing’s body stopped in time, while Liu Nanyue’s body gradually reverted, becoming an infant.
Five hundred years later, the landscape had changed. Liu Nanyue’s master stumbled upon this place by chance and took Liu Nanyue away. Shortly after, He Jing awoke and descended the mountain.
If the “Xuanji” series successfully reaches its fifth installment, all of this backstory will be revealed. He Jing and Liu Nanyue will recover their memories and truly awaken, discovering that they have become one with the evil bead – one thought leads to enlightenment, another to demonhood.
Li Fengqin plays the role of the Imperial Advisor, mainly appearing in He Jing and Liu Nanyue’s memories. Tang Yu first wrote out the scenes featuring these three characters. These shots will appear as silent, fleeting memory images in the first installment, and by the fifth installment, they can be directly used as plot segments with the addition of audio.
That “red thread” is actually a magical artifact later forged by the Imperial Advisor, placed at a vital point to activate when sensing the evil bead’s aura. Originally just a mechanism, it now includes a spectral image of the Imperial Advisor, adding some suspense.
Li Fengqin’s scenes are limited to these. Given that she, Li Qianxing, and Jiang Lin are all skilled actors with ample experience, they completed all their scenes in two and a half days. On the afternoon of the second day of filming, Qi Jingnian sent her back to C City.
In the afternoon, Li Qianxing and Jiang Lin continued filming the ancient memory scenes. The production team had only rented the location for one day, so all these scenes had to be completed today, expected to last until nine or ten in the evening.
*
As evening approached, Li Qianxing finished filming a scene, and Jiang Lin took over for the same setting. The boxed meals had already been delivered, and they planned to take a break to eat after this shot.
Li Qianxing didn’t return to his car first, opting to sit at the edge of the set waiting for Jiang Lin.
Suddenly, he heard someone calling him—”Li-ge” “Qianxing.”
Li Qianxing turned his head to see a man and woman, both in period costumes, walking towards him with smiles. They were former co-stars he had worked with on romantic scenes.
He stood up and shook hands with them. “Xiao Zhou, Zhao-jie, what a coincidence.”
Sister Zhao: “Indeed, what a surprise. Our crew is just next door. We heard you were filming here and came to say hello.”
Xiao Zhou: “Long time no see, Li-ge. It’s rare to see you in period costume. You look great.”
Li Qianxing politely replied, “You both look even more beautiful and handsome than before.”
Sister Zhao glanced at Jiang Lin, who was still filming, and joked, “You’ve set a precedent with this second collaboration. Do I have a chance to work with you again?”
Xiao Zhou chimed in, “I’ve signed on for an upcoming drama, but we’re still missing the other male lead. It’s a Republican-era piece. Are you interested, Li-ge?”
Li Qianxing: “You probably know my habit…”
Sister Zhao and Xiao Zhou finished in unison, “Reading the script.”
They exchanged glances and laughed together.
As the three chatted casually, they heard the director call “Cut!” from nearby, followed by approaching footsteps.
Jiang Lin naturally raised his left arm, draping it over Li Qianxing’s shoulders, and greeted with a smile. “Li-ge, care to introduce me?”
Li Qianxing made the introduction, and Jiang Lin extended his right hand. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
Sister Zhao and Xiao Zhou politely shook his hand.
They had barely exchanged a few words when Xiao Zhu and Xiao Ding arrived with boxed meals, waiting to the side.
Jiang Lin glanced at them. “Zhao-jie, Zhou-ge, our crew’s food is quite good. Why don’t you join us? I can ask my assistant to get some for you.”
Sister Zhao looked at the assistants holding boxed meals in both hands and understood. “It’s mealtime for our crew too. You go ahead and eat. We’ll head back.”
Xiao Zhou didn’t insist either, only saying, “Li-ge, let’s grab a meal together when you’re free.”
Jiang Lin waved goodbye to them. As they turned to leave, he took the two boxes from Xiao Zhu. “Qianxing, let’s go.”
Li Qianxing nodded to Xiao Zhu and Xiao Ding, then walked with Jiang Lin to his own trailer. Xiao Zhu and Xiao Ding followed behind, instinctively heading to Jiang Lin’s nearby trailer.
In reality, both boxes Jiang Lin held were his own. Although Li Qianxing didn’t need to diet this time, he preferred to eat meals prepared by Xiao Zhu during filming when possible, to avoid upsetting his stomach.
The two sat down at the table. Li Qianxing glanced at Jiang Lin’s boxed meal and used his chopsticks to add some food that wasn’t in Jiang Lin’s box.
“They just came to say hello. We only chatted briefly.”
Jiang Lin gently squeezed his hand, smiling softly. “I know.”
After a pause, he continued, “But, knowing is one thing. Seeing two people who’ve pursued you show up at once still makes me a bit jealous. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine soon.”
Li Qianxing was surprised. “How did you know they pursued me?”
Jiang Lin: “That rumor about you is quite famous. I’ve looked up everyone who’s played your love interest.”
Li Qianxing: “In my view, they were just caught up in their roles at the time. As time passed, those feelings naturally faded.”
Jiang Lin: “That’s debatable. Didn’t you say the same about me back then?”
Li Qianxing: “You’re different.”
Jiang Lin’s smile widened, but he continued, “Even if they had given up before, seeing you now might reignite those feelings, right?”
Li Qianxing looked up at him. “If you’re feeling insecure, we can go public.”
Jiang Lin was taken aback.
Li Qianxing: “Going public won’t affect me, but I’m worried you’ll be accused of riding coattails again.”
Jiang Lin held his hand once more, a rare blush coloring his face. “You’re even better at coaxing people than I thought.”
He then shook his head. “I don’t mind being accused of riding coattails. But I feel our relationship is our private matter. There’s no need to deliberately make it public for others to judge.”
Li Qianxing thought for a moment, then nodded. “True. Let’s just let things unfold naturally and see how fate arranges it.”
Jiang Lin picked up some of Li Qianxing’s favorite dishes with his chopsticks. “Though, showing off our relationship a bit wouldn’t be bad. It’d be like a treat for our CP fans.”
Li Qianxing: “How do you want to show off?”
Jiang Lin smiled: “Let’s eat first. After we finish filming tonight, I’ll give you a back massage. We’ll have Xiao Zhu take a photo.”
*
The “Xuanji: Transformation” crew was filming at a studio lot. Given the strong purchasing power of the 99CP fans, some paparazzi had also come to snap photos of Li Qianxing and Jiang Lin.
Since the last variety show, CP fans had been starved for new content for over a month. Now they were eagerly anticipating some insider to release new material.
Around 10 p.m., a wealthy fan finally posted in the super topic:
[99’s raw photos are amazing! No editing needed, I’ll post them as soon as I’ve picked the best ones. Here’s a video clip to entertain everyone first, I’m dying of laughter. [Video]]
CP fans swarmed to the post, rapidly increasing the video’s views, reposts, comments, and likes.
The video showed the segment where Li Qianxing was chatting with Sister Zhao and Xiao Zhou, followed by Jiang Lin joining them.
[Oh my, Qianxing is surrounded by his harem [big laugh].]
[One empress and two concubines, what a dramatic scene [big laugh]]
[Lin-ge comes over and immediately puts his arm around Qianxing’s shoulders. I can smell the jealousy from miles away [big laugh]]
As everyone was getting rowdy in the comments, they suddenly received a notification that Jiang Lin had posted on Weibo. They rushed to check it out.
[Jiang Lin V: Just finished filming. Li-ge says my hands are strong, and my massage is more comfortable than the assistant’s. He had so many wire stunts today, he must be exhausted. [Back massage photo.jpg]]
CP fans who arrived at the post: Is this the empress’s declaration?!
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