After the empress transmigrated, she became the judge of the entertainment industry.

Chapter 642 Is it destiny or a cycle?

Young Master Heying did not continue to protest, but remained silent.

Dugu Rang jumped down from the carriage first, preparing to help Yue Youque from below.

The moon wanes alone as it descends, its form swaying slightly, yet its steps remain steady.

So Dugu Rang simply supported him, and the two walked towards the front.

The convoy continued to follow in silence.

There needs to be a sense of stagnant oppression here.

Although they won, the atmosphere was strange, not at all like that of a victorious army.

After all, the losses were too great. Even if the new ideals were realized and the order of the martial arts world was rebuilt, everyone was actually thinking about the same problem as Yue Youque twenty years ago.

Is this cycle about to start all over again?

But they still believed in Dugu Rang and the decisions made by the leader.

Young Master Heying rode forward and followed at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

The others remained silent, but their eyes were full of expression.

Dugu Rang paid no attention to Xiao Moyi who had followed him, but instead listened attentively to Yue Youque's words.

"The desert sand... is still so hot..."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Rang raised his eyes slightly.

It's morning now, so the sand shouldn't be that hot.

She wondered if Yue Youque was hallucinating due to his serious injuries and was misperceiving the temperature.

Dugu Rang was also the type who paved the way with rational thinking.

But she quickly realized that her master wasn't really talking about the hot sand, but rather reminiscing about the moment more than twenty years ago when he brought her back to the Flourishing Palace.

In fact, they didn't spend much time together. Soon, Yueyouque was imprisoned, and the Prosperous Flower Palace was destroyed.

It was only through mechanical devices and natural defenses that the palace was kept from direct attack.

Dugu Rang escaped back then alone. While the righteous factions were dividing up the resources, he activated a mechanism, making them realize that by the time they chased after him, they could no longer find the location of the Flourishing Flower Palace.

Then came twenty years of dormancy and recruitment, until the beginning of the story: the Demonic Cult marched straight in and entered the Central Plains in a grand manner.

These are all intermediate plot points. For now, Dugu Rang should agree with the view that the moon is waning.

"Even the sand is cold now that Master is gone."

As a result, she said something that was completely inconsistent with her rational appearance and calm tone.

These words may sound poetic, but they certainly don't sound like something Dugu Rang would say.

Yue Youque was stunned for a moment before laughing and saying, "Little Rang... has finally grown up."

Dugu Rang didn't say anything more, but instead firmly held onto his arm.

The subtext of this statement is: You probably don't need me as your master anymore.

Even though the moon is waning, he also has his own confusion. He wasn't even that happy to be rescued. Instead, his first thought was whether Dugu Rang had any use for him and that's why he came to rescue him.

After all, even though they hadn't known each other for long, he could sense that the other person was a rational person who didn't act on emotion.

Although saving him seemed like the choice only someone driven by emotion would make, Yue Youque knew Dugu Rang too well and didn't believe the reason was that simple.

There are also some plot points in the middle, such as Yue Youque not expecting that Dugu Rang would almost single-handedly rebuild the Prosperous Flower Palace and even invade the Central Plains, overthrowing the rule of the righteous alliance.

His feelings were more of a sense of loss than joy: history was repeating itself, and he wondered if Dugu Rang would become the next one.

Of course, this is because he is recovering from his injuries and is not yet clear about the post-reconstruction order of the martial arts world, hence his concerns.

So the meaning of "the moon is waning" is: you did a great job, but shouldn't there be no place for me here?

Dugu Rang's "support" was more like a firm grip on his arm, an action that conveyed an unquestionable stance.

It also affirms that I have "grown up".

"Let's go home."

Dugu Rang's simple lines are also irrefutable.

The moon waned as he smiled, and his previous unparalleled brilliance was once again reflected in that smile.

This feeling of falling from the clouds into the mud, the weakness of barely clinging to life, the indestructible pride deep within his bones, and a faint glimmer of hope—all these complex emotions were simultaneously displayed in his smile.

Then the camera zooms out, and their figures, along with the convoy behind them, become a line of small black dots. The center of the camera focuses on the faintly visible Flower Palace in the distance.

"cut!"

Qi Nanzhao shouted.

It was filmed in one continuous shot, almost entirely in one continuous shot.

She was prepared for repeated takes, but she didn't expect it to be done so easily.

As expected, Sheng Luoxin was too strong. He could create a "field" just by standing there. He didn't need to deliberately lead others into the scene. Everyone would be naturally drawn into that emotional vortex.

"Let's adjust the camera angles and shoot a few more shots."

Ye Sanqing breathed a sigh of relief; he had actually passed!

Although I really wanted to joke that Qi Nanzhao's standards were so relaxed, I remembered that he had said several times before that he was very strict, so I refrained from doing so.

Sheng Luoxin smiled at her encouragingly.

After the reshoots, there were several scenes of young Dugu Rang and Yue Youque spending time together.

These will be filmed in the afternoon and evening, and will still need to be processed in post-production. Also, Yue Youque's look will be changed to a red outfit, and Dugu Rang's look will also need to be slightly adjusted.

"Absolutely stunning, Teacher Sheng."

"Honestly, now that he's back in the spotlight, where is there any place for actors with this kind of image anymore?"

"Are you kidding me? Where can you find an actor with that kind of role?"

During the break, the others chattered amongst themselves.

Sheng Hanyu walked through the crowd. He had already changed his clothes, and he didn't have any scenes to film that afternoon. He said to Ye Sanqing, "Congratulations."

"How about it?"

"Very strong."

Sheng Hanyu's perspective was that he was watching their interaction the whole time, which was part of his character's setup.

Crane Shadow Prince has complicated feelings towards Dugu Rang and Yue Youque. In this scene, he has no lines; his eyes convey the entire scene.

However, there are many such moments in this drama, and everyone has gotten quite used to it by now.

"I was a little worried, but I'm glad everything is alright."

Sheng Hanyu smiled and said, "Now that the most difficult part has been filmed, you should be able to relax, right?"

"Well, thankfully, you can't tell how old people are in martial arts dramas. According to this setting, shouldn't I be in my thirties? No, Dugu Rang is in his thirties."

Ye Sanqing suddenly remarked on something completely unrelated.

"Perhaps Xuanji Pavilion is secretly selling face masks."

"What? You're crazy."

Ye Sanqing laughed heartily and then said, "Isn't this a new business opportunity? Let's register a Xuanjige facial mask brand and sell it. After all, the owner of Xuanjige has the art of preserving youth."

"Starting a new cosmetics company is too much trouble, I'll just find a joint venture. I'll start looking now."

As she spoke, Sheng Hanyu casually reached for her phone.

"Come on, even Xuanji Tongzi would be furious to hear that."