Wen Bing said, "Let me tell you the truth; you need some talent to be a swindler. Don’t look down on them."

Zhou Yun rolled her eyes at him speechlessly.

Continue filming.

In this scene, Zhou Yun finally had to face off with Liu Gang.

Zhou Yun’s movements were very proficient, and she exchanged two sets of moves with Liu Gang smoothly.

But after the official filming started, Wen Bing was always dissatisfied.

His dissatisfaction was mainly with Zhou Yun.

"The moves are too slick," Wen Bing said. "You need to give a sense of power."

Zhou Yun did as Wen Bing said and gave more of a sense of power, but Wen Bing was still not satisfied, saying Zhou Yun’s power was too straightforward, lacking finesse.

Actually, Zhou Yun knew what kind of effect Wen Bing wanted, but as a performer skilled in set routines, achieving the effect Wen Bing described was quite difficult for her.

They filmed the fighting scene over and over; Wen Bing took almost three days to get a shot he was satisfied with.

Zhou Yun’s hands were numb, and once back at the hotel, she couldn’t even lift them.

Liu Gang noticed her condition and gave her a bottle of medicinal liquor, suggesting she rub it on herself after each day’s filming, especially on sore spots.

Zheng Xiaojue watched Zhou Yun add a few bruises or scratches to her collection after each fight scene, feeling distressed.

"Shoot fewer action movies in the future; every time you film one, you get hurt!" Zheng Xiaojue said.

Zhou Yun, however, relished it.

"Action scenes are exhilarating," she said. "When acting, you really feel like you’re a master, it’s incredibly thrilling."

As a child, Zhou Yun watched martial arts and action films, harboring a hero’s dream.

Though most of the heroes she saw back then were male, it wasn’t until recent years that women began to appear as leads in action or martial arts films.

In filming "Female Assassin," Zhou Yun could completely immerse herself in Qiu Qian’s inner world.

She was lonely, walking alone beneath the blade, dangerous, silent, and out of sync with the world, yet she defended her inner equilibrium in her own way.

One could say that Qiu Qian’s inner world was a deep chasm, drawing Zhou Yun to explore every detail and profound mystery within it.

Even the injuries and pain she endured gave her a pathological satisfaction—she was genuinely merging with the character.

The injuries she suffered were real.

Zhou Yun did not convey her feelings to Zheng Xiaojue or Zhou Lan.

Because she knew these were sentiments unique to herself as an actor, others wouldn’t care for nor understand them.

Zhou Yun couldn’t describe to Zhou Lan or Zheng Xiaojue the excitement and tremor she felt playing this role. Every morning she looked forward to going to the set, to embodying this character—a rare feeling indeed.

Zhou Yun knew she was exceptionally fond of the character Qiu Qian. Even if this was just a fast-paced action blockbuster.

"I think she possesses a captivating aloofness that I can’t quite describe. When I read the script, I felt this character was extremely lonely, and her loneliness was amplified while being hunted by other assassins, with a constant sense of rejection by this world."

On a phone call with Yuk Chu, who was pregnant, Zhou Yun talked about her film and found she could share a bit more.

Because Yuk Chu, also being an actor, could understand her better than Zhou Lan and Zheng Xiaojue.

"You might never have felt this, but in my childhood, I often did. On the way home from school, when other students walked in groups and I walked alone, the more people there were around, the more I felt like I wasn’t in the same space as the world," Zhou Yun said. "Moreover, her obsession, persistence, and stubbornness remind me of my former self."

Yuk Chu laughed and said, "From your description, this role indeed has a big appeal to you."

"Yes, very much," Zhou Yun said. "I must say, I have never played a role that resonated with me as much as this one. ’Life’ and ’Behind the Scenes’ felt too distant, ’Chen Yin’ too tragic, and ’Deep Sea,’ don’t even mention it—my character was completely different in tone from my real life. It’s strange that ’Female Assassin’ easily brings back memories of when I was fourteen or fifteen, those unsettling and falsely tough times, resonating deeply. Yet Qiu Qian’s experiences were anything but ordinary; she was an assassin, decisive, traveling the world. Back then, it felt like the fantasy I had while wanting to escape that life—I wasn’t a high school student suffocating under study and pressure. I was living a tougher and more solitary life, misunderstood and unknown, but silent, steadfast, and invincible."