Generation Z Artists

Chapter 353 Mass Protests: Changing the Ending
As April approaches, the domestic entertainment industry is becoming increasingly lively.

Four major events are intertwined—

Cultural battle, the ending of "The Return of the Condor Heroes", Fang Xinghe's new book, a poet's epic.

The final episode of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" aired on March 21st.

Those who don't watch The Return of the Condor Heroes are arguing about culture, while those who do watch it have emptied the neighborhood streets. Every night at 8 pm during the last week, there are very few idle people wandering around outside.

When the dust settled, cries and curses erupted, shaking Chinese society to its core.

The Fang version of The Return of the Condor Heroes, starting from Yang Guo losing his arm, is imbued with a faint sense of sorrow.

One highlight after another, it's so captivating.

Gongsun Lü'e took out the real antidote to save Yang Guo, but it was snatched away by Gongsun Zhi.

Gongsun Lü'e was utterly disappointed in her father. Tears streaming down her face, she exposed Gongsun Zhi and Li Mochou's conspiracy, but was instead grabbed by Gongsun Zhi to shield her from a sword and died at her father's hands.

Casting Son Ye-jin as this kind of tragic, innocent girl is almost the best solution in Asia.

She was already moving enough when she cried before, but in the final death scene, Fang Xinghe asked her not to cry, only to have a little tear in her eyes and not to have too big an expression.

So she looked blankly at Yang Guo with her eyes.

First came apology—"I'm sorry, I can't help you anymore."

Then came the comforting words—a strained, slight smile, trying to laugh but unable to, her eyes conveying: Don't be sad for me, death is nothing to be afraid of.

Even though I'm reluctant to part—I haven't yet said "I love you" to myself.

In the end, I gave up—that's it, I'm tired, living is so tiring...

In the close-up, her gaze slowly turned cold.

I wonder how many viewers were brought to tears by this.

Gongsun Lü'e's dying scene has no lines, just like her as a person. She is never valued and has to keep all her emotions to herself.

In this scene, Fang Xinghe willingly played a supporting role, using only the simplest acting style to complement her—his expression gradually stiffened and froze, every muscle on his face was tense, his eyelashes trembled violently, and then he looked away from her corpse.

Yang Guo silently intensified his attacks, unleashing tremendous force with every strike.

However, precisely because it was out of control, the entire system was in disarray, which gave Gongsun Zhi a chance to escape.

Before chasing after him, Yang Guo let out a long roar and shattered the long sleeve of his right arm with a wave of his hand. The tiny fragments of clothing, like snowflakes, fluttered and fell towards Gongsun Lü'e's body.

In the montage, everyone present passed by her one by one, and no one looked at her again.

Gongsun Zhi believed she died a worthy death, Li Mochou had gone mad, Qiu Qianchi felt more hatred than love, Xiaolongnu only had Yang Guo in her eyes, and Huang Rong only wanted to achieve her goal of saving Yang Guo... No one cared about her.

Silvery snow-like fragments scattered across her face and body, serene yet poignant.

The last expression she left for the world was neither terrifying nor tragic. In the instant she closed her eyes, her face was peaceful, with only a single tear in the corner of her eye gleaming faintly.

As a result, the audience, who were already sobbing uncontrollably, felt even more choked up.

In Zhang Jizhong's version, the entire narrative rhythm is completely off; it focuses too much on emotional appeal but is superficial.

Fang Xinghe's handling maintains a sense of urgency regarding the current situation, using alternating shots of "overall view - close-up - overall view - close-up" to objectively depict her precarious situation.

Of course, Yang Guo had feelings for her, but his feelings were always of varying importance, with Xiaolongnü always being his number one priority.

Therefore, when Xiaolongnu was also in imminent danger, Yang Guo could only grit his teeth and swallow his pain. He could neither scream and cry for her nor lose his mind and abandon his goal.

Huang Xiaoming's performance in the 06 version was extremely exaggerated and distracting, precisely because he failed to clarify the character's logic.

Fang Xinghe was different. He swallowed his pain, his whole body darkened, paving the way for his later "abandoning life for death".

In the next episode, Li Mochou's storyline ends.

That was an extreme frenzy.

Huang Rong and Master Yideng split up their forces to pursue and intercept Gongsun Zhi and Li Mochou.

Li Mochou killed the Indian monk and made a difficult breakthrough to Love Flower Valley. Using the love flowers that covered the mountains and fields, she stopped Huang Rong, Zhu Ziliu, Wu Santong and others.

At the same time, Gongsun Zhi also shook off Qiu Qianchi and appeared on the other side of the mountainside.

"Mo Chou, catch!"

Gongsun Zhi threw the porcelain bottle containing the antidote at Li Mochou, and everyone's expressions changed drastically.

Huang Rong and the others disregarded the danger and rushed into the valley;

Qiu Qianchi stopped attacking Gongsun Zhi and used her lightness skill to chase after the porcelain bottle;
Xiaolongnu decided to get the antidote for Yang Guo, and she rushed down the white silk ribbon under her feet...

The scene was chaotic, but Li Mochou was faster in the end. She withstood Qiu Qianchi's palm strike in mid-air, laughed loudly, opened the porcelain bottle, and swallowed the antidote.

Xiaolongnu's sword was about to pierce Li Mochou's chest, but since the antidote was lost, she had no more desire to win. She gently placed the back of her sword on Li Mochou's shoulder, then flipped over and flew to Yang Guo's side.

"So be it, it is fate."

She was filled with grief, but also a sense of relief. She boldly gazed at Yang Guo's profile, thinking that dying together like this might not be such a bad thing.

But at that moment, Li Mochou exclaimed in surprise, "Why is the poison still not cured?!"

Everyone looked over, only to see blood trickling from the corner of Li Mochou's mouth. They looked up in astonishment.

At the same time, fires suddenly and inexplicably broke out in various parts of Love Flower Valley.

"Gongsun Zhi!" Qiu Qianchi cried out in agony, "What are you trying to do?!"

It turns out that Gongsun Zhi threw out a bottle of fake antidote in order to lure Huang Rong, Yideng and the others into a trap. His real purpose was to trap them all in Love Flower Valley and clear the way for the Mongol army.

Only now did everyone realize that Gongsun Zhi had already surrendered to the Mongols and had been plotting so many schemes behind the scenes.

The righteous martial arts practitioners cursed and swore, but Li Mochou was indifferent to them. She just stared at Gongsun Zhi and asked, word by word, "If you want to kill someone, I can help you. I only ask you: why is the antidote fake?"

Gongsun Zhi clenched his fists, his fingertips turning white, and his gaze drifted towards Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu.

"My sincerity towards you... Heaven and earth can bear witness..."

Ken Watanabe perfectly portrayed Gongsun Zhi's pain and reluctance to part with Li Mochou. He genuinely admired Li Mochou, but as a powerful figure, his ultimate goal was to achieve his greatest ambition.

He needs to get rid of Huang Rong and Xiaolongnu, but he needs to keep Guo Jing and Yang Guo.

Guo Jing was able to continue defending Xiangyang, while the enraged Yang Guo was the best weapon against Jinlun and Möngke.

He was not simply a Mongolian spy, but rather Ashu's loyal hound.

Li Mochou vomited blood due to the poison, and drops of blood fell onto the Love Flower, instantly scorching the petals. Instead, she smiled: "Gongsun Zhi, you once said... that only you and I in this world share the same suffering."

Gongsun Zhi closed his eyes, a tear sliding down his cheek.

"Don't worry... I have my reasons. As for the antidote... the Lord has already made arrangements."

"arrange?"

Li Mochou's voice suddenly calmed down as she asked and answered herself, "Yes, you're just like me, always waiting for someone else to choose us. But when it comes to actually choosing... you won't choose me."

Li Mochou pulled out the blood-red jade hairpin from her hair and stared at it intently for a moment.

That was a gift from Gongsun Zhi.

The poison took hold of her, causing her vision to blur and her body to sway.

The domineering and proud Gong Li has her own unique style when playing vulnerable characters—her expression is stubborn, her eyes are empty and desolate, and the full emotional tension is overwhelming.

Gongsun Zhi felt a great pain in his heart and hurriedly stepped forward to reveal the biggest secret: "Quickly protect your heart meridian, calm your mind and breath. The Love Flower Poison is different from the secret Love Flower Pill. There is still another way to cure it!"

"what!"

Li Mochou let out a cold laugh, used her internal energy to shatter the blood jade hairpin, and threw it back to Gongsun Zhi, who caught it in a panic.

She looked up at the sky, which was dyed red by the firelight, and smiled gently: "Lu Zhanyuan chose his wife who is as beautiful as a country woman, Master chose his junior sister who is as pure as ice and snow, and you chose your grand career and your cowardly remaining life. As for me... today I can finally choose myself."

She spun around and waved her Taoist robe, causing two flames to erupt from the theatrical costume with flame patterns called "Burning Passion Fire," which burned fiercely.

The love flower releases a mesmerizing fragrance when exposed to fire, yet she remains unusually clear-headed amidst the aroma: "This scent... is much cleaner than the 'love' you all talk about."

Despite being engulfed in flames, she stood proudly and quietly.

The montage footage flashes through her past.

When she was young, her master would distribute pastries, always letting her junior sister choose first, and then she would get the rest.

In his youth, Lu Zhanyuan said, "Wait for me," but turned around and grasped He Yuanjun's hand.

At that moment, Gongsun Zhi's lips were moving, but she could only hear the howling wind of the flames.

The wind carried a voiceover—

"It turns out that all my life has been waiting for one sentence... This time, I'll choose you."

Gongsun Zhi stood frozen in place, fragments of the blood-jade hairpin falling from his fingers and instantly covered by the love flower.

Feeling distressed, Xiaolongnu took Yang Guo's hand and asked, "Senior Sister... must be feeling very wronged, right?"

Yang Guo replied, "She didn't die from hatred, but from her unwillingness to live a life of dishonor. I think that at that moment, she must have found a peace she had never known before."

……

Mao Xiaotong cried like a big tabby cat, her head aching from the effort.

She wanted to see what everyone was saying in the official fan cafe group, but she couldn't stop crying, and everything was blurry.

I woke up feeling groggy and went to school. I took another nap at noon, and by evening I finally felt a little better. Damn, there's a new twist in "The Return of the Condor Heroes"!

Yang Guo had already decided to die with Xiaolongnu, so he threw the Heartbreak Pill off the Broken Heart Cliff.

At Huang Rong's urging, Xiaolongnu buried herself at the bottom of the valley, deceiving Yang Guo into believing she was the only one who survived.

Fang Xinghe's performance at this moment presents a distinct sense of perspective—on the surface, Yang Guo is relieved and smiling, invigorated, and believes everyone's lies; but in the deeper spiritual world, he is in pain and despair, and his affectionate eyes are constantly glistening with tears.

This stark contrast in expression and gaze transformed Yang Guo from a boy into a man.

Every viewer can clearly see that he is sick; the real Yang Guo has curled up in darkness and silence, leaving everyone with only an empty shell.

Until their reunion 16 years later, Fang Xinghe presented himself as a heavy, lifeless corpse.

He no longer possessed any evil, rebellious, or wildness; when facing Guo Xiang, he was like a gentle elder.

Unlike Huang Xiaoming, he doesn't deliberately try to look cool. When he takes off his mask, one layer is revealed, underneath which is another layer of a solidified, smiling mask.

Guo Xiang felt sorry for him, but he only said, "You're still young."

Ke Zhen'e refused to say a good word about Yang Kang, even at the cost of his life. He merely watched coldly, feeling no anger, but instead sighed, "It seems I've inherited a part of my father's traits; I don't know if it's good or bad..."

He only came back to life the moment he reunited with Xiaolongnu.

But at this moment, familiar faces began to leave one by one.

The Golden Wheel Monk died protecting Guo Xiang. Before his death, he laughed and said, "You arrogant little girl, you just wouldn't call me 'Master.' Strange, you can't even practice my Dragon Elephant Banruo, so why do I find you the most pleasing to the eye? What a tragic fate!"

Guo Xiang cried out for her master, her nose running and tears streaming down her face.

Jinlun wiped away her tears, glaring at her and threatening, "What's the use of calling me 'Master' now? Your whole life has been nothing but karmic entanglements... Listen to your master, when karmic entanglements end... your nature... is empty..."

Jinlun died, from boredom.

Then Möngke also died, from his arrogance.

After that, death came in droves.

The last two episodes of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" were practically a massive knife-wielding spectacle.

After the first Battle of Xiangyang, Master Yideng, Yinggu, and Zhou Botong lived side by side in Hundred Flowers Valley. Not long after, the master passed away.

Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang traveled to Jiangnan, where they lived in seclusion together and never married.

The Second Battle of Xiangyang began. Ci'en Zhu Ziliu went to Xiangyang again, while Huang Yaoshi went to the Mongolian grasslands, hoping to solve the problem once and for all through a decapitation tactic, but he never heard from him again.

Before leaving, Dongxie drank with his son-in-law and daughter.

Guo Jing asked, "Father-in-law, this journey is fraught with difficulties and dangers. What if you don't return..."

"It will never come back!"

"Hahaha! Father-in-law's words deserve a big toast!"

Guo Jing was bold and unrestrained, Huang Yaoshi was carefree and easygoing, and Huang Rong smiled gently as she gazed intently at the two most important men in her life, her eyes filled with sorrow.

The war begins.

When the city fell, Guo Jing could have left, but he said, "I am no longer a chivalrous knight-errant, but the defender of Xiangyang. Since I have pledged my life to the country, I should live and die with it."

Guo Fu advised him to preserve his health and find another opportunity to retaliate, but Huang Rong, who always loved to use schemes, stroked her head and said gently with a smile, "If we want to leave, you won't be able to leave!"

In the end, Guo Jing exhausted his inner energy and died from exhaustion. He was hit by dozens of arrows, and his blood splattered on the long street. Even after his death, he still stood holding his spear.

Fang Xinghe poured all of Yue Fei's imagery into Guo Daxia because he sincerely believed that if one could not live to a ripe old age, then only dying on the battlefield would be worthy of the title of Yue Fei.

Huang Rong, on the other hand, saved her strength to fight to the very last moment. After Guo Jing died, she discarded her spear and armor, revealing a bright red wedding dress beneath the armor. Surrounded by Mongol soldiers who were filled with fear and vigilance, she slowly walked towards her husband.

She embraced Guo Jing, whose body was still warm, from behind, and murmured, "Great hero, are you satisfied? I also have a sense of national duty. But at this moment, I am just the little wife who decided to live and die with you during our wedding ceremony..."

She channeled her inner energy, and the armor-piercing arrow pierced through her body, pinning her and Guo Jing tightly together.

"We will share the same bed in life and the same grave in death, Brother Jing, I'm here."

As she smiled happily, people across the country slammed their fists on the table and roared in anger: Fang Xinghe, you are not human!
He is definitely not human.

Blood trickled down Huang Rong's bright red wedding dress. The horse's hooves stopped beside the pool of blood. Tony Leung Ka-fai jumped off the horse, personally pulled out the heavy arrow that had pierced two hearts, examined it for a moment, sighed softly, and then tied his own sword to Guo Jing's waist.

"Give these two heroes a proper burial!"

"As the commander commands! Then..." The deputy general, who was kneeling on one knee to the side, raised his head, "Guo Polu, Yelü Qi, and all of Guo Jing's disciples..."

“Give them the respect that the people of the Central Plains desire most.”

Tony Leung glanced over, raised his hand and waved it lightly, coldly squeezing out three words through clenched teeth—

"Slaughter them all!"

Blood stained Xiangyang red.

The fire burned across the sky.

An era has ended.

The final scene of the series is an aerial view.

The Mongol army continued its advance across the Chinese land, and as the camera zoomed out further and further, the lines became clearer and clearer, revealing mountains, valleys, plains, and cities.

It was a group of ants gnawing at the dragon's body.

China...sinks.

After Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu assassinated Liu Zheng, they had no further opportunities to fight. At this moment, they stood on the mountaintop, stunned and speechless for a long time.

After a long silence, Yang Guo spoke with a bitter tone.

"I am already the greatest in the world, yet I can only break free from the condemnation of thousands and the shackles of social conventions, but ultimately I cannot escape the will of Heaven; the great edifice is about to collapse..."

"I can't control those things."

Little Dragon Girl held his hand tightly, her voice as clear and earnest as it had been many years ago.

"All I know is that wherever you go, I will go; whatever you want to do, I will do; if you die, I will not live on alone."

"Let's go!"

Yang Guo shook his head and took Xiaolongnu's hand as they descended the mountain.

The calm voice, detached from worldly affairs, drifts away in the wind.

"As I grow stronger, people try to give me more and more, but from beginning to end, there is only one thing I want—to be with you."

I'm so tired of this. I don't want to spend my whole life searching for some other meaning, like my senior sister did.

You are my everything. Wherever I am, with you, I have everything.

"Me too, Guo'er, I only live for you."

Two lonely souls became one, and every word they spoke came from the bottom of their hearts.

The Return of the Condor Heroes has come to a complete end.

But until the screen went completely black, the camera remained firmly fixed on the land of China, rather than on the backs of the two people.

This is director Fang Xinghe's deepest expression.

Fang's version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" raises a new question beyond "What is love in this world?"

Were the Condor Heroes carefree? Stable? Happy?

Or perhaps... it's mostly out of helplessness?
This subtle and profound questioning gives the Condor Heroes an exceptionally rich and profound charm, leaving a lasting impression.

But in reality, regardless of whether it has this ending or not, no one can find peace...

So many charismatic characters, dying one after another, how are we supposed to remain calm?

Even the most hard-hearted person would shed a couple of tears!
You son of a bitch Fang Xinghe, you owe me back my tears, you owe me back my feelings!
Just after the 21st, the contact numbers of the four major TV stations were instantly overwhelmed, as people across the country made outlandish yet "reasonable" demands of Fang Gou: reshoot! Change the ending!

(End of this chapter)