Brother Dao Took the Entertainment Industry by Storm, Fans Beg Me Not to Kill Anymore

Chapter 753: Thief Catcher 2 Premiere

This was Father He and Mother Heʼs first time attending an in-person premiere.

Even after they sat down, they were still somewhat nervous, clutching their hands and glancing around.

People around them kept trickling in, mostly young, and almost everyone raised their phones to take photos as soon as they entered. Even Hemiao was holding up her phone, taking shots everywhere.

Father He and Mother He looked this way and that, not understanding what everyone was photographing.

It was just a regular screening hall! The only thing was that the poster at the front was really handsome!

It was the poster for Thief Catcher 2.

In the center was Jiang Rushu, played by Pu Rong. Maybe to match the frontier theme, Jiang Rushu’s outfit this time was thinner; beneath the brim that shielded him from sand and wind, his sharp eyes showed, and behind him stood Shen Jue and the Penglai Inn landlady, along with other important characters appearing in this installment.

Behind them, naturally, was the endless desert.

The poster’s design couldn’t be called avant-garde; it felt more like a retro wuxia poster style. People had seen it before and didn’t find anything special, but older Father He liked it a lot. Seeing everyone else taking photos, he decided to be fashionable and lifted his phone to snap a few pictures, planning to boast on Moments later that his daughter had taken him to see Xiao He’s new film and that he might see the star in person—he was positively proud about it.

Mother He couldn’t help whispering in a hushed voice, “When will Xiao He show up?”
“Mom, don’t worry. He’ll come out after the movie ends.”

Hemiao answered softly, but before she knew it, she noticed her father had already started chatting with the young man in the adjacent seat.

The young man wore glasses, looked refined, and had a sports camera and microphone clipped to his chest, clearly a review-type blogger.

Maybe because it was rare to see a whole family out fangirling in person, the blogger took the initiative to ask Father He about his impressions of the movie and the actors.

“Whoa, let me tell you, don’t think just because I’m old I don’t follow stars!”

Once middle-aged people get talking about something they like, they switch into social-butterfly mode and start talking non-stop. Father He launched into an enthusiastic discussion of the Xiao He works he’d seen over the years, apparently knowing even more than many other fans.

The blogger listened, delighted, practically treating Father He as valuable footage for his video. Hemiao covered her face beside them.

Dad, stop talking so much! This guy’s out to stir trouble! Be careful you don’t become famous online in a bad way!

“If I had to pick my favorite role, it’d definitely be Song Chenye.”

Father He, unaware of his daughter’s worry, answered without hesitation when the young man asked which Xiao He character he liked most.

“Eh? But didn’t you just say your favorite film was Thief Catcher? Why is your favorite character Song Chenye?”

The blogger immediately spotted a hook.

“Well, mainly because Shen Jue’s Bone-Cleaving Knife Technique is terrifying. I think that character is dangerous and doesn’t speak much—I don’t like dealing with people like that. But Song Chenye is a good man, and he has a moral scale in his heart. As long as someone doesn’t do evil, getting along with him makes for a reliable comrade…”

Father He spoke plainly, sounding like he was sincerely considering who would make a good brother. Those listening couldn’t help but smile.

Then the blogger asked him right away, “Then who’s the character you like least?”

“That’s got to be Meng Zetian.” On this question, Father He answered reflexively and without hesitation. “A lackey! A traitor! Someone everyone should spit on!”

Yeah, that was hardly a surprising answer.

Hemiao felt both embarrassed and amused and sat pretending not to know him.

Luckily, the topic didn’t last long.

At that moment, the lights in the screening hall went out.

Immediately, the previously noisy auditorium fell silent.

Even Father He, who had been talking non-stop about his views, shut up and told the young man beside him, “Young man, let’s chat later. Let’s watch the movie first.”

So everyone turned their attention to the front.

The familiar dragon logo flashed by, and Hemiao felt a swell of pride she couldn’t hide.

Who would have imagined that the Thief Catcher, which first appeared that summer, would get into theatrical release, even break into the May Day season competition and quietly gain the upper hand?

And in a blink, the once just-sprouting Xiao He had become a mainstay of the film’s promotion.

How could those who once liked Xiao He along with others not feel proud and pleased?

Soon, those thoughts drifted away along with the story unfolding before them.

In the desert, a group of figures pressed on through the storm…

-

This time, Thief Catcher 2 did not begin like the first film by opening on the protagonist Jiang Rushu.

It opened amid a vast sweep of yellow sand—

In the great desert, sand filled the sky, wind cut like knives. A squad of ragged messengers trudged laboriously forward.

Their armor was tattered, their faces weathered and cracked by sand, eyes rimmed with fine bloodshot veins, satchels of important dispatches tied at their waists.

Gales slammed grit against their armor with a series of brittle clacks. Someone staggered and fell, and a companion immediately reached out to help.

Even though their feet sank in burning quicksand and every breath grew difficult, they still pressed on through the dust, sometimes leaning on one another, supporting their mates as they moved.

Besides the whispering of the wind, the air filled with muffled gasps.

Nobody knew how long they had walked before their silhouettes finally vanished deep into the desert.

No one knew their fate, no one knew their destination.

Yellow sand devoured everything. The title Thief Catcher 2 drifted away like smoke, and even the firmest convictions trembled in the wind, as if mocking the world—

“Life like duckweed, death like drifting sand.”

In the next moment, the scene shifted; the sand background faded into a darkened wooden table. A hand slapped a letter onto the tabletop with a sharp smack, and the sender’s voice carried through: “Jiang Rushu? Your letter! How long has it been—why are you just coming now?”

The barren wind noises faded; the surrounding ambient sound changed gradually into bustling market clamor, and the sand that had blown into the viewers’ minds was shaken out at the perfect moment.

A handsome, familiar face appeared on screen.

A young man lounged with one foot cocked, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, his side leaning against the counter, speaking casually: “Eh, went into the mountains to catch people, got delayed half a month—see, I haven’t even managed to change my clothes yet.”

The messenger snorted but didn’t speak. When Jiang Rushu reached for the letter, the messenger pulled back slightly and made an expressive shrug.

Jiang Rushu had to pull reward money from his pocket and place it down. “Brother, thanks.”

The messenger finally showed a bit of satisfaction, pushing the letter forward while deftly taking the reward with his other hand.

Jiang Rushu was about to take the letter.

But the next moment, something whistled through the air from behind him!

Jiang Rushu’s eyes sharpened. While pressing the envelope into his chest, he kicked away a flying bench.

A shout came from afar, “Jiang Rushu! So you’re here after all!”