The restaurant is elegantly and comfortably furnished, with a spacious space with carpets, sofas on all sides, and many brightly colored paintings on the walls. Under the soft light, all the furniture and utensils shimmer with a soft glow. The dining table covered with white tablecloths, delicate knives and forks, and red wine swaying in the candlelight reflect Kate's beautiful face.

According to the theorem of "the protagonist is not dead", Kate knew in her heart that O'Connor would be fine, but Lin Mingyang said the most thrilling part of the story vividly, and her eyes still revealed a strong worry, "What happened next?" ”

O'Connor touched the face of the queen in the coffin, and the corpse, which had been preserved for thousands of years without decay, turned into ashes in an instant, and the dune demon 'Dumi', which was parasitic on the coffin, lost its life barrier and quickly withered. The terrible insects they had encountered outside the door before swarmed and devoured Duyimi's body in an instant, and finally all of them poured into the small round hole in the center of the stone platform where the coffin was placed, and disappeared. ”

"That's the end of the story?" Kate propped her chin on her hand and listened in fascination.

"This is the end of the expedition to the ancient desert city, but the story is not over." Lin Mingyang shook the wine glass elegantly, looked at the red wine swirling inside, and said, "After escaping from the 'ghost cave', they returned to the UK smoothly. While taking a shower, O'Connor noticed an eye-like red mark on his back, as did his wife, Rachel. ”

"Is that mysterious curse?" After listening to Lin Mingyang's narration, Kate immediately thought of a possibility.

Lin Mingyang smiled and nodded, "All the people who survived the expedition to the ancient city have similar symptoms, the most serious case is Sophie's father Conston, the eye-like mark on his back has turned dark purple, and then he began to be delirious, and it was accompanied by intermittent shock. The hospital couldn't find any problems, and all the doctors were helpless about this strange disease. ”

"This curse is definitely the clue for the next episode of the film!" Kate smiles and leaves a suspense at the end of the credits, a common tactic used in Hollywood commercial blockbusters, "Tell me, where are they going to venture in the next episode?" ”

"Well..."Lin Mingyang deliberately made a very hesitant look, and after successfully arousing Kate's curiosity, he spread his hands very scoundrelly, "I haven't thought about the plot below yet!" ”

Kate glared at him angrily, this morning she suddenly received a call from Lin Mingyang, saying that she was asking her to come out for dinner at night. Although Kate couldn't figure out why this guy suddenly ran to Los Angeles, she still dressed up seriously and happily went to the appointment. Lin Mingyang took over the entire restaurant and went to great lengths to create a romantic effect of a candlelit dinner, and Kate always felt that he was not just here to tell her stories.

Lin Mingyang used a knife to cut the steak on the plate into small pieces, and then stuffed it into his mouth piece by piece with a fork. He chewed something in his mouth and said, "After the exam, I'm going to go to China during the winter vacation." ”

Kate looked at the fruit salad on her plate and said an absent-minded "oh".

Lin Mingyang swallowed the last piece of beef on the plate into his stomach and wiped his mouth with a napkin, "I know you happened to be free during that time... If you don't mind, we can go together. ”

"Together?" Kate didn't expect Lin Mingyang to make such a request. She was stunned, and then stared at Lin Mingyang with a suspicious face: "Are you really traveling to China?" ”

Under Kate's bright and clear gaze, Lin Mingyang was really embarrassed to lie, he scratched his head and smiled awkwardly: "The main thing is to travel, and by the way, I will also do an investigation!" ”

The clever Kate immediately linked Lin Mingyang's trip to China with the story he had just told, "Are you going to go to the northwest of China?" ”

"You know where too?" This time it was Lin Mingyang's turn to be surprised.

"Some time ago, the BBC's geography channel introduced that area of China." Kate explained.

"You still like to listen to the radio?" Lin Mingyang nodded with relief, "But the BBC report definitely didn't say anything good." ”

"They say that the desertification in that area is very serious, and the sand and dust that rolls up from there can not only blow to Yanjing, the capital of China, but can even cross the ocean, affecting the capital." Kate relayed the exact words from the BBC radio without comment.

Lin Mingyang shrugged indifferently, "Sure enough!" ”

Kate saw the disdain in Lin Mingyang's expression, and asked curiously, "Aren't they right?" ”

Lin Mingyang shook his head, "On the issue of desertification, they are very objective, and this problem is indeed very serious in northwest China. ”

"Then why did you have that look just now?"

Lin Mingyang pouted: "Because they will only tell you how serious the desertification is there, but they will never tell their audience that Chinese films are from that place to the world, and then slowly recognized and accepted by people." ”

"But that's a geo channel broadcast!" Kate explained helplessly.

"Okay, let's put this topic on hold for now." Lin Mingyang made a pause gesture, "Would you like to go with me?" ”

Kate asked puzzled: "But you haven't answered my question yet, why did you go there to investigate, you are just the screenwriter of the sequel to "The Mummy", and investigating the filming location should be what the director does." ”

"Well, in addition to being a screenwriter, I'm also the executive producer of this film." Lin Mingyang spread out his hand, "Beautiful and touching Miss Beckinsale, do you have any other questions?" ”

This kind of flattering and beautiful words came out of Lin Mingyang's mouth, even if it was in a joking tone, it still made Kate's cheeks slightly hot.

"Can't you be serious?" She glared at Lin Mingyang with some shame, she pretended to be angry, but her sweet and joyful eyes betrayed herself.

"Alright then!" Lin Mingyang sat up straight, tidied up his clothes, had a very serious expression on his face, and sent a formal invitation to Kate: "Let's go to China together!" ”

"But you're going to work, is it appropriate to take me with you?" In order to show reserve, Kate did not directly agree.

"This trip to China is just to investigate by the way, tourism is my main purpose!" Lin Mingyang once again emphasized the purpose of his trip to China.

Kate bit her lip lightly, still thinking about it, seeing that the heat was almost the same, Lin Mingyang's hand that sat down magically conjured a letter of intent, put it on the table, and then gently pushed it in front of Kate.

"What is this?"

"Remember the story I told you earlier?" Lin Mingyang put his elbow on the dining table, ten fingers clenched against his chin, "I have always stubbornly believed that you are the best actor in the story of Susan, and while agreeing to be the executive producer of this film, I also recommended you to Universal... Of course, this is not a condition for forcing the surname, even if you don't want to play this role, I still hope you can go to China with me! ”

-- The distant mountains are actually a large undulating desert high above the river. The fine sand raised by the breeze, like morning mist rising on the golden waves of the desert, slowly drifted towards the road at the foot of the mountain. An off-road vehicle was speeding on this desert, and it was Lin Mingyang and Kate who came together, there were four people in the car, and next to the driver sat the tour guide of their trip to northwest China.

It has been nearly a month and a half since Lin Mingyang and Kate's last candlelight dinner, and it is now the early spring of 2006, when Universal Pictures has not officially announced the filming plan of "The Mummy 3: Phantom of the Ancient City" to the media, but the preparations have been carried out in advance. The film is confirmed to be directed by Stephen Sommers, and the male and female protagonists of the film are still Brandon Fraser and Rachel Weisz. At Lin Mingyang's strong request, the filming location of the film was chosen in Beibao Western Film and Television City, Zhenbeibao, China.

Outside the car window, the vast Gobi Desert is full of boundless sand and gravel, there is no human population at all, not even a tree can be seen, and there are only clumps of withered yellow camel grass and sage grass everywhere. The car sped by, and the gusts of wind lifted the yellow sand into the air, like smoke rising from the flats, whirling and running on the desert.

Soon, a desolate castle appeared in the business, and a desolate and quaint charm came to the face. Who would have thought that an ancient castle of the Ming Dynasty abandoned in the western desert, although it does not have the magnificent ruins of the Tang Palace in the Qin capital, will shine so dazzling today, hundreds of years later.

The old fort on the east side of the road along the mountain has been eroded by the wind, and only the remnants of the wall remain, and the shape still exists. Crossing the loess road in the city to the north is the ruins of the old fort urn city, and then 200 meters north is the new castle. The city of Xinbao is relatively complete, the wall body is rammed with loess, there is a semicircular urn city in the east, there is a slope on the south side of the city gate to climb the city wall, there is a corner tower originally built at the four corners above, and the base site is still faintly visible.

"Now the ancient castle along the highway is commonly known as the 'old fort', was built in the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty, is the barracks of the ancient military fortress, was destroyed by the earthquake in the three years of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, and has a history of 500 years. According to legend, when General Han Yu, a general of the Ming Dynasty, was preparing to build a castle in this area of Helan Mountain, he asked the so-called 'Mr. Feng Shui' to see the 'Feng Shui' here, Mr. walked around, saying that this place is in the middle of the Helan Mountain Range, there is a 'Wolong Huaizhu potential', and there is a 'dragon vein' extending down, predicting that there will be an emperor and a general here' in the future, so Han Yu decided to build the castle here, and it became the current Zhenbei Fort. On the bus, the tour guide introduced the history of Zhenbei Fort to two American guests who had traveled from afar in fluent English.

"Did that prophecy come true?" Kate asked curiously.

"There have never been emperors and generals here throughout the ages, but there are a lot of film and television works, stars and famous directors that have caused a sensation in the world film industry." The Chinese tour guide is not very old, the young man has thick eyebrows and big eyes, thick lips seem to be carved out of stone, but his eloquence is top-notch.

According to him, the films made here have won many international awards, but Kate herself has never heard of it. She looked at Lin Mingyang beside her with doubts.

Most of the award-winning films filmed in Zhenbeibao Western Film and Television City were filmed in the first decade of the last century, because the interval was too long, Lin Mingyang couldn't remember it clearly. What he has a little impression of is Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum", which makes him really remember this place, or the classic "Journey to the West" starring Stephen Chow.

Faced with Kate's doubts, he had to make up a barely plausible reason. "All the films made here were art-themed films, and at that time, there were no real commercial films in China. They have won awards at some film festivals in Europe, and you don't know much about them in the UK! ”

Kate nodded in relief, and then she changed the subject: "You said there are two castles here, but why didn't I see it?" ”

Lin Mingyang couldn't explain this, he could only ask the guide sitting in the front row for help with his eyes. The Chinese young man nodded knowingly, and explained in place of Lin Mingyang: "Because in the Qing Dynasty, in order to defend against the invasion of foreign tribes, the army guarding here built a slightly larger earthen castle than the 'old castle' less than 200 meters next to the destroyed 'old castle', which is the so-called 'new castle'. It was built in 1740, about two years after the old castle was destroyed, more than 260 years ago. ”

He pointed to a dilapidated earthen city wall outside the car window, "This kind of ancient castle, commonly known locally as 'Tu Wai', is a unique 'earth-covered building' in Northwest China. The ancient people also paid attention to local conditions, local materials, the castle wall did not have a single brick and stone, completely rammed with loess. Because of the weathering eyes here, after hundreds of years of rain, snow, wind and frost and man-made destruction, by the fifties and sixties of the 20th century, the majestic capital of the border fortress has disappeared. ”

Since he was here for tourism, after getting off at Zhenbeibao Western Film and Television City, Lin Mingyang did not rush to the location of the film "The Mummy 3: The Phantom of the Ancient City" to inspect the progress of the project, but took Kate around to visit.

The establishment of the Western Film and Television City has brought new vitality to the ancient castle that was said to be in decay and decline in the past. When the average person walks through these familiar film and television scenes, lingering in the props that are inseparable from the real and the fake, they may feel like they have arrived in a dreamlike movie world. And Lin Mingyang is not very interested in these props and built scenes because he is making movies himself. He walked in it mostly with a feeling of emotion and nostalgia.

Kate is different, because of cultural differences, she is full of curiosity about everything here, and Lin Mingyang takes pictures of her everywhere she goes, and in the end Lin Mingyang basically became her full-time photographer.

The most interesting thing is that everywhere Lin Mingyang and Kate went, those small traders and vendors would flock to sell souvenirs to them. In this kind of tourist attraction, the best thing to earn is foreigners' money, because they never bargain, and when they meet someone they like, they will give as much as they want.

Because of the language barrier, when introducing the price, they will compare a number. Generally, the price is not particularly excessive, and Lin Mingyang will not stop it. These small traders also came out to eat with their mouths, and it was not easy for everyone. But when encountering that kind of price that is too outrageous, Lin Mingyang will pull Kate to leave directly, and if it doesn't work, he will shake out a sentence or two of fluent Chinese, and then in the stunned eyes of the small trader, he will leave.

(To be continued)