Somewhere in an alternate universe, drama producer Yu Zheng is still filming his massacre drama adaptation of the wuxia novel Return of the Condor Heroes. It’s been seven years since the last major remake starring now top C-movie stars Huang Xiaoming as Yang Guo and Crystal Liu as Xiaolongnu. I’d be happy if we went another seven without a remake if the alternative is this upcoming crap fest. I’ve been studiously ignoring news from the set since seeing new pictures of Michelle Chen as Xiaolongnu is akin to sporking one’s eyes out. Especially when Yu Zheng leaked “romantic” stills of the rape scene made to look like some sorts of fantasy first night. Ugh. Chen Xiao always looks really sneering in his stills as well, like he knows this is paying his dues and he hopes to come out smelling like roses because he’s just that charismatic. The C-media and netizens continue to mock everything from the production because the jokes write themselves. That stopped this week hence this post – Yu Zheng got two big stars to cameo in a pivotal flashback roles and it’s a doozy of gorgeousness. Dong Xuan (see above) filmed her cameo appearance playing Lin Zhao Ying, the female founder of the Ancient Tomb Sect, which is the sect Xiaolongnu belongs to.

I can’t believe I never thought about Tong Xuan being perfect to play Xiaolongnu, but the second her stills came out as Lin Zhao Ying the C-netizens exploded with fawning praise over how beautiful she looks and how utterly suited she is to play Xiaolongnu. I wonder what Yu Zheng is thinking to keep bringing in gorgeous actresses to further emphasize how unsuitable his own leading lady in this drama is? Also filming a cameo appearance in this drama is Yan Kuan playing Wang Chong Yang, the founder of the Toaist All Truth Sect. In the novel, Wang Chong Yang is the undisputed most powerful of the elder generation martial artists, though he is matched in skills by Lin Zhao Ying. They like each other but she’s much too persistent in wanting him for herself whereas he wants to help the world. She challenges him to one final duel where if he loses, he either has to live with her in the Ancient Tomb forever or else become a Taoist priest (and never get married). She cheats in the duel (the famous one where she writes on the rock face) but never could imagine that he would pick the option of being a Taoist priest and goes to find the All Truth Sect. Decades later, when Yang Guo is chased out of the Sect by the priests and runs smack into Xiaolongnu, she takes him in because the founding mantra of the Ancient Tomb Sect is that all Taoist priests are horrible assholes. LOL forever, I love the anger of a woman scorned. Check out the first pretty stills from this upcoming drama, as well as a few new ones of the leads.

I literally have no sorry to feel for Lin Zhao Ying after she shoves her loverboy between a rock and a hard place, and then he chooses the hard place and she ends up living in a rock all alone and her hair turns all white. I think the Ancient Sect ladies just keep scaring their dudes away. Lin Zhao Ying and Li Mu Chou, with only Xiaolongnu raising her own man from when he was a boy and thus ensuring he’ll only ever love her and only her. Not a bad idea.

C-netizens literally wrote on this still below “Be careful Xiao Xiao, she’s gonna to smush you!”