What followed was another sequence—Kenshin beating down a group of armed samurai and thugs—which left Qin Yishan completely stunned.
In many action films, when the protagonist is surrounded, enemies conveniently attack one at a time. Even when they have the advantage, those behind never strike—always waiting for the hero to finish the person in front before taking their turn.
But in real group fights, who would ever expose their back?
Combat was always about high-mobility movement within tight spaces.
The problem was that most actors simply didn't have the physical ability or skill to film scenes like that.
Yet in this movie, during a full minute of combat, there were barely any cuts.
Himura Kenshin moved across the dojo floor and beams—swinging his blade, leaping up, dropping down, weaving through enemies.
The speed alone left Qin Yishan, as a viewer, slightly overwhelmed.
There were plenty of parkour videos online—
but none where someone fought while doing parkour, and did it this smoothly.
And the near single-take shot confirmed something for her—
Su Yan hadn't used any assistance like wires.
Those tools simply weren't flexible enough. Without cuts, there was no way to achieve that level of fluid movement.
["Is he even human?"]
A boy sitting next to her whispered in shock.
["Babe, the guy you like—Su Yan—his action scenes are this cool?"]
["Told you to stop gaming so much and watch more dramas. Now you get why I like him,"] the girl replied, her tone proud but also slightly stunned.
After all, the film version of 'Rurouni Kenshin' had a bigger budget, stronger co-actors, and allowed Su Yan to fully showcase his abilities—the action quality had risen far beyond the drama version.
Qin Yishan sat there, dazed.
She had come with a critical mindset—
But what was there to criticize?
The plot?
There was nothing wrong with it either.
Even without the action, the story of a former killer who, in a time of peace, wielded a reverse-blade sword—choosing not to kill, but to protect himself and others—
was already far better than those nonsensical old Xia Nation films from decades ago, where a so-called martial arts master would assault a woman who liked him, then casually say, "That's just how I am."
Qin Yishan kept watching.
After that long, uninterrupted fight scene, she felt tired just watching—
Yet Kenshin, as portrayed by Su Yan, barely seemed out of breath.
"I'm convinced…"
The last trace of her critical mindset vanished.
She was someone who valued honesty.
A good movie was good. A bad one was bad.
And within the scope of action films—
She couldn't find any flaws.
As the story progressed, Kenshin saved Kaoru with his reverse-blade sword, allowing her to understand his true intentions.
She gradually accepted this former "killer demon" who had saved her twice, letting him stay at her home.
The next major fight came when Kenshin, arrested after a brawl, encountered his old rival Saito Hajime in prison.
Saito, who wanted to recruit Kenshin and doubted his vow of non-killing, believing it to be hypocrisy, engaged him in a duel.
For this scene, Su Yan had spent heavily to hire a real martial arts practitioner from Yingdao to play Saito.
After all, even martial artists needed to make a living.
Strictly speaking, their duel still had choreographed elements—
But Qin Yishan couldn't tell.
The speed was simply too fast—
a blur of blades and motion.
In the end, due to his lack of killing intent, Kenshin was defeated, his shoulder was injured, and he was released.
After that, the antagonist Takeda Kanryu attempted to buy Kenshin with money, leading to further conflict.
This introduced another character—Sagara Sanosuke.
A burly young man wielding a massive sword, known as "Zan-Left."
From the beginning to now, the film has been nonstop action.
Qin Yishan had lost count of how many times she had been shocked by Kenshin's fight scenes.
She barely had time to think about the plot anymore.
But after all the fighting, the 'Trust & Betrayal' storyline resurfaced—
elevating the film's thematic depth.
Eleven years ago, under a full moon during the blooming white plum season, Kenshin killed Kiyosato—leaving behind a scar of resentment on his face.
Ten years ago, on a snowy morning, his meeting with Yukishiro Tomoe ended in tragedy—
And before her death, she completed the cross-shaped scar on his face.
The world Kenshin wished to create—
was one without people like Takeda Kanryu.
Still, the story continued to advance through action.
A long sequence followed—driven almost entirely by combat.
To rescue their captured friend,
Kenshin and his new ally Sanosuke stormed Kanryu's mansion.
From a logical standpoint, it was reckless.
But by now, Qin Yishan didn't care.
Of course, the villains would be defeated—
Any viewer could predict that.
Just like in Ultraman shows—you didn't need to see it to know the monster would lose.
But who watched these stories for the outcome?
People watched the process.
The result was obvious—
How it happened was the real appeal.
And 'Rurouni Kenshin: Movie' magnified that appeal to the extreme through Su Yan's action choreography.
The same story—
but a completely different impact depending on the quality of the action.
In Su Yan's previous life, Bruce Lee's films wouldn't have had the same success if performed by someone else.
It wasn't just the moves—
It was the spirit behind them.
As the film progressed, Qin Yishan's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
By the end, she found herself silently cheering along with every swing of Kenshin's sword.
Finally—
after defeating Takeda Kanryu and his guards,
The last battle began.
Kenshin vs. Udou Jin-e.
Because Su Yan had to restrain himself to match his co-actor, Kenshin initially struggled due to his refusal to kill.
But when Jin-e threatened Kaoru's life—
Kenshin snapped.
The emotional buildup, the increase in speed, the killing intent in his eyes—
all reached a climax.
And just as he was about to break his vow—
Kaoru saved herself, stopping him.
"An executioner will always be an executioner. I'll be waiting in hell to see how long you can keep deceiving yourself!"
Udou Jin-e, gravely wounded, took his own life.
The tragic music swelled.
Kenshin stood there, lost.
Just moments ago—
He had nearly broken the promise he made to Tomoe.
His heart teetered on the edge of collapse.
Then—
A voice came from behind him.
"You can save people… even without killing."
Kaoru's words grounded him.
The theme of the story was complete.
Perhaps Kaoru didn't have Tomoe's overwhelming charm—
But she was undeniably Kenshin's emotional anchor.
Qin Yishan felt a sudden jolt.
Her expression turned complicated.
The final minutes wrapped up the aftermath.
She remained seated in the theater long after the film ended.
Countless thoughts filled her mind.
This movie had far exceeded her expectations.
Walking out of the theater, her expression remained dazed—
her mind replaying Kenshin's fight scenes and Kaoru's final words.
"You can save people… even without killing."
Having never seen 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal', she couldn't fully grasp the depth of Kenshin's inner struggle—
But even what the film revealed was enough to leave her with complicated emotions toward the character.
She checked the time.
Her scheduled noon screening of 'Breaking Formation' would begin in ten minutes.
But she had no interest anymore.
After hesitating briefly—
She went straight to the ticket counter and bought another ticket for the next showing of 'Rurouni Kenshin'.
She was going to watch it again.
Then, finding a seat in the lobby, she took out her phone and logged into SakuraNet—
searching for the 'Rurouni Kenshin' drama she had heard about countless times from her friends,
but had always been dismissed because of its low budget.