Fang Zhou prepared two large stage plays, "Journey to the West" and "Legend of the White Snake".
The actors selected for these two plays were disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect. They were very cooperative, partly because of the rewards, and partly because they found performing on stage quite fun and engaging.
The initial rehearsals went smoothly. Although these disciples had no acting skills—stiff expressions and monotone delivery of lines—Fang Zhou didn't mind, since they were just extras and background characters; as long as their voices were loud enough, it was fine.
However, problems arose with the leading roles. The actors Fang Zhou chose, who matched the roles in appearance, performed even worse than the extras, not even reaching the passing line.
In "Legend of the White Snake", the most important characters were the White Snake, Xu Xian, and Fa Hai. Xu Xian and Fa Hai could even be considered secondary, but the White Snake was crucial.
