This starts off with grand Master Wu Yidao (Anthony Wong Chau Sam) and his Pregnant wife going to battle Grandmaster Miao Renfang also known as Unbeatable (Alex Fong) at the Snowy Mountain. The are fighting because of an ancestral promise, where 4 adopted brothers were fighting for the Han Generals against the Manchu in a losing battle. The General split their books of martial arts into 4 books and hid a clue to the treasure of Kublai Khan in each one. Then Wu’s ancestor pretended to kill the Gerneral, but actually saved him, leaving the other brothers thinking Wu was a traitor. Miao doesn’t particualarly like his other 2 adopted brothers, especially the evil Tian Guinong, who has secretly started working for the Manchu emperor and is working to kill both Miao and Wu so he can get their books and his hands on the treasure. Wu and Miao fight for 5 days, and quickly become great friends, but keep fighting. Wu even goes off and kills Miao’s biggest enemy during the night, and they decide if they are still even after 5 days they will be friends, and stop, but Tian has an evil doctor poison the sword of Miao, and in the battle Wu is hit, and instantly dies. Then Tian has the Emperor’s men come in and Mr’s Wu is killed, though he is son is saved by a man who Wu saved named Ping Si. Ping Si loses an arm and one page of the manual the evil doctor named Yan Ji who later becomes a monk, Ping Si manages to escape with the child Wu Fei, who he will teach to hate Miao and seek revenge. Miao spends years looking for Wu Fei, but can’t find him so eventually leaves.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

Wu YIdao and his wife.

Wu Yidao

Miao Renfang

Wu Yidao and Miao Renfang fighting on Snowy Mountain.

When Miao leaves he sees bandits attack officer Nan to steal his mythical Cold Moon Treasured Sword, and he doesn’t save him, but does save his spoiled daughter Nan Lan (What a name, ha) who forces him to marry her, and when they go to his estate, spends all his money and is a total brat, always wanting more, and not caring what her husband wants at all.

Nan Lan and Miao Renfang

The couple eventually has a daughter named Ruo Lan.

Ping Si raises Wu Fei who trains in Martial Arts from the manual.

Miao befriends the members of the just Iron Flower Society, including Thunder Palm Wen Tailai and his wife Dobule Blade Luo Bing, the two Chivalrous Chagns from Xiangxi, also known as the ever-changing Black and White and the Dustless Priest, and the eventually take in Wu Fei and train the exceptional youth in many martial arts.

Thunder Palm Wen Tailai

Meanwhile the evil Tian goes to Miao and pretends to be his friend, and in order to try and get his martial arts manual seduces Nan Lan and runs away wtih her and burns down Miao manner and tries to blame the Iron Flower society, though that doesn’t work.

Tian Guinong and Nan Lan

Ruo Lan forces her father to go and try and get her mother back and they all end up at Shang Mansion, including Ping Si and Wu Fei, Shang being the wife of the man that Wu Yidao killed for Miao during the battle, and where they want the son Shang Bao Zhen to kill Miao, but he doesn’t manage it, and they manage to escape, and Ping Si manages to get the missing manual back from Yan Ji who is now a bandit, and Miao lets Tian and his wife Nan Lan go, but breaks his adopted brother status. At the mansion Chief Guard Ma his apprentice Xu Zheng and his family help Wu Fei, but they are killed except the lovely daughter CHunhua, who ends up leaving with an official Fu Khanggan, who turns out to be a very evil and lustful man, and who also has the same face as Chen Jialou the leader of the Iron Flower society.

Xu Zheng and Chunhua

General Fu Khangshan

The gerneral takes away Chunhua and makes her his concubine and has a son with her.

Wu Fei grows up and becomes an amazing martial artist and sets out in the world, and has a run in with the evil landlord Feng Tiannan who he vows to kill for killing an innocent family to steal their land. Wu Fei then runs into the grogeous (she looks like a young Maggie Cheung Man Yuk) Yuan Ziyi (Athena Chu), and when he finds out she is the apprentice of Super Nun of the Iron Flower society, begins to work with her. She is stealing all of the medals of leadership of martial societies because Fu is holding a headmaster conference so he and Tian can take over the martial arts world.

Wu Fei

Yang Ziyi

Wu Fei and Yang Ziyi fall for each other, but don’t do anything and are eventually split up when she finds out the evil Feng Tianan is actually her father and she stops Wu Fei from killing him. She finds out from her mother Jinkong who was is a Nun and used to be Yuan Yingu, who was his concubine, but was kicked out by his new wife.

Wu Fei then saves Ruolan, the daughter of Miao, and he is poisoned by poison from the poison king, though in a letter of warning from Nan Lan about Tian, and he sets off with the young Ruolan to find the Poison King and cure Miao, who he wants to fight, but only in a fair battle. It turns out hat the Poison king is dead, but they meet his young apprentice Cheng Lingsu (the Twin Gillian Chung Yin Tung) who quickly falls for Wu Fei, much to Ruolan’s chagrin. They run into her older apprentice Zue E, who is evil and who loves Thunderpalms and thinks she has a kid with him, but really it is not. And the kid is stupid and gets killed by Lingsu’s poisons, so Xue E wants revenge, and ends up going to work for Tian once again.

Lingsu

Lingsu goes with Wu Fei and Ruolan and they go to the house of Zhang and she treats Miao so eventually his eyes will be OK, but Ruloan hears that her mother has killed herself and wants to go find her, so Lingsu and Wu Fei must go to save her, and barely do, but manage it.

Ziyi then shows up and she and Wu Fei profess their love, and she gives him a jade pendant, but he drops it and she sees that Lingsu has it and leaves in a huff, and ends up getting kidnapped by the lustfull General Fu who forgets about his wife and just wants Ziyi now, and keeps letting her go and capturing he again.

Wu Fei leaves Miao and tells him he return in 7 years when Rualoan is 18 to kill him for his father and Miao swears he will let Wu Fei kill him for the debt he owes his father.

Wu Fei then manages to save Ziyi, but he is poisoned by a sex poison meant for Ziyi. Ziyi goes to find the antidote and Lingsu finds him, and knows the only cure for him is sex, so she sleeps with him. And being an honorable man, he must break it off with Ziyi and stay with Lingsu, though he still only loves Ziyi and can only treat Lingsu as his sister.

Ziyi

Eventually Lingsu realizes that by staying with Wu Fei she will make 3 people miserable, especially when they save Ma Chunhua who escaped from Fu since he only cares for Ziyi now, and she betrays them and poisons Wu Fei, but he still cares for her, and saves her child before she dies.

The headmaster’s conference goes on and Wu Fei goes with Lingsu, and of course Ziyi shows up and is saved by her father who has become a poison man thanks to Xue E and the evil Fu. And when the conference is broken up Ziyi leaves to go become a nun and forget the real world, and Wu Fei goes to stop her, but she won’t, but then Xue E takes Lingsu and the two go to save her. Xue E is killed, but her face is cured, and both Lingsu and Ziyi are poisoned. She uses her special plant that only flowers once every 7 years to cure Ziyi, but Wu Fei will need to try and grow another fruit to really save her in 7 years. Lingsu then dies, but instead of staying with him Ziyi returns to Super Nun and Wu Fei goes to Snowy mountain to grow the plant and save the one he has always loved.

Xue E

On the way Wu Fei meets Ping Si again and they go to the mountain and find the treasure of Kublai Khan and because of the wine there the flower grows, and they build a castle on the mountain and wait to save Ziyi,

Wu Fei has now become the Flying Fox of snowy mountain and does plan to fight Miao, but Tian plays a trick to get him and sends out letters from him inviting all the participants from the begging to the Snowy Mountain, and the now grown up Ruolan gets the letter and goes there too, as does Ziyi to eat the fruit,

Ruolan

They get to Snowy Mountain, including Tian, and then Ruolan waters the flower and it dies, so Wu Fei flips out and kicks her out, where she is kidnapped by General Fu who is lustful for her beauty and because she is his enemies daughter. So there is now no chance for Ziyi and they didn’t spend the last 7 years together, so they marry before heaven and she dies, and Ping Si is killed by Tian, who Wu Fei knocks off the mountain, but instead of dying he finds the treasure as well as the armor and sword of Kublai Khan and a martial manual for 2 handed fighting and he has gotten Wu’s manual so he becomes very powerful.

Miao then shows up and he and Wu Fei fight on the bridge he fought with Wu Yidao, but Ruolan tries to stop them and falls. They all survive, but are hurt. Ruolan loses her memory and is taken by Fu who lies to her and makes her his concubine, and he takes Miao. Wu Fei lives, but is hurt.

Tian returns and wounds Miao’s scapula so he loses 75 percent of his martial power, but then learns Miao martial arts from him, though Miao teaches him wrong to give him a weakness.

Wu Fei tries to save Ruolan, but she stabs him and he is captured, but gets away, and finally gets her away, but Fu takes her again and she goes back willingly to kill him, pretending to not have gotten her memory back. Fu then uses her to seduce Tian, who has taken his position in the imperial court and to poison him. She manages to poison him once, but he still kills Miao (who leaves a not for Wu Fei on his body) and then when he heads with an army to Kill Wu Fei and steal the treasure, she tries to poison him again is caught and buried alive in a coffin.

Wu Fei battles Tian at the snowy mountain and when Tian breaks Tian Yidao’s tomb the Cold Moon Sword is revieled, and Wu Fei uses it to kill Tian.

The day is saved, though General Fu gets away. And Wu Fei finally manages to save Ruolan from her tomb, and takes her back to his mountain to live together forver.

••••

After Ziyi and Lingsu died as well as Ping Si and his parents, I really though that everyone he ever died would love. At least he got some happiness in the end. Enjoyable if too sad, and certainly a bit to convoluted and ridiculous.

As with the film, this is the story of the great martial artists, Wind Nie (Nie Feng played by Zhou Wen Zhou) and Cloud Bu (Peter Ho Yun Tung), they have defeated their evil master Tian Xia Tong, and are planning on stepping out of the world of Marshes and Lakes (the martial arts world). Wind laments the death of his wife Second Dream or Di Er Meng (Betty Huang Yi), while Cloud lives with his wife Chu Chu, and her son Cloud’er Bu (who is actually the son of Jack Chen, who along with Cloud were the only students of Lord Nameless Wu Ming, and he was given an aphrodisiac by Duan Lang, who was another student of Master Tian Xia Tong, and raped her). They are living a fairly idilic life, until their lives are uprooted by the evil of a strange man who wears an ice mask, and who calls himself God, as well as Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, or Mr. Mystery, but whose name turns out to be Di Shi Tian, the leader of the evil Tian Gate. He is tormenting Wind and Cloud, and gives Second Dream a pill to awaken her from death, but when she awakens, she doesn’t remember Wind, and in fact thinks he murdered her husband.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS….

Wind NIe and Second Dream.

Chu Chu and Cloud Bu.

Chu Chu, Cloud Bu, Wind Nie, and Second Dream.

Master Tian Zia Tong

Cloud Bu with Jack Chen.

Cloud things that Second Dream is an imposter, and wants Wind to stay away, but he will not, and they part company. Cloud and Chu Chu end up running into Jack Chen, which makes Chu Chu very uncomfortable, because she can’t forget her rape at his hands, even if he was out of control.

WInd tries to get Dream to promise to stay with him, but all she wants to do is escape, and ends up hooking up with an honest knight named White Kong How, the student of master Tie Shen, a blacksmith and swordmaker. White Kong and Second Dream, slowly begin to like each other, while Wind searches for his wife, and Di Shi Tian tells Wind of his wife falling for White Kong, so Wind ends up attacked White Kong, but when he almost loses control to the demon blood inside him, he leaves completely depressed.

Di Shi Tian has also started to split CLoud from his wife, and he convinces Chu Chu, that Cloud has killed her son, so she leaves him. He also captures Dream, and helps her recover her memory, and lets her go. Wind is given the choice of saving his wife, or saving himself, and he takes poison and Di Shitian saves her, but instead of poison Wind has been given more demon blood, so he will soon lose all self control once again. Dream and Wind are reunited, but only briefly, as Wind runs, with Cloud and Dream following him. They follow a trail of bodies. They catch up to him, and WInd wants to kill himself, but CLoud stops him, and he loses all control and attacks, knocking Cloud into a river, and almost killing Dream, but a flute song makes him stop.

Cloud is thought to be dead, and is saved by Zi Ning, the blind daughter of a fisherman.

Dream find a frozen Wind, and a flute, but when she plays it he goes mad and starts attacking. Di Shitian ends up giving Wind a pill that awakens his mind, and he runs by himself to hide in a cave till he can overcome the demon blood in side of him. Dream sets off to look for her husband, and on the way finds a woman and her son who are being attacked, Dream helps them, but the mother is dieing, and she gets Dream to promise to take care of her son Long Er, and promise not to let him learn martial arts.

Zi Ning’s father wants Cloud to leave, but when he realizes that Zi Ning loves him, and he marries the girl. Chu Chu was out searching for Cloud, and meets Zi Ning, but Zi Ning doesn’t want to lose her love, so she doesn’t tell Chu Chu where her husband is.

12 Years pass, and Cloud and Zi Ning have a son Tian Er, and Dream is with Long Er is always trying to learn martial arts, and she finally agrees to show him martial arts for a year, and if he can beat her, she agrees to teach him.

Wind manages to suppress his demon side, and manages to become stronger in the process, and comes out of the cave. He ends up helping out a lady thief named Xian Luo, who starts to travel with him, and also falls for him.

Meanwhile White Kong’s master Tie Shen has a strange illness and only Tie Shen’s sword can save him, so White Kong gets set out to find out, without the help of his harsher older brother White Mie or his girlfriend Bai Ling.

Cloud is in the village selling fish, when he gets caught in a gang war, and the power of his arms has his fighting, and he starts to get flashes of memory.

Duan Lian has joined Tian Gate, and is under the auspices of Di Shi Tian’s second in command, Godmother, who turns out to be the girl thief Zian Luo, and Duan Lian is ordered to get the leadership of the Union of Monks and Nuns.

Cloud’s powers start to manifest themself again.

White Kong runs into an evil villain who turns out to be A Gou, now named Wu Er, a man who used to be treated as dog till White Kong and Dream rescued him, and White Kong wants him to turn good.

Wind ends up in a deal with Bei Ye Ziong Zhi to help his son Tie Shi Nan to try and become a better man, and the father pretends to have been killed by Wind so that he will actually practice martial arts and get better.

Dream and Long Er rescue a Buddhist master and head to Lan Ruo Temple, and they run into White Kong there who things the hidden master might be Cloud Bu.

Zian Luo tells Duan Lang to stop for leadership, because she wants to get Wind Nie to become the leader, and Duan Lang becomes quite upset. White comes to the temple and is attacked by the monks. The abbot of the temple is killed, and Dream and White Kong are blamed till they find out the second in command is evil and works for Di Shitian.

Wind comes to challenge for leadership of the Union of Monks and Nuns, and sees his wife Dream, when he hears Long Er call dream mom, he assumes that White Kong has married her, so he loses the fight to the young Long Er, and leaves his wife without even talking to her, having listened to the evil lies of Xian Luo.

Long Er gets to meet the old master in the temple, who turns out to be his father, and who passes on his skills before he dies. Dream leaves Long Er at the temple so she can find her husband. Dream finds him in Luo City, living with Xian Luo, and Wind pretends that Di Shitian has put another brain in the dead body of Wind, as he wants Dream to be happy with her new husband.

Cloud meanwhile is having pains in his arm. White Kong is given a message by Di Shi Tian which leads him to Cloud. White Kong befriends Cloud and gives his wife a drug that may cure her eyesight, but wants to get the sword, and he must get it soon, or White Mie and Bai Ling will take the family by force. Zining ends up giving White Kong the sword, so he can get it out of her life, and have a happy life with her husband, but that doesn’t last as Duan Lang attacks, and takes Tian Er captive. Wind hears that Cloud is around and tries to find him, and finds that Duan Lang has made a demon beast, which has attacked Cloud again, killed Zining and wounded Tian Er. Wind heads off to find Tian Er, while Cloud deals with his dyeing wife.

Chu Chu meanwhile has been trying to live a quite life, but Jack Chen won’t leave her alone, and eventually tries to act as her husband, though she does not love her.

White Kong returns to his master and gives him his sword, but his master is not acting like himself, and is fact his evil brother Tie Kuangtu the former emperor of Japan who makes an evil suite of armor using blood of villagers and the energy of Cloud’s sword. Eventually White Kong finds out about him, and finds his master, and tries to get him out, but only White Kong manages to escape, with White Mie and Bai Ling on his trail, but Tie Kuangtu follows in his powerful armor, and knocks White Mie off a cliff, and White King and Bai Ling barely manage to escape with the help of some of White Mie’s men.

Jack Chen meanwhile gets a invitation to a heroes meeting, and the people who are running it have taken Chu Chu and Cloud Er.

Wind and Xian Luo have saved Cloud’s son Tian Er, and Xian leads him to an incredible healer, who is also evil, but will help the child if they get a special sword from a woman named Xiu Gu and bring her head. Xiu Gu is a scared girl who turns out to be the healers daughter, and WInd ends up getting the sword, but not killing her, having him run on the lam with her servant, and the healer implants the sword in Tian Er’s back saving him.

When White Kong escapes he gets a message from his master, that leads him to Tian Gate, where he can learn an invincible martial art to try and to take revenge, and he lock his heart and become not such a good man until he has his revenge. And he hides clouds sword in the woods.

Wind ends up meeting up with Cloud’s master Lord Nameless Wu Ming, and they want to go to the Hero meeting and find out what is going on, since their is no third disciple of his who was supposed to have called this meeting. Wind ends up running into the former Japanese Emperor Huang Ying, and stops him from defiling a temple and Wu Ming leeds him to the true grave of the previous Japanese emperor.

White Kong makes it to Tian Gate and meets Xian Luo and he takes 2 of her hits in order to learn the martial arts from Di Shi Tian.

The Heroes meeting was actually arranged by the Emperor of Japan trying to retrieve the old body, but it was recovered, so it was cancelled, but Tie Kuangu shows up and causes trouble, but Cloud manages to save Chu Chu and Cloud Er with the help of Jack Chen, and they go with Cloud, but Cloud Er hates Cloud and only wants Jack Chen. And again Chu Chu doesn’t believe in Cloud, thinking he is scaring her son, even though it is his adopted son.

Wind and Dream now reunited, though she still does not think it is him, meet an ancient man named Xu Fu, who ate pheonix blood, and was the one who 200 years ago took Di Shi Tian as his pupil, and even he can’t stop him. Xu Fu clears things up between Wind and Dream are re-united finally.

Zian Luo ends up taking White Kong out of Tian Gate as a servant. White Kong ends up getting tricked by Bai Ling who he loves and Wu Er to harden his brain, so he can learn the new martial arts from Di Shi Tian, and he finally gets to battle his nemesis, but Wind lets him go, and helps him. Mie also ends up joining Tian Gate, and it turns out Wu Ming has also been captured by the gate and is held prisoner.

Cloud ends up reuniting Chu Chu and Cloud Er to Jack Chen as she will make a better wife. People from the gate take Chu Chu and Cloud Er, and Di Shi Tian makes Jack Chien promise to do something for him.

Meanwhile Shi Nan captured Tian Er, and Wind fought with him, but Tian Er uses an evil martial arts which rips off his own arms and ends up killing Wind. Dream goes to Xian Luo to use Di Shi Tian’s rejuvenating powers to bring him back to life and Zu Fu can save him from there. Xian Luo loves wind so she will do it, if Dream agrees to serve her forever after. Wind is revived, and Xu Fu wants Wind to take Xian Luo as his second wife, though he doesn’t want to, but he does convince Xian Luo that maybe she can get this.

White Mie becomes a master pupil of Di Shi Tian much to Duan Lang’s distate. Mie tells Duan Lang to get 7 godly weapons to serve him.

Wind finds out that Di Shitian wants all the strong martial artists to kill a dragon and take his essence, because while his body won’t die, he still ages, and with the essence he will not age. Di Shi Tian wants to kill Wind now, though Zian Luo does not want to do it.

Mie also gives Dream a poison to turn her evil and attack her husband, and she kills him, but it is a trick, because the poison didn’t affect her thanks to Xu Fu. Dream gets Cloud to join Tian gate to help Di Shi Tian. Di Shi Tian and his followers, including Jack Chen, and Cloud go to Dragon Island to battle the dragon, and Wind comes to help. The dragon is killed, but the essence is split into 7 parts. Di Shi Tian kills Jack Chen to get his piece and ends up getting 2 pieces, while Cloud and Wind each get one.

Wind and Cloud help the dyeing Po Yun who works for Di Shi Tian, and they take him to see his son he has never seen, and the woman he left, and as he is about to die, Cloud gives him his piece of the essence to save him.

Fend ends up fighting Duan Lang, but doesn’t kill him, and spares him. Duan ends up meeting a woman he saves Du Yunling, who swore to stay with him, though he doesn’t really care.

White Kong and Wu Er go to Tian Gate to steal the Dragon Essence, but they are caught and Wu Er is killed. White Kong tries to kill Di Shi Tian, and he is killed as well, and Mie watches it, and decides he will avenge his brother.

Xu Fu decides to take Wind and Cloud to train them in martial arts, but Dream realizes that Long Er has almost been turned evil by Xu Fu, and she realizes that Xu Fu is in fact Di Shi Tian, and they go to save Wind and Cloud. They only manage to escape with the help of an old master named laugh 3 Times or Xiao San Xiao, but CLoud is badly injured, and to save him they give him the dragon essence.

Wu Ming is a captive of Xu Fu, and his martial arts are broken. Duan Luang rejoins Tian Gate, and promised to help retrieve the Dragon essence. Duan Lang takes Dream, and forces Wind to retrieve the other dragon essence or he will kill her and Chu Chu and Tian Er and Cloud Er,

Duan Lang gives Chu Chu a choice to save her son Cloud Er, or to save Cloud’s son Tian Er, and she coses Tian Er, so she gets back to Cloud with the dead Tian Er, and ends up killing herslef, as she feels she killed her son, and Cloud is left alone.

Xu Fu learns a new martial arts skill, because he can’t mix the dragon essence with his phoenix blood, so he is lessening his powers so he can never age. Duan Lang tells Mie about it, and Mie attacks, but doesn’t succeed, and Wind goes in as well with Dream and almost kill Xu Fu, but Duan Lan helps him escape, but then kills him and takes the dragon essence, becoming ultimately powerful and evil.

We find out that Meng is pregnant as well, and then she is captured by the much more powerful Duan, and he wants to kill her but Du Yunling stops him and lets her have her son. She then sets to save the child, and escapes with her own son, which Huang Ying takes thinking it is Cloud’s son, and gives it to Dream. She then leaves with their actual son, which they will never get, and he holds a party for the son to draw out Wind, Wind and Cloud attack, Wind with his new martial arts he has learned which once beat Xu Fu, and Cloud unable to die, but he is badly hurt. They manage to get out with Dream though. Dream wants Wind to leave with her, but Duan Luan will execute whole cities if he does not return so he fights, and just in the nick of time Cloud shows up and the 2 kill Duan Luan at last.

And Wind and Dream leave with the child of Duan Luan they think is their own, and Cloud heads off to look after Tian Er.

••••

The end of the series, though obviously not of the story. I wonder if they will do more? I would love to see it!!!

REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS…

The first story is the one that inspired A CHINESE GHOST STORY. It is the story of Ning CaiChen a bumbling and innocent self described Post Horse who brings messages and things to people who are too far out of the way to get regular post service. Ning CaiChen goes to a small village where the students are missing their teacher, and sets out to find him, he is Chen Santai, but Chen Santai went to a temple in an evil village and was killed by the evil demons who dwell there, but his body was taken by the Black Mountain Old Monster to use as his own.

Ning CaiChen tracks down Chen, but first runs into Yan Cauxia a blind Taoist Priest (Eric Kot Man Fai) who saves him from some demons. Ning CaiChen then meets up with a fox spirit Xiao Ching, who along with her sister Bing Er work for grandma the Tree Monster who desires human male souls to make her more powerful. The sisters are meant to give the man perfect dreams so they die happy and content and the souls are the best, but the sisters are cursed to turn to dust if they ever fall in love by Grandma, which happened to their eldest sister. Xiao Ching tries to find Ning CaiChen’s dreams, but he has no big aspirations, and realizes he just wants to be with her, and they begin to fall in love. And we learn the priest was blinded fighting the Black Mountain Old MOnster, and was then found by the Tree Monster who loved him and took care of him, and had a child with him, nursing him back to health, but when he realizes that she was a monster he turned on her, and killed their child, and she was crushed and started seeking out men’s souls. We also learn it was she who blinded him.

The Black Mountain Old MOnster wants to marry Xiao Ching, and kills her sister and attacks the tree monster, who eventually must work for him. Xiao Ching takes a potion from the priest so she can have one good night with her love before she turns to dust, but their love saves her, but then the Old Mountain Monster takes her. The priests ex wife ends up attacking, but instead gives her power to the priest since she has realized love still exists thanks to Ning CaiChen and Xiao Ching, and they end up all fighting the monster, though she is mortally wounded. The priest admits he was wrong, and that he still loves her before she dies. The 3 then battle the old monster, with Ning CaiChen playing Chen Santai’s flute to distract the Old Monster and they defeat him, but Xiao Ching is killed, but no longer cursed so she will be reborn. Ning CaiChen heads to Xiao Chings homeland to settle and finds Xiao Ching re-incarted as a butterfly, and realilzes he can still spend his life with her.

The Priest and Ning CaiChen.

••••

I always Loved a Chinese Ghost Story and it is interesting to see this different adaption of the story. It makes me want to read the actual story, but I don’t think it has ever been translated into English. Oh well, at least I can have the films and this soap opera.

••••

The second tail really had me fooled for a good while, and I really got into it. The first episode had me tricked completely though as to where it was going. This begs the question of why do women fall for bad bad men….

This is the story of Wang Anxu, an artist and scholar who is married to the beautiful and high class Chi Hui.

Chi Hui.

Chi Hui has a beautiful and faithful maid named Zi Yan. Chi Hui becomes convinced that Zi Yan will steal her husband, so she plots to make her out as a thief. Zi Yan is to be cast out, but instead she kills herself by throwing her body into the well. Chi Hui is then disturbed by the ghost coming back, and starts to freak out. And we come to think that Zi Yan will be the villain, but we are of course wrong.

Wang Anxu ends up doing artwork for the Emperor and for his Mistress Shi, and they see the beautiful princess Ming Xia, as well as Chi Hui’s cousin Shi who wants Wang Anxu to paint a beautiful picture of a woman for him and brings Wang Anxu a special paper made out of human skin, and he finally paints a painting for Shi, who ends up giving the painting to him, and the woman in the painting comes out, coming to life.

Wang Anxu while out on the town sees a woman, the actress Ruan Han Mei, who he mistakes for his old lover San Niang, who it turns out he drove to her death, in fact causing her to be burnt to death. When Ruan Han Mei runs away from her masters, Wang Anxu takes her in, and has her stay at his art house, which is in the Plum Grove, and he loves her, and wants to stay away from his wife.

San Niang

He ends up going to a Taoist monastery and a priest sees that he has been affected by a ghost, and when he returns to the Plum Grove he sees Ruan Han Mei with her face off, and she is burnt, and she puts on the skin painting to cover the burns on her face, because it is San Niang. We learn that San Niang was a high class courtesan, who did not sell her body, but her skills. Wang Anxu courted her, and they fell in love, and she gave him everything so he could go and become a scholar, and promised to come back and marry her. Eventually she came to the city to find him, but he was already interested in Chi Hui, San Niang had had a kid. He gave away the kid, and ended up burning her in his house. And she as a ghost was willing to forgive him, but again he is evil to her, and uses charms to trap her, and then is going to burn her in his plum grove, but she is saved by Cousin Shi, who dies trying to save her.

San Naing comes back to take revenge on Chi Hui, but he is helped by the priest, but still she eventually manages to take out his evil heart. And even after San Niang has told Cui Hui that Wang Anxu will just kill her when he is done with her, she insists the priest help him back to life. So Wang Anxu is brought back.

Then he finished his painting for Mistress Shi, which is the excuse he used to stay with the ghost San Niang, but while there he sees the Princess Ming Xia again, and he starts to court her. and during Chi Hui’s childbirth, he has the midwife kill her. Wang Anxu then marries Ming Xia, but on his wedding night we see both Cui Hui and San Niang as ghosts ready to take revenge.

Ming Xia nd Wang Anxu

••••

I may be a sucker, but I really enjoyed this and got into it, and felt bad for all the women.

••••

The 3rd story is a fun one, the story of a moron, whose father is owed a favor and gets him a wife, but a special wife.

Wong HUngli saved a wolf in the past, and it turned out to be the thousand year old wolf Yu Yuji who has a child Xia Cui who she hates because she reminds her of the husband that left her.

Yu Yuji

Xia Cui

Xia Cui is nice and curios and has learned some of her mother’s powers though her mother won’t train her, and always works with the Pearl of the Night which she stole from Heaven. Wong Hungli and his wife have a moron of a son Wong Yuan Feng, who they want to be taken care of, so they want a wife, and Wong Hungli asks the Fox, and she forces her daughter Xia Cui to marry him. At first she just plays with him and makes of a fool of him, but she does help him to study. Eventually she falls more and more for him, as he is a kind sort.

XIa Cui and Wong Yuan Feng playing as emperor.

Eventually she wants to try and make him smarter, but her mom won’t help, so she gets help from her mom’s evil sister the snake Sheji, to help her use a snake to transfer her own energy into her husband Yuan Feng. SHe is successful and Yuan Feng is smarter, but he is now a bastard, and it turns out he is under the power of Sheji, who has also become the Empress. And he is now a brutal fighter and evil man.

Wong Yuan Feng as a warrior.

Yu Yuji and Xia Cui when attacked by Wong Yuan Feng.

He goes on the emperor’s orders to capture all the foxes in the bamboo forest and even fights his own wife. And Yu Yuji is captured by Sheji. Xiao Cui gives the pearl to Sheji in exchange for her mom’s life, but Sheji betrays them and sends Yuan Feng after them, but he can’t hurt his wife, and instead he is badly hurt. Xiao Cui tries to save her husband, but her mom, moved by the love, vows to help her get the pearl back and save him, she does this by using his body. Sheji is betrayed at the palace, and is wounded, and the mother and daughter attack and get the pearl, and Xiao Cui saves her husband, while her mom fends off the God of Thunder who is there for the Pearl, and he wins and takes the mother and daughter back to heaven.

Yuan Feng is saved, but a moron again, and he misses his wife, but she manages to come back.

••••

This was cute, and I really enjoyed it.

••••

The 4th story is kind of brutal. My least favorite,maybe only because it does come down to that many men are evil at heart, though there is still goodness and love in the world at least.

This is a story about a bet between 2 underworld judges Judge Situ and the Redfaced Judge Lu who decide the fates of ghosts that have entered the underworld.

Judge Lu

They make a bet about the nature of man, weather a stupid person would be good or bad if he was given a smart heart. This is because they got the ghost of Bai Yang an illiterate pharmacist who was killed by the court for giving medicine that killed people, but he was tricked by an evil pharmacist. His son Bai Yongchong has tried to clear his fathers name, but with no success, and is very poor, and all he can do is re-open his father’s store (where he helps a stinky taoist priest which will help him greatly later), and keeps trying to see his fiancee who he loves deeply.

This is Bai Yongchong

His fiancee is Zhang Xiao Man. There families had promissed them at birth, but they are actually deeply in love, though the Zhang family is high class and trying to do everything to stop the marriage as they hate Bai Yongchong.

Bai Yongchong and Zhang Xiao Man in one of the times she has snuck out to see him.

Judge Lu meanwhile has picked his target, and he wants to give a smart heart to Zhu Erdan, who is an idiot, but kindly and takes care of his father, and has a kind though not beautiful, but martial arts skilled wife Shaorong who cooks stinky tofu to pay for them to live.

Shaorong and Zhu Erdan.

Judge Lu takes the smart heart of a scholar (who fought with Bai Yongchong just before he died), and while he gives the smart heart to Zhu Erdan, Bai Yongchong is blamed for the scholars death, and the now smart Zhu Erdan must defend him in court, which he does, but he also falls for the beatiful Zhang Xiao Man. And Zhu Erdan slowly becomes more evil. He defends people in court who are unprincipled, and does it for money, and he covets Zhang Xiao Man.

Then when Zhang Xiao Man goes out to meet her lover, she goes to the wrong temple and a man tries to rape her, so she dies instead of being raped. Zhu Erdan watched this, but instead of helping went and got Judge Lu, and when they find the dead body he convinces Judge Lu to exchange her head with the head of her wife.

When Bai Yongchang finds out, he accuses Zhu Erdan of killing Zhang Xiao Man, but Zhu Erdan gets off with the help of Judge Lu and tries to have Bai Yongchang put away.

Meanwhile in hell Zhang Xiao Man is causing trouble for Judge Lu because she wants her head back and wants to see Bai Yongchang before she is reincarnated.

When Bai Yongchang gets out of jail, he decides to kill himself so he can see Xiao Man, but he meets the old Taoist who helps him leave his body and go into the undeworld so he can see Xiao Man, and get some justice. He ends up talking to the Yama, the king of hell, who makes Judge Lu return the head to XIao Man’s body and to Shaorong, but Zhu Erdan is still out and he kills the body of Bai Yonchang. Then it turns out the Taoist was in fact the emperor of the east mountain from heaven, and he allows Bai Yongchang to come back to life with Xiao Man and they are allowed to grow old together.

And the punish Judge Lu and Zhu Erdan. When Shaorong is giving birth, Zhu Erdan asks to save the baby, and so his kind wife Shaorong dies, and his son turns out to be Judge Lu who makes his life miserable.

••••

The fifth story was quite enjoyable, and honestly it tricked me like the second did, having different characters than I thought.

In this story the sneaky Tao Wangsan returns home with his college friend Jiang Qianqian, and helps her from some ruffians on the way. When they get to her house, she reveals herself as a beautiful woman, and Tao Wangsan (who already knew, but didn’t let on) pursues her as she is rich and can make his life better, though he doesn’t truly love her. Her mean father Vice Minister Jiang won’t let Tao Wangsan stay with them, so he stays at a hotel, and meets a local Taoist priest Tian, who is unskilled, but they become friends. Eventually Tao Wangsan moves into the haunted villa of the Jiang’s, Jiang Villa, where one of their servants Chunhua, was with a Zhang, who was killed by a group of ghosts.

The ghosts are led by Qiurong, and have the beautiful Xiao Xie as well as a boy ghost Xiao Bia and other ghosts. Tao Wangsan does not believe in ghosts, though he does start to fall for Xiao Xie before he knows she is a ghost. The Ghosts are free spirits who have not gone to hell, so the Black Judge will want them in the underworld.

Xiao Xie.

At first Tao Wangsan is scared, but then he is having trouble with Qianqian, whose father is having a contest with the smartest scholar and the best fighter to see who can marry her. Tao Wangsan gives the ghosts each an umbrella, and walks with Xiao Xie outside, holding the umbrella, and because she loves him, she helps him win the contest.

Then when he is attacked by the ruffians, Qianqian sides with her father, and doesn’t say he helped her with them, so he is taken away and beaten almost to death, and it is only because Xiao Xie goes out and is hurt by the sun, that he is saved. She then goes and gets the priest to help him, so he can recover.

Tao Wangsan realizes he loves Xiao Xie, and must break up with Qianqian, which he does, but doesn’t realize how evil she is, and that she wants revenge. She conspires with her father.

You see the servant Chunhua was so freaked out by ghosts, and Qiurong took over her body to talk to the vice minister to find out about her life, and realizes that she was a maid of his grandfather that drank poison, but the grandfather did not, and it is the scandal of the family. So Vice Minister Jiang kills the servant girl and has Tao Wangsan blamed for the murder. Xiao Xie helps him in prison, and the priest does special magic to bring bank Chunhua, which he does, and she awakens at the court and tells the court that Vice Minister Jiang killed her, but Qianqian whose fault it was is killed to bring Chunhua back to life. And the Jiang family name is ruined and the Vice Minister kills himself.

Then the Black Judge comes and takes everyone but Qiurong and Xiao Xie, so the priest makes a special magic to help them re-incarnate, but Tao Wangsan accidentaly rips one, so there is only one. Xiao Xie wants to give it to Qiurong, but instead Qiurong realizes she has finally given up her hate, and allows herself to be destroyed by the sun. Then Xiao Xie must leave, but just then the funeral of the vice minister and Qianqian goes past and Xiao Xie disapears. Then Quirong’s coffin bursts open and she sits up scattering the crowd, and it is the spirit of Xiao Xie in the body of Qianqian and she is able to marry Tao Wangan and live together happily.

•••

A very enjoyable story about the power of love.

••••

The sixth story was also quite enjoyable, a tale of love against the odds and with some big Hong Kong actors. Of course this made it pretty gut wrenching throughout, but still enjoyable.

••••

This is the story of the Sun Zichu, a lower class man with six fingers on one hand, who is the most talented veterinarian around. He spends all his time saving and thinking about animals. It takes his best friend Gao Junning, a skilled martial artist, to drag him out at a flower viewing festival, trying to get him to see the most eligible woman in the town, Zhao Bao, but Gao Junning isn’t interested.

Zhao Bao.

Zhao Bao and her maid Xio Rong

At the Festival a rich and spoiled man named Chao Shaoan (Cheung Tat Ming) comes and is his usual arrogant self. He wants to marry Zhu Bao, but she has already refused him, so she puts him down again, and he and his people hurt her talking bird Bei Bei, which Zhu Bao’s maid Xio Rong takes to Sun Zichu to help.

Zichu then sees Xio rong and Zhao Bao at the fair, and unlike what he thought, he is instantly enthralled with Zhao Bao, who was playing mind twisters, and in fact got ones that the very intelligent Sun Zichu could not get, so she is as smart and kind as she is beautiful. Sun Zichu is so enthralled that his soul comes loose from his body, and he follows her to her house, but can’t communicate. Junning finds his friend, and with Gui, Sun Zichu’s servant, they take him back to his house, but it is a traveling Taoist priest Lu Benshan who is passing by that brings Sun Zichu’s soul back to his body, and gives him and Sunning charms to protect them.

Then the next day in a small rain shower Sun Zichu and Gui take shelter in a pavilion, as does Zhao Bao and Xio Rong and they quickly start talking, and spend the day together and fall in love, making a date for 5 days in the future.

The spoiled Chao Shaoan is so angry he gets his nursing mother, a power taoist named Lady Miao (Cheng Pei Pei once again playing evil. Damn I find it hard to see her playing evil, after seeing her always play good in so many Shaw brother’s movies) to help him curse Zhao Bao, and makes it so that he memory disappears, and every day she thinks it is the day of the fair. So when Zhao Bao next sees Sun Zichu, she is rude and doesn’t even know him, and Sun Zichu is crushed.

Then Sun Zichu and Junning head to Zhao Bao’s house to spy, and see her seemingly sleepwalker, and walking to the city to where Chao Shaoan is, as he is using Taoist spiritual incense to control her. They beat him, but Lady Miao shows up, and they are only saved by their charms from Priest Lu. Xio Rong then shows up and takes her mistress home. The next day Sun Zichu talks with Xio Rong and finds out about the disease, he then decides to see Zhao Bao every day and make each day happy for her.

Zhao Bao’s father has left town to go and find a high class husband for his daughter, leaving her with her sister, who is back at home after a horrible marriage. At first she doesn’t like Sun Zichu, but once she sees how earnest he is, and how happy he makes her younger sister, she lets him spend each day with Zhao Bao. Things go well, though her memory never improves.

One day Zhao Bao is so mean to Sun Zichu, and even makes him cut off his sixth finger if he loves her, which she does. And is depressed by her action, which she doesn’t understand (She is actually being controlled by Lady Miao).

When Sun Zichu returns the now healed Bei Bei, Zhao Bao is surprised that her bird could be fixed in one day, but Bei Bei tells her the truth, and Zhao Bao comes up with a plan. She doesn’t want to ruin Sun Zichu’s life, so she vows to never let him see her again, and makes her maid and sister help,and writes herself notes to explain things every morning to herself.

Sun Zichu is crushed, but vows to become a physician so he can fix his love, but then he realizes that no medicine may help, so he heads out to find Priest Lu, who he does find, and who believes it is magic. As they head back Zhao Bao gets a note saying to meet someone at a temple with a cure. She and her maid head to the temple, but it is actually Chai Shaoan, who knocks out Xio Rong and kidnaps Zhao Bao with the intention of raping her and forcing her father to let them marry. Bei Bei escapes and gets to Sun Zichu. The Priest transfers his soul into the bird, so Sun Zichu can fly and save his love, which he does, attacking Chai Shaoan, and as they try and escape they are attacked by Lady Miao, but priest Lu helps them escape.

Bei Bei dies, but not before Sun Zichu is returned to his body. Then the priest tries to help Zhao Bao, which he realizes he can’t do till the morning when Taoist powers are stronger because Lady Miao has been so cruel in her curse. He manages to save her in the morning, but he himself is killed, and sent to heaven.

Zhao Bao now remembers everything, and wants to marry his love, but her father returns and does not accept him. He vows to come in first in the Physicians examination and then marry Zhao Bao, but while studying he dies, actually cursed by Lady Miao since he again fought with Chai Shaoan who lost an eye when he fell, and has been put in prison for his attempted rape.

In hell Sun Zichu finds that the Judge is in fact Priest Lu, so he tries to get Judge Lu to help him and make things right, but he can’t. Sun Zichu refuses to forget and be reborn, in which case his spirit will be torn apart, but he wants to remember his love.

In the real world Zhao Bao is so distraught that she kills herself so she can be with her love. She can be revived if she wants to in 12 hours, but she would rather spend 12 hours with her love than a lifetime alive. Things look bad for them, but then the spirit of Bei Bei in human form comes and makes trouble in Hell to get them help to see the king of hell. They finally see him, and he looks into the real world and sees just how evil Lady Miao is, and vows to help the couple, and allows Sun Zichu to be reborn into his body as he is being carried to burial. Zhao Bao also returns to her body, much to the delight of her family who vow to allow her to marry who she pleases. Sun Zichu vows to come in first on the exam anyway, which he does with Zhao Bao’s help, and they are about to be married, when Lady Miao shows up again, and this time takes Zhao Bao to marry Chai Shaoan. Sun Zichu of course follows and is attacked by Lady Miao. Meanwhile Zhao Bao manages to talk some sense into the spoiled Chai Shaoan, because he doesn’t really understand what love is, and since she doesn’t love him they could never be happy. Chai Shaoan then tries to stop Lady Miao, but she refuses and is going to kill Zhao Bao too, but Judge Lu comes and kills her. She is irate, but he shows her the book of deaths, where she was supposed to have a long life because of deeds in her past life, but because she was so evil she lost her privileges and is now destined to die.

Judge Lu then brings Bei Bei back to the newly married couple, and they are able to live happily ever after.

••••

A lovely love story, even if it is sad watching it.

••••

Overall a great series, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Chinese soap operas!!!

The Manchu’s have recently taken over China from the Han Chinese, and have placed their own Emperor on the throne, though the current Emperor is inclined to make piece, but he really doesn’t have the power. The Prince Duo Geduo is waging a war against the Han, and martial arts have been declared illegal, and the Prince has sent out his armies to destroy the remaining martial artists, he also believes that the Martial Arts Village and the Red Spear Society they are part of has Little King Lu, who would be the last Han emperor, and could threaten Manchu power, so the Prince has sent his General Nanlan Xiuji to take out Martial Village and all of it’s inhabitants.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS… (AND LARGE PHOTOS SO MAY HAVE LONG LOAD TIMES)

Since I don’t know who most of these actor actually are, I am just going to give a
list of the cast and crew to start this off.

director
Clarence FOK Yiu-Leung – ???
Jacob CHEUNG Chi-Leung
Marco MAK Chi-Sin – ???
Gary SING
LAM Kim-Lung – ???
actor
CHIU Man-Cheuk or as I know him Zhao Wen Zhuo- ??? as Chu Zhaonan the eldest brother
WANG Xue bing as senior Fu Qingzhu
YU Cheng-Hui
GAI Chun Wa as Yin Longzi the 3rd brother
Ada CHOI Siu-Fan – ??? as Fei Honjin the Eagle of the Desert
SANG Wei-Lin
Gallen LAW Ka-Leung – ???
LI Xiao Ran – ???
CHEN Hao
Ray LUI Leung-Wai – ??? as Pring Duo Geduo
LIU Ye – ?? as Mulang the youngest brother
LEUNG Ka-Yan as the Master of Martial Village and Yufang’s father
producer
CHEUNG Kam-Yim
TSUI Hark – ??
action director
YU Cheng-Hui
Billy CHAN Wui-Ngai
YUEN Bun – ??
LING Chi-Wah
KUK Hin-Chiu
XU Xiang-Dong
SUN Jian-Kui
composer
Jonathan LEE
scriptwriter
TSUI Hark – ??
CHEUNG Chi-Sing
LI Chang-Fu
CHUN Tin-Nam
original story
LIANG Yusheng

The Prince is in the Middle and Nalan is on the right, along with the Prince’s other general.

General Nalan has been laying siege to Martial Village, but because of it’s single approach has so far been unsuccessful. One point I never quite got was where the women were, safe, but gone, or there just weren’t any anymore? Anyway, the head of the Village, set his daughter Yufang to protect the children that she taught, and 2 others Yuanyin and Zhibang (who has always been in Love with Yufang) to do jobs, which they didn’t do, while Yufang ran with the children, and with the help of a wandering martial arts master, Senio Fu Qinghzu was able to escape.

This is Yufang in the village.

This is Master Fu helping Yufang and the Children escape.

General Nalan stormed the village and many were killed, but the master and some other people managed to escape and hook up with Master Fu and Yufang. Master Fu Qingzhu turned out to be the former executioner for the Han and had killed many people, but because he had helped Yufang he was given the benefit of the doubt, and he was heading to Mount Heaven to find Master Shadow Glow and to get him to let his 4 pupils out and help save the people in Jiang Hu who are being attacked by the government troops. Master Fu went along with Yuangin and Zhibang, but Master Shadow Glow did not want to let his 4 pupils out into the world, though eventually he gave in, and he gave each of them a special sword, and made them the Seven Swordsman of Mount Liang.

Here is the eldest brother Chu Zhaonan who was given the greatest Sword the Dragon Sword, the youngest brother Mulang and the Second Brother Yang Yunchong who was given the Transcience sword.

Senior Fu was given a fixed version of his old sword so he could fight and not kill people and Yuanyin was given the Heaven’s Fall Sword with it’s sliding handle.

Zhibang here in front was given the Diety Sword that can cut mountains and clouds (pictured here with Yufang who he loved, but who only loved him as a brother).

The 3rd and most hot headed brother Yin Longzi was given a double knife sword with chains, and he can never give up his past, which haunts him and continues to haunt him through the series.

The 7 Sworsdmen head out and join up with the rest of the Red Spear Society, and he takes them to a hidden cave in the mountains with 1 exit to try and keep them safe as the General moves in with his troops. In the cave, they realize their is a traitor and Yufang is poisoned, so Chi Zhaonan is sent out to get her medicine, where he meets a beautiful slave girl names Green Pearl who he saves and begins to fall for, but lets her free since he must go save Yufang.

Green Pearl with Chu Zhaonan

Chu Zhaonan makes it back and Yufang is given the antidote, but it was a bit too late, so she isn’t fully cured and will still be troubled throughout the rest of the series, though only Mulang knows this.

The traitor is getting worse and Yang Yinchong is blamed, though he is innocent and is tied up, and is able to actually see the traitor, but the Red Spears won’t believe it is Qiu Qungluo, so as the Prince attacks with canons, the 7 swords attack his men allowing the children to attempt to escape with Yufang, but Yufang goes back to help Mulang. Chu Zhaonan helps the kids, but is trapped on a mine of the evil General Fire Wind, and the kids make it back to Yufang, Mulang and Zhibang, who escape down the river, as the Master of his village heads away with his men, and Senior Fu decides that Yang Yinchong should head back to Mount Heaven until his innocence can be proved.

FireWing with Green Pearl Meanwhile Chu Zhaonan has been captured by Fire Wind, and Fire Wind also has Green Pearl who has taken as his girl, and he keeps messing with Chu Zhaonan who claims he is only doing this for honor and good and the like, and who swears to help Green Pearl Escape. Eventually he fights Fire Wind, and beats him, but the Prince does not let him go. And the Prince makes a deal with Green Pearl where she will be given freedom and much gold if she can make Chu Zhaonan fall for her. And of course he escapes and takes her with him, and falls for her, and makes love to her, but he finds the poison the Prince gave her, and when they are confronted by Fire Wind he confronts her, and she says she did finally believe in love and kills herself on the dragon sword, and Chu Zhaonan dispatches Fire Wind and takes the body of Green Pearl in a coffin and heads back toward Mount Heaven.

Chu Zhaonan with Green Pearl

Yufang, Muland, Zhibang and the kids head away, and search for a safe place, but when one of the kids gets sick, Zhibang takes a difficult job and steals medicine to save the, just to keep them alive, though it infuriates Yufang, and when they think they are trapped the hook back up with the rest of the Red Spears. The Master wants to have Yufang marry Zhibang to help escape, but Zhibang knows she doesn’t want him, so he lets Mulang do it in a fake wedding to help their escape, which works though barely.

Then we see Chu Zhaonan burning the body of Green Pearl in the desert when we see a beautiful woman in red leaving a band of bandits called the Eagles of the Desert past, this is Fei Hongjin.

Then we go to Yang Yinchong who is out alone in the desert and becoming a bit of a drunk, as not being trusted has not set well with him, and he makes a friend of an Aierjliang a singer who is being chased by the one he loves, and when they are both very drunk Aierjliang is taken by Fei Hongjin who also takes the transience sword.

Aierjliang

Yang Yinchogn follows, and though he is unable to save Aierjliang who it turns out had helped some government troops who later destroyed the desert people’s village and made the survivors wanderers, so they stones him, and the ever strong Fei Hongjin finished him off. Eventually Fei Hongjin starts to fall for Yang Yinchong who saves her and her men by finding a hidden water spot in the desert as the Prince and his men come in to kill them and the villagers after taking their water spot. On an attack against General Nalan’s men, Yang Yinchong is wounded by arrows, and the daughter of the general Princes Nalan Minghui is saved by him, so she saves him and nurses him back to health and the 2 quickly start to fall for each other.

The Princes Nalan Minghui

Yang Yinchong returns to the Eagles of the Desert and they have also hooked up with Chu Zhaonan who has fallen for fei Honjin, but she only has eyes for Yang Yinchong.

The Prince has decided he wants to marry Minghui, though she dislikes him, but he sends her away, where she is intercepted by the Eagles of the Desert, and Fei Hongjin plans on killing her for her fathers sins, but Yang Yinchong saves her because he loves her, and they escape, and make love in the desert, and she is happy to leave with him till she searches his bag and finds a piece of clothing that must be Fei Hongjins, and when the prince arrives she leaves Yang Yingchong and agrees to marry the prince in a year if he will stop killing and end the war.

Yang Yinchong won’t let Fei Hongjin kill Minghui

Yang Yinchong tries to stop the Eagles from attacking, but can’t, and Chu Zhaonan has a plan to turn himself in and kill the prince, though Fei Hongjin doesn’t trust him, but he does it anyway, but the prince is smarter and makes them think he is a traitor even though he isn’t. And when Yang Yinchong tries to get Minghui she realizes he is part of the attack and won’t go and decides she hates him, the Eagles are mostly wiped out and Yang Yinchong and Chu Zhaonan barely escape, very injured, and when they pass out Fei Hongjin saves Yang Yinchong, though not Chu Zhaonan who thinks even his brother has deserted him, and then the Princes men come and return his sword, and even give him money and clothes. This has really become the central story-line of the piece.

Senior Fu is with Yuanyin and Yin Longzi, and Yin Longzi disapears when his past re-appears in the form of cherry blossoms, where we see he found his wife and child and killed her new husband, and was then attacked by his own son for killing the man he knew as his father, and he loses it, and Senior Fu takes off to find him.

The Red Spears have gathered for the Princes wedding, to save the leader of their society who is jailed and to kill the prince, and wait for the rest of the seven swords to show up, though they have difficulty. And Yufang finds Minghui next door, who is pregnant with Yang Yinchong’s child, but is planning on having the kid in secret and having the kid given to his father and then marrying the prince.

Yang Yinchong heads back, but is followed by Fei Hongjin who won’t leave him, and they run into the Princes Master, but manage to escape and get back to the Red Spears, but just after Minghui has given birth and her father tried to get the child, but in fact Fei Hongjin has taken the little girl.

The
Prince’s Master

Chu Zhaonan again gives himself up to the prince, but isn’t trusted, and isn’t given a chance to kill him, and is forced to kill the master of the society who has made Zhibang the new leader, and kill other members, making him an enemy of the Red Spears, and on the wedding day they have a huge attack, and because of a sneaky attack it looks like Chu Zhaonan has purposely killed the Master of Martial Village, so Yufang who has loved him now wants to kill him, though she is very sick. And Yang Yunchong is badly wounded, but saved again by Fei Hongjin. The Rest of the Swords make a deal to meat with Zhu Zhaonan and attack the prince who has now married Minghui, but she is out of her mind, missing her child and scared of all swords.

They find Yang Yinchong who now has his daughter from Fei Hongjn who he has never trusted, but who has done nothing but help him, though the prince now has the Transcience sword which it turns out is the match of the Dragon Sword, and the seven swords attack, but Mulang has not killed a prisoner who has claimed to be one of them, and he has attacked the Red Spears, and killed almost all of them, and only Yufang and Hwazhaou the oldest of the kids manages to survive, and while Chu Zhaonan kills the prince, he has completely changed, and he can’t return the Transience sword because Yang Yinchong has died as has Fei Hongjin. Mulang takes the child back to his master, while Senior Fu sets off to find Chu Zhaonan with Yuanyin, while Zhibang takes care of Yufang and Hwazhou.

Ouch, what an ending, and I knew it was going to be tragic. I was just powering through this show, but had to stop near the end because I knew it could not end well, and of course it didn’t, but what an amazing show. SUCH A GOOD STORY! SO WELL SHOT! SUCH A GREAT SHOW!! This is certainly one of my all time favorites and I think everyone should check it out if they have a chance!!

Chu Zhaonan and Green Pearl

Yufang

Yang Yunchong and Minghui

Yang Yunchong and Chu Zhaonan

Mulang

Minghui and the Prince

Minghui

I know I am a sucker for these Chinese Soap Operas, but this one is really special, and such an improvement over the Seven Swords film. I mean they are really incomparable they are so different, and this one is so much better. I wish someone else had watched this with me so I could talk about it with them!!!

This show was so much fun, sure it doesn’t ever have real soccer going on, it has a lot more in common with Shaolin Soccer, than anything to do with actual soccer. And the cast, damn this show has a cast, it seem so many people at least make cameos in it, the Twins, and so many people show up it is like a whose who in Hong Kong right now. What a fun show, I am kind of sad that it over, but not sure if I will watch the next on as I want to catch up on some DVD’s and 45 minutes a day will certainly help me do that!

I really enjoyed this Taiwanese soap opera comedy. It is completely off the wall silly, but has romance and action and adventure. I highly recommend this show.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…