Plot Summary1
During the year of a great drought, The Great Bandit of Liaodong, Gold Wing, arrives at Linhuai Pass and sends and invitation to the richest family of the area, that of Mai Yujie and expresses that before the night of the Midautumn Festival, he will come demanding 10,000 taels of gold. Huang Tong, one of the hangers-on at the Mai estate, in order to repay his host’s generosity, stands up for and defends his host and is seriously wounded by Gold Wing in the process. Just at the critical moment, a teacher from the Mai Family ancestral hall, Guan Xueyu, strides out and engages Gold Wing and a life-and-death battle. Guan Xueyu’s real name is Yan Xue, the son of Yan Zhuiyun, the head of the illustrious Yan School within the martial world. He is wise and brave and is an incredible martial artist.
But he is still injured by Gold Wing’s “black finger” and narrowly escapes. Guan Xueyu happens to run into the mysterious figure Miss Feng (phoenix), who saves him and uses her school’s gold feather insignia to repel the enemy. Turns out that Miss Feng is the daughter of Feng the Seventh, the head of the powerful but mysterious Seven Finger Snowy Mountain Gold Phoenix Lodge. Feng the Seventh once saved Gold Wing’s life. Miss Feng falls in love with Guan Xueyu at first sight, and she uses her sect’s secret medicine to treat Guan Xueyu and the Mai family’s only daughter, Mai Xiaoqiao, who is a student at Mount Jiuhua. However, the two cannot be fully cured of their poisoning without the antidote from Gold Wing’s sect.
Guan Xueyu bids farewell to the Mai family and Mai Xiaoqiao sees him off in the morning; the feelings between them apparent but left unspoken. Guan Xueyu arrives in Ningguo prefecture and gets to know the local chivalrous characters Bao Yu and the young master of the Beggar’s Sect, Tong Bing. Again Guan Xueyu fights with Gold Wing, but his martial arts is still not strong enough and he is defeated again. At an inn, he becomes acquainted with the martial world master Hermit Jiang and receives snake blood from Jiang with which he gets rid of the remaining poison in his body. Guan Xueyu also finds out that Hermit Jiang is the ringleader of the jianghu’s dark path and is now plotting to steal government relief aid meant to help disaster victims in Linhuai Pass. Feng the Seventh and his daughter Miss Feng also have their eyes on the relief money, as does the Great Bandit of Liaodong, Gold Wing.
Dark path chief Hermit Jiang, in his bid to steal the relief money, kills “Extraordinary Thousand-Hand Constable” Qin Zhao’s mother and son, who were responsible for escorting the relief money. He also captures Qin Zhao’s wife and holds her hostage. Guan Xueyu rescues QIn’s wife all by himself. At the same time, a righteous persoange, Expelling Clouds Monk, leaves his mountain temple and helps Qin Zhao and company protect the relief money and get away from Hermit Jiang’s henchmen. Mai Xiaoqiao comes to Ningguo prefecture looking for Guan Xueyu and happens to run into Miss Feng. She learns that Miss Feng also has plans to snatch the relief money so she has no choice but to openly oppose Miss Feng and help Expelling Clouds Monk protect the relief money.
Miss Feng is angry and duels with her but can’t bring herself to kill Mai Xiaoqiao. Qin Zhao and company run into Feng the Seventh at the disaster relief area. By this time, Feng the Seventh has already defeated Gold Wing and plans to trick Hermit Jiang, so he thinks the relief money is as good as his. Unexpectedly, Guan Xueyu appears, and just as Feng the Seventh is about to strike a deadly blow on Guan Xueyu, Miss Feng shows up and asks for mercy. Finally, Feng the Seventh agrees to let Qin Zhao and the relief money go on the condition that Guan Xueyu goes back to Seven Finger Snowy Mountain with him.
On Seven Finger Snowy Mountain, Guan Xueyu meets Feng the Seventh’s maternal aunt, the 96-year-old martial world master, Lu You. Lu You secretly teaches Guan Xueyu some exceptional martial arts and recognizes him as a godson. Miss Feng secretly descends the mountain and goes to Expelling Clouds Temple where she happens to run into Mai Xiaoqiao, whose poisoning from early is taking effect and is critically ill. Miss Feng uses her sect’s secret medicine to expel the poison and save Mai Xiaoqiao’s life, but the poison had entered her eyes and has blinded her. Expelling Clouds Monk decides to descend the mountain and go look for a doctor for her.
Feng the Seventh originally intended to have Guan Xueyu marry into his family and take his surname and then teach him all the martial arts he knows. Miss Feng loves Guan Xueyu wholeheartedly and goes to see him one night and confesses her feelings. Guan Xueyu loves Miss Feng, but also misses Mai Xiaoqiao, so he in a pickle and decides to leave without saying goodbye. Lu You helps Guan Xueyu leave Seven Finger Snowy Mountain. Miss Feng tracks him down and once again reveals her feelings and tells him about Mai Xiaoqiao being blinded. At Expelling Clouds Temple, Expelling Clouds Monk comes back with a doctor, Gold Wing’s teacher, Old Kuang. Old Kuang does everything he can but is unable to restore Mai Xiaoqiao’s eyesight. Lu You uses her skills to restore Mai Xiaoqiao’s eyesight but uses up her own vital energy in the process and passes away. Mai Xiaoqiao sees Guan Xueyu again and her heart is content; she decides to become a nun. Guan Xueyu obeys Lu You’s dying will to quell the martial world’s new conflicts. Miss Feng happily sets off on a new life with her sweetheart (Guan Xueyu).