Y uan Cheng-chih, the only son of an executed anti-Ching patriot, joins the Hua Shan clan as a martial arts pupil. One day he comes across the skeleton of a veteran swordsman Chin She while burying it he accidentally unearths a sword, an instruction manual, a treasure map, and a message for lady named Wen Yi in Shih Liang.

A fter mastering Chin She�s techniques from the manual, he sets off to find the lady. By chance he meets her daughter Wen Ching disguised as a man, and rescues her from an attack. He later accepts lodging at the home of her grandfather Ming-shan, and is present when Sun Chung-chen and members of the Hua Shan clan arrive to accuse the Wens of stealing their gold. Sun chops off the arm of a member of the Wen family, but before a further fight develops, Yuan Cheng-chih reveals himself as a fellow Hua Shan clansman and offers to help determine the ownership of the gold.

M ing-shan recognizes Cheng-chih�s kung fu style after making him match blows with his nephew and questions him about Chin She. When Cheng-chih explains that he is dead, Wen Yi collapses at the news.

W en Yi confides to Cheng-chih her past romance with Chin She, their eventual marriage in spite of a bitter family feud, and how her own family later drugged and killed Chin because he refused to tell them about a treasure map.

T he Wens challenge Cheng-chih to a duel, and lose. Ming-shan tries to drug Cheng-chih, but when his granddaughter foils the attempt, he tries to stab her but mortally wounds his own daughter instead. Wen Yi dies peacefully after hearing Chin She�s last message from Cheng-chih.