Emperor MAN LIK of Ming Dynasty is enjoying an acrobatic performance when the commander of the Pacification Bureau YUEMAN FUNG leads his team of Brocade Guards and warns the emperor of an assassination attempt. No sooner, the assassin strikes. Grand Mentor CHEUNG KUI CHING urges the emperor to forsake his indulgence lifestyle but the emperor simply ignores his advice. Eunuch FUNG PO knows that he is the real target of the assassination and frankly tells CHING that he will not entrusts important tasks to FUNG. PO bestows FUNG a courtesan LAU SIN LEUNG, but FUNG remains aloof to her. WONG HOP, escort-in-chief of the Zhenjiang Escort Carrier, escorts an assignment to Qi Province though he has yet to recover from an illness. YEUNG FU, grand master of the Flying Dragon Citadel, intercepts the assignment and causes troubles. He is tactfully sent away by Wong’s wife TONG PIK……

While the Mongolian general FUT YEE TO is engaging FUNG and PIK in a combat inside the barge compartment, CHUI TSEUK, commander of the Eastern Depot, arrives to capture KEI but finds himself confronted by the Brocade Guards stationed opposite the bank. PIK hatches a plan to compel KEI, who has disguised as a trader, to reveal himself. She also agrees to enter a deal with FUNG. FUNG receives a letter attached to an arrow shot by PIK. He agrees to tend to HOP’s illness on the shore. But as soon as HOP leaves, KEI escapes. FUNG also figures out that KEI has fled successfully and instructs YING to give chase following the trail of a vulture. YING returns empty-handedly. FUNG receives a casket delivered by a messenger sent by PIK which reveals KEI’s whereabouts. The doctor diagnoses that HOP’s days are numbered. PIK is distressed……

FUNG gives his superior CHEUNG SHING credits for the capture of the head assassin KEI. The emperor summons SHING to the capital. PO is indignant of the favoritism shown to SHING. KEI is about to disclose the identity of the real culprit but is killed by SHING. SHING submits FUNG a list. It occurs to FUNG that SHING is seizing the chance to wipe out his oppositionists. FUNG leads his brocade guards to annihilate the CHO clan. It brings back his painful memory of annihilation of the TONG clan twenty years ago. PIK and others escort HOP’s coffin back to the Zhenjiang Escort Carrier headquarters. HOP’s clan brother WONG HING demands the immediate election of a new escort-in-chief. PIK has no choice but to read HOP’s will, only to realize that it is nowhere to be found. PIK’s daughter WONG YEE discovers that the will is stolen by HING and escort master LEE CHEONG, who have hidden it in the accounting room……

KWAN insists to crack open the coffin to prove HOP’s death by PIK’s poisoning. As soon as the coffin is opened, KWAN takes out HOP’s will and reads it out loud. KWAN’s shrewd scheme reinstates PIK as the grand master. PIK announces that she will abide by an agreement made previously to marry WONG YEE to FEI, KWAN’s son, and entrusts to KWAN the running of the carrier headquarters. PIK travels with WONG YEE and FEI to the capital to prepare for the opening of her foundry, which is located at the old residence of the TONG clan. It is decided that the foundry will be named Celestial Sword Foundry. SZEMA SHUN, a skillful master of the foundry trade and grand master of the SZEMA clan, is celebrating his sixtieth birthday. PIK and others are invited to attend his banquet where she starts a feud with SHUN due to a misunderstanding. Fearing that the employment at Celestial will offend the SZEMAs, the craftsmen leave one by one……

SANG and others beat off the bandits with the aid of LUI. When LUI tells the company that he is seeking treatment from TSUN CHING FOOK, the finest doctor in Wenzhou, for his paralyzed mother, HO tells him that FUK has already passed away from an illness. SANG suggests that he searches for another famed doctor in the capital. On their way, MADAM MANG begins to throw tantrums and even tries to kill herself during LUI’s momentary absence. Her good intention is at last known to the company. PIK sets spurs to the installation of a furnace in order to compete in the upcoming Royal Sword Contest. SANG is disturbed by her eagerness to seek revenge. SHING submits a list of corrupt officials to the emperor and advises him to make an arrest of the courtiers while using the property he seizes for building a fairground. PO gets wind of SHING’s scheme……

FUNG chances on SZEMA YEE and KAU on a ship, but his revengeful air triggers off the alert device of SZEMA YEE’s sword. KAU loses no time to take him away. The forging of the first sword marks the grand opening of the Celestial Sword Foundry. SHUN’s daughter SZEMAN PING TING is furious that a woman she meets in a restaurant is wearing a dress made from the same fabric as hers. Her twin brother SZEMA SIU YIU punishes the woman and has a score to settle with the silks merchant. WONG YEE and FEI attend classes at the Lakeside Academy and have a dispute with the SZEMA siblings. SZE TUNG TO, Commissioner of Weaponry of the Ministry of War, goes to Celestial to make a quality inspection. To ensure a place in the sword contest, PIK bribes the official with the precious Tin’s White Jade. Displeased with WONG YEE and FEI who obstruct TING’s way, YIU challenges FEI to a contest to see who can ride back to the academy first……

PIK gives LUI money to treat MANG’s injury but LUI refuses to take it. PIK admires his integrity. She believes that the series of setbacks is a blessing in disguise that bonds the mother and son closer together. SANG blames himself for her everlasting regret — PIK’s separation from his son. The emperor is tempted by SHING’s suggestion of going on a trip incognito. FUNG and others guard the emperor’s tour of the capital main street. The emperor is smitten by WONG YEE and asks FUNG to check out her background. KAU and SZEMA YEE arrive outside the gate of the capital. A child takes off SZEMA YEE’s eye mask by accident. Regaining his sight, he goes on a killing spree. SHUN asks his subordinates to investigate into the alliance formed between PIK and SZE. Just then, KAU arrives with SZEMA YEE on his back. CHO admires WONG YEE’s benevolence and asks her to edit the Lakeside Notes……

SHING heaps verbal abuse on KWONG at his welcome banquet, but KWONG just shrugs it off. FUNG spies on the WONGs by night. His heart races when he hears WONG YEE addressing PIK as mother. Using a sword forged by Celestial Sword Foundry, KWONG chops off the armor, which is made in the Netherlands, given by the SZEMAs. The emperor is impressed. PIK seeks KWONG’s alliance to deal with the SZEMAs, but KWONG makes it clear that he seeks only to convey the message to the emperor that the SZEMAs are not necessary the best craftsmen in the business. PIK is confident that she will win the contest fair and square. FUNG drowns his sorrows in the local tavern. LEUNG carries him home and is shocked by the tattoo on his face. FUNG wakes up to an urge to silence LEUNG for good. YIU grieves over SHUN’s desire to kill and takes the five minerals drug as a tranquilizer……

TING and YIU chance on FEI in a horse market. Again, an argument ensues. The entrance of a white horse causes chaos among the pack of horses and throws the horse traders into a panic. WONG YEE learns of MANG’s worsening condition, but LUI insists in praying for miracles from the Goddess of Mercy. When she realizes that KWAN is escorting TSUN WAI, the female descendant of the miracle doctor TSUN CHING FOOK, to the capital, she rushes the good news to LUI. Just when Hebei’s Eight Gangs and Twelve Alliances lead their congregation to demand KWAN’s release of WAI, a black-garbed man appears to abduct WAI. The doctor is taken away by the SZEMAs. SHUN asks WAI to heal SZEMA YEE’s sickness, but WAI says that only a potion containing three miracle drugs of crystallized honeysuckle, the gall bladder of a leopard and a red scorpion can cure him. LUI is hugely disappointed by WAI’s abduction……

FUNG puts WAI behind bars. He suspects that SZEMA YEE is hiding out at the SZEMA mansion. After conducting a postmortem on the bodies of the seven members of the Censor-in-chief CHOW WAI ON, he leads his men to the SZEMA’s residence to search for the suspect. A secret letter sent out by SHING turns FUNG’s raid into futility. Officials at the Censorate expose ON’s corruption. The emperor takes PO’s advice to confiscate ON’s booty but spare the lives of his surviving clan members. FUNG escorts WAI to the capital gate and leaves. Members of the Eight Gangs and Twelve Alliances follow hot on WAI’s heels. As soon as the case of ON’s murder closes, SHUN reveals SZEMA YEE’s whereabouts. PIK personally supervises the weaponry order of the Ministry of War. KWAN reveals to her that SZEMA YEE has returned to the capital and is very likely to represent the SZEMAs at the sword contest. A shudder sweeps over her……

SZEMA YEE tries to strangle PIK, but FUNG’s sudden appearance steers her from present danger. PIK’s guess is that SZEMA YEE is possessed by his inner devil. She is struck by the sense of familiarity with the stranger who has saved her life. SANG worries about her. WONG YEE stumbles over a fence while trying to save a nest of newborn birds and lands in the LAU courtyard. She is stunned by the sight of FUNG. FUNG and LEUNG pay a courteous visit to the WONG family. PIK recognizes the stranger FUNG as the head of the Brocade Guards and becomes cautious of the guest. WAI turns up at the academy to deliver LUI her late father’s prescription and the cash certificates he prepared for purchasing the drugs. LUI is grateful. But the joy is suspended by the knowledge that ginseng is no longer available on the market as all the stocks are scrapped up by the SZEMAs. TING offers him the precious plant on condition that he captures the white horse……

The monks of Hongfa Temple have evacuated after the recurrence of SZEMA YEE’s illness. BLIND MONK strikes a conversation with KAU deliberately outside SZEMA YEE’s room and suggests that his swordsmanship is inferior to the title “Sword Supreme” which he earned. Maddened by the monk’s remarks, SZEMA YEE rushes out and is struck by a thunder. He admits inferiority to the “Sword Supreme” title but the monk congratulates him for overcoming his inner demon. LUI asks WAI to feel the pulse of MANG. WAI feels ashamed of her own inadequacies. LUI accompanies WAI to gather herbs in the mountains. WAI’s heart is racing as LUI holds her in his arms to save her from tripping over. MANG vomits blood but asks WONG YEE to keep it a secret. WONG YEE recommends LUI to contend for first place of the Celestial Sword Foundry sword master selection……

SZEMA YEE is amazed by TING’s wickedness as he falls into her trap. SHUN immediately pronounces SZEMA YEE the sword master of the clan. PIK knows well that SHUN is trying to make her withdraw by exposing her shortcomings. Unrelenting, she prevents SZEMA YEE from representing the clan at the contest by ambushing him. FUNG realizes PIK’s scheme too late. SZEMA YEE is shot by an arrow while trying to save TING. FUNG holds PIK in custody and hatches a plan to prevent PIK from making yet another grave mistake. WONG YEE is thrown into jail; LUI is also arrested while conducting his own investigation in the woods. Inside the prison cell, LUI cheers WING up with tricks played by a string. SHING summons FUNG for his testimony. FUNG’s impeccable account of SZEMA YEE’s ambush makes SHING speechless……

WAI notices that MANG didn’t take her medicine. MANG asks her to keep it confidential. WONG YEE brings cakes and pastries to Celestial Sword Foundry. Her feeding of LUI with the sweet treats fills FEI with fury. FEI calls LUI an inferior suitor and challenges him to a duel. He even inflicts a wound on his own arm in order to shift the blame on him. WONG YEE seeks to learn the truth from LUI. LUI vows that he will make a name of himself in the upcoming contest to impress everyone. TING comes inciting troubles, but PIK appears to beat her off. WONG YEE gives compliments to LUI in front of PIK. PIK assures her that she is pleased with their friendship. LUI becomes dejected when he unwittingly learns from PIK’s conversation with KWAN that PIK has no intention to marry WONG YEE to him. LEUNG is tormented to see FUNG drinking his sorrows away while beholding PIK’s silk scarf……

WONG YEE criticizes LUI’s evasiveness. LUI musters up his courage to see PIK, but PIK says that the lovers will only have her blessing if LUI proves himself at the sword contest. LEUNG chances on SZEMA YEE again. He reveals his real identity and recounts past happenings with his junior Wudang brother FUNG. LEUNG listens to his recollection with amusement. The two arrange to meet later by the lake, where SZEMA YEE recollects how he fought a duel with his junior and that his family was annihilated twenty years ago. LEUNG plays her zither while SZEMA YEE wields his sword. LUI, who happens to be there, is shocked. WONG YEE bestows an ear of sword reed on LUI as a lucky charm. LUI laments that he is no match for SZEMA YEE’s swordsmanship and fears that he will fails PIK. WONG YEE encourages him to face the challenge. FUNG questions LEUNG’s motive to approach SZEMA YEE……

SANG realizes from the dialogues between FONG and MANG that LUI is in fact PIK’s long-lost son. While SZEMA YEE and LUI are contending for the throne at the sword contest, SANG hurries the news to PIK. PIK bawls out and suspends the contest but SZEMA YEE has already broken LUI’s sword. The broken blade cuts through LUI’s arm, causing LUI to fall. WONG YEE runs to him, under the emperor’s eager gaze. SHING realizes that the emperor is smitten by the young woman. SHUN learns about the poisonous blade and dispatches a subordinate to the WONG mansion to bring LUI back. PIK is about to hack off LUI’s right arm to present further poisoning when WAI appears to administer the Flying Spark Acumoxa technique on LUI. PIK waits anxiously by the side of LUI, who has fallen in a coma. A black-garbed man launches an attack at the WONGs at night……

KWAN uses the death of an escort master to imply PIK’s incapability as the family’s grand master. He sends out secret letters to the heads of other escort carrier branches. FEI is furious to see LUI practicing the WONG’s swordplay routine. He exposes PIK’s scheme of smearing poison on LUI’s sword and pulling the strings behind him. SZEMA YEE bids farewell to LEUNG before retreating to the mountains. FUNG chastises his cowardice in leaving. LUI carries MANG on his back all the way to the WONG’s residence where the elder hands in a marriage proposal to PIK on her son’s behalf. Escort master heads arrive at the headquarters from their respective branch. KWAN is about to press PIK to yield the throne when she announces to take LUI as her adopted son. It comes as a shock to both LUI and WONG YEE. Knowing that PIK sees through his scheme, KWAN has another scheme installed. While WAI consoles LUI, they hear the wail of the white horse……

FUNG hears a dying Wudang discipline muttering the motto “Accomplishing the impossible makes a Wudang disciple.” The words strike a cord with him. FUNG ambushes SZEMA YEE in a restaurant, but SZEMA YEE senses danger and mounts his guard. FUNG returns to the LAU residence in his drunken state and mourns his inadequacy as a husband and a Wudang disciple. FUNG wakes up to the assassination of PIK by two black-garbed assassins and deals a blow to them with his palm. LEUNG and MUI reveal their disguises and explain their dire attempt to make SZEMA YEE, who they believe will be unwillingly to leave the injured LEUNG, stay in the capital. FUNG is moved. LEUNG lies to SZEMA YEE about being attacked by a Wudang disciple to incur his guilty conscience. KWAN leads his men to set Celestial Sword Foundry on fire but PIK has prepared well to prevent a disaster from happening……

SHING turns down SHUN’s suggestion to entrust half of the weaponry business to the SZEMAs. WAI arranges a rendezvous between LUI and WONG YEE in a desolate temple and urges them to elope. SANG and PIK interrogate WAI and presses her to reveal the lovers’ whereabouts but she will not bend. LUI and WONG YEE are ambushed by a masked knight who turns out to be KWAN. LUI is beaten to half death while YEE is abducted. SHUN learns of WONG YEE’s alleged death and asks a subordinate to spread the news of her elopement. When SHING asks PIK about the elopement, she pleads for his pardon. WAI follows the white horse to the riverbank and finds the dying LUI. Moment later, she returns to find LUI missing but sees FUNG standing at the very same spot. SHUN abducts FEI for fear that KWAN will betray him and dispatches his subordinate to kill KWAN. KWAN falls victim to an ambush in the woods……

SHING mocks FUNG at his lack of tact in shifting the blame. He decides to hand over the case to the Justice Department. FUNG is relieved to have the task lifted off his shoulders. He leads his men to arrest SHUN at the SZEMA’s residence. The emperor pays WONG YEE a nocturnal visit. She asks that LUI be spared. LEUNG attaches a scroll detailing the treatment she has received from SZEMA YEE onto a carrier pigeon which will deliver the letter to FUNG. WAI again urges WONG YEE to elope with LUI, but this time WONG YEE rejects the proposal. WONG YEE tells PIK that she will enter the court to fulfill the role of a dutiful daughter; PIK is tormented by her decision. SHING threatens SHUN with the lives of his wife and children to keep the annihilation of the TONG clan a secret. KAU KIT leads his regiment of Brocade Guards to confiscate the family property of the SZEMAs. KAU is arrested for killing the guard who harasses TING……

FUNG lays out a plan to capture SZEMA YEE in Boding. SHING will personally oversee the operation but FUNG knows that SHING is driven by the fear that he will leave him once the task has been accomplished. SHUN is exiled to the frontier. All the way, he is pursued by a black-garbed assassin. An ominous feeling crosses SZEMA YEE’s mind when he listens to a tune played by LEUNG on her zither. Disciples of the Green City Sect have come settling scores with him. SZEMA YEE urges LEUNG to leave by night and catches up with her midway through. He seizes the chance to bring her to see fireflies. LEUNG again plays him a tune. FUNG follows the music and tracks down SZEMA YEE. Only then he realizes that the woman has betrayed him. He receives multiple gunshots and plunges down a cliff. FUNG and his men are summoned to the capital. The emperor voices his concern over WONG YEE’s depressed state ever since her entrance to the palace……

LUI and WAI return home to find MANG in a coma and that she has vomited blood. The doctor tells them than MANG will not survive the first day of autumn. Only then LUI realizes that WAI knows nothing about medicine. As her condition worsens, LUI pleads with PIK to get the royal doctor’s assistance. PIK seeks help from SHING but he gives her a hard time. WAI asks LUI for his permission to administer acupuncture on MANG. LUI refuses, but as he finds out that she has made a guinea pig of herself in order to find a cure, he agrees to let her try. PIK gives MANG words of encouragement on her deathbed and urges her not to follow in her footsteps and walks away from LUI. MANG’s health miraculously improves. LUI is thrilled to bits. YIU and MADAM HO visit KAU in the prison before the day of his execution. KAU asks YIU to return an earring to TING. Reminded of an insult by the ornament, TING throws it into the river……

PIK explains to MANG that she will not recognize LUI for fear that the incestuous love between him and WONG YEE will break his heart. MANG makes LUI work in Celestial Sword Foundry in lieu of the debts he owes the family. WONG YEE asks to leave the palace in order to bestow a book on her benefactor. PO reckons that she will seize the chance to meet her lover and hatches a plan. FUNG demands PIK to surrender LUI to clear her of suspicion but PIK only pledges to confine him to the foundry. YEE returns to the Lakeside Academy and seeks to gather the news of LUI and MANG from CHO; her hands tremble upon receiving LUI’s letter asking to meet her. SANG pretends to suffer from an injury in order to keep LUI forging swords throughout the night. With his lie exposed, SANG tells LUI the truth. LUI declares that he will never again meet the imperial concubine. WAI brings LUI an urgent letter from WONG YEE with an invitation to an appointment……

PIK reactivates the vital point wielding her martial artistry and stops FUNG from killing LUI. She finally reveals the truth about being the mother to LUI. TING chances on WONG YEE on her way to see LUI. Overwhelmed by the trauma of the court’s confiscation and her rape by YING, she pursues WONG YEE to the riverbank and tries to kill her. The news of her death reaches the emperor. PO insists that the woman, jilted by her lover, kills herself for love, but CHING suggests announcing her death from a deathly illness in order to preserve the court’s reputation. FUNG hurries to the WONG’s residence to bring PIK the news of WONG YEE’s death. PIK loses her initial calmness and breaks down to cry. He urges her to find LUI at once. Escaping the hot pursuit by the Eastern Depot, WAI and LUI are aided in time by FUNG. FUNG immobilizes LUI by dislocating his knee joints and locks him up in a desolate hut. He also asks WAI to tend to him……

LUI blames himself for WONG YEE’s death, but TING tells him that it was PIK’s fault. LUI chastises PIK’s revengeful nature, which has compelled her to fawn on the rich and influential and betray her daughter that ultimately causes her tragic death. LUI believes that both PIK and himself should have died in lieu of the innocents twenty years ago. Alone, LUI charges the imperial tomb to retrieve WONG YEE’s corpse but finds himself surrounded by the Brocade Guards. FUNG appears timely to lock him up in the Pacification Bureau’s prison. FUNG arranges a secret meeting between the mother and son in the cell, but LUI heaps mockeries on PIK. Outside the palace, PIK begs to meet the emperor on her knees. FUNG propels her to leave. PIK challenges LUI’s arrest as FUNG’s desperate attempt to keep his job and refuses to accept the explanation he offers……

WAI practices hard on noodle making. Her fingers are scarred by cuts. FUNG brings TING to see SHUN one last time. SHUN urges TING to put old feuds and hatred behind her to lead a tranquil, peaceful life, but TING will not rest her case having scarred by the traumatic events of rape and murder. FUNG tells LEUNG about his meeting with SHUN. He asks her to submit CHING a letter that contains evidences to convict SHING if he does not return the following day. Alone and armed with the evidences against SHING, FUNG penetrates SHING’s mansion and demands LUI’s immediate release. SHING flashes out a confidential letter and brings LEUNG out. FUNG’s eyes are poisoned by LEUNG when he tries to rescue her. It strikes him that LEUNG has a role to play in the intrigue. SHING suspects an unusual liaison between FUNG, LUI and the WONGs, and orders the assassination of LEUNG and her parents. FUNG is put on the Brocade Guards’ wanted list……

SHING praises TING’s ruthlessness. TING asks to work for SHING and reveals to him the relationship between PIK, FUNG and LUI. SHING summons PIK and instigates her to seize the chance when Celestial Sword Foundry presents CHING the sword forged as a gift to a barbaric tribe to rid of him. PIK is startled by his suggestion but decides to go along the plan as she suspects SHING has learned her relationship with LUI. FUNG wakes up and is enraged to find LEUNG staying by his side. Handicapped by his blindness, FUNG is attacked by a poisonous snake but LEUNG has no hesitation to suck up venom from his wound. She even volunteers to bring him back to the capital. On the very same night the sword is forged, SIU escapes with MANG and WAI from the WONG’s residence. A sudden explosion blasts Celestial Sword Foundry. SANG and PIK rescue LUI from the Pacification Bureau’s prison. The trio flees to a forest and sees MANG hanging on a tree……

SHING lobbies for LUI’s alliance inside the Pacification Bureau’s prison, but a hysterical LUI tires to strangle SHING. Outraged by his insanity, SHING orders the prisoner’s tattoo on LUI. KAU reports to SZEMA YEE on his surveillance on the LAUs. SZEMA YEE asks him to search for TING and her family while he seeks out LEUNG’s whereabouts. Under SHING’s order, TING continues the lobbying and suggests to LUI that the passing away of his mother will free him from any worries, though he should still be plagued with hatred for PIK. PIK finally wakes up from a deep coma. She is devastated by the news of LUI’s early execution. LUI, in a Brocade Guards uniform, brings a delighted SHING the head of a Zhenjiang Escort Carrier escort. LUI fends off TING’s seduction. LEUNG and FUNG take shelter at an inn. She breaks the news of LUI’s execution and blames herself for obstructing his redemption……

PIK pays a nocturnal obeisance to LUI when she meets BLIND MONK. The teachings of the monk linger in her mind during the entire night. The following day, PIK decides to pay the monk a visit at Qingxin Temple, where she chances on FUNG who is offering prayers for LUI. SANG tells FUNG that his eyes are poisoned by venom which only WAI can offer a cure. FUNG decides to return to the capital to look for WAI, SHAN and others. FUNG vows before a mournful PIK that he will avenge LUI’s death by killing SHING and that he will never part with her. HO and YIU take temporary shelter at the Shuiyue Nunnery. YIU advises TING to abandon her scheme in lending SHING’s influence in order to get back at PIK, but TING refuses. YING arrives at LUI’s place and harasses TING. LUI keeps a cautious eye on the man. SANG meets SHAN and learns that HO is dying from an arrow wound. WAI’s resuscitation proves futile……

FUNG takes PIK to hide out in the Wudang headquarters. FUNG laments that the Wudang Sect has gone into a decline due to its revengeful disciples. He digs up the sword that he wielded against SZEMA YEE before the emperor at the royal sword contest years ago. A group of young Wudang disciples appear before them. PIK enters the main hall and inspects the old blade marks left by SZEMA YEE during his duel with the Wudang master, hoping to devise a swordplay routine to defeat him. FUNG coaches his juniors while PIK teaches them to read and write. They are joined by SANG, WAI and SHAN who later arrive at Wudang. WAI starts treating FUNG’s eyes. FUNG is nursed back to health one day before the duel. To seize his rare intimate moments with PIK, FUNG takes her to the market downhill to shop for festival necessities and asks her to play chess with him at night……

FUNG follows the sound of the zither to LEUNG. LEUNG recalls the day when SZEMA YEE saved her life and agreed to challenge FUNG to a duel as she requested. She also promised SZEMA YEE that she would forfeit her life if FUNG were defeated, so long as it could stop FUNG from seeking revenge on SHING. FUNG is at once touched and saddened by her sacrifice. He also has PIK’s understanding of retracting the vow to seek revenge. WAI, urged by PIK to forsake her love for LUI, embarks on her journey to explore the nature. SANG chances on a drunken FUNG in a tavern. He encourages him to relinquish their twenty-year feud and cherish the precious reunion with PIK. His words seem to have enlightened FUNG. FUNG returns to Wudang to find PIK’s farewell note. Upon learning that TING is seeking refuge with the Brocade Guards, KAU vows to protect her. But TING banishes him……

WAI wakes up and finds herself in the wilderness. Suspecting the black-garbed assassin to be LUI, she travels to the capital to seek confirmation, but to no avail. An exhausted WAI loses consciousness on the hilltop, aided in time by YIU who takes her back to the academy. When YIU drops by at the academy later, CHO tells a dejected YIU that WAI, having relinquished any hopes she might have in LUI, has already gone. Back WAI notices the burning incenses at MANG’s grave and deduces that LUI is still alive. She returns to the academy to break the good news to CHO and YIU as the Brocade Guards charge in. LUI brings WAI to safety clandestinely. When WAI asks him why he has faked death, he simply replies he has relinquished his identity as MANG LUI. WAI tells a disbelieving LUI that SHING is the real culprit behind his clan tragedy. TING invites WAI to stay in a small hut and asks YIU to see her……

TING orders KAU to kill WAI. YIU strikes a deal with TING by exchanging FUNG’s whereabouts for WAI’s safety. TING tells SHING of FUNG’s hiding place, but SHING rebuts her faulty intelligence. While YIU is forcing the unwilling WAI to leave the capital with him, the Brocade Guards arrive. KAU comes to their rescue and they take the chance to escape. YIU’s tongue slips and reveals TING as WONG YEE’s murderer. The news shocks WAI, who threatens to tell LUI. In seizing a confidential letter from YIU, a desperate TING kills him. TING seeks to silence WAI by drowning her in the river. LUI takes an unconscious WAI home, while TING orders KAU’s investigation on FUNG at Wudang. KAU meets his master SZEMA YEE on his way. KAU pleads to be granted freedom to lead a separate life and promises that he will have no regrets. An enraged SZEMA YEE disowns him……

LUI learns the true causes of WAI’s rashes from a doctor and realizes he has wrongly blamed TING. TING carries a drunken LUI back to his room. She takes off her clothes and sleeps with him. LUI wakes up to the unsettling realization that he has slept with the woman. SZEMA YEE senses LEUNG’s sentiments for FUNG from the melancholic tunes she plays and decides to leave Wudang to find FUNG. LEUNG follows a firefly out of her room to bid SZEMA YEE farewell and demands his return whether his search can bring back FUNG or not. Running the errand to present an imperial decree at the Grand Mentor’s residence, SHING takes the chance to probe into the truth of CHING’s illness. A frail CHING instructs TSEUK to think up a plan to buy time. CHING finally crumbles to his disease. A black-garbed knight appears to resurrect him. SHING is disappointed to meet an energetic CHING……

FUNG questions TSEUK’s role in the assassination. TSEUK admits to his defection to a more capable man. PO reports CHING’s murder to the emperor with TSEUK testifying against FUNG as the assassin. FUNG wonders why LUI struggles to live on borrowed time. LUI tells him that as far as he is concerned, the MANG LUI persona and the feuds between SHING and the TONG clan are history. FUNG goes to KWONG’s camp and lobbies for his rescue of CHING, now held under custody at the Eastern Depot, and his escort for CHING’s safe return to the capital. KWONG distrusts his one-sided testimony. SHING enters the room of the sickly CHING and offers to see him off. KWONG hurries to the Grand Mentor’s residence where he is told the news of CHING’s death. TING is infuriated by LUI’s bestowing a money pouch on WAI. She decides that WAI’s longevity is due. LUI kowtows to the YEE’s grave and prays that WAI will wake up from her coma……

TING loses her nerve when she sees WAI, who is in her poisoned state, has gone missing. WAI flees and meets KAU. She complains of a split headache but KAU believes that she suffers from amnesia. TING makes up her mind to kill her but WAI manages to escape after pricking TING with a hairpin. WAI exposes TING’s malicious acts to LUI, who has just returned. LUI remains skeptical. WAI vomits blood and faints at the news of LUI and TING’s wedding. WAI escapes after knocking off the doctor. TING orders KAU to pursue her. SZEMA YEE appears to save WAI from KAU’s clutches. A fight ensues between the two men. TING fakes her concerns for WAI, hoping to delay the wedding, but LUI insists that the wedding proceeds as planned. KAU confesses to SZEMA YEE, who believes that his deliverance from TING lies in her death. KAU fails to free himself from the shackles of metal chains……

SZEMA YEE loses the flimsy faith he has in TING as he finds out that he has downed her poisonous wine. He returns and chastises her ruthlessness. He draws his sword and is about to slash her when KAU intercepts. SZEMA YEE falls down, finds it hard to believe that a sword has been stabbed into his chest. KAU is overwhelmed with guilt after killing SZEMA YEE. TING tactfully pacifies him. SHING summons TSEUK to plan for PO’s assassination. LUI is dispatched to seal off the CHEUNG’s residence in Jiangling. The long wait for the imperial decree is torturing him. Much to his delight, TING arrives to keep him company. KWONG walks by a teahouse where FEI works as a blacksmith. He entrusts FEI with the delivery of a folded fan to PIK. PIK reads KWONG’s message on the fan and attends their meeting as scheduled. KWONG tells her about FUNG’s frantic search for her in the capital and asks her to cast aside her hard feelings……

LUI returns to the magistrate’s office and is met by a wounded TING, who lies that her injury is inflicted by FUNG. FUNG urges LUI to leave the rank of the Brocade Guards, but LUI blames him for injuring TING and shoots him with his crossbow. FUNG is devastated. Back home, HO confronts TING for the role she played in SZEMA YEE’s death. TING admits to her accusation and informs a grieving Ho of her pregnancy. SHING delivers a decree to PO which orders his dismissal from the Directorate of Ceremonies and the Eastern Depot. PO is dumbfounded by the news. KAU begs TING to reconsider her marriage to LUI and offers to kill LUI to avenge for her. TING fabricates a lie on the spot and tells him that he is the father of the baby. LUI personally invites HO to attend his wedding but instead, the elder begs him to pardon TING. While waiting for HO, LUI is startled by the tablets that HO has set up for WONG YEE and YIU……

LUI penetrates the prison cell and redeems SANG, leaving behind SHAN’s body. FUNG seeks to find out if LUI has forgiven PIK. LUI blames himself for his stupidity and inability to discern good from evil. PIK appears to embrace him. SHING chides TING for letting LUI screw things up but she already has another scheme installed to lure LUI out. LUI’s aloofness disheartens PIK. FEI returns with the news of TING’s execution. It sends a shiver down LUI’s spine. LUI seeks to redeem TING alone, and when PIK offers to reinforce him, he feels compelled to tell the mother that TING is in fact WONG YEE’s murderer and that she is pregnant with his child. FUNG knocks LUI off to stop him and PIK from falling into TING’s trap. A dying SANG urges PIK to cherish the familial bliss she now enjoys before he expires. TSEUK orders TING’s execution when FUNG and PIK charge the execution ground……

TING has fled to a morgue where the Brocade Guards almost catch her. Again, KAU comes to her rescue. TING has made up her mind when seeing her heroic benefactor. The rescue plan and intrusion of FUNG and PIK fill SHING with fury. He even refuses the emperor’s summon to appear in court on the ground of an illness. During the secret meeting between FUNG and the emperor, FUNG is commissioned for the assassination of SHING with the promise of redressing the wrongs done to the TONG clan. In fleeing from the pursuit of TSEUK and his men, LUI carries PIK on his back and hide out at the edge of a cliff. Their lives hang only by a vine. Not wishing to be his burden, PIK tries to cut off the cord, only to be held back by LUI’s desperate scream which addresses her as mother for the first time. LUI vows to stay by her side, for better or for worse. KAU and TING perform the formal bows as bride and groom……

FUNG fights his way to the hall of SHING’s residence. SHING begs him to spare his life but FUNG insists that he will not go against the emperor’s will. Just then, the emperor arrives with his guards and reveals the discords sown between the Eastern Depot and the Brocade Guards is just part of his game. WAI removes the tattoo on LUI. LUI pleads for her forgiveness but she remains aloof. WAI suffers a relapse of her poisoning. LEUNG administers acupuncture to relieve her pain and encourages her to confide in LUI. WAI refuses, for fear that LUI will go through yet another traumatic event in his life. PIK sets off to the capital to resume business at Celestial Sword Foundry upon learning SHING’s dismissal and the restoration of her clan. FUNG has a mixed feeling toward SHING, who has lost his mind after his misfortune. Later he pays obeisance to SZEMA YEE’s grave and senses the presence of a blood-thirsty killer……

PIK feels concern over TING who nearly miscarries and pleads her to spare the new life from the curse of vendetta. TING intends to abort KAU’s bastard once she has her revenge exacted. Her merciless speech breaks KAU’s heart. LUI arrives at the WONG’s residence to find PIK being held hostage by TING in order to make him yield. LUI is beaten by KAU. FUNG coaches him on the side. TING stabs FUNG in a rage. TING feels a sharp pain in her stomach and distracts KAU. LUI seizes the chance to hold the blade to TING’s neck. KAU pleads him to spare her life. TING says she would go as far to confront her worst enemy in her best dress and to marry an influential man for twenty long years like PIK in order to exact her revenge. KAU sees through her unremorseful nature and arrives at a painful decision. FUNG disappears without a trace. PIK chances on BLIND MONK during her search for FUNG and seeks his advice. He bestows her an umbrella……