Ghost Writer (2010)

PO CHUNG-LING was born in a family of New Year print. In order to maintain the printing house’s business, his father PO POON is having dealings with the officials regularly. LING was not able to cry after birth. At that critical moment, a fox kicks down a tile on the roof. This scared LING to tears and thus saved his life. The fox actually came to return a favor to POON because POON had rescued it before. Twenty-five years later, LING is grown up. The top-quality cinnabar that POON uses for New Year print is monopolized by YEUNG’s family. Shandong Commissioner CHENG CHUNG-PONG knows POON for many years and he helps to seal up YEUNG’s family. LING misconceives that POON fawns on PONG to fight against his competitor. POON investigates the rumor about a fox spirit with his good friend KO JIT who works as a constable. Through this LING meets the fox spirit LING WU SIU-TSUI.… ...

TSUI is actually the little fox released by POON long time ago. After becoming a fox spirit, TSUI follows her grandfather LING WU GUT-CHEUNG back to visit her benefactor. The government officers set a fire at Kiu Village and all villagers are forced to move away. JIT believes that POON knows the reason behind and he carries out investigation with LING. LING misconceives that POON is working in collusion with PONG to harm the villagers. He draws a painting at a printing house’s celebration to satirize them. PONG is irritated but POON solves the problem tactfully. JIT tries to chase after GLIDER. TSUI dislikes GLIDER for pretending to be a fox spirit so she gives him a lesson. GLIDER is frightened and he speaks nonsense in front of CHUNG. JIT arrives at the scene but CHUNG kills GLIDER immediately. JIT doesn’t have any evidence to sue CHUNG so he resigns from the job angrily. TSUI meets LING again and they get to know each other’s name.… ...

Encouraged by everybody, JIT decides to resume his work and CHUNG is upset. Female worker CHUN TO tries hard to please LING’s cousin PO PAK-LING and PAK asks LING for help. YU and POON respectively discover that LING is talking with TO secretly. They misconceive that LING is flirting with TO but this is actually PAK’s trick. YU’s elder sister LAU SUM-YIN is missing and she come to Jinan for investigation. YU believes that LING is the unfaithful man who hurt her sister so she tries to question him. LING tries to avoid answering her. POON asks YU to reveal everything to him. He then questions LING and PAK about the case. PAK finally reveals the story between him and YIN. POON promises YU to help finding her sister. A dead woman’s body is discovered at an abandoned salt warehouse and JIT goes to carry out investigation. LING wants to play tricks on YU so he sends her to the salt warehouse.… ...

YU recognizes that the dead woman is her sister. She is heart-broken and she believes that PAK is the one who killed her. JIT questions PAK but he finds no evidence. YU believes that YIN’s spirit is staying inside the bamboo flute. LING therefore brings YU and JIT to look for reference books at the Chit-Chat Studio. They finally find the way to release the spirit of YIN. YIN reveals to them the bad things PAK had done to her. She regrets a lot and she asks them not to accuse PAK. In the morning, YIN hides herself in YU’s jar pipe for the bamboo flute is broken. LING remembers that PAK was quarreling with his wife LEUNG PIK-YUK about a missing black pearl on the day YIN died. JIT set up a scene to lure PAK and he finally arrests him. At the court, PAK admits that he had betrayed YIN but he reveals that he didn’t kill her. POON believes in PAK and he helps to justify his statement.… ...

YU insists to fight for YIN. YIN tries to stop her and JIT finds it suspicious. JIT tells LING that YIN used to work in the brothel and he believes that there is something else had happened. They thus carry out investigation on YIN’s customers but they discover nothing. Later, they are inspired by a holy turtle and they discover something important. JIT goes to Qufu to carry out investigation on the new Magistrate TSUI CHONG-MAN. LING sees through his heart from his handwriting. He tries to test him by sending him a drawing with the word “heart” on it and he has new discovery. They therefore return to Jinan to question YIN. YIN requests them to stop disturbing MAN before she reveals everything to them and they agree reluctantly. CHUNG suddenly comes to arrest PAK for he wants to investigate YIN’s case again. In order to save PAK, POON tries to seek PONG’s help by sending him a famous painting.

PONG learns that the Governor of Shandong, MA YUK-SING, tries to intervene in PAK’s case and he is upset. He later meets MAN’s father TSUI WING-TAI and he changes his mind. PAK is sentenced to death and he will be executed after autumn. LING tries every means to bring YIN to the court but he fails and is being punished. LING is upset for YIN fails to appear at the court. YIN reveals the reasons to them and they finally realize what had happened. POON wants to go to the capital to seek for help but his residence is surrounded by many government officers already. PONG persuades POON to give up. On the other hand, somebody slanders JIT and he is suspended from his duties temporarily. Then, the mortuary is on fire and YIN’s dead body is burnt. JIT believes that everything was arranged by TAI in an attempt to save MAN. He goes to Qufu again with LING to look for MAN. MAN is very depressed and they agree to bring YIN to him.… ...

The murderer comes to admit his sin and YU is mad with him. JIT wants to reveal the truth to everybody but others stop him from doing so. YIN’s spirit is ready to leave. MAN comes to say goodbye to her with her tablet. JIT is deeply touched by their love and he finally decides to let go. POON worries that SING will be upset after the release of PAK. PONG accompanies POON to visit SING with an apologizing gift but SING refuses to accept it. PONG is upset. YU wants to return to her hometown but she finally decides to stay in Jinan temporarily to help curing JIT’s mother SUNG HO’s headache and LING’s half-brother HOK-LING’s epilepsy. JIT returns to work. He is irritated by CHUNG’s tyrannical sister NGAI HUNG and he comes into dispute with her. HUNG later makes trouble at HO’s inn. JIT tries to provoke her and HUNG falls into his trap. JIT seizes the chance to arrest HUNG for she has destroyed other’s properties.… ...

YU wonders why HOK’s condition fluctuates a lot so she tries to check out HAN’s health condition as well. She believes that HOK is sick because HAN didn’t eat well during her pregnancy. She therefore goes to the drug store with HAN to check out the medical prescription she was having during her pregnancy. She discovers that LING’s uncle YIP CHI-MING is very suspicious. YU reveals to LING that HOK’s poor health condition was caused by MING. In order to justify that they are innocent, MING and his wife CHU PO-YIN reveal their untold secrets to everybody. YU learns that LING’s mother used to pray at Dragon Lady Temple so she carries out investigation there. She gives her findings to HAN but HAN destroys it. MING and PO-YIN claim that HAN is the one who set up the whole plan. In order to protect YU from getting into trouble, HAN takes the blame. Luckily, POON has discovered the truth already.… ...

YU finds that LING has a happy family and she feels sad about her miserable life. LING consoles her by flying kite with her. YU and LING both have feelings on each other but they are shy to reveal it. HO persuades JIT to declare his love to YU. HUNG tries to play tricks on JIT but JIT sees through her plan. HUNG eventually suffers from her own actions. HUNG tries to frame JIT up by putting her purple hairpin at his place and YU becomes embroiled in the case unexpectedly. In order to rescue YU, JIT obeys HUNG’s every order and he finishes all the cakes HUNG gave him but HUNG breaks her promise at the end. HUNG’s purple hairpin is actually the stolen good of CHUNG. The brigands discover this. They capture HUNG and humiliate her. JIT risks his life to rescue HUNG and CHUNG suddenly arrives to kill all the brigands. JIT blames CHUNG for destroying all the evidence again.… ...

TSUI reveals to LING that she is interested in the New Year print business so LING brings her to the printing house. POON finds TSUI drawing a person’s portrait. He scolds TSUI and LING angrily for it is not allowed to include a person’s portrait in the New Year print. HUNG comes to apologize to JIT but JIT ignores her. YU persuades JIT to forgive HUNG and JIT finally accepts the apology. LING brings TSUI to Pure Land Temple for he wants to show her the Lazurite Staff. TSUI is naughty and she makes friends with SING’s daughter MA PING-TING by pretending that she is LING. YU gives free medical treatment to everybody at the inn. In order to please JIT, HUNG voluntarily asks to be her assistant. After stepping away from the love triangle, LING resorts to drink. TSUI loses her supernatural power after drinking with LING. She takes good care of the drunk LING and this gives rise to misunderstanding by others.… ...

Since CHUNG has damaged the Lazurite Staff, PONG threatens POON to include TING’s portrait in the New Year print for he wants to harm SING. In order to save LING, POON includes TING’s portrait in the New Year print even though it’s against the rules. HUNG tries to please JIT but JIT rejects her love and HUNG is sad. YU learns that JIT loves her. She tries to reject him indirectly but she fails. TSUI wants to match LING and YU up. She tries mesmerizing LING so that he will reveal his love to YU but her plan doesn’t work. MING and YIN drink TSUI’s mesmerizing potion accidentally. They start quarreling with each other angrily. SING learns that TING’s portrait is included in the New Year print. He believes that this could help sending TING to the palace but he has actually fallen into PONG’s trap. LING learns that YU wants to return to her hometown and he is sad. TSUI tries to go into LING’s dream and persuades him to cherish YU.… ...

TSUI finds that the Taoist Priest is very unskillful and she kicks him away. However, others discover that TSUI has transformed stones into gold. They believe that TSUI is a liar and they want to send TSUI to the court. Luckily, CHEUNG comes to rescue TSUI. People are suspecting that TING is appearing on the New Year print and the prince questions SING about this. He requests SING to retrieve all the New Year prints and SING’s career development is also hindered. LING and JIT need to leave YU for work. They both send YU cloud cakes before leaving. CHUNG believes that he can get rid of the stolen goods when JIT is away but JIT plays trick to force the middleman CHIU TUNG to cooperate with him. JIT successfully persuades CHUNG’s subordinate PAK CHIU to become a witness but CHUNG kills CHIU suddenly and JIT is upset. POON learns from the Magistrate CHONG YU-TUNG that SING is defeated by PONG in a under table fight.… ...

LING refuses to hide away for he wants to point out the mistakes of all government officials at the court. POON slaps him on his face angrily and he suddenly vomits blood. HAN knows that POON cares about LING a lot and she begs LING to leave. LING says goodbye to YU and he leaves on the next morning. However, CHUNG’s team finally captures him and he is nearly killed. JIT arrives on time to rescue him. In order to find the whereabouts of LING, CHUNG tortures JIT continuously but JIT refuses to speak a word. While running away, LING falls off from a cliff and TSUI rescues him. TUNG brings HO and YU to visit the seriously injured JIT. He asks CHUNG to release JIT but CHUNG rejects him. The Po Printing House is sealed. POON asks TUNG to bring him to SING. He decides to take all the blame on the New Year print issue so as to save the whole family. After considering the pros and cons, SING agrees to POON’s request.… ...

HAN asks POON why he doesn’t hand over the printing house to PAK. POON reveals his thinking to her. YU shows JIT’s blood stained clothes to the public. Everybody is enraged and they force TUNG and CHUNG to release JIT. JIT is finally released and YU gives him medical treatments. LING nearly dies but TSUI takes his soul back LING is seriously injured and his soul has left his body. CHEUNG uses Seven Star Lamp to sustain his life but one of LING’s souls, the Love Soul, has gone back to his hometown already. CHEUNG asks TSUI to look for LING’s Love Soul in Jinan by using the Cosmos Mirror. LING’s soul follows her by hiding in a shadow doll. TSUI brings LING’s soul to see YU at Chit-Chat Studio. She also brings him home but they fail to find his Love Soul. TSUI plays trick to let LING’s soul enter the government office. TSUI brings LING’s soul to visit POON with HAN at the prison.… ...

POON is not able to see LING’s soul. He reveals to HAN all the misunderstandings between him and LING in the past. LING finally realizes the difficulties of POON. POON remembers that this is LING’s birthday and he insists to finish drawing a picture drawn by LING when he was a kid. In the picture, LING was playing a kite with POON happily. However, POON is seriously ill and he is not able to finish the picture. LING tries to continue drawing the picture but nobody can see it. POON cries sadly and LING tries to catch his tears. Suddenly, LING’s Love Soul appears and POON finally sees the kite that LING has drawn. TSUI uses the Cosmos Mirror to capture LING’s Love Soul and she brings it back to rescue LING. JIT blames HUNG for destroying his relationship with YU. In order to get rid of HUNG, JIT tries to harass her and forces her to leave. YU thinks that JIT’s action is very inappropriate.… ...

LING begs SING to release POON so that they could cure his illness but SING rejects him. TING rather dies than marrying the man introduced by SING. She sends LING a letter for she hopes to see him for the last time. In order to resolve the misunderstandings, LING brings TSUI to see TING. TING realizes that she has misunderstood everything and she is heart-broken. With the help of TSUI, LING helps bring TING’s soul out of her body. SING believes that TING has died and he is very ashamed. He reveals himself in front of TING and TING finally realizes his good intentions. TING’s soul returns to her body and she reconciles with SING. SING agrees to release POON. Encouraged by YU, JIT returns to work as a Constable. Many villagers are believed to be possessed and CHUNG requests JIT to investigate the case. Rumors say that after watching one of the PO’s New Year prints, Houseful of Treasures, a person will be possessed.… ...

Many villagers come to make a mess at Po Printing House. POON has no choice but to explain the issue to everybody. POON already realizes that everything was done by PAK and PAK admits it frankly. POON asks TUNG to be his witness but PAK asks PONG to stand by him. In order to maintain the family business, POON reluctantly hands over the printing house key to PAK. JIT and YU try to hide away at an old temple but CHUNG’s subordinates finally arrive to attack them. In order to save YU, JIT is seriously injured by a falling statue. LING rushes to the place to meet JIT. JIT is in a coma already. In order to rescue JIT, YU agrees to marry him and JIT’s soul returns. Trying to please PONG, PAK offers the space of his ancestor grave to PONG. POON is enraged and he starts a quarrel with them. During the chaos, POON is pushed over and is seriously injured. TSUI tries hard to rescue him but she fails eventually.… ...

YU takes good care of JIT and JIT recovers gradually. Encouraged by HO, JIT proposes marriage to YU at the inn and he announces their marriage to everybody. LING is sad. Both LING and YU feel helpless and they try to leave the decision to god but the result is disappointing. YU cries when seeing the deer paper-cut given by LING and JIT doesn’t take it seriously. Later, JIT finds that LING is keeping the same deer paper-cut and he finds it strange. TSUI helps to patch up LING’s lie tactfully. In order to avoid further troubles, LING pretends to be lovers with TSUI and TSUI feels sweet. HUNG sends gift to JIT and YU. She voluntarily asks to be YU’s bridesmaid and she moves in to Chit-Chat Studio. She accidentally learns that YU and LING love each other but they sacrifice their love for JIT. HUNG tells JIT about it but JIT doesn’t believe in her. JIT follows LING and YU secretly.… ...

JIT hits LING angrily for he thinks that LING has betrayed him. YU tries to stop JIT and she returns the golden bracelet to him. In order to actualize his promise to POON, LING studies hard for the coming government examinations. JIT feels that he is betrayed by his good friend and his personality changes drastically. He starts dating HUNG and he threatens CHUNG to cooperate with him. PAK appoints TO as the team leader of the printing house and YUK suspects that they are committing adultery. She makes a mess at the printing house but she is humiliated at the end. PONG uses the Anhui disaster as an excuse to ask for donations from PAK and other merchants. PAK has no choice but to give him the money reluctantly. PONG has a glimpse of HUNG accidentally and he learns that she is CHUNG’s sister so he asks CHUNG about her. LING performs well in the government examinations but PONG tries to make things difficult for him.… ...

TO dies in the dye vat of the printing house and JIT investigates the case. PAK says that YUK already allowed him to marry TO and they have time witness. PAK suspects that CHUNG has killed TO and JIT overhears the conversation. JIT asks HUNG to check out why CHUNG is injured and CHUNG blames HUNG for standing by JIT’s side. LING borrows the Cosmos Mirror from TSUI for he wants to find TO’s soul but he fails. Later, he discovers some face powder on TO’s body. TSUI seduces LING in the garden and LING is mesmerized by her beauty. YU is shocked to find them acting intimately. Backed up by PONG, PAK is not afraid of CHUNG. He provides poor quality rice as donation to the victims of the disaster. PONG forces CHUNG to return the donation money to him. CHUNG reveals HUNG’s background to PONG so as to control him. JIT learns that HUNG is PONG’s illegitimate daughter and he voluntarily asks to help PONG eliminating CHUNG.… ...

YU is unhappy about what happened between LING and TSUI in the garden. LING proposes to her in the public so as to show his love for her. TSUI seeks the Fox Deity’s advice. Suspecting YUK wants to seduce MING, PO-YIN takes away her newly bought jewel. YUK reveals her true identity. PO-YIN is so scared that she goes insane and almost falls into a well. YU is treating PO-YIN. YUK grasps the opportunity to seduce LING. This however makes him suspicious of her real identity. HUNG has been in doubt of her background ever since CHUNG died. JIT helps PONG and HUNG realize they are father and daughter indeed. LING tries to use the Cosmo Mirror to make YUK reveal her real identity but fails. PAK mistakenly believes that LING wants to take advantage of YUK. LING feels that it is difficult for him to accomplish anything at work, as government officials are controlled by other people in many ways. He takes to drinking; YU stands by his side.… ...

JIT is coveting the post of Chief Constable of Shandong. He decides to use HUNG to help him achieve his goal. PAK draws YUK’s portrait. LING goes to the printing house to ask him for an explanation, only to see a bewitched PAK. YU asks JIT to look into the recent strange happenings of the Po’s family. YU wants to bewilder JIT, but she falls into his trap instead and shows her tail. In fact, JIT has sent someone to burn her statute at the Fox Deity Temple, causing her to lose her supernatural power. YUK has caught WAH. JIT thinks he might as well kill him. JIT kicks YUK down a cliff. The fact that PAK provided poor quality rice to the disaster victims has come to light. PAK turns to PONG for help. Feeling angry that PAK should threaten him, PONG orders JIT to arrest PAK. PAK is seriously injured when he is fleeing. LING saves him. LING is on the verge of death and he misses YUK a lot. YU finds TSUI’s behavior odd and so follows her.… ...

HUNG hopes that PONG can promote JIT. PONG does not want to do so in the first place, but agrees unwittingly when HUNG tells him she has slept with JIT. TSUI enters YU’s dream, believing this will make YU understand how she feels. On the contrary, YU is all the more certain that TSUI is going to harm her family. JIT asks YU how she is doing. She tells him her suspicion that TSUI is a fox spirit. YU follows JIT’s instruction to expose TSUI’s real identity but turns into a fox spirit herself. The villagers want to burn YU to death. JIT comes to her rescue in the nick of time. JIT finds YUK. YUK is possessed by the Nine-Tail Fox. As the Nine-Tail Fox has not regained its supernatural power yet, JIT takes the opportunity to hurt it severely. JIT and TSUI kill the fox spirit together. The Nine-Tail Fox has left YU. YUK has come round, too. She is miserable to learn that PAK has died.… ...

PONG learns that HUNG has met MASTER CHI-YAN. In fear that the latter will harm him, he tells JIT to get rid of her. LUNG is investigating the case of missing Vice Minister of Interior CHAN WING-LONG took place 20 years go. YAN confesses at HUNG’s mother Shum Yuen-kwan’s grave. CHUNG wants to find out why she is doing this but her effort proves futile. Later, JIT kills YAN. LING finds a letter written by KWAN before she died. JIT speaks to his own shadow. YU is taken aback to overhear that he is working with TSUI to harm her. She rebukes him. YU wants to tell CHUNG JIT is going to deal with him. But before she can do so, she realizes she has been already killed by JIT. Through TSUI, she tells LING to run away. TSUI hides from LING that YU has died, for fear he will not forgive her. JIT gives a fake letter to PONG. SING and TUNG arrest PONG. LING believes JIT is harboring some bad intention.… ...

LING demands for redress. With the help of TSUI, YU appears at the court to accuse JIT. JIT accuses LING of conspiring with a spirit to slander him. Meanwhile, HO appears with YU’s dead body. JIT holds HO hostage then leaves. HO pleads him to put down his hatred but he refuses to listen. JIT puts a piece of Icy Jade in YU’s mouth to prevent her dead body from decaying. TSUI and LING look for CHEUNG in the mountain, who they believe can bring YU back to life. CHEUNG gives TSUI a good telling-off for creating so much trouble. He also tells her to guard the altar and wait for the best timing to revive YU. CHEUNG needs dew for performing the Cosmos Reincarnation, so he goes to the Tin Mountain to collect some. No sooner has he left then JIT appears. JIT refuses to let them bring YU back to life. He kills LING with a knife… LING and YU reunite with each other. TSUI feels sad and reproaches herself. She is determined to sacrifice herself.… ...