The Vigilante In The Mask (2005)

Stung by his loss in the sedan chair race, AUYEUNG HING, son of the wealthy and influential Hekou County businessman AUYEUNG KWAI, falsely accuses carrier LEE TAI KWONG of scheming with rival FAN KEUNG HO TSUN to manipulate the results. KWONG and his family are sentenced to ten years of slavery at the AUYEUNG household by the corrupt magistrate LAI CHI KOK. His father LAI PANG CHUNG, head sheriff, and fiancee CHUNG WAN, an herbal doctor, reprimand him for failing to restore justice. Later, HING is arrested by CHUNG for harassing the talented YUEN KAI SA. Threatening to expose his bribery, KWAI presses KOK to dismiss CHUNG, and urges him to announce the legalization of gambling and speed up the construction of the Daotou passageway. KOK’s unpopular policy provokes mass protests. KOK and KWAI visit Duming Monastery hoping that ABBOT MISERY will consent to the construction of a passageway that passes by the monastery……

The black-garbed vigilante gives HING a good beating and leaves the scene. KOK hurries back to WAN’s herbal clinic upon learning from his fast friend LOK FU, Chief Secretary of the Yamen, that WAN has narrowly escaped from an attempted rape. When WAN refuses to treat HING’s wounds, KOK turns to her father CHUNG YUEN for help, ignoring her hard feelings. Village folks hail the chivalry of the black-garbed vigilante and dub him the “Plum Blossom Valiant”. Since CHUNG and his men fail to track down the Plum Blossom Valiant, KWAI offers one thousand taels of silver to information leading to his arrest, much to KOK’s dismay. CHUNG receives home PO KWONG, son of a late friend. KWONG pours scorn on the apparently corrupt KOK. In their younger years, KWONG and KOK were fellow disciples of the Wudang School but the latter was expelled……

CHUNG demands to know the real identity of LAM. To everyone’s surprise, she claims to be an Emei disciple and KOK’s fiancee. KOK is startled by her claim. It turns out that KOK saved LAM’s life eight years ago and a grateful LAM pledged herself in marriage to her savior when she turned eighteen, using a bamboo flute as their keepsake. KOK laughs at LAM’s claim and chases her away with harsh words. Seeking to drown her sorrows in the bottle, LAM is induced into a drunken state by two lascivious men, only to be redeemed and taken in by the passer-by WAN. Displeased with the popularity of the Plum Blossom Valiant, KWONG bitterly quarrels with WAN. LAM alone penetrates the AUYEUNG residence and saves SA by a stroke of luck. In a fit of anger, HING beats up LEE KAP so severely that the man dies. TSUN witnesses the incident. HING’s underling RIDICULE FONG hatches a scheme whereby TSUN is framed for the murder……

Years ago, WONG killed a man by mistake but a lenient KOK set him free against the law. KWAI has been blackmailing KOK with the incident, turning him into his puppet official. KWAI makes WONG poison TSUN to death. WONG turns to KOK for help. That night, the Plum Blossom Valiant saves TSUN from the prison. WONG hurries to KOK to spread the good news and suspects that the vigilante in disguise is really CHUNG. KOK quickly dismisses the speculation. KWAI demands the immediate arrest of the Plum Blossom Valiant and threatens to confiscate KOK’s belongings if he fails in the task. Based on the testimonies of sheriffs CHAI TSAM FOON and TUNG TSOK LOK, CHUNG deduces that KWONG is their wanted man, but KWONG denies the claim saying that a Wudang disciple would never act stealthily. WAN is dining at the LAI’s when LAM shows up uninvited. The two women are shocked to learn that they both are fiancee to the same man……

LAM tells WAN that she would go as far as letting WAN be KOK’s wife and herself his concubine. Fuming with rage, WAN demands her return to Emei. LAM administers reflexology on YUK’s feet and tries hard to please CHUNG, but the father mocks her futile attempt at changing KOK’s erroneous ways. Seeing that WAN shows KOK the cold shoulder, her maidservants ROYAL and NOBLE urge WAN to contend for KOK’s love. In protest of KWAI’s policies, the locals call for boycott of Shing Cheong Lung’s goods. KWAI relents and promises to reopen the passageway but demands that KOK convince ABBOT MISERY to answer their request. FU volunteers a plan to save KOK from his predication. He steers a giant kite into the monastery to negotiate with the abbot. His plan works, much to the people’s delight. KOK nearly faints at FU’s promise to the abbot to abolish their gambling legalization scheme……

Angry villagers charge the Yamen in protest of the decision to abandon the match. KOK urges KWAI to return the betting money to the punters but he refuses, stating that he will abide only if KOK has the Plum Blossom Valiant in his custody. Pursued by the punters, bookmaker KWONG SIU YU resorts to hiding out in the prison. By coincidence, KWONG joins hands with LAM to save a boy and becomes attracted to her. He decides to stay in Hekou and works as a sheriff. In high spirits, HING breaks his plan to open a brothel to KWAI, claiming that he has recruited a bunch of Persian belles. KWAI pledges his support reluctantly. It is only when the delivery of baskets of Qingyuan chickens arrive that HING realizes he has been hoaxed. YU begs WONG to release her so that she can tend to the blind MADAM LUNG back home. A doubtful WONG pays a visit to YU’s home and realizes that she has indeed told the truth……

KOK vents his frustration by practicing sword dance. LAM consoles him by defending his integrity. KWAI and his wife receive a warning note signed off by the Plum Blossom Valiant. KOK’s advice to return the betting money is again rebutted by KWAI. KWAI has only capture the Plum Blossom Valiant in mind and wants the police’s protection of his family. Despite the unanimous praises of CHUNG et al. for the Plum Blossom Valiant, KWONG remains skeptical of his dubious identity. Betting on the prestige of their martial arts schools, Emei and Wudang, LAM challenges KWONG to capture the wanted man. The Fei Fan Heung Opera Troupe arrives in town to stage performances. WONG seizes the opportunity to meet the male huadan YIM FUN FONG whom he admires. FONG injures his left hand while signing autographs for fans. WAN offers him treatment……

The Plum Blossom Valiant kidnaps HING with LAM’s assistance. The uncompromising KWAI demands HING’s safe return in two days. KWONG rebukes LAM for interfering with their operation. HING is found hanging from an arch, avowing to the people his scheme behind the chicken plaque. KOK praises the Plum Blossom Valiant’s heroic deeds, but KWONG thinks it is inappropriate for an official to pass such a comment. The two men engage in a row. LAM notices that KOK is eager to refine his swordplay and helps him out on the pretext of crossing swords with him. KOK is appreciative of her kind gesture. WAN and YUK attend FONG’s performance and discover that FONG is in fact a woman. FONG asks them not to tell anyone. LAM praises the swordsmanship of KWONG, much to his delight. Despite KWONG’s affections for her, LAM reinstates her love for KOK……

KOK is about to roll up his sleeves when CHUNG reveals a bite mark on his arm. HING is led to believe he has gotten the right man. WAN suggests that KOK disguise as the Plum Blossom Valiant in order to get CHUNG acquitted. KOK tells KWAI that he would rather quit than sentencing CHUNG to death. KWAI threatens to ruin KOK’s life and family. The Plum Blossom Valiant breaks into AUYEUNG’s house bringing KWAI the ultimatum to return the betting money. WAN chances on KOK in his Plum Blossom Valiant persona and finds him a striking resemblance to KOK. She hurries to the LAI’s but KOK gets by with his wits. CHUNG is finally released, and KWAI returns the betting money to the punters. YU is put behind bars again. CHUNG knows it is her trick to get near to her object of affections, WONG. YU overhears WONG’s conversation with the convict LEE SAM regarding the whereabouts of a treasure cove, and offers to gather information from LEE……

KWONG suggests that he and LAM choreograph a new swordplay encompassing the Emei and Wudang disciplines, which he will name the “Yin Yang Love Sword”. LAM finds his proposal hilarious. WAN realizes her domineering ways when juxtaposed with LAM’s tenderness toward KOK. The following day, LAM is busy making dim sums for KOK, but KOK shrugs at her reminder of their rendezvous once a year. A rich man from the city, also named FONG, casts his eyes on FONG and desires to marry her. WAN solicits KOK’s help on her behalf. KOK and other sheriffs press charge against FONG for forcing a man into marriage. Only when MR. FONG reveals his official gown and hat that KOK knows that the man is really MINISTER FONG, vice-president of the Eastern Factory. KOK tells WAN and FONG that he can do nothing to stop the minister. The two women storm out……

LAM is grateful to KWONG who gets injured when saving her. KWONG seizes the chance to declare his love for her. In LAM’s dream, the old, blurring picture of KOK saving her reemerges. WAN is just about to unveil the Plum Blossom Valiant’s mask. FONG returns to the troupe, intending to reveal her identity as a woman, but WAN urges her to think twice. To make up for the three thousand taels paid in compensation to the chicken farmers, KWAI asks KWAN to raise retail prices of oil and salt. WAN invites KOK to an outing in the countryside, but KOK deliberately keeps her waiting. When he shows up later, WAN is gone already. FU fondly remembers when he and WAN once played bride and groom when they were small and is still keeping her red scarf precious. When KOK and LAM show up at the herbal clinic, KOK lies to an angry WAN that he has forgotten their appointment……

Vexed by selecting an inexpensive wedding anniversary gift for KWAI and his wife, KOK is overwhelmed with relief at the news of the emperor’s death. During their journey back to Hekou, WONG goes on a robbing spree. MADAM LUNG is delighted to learn from YU that LORD FOURTH has succeeded the throne. LAM confronts KOK for shunning her. KOK admits that he practices swordplay with her only to upset WAN. A dejected LAM takes to the bottle with KWONG in her company. KWONG hints at his admiration for her. KOK et al. attend FONG’s last performance. The martial male boycotts the show, but KOK thinks of a counter tactic. FONG reveals to KOK’s horror that WAN finally gets over him because she has found a new object of affections, the Plum Blossom Valiant. FU comes upon WAN while paying obeisance to his parents’ grave. Instead of answering whether or not she has broken up with KOK, WAN wants to know if FU has someone special in his heart……

KOK is deeply disturbed by WAN’s confession. Though he declines FU’s offer to be their mediator, he praises his contented and noble character. Disillusioned with WAN’s waywardness, KOK drafts a letter of divorce. The Plum Blossom Valiant is impressed by FU’s benevolent acts and eggs him on to woo the woman he loves. FU experiences mixed emotions when he sees the divorce letter in KOK’s room. FONG is reduced to singing on the streets. Determined to be self-reliant, she rejects WONG’s offer to establish her own troupe. YU is furious at WONG who has been helping FONG out with her money. LAM is disarrayed by her increasing affection for KWONG, and tries to avoid seeing him. FU goes to WAN’s place to give her a silk scarf as a present but overhears her parents’ conservation in which they reveal their wishes for KOK to marry WAN soon. Dejected, FU goes on a drinking binge and vomits blood……

FU tries to kill himself after leaving a suicide note. In a trance, FU remembered the days when he and WAN used to hang around together. A village woman saves FU and thus jerks him back to reality. FU kills her in a fit of rage and swears he will win WAN’s heart against all odds. FU invites WAN to his cave where she learns of FU’s secret love for her from the dazzling cave drawings depicting episodes of their childhood. LAM is vexed by her love torn between KOK and KWONG. Out of the blue, a dove brings LAM a letter. KOK returns to his room and is shocked to see LAM falling asleep in his bed. The Plum Blossom Valiant asks WAN out, inquiring the state of affairs between her and KOK. WAN says she cannot bear to forsake KOK’s love. The dove delivers a second letter to LAM. This time, a furious LAM threatens to kill KWONG but she hasn’t the heart to do it. KOK shows up unexpectedly and tells KWONG that he is LAM’s true love……

FONG says she only hit HING in self-defense as he tried forcing himself on her. KWAI wants KOK to sentence FONG to death, but KOK only locks her up. KWAI is displeased with KOK’s uncooperative gesture and threatens to retaliate by either killing FONG or having WONG killed. KOK asks FONG to plead guilty to buy time, but FONG would rather die than compromising her dignity. KOK suspects that it is a malicious scheme and orders an autopsy, but KWAI opposes. KWONG at first refuses to lie inside the coffin from which they retrieve HING’s body but agrees when LAM volunteers to be the replacement. The autopsy reports states that HING’s mortal injury is on his chest, meaning that FONG is innocent. Later KOK et al. return HING’s body to the coffin only to find that it has already been buried. LAM wails in front of the grave. KOK brings forth the witness MAU and HING’s body and identifies the real murderer……

KOK yields his official seal and heaves a sigh of relief after being freed from years of extortion from KWAI. When WAN gets wind that KOK has been sacked and that LAM, KWONG and WONG are on the wanting list, she hurries to KOK’s house. There, FU gives her KOK’s divorce letter. LAM and KWONG raid the execution ground to redeem FONG but are outnumbered. The Plum Blossom Valiant saves the day by taking FONG away. To his surprise, it is not FONG but FU that he has saved. LAM condemns FU’s betrayal but KOK believes FU’s innocence. WAN asks to meet KOK as soon as she finds out that he is in fact the Plum Blossom Valiant. YU tattoos a birthmark similar to hers on WONG’s back and entrusts to him the mission to save KOK et al. faking as the crown prince. MINISTER FONG is held back from killing WONG and YU by the sight of WONG’s birthmark. WONG goes on to order the release of KOK et al. in his assumed crown prince persona……

KOK buries CHUNG in the woods before leaving Hekou with YUK; down the cliff, KWONG carries the unconscious LAM on his back; WAN is lying unconscious on CHUNG’s bed. FU is appointed magistrate officially and has many great plans installed. He talks to WAN on her bedside and hopes that she may regain consciousness soon since his days are numbered. WONG flees upon learning that the emperor is soon arriving in town, but YU insists on staying so that she can catch a glimpse of the emperor. Inside a cave, LAM wakes up to the aroma of herbal medicine that KWONG is preparing. She is deeply moved. Against the protest of small vendors, FU entrusts the trading of oil, salt, rice and wine to the Shing Cheong Lung. FU suppresses the protests high-handedly. KOK and YUK stay at a black inn mistakenly and chance to meet the emperor. The emperor promises to redress his case and makes him the official Plum Blossom Valiant……

To ease KWAI’s mind, FU schemes to shift MINISTER FONG’s murder on the Plum Blossom Valiant. WAN wakes up but no longer recognizes FU. WAN is diagnosed with amnesia. In their attempt to rob the emperor, WONG and YU reunite with KOK and YUK. The emperor is shocked to learn that FONG has been killed and that YU is in fact his daughter. He made YU Princess Rainbow and orders WONG to escort her to the capital. FU takes WAN to the tree house, abandoned temple and cave where they had left their marks, and fabricates the story that KOK is the person to be blamed. He proposes to her. WAN hesitates at first but accepts the proposal to FU’s delight. When KOK and the emperor reach Hekou, KOK urges the emperor to redress his case but the emperor indulges himself in all sorts of vanity. The emperor is arrested after slapping KWAI in a brothel and fails to present his royal seal. As a result, he receives forty harsh beatings as punishment……

FU sends his men to arrest KOK during the proceedings of his wedding with WAN. Having extricated himself from the immediate danger, KOK is determined to expose FU’s hypocrisy at his wedding. The emperor talks him into abandoning the plan, believing it to be far too risky. The two drown their sorrows in the bottle. WONG and YU gamble away their fortune and have no choice but to return to Hekou seeking the emperor’s help. FU attends to WAN’s make-up when fragmented recollections of her life urge through her mind. FU is informed that the emperor has gone on a tour incognito and deduces that the man who was sentenced to forty harsh beatings is none other than the emperor. FU receives the emperor to the Yamen. The emperor reprimands FU’s and KWAI’s wrongdoings. FU holds the emperor hostage and coerces KWAI into colluding with him by threatening the safety of his wife……

FU gives the emperor three days to think his request over and threatens to chop off YU’s limbs if he fails to yield. YU tells the emperor that she would rather sacrifice her life. The emperor is deeply moved. Disguising as the Plum Blossom Valiant, KWONG and LAM return to Hekou to exact vengeance on MINISTER FONG. Now that MINISTER FONG is dead, they join forces with KOK in rescuing the emperor. KWAI sneaks into the emperor’s enclosure to express his remorse and offers to help him escape on condition that his life will be spared. The trio succeeds in bringing the emperor to safety. With his conspiracy failed, FU flees but is intercepted by KOK. FU asks KOK to end his life but the latter does not have the heart to do it and sets him free. FU tells WAN that it was KOK who drove them into jumping off the cliff. WAN is perplexed when she is told by others that FU is the villain and KOK is her real fiance. She leaves home in distress……