紹女(本事)
風雪肆虐的寒夜,只見微弱的光線自小鎭稀疏的民居中透出來,路上已罕見人跡。駱海天,羅豪,杜倫三人筋疲力竭的揹着背囊往前走,喜見路前有小酒肆,是夜結識得該館老板萬人傑,彼原是吉林有名的捕快,大槪年老隱居。
年老的採參人陳大叔與女相依,賴女兒綿綿捕貂度活。恰遇駱、羅杜三人,收留於家中,陳大叔獨對杜倫生好感,暗中欲招爲婿,並將久藏之兩支老參作女兒粧奩,事爲陰險的駱海天偸窺到,暗中想計策破壞。
乘綿綿裸體臥雪地上誘貂鼠時,粗豪的羅豪突然色迷心竅,欲對她輕薄,緊張關頭,駱海天出現,怒懲羅豪,綿綿感激駱的拯救,以身相許,陳大叔不知此事經過,有日向綿綿表示,待春天來臨雪溶之後,就替她辦喜事,駱海天大驚,而一直爲陳大叔心中理想女婿之杜倫暗理喜悅,却見綿綿故意逃避,感到驚訝,駱海天險詐成性,某夜依照大叔之意,四人同到鄭家屯趕集,把皮草賣掉,補購點用品回來,下塌於陳家老棧,駱海天誘羅,杜二人出外玩樂,嗾使妓女把兩人迷醉,送上雪山寺,與囚犯和尙們一塊兒。兩人被誤作是犯人,甦醒過來時已是頂上光禿禿。
駱海天此時疾馬飛奔,往山上陳家走去,要脅陳大叔交出兩支人參,陳抗拒因而被駱所殺,埋屍於雪地下,遍搜全屋仍不知人參所在,駱心生一計,燃點火藥引爆屋後雪山,一時積雪崩溶,凌空飛濺,瞬息間失却屋子的影跡 ,駱回棧假意責怪羅、杜二人出外久而不歸,並偕綿綿齊往找尋,途悉雪崩,以爲老父爲雪所淹斃,無可奈何與駱成親。
羅,杜二人藉寺中方丈開恩釋放,後發現雪崩事件, 並聞駱與綿綿成夫婦,在鎭中開設皮草店舖,急趕至,聞陳大叔屍首因積雪未掘出而生疑,連忙與雪山寺方丈洽商,施計揭破駱的詭計,駱忽見陳大叔出現,並與初遇於小酒肆的老板萬人傑續談下棋挑戰事,深感疑幻疑眞,作賊心虛之下,奔至陳大叔埋屍處狂掘,衆人追隨於後,駱海天無所遁形,萬人傑以他超卓的武功,經一塲生死戰,將駱海天殺死。
——故事完——
Manchuria, bitterly cold Manchuria with its snow-covered mountains where life is cheap, where human greed runs rampant. But the adventurous still risk their lives to go deep into the mountains. They are hunting for the precious wild plant root called jinseng famous for its magic medicinal powers, or they are after the mink for its pelt.
On the jinseng trail are three penniless young men from milder climates. Adventure is thrust upon them by desperation. Except for poverty, they have little in common. Tu is an upright young man, always willing to sacrifice himself to help others. Crazy Lo is a tough, rough man who acts by his instincts and his instincts usually get him into trouble. Lu is the scheming type. He even hides away the wine and food when such supplies have run out.
So the three men find themselves deep in the mountains and snow. Before they come across any of the legendary jinseng, they meet Mien Mien the mink huntress.
Mien Mien, a healthy uninhibited girl, has been hunting the mink for years. She lends glamour to the otherwise tedious but risky trade.
The mink is a shy but kindhearted animal. It gets scared easily and is clever enough to dodge all traps. But its kind heart leads to its own downfall. If ever it finds an unclothed man dying in the snow, it usually tries to save him by covering his body with its own rich furs to give him the warmth. Then it is caught.
Mien Mien the huntress usually drinks some wine to build up resistance against the cold and then lies naked in the snow with a net handy. She has caught a large number of minks to make it possible for her father and herself living comfortably in a house on the snow slopes.
The three newcomers meet Mien Mien while she is trying to catch the minks naked. They scare away the minks and make Mien Mien very angry. However, they finally convince her they do not mean any harm. She agrees to take them to her father.
Daddy Chen knows everything about jinseng hunting. He tells them they have to wait until the spring. In the meantime, they could stay in his place working for him.
Days go by and the three men all fall in love with Mien Mien. Old Chen and the girl both like upright Tu. So much so the old man is willing to give her the best jinseng he ever found as the dowry.
Scheming Lu hears about it and he works out a plan. On Mien Mien's hunting day, he plies Crazy Lo with drinks. The rage Lo goes after the girl with rape in mind. Lu times his arrival very well. He "saves" Mien Mien before Lo can do any damage and then he seduces a grateful Mien Mien.
Then, it is time to get rid of the two friends. At the top of the mountain, there is a temple which is used by the government as a rehabilition centre for hard criminals. Scheming Lu strikes up a friendship with the warden.
So when old daddy Chen sends Mien Mien and the three men down to the city to sell the mink pelts, the shrewd Lu sets his plan into motion. In the city, he leads his friends to a brothel and drugs them unconscious. He takes them to the temple and hands them to the warden as new criminals. Then Lu goes to see old daddy Chen and demand the jinseng. Refused, he kills the old man. An avalanche buries the house.
Back in the city, he joins Mien Mien to wait for the two others. When they fail to show up, he goes up to the mountains with the girl only to find everything was gone and the father apparently buried by the avalanche.
Mien Mien has to settle in the city with Lu. She still has to hunt for the mink while Lu starts a mink business.
Tu [an]d Crazy Lo wake up to find themselves prisoners in the temple. Chained and tortured, they are put to hard labour. They start to resist. Finally, they get to see the abbot. Their innocence is ultimately established and the abbot sends them back to the city.
Still unaware of Lu's treachery, they visit him at the shop. The meeting is strained as Mien Mien is now Lu's mistress. This starts young Tu to think.
After much investigation, Tu is convinced his scheming friend is the wrongdoer. He wins over the support of Mien Mien, Crazy Lo and the abbot. The abbot is disguised as old daddy Chen and comes to the city. Mien Mien welcome him as if he were her real father.
A nervous Lu goes up to the slope and digs out the old man's body. He is caught and has to pay his debt in blood.