Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain

by Jin Yong

The story begins in the Changbai mountains in northeastern China during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor in the Qing dynasty. It follows the classical unity of time, taking place on a single day, which is the 15th day of the third month in the Chinese calendar, in the 45th year in the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (i.e., 19 April 1780 in the Gregorian calendar).

A group of martial artists unearth a treasure chest and begin fighting for it. The reason for them doing so is deliberately kept from the reader at this point of time. Midway during their tussle, they are overpowered and coerced by a highly skilled monk, Baoshu, to travel to a manor at the top of Jade Brush Peak (玉筆峰) to help the manor's owner drive away an enemy, Hu Fei, who is nicknamed "Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain". They start telling stories concerning the origin of a precious saber in the chest and their mysterious foe (Hu Fei). In doing so, they gradually reveal each other's personal secrets.

The saber's story dates back over a century ago to the feuds of the four bodyguards under the warlord Li Zicheng, who led a rebellion that overthrew the Ming dynasty. The four guards' family names were Hu, Miao, Tian and Fan. Owing to a massive misunderstanding, which lasted several generations, their descendants have been slaying each other in a vendetta that prevented any of them from uncovering the truth. The Hu family was opposed to those from the Miao, Tian and Fan families; the latter three were allies.

The people gathered at the manor are either descendants of the four bodyguards or are otherwise embroiled in the feud. Hu Fei's father, Hu Yidao, met Miao Renfeng, a descendant of the Miao family. Both were masterful martial artists without peer. Miao Renfeng, Hu Yidao and his wife developed an uncommon friendship and grew to admire each other, but Hu and Miao must fight unwilling duels to avenge their parents' deaths. Under the schemes of the villain Tian Guinong, Hu Yidao was unintentionally slain by Miao Renfeng when Tian secretly smeared his sword with poison. Hu Yidao's infant son, Hu Fei, was rescued and raised by a waiter, Ping A'si, whose life Hu Yidao once saved. Hu Fei grew up and became a powerful martial artist nicknamed "Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain".

The various scheming martial artists are eventually punished by their greed. Hu Fei makes an appearance midway in the story.

The conflict reaches a climax when Miao Renfeng challenges Hu Fei to a duel thinking mistakenly that Hu has intentionally molested his daughter, Miao Ruolan. They fight for several rounds but neither emerges the victor. They are stranded on a cliff about to collapse under their weight when the novel ends. Hu Fei has an opportunity to attack Miao Renfeng and knock him off the cliff, but he hesitates because Miao might become his future father-in-law. However, if he does not attack, either they will fall to their deaths or Miao will kill him. The novel ends on a deliberate cliffhanger and leaves the conclusion to the reader's imagination.