When an amorously inclined young man runs across an attractive young woman in need of his help, it's not difficult for him to rush to her aid while imagining himself in her arms. Though he's married, he retains a strong desire to bed any pretty woman in sight. To his shock, he discovers later that the pretty woman he fantasized about is a ghost. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
King Hu - Director, King Hu - Editor, James Leung - Production Designer, Tsai Sung-Lin - Producer, King Hu - Screenwriter, Zhong Acheng - Screenwriter, Pu Songling - Short Story Author
A scholar (Adam Cheng) encounters a beautiful maiden (Joey Wong) in an alley on his way home and leads her to his house, where he tries to marry her as a concubine. By chance, his wife and him discover she is in fact a ghost, who must "paint" and graft a facial skin mask over her face to look human. Terrified, the scholar enlists the help of a couple of Taoist priests, who gift him with a magic whisk to keep the ghost at bay. However, it appears that the ghost is benign – she merely wants to escape from the clutches of an evil Yin-Yang King, a faceless, powerful spirit-king who shuttles at ease between the mortal world and the spirit, and who seems to be controlling the destinies of some recently deceased souls.
The two Taoist priests battle the King to release the ghost, but realize they are too weak in their magical prowess. Instead, they bring the ghost to track down a highly skilled Taoist Master (Sammo Hung) in the countryside. Meanwhile, the Yin-Yang King possesses the scholar and is wreaking havoc in the mortal plane. The priests finally discover and convince the Taoist Master, who decides to destroy the evil spirit-king so as to guide the ghost back to Hades.
