Survival in Despair

This film (drama)Also known as绝处逢生，is aMainland China, Hong KongProducerwomen sex，At1985Released in year 。The dialogue language isMandarin Chinese，Current Douban rating5.5(For reference only)。

In the first year of the Qing Yongzheng era, General Nian Gengyao returned to the capital after quelling the rebellion in Qinghai. The emperor feared that General Nian, who held military power, might overshadow him and thus issued a death sentence under baseless charges against this distinguished minister. The emperor's trusted aide, Prince Su Ren, received secret orders to lead the Imperial Guard, including Commander Chang Yugang, to launch a midnight attack on the Nian residence with the intent of executing the whole family. Chang Yugang admired General Nian and, risking his life, intended to rescue the next generation of the Nian family, Nian Ji and Nian Xiafei. The couple hung a pair of jade butterflies on their children's chests as a token for their recognition as siblings in adulthood, and then the couple drank poison and died. Chang Yugang rescued the Nian heirs, fought his way out, and fled south. Prince Su Ren sent a top assassin known as "Blood Droplet" to pursue them relentlessly and eliminate any remaining threats. At Wudang Mountain, Miss Xiafei fell from a cliff, and Chang Yugang had no choice but to take Nian Ji and escape to Shaolin Temple at Songshan. They were later discovered, forcing them to travel to Quanzhou. Master Huikong, skilled in "Laughing Fist," defeated the pursuing "Blood Droplet" and escorted them to South Shaolin, where Chang Yugang also renounced his worldly ties to become a monk. Nian Xiafei was rescued from below the cliff by the Wudang disciple Jing Gu, under whom she began to learn martial arts. In the thirteenth year of Yongzheng, the emperor learned that the Nian family heirs had not been eradicated and ordered the chief eunuch Guan Pingshan to urge Prince Su Ren to eliminate the potential threats quickly. Su Ren and Guan Pingshan disguised as civilians to investigate the Nian family's descendants. Su Ren's daughter Tingyu was also learning martial arts under Jing Gu at Wudang Mountain, becoming a sister to Nian Xiafei. Su Ren devised a plot to take Xiafei as his adoptive daughter; not knowing the truth, she, along with Tingyu, served the Qing court. At South Shaolin, Master Fayun revealed Nian Ji's background to him. Eager for revenge, Nian Ji broke into the Su Prince's residence but was discovered by Tingyu and Xiafei. With revenge unfulfilled, he returned to South Shaolin. Through spies, Su Ren learned of Nian Ji's whereabouts and promptly sent troops to besiege South Shaolin, attempting to wipe out the monks entirely. Master Fayun and Nian Ji fought valiantly against the Qing soldiers. Unfortunately, Master Fayun was killed by a hidden weapon, and Nian Ji was pursued into the pagoda by Xiafei and Tingyu. Just as the Nian siblings were locked in a fierce battle, a meditative old monk descended from the Buddha shrine and stopped them, pointing to the jade butterflies on their chests to reveal their identities and sibling relationship. The siblings recognized each other. Tingyu, filled with hatred towards her father Su Ren for killing loyal subjects, expressed her willingness to share their hardships. Su Ren and Nian Ji fought fiercely, but Tingyu intervened and rebuked her father. At that moment, Guan Pingshan threw a poisoned dagger at Tingyu, accidentally hitting Su Ren. Before dying, Su Ren cursed Yongzheng, and Tingyu and the others, along with the arriving Chang Yugang, killed Guan Pingshan. By this time, the South Shaolin monks had been largely decimated by the Qing soldiers. Nian Ji, Xiafei, Tingyu, and others followed their master's orders to set sail, seeking revenge against the Qing court.