On the day Yin Li, the Stone-Breaking Demon Palm, suffered heartbreak, he allowed pride to drive him into dueling the Black-Eating King Sima Lun—and lost miserably. Had Wu Tong and the others not intervened, he would likely have perished. The humiliation was unbearable, a bitterness he could not swallow. Thus he resolved to travel to Tibet in search of the legendary Snow Lotus.
One night, he drank alone at an inn, drowning his sorrow. By chance, Orchid-Hand Jiang Xiu encountered him. The two had roamed the Jianghu for years and cooperated many times. Both were people of the rivers and lakes, and so she sat with him at the same table. Jiang Xiu asked why he sat alone in such dejection—where was Jade Guanyin Gao Siyao?
After several cups of wine, Yin Li could no longer restrain himself. With tears and snot flowing freely, he told her everything—how Gao Siyao had tricked him out of all his belongings, how she shifted her affections to another, and how he fought Sima Lun for her only to be defeated. Jiang Xiu listened, her own eyes reddening, moved to pity by his misfortune. She gently offered her handkerchief to wipe away his tears.
She asked what he intended to do. Yin Li declared he would travel to Tibet to obtain the Snow Lotus and avenge the love stolen from him.Jiang Xiu warned him that Tibet was far, the journey treacherous, and vengeance required patience. How could he succeed alone?
But Yin Li—wine fueling his grief—let his pent-up resentment burst forth like a raging flood. They spoke long into the night; Jiang Xiu wept as she listened, her heart stirred deeply. Yin Li, however, continued drinking until he collapsed on the table in a drunken sleep. Jiang Xiu, startled and anxious, asked the innkeeper to help carry him to a guest room, and so circumstances forced her to accompany him inside.
After the innkeeper left, Jiang Xiu closed the door. Yin Li mumbled in his sleep:
"I've liked you for a long time… but Gao Siyao was always beside me. Now that she's betrayed me and I'm alone—if you don't look down on me, if you have no other man… why shouldn't the two of us become a pair?"
Hearing this, Jiang Xiu's heart leapt. She had long felt affection for him. As a woman of the Jianghu, she too wished for a hero as her companion—and Yin Li was undeniably such a man. But in the past Gao Siyao had been with him, and Jiang Xiu kept her feelings hidden.
She stepped to the bedside and instinctively pulled the blanket over him. Suddenly Yin Li—whether intentionally or not—pulled her into his arms. The warmth of her delicate form made his heart stir. Half-drunk, he murmured:
"Xiu-mei… don't leave tonight. Stay with me."
Jiang Xiu flushed scarlet. Though flustered, she whispered in shy protest:
"Don't… Brother Li, you're drunk. You should rest."
When Yin Li heard her call him Brother Li, he understood her meaning. Fueled by wine and long-buried emotion, he pleaded again. Between refusal and acceptance, their feelings intertwined, and in that tender, rain-soft night, affection finally blossomed.
From then on, as the two journeyed together across the long miles toward Tibet, their bond only deepened. With Jiang Xiu's caution and foresight, Yin Li successfully obtained the Snow Lotus and returned to the Central Plains to reclaim his honor.
Returning to the present—
At the Eastern Great Monastery, Gao Siyao cried out furiously:
"I followed you through the Jianghu for years, yet you never gave me a name or title! And the moment my back is turned, you marry Jiang Xiu!?"
Jiang Xiu retorted coldly:
"You were the one who betrayed him—stealing his money and running into another man's arms. And now you act like the rightful wife? What exactly are you trying to do?"
These words ignited Gao Siyao's jealousy.
"You fox-spirit! You—of all people—have no right to lecture me!"
Jiang Xiu stood her ground:
"And why not? Because I am his wife."
Gao Siyao exploded:
"Oh? You think I'm afraid of you? Why don't we fight it out then?!"
Yin Li pulled Jiang Xiu's hand."Xiu-mei, we're leaving. Ignore her."
As they turned to depart, Gao Siyao's jealousy flared. She leapt forward and struck at Jiang Xiu.A sharp crack rang out—Yin Li had countered her blow with his own palm, sending her stumbling back.
Gao Siyao fell to the ground and burst into tears, cursing him as a heartless traitor.Yin Li did not look back. Holding Jiang Xiu's hand, he walked away.
Thus, those gathered not only witnessed an impressive duel between experts, but also an absurd lovers' quarrel. Before long this episode spread through the Jianghu, becoming a popular topic of laughter and gossip over tea.
As the saying goes:
Autumn winds meet falling leaves—Heroes tested under striking palms.Tear-dimmed eyes lament love lost—Painted dreams fade into emptiness.