The Legend of Sword and Fairy

Story

There are many subtle differences between the numerous versions of the game. The storyline in this section is based on the PC versions of the game for Windows 95 and 98. The protagonist, Li Xiaoyao(李逍遥), is an ordinary 19-year-old boy living in a small fishing village near Suzhou(苏州), China. In search of a cure for his sick aunt, he travels to a strange island in the sea where he meets a fairy named Zhao Ling'er(赵灵儿). He is forced to marry her and stay on the island forever, but manages to escape home with the cure for his aunt. However, he loses the memory of his adventure on the island and no longer remembers Zhao when he meets her again. This time, Zhao's home has been destroyed by enemies and Li decides to accompany her to southwest China to find her mother, who may still be alive. Li and Zhao arrive in Suzhou and meet Lin Yueru(林月如), the spoiled daughter of a wealthy martial artist. Unexpectedly, Li emerges victorious in a martial arts competition and wins Lin's hand in marriage. Li and Lin get engaged, but on their wedding night, Zhao mysteriously disappears and the two set off in search of her. Their search leads them to Sichuan(四川), where the Mount Shu Sect(蜀山仙剑派), a powerful martial arts clan, is based. They learn that Zhao is actually a half-serpent spirit and is being held captive by the elders of the sect in the Demon Prison Tower(锁妖塔). Li and Lin break into the tower and manage to rescue Zhao after a dangerous descent to the lowest floor, but are seriously injured when the tower collapses during their escape. The trio are rescued by a guru of herbal medicine, who tells Li that Zhao is pregnant with his child and that Lin has died from her wounds. Li is deeply saddened, but he has a more important job to do: He must find two rare items to save the lives of Zhao and his baby. During his search, he meets A'nu(阿奴), a white Miao(苗族) princess, and befriends her. They are in southwest China, where the Miao people live. The country is plagued by a prolonged drought and the white and black Miao are at war over the scarce resources. Li fulfills his mission and Zhao recovers, whereupon she summons a rainstorm and restores peace to the land. They discover that the drought is being orchestrated by an evil black Miao cleric. Li, Zhao and A'nu confront him and manage to defeat him after a battle, but Zhao sacrifices himself to destroy a monster summoned by the cleric. Li is traumatized by the loss of his two close friends, who are also his loved ones. He says goodbye to A'nu and walks on alone. At this moment, he sees Lin carrying his child. Lin's reappearance at the end of the game is often disputed, but the official story released by the producers claims that Lin is actually dead and cannot be resurrected. Her body can be brought back to life, but she will never be the same as before because her soul is dead.