The Tale of Hong San: One of the Thirteen Guardians

In 1935, five years had passed since Hong San unified Shanghai’s underworld. His once-grand dream had faded amid the whirlpool of power, while a new dark force, the Netherworld Society, rose to power by taking advantage of the Japanese invasion. Using poison to control the underworld, it sought to absorb every gang in the country.

The central conflict: After losing his wealth and closest friend in a bombing, Hong San drifts into the remote mountains of Sichuan, where he encounters Yunji, a surviving Shaolin monk. He learns the martial arts principle of “speed of the body,” which means overcoming force with softness and following one’s natural potential. Meanwhile, Estella, a character modeled on one from a Dickens novel, uses the alias Su Li to infiltrate the Netherworld Society as an underground operative, joining forces with Hong San from within and without.