Di Yan, a young man from Fenzhou in the Northern Song Dynasty, took the blame for his brother to protect his family, but was falsely accused by a landlord and was jailed and sent to Yanzhou. He was killed while being escorted, but fortunately, he was rescued by a martial artist and obtained "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, and learned the truth about the frame-up.
After entering the military camp, Di Yan met his father's old friend Zhao Scarface, only to learn that his father had been silenced for exposing corruption. He defeated the Xixia soldiers with bravery, but was falsely accused. Zhao Scarface brought evidence to clear his name. Later, Di Yan wore a bronze mask to fight in the northwest, and was known as the "evil ghost with a nirvana face." He also saw through Xixia's plan of using his cousin Lin Yan to pretend to be himself, and defeated the enemy with the help of a secret letter. However, Lin Yan was hunted down, and before his death, he revealed that a corrupt syndicate had access to Xixia.
Di Yan was appreciated by Fan Zhongyan, but was involved in the conspiracy. Later, he learned that Fan Zhongyan's "secret meeting" was to collect evidence, and the two teamed up to break the situation. Nong Zhigao rebelled, and he set up an ambush to put down the rebellion. He discovered that the rebel strategist was the enemy who killed his father. Before he silenced him, he left a clue that "there is a conspiracy in Bianjing".
Di Yan was promoted to privy envoy, but was impeached by the civil service group. His cousin's son brought evidence to help him clear his name, but he was still demoted to Chenzhou. During his appointment, he discovered that the stalker was a remnant of corruption, and learned that the emperor's uncle Zhao Yuanyan was the mastermind behind it. Zhao Yuanyan traps Di Yan and kills him. In order to protect him, the messenger Han Qi joins forces to capture the evil-faced saint.
Zhao Yuanyan's palace rebelled, and Di Yan was wounded to put down the rebellion. Afterwards, he refused to remove the tattoo, saying it was a reminder and a memorial. Di Yan died of illness soon after and was posthumously named "Xianggong Di Wu". Many years later, there was an "Inkstone" wearing a bronze mask guarding the border in the northwest. According to his descendants, the story became an immortal legend.
