Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.

During the Northern Song dynasty, Lu Zhishen kills Zhen Guanxi and flees to Wenshu Monastery in Wutai Mountain and become a monk. However, he couldn't control his desire to kill and was sent by the elders of the Buddhist monastery to go to Daxiangguo Temple in Bianliang, the capital of Song dynasty, to further cultivate himself. On this journey, he witnessed numerous injustices, causing him to feel deep remorse for past deeds. Finally, after seeing the terrible corruption of government officials and the way they killed innocent civilians, he spiralled into the madness with revengeful anger.