The Promise 2005

In a desolate land where hunger gnaws at every corner, the starving girl Qingcheng wanders in search of food. She cleverly tricks a boy, steals a mantou from him, and makes her escape, a small win that soon pulls her into a larger, fateful encounter. It is here that she meets Manshen, the goddess who offers her a life of wealth and luxury and the chance to become the most beautiful woman in the realm. Yet the bargain comes with a heavy price: she will never find genuine lasting love with any man. Accepting the deal, she grows into a figure of radiant charm and, as the years pass, becomes the King’s concubine, a position that seems to grant her all the beauty and power she was promised.

Across the kingdom, General Guangming proves his prowess by defeating a vast army of barbarians with only a contingent of 3,000 soldiers, racing back to the capital to rescue a king under siege by the treacherous Duke Wuhuan. Manshen’s warning lingers in his mind—a prophecy that someone wearing his Crimson Armour will commit regicide and tarnish his name. In the heat of battle and betrayal, Guangming is wounded by Snow Wolf, a brutal enforcer in Wuhuan’s service, and is saved only by his loyal slave, Kunlun. Sworn to service, Guangming commands Kunlun to don his Crimson Armour and stand in the King’s stead, a decision that will bend fate in unpredictable ways.

When Kunlun reaches the palace, a grave misjudgment unfolds: he mistakes Qingcheng, who remains unarmed, for the King and, in a devastating twist, ends up killing the King as the monarch draws his sword. Fleeing the palace together, the pair are cornered at a cliff’s edge, where Wuhuan offers Qingcheng a grim bargain—if Kunlun leaps, Qingcheng will be spared. Kunlun dives, miraculously surviving the fall, and the turmoil in the capital deepens as Guangming’s subordinates accuse him of murder, turning against their own commander.

Kunlun returns to rescue his master and recovers the Crimson Armour, and the duo set out to free Qingcheng from Wuhuan’s clutches. Along the way, Qingcheng’s feelings shift; she eventually falls in love with Guangming, stirred by the memory of the man she mistook for her fallen savior. Meanwhile, Kunlun is captured by Wuhuan, who discovers the truth: he himself was the one who killed the King. Snow Wolf, revealed to share Kunlun’s homeland, explains that he was coerced into servitude and that the Veil of Time cannot be crossed. The two form a fragile alliance against Wuhuan, though Snow Wolf must eventually shed his immortality robe and vanish from the scene.

Wuhuan lures Guangming back to the palace and stages a public trial for regicide, aiming to crush any unity among Qingcheng, Kunlun, and Guangming. In the trial, Kunlun confesses to killing the King, revealing his past mercy toward Qingcheng; Guangming and Qingcheng realize who really bore responsibility for the fated murder. The trio fights back, breaking free to confront Wuhuan, who ominously reminds Qingcheng that he is the boy she once stole a mantou from. The conflict ends in tragedy: Wuhuan and Guangming die, while Kunlun bears severe wounds but survives by donning Snow Wolf’s immortality robe. As the dust settles, Manshen arrives again at a pivotal moment—when Kunlun and Qingcheng strive to pass through the Veil of Time—and she reminds Qingcheng that the promises between gods and humans are as fragile as any other promise. In a final turn, Qingcheng discovers her true love and is given a new chance to choose, with Manshen urging wisdom in her decision. The narrative closes by echoing the film’s opening: a young Qingcheng wandering the land, a circle completed, a life reimagined.