A reclusive hermit, Tamo, arrives at the Honan monastery to inform them that the Fukien monastery was attacked and destroyed by a warlord with his cannon, and that he has survivors seeking refuge there. One of the survivors is a woman who wants to become a Shaolin monk. She later reveals the warlord wanted her to be his wife, and she fled. Now the warlord is preparing to attack the monastery and having his cannon brought there.
