The Spirit Hunter

Tian Nana boards a bus with a toy sword on her back. She spots a man sniffing and touching a girl, who doesn’t seem to notice him. When the man sees Nana staring at him, he snarls and lunges at her. Nana draws her sword, which has transformed into a real one, and slashes at the man, who shatters into pieces and disappears.

Nana wakes up in the middle of the night. A mysterious force draws her downstairs, where she mistakes Brother Gouli’s battle with a fearsome shapeshifting, polearm-wielding demon summoned by Hua Chengfeng and that is invisible to Nana’s human eyes as a fit of madness. When Nana catches Brother Gouli’s sword after the demon knocks it out of his hand, the sword transforms back into a toy sword.

While crossing the road, Nana gets distracted by someone calling her name and nearly gets run down. Brother Gouli pulls her out of the way in the nick of time. He claims that he’s defied Fate by saving Nana and must die in her stead. In turn, she has to take on his demon slaying duties. He hands her his toy sword and leaves.

Sun Xiaoling buys pancakes for Nana in exchange for a favour. He is going to exorcise the spirits haunting an alley and wants her there for emotional support. Sensing Xiaoling’s resolve to become a Taoist priest, she agrees. After chanting his scriptures and packing up, Xiaoling hears faint voices behind him and is terrified that he might have angered the spirits instead of putting them to rest.

A worried Tian Dagang catches Nana talking to herself on film. Sun Yilong concludes she’s been possessed. When Nana gets home, Yilong starts chanting while brandishing a wooden sword and three-pronged bell. He snatches her toy sword away and tells Xiaoling to burn it. Xiaoling feels dizzy before stepping out. Yilong grabs the toy sword. Before he can step out the door, he slips and falls.

Nana sees a pale-faced man Black Dragon trying to find Big Mouth Chun after a fight over a bet that ended with him being pushed into a canal. Unaware that he’s been a ghost for the last 40 years, Black Dragon gets upset when Nana tells him he’s dead. Nana knows her bloodthirsty sword will exorcise Black Dragon once drawn and so keeps it sheathed. She agrees to help him find Big Mouth Chun.

The sword spirit tells Nana that Chengfeng is a sword bearer who went astray. She wields an evil sword that hurts kind spirits and has been tasked by Zhou Dekun to steal the Red Sword, which strengthens evil and weakens good. With the sword, Dekun will destroy the world. Burdened with the duty of protecting the sword, Nana decides to train hard.

Zhou Jie demands that Dekun not sell Chengfeng out to Alingta, to no avail. Chengfeng knocks him out before he can help her, then tricks the brothers Shanshuai and Shanjun into thinking she’s under Alingta’s control. Jun remains wary but Shuai falls for her act and is bewitched by her beauty. Alingta hands Chengfeng to the lustful Shuai, who is unaware that death awaits him.

A worried Xiaoling suspects Nana has the third eye and can see Granny Liu and other spirits. He nags Yilong into helping him seek a master’s help and assumes Yilong is fooling with him when he sees the old lady selling tissue paper at the hawker centre. The old lady commends Xiaoling for risking his life for a friend and agrees to activate his third eye for two one-dollar coins.

When activated, Xiaoling’s third eye lets him see spirits while endangering him. When he gets harassed by a bloodsucking demon, Nana fights the demon off. Xiaoling sees her fighting air and assumes she’s filming one of her videos. When he activates his third eye, he sees Nana fighting a female demon who returns to her true haggard, aged form after being thrashed by Nana.

Chengfeng accuses Jie of molestation, drawing a crowd. She stops them from calling the cops but warns Jie to leave her alone to spare his loved ones. When Jie tells Chengfeng not to hurt Nana, she tells him that that’s not up to her. A worried Jie decides to cut ties with Nana. He pays her a sum and fires her.

The sword spirit, in human form, is stabbed by Xiaoling. Nana thinks it’s just a scare when it collapses and fades away, but becomes upset with Xiaoling when she’s unable to summon it again. Believing this is her chance to break free from the sword, Xiaoling decides to destroy it before it regains its strength. Before Nana can stop him, the sword is thrown into a garbage truck and taken away.

A surprised Xiaoling and Nana defeat the fake Heibai Wuchang. Worried about Nana’s safety, he vows to protect her. When Jie goes missing for two days, Nana returns to the F&B factory to help out. She brings a frail Chengfeng to the hospital when she turns up looking for Jie. In her semi-conscious ramblings, Chengfeng warns Jie to stay away from the border, revealing that she does care for him.

Jie disrupts Alingta’s bid to gain immortality during the lunar eclipse. Alingta is livid when only half of his aged body regains a youthful look. When Jie accuses him of endangering Chengfeng, Alingta claims ignorance and says Jie has been duped by Dekun. He vows to kill them both. He casts illusions, then waits for a chance to attack the disoriented Jie.

The sword spirit leads Nana to its physical vessel. It tells Nana that it was caught unaware by Xiaoling’s attack and froze. When it came to, it found itself in the garbage truck. It fell into a truck ferrying durians in its bid to escape, then turned itself off. Now, it’s drained of 50% of its energy. It needs to recharge to stand a chance against powerful demons.

Jie returns to the office. He thanks Nana for her help and apologises for firing her. He offers her double the pay and dividends to return to the company. Nana senses something wrong with Jie. His eyes look different. Unbeknownst to her, Jie has become the wielder of the Black Sword and is no longer one of the good guys.

Dekun tells Jie that the world is in chaos and filled with yin energy. A calamitous year is on the horizon. It’s the perfect time to seize the Red Sword. Soon, the sword bearer and the Red Sword will be his. A mind-controlled Jie destroys positive energies lingering on earth to strengthen evil’s presence. Chengfeng tries to reach Jie and is given a stern warning from the Black Sword’s spirit.

Dekun brings Nana to the office where she’s lulled into a trance as he explains his history and understanding of good and evil. He tells Nana that he has the power to free himself from his fate and make his own destiny. He wants Nana to join him on his quest. Nana forgets the encounter when she wakes up the next day. However, she begins to change and says cruel things to an upset Xiaoling.

Yilong calls out Fangqi for tricking Nana into a US trip with her. He overheard Fangqi and her American husband on the phone. Their son needs a liver transplant and Nana, who’s related to Fangqi, is a potential donor. Fangqi plans to coerce Nana into donating her liver when they are in the US. Fangqi denies the claim at first, then begs Nana to save her son’s life. A shocked Nana walks away.

Alingta believes Nana’s sword is still recovering. Unbeknownst to him, it’s a trap to lower his defences. He falls for it and is killed when he is pierced by the Red Sword. Nana takes down the Japanese demon and confronts the Black Sword. The Black Sword’s spirit uses the possessed Jie to enthral Nana. Right before it enslaves Nana’s mind, Chengfeng appears.