The story starts with a match of chinese chess between the King of China (in red pawns) and the King of Khitan (in black pawns). However, this match uses real people on the chess board. When the match started, the King keeps on losing his pawns and begins to get upset. This is because of his "loyal" chancellor who works for the King of Khitan behind people's back. On the other hand, xu? yí piào, a lover and expert of Chinese chess is watching the match outside the palace, while abserving the match. he started to sigh and saying out loud that the King is an idiot.
At the nearly end of the match, there were only two pawns left, the chariot and the minister of the red. The chariot, yuè huái xi?n is the most well-trained one out of the others, he managed to defeat a few black pawns. Seeing this, the chancellor starts to get annoyed, planning to kill him if he doesn't die in this match. The chariot of the blacks started to fight with him and the tired yuè huái xi?n can't stand the attacks and so he fell off his chariot. The black chariot, take this chance and tried to kill him but yuè huái xi?n managed to block some of his attacks but at the end, he lost his right arm after being run over by the black chariot's wheel while his attempt to dodge an attack. The pawn was taken down on the chessboard outside the palace and the people started to get worried as they were excited when a few black pawns were taken down off the board. Yè yè x?n the daughter of the general of the red pawns who was a close friend of yuè huái xi?n got more worried than any others. Even after losing his arm, yuè huái xi?n attempted to protect the general. Just before the black chariot gave the last attack to the minister, the King of China stopped the match by admitting that he has lost. And the King of Khitan said that next time, whoever loses the match must call the winner father.
yuè huái xi?n and the general are taken away to the doctor in the palace. However, the chancellor thought of a plan to kill them both. He uses the name of the King behind his back that they were to be planked till their death and their families kicked out of the city. yuè huái xi?n managed to live where the general didn't, yuè huái xi?n was then thrown into pigpen, leaving him to die. xu? yí piào passed by the pigpen and noticed the blood-soaked yuè huái xi?n. He carried yuè huái xi?n home to his blind mother. yè yè x?n and her mother are being forced out of the city, yè yè x?n escaped the chancellor's son but her mother was killed in the attempt to safe her daughter.
yuè huái xi?n becomes friend with xu? yí piào and the adventure begins. After meeting yè yè x?n, xu? yí piào starts to like her.
After knowing that yuè huái xi?n still lives, the chancellor ordered his daughter, l?ng yán to kill him. l?ng yán orders the killer, b? léi w? and l?ng yán instead she pays him and stand and watch. She later sees a lot about yuè huái xi?n and started to doubt her father about yuè huái xi?n being a traitor. This makes l?ng yán want to get closer to him and she ends up falling in love with yuè huái xi?n and didn't tell him the fact that she is the daughter of the chancellor and yè yè x?n becomes jealous of l?ng yán. After discovering that l?ng yán is the daughter of the chancellor, yuè huái xi?n started to distant from her. l?ng yán starts to get on really well with xu? yí piào and they call each other pals. And later on the story, she starts to notice that she has feeling for him. On the other hand yè yè x?n starts to forgive for what yuè huái xi?n did and they become close again.
