At the beginning of the 20th century, the Qing Dynasty was doomed, and warlords fought for years, holding their own troops and staging one battle after another. At that time, Lei Daniu (played by Liu Qingyun), the governor of Zhili, recruited soldiers and horses with the help of Liu Kunshan (played by Wu Gang), who was a traitor. He continued to grow. With heavy troops outside and beautiful wives inside, and the strong support of the Japanese with ulterior motives, he was in a prosperous period. At the same time, the mysterious magician Zhang Xian (played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai) came to the capital. He was so amazing and magical that he was so popular in the capital that Lei Daniu had heard of him. Little did he know that Zhang Xian was the childhood sweetheart of Daniu's seventh concubine Liu Yin (played by Zhou Xun). When he went out to study, his lover was abducted by Daniu, and he regretted it for the rest of his life. In addition, he belonged to a mysterious organization that was always plotting to kidnap Commander Niu. In this troubled world, what kind of amazing and moving magic will Zhang Xian perform? This film is adapted from Zhang Haifan's novel of the same name.