White Horse Neighs in the Western Wind

The following plot outline follows the revised and third editions of the novella. The original serialised version has a very different ending, while the characterisations of certain characters like Old Man Ji are drastically altered in subsequent versions.

Li Wenxiu, a young Han Chinese girl, loses her parents in the Gobi Desert while escaping from a group of bandits who are after a map of Gaochang. Placed on a white steed, she flees to Kazakh territory and is taken into the care of Old Man Ji, an elderly Han Chinese man. While growing up, she meets Supu, a Kazakh boy, and starts a romance with him. However, Supu's father disapproves of the relationship between his son and a Han Chinese girl, so they are forced to separate.

Several years later, Li Wenxiu meets Hua Hui, a hermit, in an oasis in the Gobi Desert, and helps him cure his wounds. Hua Hui feels grateful to her and accepts her as his apprentice and teaches her martial arts. She returns home in the midst of heavy snowfall and sees Supu, his father, and his new lover taking shelter in her house. Chen Dahai, the leader of the group of bandits who killed Li Wenxiu's parents, arrives at Li's home and suspects that the map he has been hunting for is inside the house. He ransacks the house for the map and eventually finds it. The secret of the map is revealed when blood is spilled on the cloth. Chen wants to silence Supu and the others but is stopped and defeated by Li, who has disguised herself as an old man.

Chen Dahai flees with the map and finds his way to Gaochang, while Li Wenxiu and Supu gather five others to join them in pursuing Chen and the bandits. The seven of them make their way to Gaochang, where they are surprised to find ordinary items associated with Han Chinese culture instead of treasure and riches as they expected. To their horror, they encounter a "ghost" who haunts them by killing their companions without leaving any traces. Just as they are about to flee, Supu learns that his lover has been kidnapped by the "ghost" and he tracks the "ghost" to its lair in Gaochang, where he discovers that the "ghost" is actually a martial arts expert in disguise.

The "ghost" tells his story and reveals that he was forced into exile because he was betrayed by his apprentice, who is actually Old Man Ji. The "ghost" is the hermit Hua Hui, whom Li Wenxiu saved earlier. To everyone's surprise, Old Man Ji is revealed to be actually a man in his 30s in disguise as an old man. Old Man Ji and Hua Hui start fighting with each other. Li is shocked to realise that the two, who are close to her, are actually enemies. Hua Hui eventually dies in his futile attempt to kill everyone in Gaochang. After leaving Gaochang, Li Wenxiu hears the true story behind the items hidden in Gaochang and their origins. She decides to leave the land for central China as she feels miserable after the loss of two of her loved ones and the marriage of her lover to another woman.

• Li Wenxiu (李文秀; Lǐ Wénxìu) is the protagonist of the story.
• Hua Hui (華輝; Huà Huī), nicknamed "Make Jiangnan Tremble with One Finger" (一指震江南; yīzhǐ zhèn jiāngnán), is a hermit who teaches Li Wenxiu martial arts.
• Ma Jiajun (馬家駿; Mǎ Jiājùn) is the real name of Old Man Ji (計老人; Jì Lǎorén), the elderly Han Chinese man who raised the orphaned Li Wenxiu.
• Li San (李三; Lǐ Sān) and Shangguan Hong (上官虹; Shàngguān Hóng) are Li Wenxiu's parents, who were killed at the beginning of the story.
• Supu (蘇普; Sūpǔ) is a Kazakh youth and Li Wenxiu's childhood playmate. He was originally Li Wenxiu's lover but is later forced by his father to give up on Li due to ethnic prejudice.
• Aman (阿曼; Āmàn) is a Kazakh maiden who becomes Supu's new lover.
• Chen Dahai (陳達海; Chén Dáhǎi) is the leader of the bandits who killed Li Wenxiu's parents.
• "Three Heroes of Lüliang" (呂梁三傑; Lǚliáng Sān Jié):
  • Huo Yuanlong (霍元龍; Huò Yuánlóng), nicknamed "Divine Saber Trembles Guanxi" (神刀震關西; shéndāo zhèn guānxī).
  • Shi Zhongjun (史仲俊; Shǐ Zhòngjùn), nicknamed "Plum Blossom Spear" (梅花槍; méihuāqiāng).
  • Ding Tong (丁同; Dīng Tóng), nicknamed "Two Headed Snake" (兩頭蛇; liǎngtoúshé).

• In the 1979, Hong Kong's RTV produced a television series based on the story, starring Sharon Yeung as Lei Man Sau.
• In 1984, Taiwan's CTV produced a television series based on the story, starring David Chiang and Kwan Chung.