In a certain year of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, two thieves came to the bitter bamboo forest between the wild mountains and ridges. They were Xue Shisan (played by Hu Jun), who was good at shooting and chess, and Chen Liu (played by Jiang Wu), who was reckless and cheerful. The two settled down at the home of villager Ma Qi, and at the same time three officers and soldiers also came to the village. One of the officers and soldiers wanted to do something wrong to Ma Qi's daughter Luo Niang (played by Wang Xiao), and Xue and Chen helped and killed the two officers and soldiers. The village head (played by Li Liqun) followed the laws of the Tang Dynasty and arrested the two to see the officials. The next day, a team of officers and soldiers came to arrest the thieves and severely criticized the villagers. Xue Chen, who had escaped at night and was caught, became crazy and killed all the evil officers and soldiers again. While wandering in the village, Xue Shisan and the female butcher Yingge (played by Yu Xiaolei) had sex; Chen Liu fell in love with Luo Niang and was willing to return to the pastoral life. However, they were blood-stained thieves after all, and the head of the village was still determined to rely on the government to get rid of them...